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From today's featured article

The Nile is a major river in northeast Africa that empties into the Mediterranean Sea. At 7,088 kilometers (4,404 mi) in length, it is the longest river in the world, although the volume of water it carries is much smaller than other major rivers. The Nile has two major tributaries: the White Nile and the Blue Nile. Geologically, the Nile is a young river and has followed its present course for only 15,000 years. The Nile was the foundation of the ancient Egyptian civilization, which relied on the river for nearly every aspect of life. Many Europeans were fascinated by the Nile, and their explorations around Lake Victoria in the late 19th century located the source of the river. The Nile plays a critical role in the economies of Egypt and Sudan, which rely on it for irrigation. More than a dozen dams have been built in the Nile Basin, altering the river's annual flood cycle and restricting the transport of silt downstream to the Nile Delta. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Nicholas Galitzine

... that Nicholas Galitzine (pictured) said he ate around 4,000 calories a day while preparing to play He-Man?
... that a mistake made by a novice truck driver led to Luxembourg City's "worst disaster since the end of [World War II]"?
... that Sid Brooks served tours of duty in Korea and Vietnam unscathed before being knocked unconscious by an ice ball at a football game?
... that women in a South Korean province offer baekseolgi and fresh water to a star god believed to bring prosperity to the family?
... that a game journalist called Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop "as Japanese as tempura"?
... that, two decades after Rosemary Kanyuka said Malawi's women suffered from "inadequate laws" without a law commissioner, she herself was appointed to that role?
... that the Workers' Party supports the accession of Serbia to the European Union despite declaring itself to be Eurosceptic?
... that one critic called Louis Alexander MacKay the "most angry and clever satirist" in Canada?
... that The Art of the Bawdy Song was one of the first classical albums to have a Parental Advisory sticker?

In the news

John Pardon

In mathematics, the Fields Medal is awarded to Yu Deng, John Pardon (pictured), Jacob Tsimerman and Hong Wang.
Co-president of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega announces the suspension of the next general election, declaring that the country will no longer have elections.
Andy Burnham succeeds Keir Starmer as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party following a leadership election.
Carlos Vila Nova is re-elected President of São Tomé and Príncipe.

On this day

July 26: Independence Day in the Maldives (1965), Kargil Vijay Diwas in India

Flag of Stellaland

1759 – French and Indian War: Troops led by French brigadier general François-Charles de Bourlamaque attempted to blow up Fort Carillon, near present-day Ticonderoga, New York, rather than defending it against approaching British forces.
1882 – Boer mercenaries established the Republic of Stellaland (later flag pictured) in land claimed by the United Kingdom as part of British Bechuanaland.
1953 – The Battle of the Samichon River, the last engagement of the Korean War, ended a few hours before the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement.
1968 – After coming second to Nguyễn Văn Thiệu in a rigged presidential election, Trương Đình Dzu was jailed by a South Vietnamese military court for illicit currency transactions.
2012 – The New Irish Republican Army was formed from a merger of a number of dissident republican militant groups.

George Bernard Shaw (b. 1856)
Robert Todd Lincoln (d. 1926)
Jason Statham (b. 1967)
Mike Enzi (d. 2021)

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Today's featured picture

The tiger bee fly (Xenox tigrinus) is a species of insect in the family Bombyliidae, the bee flies. It is found in parts of the United States and Canada. Its black-and-white body and patterned wings resemble the coloration of a large bee, an example of Batesian mimicry, which helps to deter predators. Females lay their eggs near the nests of carpenter bees, particularly the eastern carpenter bee, and the developing larvae parasitize the bee's young. Adult tiger bee flies are also pollinators. This tiger bee fly was photographed on a leaf in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York City.

Photograph credit: Rhododendrites

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