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Vedel depicted on a Ukrainian stamp

Artemy Vedel (1767–1808) was a Ukrainian-born Russian composer of military and liturgical music. He made major contributions to the music of Ukraine, producing works based on Ukrainian folk melodies, and is one of the greatest composers of Ukrainian and Russian classical music of his era. Born in Kyiv, he studied at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, after which he was appointed its conductor. The army general Andrei Levanidov acquired his services to lead Kyiv's regimental chapel and choir, where he reached the peak of his creativity as a composer. He was then based in Kharkiv but returned to Kyiv when cultural life was affected by Tsar Paul I's decrees. He became a novice monk of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, but was accused of threatening the royal family and incarcerated as a mental patient. His work was censored while Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. More than 80 of his works are known, including 31 choral concertos, but many of his compositions are lost. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Saturn and its rings

... that the visual appeal of its rings (pictured) has made Saturn popular in fiction?
... that for an additional US$25, Martin Research shipped its 1975 book on microcomputers with an Intel 8008?
... that the 2017 acquisition of Katz Broadcasting by the E. W. Scripps Company was seen as a validation of the business of diginets?
... that aircraft helping to fight the Poe Fire in northern California in September 2001 were grounded by the FAA following the September 11 attacks?
... that Elvis Costello and the Attractions were consistently intoxicated during the recording of the album Trust?
... that in the 1970s, the Shelton Hotel avoided demolition after seven elderly residents and a secretary refused to move out?
... that Minuscule 1689, a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, went missing for nearly 100 years after it was moved during World War I?
... that Greg Noire aims to "de-concert" his concert photography?

In the news

Landslide in Ubatuba, Brazil

Floods and landslides (pictured) leave at least 48 people dead in the Brazilian state of São Paulo.
A bus crash in Gualaca, Panama, kills at least 39 people.
Cyclone Gabrielle causes widespread damage and flooding across New Zealand.
Nikos Christodoulides is elected President of Cyprus.
In American football, the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.
A megadrought and heatwave cause forest fires and a state of emergency in Chile.

On this day

February 24: Independence Day in Estonia (1918)

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

1720 – War of the Quadruple Alliance: Spanish forces began a failed assault on the British settlement of Nassau in the Bahamas.
1809 – After having stood for only 15 years, London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (pictured), the third building of that name, burned down.
1968 – Vietnam War: South Vietnamese forces led by Ngô Quang Trưởng recaptured the citadel of Huế.
1978 – Five men disappeared after attending a college basketball game in Chico, California; the bodies of four of them were discovered in June that year.

Edmund Andros (d. 1714)
Carlo Buonaparte (d. 1785)
Risa Hontiveros (b. 1966)

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Tropical Storm Manuel near hurricane intensity

The 2013 Pacific hurricane season was an above-average year in which twenty named storms developed. The 2013 hurricane season officially began on May 15 in the East Pacific, coinciding with the formation of Tropical Storm Alvin, and on June 1 in the Central Pacific; it ended on November 30 in both basins. The season produced twenty-one tropical depressions. All but one further intensified into tropical storms and nine further intensified to become hurricanes. Despite this level of activity, only one hurricane – Raymond – strengthened into a major hurricane. The most significant storm, in terms of loss of life and damage, was Hurricane Manuel (pictured). Forming in mid-September, Manuel attained its peak as a minimal Category 1 hurricane before moving ashore on the coastline of Mexico. In total, the storm contributed to 123 confirmed fatalities and $4.2&nsbsp;billion (2013 USD) in damage. (Full list...)

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The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat twin-turbofan attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force. Nicknamed the Warthog, it has been in service since 1976, and is named for the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, a World War II–era fighter-bomber. The A-10 was designed to provide close air support to ground troops by attacking armored vehicles, tanks, and other enemy ground forces, with a secondary mission of forward air control, which involves directing other aircraft in attacks on ground targets. This A-10, assigned to 74th Fighter Squadron, was photographed in 2011 flying over Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Photograph credit: William Greer

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