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Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,352,661 articles in EnglishArtsBiographyGeographyHistoryMathematicsScienceSocietyTechnologyAll portalsOverview · Editing · Questions · HelpContents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z indexToday’s featured articleBAE Systems is a British defence and aerospace company headquartered at Farnborough, UK, which has worldwide interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is the world’s third-largest defence contractor and the largest in Europe. BAE was formed on 30 November 1999 by the £7.7 billion merger of two British companies: Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of The General Electric Company plc (GEC) and aircraft, munitions and naval systems manufacturer British Aerospace (BAe). It has increasingly disengaged from its businesses in continental Europe in favour of investing in the United States. Since its formation it has sold its shares of Airbus, EADS Astrium, AMS and Atlas Elektronik. BAE Systems is involved in several major defence projects, including the F-35 Lightning II, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. The company has been the subject of criticism, both general opposition to the arms trade and also specific allegations of unethical and corrupt practices, including the Al Yamamah contracts with Saudi Arabia that have earned BAE and its predecessor £43 billion in twenty years. (more…)Recently featured: Prince’s Palace of Monaco – Peter Jennings – ManzanarArchive – By email – More featured articles…Did you know…From Wikipedia’s newest articles:…that after his climbing partner was killed in a fall, Jean-Christophe Lafaille survived a descent of the South Face of Annapurna (pictured) alone and with a broken arm?…that the Thich Ca Phat Dai Buddhist temple in Vung Tau has a prominent lookout over the city?…that George W. Woodbey was the sole African American delegate to the Socialist Party of America conventions in 1904 and 1908?…that during hot greenhouse periods in Earth’s history, the tropics appeared to be cooler than they are today?…that Lieutenant-General Sir Maurice Johnston was made an Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Swindon in 2004?…that the Capitol Center has been the tallest commercial building in Salem, Oregon, since its completion in 1926?…that instead of voting to determine the site of a proposed hydroelectricity dam, tens of thousands of Tasmanians protested by writing “No Dams” on their ballot papers in the 1981 power referendum?…that after unsuccessfully standing for the National Socialist German Workers Party in the 1925 German presidential election, Erich Ludendorff left the party to found the Tannenbergbund?Archive – Start a new article…In the newsMaoists win a plurality of seats in the Nepalese Constituent Assembly election, the first election in Nepal in nine years.Researchers discover what is believed to be the first use of oil painting at Bamyan in Afghanistan, predating European oil painting by some six centuries.Fernando Lugo (pictured) wins the presidential election in Paraguay, ending the Colorado Party’s 61-year rule.In auto racing, Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first female driver to win an IndyCar race.An airliner operated by Hewa Bora Airways crashes upon takeoff in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least 47 people.An alliance led by Silvio Berlusconi of the People of Freedom party wins the general election in Italy.Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events…On this day…April 29: Shōwa Day in Japan; International Dance Day1770 – British explorer James Cook and the crew of HM Bark Endeavour made their first landfall on Australia on the coast of Botany Bay near present-day Sydney.1882 – German inventor Ernst Werner von Siemens (pictured) began operating his Elektromote, the world’s first trolleybus, in a Berlin suburb.1916 – World War I: Khalil Pasha of the Ottoman Army accepted the surrender of Major-General Charles Townshend and the British Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, ending the Siege of Kut.1968 – The controversial musical Hair, a product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, opened at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway, with its songs becoming anthems of the anti-Vietnam War movement.1991 – A powerful tropical cyclone struck Chittagong, killing at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as 10 million homeless in Bangladesh.1992 – The acquittal of policemen who had beaten motorist Rodney King sparked civil unrest in Los Angeles that lasted for six days and killed over 50 people.More events: April 28 – April 29 – April 30Archive – By email – More anniversaries…Today’s featured pictureThe rotor of a modern steam turbine produced by Siemens AG, which converts steam (heat) energy into kinetic (mechanical) energy. The steam path is from the smallest blade, expanding through progressively larger blade elements. Steam turbines are used in power plants to extract mechanical work from pressurised steam and benefit from their high efficiency and high power-to-weight ratio compared to other technologies, leading to their widespread deployment from electricity generation to marine propulsion.Photo credit: Christian Kuhna, Siemens AGRecently featured: Northern Elephant Seals – Flatirons – FrankfurtArchive – More featured pictures…