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From today's featured article

Tintin in the Land of the Soviets (original French: Tintin au pays des Soviets) is the first volume of The Adventures of Tintin (Les Aventures de Tintin), the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by the conservative Belgian newspaper Le XXe Siècle as anti-communist propaganda for its children's supplement Le Petit Vingtième, it was serialised weekly from January 1929 to May 1930. The story tells of young Belgian reporter Tintin and his dog Snowy (Milou), who are sent to the Soviet Union to report on the policies of Joseph Stalin's Bolshevik government. Tintin's intent to expose the regime's secrets prompts agents from the Soviet secret police, the OGPU, to hunt him down. Bolstered by publicity stunts including the April Fools' Day publication of a faked OGPU letter confirming Tintin's existence, Land of the Soviets was a commercial success, and appeared in book form shortly after its conclusion. Hergé continued The Adventures of Tintin with Tintin in the Congo (Tintin au Congo), and the series became a defining part of the Franco-Belgian comics tradition. He later came to regret the poorly researched, propagandist debut story, and prevented its republication until 1973. (Full article...)

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From Wikipedia's newest content:

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In the news

Robert Mugabe (pictured) is re-elected as President of Zimbabwe.

In rugby union, the Chiefs defeat the Brumbies to win the Super Rugby championship.

Former U.S. intelligence analyst Edward Snowden is granted temporary asylum in Russia.

Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation upholds the four-year sentence of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for tax fraud.

A new primate, the Lavasoa dwarf lemur, is discovered in Madagascar.

Mamnoon Hussain is elected as President of Pakistan.

Amid allegations of voting irregularities, the Cambodian People's Party wins a majority of seats in the National Assembly.

Publicis and Omnicom agree to a merger that would form the world's largest advertising group.

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On this day...

August 4: Constitution Day in the Cook Islands (1965)

AD 70 – First Jewish–Roman War: The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, conquered the city of Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple (model pictured).

1327 – First War of Scottish Independence: James Douglas led a raid into Weardale and almost killed Edward III of England.

1783 – A cataclysmic eruption of Mount Asama, the most active volcano in Japan, killed roughly 1,400 people and exacerbated a famine, resulting in another 20,000 deaths.

1983 – A coup d'état organised by Blaise Compaoré and supported by Libya made Thomas Sankara President of the Republic of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso).

2006 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Seventeen employees of the French INGO ACF International were massacred in Muttur.

More anniversaries: August 3 – August 4 – August 5

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Today's featured picture

The Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus) is the only species of bee-eater found in Australia. The brilliantly coloured species averages 19–24 centimetres (7.5–9.4 in) in length.

Photo: JJ Harrison

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