Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 January 31

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From today's featured article

Hasan al-Kharrat (1861–1925) was a rebel commander of the Great Syrian Revolt against the French Mandate, operating mainly in Damascus and its Ghouta countryside. As the qabaday (local youths boss) of the al-Shaghour quarter of Damascus, he was connected with Nasib al-Bakri, a nationalist from the quarter's most influential family. At al-Bakri's invitation, he joined the revolt in August 1925 and recruited a group of fighters in and around al-Shaghour. He led the rebel assault against Damascus, briefly capturing the residence of French High-Commissioner Maurice Sarrail before withdrawing amid heavy bombardment. Towards the end of 1925, relations grew tense between al-Kharrat and other rebel leaders, particularly Sa'id al-'As and Ramadan al-Shallash, and they traded accusations of plundering villages or strong-arming local inhabitants. Al-Kharrat continued to lead forays in the Ghouta, where he was ultimately killed in a French ambush. The revolt dissipated by 1927, but he gained a lasting reputation as a martyr of the Syrian resistance to French rule. (Full article...)

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Deseret alphabet cursive

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In the news

Donald Trump

A gunman kills six people and injures eight others in a mass shooting at a mosque in Quebec City, Canada.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order (pictured) restricting travel and immigration to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries, leading to protests and court rulings ordering its partial suspension.
Scientists at Harvard University report the first creation of metallic hydrogen in a laboratory, using a diamond anvil cell.
In sumo, Kisenosato Yutaka is promoted as the 72nd yokozuna, becoming the first Japanese wrestler to earn the title in 19 years.

On this day...

January 31: Independence Day in Nauru (1968)

Sirius

1862 – American astronomer Alvan Graham Clark first observed the faint white dwarf companion of Sirius (pictured), the brightest star in the night sky.
1900 – Datu Muhammad Salleh, leader of a series of major disturbances in North Borneo, was shot dead in Tambunan, but his followers did not give up for five more years.
1945 – Second World War: The British 3rd Commando Brigade's victory in the Battle of Hill 170 was crucial in causing the 28th Japanese Army to withdraw from the Arakan peninsula of Burma.
2000 – Alaska Airlines Flight 261, experiencing problems with its horizontal stabilizer system, crashed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California's Anacapa Island, killing all 88 people on board.

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The island Elliðaey in Breiðafjörður, a large shallow bay in the west of Iceland. It separates the region of the Westfjords from the south of the country. The northern tip of the bay was formed about 15 million years ago, whereas the southern end at Snæfellsnes was formed less than half that time ago.

Photograph: Heinrich Pniok

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