Wikipedia:Today's featured list/March 2013

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March 4

Virender Sehwag is the leading run-scorer and has played the most matches for the Delhi Daredevils
Virender Sehwag is the leading run-scorer and has played the most matches for the Delhi Daredevils

Fifty-four cricketers have played for the franchise cricket team Delhi Daredevils (DD), which is one of the teams participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL). DD have reached the IPL playoffs three times and topped the group stage table twice; they qualified for the 2009 and 2012 Champions League Twenty20. Virender Sehwag (pictured) has played the most matches for the franchise: 73 since his debut in 2008. He is also the leading run-scorer for DD, with 2,087 runs. David Warner has scored two centuries for DD, whereas Sehwag, AB de Villiers and Kevin Pietersen have scored one each. Pietersen has the team's best batting average: 47.25. Among DD's bowlers, Amit Mishra has taken more wickets than any other, claiming 46. The best bowling average is Doug Bracewell's 10.66, though among bowlers who have bowled more than 20 overs, Farveez Maharoof has the best average: 19.25. Naman Ojha has taken the most catches as wicket-keeper for DD, with 26, while Dinesh Karthik has made the most stumpings: 13. Sehwag has claimed the highest number of catches among fielders, taking 25. (Full list...)


March 11

Photograph of William Hall
Photograph of William Hall

Ninety-four Canadians, or people closely associated with Canada, have been awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest war honour of the British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations, for extraordinary valour and devotion to duty while facing a hostile force. The first Canadian to be awarded the Victoria Cross was Alexander Roberts Dunn for his actions at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War in 1854. Seventy-one Victoria Crosses were awarded to Canadians for their actions in the First World War and sixteen medals were awarded during the Second World War. William Hall (pictured), a Nova Scotian, was the first black recipient of the Victoria Cross. The last living Canadian recipient, "Smokey" Smith, died in August 2005. The Victoria Cross was last awarded to a Canadian in 1945. Canadians have not been eligible for the British Victoria Cross since 1993, when it was replaced by a new Canadian Victoria Cross, which has yet to be awarded. (Full list...)


March 18

The Apostolic Palace
The Apostolic Palace

There have been 110 papal elections that have produced popes currently recognized by the Catholic Church as legitimate. There was no fixed process for papal succession before 1059 and popes were often selected with substantial secular involvement, if not outright appointment. Since the promulgation of In nomine Domini, however, suffrage has been limited to the College of Cardinals. Papal elections since 1276 have taken the form of papal conclaves, which are elections that follow a set of rules and procedures developed in Ubi periculum and later papal bulls; observance of the conclave varied until 1294, but all papal elections since have followed relatively similar conclave procedures. Although the cardinals have historically gathered at a handful of other locations within Rome and beyond, only five elections since 1455 have been held outside the Apostolic Palace (pictured). Three elections moved between locations while in progress: the elections of 1268–71, 1292–94, and 1314–16. (Full list...)


March 25

Antennas at a ham operator's station
Antennas at a ham operator's station

Amateur radio frequency bands in India are used by over 16,000 licenced users of amateur radio. Five categories of licences are granted by the Wireless and Planning and Coordination Wing (WPC), a branch of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. In addition, the WPC allocates frequency spectrum in India. To obtain a licence in the first four categories, candidates must pass the Amateur Station Operator's Certificate examination conducted by the WPC. This exam is held monthly in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, every two months in Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Hyderabad, and every four months in some smaller cities. After passing the examination, the candidate must clear a police interview. Each licence category has certain privileges allotted to it, including the allotment of frequencies, output power, and the emission modes. (Full list...)