The Wikipedia article of the day for April 16, 2016 is John the bookmaker controversy.
John the bookmaker was an Indian bookmaker who gave money to Australian cricketers Mark Waugh and Shane Warne in 1994–95 for pitch and weather information. One of the most publicised betting controversies in cricket in the 1990s, the matter was initially covered up by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), which reported it to the International Cricket Council and quietly fined the players. The players and the ACB were later widely condemned by the media and public, but not generally by the sports community. The ACB requested an independent inquiry and appointed Rob O’Regan QC, who wrote that a suspension for a “significant time” would have been a more appropriate penalty. He strongly condemned the players’ behaviour and recommended that cricketers be educated about the dangers of gambling and unauthorised bookmakers. The controversy prompted Pakistan to ask the two Australian players to appear in front of their own judicial inquiry into corruption; the hearings were held in Australia. Both Waugh and Warne denied the suggestion that they played with any less determination than usual in the matches.
Wikipedia article of the day for April 16, 2016
Wikipedia article of the day for April 15, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for April 15, 2016 is Comet (magazine).
Cosmic Stories and Stirring Science Stories were two pulp science fiction magazines that published a total of seven issues in 1941 and 1942. Both were edited by Donald A. Wollheim and launched by Albing Publications, appearing in alternate months. Wollheim had no budget at all for fiction, so he solicited stories from his friends among the Futurians, a group of young science fiction fans including James Blish and C.M. Kornbluth. Isaac Asimov contributed a story, but later insisted on payment after hearing that F. Orlin Tremaine, the editor of Comet—a competing science fiction magazine—was irate at the idea of a magazine that might “siphon readership from magazines that paid”, and thought that authors who contributed should be blacklisted. Kornbluth was the most prolific contributor, under several pseudonyms; one of his stories, “Thirteen O’Clock”, was very successful, and helped to make his reputation in the field. The magazines ceased publication in late 1941, but Wollheim was able to find a publisher for one further issue of Stirring Science Stories in March 1942 before war restrictions forced it to close again.
Wikipedia article of the day for April 13, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for April 13, 2016 is William Sterndale Bennett.
Sterndale Bennett (13 April 1816 – 1 February 1875) was an English composer, pianist, and conductor who became a leading force in musical education. As a student at the London Royal Academy of Music (RAM), he was admired by Felix Mendelssohn, who invited him to come to Germany. In three long visits there between 1836 and 1842 he performed as a pianist and composed, befriending Robert Schumann. In 1837 he began teaching at the RAM, with which he was associated for most of his life. His pupils included Arthur Sullivan, Hubert Parry, and Tobias Matthay. He performed throughout the 1840s and 1850s, returning to composition in 1858; by this time his works were considered old-fashioned, though they were still popular. He was Professor of Music at the University of Cambridge from 1856 to 1866, then became Principal of the RAM, rescuing it from closure. He was knighted in 1871. He died in London and was buried in Westminster Abbey. In recent years, appreciation of Bennett’s compositions has been rekindled and many of his works have been recorded. Several concerts of his music are planned for his bicentenary year of 2016.
Wikipedia article of the day for April 12, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for April 12, 2016 is Aliso Creek (Orange County).
Aliso Creek is a 19-mile (31 km) urban stream that runs through Orange County in the U.S. state of California from the Santa Ana Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, collecting seven main tributaries. It flows generally south-southwest through a narrow coastal watershed at the southern extreme of the arid Los Angeles Basin in a fairly straight course. Owing to the submersion of Southern California in the Pacific Ocean until 10 million years ago, the creek flows over marine sedimentary rock that dates from the late Eocene to the Pliocene. The watershed’s broad sediment-filled valleys and deeply eroded side canyons were shaped by climate change during the last Ice Age. Historically, the creek served as the boundary between the Juaneño (Acjachemem) and Gabrieleno (Tongva) Indians. Although attempts to use the creek and its watershed as a municipal water source date to the early 20th century, the water it provided was erratic and of poor quality. The creek has become little more than an open wastewater drain, but the watershed supports some biodiversity, and remains a popular recreational area.
Wikipedia article of the day for April 11, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for April 11, 2016 is Hungarian occupation of Yugoslav territories.
Hungary occupied and annexed territories during World War II that it had lost to Yugoslavia in the Treaty of Trianon after World War I. On 11 April 1941, 80,000 Hungarian troops crossed the Yugoslav border to join the German-led Axis invasion. Despite only sporadic resistance, Hungarian troops killed many civilians during the invasion. The Hungarian authorities deported tens of thousands of Serbs from the territories, re-settling Hungarians from other parts of Hungary. Resistance to the occupation began in the latter half of 1941, and in January 1942 the Hungarian military conducted retaliatory raids that killed over 3,300 people, mostly Serbs and Jews. In March 1944, when Hungary began to negotiate with the Allies, Germany invaded and took control of Hungary, including the annexed territories. The remaining Jews were collected and transported to extermination camps, where 85 per cent of those from the occupied territories died. The territories were restored to Yugoslav control as the Germans were pushed out of the region in late 1944 and 1945.
Wikipedia article of the day for April 10, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for April 10, 2016 is Masked shrike.
The masked shrike (Lanius nubicus) is a bird in the shrike family, Laniidae. It breeds in southeastern Europe and at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, with a separate population in eastern Iraq and western Iran, and winters mainly in northeast Africa. It is the smallest member of its genus, long-tailed and with a hooked bill. The male has mainly black upperparts, with white on its crown, forehead and supercilium and large white patches on the shoulders and wings. The throat, neck sides and underparts are white, with orange flanks and breast. The female is a duller version of the male, with brownish black upperparts and a grey or buff tone to the shoulders and underparts. The species’ calls are short and grating, but the song has melodic warbler-like components. The masked shrike eats mainly large insects and occasionally small vertebrates; it sometimes impales its prey on thorns or barbed wire. Decreasing in parts of the European range, but not rapidly enough to raise serious conservation concerns, it is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a species of least concern.
Wikipedia article of the day for April 9, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for April 9, 2016 is Typhoon Sudal.
Typhoon Sudal was the strongest typhoon (the Northwestern Pacific Basin equivalent of a hurricane) in half a century to strike the island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia. The entire island, only 17 km (11 mi) in length, experienced typhoon-force winds (at least 119 km/h or 74 mph), and 90% of the structures were damaged or destroyed. The storm formed on April 2, 2004, to the east of the country and attained tropical storm status on April 5. On April 9, it passed just south of Yap, and shortly thereafter its peak winds were estimated at 240 km/h (150 mph). After moving northwest and then northeast, Sudal became an extratropical cyclone on April 16 and dissipated two days later. Overall damage was $14 million, most of which was on Yap. No fatalities or serious injuries were reported, but more than 80 percent of the islanders were without clean running water after the storm. The name Sudal (Korean for “otter”) had been contributed by South Korea for the Pacific tropical cyclone list; due to the heavy damage, the name was retired.
