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From today's featured article
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In Australian service, Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft are operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). To improve the Australian Defence Force's (ADF's) ability to operate outside Australia, eight were ordered from 2006 to 2014; the first arrived in Australia on 4 December 2006. Three more entered service by January 2008, two more by November 2012, and the last two by November 2015. All eight Globemasters are assigned to No. 36 Squadron and operate from RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. The aircraft have supported ADF operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and other locations in the Middle East, as well as training exercises in Australia and the United States. They have also transported supplies and personnel as part of relief efforts following disasters in Australia, Japan, New Zealand and several other countries. Their acquirement process was seen as exemplary of good practice in defence procurement. C-17s are highly regarded throughout the Australian military for their ability to carry large amounts of cargo across long distances. (Full article...)
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Did you know...
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Cross-dressing woman playing polo
- ... that 7th- and 8th-century Chinese pottery Tang dynasty tomb figures include cross-dressing women playing polo (example pictured)?
- ... that Michael Stevens, creator and host of Vsauce, uploaded his first YouTube videos under the username "pooplicker888"?
- ... that Sound Transit 3 will nearly double the amount of light rail in the Seattle region to 112 miles (180 km) of track?
- ... that males of the fossil ant Proceratium eocenicum have a hair fringe?
- ... that the 1970 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games, held in Edinburgh, lacked day-to-day television coverage by British broadcasters?
- ... that Tamar Halperin recorded music by Erik Satie, playing piano, harpsichord, Hammond organ, and Wurlitzer piano?
- ... that Asian Paints Ltd's former mascot Gattu, a mischievous boy with a paint bucket, was created by Indian cartoonist R. K. Laxman?
- ... that fictional journalist Carl Diggler correctly predicted the results of more 2016 presidential primaries than Nate Silver's statistics blog FiveThirtyEight?
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In the news
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Maha Vajiralongkorn
- A fire at a music party in a converted warehouse leaves at least nine people dead, and two dozen missing, in Oakland, California.
- The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry announces official names for recently discovered superheavy elements nihonium (113), moscovium (115), tennessine (117), and oganesson (118).
- Following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Maha Vajiralongkorn (pictured) is proclaimed King of Thailand.
- Magnus Carlsen defeats Sergey Karjakin to retain the World Chess Championship title.
- LaMia Flight 2933 crashes in Medellín, Colombia, with the Chapecoense football team on board, killing 71 people.
- In Canadian football, the Ottawa Redblacks defeat the Calgary Stampeders to win the Grey Cup.
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