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From today's featured article

Randy Travis (born 1959) is an American country and gospel music singer and songwriter. He has recorded more than 20 studio albums and charted more than 50 singles on Billboard's Hot Country Songs charts, including 16 that reached the number-one position. Travis's commercial success began in the mid-1980s with the release of his album Storms of Life, which was certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. His major songs include "On the Other Hand", "Forever and Ever, Amen", "I Told You So", "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart", and "Three Wooden Crosses". Travis is noted as a key figure in the neotraditional country movement, a return to more traditional sounds within the genre following the country pop crossovers of the early 1980s. Since surviving a near-fatal stroke in 2013, which severely limited his singing and speaking ability, he has released archival recordings and made few public appearances. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Alejo Igoa

... that Alejo Igoa (pictured) hosts the most-subscribed Spanish-language YouTube channel?
... that Swertia japonica was used as an insecticide for clothes during the Edo period?
... that Joseph M'Bouroukounda was both an Olympic boxer and an art teacher?
... that a dam on Madura Island began construction in 1980, triggered a violent incident in 1993, and only opened in 2016?
... that Max-Emmanuel Mader pretended to be deaf and mute when Nazi Germany occupied France so that his accent could not be identified?
... that the dedication ceremony for the Cathedral of Christ the King was attended by both the governor of Georgia and an imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan?
... that Jordan Howlett went from sleeping in his car to amassing millions of followers on TikTok?
... that, in his autobiography, footballer Lê Công Vinh criticised a teammate for not passing the ball to him?
... that KING fought and then bought KONG?

In the news

Indonesian protests

A magnitude-6.0 earthquake in Afghanistan leaves more than 600 people dead.
Protests in Indonesia (pictured) erupt over increased benefits and salaries given to parliament members.
Prime Minister of Thailand Paetongtarn Shinawatra is removed from office by the Constitutional Court for misconduct.
Targeted strikes by the Israeli Air Force kill several ministers of the Houthi–led government of Yemen, including Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi.

On this day

September 1: Labour Day in Canada and Labor Day in the United States (2025)

Title page of the soprano part book

1610 – Claudio Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine (page pictured) was first printed in Venice, dedicated to Pope Paul V.
1804 – German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding discovered one of the largest main-belt asteroids, naming it Juno after the Roman goddess.
1902 – The first science fiction film, titled A Trip to the Moon and based on From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne, was released in France.
1937 – The first group of around 172,000 Koreans were deported by Soviet authorities from the Russian Far East to the Kazakh and Uzbek SSRs; around 10 to 25 percent died.
2000 – Speakers' Corner, a free speech area in Hong Lim Park in Singapore, was launched.

Hannah Glasse (d. 1770)
Father Chrysanthus (b. 1905)
Charles Atangana (d. 1943)
Barbara Ehrenreich (d. 2022)

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Kim Wilkins

The Aurealis Award for Best Horror Novel is one of the Aurealis Awards presented annually by the Australia-based Chimaera Publications and WASFF to published works to "recognise the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy, [and] horror writers". To qualify, a work must have been first published by an Australian citizen or permanent resident between 1 November of the prior year and 31 October of the corresponding year; the presentation ceremony is held the following year. Since 2005, honourable mentions and high commendations have been awarded intermittently. Kim Wilkins (pictured) has won the award three times, while three people have each won the award twice: Trent Jamieson, Kirstyn McDermott and Kaaron Warren. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Castle Square is a historic square in Warsaw, Poland, that serves as the gateway to Warsaw's Old Town. The square features the Royal Castle and Sigismund's Column, and is surrounded by historic townhouses. It forms the starting point of the Royal Route. The Old Town, including Castle Square, suffered extensive damage during World War II and was reconstructed in the postwar period. In 1980, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed the Historic Centre of Warsaw on the list of World Heritage Sites as an example of the near-total reconstruction of a historic town centre. This photograph shows an elevated view of Castle Square in 2024, as seen from the tower of St. Anne's Church, facing roughly northwards. Sigismund's Column can be seen in the foreground on the left, and the Royal Castle is the building on the right of the image. A part of the facade and roof of St. John's Archcathedral is visible in the background.

Photograph credit: Rhododendrites

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