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Today's featured article The Battle of Rennell Island took place on 29–30 January 1943, and was the last major naval engagement between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Guadalcanal campaign of World War II. The battle took place in the South Pacific between Rennell Island and Guadalcanal in the southern Solomon Islands. In the battle, Japanese naval land-based torpedo bombers, seeking to provide protection for the impending evacuation of Japanese forces from Guadalcanal, made several attacks over two days on United States' warships operating as a task force south of Guadalcanal. In addition to approaching Guadalcanal with the objective of engaging any Japanese ships that might come into range, the U.S. task force was protecting an Allied transport ship convoy that was carrying replacement troops to Guadalcanal. As a result of the Japanese air attacks on the task force, one U.S. heavy cruiser was sunk, a destroyer was heavily damaged, and the rest of the U.S. task force was forced to retreat from the southern Solomons area. Partly because of their success in turning back the U.S. task force in this battle, the Japanese were successful in evacuating their remaining troops from Guadalcanal by 7 February 1943, leaving Guadalcanal in the hands of the Allies and ending the battle for the island. (more...) Recently featured: Otto Julius Zobel – Nebula Science Fiction – Australian Cattle Dog Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Emma Caulfield (pictured) was cast in a Once Upon a Time episode because the producers "couldn't think of anyone better to trap two children in a house and try to eat them"? ... that a fossil of Concavodonta described in 1843 has been lost? ... that Jeb Burton will share a ride in the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with his father Ward? ... that after 11 leaders of the U. S. Communist Party were sentenced to prison in 1949 for their political beliefs, the judge sent all five of their attorneys to jail for contempt of court? ... that despite its common name, California grass is not naturally found in California? ... that Bach based his cantata Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit, BWV 111, on the 1554 hymn by Albert, Duke of Prussia, who introduced the Reformation into Prussia? ... that during the Sino-Xiongnu War, the Han empire attempted alliance with a people whose king's skull the Xiongnu had made into a drinking cup?

In the news The European Union and 22 member nations sign the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, resulting in the resignation of the treaty's rapporteur and protests across Poland. Intense Tropical Cyclone Funso stalls off the coast of Mozambique, killing 15 people at sea and at least 14 others through inland flooding. The European Union imposes an embargo on future oil contracts with Iran. British novelist Salman Rushdie (pictured) cancels an appearance at the Jaipur Literature Festival in India, and four other writers leave the city after reading excerpts from The Satanic Verses, which is banned in the country. In a binding referendum, Croatian voters approve the country's proposed accession to the European Union. On this day... January 29: Constitution Day in Gibraltar 1845 – American poet Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" appeared in the New York Evening Mirror, the first publication attributed to Poe. 1886 – German engine designer and engineer Karl Benz filed a patent for the Motorwagen, the first purpose-built, gasoline-driven automobile. 1944 – World War II: At least 38 people were killed and about a dozen injured when the Polish village of Koniuchy (present-day Kaniūkai, Lithuania) was attacked by Soviet partisan units. 1967 – The Mantra-Rock Dance, called the "ultimate high" of the hippie era, took place in San Francisco, featuring Swami Bhaktivedanta, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, and Allen Ginsberg (poster pictured). 2009 – The Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt ruled that people who did not adhere to one of the three government-recognised religions are also eligible to receive government identity documents. More anniversaries: January 28 – January 29 – January 30 It is now January 29, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture The first and most-visited of the four Elakala Falls located in Blackwater Falls State Park, West Virginia, US. The Blackwater River, named for its tannic acid-darkened water, flows over the falls as it makes its way into the rugged Blackwater Canyon. Photo: ForestWander Nature Photography Recently featured: Non-uniform rational B-spline – Grapefruit – Cologne panorama

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