Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 2021

Today's featured article archive

September 1

Level Mountain is a large volcanic complex in the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, with a maximum elevation of 2,164 m (7,100 ft). The lower half of Level Mountain consists of a shield-like edifice while its upper half has a more steep, jagged profile. Its broad summit is dominated by the Level Mountain Range, with prominent peaks cut by deep valleys. The mountain began forming about 15 million years ago, with volcanism continuing up until geologically recent times. Level Mountain can be ecologically divided into three sections: an alpine climate at its summit, firs and birches on its flanks and a spruce forest at its base. Several animal species thrive in the area of Level Mountain, with caribou being the most abundant. Due to its remoteness, Level Mountain can only be accessed by air or by trekking great distances on foot; the closest communities are more than 30 km (19 mi) away. (Full article...)

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September 2

The Indian roller is a bird of the family Coraciidae. It is 30–34 cm (12–13 in) long with a wingspan of 65–74 cm (26–29 in) and weighs 166–176 g (5.9–6.2 oz). The face and throat are pinkish, the head and back are brown, and the rump is blue. The brightly contrasting light and dark blue markings on the wings and tail are prominent in flight. The sexes appear similar. It occurs widely from West Asia to the Indian subcontinent. Often found perched on roadside trees and wires, it is common in open grassland and scrub forest habitats, and has adapted well to human-modified landscapes. It mainly feeds on insects, especially beetles. The species is best known for the aerobatic displays of males during the breeding season. Adult males and females form pair bonds, raising the young together. The female lays three to five eggs in a cavity or crevice, lined with a mat of straw or feathers. It is the state bird of three Indian states. (Full article...)

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September 3

Cromwell and the English cavalry at Dunbar

The Battle of Dunbar was fought between the English New Model Army, under Oliver Cromwell, and a Scottish army, commanded by David Leslie, on 3 September 1650 near Dunbar, Scotland. The first major battle of the Third English Civil War, it was decisively won by the English. The English crossed into Scotland in July, and Cromwell attempted to draw the Scots into a set-piece battle, but the Scots resisted. At the end of August Cromwell withdrew to the port of Dunbar. The Scottish army followed, and before dawn the English launched a surprise attack on the Scots, who were poorly prepared. The fighting was restricted to the north-eastern flank. Leslie was unable to reinforce those fighting, while Cromwell used his last reserve to outflank the Scots. The Scottish cavalry broke and routed; the Scottish infantry made a fighting retreat but suffered heavily. Between 300 and 500 Scots were killed, with approximately 1,000 wounded and about 6,000 or more taken prisoner from an army of 12,500 or fewer. (Full article...)

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September 4

Gold dinar likely depicting Abd al-Malik

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (c. 646 – 705) was the fifth Umayyad caliph, ruling from April 685 until his death. At his accession, Umayyad authority in the Caliphate had been restricted to Syria and Egypt as a result of the second Muslim civil war. Abd al-Malik reunited the Caliphate after defeating the Zubayrids at the Battle of Maskin in Iraq in 691 and the siege of Mecca in 692. The wars with Byzantium recommenced, resulting in Umayyad advances into Anatolia and Armenia and the recapture of Kairouan, which led to the conquests of Northwest Africa and most of the Iberian Peninsula during the reign of his son and successor, al-Walid I. Abd al-Malik founded the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the earliest archaeologically attested religious monument built by a Muslim ruler. He introduced a single Islamic currency and established Arabic as the language of the bureaucracy, replacing Greek in Syria and Persian in Iraq. His centralized government became the prototype of later medieval Muslim states. (Full article...)

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September 5

Abberton Reservoir is a pumped storage freshwater reservoir in England near the Essex coast, with an area of 700 hectares (1,700 acres). Most of its water is pumped in from the River Stour. Constructed between 1935 and 1939, it is currently owned by Essex and Suffolk Water, and lies 6 km (4 mi) south-west of Colchester. In World War II, the reservoir was mined to deter invading seaplanes, and it was used by the RAF's No. 617 Squadron ("The Dam Busters") to practise for the bombing of the German dams in the Ruhr. A project to increase the reservoir's capacity to 41,000 megalitres (9.0×10⁹ imperial gallons) was completed in 2013, along with a new link to transfer water from Norfolk's River Ouse to the Stour. The reservoir is important for its breeding cormorants, wintering and moulting waterfowl, and migrating birds. It is an internationally important wetland, designated as a Ramsar site, SSSI and SPA and listed in A Nature Conservation Review. A small part of the site is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. (Full article...)

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September 6

Jay Thomas, who played the title character's boss

Katie Joplin is an American sitcom created by Tom Seeley and Norm Gunzenhauser that aired for one season on The WB Television Network from August to September 1999. Park Overall plays the title character, a single mother who tries to balance her job as a radio program host with parenting her teenage son Greg (Jesse Head). Supporting characters include her boss, played by Jay Thomas (pictured), her niece (Ana Reeder), and her co-workers (Jim Rash and Simon Rex). The series was optioned as a mid-season replacement for the 1998–1999 television season, but was delayed for a year after production issues. Katie Joplin received the lowest ratings for any original program The WB aired in its time slot. Of the seven episodes filmed, only five were aired. Critics recommended Katie Joplin prior to its premiere and discussed the delay in its airing. Retrospective reviews of the series were negative. (Full article...)

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September 7

Sir Ralph Hopton, Royalist officer

The Battle of Babylon Hill was a skirmish between Royalist and Parliamentarian forces in South West England, on 7 September 1642, during the early stages of the First English Civil War. After a failed Parliamentarian siege of Sherborne, about 350 Royalists were sent to reconnoitre near Yeovil. Under the command of Sir Ralph Hopton (pictured), the detachment established itself on Babylon Hill, on the outskirts of the town. When they were withdrawing late in the day a force of Parliamentarians approached. A chaotic battle ensued, mostly due to the inexperience of the soldiers involved. The Parliamentarian force made a cavalry attack, which the Royalists were able to repel, though sections of both forces were routed. In the confusion, the Royalists were eventually able to pull back under the cover of darkness. Both sides claimed they had killed sixty or more; a modern estimate suggests that the Royalists lost around twenty, and the Parliamentarians five. (Full article...)

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September 8

Minogue performing the song in 2018

"Can't Get You Out of My Head" is a song recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue (pictured) for Fever, her eighth studio album. Parlophone released the song as the album's lead single on 8 September 2001. Written and produced by Cathy Dennis and Rob Davis, it is a dance-pop, techno-pop and neo-disco song that is known for its "la la la" hook. Its lyrics are about obsession. Music critics praised the song's production and Minogue's vocals and labelled it a highlight of Fever. The song peaked at number one on charts in 40 countries worldwide. The music video for "Can't Get You Out of My Head", directed by Dawn Shadforth, features Minogue dancing against futuristic backdrops; the white jumpsuit she wore in the video became a fashion statement. Since the song's release, Minogue has included it on the set lists of various concert tours. (Full article...)

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September 9

Huey Long (1893–1935), nicknamed "the Kingfish", was a populist member of the Democratic Party from Louisiana who was nationally prominent in the U.S. during the Great Depression for his vocal criticism of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal, which Long deemed insufficiently radical. As an alternative, he proposed the Share Our Wealth program in 1934, advocating massive federal spending, a wealth tax, and wealth redistribution. Long served as the governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a member of the U.S. Senate from 1932 until his assassination in 1935. A controversial figure, Long is both celebrated as a populist champion of the poor and denounced as a fascistic demagogue. Poised for a 1936 presidential bid, Long was mortally wounded by a lone assassin in 1935. He left behind a political dynasty that included his wife Rose McConnell Long, his son Russell B. Long, and his brother Earl Long, among others. (Full article...)

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September 10

Giovanni Antonio Grassi (10 September 1775 – 12 December 1849) was an Italian Jesuit who led many academic and religious institutions in the United States and Europe. Born in Lombardy, he studied at the Jesuit College in Polotsk, where he began his academic career. He was soon ordered to China as a missionary, but after traveling across Europe for two years attempting to secure passage, his orders were rescinded and he instead began teaching at Stonyhurst College in England. In 1810, Grassi was sent to the United States, where he became known as the "second founder" of Georgetown College for greatly improving its quality and reputation. Grassi returned to Italy in 1817 as Archbishop Leonard Neale's representative before the Propaganda Fide in Rome. He then spent time as a provincial superior in Turin, rector of the Turin College of Nobles, and confessor to monarchs of the House of Savoy. In 1840, he became the rector of the Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide in Rome. (Full article...)

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September 11

Path of United Airlines Flight 93

United Airlines Flight 93 was a passenger flight that was hijacked by four al-Qaeda terrorists in 2001 as part of the September 11 attacks. The hijackers stormed the westbound aircraft's cockpit 46 minutes after its takeoff from Newark, New Jersey, and diverted it in the direction of Washington, D.C., the U.S. capital. Several passengers and flight attendants learned of the other 9/11 suicide attacks from phone calls, sparking an attempt to retake the plane. During the struggle, the hijackers deliberately crashed the plane into a field near a reclaimed strip mine in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania; all 44 people on board (including the hijackers) were killed. A temporary memorial was built near the crash site soon after the attacks. The permanent Flight 93 National Memorial was dedicated on September 10, 2011; it has a concrete and glass visitor center overlooking the crash site. (Full article...)

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September 12

Mr. Dooley is a fictional bartender created by American journalist Finley Peter Dunne, appearing in print between 1893 and 1915, and again in 1924 and 1926. The bartender's humorous but pointed commentary on American politics and international affairs first became nationally popular during the 1898 Spanish–American War. Dunne's essays are in the form of conversations in an Irish dialect of English between Mr. Dooley, the owner of a fictional tavern in the Bridgeport area of Chicago, and one of the bar's patrons. From 1898 onwards, the essays, and the books collecting them, gained national acclaim. Dunne became a friend of President Theodore Roosevelt, although the friendship did not curtail his satire. Beginning around 1905, Dunne had increasing trouble finding time and inspiration for new pieces, and, except for a brief resurrection in the mid-1920s, his columns ended in 1915. The columns originated lasting sayings such as "the Supreme Court follows the election returns". (Full article...)

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September 13

Sega Saturn, on which Sonic X-treme was intended for release

Sonic X-treme was a platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute from 1994 until its cancellation in 1996. It was intended to be the first fully 3D Sonic the Hedgehog game and the first original Sonic game for the Sega Saturn (pictured). The game was conceived as a side-scrolling platform game for the Sega Genesis to succeed 1994's Sonic & Knuckles. Development shifted to the 32X and then the Saturn and Microsoft Windows, and the game was redesigned as a 3D platform game for the 1996 holiday season. The plan was disrupted by illness, company politics, and an unfavorable visit by Sega executives. In place of X-treme, Sega released a port of the Genesis game Sonic 3D Blast, but did not release an original 3D Sonic platform game until Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast in 1998. The cancellation is considered an important factor in the Saturn's commercial failure, as it left the system with no original platform game featuring Sega's mascot. (Full article...)

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September 14

R. Nataraja Mudaliar

Keechaka Vadham (The Extermination of Keechaka) is an Indian silent film produced, directed, filmed and edited by R. Nataraja Mudaliar (pictured), and released in the late 1910s. No print of it is known to survive. The first Tamil film and the first film to be made in South India, it was shot in about five weeks at Mudaliar's production house, India Film Company. The screenplay by C. Rangavadivelu is based on an episode from the Virata Parva segment of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, focusing on Keechaka's attempts to woo Draupadi. The film stars Raju Mudaliar and Jeevarathnam as the central characters. Keechaka Vadham was commercially successful and received positive critical feedback. The film's success prompted the director to make a series of similar historical films that laid the foundation for the South Indian cinema industry. His works were an inspiration to other filmmakers, including Raghupathi Surya Prakasa and J. C. Daniel. (Full article...)

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September 15

Raymond Pace Alexander (1897–1974) was a civil rights leader, lawyer, and politician who was the first African-American judge appointed to the Pennsylvania courts of common pleas. In 1920, he became the first black graduate of the Wharton School of Business. He married in 1923 and in 1927 his wife, Sadie, became the first black woman to earn a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1923, Alexander became one of the leading civil rights attorneys in Philadelphia. He represented black defendants in high-profile cases, including the Trenton Six, a group of black men arrested for murder in Trenton, New Jersey. Alexander also entered politics, unsuccessfully running for judge multiple times. He finally ran for, and won, a seat on the Philadelphia City Council in 1951. After serving two terms, Alexander was appointed as the first black judge to sit on the courts of common pleas, where he served until his death in 1974. (Full article...)

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September 16

The western Mediterranean before the First Punic War, showing the Roman Republic in red and the Carthaginian Empire in grey

The Roman withdrawal from Africa in 255 BC was the attempt by the Roman Republic to rescue the survivors of their defeated expeditionary force to Carthaginian Africa (in what is now north-eastern Tunisia) during the First Punic War. A force of 390 warships fought and defeated 200 Carthaginian vessels off Cape Hermaeum (the modern Cape Bon or Ras ed-Dar), north of the town of Aspis. The Carthaginians had 114 of their ships captured, together with their crews, and 16 sunk. Most modern historians assume there were no Roman losses. The Romans landed in Aspis – where the Roman survivors of the previous year's invasion were besieged – sortied, dispersed the besiegers and raided the surrounding country for food. All then re-embarked and left for Italy. While returning the Roman fleet encountered a storm off the south-east corner of Sicily; 384 ships were sunk and more than 100,000 men were lost. (Full article...)

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September 17

Humberto near peak strength west of Bermuda

Hurricane Humberto was a large and powerful tropical cyclone that caused extensive wind damage in the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda during September 2019. It was the eighth named storm and third hurricane of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season. Humberto formed on September 13, then paralleled the eastern coastline of Florida until September 16, when it turned sharply northeastward and became a hurricane. It reached peak intensity as a Category 3 hurricane on September 18. After its center passed within 65 miles (100 km) of Bermuda on September 19, the storm transitioned the next day to a potent extratropical cyclone. Rip currents killed one person in Florida and another in North Carolina. In Bermuda, peak surface winds of around 110 mph (180 km/h), with higher gusts, caused widespread damage to trees, roofs, crops, and power lines. About 600 buildings had roof damage, and L.F. Wade International Airport and the Bermuda Weather Service campus suffered property damage. (Full article...)

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September 18

Acamptonectes fossil specimen discovered in Germany in 2005

Acamptonectes is a genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs, dolphin-like marine reptiles that lived during the Early Cretaceous around 130 million years ago. The first specimen—a partial adult skeleton—was discovered in Speeton, England, in 1958, but it was not formally described until 2012. Acamptonectes had unusual adaptations that made its trunk rigid, including tightly-fitting bones in the occiput (back and lower part of the skull) and interlocking vertebral centra, likely allowing it to swim at high speeds with a tuna-like form of locomotion. Other distinguishing characteristics include an extremely slender snout and unique ridges on the basioccipital bone of the braincase. As an ichthyosaur, Acamptonectes had large eye sockets and a tail fluke. Its teeth, which were slender and textured with longitudinal ridges, were probably adapted for impaling prey such as squid and fleshy fish. (Full article...)

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September 19

M-1 approaching Interstate 696

M-1 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the Metro Detroit area of the US state of Michigan. The highway runs from Detroit north-northwesterly to Pontiac. The Federal Highway Administration has listed it as the Automotive Heritage Trail, an All-American Road in the National Scenic Byways Program. Created after Detroit's Great Fire of 1805, the road follows the route of the Saginaw Trail, a Native American trail that linked Detroit with Pontiac, Flint, and Saginaw. M-1 passes through several historic districts in Detroit, and runs next to the Highland Park Ford Plant, home of the original moving assembly line used to produce Model Ts. Commonly known as Woodward Avenue, the street has become synonymous with Detroit's cruising culture and automotive industry. Downtown entertainment venues along Woodward include the Fox Theatre and the Majestic Theatre. M-1 exits Detroit at 8 Mile Road and runs through the city's northern suburbs in Oakland County. (Full article...)

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September 20

Portrait by Martin Archer Shee, 1833

William IV (1765–1837) was King of Britain and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death on 20 June 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded his elder brother George IV, becoming the last king and penultimate monarch of Britain's House of Hanover. William served in the Royal Navy in his youth, and was later nicknamed the "Sailor King". As his two older brothers died without leaving legitimate issue, he inherited the throne when he was 64 years old. His reign saw several reforms: the poor law was updated, child labour restricted, slavery abolished in nearly all of the British Empire, and the British electoral system refashioned by the Reform Act 1832. Although William did not engage in politics during his reign as much as earlier kings, he was the last British monarch to appoint a prime minister against the will of Parliament. He granted his German kingdom a short-lived liberal constitution. William was succeeded by his niece Victoria in Britain and his brother Ernest Augustus in Hanover. (Full article...)

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September 21

Banksia sceptrum, the sceptre banksia, is a plant that grows in Western Australia near the central west coast from Geraldton north through Kalbarri to Hamelin Pool, extending inland almost to Mullewa. It is generally a shrub up to 4 m (13 ft) in diameter and 2–4 m (7–13 ft) high, sometimes reaching 5 m (16 ft). First collected and grown by early settler James Drummond in Western Australia, it was described by Swiss botanist Carl Meissner in 1855. In nature, B. sceptrum grows in deep yellow or pale red sand in tall shrubland, commonly on dunes. It is killed in bushfires and regenerates by seed, the woody follicles opening with fire. B. sceptrum is one of the most striking yellow-flowered banksias, with tall bright flower spikes (inflorescences) that are well displayed on the ends of branches. Flowering is in summer, mainly December and January, though flowers are occasionally seen at other times. (Full article...)

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September 22

[[File:|195px| ]]

The Triumph of Cleopatra is an oil painting by the English artist William Etty, depicting a scene from Plutarch's Life of Antony and Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, in which Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, voyages to Tarsus to cement an alliance with the Roman general Mark Antony. The painting shows a large group of people in various states of nudity, watching her ship's arrival. First exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1821, the painting was an immediate success and made the then-obscure Etty famous almost overnight. Although some commentators considered it offensive and indecent, the painting's success prompted Etty to spend the next decade painting further history paintings containing nude figures, becoming well known for combining these with moral messages. (Full article...)

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September 23

Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional football. The stadium is situated on Harry Potts Way, named after the manager who won the 1959–60 First Division with the club, and has a capacity of 21,944. The Turf Moor site has been used for sporting activities since at least 1843, when Burnley Cricket Club moved to the area. In 1883, they invited Burnley F.C. to use a pitch adjacent to the cricket field. A grandstand and terraces were added in 1885. During the 1990s, the Longside and the Bee Hole End terraces were replaced by all-seater stands following the recommendations of the Taylor Report. The stadium's record attendance was set in 1924, when 54,775 people attended an FA Cup third round game between Burnley and Huddersfield Town. (Full article...)

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September 24

Bob Bates, president of Legend Entertainment

Star Control 3 is an action-adventure game developed by Legend Entertainment and published by Accolade. The third and final official entry in the Star Control trilogy, the game was released for MS-DOS on September 24, 1996, and Mac OS in 1998. It features a single-player campaign combining space exploration, alien dialogue, and ship-to-ship combat; the player engages in top-down battles between starships with unique abilities. To create this sequel, Accolade hired Legend (president pictured) after series creators Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford decided to pursue other projects. Legend was selected for their familiarity with Star Control and experience with interactive fiction writing. They designed the game in consultation with fans, replacing features from Star Control II that had received negative feedback. Star Control 3 was considered a critical and commercial success upon release, but later suffered from comparisons to the award-winning Star Control II. (Full article...)

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September 25

Plate 21, depicting a male red-capped parrot

Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots is an 1832 book by Edward Lear containing 42 hand-coloured lithographs (example pictured). Lear started painting parrots for the book in 1830 when he was 18 years old, and to get material for his book he studied live birds at the London Zoo and in private collections. Although the book was a financial failure, Lear's paintings of parrots established his reputation as one of the best natural history artists of his time. It found him work with leading contemporary naturalists, and the young Queen Victoria engaged him to help her with her painting technique. Lear's works influenced children's illustrators such as Beatrix Potter and Maurice Sendak. He continued with his nature painting for some years, but from about 1835 he became concerned about his failing eyesight, and increasingly concentrated on his nonsense works and landscape painting. He may have contributed to the illustrations for Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle. (Full article...)

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September 26

Operation Buffalo's Breakaway nuclear test

British nuclear tests were conducted at Maralinga in the Woomera Prohibited Area in South Australia between 1956 and 1963. A total of seven major nuclear tests took place at Maralinga, with explosive yields ranging from approximately 1 to 27 kilotonnes of TNT (4 to 110 terajoules). Two major test series were conducted: Operation Buffalo (final test pictured) in 1956 and Operation Antler the following year. One bomb used cobalt pellets as a tracer for determining yield, resulting in rumours that Britain was developing a cobalt bomb. The site was also used for trials of neutron initiators and tests on the compression of nuclear weapon cores and the effects of fire on atomic weapons. It was left contaminated with radioactive waste, and a clean-up was attempted in 1967. A further clean-up was completed in 2000. In 1994, the Australian government paid $13.5 million in compensation to the traditional owners, the Maralinga Tjarutja people. The land was restored to them in 2014. (Full article...)

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September 27

Skull of a Transandinomys specimen

Transandinomys is a genus of rodents in the tribe Oryzomyini of the family Cricetidae—a grouping of medium-sized, soft-furred rice rats. It includes two species—T. bolivaris and T. talamancae—found in forests from Honduras in Central America to southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Venezuela in South America. The upperparts—brownish in T. bolivaris and reddish in T. talamancae—are much darker than the whitish underparts. Both species are characterized by very long vibrissae (whiskers), but those of T. bolivaris are particularly long. In addition, several other morphological differences distinguish the two, including wider first upper molars in T. bolivaris. Both species live on the ground, are active during the night, eat both plant and animal matter, and construct nests of vegetation. They are hosts to various external parasites. They are in no apparent danger of extinction and have been assessed as least-concern species on the IUCN Red List. (Full article...)

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September 28

A field of iceberg lettuce

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is an annual plant of the daisy family, Asteraceae, often grown as a leaf vegetable, and sometimes for its stem or seeds. Often used for salads, lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as soups, sandwiches and wraps. In addition to its use as a leafy green, it has religious and medicinal significance. World production of lettuce and chicory for 2017 was 27 million tonnes, 56 percent of which came from China. Generally grown as a hardy annual, lettuce is easily cultivated, although it requires relatively low temperatures to prevent it from flowering quickly. It can be plagued by numerous nutrient deficiencies, as well as insect and mammal pests, and fungal and bacterial diseases. Lettuce is a rich source of vitamin K and vitamin A, and a moderate source of folate and iron. Contaminated lettuce can be a source of bacterial, viral, and parasitic outbreaks in humans, including E. coli and Salmonella. (Full article...)

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September 29

The two submarines of the U-1 class, U-1 and U-2, were built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Constructed according to an American design, they were launched in 1909. A diving chamber, wheels for traveling along the seabed, and other experimental features were tested extensively in sea trials. Their gasoline engines were replaced around the start of World War I over safety and efficiency concerns. The boats have been described by naval historians as obsolete by the time they were commissioned in 1911. Both submarines were mobilized briefly during the Balkan Wars, and otherwise served as training boats before 1915. From 1915 to 1918 they conducted reconnaissance cruises out of Trieste and Pola, though neither sank any enemy vessels during the war. Facing defeat in October 1918, the Austro-Hungarian government transferred the bulk of its fleet, including these submarines, to the newly formed State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs to avoid having to hand its ships over to the Allied Powers. (Full article...)

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September 30

[[File:|140px|Wall painting of the incident in Gaza ]]

Wall painting of the incident in Gaza

The killing of Muhammad al-Durrah took place in the Gaza Strip on 30 September 2000, during the widespread protests and riots of the Second Intifada. Jamal al-Durrah and his 12-year-old son Muhammad were filmed by Talal Abu Rahma, a Palestinian television cameraman freelancing for France 2, as the two were caught in crossfire between Israeli and Palestinian forces. The footage shows the pair crouching behind a concrete cylinder, the boy crying and the father waving, then a burst of gunfire and dust, with the boy slumping over. Some of the footage was broadcast in France with a voiceover from Charles Enderlin, who told viewers that the al-Durrahs had been the target of Israeli fire, killing the boy. This interpretation has been questioned by critics and by the Israel Defense Forces, which retracted an initial apology. After an emotional public funeral, Muhammad was hailed throughout the Muslim world as a martyr, with the scene appearing on postage stamps. (Full article...)

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