Learning Skills

Article of the day for June 10, 2019 is Mukhtar al-Thaqafi . Mukhtar al-Thaqafi (c. 622 – 687) was an early Islamic revolutionary based in Kufa who led a rebellion against the Umayyads during the Second Islamic Civil War and ruled over most of Iraq for eighteen months. Mukhtar had allied with the Mecca-based rival caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr following Husayn ibn Ali's death at the Battle of Karbala, but returned to Kufa after caliph Yazid's death. He declared Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, a son of Ali, to be the Mahdi, and took power in his name in 685. Hostile relations with Ibn al-Zubayr ultimately led to Mukhtar's death at the hands of the Zubayrid governor of Basra, Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, following a four-month siege. Mukhtar's followers formed a radical Shia sect; later called Kaysanites, they developed novel doctrines and played a significant role in the Abbasid Revolution. Mukhtar is a controversial figure among Muslims, revered by Shia but condemned by man...

With a high of 91F and a low of 69F.

Article of the day for June 9, 2019 is Round the Horne . Round the Horne is a British radio comedy show, first broadcast by the BBC in four series of weekly shows between 1965 and 1968, and frequently repeated since then. The programme was created by the writers Barry Took and Marty Feldman (pictured), and stars Kenneth Horne, with a supporting cast of Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and, in the first three series, Bill Pertwee. Horne plays a benign central figure surrounded by a gallery of larger-than-life characters including the camp pair Julian and Sandy, the disreputable eccentric J. Peasmold Gruntfuttock, and the singer of dubious folk songs, Rambling Syd Rumpo, who all became nationally familiar throughout the UK. The show was much criticised by morality campaigners for its irreverence and double entendres, but attracted an unusually large audience at the time, and in a 2019 poll was voted the BBC's third-best radio show of any genre, and the best British rad...

With a high of 96F and a low of 73F.

By BRANDON YU from NYT Books https://nyti.ms/2I6Itnj

Article of the day for June 8, 2019 is Kim Clijsters . Kim Clijsters (born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian tennis player who competed professionally from 1997 to 2012. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, she won four Grand Slam singles titles, including three US Open championships. Together with Justine Henin, she established Belgium as a force in women's tennis, leading their country to its first Fed Cup crown in 2001. Clijsters won forty-one Women's Tennis Association (WTA) singles titles, including three WTA Tour Championships. After retiring at the age of 23, Clijsters returned to tennis and won a record-tying three Grand Slam singles titles as a mother on the way to becoming the only mother to be ranked No. 1 in singles by the WTA. She was known for her athleticism, in particular her ability to perform splits on court in the middle of points. Clijsters won the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award eight times. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of...

With a high of 95F and a low of 74F.