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From today's featured article

Bristol Temple Meads railway station
Bristol Temple Meads, the city's oldest and largest railway station

Bristol is a city in South West England. With an estimated population of 442,500 in 2015, it is the second most populous city in Southern England and the eighth in the UK. Iron Age hill forts and Roman villas were built near the confluence of the Rivers Frome and Avon, and around the beginning of the 11th century the settlement was known as Brycgstow (Old English for "the place at the bridge"). Bristol received a royal charter in 1155, and became a county in 1373. A major commercial port from the 12th century, it was the starting place for early voyages of exploration to the New World, including the 1497 expedition in which John Cabot became the first European since the Vikings to land on mainland North America. One of the top four English cities in tax receipts from the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol's prominence declined during the Industrial Revolution. Its modern economy is built on the creative media, electronics and aerospace industries. The city-centre docks closed in the 20th century, and have been redeveloped as centres of heritage and culture. The city is among the most popular tourist destinations in the UK. (Full article...)

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Orissa Ikat from Sambalpur
Orissa Ikat from Sambalpur

In the news

Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi in 2014
Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi

On this day...

March 7: Teachers' Day in Albania; National Heroes and Benefactors Day in Belize (2016); Casimir Pulaski Day in Illinois (2016)

Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster

From today's featured list

The Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, annually awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year. The prize was originally due to be launched in 1994 with the support of Mitsubishi but public controversy over the merits of the award caused the sponsorship to be withdrawn. Funding from Orange, a UK mobile network operator and Internet service provider, allowed the prize to be launched in 1996. It was established to recognise the contribution of female writers, whom Honorary Director Kate Mosse believed were often overlooked in other major literary awards, and in reaction to the all-male shortlist for the 1991 Man Booker Prize. The winner of the prize receives £30,000, along with a bronze sculpture called the Bessie created by artist Grizel Niven, the sister of actor and writer David Niven. Typically, a longlist of nominees is announced around March each year, followed by a shortlist in June; within days the winner is announced. The BBC suggests that the prize forms part of the "trinity" of UK literary prizes, along with the Man Booker Prize and the Costa Book Awards; the sales of works by the nominees of these awards are significantly boosted. (Full list...)

Today's featured picture

Adonis blue

The Adonis blue (Polyommatus bellargus) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae found in Europe and parts of West Asia. It prefers a calcareous grassland habitat with hot and dry conditions. This specimen, a male, was photographed in Foissac, Aveyron, France.

Photograph: David Iliff

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