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The Girl Who Lived in the Tree

Fashion collection by Alexander McQueen

The Girl Who Lived in the Tree is the thirty-second collection by British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, made for the Autumn/Winter 2008 season of his eponymous fashion house. The primary inspirations were British culture and national symbols, particularly the British monarchy, as well as the clothing of India during the British Raj. The collection was presented through the narrative of a fairy tale about a feral girl who lived in a tree before falling in love with a prince and descending to become a princess.
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On this day

2001

Five letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to various media outlets in the United States.
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Anthrax

Infection caused by Bacillus anthracis bacteria

Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The skin form presents with a small blister with surrounding swelling that often turns into a painless ulcer with a black center. The inhalation form presents with fever, chest pain, and shortness of breath. The intestinal form presents with diarrhea, abdominal pains, nausea, and vomiting.
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2001 anthrax attacks

Bioterrorist attacks in the United States

The 2001 anthrax attacks, also known as Amerithrax, occurred in the United States over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and to Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy, killing five people and infecting 17 others. Capitol Police Officers and staffers working for Senator Russ Feingold were exposed as well. According to the FBI, the ensuing investigation became "one of the largest and most complex in the history of law enforcement".

1981

While posing as an aristocrat, Belgian serial killer Nestor Pirotte murdered an antiques dealer in Brussels, for which crime he was sentenced to death.

Nestor Pirotte

Belgian serial killer (1933–2000)

Nestor Pirotte, known as The Crazy Killer, was a Belgian serial killer, considered one of the deadliest Belgian criminals of the 20th century before Marc Dutroux. He was sentenced for murdering three people, in addition to being suspected of four other murders.
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Brussels

Federal region of Belgium, including the City of Brussels

Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country and is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region, located less than 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the south. Historically Dutch-speaking, Brussels saw a language shift to French from the late 19th century. Nowadays, the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch, although French is the majority language and lingua franca. Brussels is also increasingly becoming multilingual. English is spoken widely and many migrants and expatriates speak other languages as well.

1961

An aircraft crashed near Ndola in Northern Rhodesia, resulting in the deaths of 16 people, including United Nations secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld.
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Transair Sweden Flight 001

Plane crash killing UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld

On 18 September 1961, a DC-6 passenger aircraft of Transair Sweden Flight 001, operating for the United Nations, crashed near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia. The crash resulted in the deaths of all people on board, including Dag Hammarskjöld, the second secretary-general of the United Nations, and 15 others. Hammarskjöld had been en route to ceasefire negotiations with Moïse Tshombe during the Congo Crisis. Three official inquiries failed to conclusively determine the cause. Some historians and military experts like Susan Williams have criticized the official inquiries, pointing to evidence of foul play that had been omitted from the inquiries.
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Ndola

City in Copperbelt Province, Zambia

Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia in terms of size and population, with a population of 627,503, after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development after Lusaka. It is the industrial and commercial center of the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It lies just 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the border with DR Congo. It is also home to Zambia's first modern stadium, the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
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Northern Rhodesia

1911–1964 British protectorate in Southern Africa

Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia. It was initially administered, as were the two earlier protectorates, by the British South Africa Company (BSAC), a chartered company, on behalf of the British Government. From 1924, it was administered by the British Government as a protectorate, under similar conditions to other British-administered protectorates, and the special provisions required when it was administered by BSAC were terminated.
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Dag Hammarskjöld

UN Secretary-General from 1953 to 1961

Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second Secretary-General of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. As of 2024, he remains the youngest person to have held the post, having been only 47 years old when he was appointed. He was a son of Hjalmar Hammarskjöld, who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1914 to 1917.
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News
Former president of Peru Alberto Fujimori (pictured) dies at the age of 86.
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Alberto Fujimori

President of Peru from 1990 to 2000

Alberto Kenya Fujimori Inomoto was a Peruvian politician, professor, and engineer who served as the 54th president of Peru from 1990 to 2000. Of Japanese descent, Fujimori was an agronomist and university rector before entering politics. Generally recognized as a dictatorship, his government was characterized by its use of propaganda, neoliberal economic reforms, widespread political corruption and human rights violations.
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President of Peru

Head of state and head of government of Peru

The President of Peru, officially called the Constitutional President of the Republic of Peru, is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is the head of the executive branch and is the Supreme Head of the Armed Forces and National Police of Peru. The office of president corresponds to the highest magistracy in the country, making the president the highest-ranking public official in Peru.
Flooding following a dam collapse in Borno State, Nigeria, leaves at least 30 people dead.

Borno State flooding

Major floods in Nigeria in 2024

The Borno State flooding took place in September 2024 in Borno State, Nigeria, after the collapse of the Alau Dam on 10 September. The Maiduguri and Jere local government areas were particularly affected: according to the National Emergency Management Agency, over 70% of the residents in Maiduguri were displaced. At least 30 people died. The United Nations refugee agency in Nigeria described it as the worst to hit the city in thirty years, affecting over one million people.

Alau Dam

Dam in Borno State, Nigeria

The Alau Dam was situated in the Alau community of Konduga local government area of Borno State in the Northeast region of Nigeria, constructed in 1984–1986. It impounds a major reservoir on the Ngadda River, one of the tributaries of the Lake Chad. In 2024, the dam collapsed, causing catastrophic flooding in Borno State and killing over 30 people, with at least 414,000 people displaced.
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Borno State

State of Nigeria

Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Yobe to the west for about 421 km, Gombe to the southwest for 93 km, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon for about 426 km. Its northern border forms part of the national border with Niger for about 223 km, mostly across the Komadougou-Yobe River, and its northeastern border forms all of the national border with Chad for 85 km. It is the only Nigerian state to border up to three countries. It takes its name from the historic emirate of Borno, with the emirate's old capital of Maiduguri serving as the capital city of Borno State. The state was formed in 1976 when the former North-Eastern State was broken up. It originally included the area that is now Yobe State, which became a distinct state in 1991.
Typhoon Yagi leaves more than 590 people dead across six Asian countries.
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Typhoon Yagi

Pacific typhoon in 2024

Typhoon Yagi, known in the Philippines as Severe Tropical Storm Enteng, was a deadly and extremely destructive tropical cyclone which impacted Southeast Asia and South China in early September 2024. Yagi, which means goat or the constellation of Capricornus in Japanese, was the eleventh named storm, the first violent typhoon of the season, and the first Category 5 storm of the annual typhoon season. It was one of the most intense typhoons ever to strike Northern Vietnam, the strongest typhoon to strike Hainan during the meteorological autumn, and the strongest since Rammasun in 2014. It is one of the four Category 5 super typhoons recorded in the South China Sea, alongside Pamela in 1954, Rammasun in 2014 and Rai in 2021.
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