Wikipedia:Main Page history/2016 October 18

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From today's featured article

Freida Pinto (born 18 October 1984) is an Indian actress who has appeared mainly in American and British films. Born and raised in Mumbai, she decided to become an actress at a young age. She was educated at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, where she took part in amateur plays. After graduation, she briefly worked as a model and then as a television presenter. Pinto made her cinematic debut with the British drama Slumdog Millionaire (2008), for which she received several nominations at the British Academy Film Awards, the MTV Movie Awards and the Teen Choice Awards. Her biggest commercial success came with the 2011 science fiction film Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The same year, she portrayed the title character in Michael Winterbottom's Trishna. Her performance in the biographical film Desert Dancer (2014) received critical acclaim. Although the Indian media has credited Pinto with breaking stereotypes of Indian women in foreign films, she has been a lesser-known figure in Indian cinema. She is a vocal advocate for underprivileged children and women. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Comet Hale–Bopp

... that Alan Hale, who discovered Comet Hale–Bopp (pictured), said that he "predicted" its appearance would trigger suicides—and it turned out he was right?
... that Imagen Televisión, which launches today, is the first new commercial television network in Mexico since 1993?
... that Finlay Wild has won the Ben Nevis Race seven times in a row?
... that the Ağın Bridge reestablished a road connection between Ağın and Elazığ 40 years after they were disconnected by the creation of the Keban reservoir?
... that Gesomyrmex macrops was named in reference to the ant species' large eyes?
... that although Fehmi Agani worked for reconciliation between Serbs and Albanians, his murder during the Kosovo War has been attributed to Serbian security forces?
... that soccer video game Breakaway has encouraged children in the West Bank not to discriminate by gender, thereby challenging social norms?
... that Richard D. Trentlage was known for his wiener jingle?

In the news

António Guterres

Former Prime Minister of Portugal António Guterres (pictured) is elected Secretary-General of the United Nations.
King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-serving head of state, dies at the age of 88.
Bob Dylan is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the Colombian conflict.
Hurricane Matthew kills more than 1,000 people, mainly in Haiti.

On this day...

October 18: Feast day of Saint Luke; Independence Day in Azerbaijan (1991); Alaska Day (1867)

Regency TR-1 transistor radio

1009 – Under orders from Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church now within the walled Old City of Jerusalem, was destroyed.
1356 – The most significant earthquake to have occurred in Central Europe in recorded history destroyed Basel, Switzerland, and caused much destruction in a vast region extending into France and Germany.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: In an act of retaliation against ports that supported Patriot activities in the early stages of the war, the Royal Navy destroyed what is now Portland, Maine.
1954 – The first commercial transistor radio, the Regency TR-1 (pictured), was introduced in Indianapolis, Indiana, US.
2007 – A suicide attack on a motorcade carrying former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto in Karachi caused at least 139 deaths and 450 injuries.

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Today's featured picture

The Fog Warning is an oil painting on canvas completed in 1885 by the American painter Winslow Homer (1836–1910). It depicts a lone fisherman in a dory who has caught several halibut, but must return to his ship because a fog blowing up is threatening to cut him off. This painting is now held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Painting: Winslow Homer

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