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Bill Newton (8 June 1919 – 29 March 1943) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, honoured for his actions as a bomber pilot in Papua New Guinea during March 1943. Raised in Melbourne, he joined the Citizen Military Forces in 1938 and enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in February 1940. He served as a flying instructor in Australia before being posted to No. 22 Squadron, which began operating Boston light bombers in New Guinea late in 1942. Having just taken part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, he was on his fifty-second mission when he was shot down. Newton was still posted as missing when given the Victoria Cross in October 1943. It later emerged that he was captured by the Japanese and beheaded. Newton was the only Australian airman to receive a Victoria Cross for action in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II, and the sole Australian to be so decorated while flying with an RAAF squadron. (Full article...)

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In the news

Boeing Starliner launch

The Boeing Starliner spacecraft conducts its first crewed flight (launch pictured), carrying two astronauts to the International Space Station.
The CNSA Chang'e 6 completes sampling and takeoff from the far side of the Moon.
Claudia Sheinbaum is elected as the president of Mexico.
In South Africa's general election, the African National Congress wins the most seats but loses its majority for the first time since the end of apartheid.

On this day

June 8

Margaret Bondfield

1826 – In York, Upper Canada, members of the Family Compact destroyed William Lyon Mackenzie's printing press in the Types Riot after Mackenzie accused them of corruption.
1929 – Margaret Bondfield (pictured) became the first female member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom when she was named Minister of Labour by Ramsay MacDonald.
1941 – World War II: The Allies commenced the Syria–Lebanon campaign against Vichy French possessions in the Levant.
1953 – An F5 tornado struck Flint and Beecher, Michigan, causing 116 fatalities, 844 injuries and $19 million in damage during a larger tornado outbreak sequence.

William of York (d. 1154)
Cora Agnes Benneson (d. 1919)
Lauren Burns (b. 1974)
Omar Bongo (d. 2009)

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Today's featured picture

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Located in the south-east of Scotland, it is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth estuary and to the south by the Pentland Hills. With a population of 506,520 in mid-2020, Edinburgh is the second-largest city in Scotland by population and the seventh-largest in the United Kingdom. The royal burgh of Edinburgh was founded by King David I in the early 12th century on land belonging to the Crown, and has been capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century. This aerial photograph, with Edinburgh Castle in the foreground, was taken around 1920.

Photograph credit: Alfred Buckham; restored by Adam Cuerden

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