Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 December 8

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Today's featured article
The Xá Lợi Pagoda raids were a series of synchronized attacks on Buddhist pagodas in the major cities of South Vietnam on August 21, 1963. The raids were executed by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces and combat police, both of which took their orders directly from Ngo Dinh Nhu, the younger brother of the Roman Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem. The Xá Lợi Pagoda, the largest in the South Vietnamese capital, Saigon, was the most prominent of the temples raided. Over 1,400 Buddhists were arrested, and estimates of the death toll and missing ranged up to the hundreds. At first, the Ngo family claimed that the army had carried out the raids, something their ally the United States initially believed. However, this was later debunked, and the incident prompted the US to turn against the regime and begin exploring alternative leadership options, eventually leading to Diem's overthrow in a coup. In South Vietnam itself, the raids stoked widespread anger. Several high-ranking public servants resigned, and university and high school students boycotted classes and staged riotous demonstrations, resulting in further mass incarcerations. As most of the students were from middle-class public service and military families, the arrests caused further upset among the Ngo family's power base. (more...) Recently featured: USS Arizona – McDonnell XF-85 Goblin – Adenanthos obovatus Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that some important "bronzes" (example pictured) aren't bronze at all, but copper electrotypes? ... that Hieronim Ossoliński, a 16th-century Polish politician who helped to unite Poland and Lithuania, also wanted to establish a Protestant national church? ... that Paris Mountain was named for the Indian trader Richard Pearis? ... that East German politician Gustav Sobottka lost both of his sons; one died in a Communist prison and one shortly after liberation from a Nazi concentration camp? ... that the Gazi Race, named in honor of Gazi Mustafa Kemal, the founder of the Turkish Republic, was won by racehorses owned by succeeding presidents İsmet İnönü and Celâl Bayar? ... that during the 1960s, some women opted to circumvent restaurant restrictions on women's clothing by wearing palazzo trousers or culottes as evening wear? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Dmitry Medvedev Positive Slovenia, led by Ljubljana mayor Zoran Janković, wins a narrow plurality in the Slovenian parliamentary election. After 541 days of negotiations, a new Belgian government is sworn in, with Elio Di Rupo as prime minister. United Russia, with incumbent President Dmitry Medvedev (pictured) at the top of the party list, wins a majority of seats in the Russian legislative election. The first summit of CELAC, a bloc of Latin American and Caribbean nations, takes place in Caracas, Venezuela. The United Kingdom expels all Iranian diplomats from the country following an attack on its embassy in Tehran. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
December 8: Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Roman Catholic Church); Bodhi Day in Japan 1432 – The first battle of the Lithuanian Civil War between the forces of Švitrigaila and Sigismund Kęstutaitis was fought near the modern town of Ashmyany. 1854 – In his apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogmatic definition of Immaculate Conception, which holds that the Virgin Mary was born free of original sin. 1912 – Leaders of the German Empire held an Imperial War Council to discuss the possibility that war might break out. 1980 – Former Beatle John Lennon (pictured) was assassinated in the entrance of the Dakota apartments in New York City. 1991 – Leaders of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine signed the Belavezha Accords, agreeing to dissolve the Soviet Union and establish the Commonwealth of Independent States. More anniversaries: December 7 – December 8 – December 9 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now December 8, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A White-headed dwarf gecko (Lygodactylus picturatus) whose tail is missing due to autotomy, the act of an animal severing its own appendages, usually as a self-defense mechanism designed to elude a predator's grasp. The detached tail will continue to wriggle, distracting the predator's attention. The lost body part may be regenerated later.

Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

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