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No. 79 Squadron Sabres

No. 79 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) flight training squadron that has been formed on four occasions. Established in April 1943 as a fighter unit equipped with Supermarine Spitfires, it saw combat in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II. The squadron disbanded in November 1945 but re-formed in 1962 to operate CAC Sabres (pictured) to help defend Thailand against a feared attack from neighbouring states. No. 79 Squadron was active again in Malaysia between 1986 and 1988, operating Mirage III fighters and a single DHC-4 Caribou transport. Re-formed in its present incarnation in 1998, it is stationed at RAAF Base Pearce, where it has operated Hawk 127 jet training aircraft since 2000. The unit's main role is to provide introductory jet aircraft training to RAAF pilots and refresher training on the Hawk for experienced pilots. No. 79 Squadron also supports Australian Army and Royal Australian Navy training exercises in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Ethel Ogden

... that Canadian painter Ethel Ogden (pictured) was central to developing china painting within the Fine Arts Department at the Mount Allison Ladies' College?
... that in Arlington County Board v. Richards, the U.S. Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of one of the first American residential zoned parking programs?
... that Ulf Merbold, the first West German in space, grew up in East Germany?
... that judge advocate Julian M. Wright was once a fencer, and President Theodore Roosevelt attended one of his matches in 1902?
... that Ulmus chuchuanus had to be renamed due to another fossil already having its original name?
... that a photograph by Maks Levin, showing destroyed buildings in Kyiv, was featured on the cover of a March 2022 edition of the German magazine Der Spiegel?
... that to convince Canadian regulators that Vancouver could support a new ethnic radio station, the founder of CJVB documented local restaurants and Sikh temples?
... that most of the Chinese in the Chinatown of Phoenix, Arizona, had emigrated from the same village in China's Hoiping County?

In the news

Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Macron (pictured) is re-elected as President of France.
José Ramos-Horta is elected as President of East Timor.
Russia's Black Sea Fleet flagship, the cruiser Moskva, sinks off the coast of Ukraine.
Flooding across KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, leaves at least 430 people dead.

On this day

April 25: Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand (1915); Liberation Day in Italy (1945)

Dedication of New Zealand's National War Memorial

799 – Leo III was attacked by partisans of his predecessor Adrian I, but was rescued and taken to Charlemagne, as described in the epic Karolus magnus et Leo papa.
1644 – Ming–Qing transition: The Ming dynasty of China fell when the Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide during a peasant rebellion led by Li Zicheng.
1932 – Gladys Elinor Watkins consecrated the carillon of the National War Memorial in New Zealand (dedication pictured).
1946 – Two passenger trains collided in Naperville, Illinois, leaving 45 people dead and some 125 injured.
1990 – Violeta Chamorro took office as president of Nicaragua, becoming the first female head of state in the Americas to have been elected in her own right.

Anders Celsius (d. 1744)
Kojo Tovalou Houénou (b. 1887)
Henck Arron (b. 1936)

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Eugene Levy, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series winner

The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2019, until May 31, 2020, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was originally to be held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead hosted from the Staples Center, while winners gave speeches remotely from their homes or other locations. It aired live on September 20, 2020, following the 72nd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 14–17 and 19. During the ceremony, Emmy Awards were handed out in 23 categories. At the main ceremony, Schitt's Creek won all seven comedy categories including Outstanding Comedy Series, becoming the first comedy series to complete a sweep of those categories. Succession and Watchmen each won four awards, including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Limited Series, respectively. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

St Lawrence Jewry is a Church of England guild church in the City of London on Gresham Street, next to Guildhall. The medieval church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and rebuilt to a design by Sir Christopher Wren. The building suffered extensive damage on 29 December 1940, during the Blitz, and was restored in 1957 by Cecil Brown to Wren's original design. It is the official church of the Lord Mayor of London. Wren's church has an aisle only on the north side (in the left-hand side of this photograph), divided from the nave by Corinthian columns. The ceiling is divided into sunken panels, ornamented with wreaths and branches.

Photograph credit: David Iliff

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