Here are some of the global news stories covered on Wikipedia this week:
- NASA’s Kepler space telescope discovers potentially rocky exoplanet Kepler-452b.
- Pierre Nkurunziza is elected to a third term as President of Burundi in controversial circumstances.
- British cyclist Chris Froome wins the 2015 Tour de France.
- One of Zimbabwe’s most famous lions is killed in the Hwange National Park.
- Microsoft’s newest operating system, Windows 10, officially launches.
Kepler-452b unearthed
An artist’s impression of the newly-discovered planet. Image by NASA, in the public domain.
On Wednesday (July 23), NASA announced the discovery of Kepler-452b, an Earth-like exoplanet orbiting Kepler-452. The discovery, made by the Kepler space telescope, is 1,400 light-years from our solar systemâso at the speed of the New Horizons probe (37,000 mph/60,000 km/h), it would take 26 million years to reach. It is the sixth-most Earth-like exoplanet known to date, and the first potentially rocky (that is, not gaseous) superplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of its sun.
Learn more in these related Wikipedia articles: Kepler-452b
Controversy over Burundi election
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Pierre Nkurunziza won a third term as President of Burundi in an election some claim was illegitimate. Image by the US Department of State, in the public domain.
In last week’s Burundian presidential election, held last Tuesday (July 21), Pierre Nkurunziza won a third term as the President of Burundi. The election was unusual in that all but one of Nkurunziza’s opponents withdrew from the ballot following the announcement that he would be nominated by his party, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy â Forces for the Defense of Democracy. US President Barack Obama, speaking to the African Union in Addis Ababa on Tuesday (July 28), criticised Nkurunziza’s refusal to step down following the end of his term.
Learn more in the related Wikipedia article: Burundian presidential election, 2015
Froome claims Tour de France
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Chris Froome won his second Tour de France this week. Image by Filip Bossuyt, freely licensed under CC-BY 2.0.
British cyclist Chris Froome won this year’s Tour de France on Sunday (July 26). He wore the yellow jersey, which signifies the race leader, from Stage 7 (July 10) onwards, and successfully defended his overall lead all the way through Stage 21 on July 26. He also won the mountains classification. The young rider classification went to the Colombian rider Nairo Quintana, who finished second overall; the points classification and “green jersey” was won by Slovak Peter Sagan. Movistar Team won the team classification.
Learn more in these related Wikipedia articles: 2015 Tour de France, Chris Froome
American dentist kills Zimbabwe’s “Cecil”
There are a number of lions at the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. Image by Flickr user Laura (cardamom), freely licensed under CC-BY 2.0.
Zimbabwean officials say a dentist from Bloomington, Minnesota, killed an iconic lion in Zimbabwe‘s Hwange National Park this month. The lion, named “Cecil“, was a star attraction at the game reserve, and his death sparked a backlash against its apparent hunter. Cecil was lured outside the park and wounded with a crossbow before being shot, beheaded, and skinned two days later. It is thought that the hunter paid around $50,000 in bribes to be able to access Cecil.
Learn more in these related Wikipedia articles: Hwange National Park, Cecil (lion)
Windows 10 launches
Windows 10 is the first new operating system released under CEO Satya Nadella. Image by Leweb Photos, freely licensed under CC-BY 2.0.
American computing giant Microsoft‘s newest operating system, Windows 10, officially launched to the public on Wednesday (July 29). It is the first operating system released under the reign of company CEO Satya Nadella, and aims to unify Microsoft’s operating systems already in use on its Windows Phone and Xbox One devices. It follows their previous flagship operating system, Windows 8, and will be available on both desktop and mobile under the same name.
Learn more in the related Wikipedia article: Windows 10
Photo montage credits: “Lion-hwange.jpg” by Flickr user Laura (cardamom), CC-BY 2.0; “Pierre Nkurunziza 2014 press conference (cropped).jpg” by the US Department of State, in the public domain; “Tour de France 2015, groep gele trui (20036329866) (cropped).jpg” by Filip Bossuyt, CC-BY 2.0; “Kepler-452b artist concept.jpg” by NASA, in the public domain; “Satya_Nadella.jpg” by Leweb Photos, CC-BY 2.0; Collage by Andrew Sherman
To see how other news events are covered on the English Wikipedia, check out the ‘In the news’ section on its main page.
Joe Sutherland
Communications InternWikimedia Foundation
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