Erika after landfall on Mexico

Hurricane Erika was a weak hurricane that struck northeastern Mexico in August of the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Erika was the eighth tropical cyclone, fifth tropical storm, and third hurricane of the season. At first, the National Hurricane Center did not designate it as a hurricane because initial data suggested winds of only 70 mph (110 km/h) at Erika's peak intensity, but it was retroactively deemed a hurricane based on further data. Developing in the eastern Gulf of Mexico on August 14, Erika moved quickly westward and strengthened under favorable conditions. It made landfall as a hurricane on northeastern Mexico on August 16. The storm's low-level circulation center dissipated by the next day. However, the storm's mid-level circulation persisted for another three days, emerging into the Pacific and moving northwestward over Baja California, before dissipating on August 20. Two people were killed in northeastern Mexico when their vehicle was swept away by floodwaters. (Full article...)

Bofedales in the foreground

• ... that the green colour of bofedales (examples pictured) stands out in the yellow surrounding landscape?
• ... that Anthony Bennett is part of a football family, with his father, uncle, cousin, and older brother all playing professionally?
• ... that Che Guevara was almost killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during Operation South?
• ... that Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit once advocated for a "right to vote from birth"?
• ... that a train runs along the roof at Miami International Airport?
• ... that Ding Xuesong was the first female ambassador of the People's Republic of China?
• ... that actress Louise Franklin replaced the main dancing role in 1945's Pillow to Post after Dorothy Dandridge was injured in a car accident?
• ... that history sniffing has been used to track Papa John's customers?

Henry Kissinger

• Former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger (pictured) dies at the age of 100.
• All 41 workers trapped in a road tunnel collapse in Uttarakhand, India, are rescued after 17 days underground.
• In motorcycle racing, Francesco Bagnaia wins the MotoGP World Championship.
• The novel Prophet Song by Paul Lynch wins the Booker Prize.
• Somalia is admitted as the eighth member of the East African Community.

December 5: Krampusnacht in parts of Central Europe

Battle of Leuthen

• 1757 – Seven Years' War: Prussian troops under Frederick the Great defeated Austrian forces at the Battle of Leuthen (pictured).
• 1807 – Napoleonic Wars: British ships began a raid on Griessie after the Dutch captain refused a British demand for surrender.
• 1918 – National Guards and Sokol volunteers protested in Zagreb, leading to an armed clash with regiments of the Home Guard and former Common Army.
• 1933 – The prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the United States officially ended when the Twenty-first Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, repealing the Eighteenth Amendment.
• 1958 – Britain's first motorway, the Preston By-pass, opened to the public.