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From today's featured article

Sadamichi Kajioka, commander of the convoy

The Take Ichi convoy was an Imperial Japanese Navy convoy of World War II. Under the command of Rear Admiral Sadamichi Kajioka (pictured), the convoy left Shanghai on 17 April 1944, carrying two infantry divisions to reinforce Japan's defensive positions in the Philippines and western New Guinea. United States Navy submarines attacked the convoy on 26 April and 6 May, sinking four transports and killing more than 4,000 soldiers. These losses caused the convoy to be diverted to Halmahera, where the surviving soldiers and their equipment were unloaded. The failure to bring the two divisions to their destination without loss contributed to the Imperial General Headquarters' decision to move Japan's defensive perimeter back by 1,000 km (600 mi). The divisions' combat power was also blunted by their losses, and while they both saw action against United States Army forces, they contributed little to Japan's attempt to defend its empire. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Flag of the New California Republic

... that a man cosplaying as a character from the New California Republic (flag pictured) was arrested due to reports that he was carrying a bomb?
... that Palestinian citizens of Israel hold an annual march to one of the towns and villages from which their community had been displaced in the Nakba?
... that the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros football team were members of the United Athletic Conference but left before ever having played a game there?
... that music director Raul Mitra wanted Regine Velasquez to do an all-rock concert?
... that Lore Harp McGovern went from being a housewife to the CEO of a US$36 million computer company in six years?
... that police officers had to be flown in by helicopter to seize hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of cannabis plants found growing illegally in Jerrawangala National Park?
... that many former cast members returned for Arrow's 150th episode?
... that the replacement of a semipalmated sandpiper sculpture named Shep in New Brunswick led to a $19,000 investigation over code-of-conduct violations?
... that after the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake destroyed Napier Technical College, it was disestablished and amalgamated into its rivals?

In the news

Jeremiah Manele

In horse racing, Mystik Dan wins the Kentucky Derby.
Following the Solomon Islands general election, Jeremiah Manele (pictured) becomes the prime minister.
Acting prime minister of Haiti Ariel Henry resigns, and the Transitional Presidential Council is sworn in.
NASA announces that the Voyager 1 space probe is sending readable data for the first time in five months.
The HDZ-led coalition wins the most seats in the Croatian parliamentary election but falls short of a majority.

On this day

May 6

The Grand Palace in the 1860s

1536 – Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: Sapa Inca emperor Manco Inca Yupanqui's army began a ten-month siege of Cusco against a garrison of Spanish conquistadors and Indian auxiliaries led by Hernando Pizarro.
1782 – Construction began on the Grand Palace (pictured) in Bangkok, the official residence of the king of Thailand.
1915 – Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition: SY Aurora, anchored in McMurdo Sound, broke loose during a gale, beginning a 312-day ordeal in the Ross Sea and Southern Ocean for her 18-man crew.
2004 – The final episode of the television sitcom Friends was aired.
2013 – Amanda Berry escaped from the Cleveland, Ohio, home of her captor, Ariel Castro, having been held there with two other women for ten years.

Henry David Thoreau (d. 1862)
Martin Brodeur (b. 1972)
Reg Grundy (d. 2016)

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From today's featured list

Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel

The American sitcom Friends has earned many awards and nominations. The show aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004. During its run, it won six Primetime Emmy Awards from sixty-two nominations, including the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002 and acting wins for cast members Jennifer Aniston (pictured) and Lisa Kudrow. Friends was also nominated five times for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy; Aniston won a Golden Globe in 2003 for her performance. In industry awards, it won two Screen Actors Guild Awards and earned nominations for awards from the Directors, Producers, and Writers Guilds of America. The show was a major popular success and received eleven People's Choice Awards and twelve Teen Choice Awards from audiences. After the show ended, it received the TCA Heritage Award in 2018 and four Emmy nominations for its 2021 reunion special. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Phoenicolacerta troodica, commonly known as the Troodos lizard or the Troodos wall lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is endemic to Cyprus, where it is common and widespread and its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type shrubland and rocky areas, in both rural and urban areas. Its length is up to 22 centimetres (8.7 inches), with males slightly larger than females. The species has a long tail, which can grow to more than twice its body length. This P. troodica lizard was photographed under the Elia Bridge in Limassol District, Cyprus.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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