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From today's featured article Zuikaku at anchor in September 1941 Two Shōkaku-class aircraft carriers, Shōkaku and Zuikaku, were commissioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. They participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Indian Ocean Raid, and the battles of the Coral Sea, the Eastern Solomons, and the Santa Cruz Islands. Their air groups sank two of the four fleet carriers lost by the United States Navy during the war in addition to one elderly British light carrier. Returning to Japan after the Battle of the Coral Sea to repair damage and replace lost aircraft, they missed the Battle of Midway in June 1942. After the catastrophic loss of four carriers during that battle, they formed the bulk of Japan's carrier force for the rest of the war. Shōkaku was sunk by an American submarine during the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944 as the Americans invaded the Mariana Islands, and Zuikaku was sacrificed as part of a decoy force four months later in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, both with heavy loss of life. Historian Mark Peattie called them "arguably the best aircraft carriers" of the early 1940s. (Full article...) Recently featured: The Carpet from Bagdad Noisy miner Blakeney Point Did you know... Logo for the Star Wars franchise ... that Harmy's Despecialized Edition is a fan-made effort to recreate the theatrical releases of the original Star Wars trilogy (logo pictured) in high-definition? ... that in No. 2 of three chorale fantasias, Op. 52, Max Reger has the chorale tune enter like "the voice of an angel", according to the organist Karl Straube? ... that American journalist Elizabeth Peer was Newsweek's first female foreign correspondent, foreign bureau chief, and war correspondent? ... that the vicar of St Trygarn's Church did not live in the parish in the mid-19th century? ... that Dwight L. Bush, Sr. was a banker, a bundler, and a businessman before serving as an ambassador? ... that players take control of animals to solve puzzles and defeat enemies in Space Station Silicon Valley? ... that Pathers use "vandal sand" to make moulds for Nachiarkoil lamps? ... that despite preparing for a variety of situations, many U.S. government leaders remain vulnerable to BOOBs?

In the news Mark Selby In association football, 5000-to-1 outsiders Leicester City win the Premier League for the first time. Mark Selby (pictured) defeats Ding Junhui to win the World Snooker Championship. The Kenyan government burns the largest ever pile of ivory to combat illegal ivory trade. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is re-elected as President of Equatorial Guinea. An EC225LP Super Puma crashes near Bergen, Norway, killing all 13 onboard. The National Museum of Natural History, in New Delhi, India, and its entire collection, are destroyed by fire. Ongoing events Recent deaths: Daniel Berrigan Harry Kroto Renato Corona On this day... May 4: Remembrance of the Dead in the Netherlands Margaret Thatcher 1436 – Swedish rebel and later national hero Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson was assassinated in the midst of his rebellion against Eric of Pomerania. 1814 – Ferdinand VII abolished the Spanish Constitution of 1812, returning Spain to absolutism. 1836 – The Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish Catholic fraternal organization, was founded in New York City. 1945 – Second World War: Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery accepted the unconditional surrender of the German forces in the Netherlands, northwest Germany, and Denmark. 1979 – Margaret Thatcher (pictured) became the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following the defeat of James Callaghan's incumbent Labour government in the previous day's general election. More anniversaries: May 3 May 4 May 5

Today's featured picture The nave of the Immaculate Conception Church on Farm Street, London, England, looking towards the entrance. This Roman Catholic parish church run by the Society of Jesus was designed by Joseph John Scoles and constructed between 1844 and 1849, later being remodelled by Adrian Gilbert Scott following the Second World War. Sir Simon Jenkins has has described it as "Gothic Revival at its most sumptuous". Photograph: David Iliff Recently featured: Sadko SMS Baden (1880) Pisces

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