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World's Most Dangerous Animals

Deadliest animals in the world ranked by estimated number of human fatalities per year

Best Selling Musicians

Top selling musicians of all time ranked by estimated number of albums sold

Best Selling Books of All-Time

Best selling novels worldwide ranked by estimated number of copies sold

Fastest Manned Aircraft in the World

Fastest manned aircraft (excluding spacecraft) ranked by top speed

World's Most Practiced Religions

Major religions of the world ranked by estimated number of followers

Worst Genocides of the Twentieth Century

The ten worst genocides of the 20th century listed by dictators responsible; ranked by number of deaths

World's Fastest Land Animals

The fastest land animals in the world ranked by maximum speed

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Today in History

Wednesday, 09 July 2025

2006

At least 122 people are killed after a Sibir Airlines Airbus A310 passenger jet, carrying 200 passengers veers off the runway while landing in wet conditions at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia.

2002

The African Union is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Its first chairman is Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa.

1999

Days of student protests begin after Iranian police and hardliners attack a student dormitory at the University of Tehran.

1995

The Navaly church bombing is carried out by the Sri Lankan Air Force killing 125 Tamil civilian refugees.

1991

South Africa is readmitted into the Olympic movement after 30 years of exclusion.

1989

Two bombs explode in Mecca killing one pilgrim and wounding 16 others.

1986

The New Zealand Parliament passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalising homosexuality in New Zealand.

1982

Pan Am Flight 759 crashes in Kenner, Louisiana killing all 145 people on board and eight others on the ground.

1979

A car bomb destroys a Renault motor car owned by famed "Nazi hunters" Serge and Beate Klarsfeld at their home in France. A note purportedly from ODESSA claims responsibility.

1962

The Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test is conducted by the United States of America.

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