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From today's featured article

A 1667 illustration with three Guadeloupe amazons in the tree at left

The Guadeloupe amazon (Amazona violacea) is a hypothetical extinct species of parrot that is thought to have been endemic to the Lesser Antillean island region of Guadeloupe. Described by 17th- and 18th-century writers, it is thought to have been related to, or possibly the same as, the extant imperial amazon. A tibiotarsus and an ulna bone from the island of Marie-Galante may belong to the Guadeloupe amazon. According to contemporary descriptions, its head, neck and underparts were mainly violet or slate, mixed with green and black; the back was brownish green; and the wings were green, yellow and red. It had iridescent feathers, and was able to raise a "ruff" of feathers around its neck. It fed on fruits and nuts, and the male and female took turns sitting on the nest. French settlers ate the birds and destroyed their habitat. Rare by 1779, the species appears to have become extinct by the end of the 18th century. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Adlai Stevenson II

... that in the 1948 Illinois gubernatorial election, Adlai Stevenson II (pictured) won with a 572,067-vote margin of victory, a record at the time for Illinois gubernatorial elections?
... that Sylvie Fortier retired from competitive synchronized swimming at only 18, saying she was happy with what she had achieved?
... that the memoir Just Mercy tells the story of an innocent black man who was convicted and condemned to die for the 1986 murder of a young white woman in the town in which To Kill a Mockingbird was written?
... that Olga Petit – the first female lawyer in France – was a Russian?
... that 6,800 Columbia University students and faculty signed a petition to remove an entrance to the 116th Street–Columbia University station?
... that Bangladesh is the only Test-playing nation that has not been involved in any tied international cricket matches?
... that Jerome Kohl, a music theorist of the University of Washington, was recognized internationally as an authority on the composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, publishing a book on his Zeitmaße in 2017?
... that the Umberslade Obelisk has been described as a "monument of nothing in particular"?

In the news

COVID-19 pandemic: Disease; Virus; By location; Impact; Vaccines; Portal

Kaja Kallas

Kaja Kallas (pictured) becomes the first female Prime Minister of Estonia, following the resignation of Jüri Ratas.
In Russia, protests against the arrest of Alexei Navalny occur in more than 120 towns and cities.
American baseball player Hank Aaron dies at the age of 86.
Faustin-Archange Touadéra is elected for a second term as President of the Central African Republic.

On this day

January 28: Tu BiShvat (Judaism, 2021)

Lego bricks

1142 – Despite having saved the southern Song dynasty from attempts by the northern Jin dynasty to conquer it, Chinese general Yue Fei was executed by the Song government.
1568 – Delegates of the Three Nations of Transylvania adopted the Edict of Torda, allowing local communities to freely elect their preachers in an unprecedented act of religious tolerance.
1933 – Choudhry Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet in which he called for the creation of a Muslim state in north-western India that he termed "Pakstan".
1958 – The Lego Group, a Danish toy company, filed a patent in Denmark for the design of Lego bricks (pictured).
1981 – U.S. president Ronald Reagan lifted price controls from petroleum products, helping usher in the 1980s oil glut.

Paul Luther (b. 1533)
Gregor Werner (b. 1693)
Helen Sawyer Hogg (d. 1993)

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Today's featured picture

Soldiers of the British Army use a wide range of equipment. This soldier of the Royal Highland Fusiliers in Afghanistan, seen here in front and rear views, is wearing full combat dress. The kit includes a Mk 7 combat helmet with a multi-terrain-pattern (MTP) cover and a mounted night-vision system with ballistic eye protection, an MTP under-body-armour combat shirt, Mk 4 MTP Osprey body armour with medical, ammunition and admin pouches, a personal role radio, a small-arms weapon system with advanced optical gun sight and underslung grenade launcher, pelvic protection, MTP trousers, knee pads and combat boots.

Photograph credit: Rupert Frere; cropped by Pine

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