Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 December 13

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From today's featured article

During World War II, Japanese-occupied Singapore was bombed by Allied air forces. Most of the 11 raids by U.S. Army Air Forces long-range bomber units between November 1944 and March 1945 targeted the naval base and dockyard facilities on the island, though several minelaying missions were conducted in nearby waters. After the American bombers were redeployed, the British Royal Air Force assumed responsibility for minelaying operations near Singapore and these continued until 24 May 1945. While significant damage was inflicted on Singapore's important naval base and commercial port (damage at docks pictured), some raids on these targets were not successful and other attacks on oil storage facilities on nearby islands were ineffective. The minelaying campaign disrupted Japanese shipping in the area, causing some loss and damage, but was not decisive. The Allied air attacks raised the morale of Singapore's civilian population, who believed that the raids marked the impending liberation of the city. Civilian casualties were limited, though one attack rendered hundreds homeless and civilian workers were killed during attacks on military facilities. (Full article...)

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From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

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In the news

The Alliance Lepep coalition, led by Anerood Jugnauth, wins the general election in Mauritius.
The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee releases a report strongly criticizing the Central Intelligence Agency's use of torture.
Former Chinese domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang (pictured) is arrested and expelled from the Communist Party of China.
NASA successfully conducts the maiden flight of its Orion spacecraft.
Dozens of people are killed or injured in clashes between security forces and insurgents in Grozny, Chechen Republic, Russia.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: Ralph H. Baer – Queen Fabiola of Belgium – Jean Béliveau

On this day...

December 13: Arba'een (Shia Islam, 2014); St Lucy's Day in Italy and Scandinavia

1643 – First English Civil War: Parliamentary forces serving under Sir William Waller (pictured) led a successful surprise attack on a winter garrison of Royalist infantry and cavalry.
1758 – While transporting Acadians from Prince Edward Island to France, the Duke William sank in the North Atlantic with the loss of over 360 lives, one of the greatest marine disasters in Canadian history.
1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese forces captured Nanjing in China and then began to commit numerous atrocities over the next several weeks.
1989 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army engaged in a fierce firefight with the King's Own Scottish Borderers at a vehicle checkpoint complex in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.
2001 – The Parliament of India was attacked by five gunmen, resulting in 12 deaths, including those of the perpetrators.

More anniversaries: December 12 – December 13 – December 14

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It is now December 13, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

Maria Anna (1606–46) was the youngest daughter of King Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria. A marriage planned for her in the 1620s to the future Charles I of England, a Protestant, did not take place as she was Catholic and neither one wanted to convert. Instead, in 1631 Maria Anna married the Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand III. Theirs was reportedly a happy marriage, and as Holy Roman Empress Maria Anna was politically active.

This portrait was completed by Diego Velázquez in 1630, a year before Maria Anna's wedding.

Painting: Diego Velázquez

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