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Reconstruction of a classical-era galley

The naval Battle of Drepana took place in 249 BC during the First Punic War near the city of Drepana (modern Trapani) in western Sicily, between a Carthaginian fleet under Adherbal and a Roman fleet commanded by Publius Claudius Pulcher. Pulcher was blockading the Carthaginian stronghold of Lilybaeum (modern Marsala) when he decided to attack their fleet, which was nearby in the harbour of Drepana. The Roman fleet sailed by night to carry out a surprise attack but became scattered in the dark. Adherbal was able to lead his fleet out to sea before it could be trapped in harbour; having gained sea room in which to manoeuvre he then counter-attacked. The Romans were pinned against the shore, and after a day of fighting were heavily defeated by the more manoeuvrable Carthaginian ships with their better-trained crews. After this, Carthage's greatest naval victory of the war, they took the offensive and all but swept the Romans from the sea. (Full article...)

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In the news

Sumatran earthquake damage

At least ten people are killed in an earthquake (damage pictured) in West Sumatra, Indonesia.
Russia launches an invasion of Ukraine.
The Winter Olympics conclude in Beijing, China.
At least 217 people are killed due to mudslides and floods in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

On this day

February 26

Napoleon leaving Elba

1606 – Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon made the first recorded European landing in Australia, although he believed that he was on New Guinea.
1815 – Napoleon escaped from the Italian island of Elba (depicted), to which he had been exiled after the signing of the Treaty of Fontainebleau.
1917 – The Original Dixieland Jass Band recorded "Livery Stable Blues", the first jazz single ever released.
1935 – With the aid of a radio station in Daventry, England, and two receiving antennae, Scottish engineer and inventor Robert Watson-Watt first demonstrated the use of radar.
2012 – African-American teenager Trayvon Martin was killed by neighborhood-watch coordinator George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, prompting a nationwide controversy.

Manfred, King of Sicily (d. 1266)
Camille Flammarion (b. 1842)
Raosaheb Gogte (d. 2000)

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Today's featured picture

The Moscow Metro is a rapid-transit system serving Moscow, the capital of Russia, and the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. This photograph shows the central hall of Elektrozavodskaya, a station on the Arbatsko–Pokrovskaya line. The station was built as part of the third stage of the Moscow Metro and opened in 1944, and is known for its architectural decoration, including rows of inset electric lights on the ceiling and marble bas-reliefs on the walls.

Photograph credit: Alexander Savin

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