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Today's featured article

Map of the fleet movements prior to the Battle of Trapani

The Battle of Trapani took place on 23 June 1266 off Trapani, Sicily, between the fleets of the Republic of Genoa and the Republic of Venice, as part of the War of Saint Sabas (1256–1270). The two fleets met near Trapani in Sicily on 22 June. After learning of the Venetian fleet's smaller size, the Genoese war council resolved to attack, but during the night Genoese commander Lanfranco Borbonino reversed the decision and instead ordered his ships to take up a defensive position, bound together with chains, near the shore. As the Venetian fleet attacked the next day, many of the Genoese crews, mostly hired foreigners, lost heart and abandoned their ships. The battle was a Venetian victory, as they sank or captured the entire Genoese fleet. On their return to Genoa, Borbonino and most of his captains were tried and fined large sums for cowardice. Genoa continued the war, in which neither side was able to gain a decisive advantage, until it was ended through French mediation in 1270. (Full article...)

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Today's featured picture

Arctocephalus pusillus, the Cape fur seal, is a species in the family Otariidae, the eared seals. The species is found along the coasts of southern Africa and southeastern Australia and is the largest of the fur seals, with adult males growing up to 2.3 metres (7.5 ft) in length and females somewhat smaller. Males are dark grey to brown with a darker mane, while females are lighter in colour and pups are born black. The species breeds in large colonies on rocky islands, reefs and coastal outcrops, where females give birth to a single pup. Cape fur seals feed mainly on fish, squid and other marine animals, and are preyed upon mainly by great white sharks and orcas. It is classified as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This Cape fur seal was photographed hauling out at the Hippolyte Rocks off the coast of Tasmania, Australia.

Photograph credit: JJ Harrison

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In the News

Keir Starmer

Keir Starmer (pictured) announces his intention to resign as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
In motorsport, Nyck de Vries, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway of Toyota Racing win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In ice hockey, the Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Vegas Golden Knights to win the Stanley Cup.
In basketball, the New York Knicks defeat the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Finals.

Did you know?

Beans on toast

... that beans on toast (example pictured) have variously been referred to as "skinheads", "skins on a raft" and "cowboy's dinner"?
... that Licia Fertz posed nude for Rolling Stone at the age of 89?
... that the author of Your Own Quiz wanted the readers to answer at least one question in the novel correctly at the same time as the main character?
... that all three sons of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attended Gordonstoun School?
... that one writer described the decorations of 44 West 77th Street as having seemingly been "squeezed out of a pastry tube"?
... that the documentary film Kino-Eye includes footage reversed by director Dziga Vertov to show bread being unmade and a bull being "resurrected"?
... that Patrick Castagno won his 60th state championship shortly after his 60th birthday?
... that the Gordon House was the headquarters of a project to rebuild an 1813 ship?
... that Vasily Baranshchikov's travelogue was an 18th-century bestseller, despite what one contemporary review deemed sloppy writing and an ungrateful, whiny tone?

On this day...

June 23: Grand Duke's Official Birthday in Luxembourg

Autograph score of BWV 39

1726 – On the First Sunday after Trinity, J. S. Bach led the first performance of Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV 39 (page pictured), one of a few new cantatas written that year.
1865 – Stand Watie became the last Confederate general of the American Civil War to surrender to Union forces.
1887 – The Parliament of Canada passed the Rocky Mountains Park Act, creating Banff National Park in Alberta as the country's first national park.
1926 – The College Board administered the first Scholastic Aptitude Test, a major standardized test for university and college admissions in the United States.
1991 – The first instalment of the video-game series Sonic the Hedgehog was released in North America.

Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (d. 1324)
Len Hutton (b. 1916)
Bill Torrey (b. 1934)
Joss Whedon (b. 1964)

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