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Shoulder insignia of the 59th Infantry Division

The 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division of the British Territorial Army was formed in September 1939 during the Second World War. Initially raised in Staffordshire, the division began as a second-line duplicate of the 55th (West Lancashire) Motor Division. It was tasked with anti-invasion and guard duties until late June 1944, when it was assigned to the Second Army and transferred to France to take part in the Battle of Normandy. On 8 July, the division helped capture Caen during Operation Charnwood; a week later, it assaulted the town of Noyers in Operation Pomegranate. In late July, when the German frontline was crumbling, the division captured a bridgehead over the River Orne and fended off counter-attacks to maintain its hold. Its final combat was a protracted battle to capture the town of Thury-Harcourt. Historians have praised the effort of the division in these battles, during which it suffered several thousand casualties. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Achaemenid inscription at Persepolis

... that the Achaemenid royal inscriptions (one pictured) at Persepolis allowed for the initial decipherment of cuneiform?
... that Confederate troops under Colonel George Wythe Baylor disabled two Union tinclad gunboats on the Red River in Louisiana on May 5, 1864?
... that during a guerrilla campaign in 1968, the Iraqi Communist Party – Central Command attacked the house of Saddam Hussein?
... that Medan under Rahudman Harahap attempted a crackdown on pig farms within city limits, but backed down after local opposition?
... that after Michael Jordan was fired by the Washington Wizards, he wanted to move the Capital Classic from the Washington, D.C., area to New York?
... that after a riot destroyed some local churches, Marie-Julien Dunand, a French missionary in China, ordered the construction of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Chengdu and Annunciation Seminary in Pengzhou?
... that there was an American version of the Eurovision Song Contest, but it was not renewed for a 2023 season?
... that Rosa Smester Marrero said that without women, men would live the life of a turnip?

In the news

Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant

Dominion Voting Systems agrees to a $787 million settlement in their lawsuit against Fox News over defamation claims from the 2020 United States presidential election.
In Finland, Unit 3 of the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant (pictured), Europe's largest nuclear reactor, begins regular operation after eighteen years of delayed construction.
In Sudan, at least 185 people die in clashes between rival factions of the military government.
Ghana becomes the first country to approve malaria vaccine R21/Matrix-M, the first to meet the WHO goal of at least 75% efficacy.

On this day

April 20: 420 (cannabis culture)

Vädersolstavlan

1535 – Sun dogs were observed over Stockholm, Sweden, inspiring the painting Vädersolstavlan (depicted), the oldest coloured depiction of the city.
1818 – Four days after the Court of King's Bench upheld an English murder suspect's right to a trial by battle in Ashford v Thornton, the plaintiff declined to fight, allowing the defendant to go free.
1841 – Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Murders in the Rue Morgue, described as the first modern work of detective fiction, was published.
1942 – World War II: German and Italian forces began a large-scale counter-insurgency operation in occupied Yugoslavia.
1968 – South African Airways Flight 228 crashed shortly after take-off from Windhoek in South West Africa, resulting in 123 deaths.

Peter Bartholomew (d. 1099)
Allegra Byron (d. 1822)
Toller Cranston (b. 1949)

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Today's featured picture

Urban agriculture, urban farming, or urban gardening is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas. Urban agriculture can reflect varying levels of economic and social development. It may be a social movement for sustainable communities, where organic growers, "foodies", and "locavores" form social networks founded on a shared ethos of nature and community holism. For others, food security, nutrition, and income generation are key motivations for the practice. In both scenarios, more direct access to fresh vegetables, fruits, and meat products through urban agriculture can improve food security and food safety. Ths photograph depicts urban agriculture in the form of a roof garden at Essex Crossing in Manhattan, New York City. Among the plants grown are tomatoes, chili peppers, lettuce, herbs, carrots and beetroots.

Photograph credit: Rhododendrites

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