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From today's featured article

Roman foot soldiers from the 2nd century BC

The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 23 years they struggled for supremacy, primarily on the island of Sicily and its surrounding waters, and also in North Africa. After immense losses on both sides the Carthaginians were defeated. The war began with the Romans gaining a foothold on Sicily. In 260 BC they built a navy to challenge Carthage's, and inflicted several defeats. Taking advantage of their naval victories, the Romans launched an invasion of North Africa, which failed. In 249 BC they besieged the last two Carthaginian strongholds on Sicily. After several years of stalemate, the Romans rebuilt their fleet and blockaded the Carthaginian garrisons. A Carthaginian fleet attempted to relieve them, but the fleet's destruction in 241 BC forced the cut-off Carthaginian troops to negotiate for peace. (This article is part of a featured topic: Punic Wars.)

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Did you know ...

Nubian pyramids in Sudan

... that distinctly Nubian pyramids (examples pictured) were built early in the history of the architecture of Sudan?
... that Ronald Barnes was a major force in establishing an American approach to writing music for the carillon?
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... that the Royal Commission on Metropolitan Railway Termini of 1846 was responsible for central London being mostly free of mainline railways and led, indirectly, to the creation of the London Underground?
... that Ed Gomes was the first member of the Working Families Party elected to a state legislature solely with the party's nomination?
... that Gracelino Barbosa won the first Paralympic medal in Cape Verdean history at the 2016 Summer Paralympics?
... that neither holochess (dejarik) nor sabacc, two games invented for the Star Wars films, have a definitive ruleset despite several real-world licensed releases?
... that adult-film actress Kendra Sunderland originally wanted to be a counselor or an accountant?

In the news

The aircraft involved in the crash

A Philippine Air Force C-130 transport aircraft (pictured) crashes in Sulu, killing at least 53 people.
Former South African president Jacob Zuma is sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt of court.
An extreme heat wave kills an estimated 600 people in the Pacific Northwest of North America.
In Saskatchewan, Canada, 751 unmarked graves are discovered at the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School.

On this day

July 7

Memorial service for the shot Dallas police officers

1575 – Anglo-Scottish Wars: In the last major battle between England and Scotland, a "Truce Day" at Carter Bar near Redesdale became a fight in which the English side was routed.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: British forces caught up with American troops withdrawing from Ticonderoga, capturing more than 200 men at the Battle of Hubbardton.
1937 – The Peel Commission published a report stating that the League of Nations' Mandate for Palestine had become unworkable and recommended the partition of British-administered Mandatory Palestine into two states.
1991 – Yugoslav Wars: The signing of the Brioni Agreement ended the Ten-Day War between SFR Yugoslavia and Slovenia.
2016 – A U.S. Army Reserve veteran ambushed and shot at police officers (memorial service pictured) in Dallas, Texas, killing five of them and injuring nine others, before being killed by a bomb attached to a police robot.

Guru Har Krishan (b. 1656)
Fernande Sadler (b. 1869)
Anne McLaren and Donald Michie (d. 2007)

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Today's featured picture

The Soyuz MS is the latest revision of the Russian spacecraft series Soyuz. It is an evolution of the Soyuz TMA-M, with modernization mostly concentrated on its communications and navigation subsystems. The spacecraft is used by Roscosmos for human spaceflight. The Soyuz MS has minimal external changes with respect to the Soyuz TMA-M, mostly limited to antennas and sensors, as well as the thruster placement. The first launch, Soyuz MS-01, took place on 7 July 2016 aboard a Soyuz-FG launch vehicle towards the International Space Station. This exploded-view diagram illustrates and labels various components of the Soyuz MS spacecraft and the Soyuz-FG rocket.

Diagram credit: AstroBidules

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