Media
Wikimedia is a global movement whose mission is to bring free educational content to the world. Through various projects, chapters, and the support structure of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia strives to bring about a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. 1)
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a project to build free encyclopedias in all languages of the world.
Wiktionary
Wiktionary is a project to create a multilingual free content dictionary in every language.
Wikiquote
Wikiquote is a repository of quotations taken from famous people, books, speeches, films or any intellectually interesting materials. Proverbs, mnemonics or slogans are also included in Wikiquote.
Wikibooks
Wikibooks aims to build a collection of free e-book resources, including textbooks, language courses, manuals, and annotated public domain books. It aims to help both (self-)instruction of students and teachers in high schools and universities.
Wikisource
Wikisource is a multilingual project to archive a collection of free and open content texts.
Wikispecies
Wikispecies is an open, wiki-based project to provide a central, more extensive species database for taxonomy. It covers living and fossil representatives of Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Bacteria, Archaea, Protista and all other forms of life.
Wikinews
The Wikinews project was launched with the mission to report the news on a wide variety of subjects. Contributors from around the world write news articles collaboratively. Reports range from original reporting and interviews to summaries of news from external sources. All reports are required to be written from a neutral point of view.
- Hong Kong's Carrie Lam delivers speech on video after protests in legislature (2019/10/16 20:44)
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Today, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam delivered her annual policy speech. Speaking in the Legislative Council, Lam was interrupted by protesting legislators. The council was adjourned and Lam later delivered the speech via video. This was reportedly the first such occurrence.
Lawmakers from the pro-democracy camp shouted at Lam and projected slogans onto the walls of the council chambers. A number of legislators were removed. Council President Andrew Leung adjourned the session mere minutes into the speech as Lam left.
In the subsequent video broadcast of the speech, Lam said, "any acts that advocate Hong Kong’s independence and threaten the country’s sovereignty, security and development interests will not be tolerated." She further stated, "So long as Hong Kong remains impeded by unresolved disputes, ongoing violence, confrontation and discord, our city cannot embark on the road to reconciliation and people will lose faith in the future […] We have to put aside differences and stop attacking each other".
Lam also spoke on the economy. "The Hong Kong economy has already slipped into a technical recession since the third quarter. In mid-August, the government lowered the economic growth forecast for 2019 to 0 – 1%", she said, noting it was the worst their economy had performed since 2009. Lam also introduced housing and property initiatives to address concerns about rising prices.
Legislator Tanya Chan spoke to the press after the speech: "I really urge [Lam], if she can’t govern Hong Kong, and has no determination to govern Hong Kong, and no ability or even capability of administrating Hong Kong, to please step down. This is the only way we can have a good future, the only way Hong Kong can go forward. Please, please Carrie Lam, please don’t let us suffer anymore. Please go."
Regina Ip from the pro-Beijing camp said in a press conference: "The behavior of my colleagues in disrupting the delivery of the policy address by the chief executive is anti-democratic and oppressive of the rights of the chief executive, and the rights and freedoms of myself and colleagues who want to listen to the policy address".
Sources[edit]
- "Hong Kong Leader's Annual Policy Speech Adjourned After Rowdy Lawmakers Disrupt Proceedings" — Time, October 16, 2019
- Verna Yu. "Hong Kong leader forced to deliver key speech via video after protests" — The Guardian, October 16, 2019
External links[edit]
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Carrie Lam. "Treasure Hong Kong: Our Home" — Chief Executive of Hong Kong, October 16, 2019 (PDF)
- Kurds announce deal with Assad's government as Turkey invades Syria's northeast (2019/10/16 00:01)
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Late on Sunday, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced it had entered into an agreement with the government of Syria after Turkey began a military offensive into north-eastern Syria on Wednesday. According to Syrian state media, government forces began deploying into previously SDF controlled territory yesterday. Also on Sunday, the United States announced a complete withdrawal from the region, beyond the withdrawal from the "immediate area" first announced seven days earlier on October 6.
In a statement, the SDF said, "An agreement has been reached with the Syrian government — whose duty it is to protect the country's borders and preserve Syrian sovereignty — for the Syrian Army to enter and deploy along the Syrian-Turkish border to help the [SDF] stop [the Turkish] aggression".
The Syrian Army — whose commander-in-chief is President Bashar al-Assad — entered Tell Tamer and Ain Issa yesterday according to state media. The SDF said hundreds of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) fighters escaped following Turkish airstrikes from a camp at Ain Issa.
On October 6, US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke on the phone. Then both nations issued statements speaking of an imminent incursion into northeast Syria, and the US statement spoke of Turkey assuming the duty of guarding captured ISIS militants.
On Wednesday, Turkey began a military offensive with airstrikes followed by a ground invasion. Erdoğan said the invasion was "to prevent the creation of a terror corridor across our southern border, and to bring peace to the area." He named it "Operation Peace Spring" and named both the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and People's Protection Units (YPG) as terrorists. PKK is a banned militant organization in Turkey; YPG is the main fighting force of the SDF, largely Kurdish and, according to Turkey, supportive of the PKK.
The operation was condemned by members of the European Union. Erdoğan cited Article 5 of the NATO treaty and said, "They need to stand by us", while addressing the press yesterday. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg wrote, "I count on Turkey to act with restraint & ensure that the gains we have made in the fight against ISIS are not jeopardised."
Related news[edit]
- "US President Trump announces troop withdrawal from Syria" — Wikinews, October 8, 2019
Sources[edit]
- Ellen Francis, Tuvan Gumrukcu, and Phil Stewart. "Russia-backed Syrian army sweeps in after U.S. announces abrupt exit" — Reuters, October 14, 2019
- Edmund DeMarche. "Kurdish forces announce deal with Damascus after US pullout" — Fox News, October 14, 2019
- "‘Are you with us or with terrorists?’ Erdogan lashes out at NATO allies for failure to back Turkey’s Syria op" — RT, October 14, 2019
- Nicole Darrah. "Hundreds of ISIS supporters escape camp in Syria as Turkish troops approach, Kurds say" — Fox News, October 13, 2019
- Bethan McKernan, Julian Borger, and Dan Sabbagh. "Turkish troops advance into Syria as Trump washes his hands of the Kurds" — The Guardian, October 10, 2019
- Bill Chappell, Scott Neuman and Merrit Kennedy. "Turkish Forces Launch Military Attack Against Kurds At Syrian Border" — NPR, October 9, 2019
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Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. "@RTErdogan on Twitter" — Twitter, October 9, 2019
- Kenya's Brigid Kosgei sets new world record at Chicago Marathon (2019/10/14 22:47)
Monday, October 14, 2019
Yesterday, Brigid Kosgei of Kenya won the 2019 Chicago Marathon and broke the long-standing marathon world record for women competing in mixed-sex marathons. Kosgei was the Chicago Marathon defending champion. Countryman Lawrence Cherono won the men's division. The race was held in the United States city of Chicago, Illinois.
In setting the new record, Kosgei finished more than six minutes ahead of her competition, completing the race in 2:14:04. This was 81 seconds faster than Paula Radcliffe's mixed-sex mark set at the 2003 London Marathon. The women-only record of 2:17:01, held by Mary Jepkosgei Keitany also from Kenya, remained intact. The distinction between the two records is the use of male pacesetters.
"I was not expecting this", said Kosgei after the race. "But I felt my body was moving, moving, moving so I went for it. This is amazing for me." Kosgei was joined by Paula Radcliffe at the finish line. "[...] I always knew this time would come — and when I saw how fast Brigid was running I knew the record would go if she could maintain her pace", Radcliffe said.
Second and third place went to Ababel Yeshaneh and Gelete Burka, both from Ethiopia, with times of 2:20:51 and 2:20:55, respectively. Winner of the men's division, Cherono, posted a time of 2:05:45. He was followed closely by Ethiopians Dejene Debela, 2:05:46, and Asefa Mengstu, 2:05:48.
Just the previous day, Kosgei's countryman Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours, setting the mark in Vienna, Austria at a special event; though Kipchoge's time was not considered an official world record, as it was not an open race sanctioned under IAAF rules.
Related news[edit]
- "Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya runs marathon under two hours" — Wikinews, October 13, 2019
Sources[edit]
- Wynne Davis. "Kenyan Brigid Kosgei Smashes Women's World Record At Chicago Marathon" — NPR, October 13, 2019
- Sean Ingle. "I can go quicker, says Brigid Kosgei after smashing Paula Radcliffe’s world record" — The Guardian, October 13, 2019
- AFP. "Kenya's Kosgei crushes Radcliffe world record in Chicago Marathon" — Yahoo! Sports, October 13, 2019
External links[edit]
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"Race Results" — Chicago Marathon, October 14, 2019 (date of access)
- Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya runs marathon under two hours (2019/10/13 23:50)
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Yesterday, Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya ran a marathon in less than two hours. This is the first time anyone has been recorded to run a full marathon of 42.195 kilometers (approximately 26 miles) under this pursued landmark time. It was not, however, an officially sanctioned world record, as it was not an "open race" of the IAAF. His time was 1 hour 59 minutes 40.2 seconds.
Kipchoge ran in Vienna, Austria. It was an event specifically designed to help Kipchoge break the two hour barrier. Called the Ineos 1:59 Challenge, it featured 42 pacemakers — supporting runners. The team included top runners and Olympic champions. They ran with Kipchoge, alternating positions in a surrounding formation.
"They are among the best athletes in the world — so thank you," said Kipchoge after the run. "I appreciate them for accepting this job. We did this one together." He posted on Twitter, "Today we went to the Moon and came back to earth! I am at a loss for words for all the support I have received from all over the world."
Kipchoge also set the current official world record for a sanctioned race, of 2 hours 1 minute 39 seconds, last year in Berlin, Germany.
Sources[edit]
- "Eliud Kipchoge breaks two-hour marathon mark by 20 seconds" — BBC Sport, October 13, 2019
- Robert Gearty. "Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge becomes first person to shatter 2-hour marathon barrier" — Fox News, October 13, 2019
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Eliud Kipchoge. "@EliudKipchoge on Twitter" — Twitter, October 13, 2019
- Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov dies at age 85 (2019/10/12 23:38)
Leonov making the spacewalk, depicted on a Soviet stamp (Image: Soviet Union)
Leonov in 1974 (Image: NASA)Saturday, October 12, 2019
Yesterday, Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, announced the death of cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. Leonov was famous for performing the first human spacewalk as part of the Soviet Union's Voskhod 2 mission. He was 85.
Leonov, also known as "cosmonaut No. 11", was part of the Soviet Union's original team of cosmonauts. On March 18, 1965, he performed the first manned extravehicular activity (EVA), or "spacewalk", remaining alone outside the spacecraft for just over twelve minutes. He received the "Hero of the Soviet Union", the Soviet Union's highest honor, for his work. Ten years later, he led the Soviet part of the Apollo–Soyuz mission symbolizing that the Space Race was over.
NASA interrupted its live coverage of an International Space Station spacewalk to mourn Leonov's passing. It also credited Leonov with making the spacewalk possible, noting on Twitter "[h]is venture into the vacuum of space began the history of extravehicular activity".
Sputnik News reported Leonov, who died in Moscow, will be buried at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery on Tuesday. He was the last surviving member of the Voskhod programme crew.
Sources[edit]
- Jennifer Leman. "Alexei Leonov, the First Man to Walk In Space, Has Died" — Popular Mechanics, October 11, 2019
- "'The First Spacewalker': Soviet Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov Dies at 85" — Sputnik News, October 11, 2019
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Mark Brown. "First picture drawn in space to appear in cosmonauts show in London" — The Guardian, August 31, 2015
- Scientists describe how 'upside-down rivers' of warm water break Antarctica's ice shelf (2019/10/12 22:29)
Saturday, October 12, 2019
In findings published Wednesday in Science Advances, researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU Boulder) in Colorado and the College of Wooster in Ohio reported a new mechanism by which warm ocean currents erode the ice shelves along the coast of Antarctica, contributing to the planet's rising oceans.
"Warm water circulation is attacking the undersides of these ice shelves at their most vulnerable points," said study co-author Karen Alley. The Wooster professor added, "These effects matter [...] But exactly how much, we don't yet know. We need to."
The researchers used satellite imagery to identify places where coastal ice sheets had melted, creating areas of open water called polynyas, which, they observed, occurred in the same places every year. From this, they concluded that warm water was reaching the ice sheets in the same places every year as well.
Because warmer water is more buoyant, says the study, it rises above cooler water, creating what the scientists describe as an "upside-down river" flowing underneath the layers of ice. Ice shelves tend to weaken as they move, forming cracks and crevasses at their edges and stretch points. Warm water, being on top, tends to become even more likely to find these cracks, so increasing the ice mass' melt rate.
Ice shelves are not actually part of the land mass with which they are associated. Rather, they float along the coast nearby. Because they can be prevented from drifting further away by high places in the ocean floor, they can in turn prevent land-associated ice masses from becoming detached.
"Now we're seeing a new process, where warm water cuts into the shelf from below," said study co-author Ted Scambos of CU Boulder's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES). "Like scoring a plate of glass, the trough renders the shelf weak, and in a few decades, it's gone, freeing the ice sheet to ride out faster into the ocean."
Sources[edit]
- Brandon Spektor. "'Upside-Down Rivers' of Warm Water Are Carving Antarctica to Pieces" — Live Science, October 10, 2019
- Sam Blanchard. "Time-lapse footage taken over 15 years reveals the Antarctic melting away as warmer seawater flows around it" — Daily Mail, October 9, 2019
- University of Colorado at Boulder. "Warm ocean water attacking edges of Antarctica's ice shelves" — Eurekalert, October 9, 2019
- CIRES. "Antarctica's "Upside-Down Rivers": Warming ocean water undercuts Antarctic ice shelves" — University of Colorado at Boulder, March 16, 2016
External links[edit]
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Karen E. Alley, Ted A. Scambos, Richard B. Alley, and Nicholas Holschuh. "Troughs developed in ice-stream shear margins precondition ice shelves for ocean-driven breakup" — Science Advances, October 9, 2019
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Wikiversity
Wikiversity is a project dedicated to learning materials and learning communities, as well as research. Wikiversity is not limited to university (or tertiary) level materials, but is open to materials and communities of all learner levels. The way it can facilitate learning activities and communities is still being explored, but is centered around the model of 'learning by doing', or 'experiential learning'.
Wikivoyage
Wikivoyage aims to create the world's largest free, complete and up-to-date world-wide travel guide.
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons provide a central repository for free photographs, diagrams, maps, videos, animations, music, sounds, spoken texts, and other free media. It is a multilingual project with contributors speaking dozens of languages, that serves as a central repository for all Wikimedia projects.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for October 17 (2019/10/17 03:00)
Picture of the day 
Today is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which on its first commemeration in 1987, had 100,000 people gathering on Human Rights and Liberties Plaza in Trocadéro to honour victims of poverty, hunger, violence and fear. This photo shows a female beggar in Guanajuato, Mexico. - Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for October 16 (2019/10/16 03:00)
Picture of the day 
Garden locust (Acanthacris ruficornis). In the 1870s, the largest locust swarm in history was recorded in the USA and was estimated to contain over 12 trillion (12,000,000,000,000) locusts. - Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for October 15 (2019/10/15 03:00)
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for October 14 (2019/10/14 03:00)
Picture of the day 
Hochschwab (2,277 metres (7,470 ft) – view from Hochanger mountain (1,682 metres (5,518 ft)) near Turnau, Styria, Austria - Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for October 13 (2019/10/13 03:00)
Picture of the day 
Humpback whale () near its whale calf, breaching off to keep away males. Taken offshore (Tahiti, French Polynesia). - Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for October 12 (2019/10/12 03:00)
Picture of the day 
War memorial monument ("Kriegerdenkmal"), Hofgarten, in front of the Bayerische Staatskanzlei, Munich, Germany. The monument is composed of an open crypt, that consist of 12 stone blocks, located in the middle of a rectangular pit. The crypt just contains the statue of a dead soldier, a work of Bernhard Bleeker. The monument was inaugurated in 1924. The original statue was replaced by a bronze cast in 1972, and is now exhibited in the Bavarian Army museum in Ingolstadt. - Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for October 11 (2019/10/11 03:00)
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for October 10 (2019/10/10 03:00)
Picture of the day 
Helophilus pendulus in France - Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for October 9 (2019/10/09 03:00)
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for October 8 (2019/10/08 03:00)
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Panorama of Tasman Lake in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, South Island of New Zealand.
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Wikidata
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