Learning Skills

Article of the day for June 11, 2019 is Cyclone Raja . Cyclone Raja was a severe tropical cyclone that spawned in the South Pacific in December 1986. It holds the 24-hour rainfall record of 674.9 mm (26.57 in) for the French Overseas Territory of Wallis and Futuna. After it was named on 23 December, it unexpectedly headed southeast toward Futuna. The system peaked at Category 3 on 28 December, with sustained winds of around 150 km/h (90 mph). It turned southwest the next day, toward Fiji and several smaller islands in the Lau group. The storm dissipated on 5 January over the north Tasman Sea. Raja caused two deaths as it impacted the island nations of Tuvalu, Wallis and Futuna, Tonga and Fiji. Gusty winds and rough seas caused extensive damage to crops, coastal installations and buildings in Tuvalu, and greater destruction in Futuna. Raja was responsible for the worst flood of the Labasa River in Fiji since 1929. The name Raja was later retired from the South Pacif...

With a high of 86F and a low of 68F.

By DWIGHT GARNER from NYT Books https://nyti.ms/2KEKlVL

By JAVIER ZAMORA from NYT Books https://nyti.ms/2R2q6ma

By LYNNE OLSON from NYT Books https://nyti.ms/2Wv8uQN

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.