- the Greek language commonly spoken and written in eastern Mediterranean countries in the Hellenistic and Roman periods
- a dialect or language of a region that has become the common or standard language of a larger area
- The last letter to be added to our alphabet was J.
- Galapagos turtles can take up to three weeks to digest a meal.
Michael Landy RA is one of the Young British Artists. He is best known for the performance piece installation Break Down, in which he destroyed all his possessions, and for the Art Bin project at the South London Gallery. On 29 May 2008, Landy was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
Nawal El Moutawakel is a Moroccan former hurdler, who won the inaugural women's 400 metres hurdles event at the 1984 Summer Olympics, and was the inaugural female, Muslim, born in Africa, Moroccan to become an Olympic medalist. In 2007, El Moutawakel was named the Minister of Sports in the upcoming cabinet of Morocco.
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicenter near the town of Léogâne and approximately 25 kilometres west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.
By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded. An estimated three million people were affected by the quake. Death toll estimates range from 100,000 to about 160,000 to Haitian government figures from 220,000 to 316,000, although these latter figures are a matter of some dispute. The government of Haiti estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged. The nation's history of national debt, prejudicial trade policies by other countries, and foreign intervention into national affairs, contributed to the existing poverty and poor housing conditions that increased the death toll from the disaster.
The earthquake caused major damage in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and other cities in the region.