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From today's featured article Terang Boelan is a 1937 film from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Written by Saeroen, directed by Albert Balink, and starring Rd Mochtar, Roekiah and E. T. Effendi, the film follows two lovers who elope after one is nearly forced to marry an opium smuggler. Shot in the Indies and Singapore and partially inspired by the 1936 Hollywood film The Jungle Princess, Terang Boelan was aimed at native audiences and included kroncong music and several actors from Balink's previous work, Pareh (1936). It was a commercial success in both the Indies and abroad (under the title Full Moon), earning 200,000 Straits dollars in British Malaya. This success revived the faltering domestic film industry and inspired films aimed at Malay audiences in Malaya, creating a formula of songs, beautiful scenery and romance that was followed for decades afterwards. Modern critical reception of the film, which has been lost since at least the 1970s, has generally been positive. The Indonesian film historian Misbach Yusa Biran described it as a turning point in the history of Indonesian cinema for its catalytic effect on the industry's growth. (Full article...) Recently featured: Muckaty Station – War against Nabis – The Notorious B.I.G. Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Kaiser Wilhelm II (pictured) ordered plans drawn up for Germany to invade two US cities: Boston and New York? ... that Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Oxford, was abducted by the half-brother of her intended bridegroom? ... that over 130 works of literature were published in the propaganda newspaper Asia Raja? ... that forest degradation and illegal exports threaten the survival of the Rainforest Chameleon? ... that Hans Østerholt edited the satirical magazine Hvepsen from 1905 to 1925? ... that over 10 million people visited the Africa Joint Pavilion during Expo 2010? ... that the inaugural running of the British Classic 2,000 Guineas Stakes was won by the colt Wizard in 1809? ... that cricketer Allan Border holds the record for making the most number of consecutive appearances (153 matches) in Tests?

In the news China officially opens the world's longest high-speed rail route, linking Beijing and Guangzhou. Egyptian voters approve a new constitution. A military aircraft (pictured) crashes while descending toward Shymkent, Kazakhstan, killing all 27 people on board. The victim of a gang-rape in Delhi, which sparked widespread demonstrations across India, dies in Singapore. Park Geun-hye is elected President of South Korea, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Swiss bank UBS is fined US$1.5 billion for its role in the Libor scandal. Recent deaths: Rita Levi-Montalcini – William Rees-Mogg – Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. On this day... December 31: New Year's Eve (Gregorian calendar); Hogmanay in Scotland 1857 – Queen Victoria selected Ottawa, then a small logging town, to be the capital of the British colony of Canada. 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Stones River in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, began in an engagement where both sides would suffer their highest casualty rates of the war. 1972 – Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash en route to deliver aid to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake. 1998 – The European Exchange Rate Mechanism froze the values of the legacy currencies in the Eurozone and established the value of the euro currency. 1999 – Boris Yeltsin, the first President of Russia, resigned and named Vladimir Putin (pictured) as acting President. More anniversaries: December 30 – December 31 – January 1 It is now December 31, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

From today's featured list The Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office is the unofficial title of the official resident cat of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at 10 Downing Street. Only two cats, Humphrey and Larry (pictured), have been given the title officially; the other cats are given this title affectionately, usually by the British press. There has been a resident Treasury or Downing Street cat employed as a mouser and pet since the reign of Henry VIII when Cardinal Wolsey placed his cat by his side while acting in his judicial capacity as Lord Chancellor. The cat with the longest tenure at Downing Street is Wilberforce, who served under Edward Heath, Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher. The departure of the last incumbent, Sybil, was in January 2009. Sybil was owned by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, who lived in 10 Downing Street while the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, lived in the larger 11 Downing Street. (Full list...)

Today's featured picture The smooth oxeye (Heliopsis helianthoides), or false sunflower, is a flowering plant of the Asteraceae family native to eastern North America. This species is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial growing 40–150 cm (16–59 in) tall. It is a popular garden plant, and several cultivars are available with flowers of varying colors and shades. Photo: Joaquim Alves Gaspar Recently featured: Ani, Turkey – Zirconium – Red-capped Plover