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Today's featured article

The Rugby World Cup is the premier international rugby union competition in the world. The event is organised by the the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board, and is contested by the men's national rugby union teams. The inaugural tournament was held in 1987, hosted by both Australia and New Zealand, and now held every four years. The winners are awarded the Webb Ellis Cup which is named after the pupil of Rugby school credited with the game's invention. The tournament is one of the largest international national sporting competitions in the world with 20 nations competing and a cumulative world television audience - including all of the matches - of 3.5 billion in the most recent tournament. The title of world champions is currently held by England, who won the 2003 tournament, held in Australia. Other champions include South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, with Australia being the most successful with two titles. The next Rugby World Cup will be hosted in France during September and October of 2007. (more...)

Recently featured: Hungarian Revolution of 1956 – Procellariidae – Vivien Leigh

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's newest articles:

... that, as a consequence of their victory in the Second battle of Polotsk (pictured), the Russian army captured the French supply depot at Vitebsk and broke Napoleon's northern front in Russia?
... that knismesis and gargalesis are the scientific terms used to describe the two different sensations produced by tickling?
... that cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Spelke showed that human beings are born with many innate skills?
... that the town of Hueyapan in the Mexican state of Morelos was conquered by the female conquistador Maria de Estrada?
...that after receiving global media attention for pulling her kittens out of a burning garage, Scarlett the cat and her kittens received 7000 adoption requests?
...that the film Joshua Then and Now was Canada's entry to the 1985 Cannes Film Festival?

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In the news

In Panama, a proposal to expand and double the capacity of the Panama Canal (pictured) is approved in a national referendum.
United Nations envoy Jan Pronk is expelled from Sudan after he blogs on recent military defeats in the Darfur conflict.
Fernando Alonso of the Renault F1 auto racing team wins the 2006 Formula One world championship with a second place finish in the final race of the season.
Icelandic whalers kill a Fin Whale, stating that the International Whaling Commission ban on commercial whaling does not apply.
Tata Steel agrees to buy Anglo-Dutch steel firm Corus in the largest ever Indian takeover of a foreign company.

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On this day...

October 24: Eid ul-Fitr (2006); United Nations Day; Independence Day in Zambia (1964).

1260 - The Cathedral of Chartres (pictured) was dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France.
1648 - The Peace of Westphalia was signed, ending the Thirty Years' War and "officially" recognizing the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and Swiss Confederation as independent states.
1929 - The Great Depression: The New York Stock Exchange crashed on "Black Thursday", setting off a chain of bankruptcies and triggering a worldwide economic depression.
1945 - The UN Charter, the constitution of the United Nations, entered into force.
1960 - A prototype of the Soviet R-16 intercontinental ballistic missile exploded on the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, killing over 100 people in the Nedelin catastrophe.

Recent days: October 23 – October 22 – October 21

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Today's featured picture

A wakizashi, a traditional Japanese sword, on display at the Tokyo National Museum. The wakizashi is the smaller cousin of the katana and together the two swords were worn as a matched pair, or daisho, by samurai warriors. Towards the end of the Edo period, samurai swords became elaborate status symbols, with lavish decoration on the hilt and scabbard displaying the owner's wealth.

Photo credit: Chris 73
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This Wikipedia is written in English. Started in 2001, it currently contains 1,449,400 articles. Many other Wikipedias are available; the largest are listed below.