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From today's featured article

Coat of arms of Malta

Maltese nationality law is primarily governed by the Maltese Citizenship Act, which came into force on 21 September 1964. All persons born in Malta between 21 September 1964 and 1 August 1989 automatically received citizenship at birth regardless of the nationalities of their parents. Individuals born in the country since that date receive Maltese citizenship at birth if at least one of their parents was a Maltese citizen or was born in Malta. Foreign nationals may become Maltese citizens by naturalisation after meeting a minimum residence requirement (usually five years). Malta is a member state of the European Union, and all Maltese nationals are European Union citizens. Maltese citizens are also Commonwealth citizens under British law. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Stuttgart small kitchen

... that the Munich kitchen was developed because the Stuttgart kitchen (example pictured) did not allow a housewife to look after her children?
... that football manager Juan Álvarez was nicknamed the "king without a crown" after his team lost a championship due to the away goals rule?
... that an estimated three-quarters of New Zealand's population saw Elizabeth II during her 1953–1954 tour of the country?
... that Thomas Lincoln Tally, considered the pioneer movie-theater exhibitor of Los Angeles in 1916, is credited with coining the term "moving picture"?
... that a line delivered by Pelé in the 1980 movie Os Trombadinhas went viral as a meme in Brazil?
... that Perdiccas, the regent of Alexander the Great's empire after his death, was nominated as king with great support, but he hesitated to accept the role?
... that Magical Girl Witch Trials received full voice acting after crowdfunding raised more than 30 times the original goal?
... that Greek Revival buildings like Edgewood were unknown to most people in the surrounding area when they were built?
... that toy designer Shunsaku Tamiya was placed under government surveillance for speaking to Soviets about their tanks?

In the news

Miguel Uribe Turbay

Colombian senator Miguel Uribe Turbay (pictured), a pre-candidate in the 2026 presidential election, dies two months after being shot.
Azerbaijan and Armenia sign a declaration to formalize a future peace treaty to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
American astronaut Jim Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13, dies at the age of 97.
A helicopter crash in the Ashanti Region, Ghana, kills eight people on board including ministers Edward Omane Boamah and Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed.

On this day

August 18

Royal Australian Air Force helicopter in Vietnam

1783 – A meteor procession blazed across the night sky over Great Britain.
1891 – A hurricane struck the Caribbean island of Martinique, killing about 700 people, injuring at least 1,000 others, and causing severe damage.
1920 – The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage in the country.
1966 – Vietnam War: Members of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment were surrounded by a much larger Viet Cong unit at the Battle of Long Tan (helicopter pictured), but held them off for several hours until reinforcements arrived.
2008 – Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf resigned under pressure from a movement to impeach him.

Iso Rae (b. 1860)
Ruth Norman (b. 1900)
Kofi Annan (d. 2018)
Phil Donahue (d. 2024)

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Propaganda poster in Kaesong

Slogans play an important role in North Korean propaganda, as they depict how citizens are expected to behave, think and dress. North Korean propaganda slogans are very similar to propaganda by other socialist states, such as Maoist China, in that they emphasise the strength of the military, the creation of a utopian society, and devotion to the state and its supreme leader. Despite hostile relations between North and South Korea, slogans and posters have been made in support of Korean reunification, while others were made to promote events in support of bilateral relations, such as the April Spring Friendship Art Festival. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The Colonel is a farce in three acts by F. C. Burnand, premiered in 1881, based on Jean François Bayard's 1844 play Le mari à la campagne. The story concerns the efforts of two aesthetic impostors to gain control of a family fortune by converting a man's wife and mother-in-law to follow aestheticism. The man is so unhappy that he seeks the company of a widow in town. His friend, an American colonel, intervenes to persuade the wife to return to conventional behavior and obey her husband to restore domestic harmony, and the colonel marries the widow himself. The Colonel's initial run was at the Prince of Wales's Theatre, for 550 performances, while simultaneously a second company was touring the British provinces with the play. In October 1881, it received a command performance before Queen Victoria, the first play to do so since the death of Prince Albert in 1861. It transferred to the Imperial Theatre in 1883 and then to the new Prince of Wales Theatre in 1884. In July 1887, there was a revival at the Comedy Theatre. This cabinet card depicts Rowland Buckstone as Basil Giorgione (left) and Cissy Grahame as Nellie Forrester (right) reprising their roles in the 1887 revival of The Colonel. The sepia photographic print measures 14.6 cm × 9.9 cm (5.7 in × 3.9 in) and is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Photograph credit: London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company; restored by Adam Cuerden

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