Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 December 1

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St Denys' Church is an Anglican parish church in the English market town of Sleaford. Churches have existed on the site since at least 1086, but the date of the present building's construction is unknown. The oldest parts are the tower and spire, which date back to the late 12th and early 13th centuries; the stone broach spire is one of the earliest examples of its kind in England. The Decorated Gothic nave, aisles and north transept were built in the 14th century. A new north aisle was added by the local builders Kirk and Parry in 1853, and the tower and spire were largely rebuilt in 1884 after being struck by lightning. Built out of Ancaster stone with a lead roof, St Denys' is furnished with a medieval rood screen and a communion rail, possibly by Sir Christopher Wren, and has a peal of eight bells, dating to 1796. It houses several memorials, including two altar tombs for members of the Carre family, Sleaford's Lords of the Manor. A Grade I listed building, it is "remembered for the flowing tracery of its windows" according to the architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner. Worship services are still held at St Denys'. (Full article...)

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In the news

In tennis, the Davis Cup concludes with Great Britain defeating Belgium in the final.
In Canadian football, the Edmonton Eskimos defeat the Ottawa Redblacks to win the Grey Cup.
A bomb attack on a bus kills 14 presidential security guards in Tunis, Tunisia.
A Russian Su-24 warplane is shot down by a Turkish Air Force F-16 near the border between Turkey and Syria.
American Pfizer and Irish Allergan agree to a merger that will create the world's largest pharmaceutical company.

Ongoing events:
- European migrant crisis
Recent deaths

On this day...

December 1: World AIDS Day; Great Union Day in Romania (1918)

Rosa Parks

1822 – Pedro I was formally crowned the first Emperor of Brazil, seven weeks after his reign began on his 24th birthday, 12 October.
1918 – With the signing of the Act of Union, Denmark recognized the Kingdom of Iceland as a fully sovereign state in personal union with Denmark through a common monarch.
1948 – In "one of Australia's most profound mysteries", the body of an unidentified man was found on Somerton beach in Adelaide, a case which remains unsolved today.
1955 – In a key event in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, Rosa Parks (pictured) was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
1991 – Over 92% of Ukrainian voters approved their country's independence as declared by the Ukrainian parliament on 24 August.

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Today's featured picture

Typical Filipino handmade brooms in Banaue. Brooms are cleaning tools consisting of fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle. In Asian countries there is often a distinction between a "hard broom" and a "soft broom", named for the types of fibers used. Soft brooms are made for sweeping the walls of cobwebs and spiders, whereas hard brooms are made for sweeping dirt off sidewalks.

Photograph: Uwe Aranas

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