Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 August 12

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Today's featured article
North Island is the northernmost island in the Houtman Abrolhos, a coral reef archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mid West Western Australia. Located approximately 14 km (9 mi) from the nearest island group, it is one of the largest islands in the Houtman Abrolhos, and one of the few to support dune systems. It has relatively diverse flora dominated by chenopod shrubs and fauna that includes the introduced Tammar Wallaby, around 7 species of reptile, and about 15 resident bird species. Discovered and surveyed in 1840, North Island has been a seasonal camp for western rock lobster fishermen since the beginning of the 20th century, and this remains the principal focus of human activity on the island. There is also a small amount of tourism, though for the most part it is reserved as conservation habitat for vegetation communities and rare birds. (more...) Recently featured: Malagasy cuisine – Numerical weather prediction – Section 116 of the Constitution of Australia Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that three-time Paralympian Amanda Fraser (pictured) has won medals in both athletics and swimming? ... that after the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority ordered the demolition of Wharetiki House, its powers were for the first time tested in the High Court? ... that Ethical Oil, a book that argues in favour of the exploitation the Athabasca oil sands, won the National Business Book Award in 2011? ... that the schooner Shearwater was hit by falling debris from the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001? ... that Lord Irvine dismissed a record of fifteen magistrates of England and Wales in a single year in 1999? ... that "Miracle Man" was the first episode of The X-Files written by Howard Gordon without his long-term collaborator Alex Gansa? ... that Thelma Pressman opened the first microwave cooking school in the United States? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Riot police in London Apple wins a temporary injunction in a patent lawsuit, blocking the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in most of the European Union. Rioting, initially sparked by a fatal police shooting in London, spreads across parts of England (riot police pictured). Manuel Pinto da Costa is elected President of São Tomé and Príncipe. The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, the longest guided busway in the world, opens in England. Juno, the first solar-powered spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter, is launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
August 12: Mother's Day in Thailand 1323 – Sweden and the Novgorod Republic signed the Treaty of Nöteborg to temporarily end the Swedish–Novgorodian Wars. 1676 – Puritans and their Native American allies killed Wampanoag sachem Metacomet (known as "King Philip"), essentially ending King Philip's War. 1952 – Thirteen Jewish poets in Moscow were executed for espionage based on false confessions. 1969 – Riots erupted in the Bogside area of Derry and spread across much of Northern Ireland. 1981 – The IBM Personal Computer (pictured), the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform, was introduced. More anniversaries: August 11 – August 12 – August 13 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now August 12, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A Kuna woman selling molas, a textile art form used to make the clothing typically worn by Kuna women. The Kuna are an indigenous people of Panama and Colombia, with a total population of about 50,000. The greatest number of Kuna people live on small islands in the comarca of Kuna Yala.

Photo: Markus Leupold-Löwenthal

Recently featured: Salar de Talar, Chile – River Amstel – Roald Amundsen

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