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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 ...

One of the first stamps from the Pitcairn Islands

... that a decline in the sale of stamps from the Pitcairn Islands (example pictured) led to the territory's bankruptcy?
... that the National Institutes of Health's first mycologist, Chester W. Emmons, demonstrated that fungal infections were common and widespread?
... that the Basilica of Saint Maternus in Walcourt, Belgium, contains one of the oldest preserved Marian devotional statues in Western Christianity?
... that Mexican politician Rubén Rocha Moya obtained a law degree while serving as a senator?
... that before she entered the U.S. Army in 1942, Jane Douglass White, a songwriter for soldier's shows, had already composed the tune which would become the official "Song of the Women's Army Corps"?
... that during the 1940s, Sigge Stark became Sweden's most published, most read, as well as most criticised author?
... that the theme song for Guilty's live-action television series is Toshi's first original song in 22 years?
... that two of the men in the Dover Eight were going to join the raid on Harpers Ferry led by John Brown but ultimately backed out?

In the news

Jovenel Moïse

President of Haiti Jovenel Moïse (pictured) is assassinated.
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air Flight 251 crashes on approach to Palana Airport, Russia, killing all 28 people on board.
A Philippine Air Force C-130 transport aircraft 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.

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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