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Hieroglyphs from the Mortuary Temple of Seti I

Ancient Egyptian literature was written in the Egyptian language from Ancient Egypt's pharaonic period until the end of Roman domination. Along with Sumerian literature, it is considered the world's earliest literature. Writing in Ancient Egypt (sample pictured) first appeared in the late 4th millennium BC. By the Old Kingdom, literary works included funerary texts, epistles and letters, religious hymns and poems, and commemorative autobiographical texts. Middle Egyptian, the spoken language of the Middle Kingdom, became a classical language preserving a narrative Egyptian literature during the New Kingdom, when Late Egyptian first appeared in writing. Scribes of the New Kingdom canonized and copied many literary texts written in Middle Egyptian, which remained the language used for oral readings of sacred hieroglyphic texts. Ancient Egyptian literature has been preserved on papyrus scrolls and packets, limestone and ceramic ostraca, wooden writing boards, monumental stone edifices, and coffins. (Full article...)

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Ion Luca Caragiale

... that the first theatrical run of A Stormy Night by Ion Luca Caragiale (pictured), featuring a journalist nearly beaten up by the Civic Guard, saw Caragiale nearly beaten up by the Civic Guard?
... that pioneering bodybuilder Hippolyte Triat was kidnapped by vagabonds at the age of six and sold to a troupe of Italian acrobats?
... that Nigeria seeks the return of the Benin Altar Tusks, ivory artefacts taken by the British in 1897 and dispersed in Europe?
... that the Cold Cathode Gauge Experiment could detect gases leaking from an astronaut's life support systems on the Moon's surface?
... that the national women's day of Guinea-Bissau commemorates the death of Titina Silá, who was killed on this day during the nation's war of independence?
... that the Adly Mansour Transportation Hub was selected as the best rail project of 2022 by Engineering News-Record?
... that Tucker Hall and Ewell Hall sit on either side of the Sunken Garden on the College of William & Mary's campus?
... that the comic book Nietzsche, se créer liberté tries to express Friedrich Nietzsche's personality visually?

In the news

Ingenuity on Mars

Following damage to the helicopter's rotors, NASA ends the Ingenuity (pictured) mission on Mars after almost three years and seventy-two flights.
The Ram Mandir, a temple to Rama, is consecrated at a disputed site in Ayodhya, India.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's lunar module SLIM lands on the Moon.
Protests break out in Bashkortostan, Russia, following the imprisonment of environmental activist Fail Alsynov.
Iran launches missile strikes in Pakistan and aerial strikes in Iraq and Syria, and Pakistan responds with retaliatory airstrikes.

On this day

January 30: Martyrs' Day in India (1948)

Former Cabanatuan POWs in celebration

1287 – Wareru created the Hanthawaddy Kingdom in today's Lower Burma and declared himself king following the collapse of the Pagan Empire.
1661 – Two years after his death, Oliver Cromwell's remains were exhumed for a posthumous execution and his head was placed on a spike above Westminster Hall in London, where it remained until 1685.
1945 – World War II: Allied forces liberated more than 500 prisoners of war (pictured) from a Japanese POW camp near Cabanatuan in the Philippines.
2020 – The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic to be a public health emergency of international concern.

Livia (b. 59 BC)
Giovanni Pietro Francesco Agius de Soldanis (d. 1770)
Christian Bale (b. 1974)
Arthur Chu (b. 1984)

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Today's featured picture

The redcurrant (Ribes rubrum) is a deciduous shrub in the gooseberry family, Grossulariaceae, which is native to western Europe. The plant normally grows to a height of up to one metre (3 ft), with its leaves arranged spirally on the stems. The flowers are inconspicuous yellow-green, maturing into bright red translucent edible berries. An established redcurrant bush can produce 3 to 4 kilograms (7 to 9 lb) of berries from mid- to late summer. The species is widely cultivated, with the berries known for their tart flavor, a characteristic provided by a relatively high content of organic acids and mixed polyphenols. This photograph of a bunch of redcurrant berries was focus-stacked from 15 separate images.

Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus

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