Wikipedia:Today's featured list/prep
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 The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has assigned the designation "World Heritage in Danger" to The World Heritage Site "Rainforests of the Atsinanana", composed of Marojejy National Park (pictured) and five other protected natural areas, was identified as "World Heritage in Danger" in 2010 due to an increase in illegal logging in the parks following the 2009 coup d'etat in Madagascar. There are three World Heritage Sites in Madagascar – sites that the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has identified as being of such exceptional cultural or natural distinction as to merit inscription to the official list of World Heritage Sites. These are the Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve, added to the list in 1990; the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, added in 2001; and the Rainforests of the Atsinanana, also added in 2001. A fourth site, the palace of the 19th century sovereigns of the Kingdom of Madagascar at the Rova of Antananarivo, was destroyed by a fire in 1994 just prior to being officially inscribed on the list. In addition, seven sites have been nominated to the tentative list in anticipation of eventually being granted full World Heritage status by the UNESCO committee. (Full list...)  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...)  Mswati III Current sovereign monarchs (King of Swaziland pictured) are distinguished by their titles and styles, which in most cases are defined by tradition, and guaranteed under the state's constitution. A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled by an individual who normally rules for life or until abdication. In political and sociocultural studies, monarchies are normally associated with hereditary rule; most monarchs, in both historical and contemporary contexts, have been born and raised within a royal family. Some monarchies, however, are not hereditary, and the ruler is instead determined through an elective process. Most states only have a single monarch at any given time, although a regent may rule when the monarch is a minor, not present, or otherwise incapable of ruling. (Full list...) The Ballon d'Or was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been considered to have been the best in European football over the previous calendar year. The award was conceived by France Football's chief magazine writer Gabriel Hanot, who asked his colleagues to vote for the player of the year in Europe in 1956. The inaugural winner was England international Stanley Matthews, who played for Blackpool. Originally only open to European players at European clubs, the eligibility rules were changed in 1995. The changes allowed non-Europeans playing in Europe to be considered; Liberian striker George Weah won the 1995 award. Frenchman Michel Platini (pictured) is the only player to have won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row. Netherlands internationals Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten also received the award three times each. The Ballon d'Or was last awarded in 2009, to Lionel Messi of Argentina, before merging with the FIFA World Player of the Year award to create the FIFA Ballon d'Or. (Full list...)  Toni Rominger who has won the Vuelta three times Established in 1935 by the Spanish newspaper Informaciones, the Vuelta a España is an annual road bicycle race. The winner of the general classification is determined by totalling individual finishing times for each stage. The Vuelta is one of cycling's three "Grand Tours", along with the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia. Initially, the race was held in April/May, but in 1995 it was moved to September. The race usually covers approximately 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi), although this has varied, passing through Spain and countries with a close proximity in Europe. The race is broken into day-long segments called stages. Individual finishing times for each stage are totalled to determine the overall winner at the end of the race. The course changes every year, but has traditionally finished in Madrid. Tony Rominger (pictured) and Roberto Heras have the most Vuelta victories, each cyclist having won the competition three times. Rominger's three consecutive wins is also a record. Spanish cyclists have won the most Vueltas; 23 cyclists have won 29 Vueltas between them. French cyclists are second with nine victories and Belgian riders are third with seven wins. The current champion is Juan José Cobo of the Geox–TMC team, who won the 2011 Vuelta a España. (Full list...) The final of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup (trophy pictured) is the culmination of an international association cricket competition established in 1975 which is contested by the men's national teams of the members of the ICC, the sport's global governing body. The tournament generally takes place every four years. Since 1996, between three and six associate nations have qualified to play in the tournament. Though an associate nation is yet to reach the final, Kenya did reach the semi final stage in 2003. Nations with Test cricket status automatically qualify for the World Cup. Nineteen different nations have qualified for the finals of the Cricket World Cup at least once in the ten tournaments held to-date; seven of those teams have competed in every tournament and five different winners have shared the ten titles. Lord's Cricket Ground is the only one to have hosted multiple finals. Australia is the most successful team in the competition's history, winning four tournaments and finishing as runner-up once. Other teams to win the competition are West Indies (twice), India (twice), Pakistan (once) and Sri Lanka (once). England is the only team to reach the final and not win the World Cup, ending as runner-up in all three final appearances. (Full list...)  David Lynch at the 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards, in 1990 In the course of his career, filmmaker David Lynch (pictured) has received multiple awards and nominations. Amongst these are three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and a nomination for best screenplay; while his television debut, Twin Peaks, earned five Emmy Award nominations for its first season. The director has also enjoyed recognition across Europe, receiving accolades at the United Kingdom's British Academy Film Awards, Denmark's Bodil Awards, Sweden's Stockholm International Film Festival and the continent-wide European Film Awards. Lynch has twice won the César Award for Best Foreign Film, as well as the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival. The French government has awarded him the Legion of Honour, the country's top civilian distinction, honoring him first as a Chevalier in 2002 and then as an Officier in 2009. (Full list...)  The Maccabi Tel Aviv team lines up at Bloomfield Stadium during a UEFA Europa League match in 2011. The association football State Cup winners of Israel are the winners of the highest domestic cup in Israeli football, the Israel State Cup. The cup is contested on a knockout basis, with its trophy awarded to the team that wins the final. The competition, which has been organised since the foundation of the Israel Football Association in August 1928, was the first nationwide football tournament to be held in Mandatory Palestine. It was named the People's Cup until the foundation of the State of Israel in 1948. In all, Maccabi Tel Aviv (2011 team pictured) hold the record for most cups, with 22 wins. The longest run of successive wins is three, won by Hapoel Tel Aviv between 1937 and 1939 and again between 2010 and 2012. The most decisive cup final victory was in 1942, when Beitar Tel Aviv beat Maccabi Haifa 12–1. (Full list...)  The Afghanistan national cricket team Since their first match in 2012, twenty players have represented the Afghanistan national cricket team in eleven Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The Afghanistan Cricket Federation was formed in 1995, but cricket was banned by the Taliban until 2000. When the ban was lifted, the team experienced a "meteoric rise through international cricket". They were admitted to the ICC as an affiliate member in 2001. Later in 2006 they toured England, winning six out of seven matches against county second XI teams. Their first T20I was against Ireland, which they lost by five wickets. Five Afghan players have taken part in all eleven matches. Mohammad Shahzad is the leading run-scorer with 312 runs, and has the highest batting average. His score of 77, made against Ireland in 2012, is the highest total by an Afghan batsman in T20I cricket. Hameed Hasan has claimed more wickets in T20I matches than any other Afghan, having taken 14. (Full list...)  Richard Rodgers (left) and Lorenz Hart were responsible for a large number of 1930s jazz standards. 1930s jazz standards are musical compositions written in the 1930s that have become widely known, performed and recorded by jazz artists as part of the genre's musical repertoire. These standards include original jazz compositions, as well as songs from Broadway musicals and independent popular songs that have been adopted and recoreded by jazz musicians. Some of the most popular standards were composed in the 1930s; these include George and Ira Gershwin's "Summertime", Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's "My Funny Valentine", Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's "All the Things You Are" and the most recorded jazz standard of all time, Johnny Green's "Body and Soul". Other significant contributors to the 1930s jazz standard repertoire were Duke Ellington, Hoagy Carmichael and Cole Porter. (Full list...)  Former Pakistan captain, Waqar Younis Thirty-five five-wicket hauls have been taken by Waqar Younis (pictured) during his career in international cricket. Waqar is a retired Pakistani fast bowler who made his Test debut in 1989 against India at National Stadium, Karachi. His first Test five-wicket haul came the following year against New Zealand in a match which Pakistan won at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Starting his One Day International (ODI) career in October 1989 against West Indies at the Sharjah Stadium, Waqar's first ODI five-wicket haul came against Sri Lanka in April 1990 at the Sharjah. He is thirteenth overall among all-time Test five-wicket haul takers, and top of the equivalent ODI list. He was considered one of the best exponent of the swing bowling and took 373 wickets in Test matches and 416 in One Day Internationals (ODIs) during his career. In 1992, Waqar was awarded Wisden Cricketers of the Year for his sporting achievements. (Full list...)  An aerial view of Brabourne Stadium Thirty-five Test cricket centuries have been scored in eighteen Test matches played at the Brabourne Stadium (pictured). The first Test century was scored in 1948 by the West Indian Allan Rae in the first innings of the first Test match played at the ground. The first Indian to score a century at the Brabourne was Rusi Modi in the third innings of the same match. Virender Sehwag's 293, scored against Sri Lanka in 2009, is the highest Test innings achieved at the ground. The highest Test score by an overseas player is 194 by the West Indian Everton Weekes in 1948. Vijay Hazare has scored the most Test centuries at the Brabourne with four. No centuries have been scored in the eight One Day International (ODI) matches and only Twenty20 International (T20I) played at Brabourne Stadium. Australian Adam Gilchrist holds the record for the highest ODI innings score at the ground, 92 against the West Indies in 2006. Gilchrist's compatriot Ricky Ponting holds the record for the highest T20I innings score at the ground, 76 against India in 2007. (Full list...)
 The guitar controllers bundled with Guitar Hero II: cherry red Gibson SG (PS2) and Gibson X-Plorer (Xbox 360) Players can recreate the lead guitar portions of many rock music songs in the music video game Guitar Hero II using a specially designed guitar-shaped controller (pictured), based on either a Gibson SG for the PlayStation 2 version, a Gibson Explorer for the Xbox 360 version, or else a standard console controller. There are 64 songs total in the PlayStation 2 version while there are 74 songs total for the later Xbox 360 version. The Xbox 360 version adds an additional 24 downloadable songs via Xbox Live Marketplace, bringing the total to 98 songs. The downloadable songs include songs from the original Guitar Hero for the PlayStation 2. Most songs in the game are covers of the original songs performed by WaveGroup Sound, but there are some master recordings. All bonus songs are master recordings that are unlockable by using in-game money within the game's store. The song "Raw Dog" by The Last Vegas was selected as part of the "Be a Guitar Hero" contest for the release of Guitar Hero II. (Full list...)  Photograph of William Hall Ninety-four Canadians, or people closely associated with Canada, have received the Victoria Cross between its creation soon after the Crimean War and 1993 when the Canadian Victoria Cross was instituted. Thomas Ricketts, a private in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during the First World War, received the Victoria Cross and is sometimes erroneously considered a Canadian soldier, but Newfoundland was a self-governing dominion at the time. 71 Canadian recipients were awarded the medal for actions in the First World War. 16 recipients achieved the award for actions in the Second World War. The remaining recipients were for actions in the Battle of Balaclava, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and the Second Boer War. William Hall (pictured), a Nova Scotian, was the first black recipient of the Victoria Cross. The last living Canadian recipient of the British Victoria Cross, "Smokey" Smith, died in August 2005. (Full list...)  G. B. Caird The position of Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture was established at the University of Oxford in 1847. This professorship in the critical interpretation or explanation of biblical texts, a field known as exegesis, was instituted by John Ireland, who was Dean of Westminster from 1816 until his death in 1842. In his will, he left £10,000 to the university, with the interest arising to be applied to the professorship. Edward Hawkins, the first professor, was elected on the strength of his reputation gained opposing the Oxford Movement. In contrast, the third professor, Henry Liddon, was a prominent member of the Oxford Movement. Since 1932, the holder of the chair has been appointed to a fellowship at The Queen's College. Before taking up the position, two of the most recent Dean Ireland's Professors taught in Canada: G. B. Caird (pictured) at McGill University and E. P. Sanders at McMaster University. Christopher Rowland became the twelfth Dean Ireland's Professor in 1991. (Full list...)  List of IIHF World Championship medalists Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments are held annually by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The first World Championship tournament was decided at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Subsequently, ice hockey was featured at the Winter Olympics, where the World Championship was decided when the two events occurred concurrently, until the 1968 Winter Olympics. The first three championships were contested at the Olympics, while the first World Championships that were an individual event were held in 1930. From the 1920 Olympics until the 1976 World Championships, only amateur athletes were allowed to compete in the tournament. Because of this, players from the National Hockey League were not allowed to compete. Starting in 1977, professional athletes were allowed to compete in the tournament and Canada re-entered. As of 2011, 75 tournaments have been staged. Canada has won 45 medals, including 24 gold, the most of any nation. The Soviet Union, which began competing in 1954 and last competed in 1991, captured a medal in every tournament they entered. (Full list...)  United States military captain, John Gregory Bourke (1843-1896) The oldest United States Military Academy alumnus to receive the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government, was John Cleveland Robinson, a non-graduating member of the class of 1839. The first alumnus of the Academy to perform actions to be recognized with the Medal of Honor was Charles Henry Tompkins, a non-graduating member of the class of 1851, while the last alumnus of the Academy to perform actions so recognized was Andre Lucas, a graduating member of the class of 1954. Two graduates, John Gregory Bourke (pictured) and Calvin Pearl Titus, received the Medal of Honor before being appointed to the Academy. Other notable Academy alumni who received the Medal of Honor include William Harding Carter, Douglas MacArthur, and Humbert Roque Versace. (Full list...)  Daniel Goldin The Administrator and Deputy Administrator of NASA are the highest-ranked officials of NASA, the space agency of the United States. The Administrator serves as the senior space science adviser to the President of the United States. The first Administrator of NASA was Dr. T. Keith Glennan, who served from 1958 until 1961. Daniel Goldin (pictured) held the post for the longest term. The only person to hold the post twice is James C. Fletcher, who returned to NASA following the Challenger disaster. The longest-running acting Deputy Administrator was John R. Dailey, who held the post following his retirement from the United States Marine Corps. The longest-running full Deputy Administrator was Hugh Latimer Dryden, who was the first Deputy Administrator. William R. Graham has held the post of Deputy Administrator twice, and was the acting Administrator in between, as did Frederick D. Gregory. Dr. Daniel Mulville served as the acting Deputy Administrator twice, and was acting Administrator in between. (Full list...)  Film poster for Gone with the Wind Traditionally, the highest-grossing films have been war films, musicals and historical dramas, but franchise films have been the best performers in the 21st century, especially the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean series. The only films in the top ten that do not form a franchise are the top two, Avatar and Titanic, both directed by James Cameron. Disney has enjoyed success with its Pixar brand, of which the Toy Story films have been the best performers. James Bond, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones are still among the highest-grossing franchises, despite starting over thirty years ago. Gone with the Wind (poster pictured) was the highest-grossing film for 25 years and would still be the highest-grossing film at contemporary prices. (Full list...)  The York team after the 2009 FA Trophy Final The competitive history of York City Football Club began in 1922 when the club was elected to join the Midland League. The team competed in this league for seven seasons before being elected to play in the Football League in 1929 as members of the Third Division North. York reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1954–55, being beaten by eventual champions Newcastle United after a replay, which remains the club's best performance in the competition. York won promotion for the first time in 1958, following the inaugural Fourth Division season. Several relegations and promotions between the Third and Fourth Divisions followed before York were promoted to the Second Division in 1973. After a two-year period in English football's second tier, York faced successive relegations back to the Fourth Division. York remained there until 1984 when the title was won with 101 points, becoming the first English club to surpass 100 points in a season. The club's first play-off victory came in 1993 when Crewe Alexandra were defeated in the Third Division play-off Final. 75 years of League membership came to an end in 2004 when York were relegated to the Football Conference, with the club remaining there until victory in the 2012 Conference National play-off Final. (Full list...)  The title screen of Grey's Anatomy There have been 8 seasons and 198 episodes of Grey's Anatomy, an American television medical drama. Having premiered on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), as a mid-season replacement for Boston Legal on March 27, 2005, the show focuses on the fictional lives of surgical interns and residents, as they gradually evolve into seasoned doctors, while trying to maintain personal lives. The show's premise originated with Shonda Rhimes, who created it to be racially diverse. It is primarily filmed in Los Angeles, California. Episodes have been broadcast on Thursdays at 9:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST), since the show's third season. The first two seasons aired after Desperate Housewives in the Sunday 10:00 pm EST time-slot. Since its premiere, Buena Vista Home Entertainment has distributed all seasons onto DVD. The series has aired several specials recapping events from previous episodes, as well as released two series of webisodes. A critical success, the episodes' ratings were among the top-ten of all shows for its first four seasons. On May 11, 2012, the series was renewed for a ninth season, which is scheduled to premiere on September 27. (Full list...) |
