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Goldeneye, the estate where the book was written

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the tenth novel and eleventh book in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. First published in 1963, it centres on Bond's search to find Ernst Stavro Blofeld after the events depicted in Thunderball (1961). In the novel, Bond falls in love with Tracy di Vicenzo during the story. The pair marry, but hours afterwards Blofeld and his partner, Irma Bunt, attack them and kill Tracy. Fleming developed Bond's character within the book, showing an emotional side that was not previously present. The novel is one of three Bond stories to deal with the disruption of markets and the economy, in this case Blofeld's planned disruption to the food supply by bioterrorism. The novel received broadly positive reviews. In 1969, the book was adapted as the sixth film in Eon Productions' James Bond film series. It was the only film to star George Lazenby as Bond. (This article is part of a featured topic: Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and short stories.)

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Did you know ...

A Guardian Cap being worn in 2023

... that the NFL has required players in most positions to wear Guardian Caps (pictured) during training even though third-party research has questioned their effectiveness?
... that the Upper Voltan National Radio chief editor Watamou Lamien was the liaison between the Revolutionary Military Organization and the clandestine Voltan Revolutionary Communist Party?
... that Silence Is Loud uses a style that was previously considered "absolutely verboten" for its genre?
... that Jackson Demonstration State Forest was named in honor of American lumberman Jacob Green Jackson?
... that Tural, the setting of the expansion pack Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, is inspired by Latin America and Southeast Asia?
... that orthopedic surgeon Adnan al-Bursh had also served as an advisor to the Palestine national football team before dying in an Israeli prison?
... that American Colossus is a biography of a man who was "the most famous sportsman in the world" and "the most forgotten great athlete in American history"?
... that husband and wife Edward M. and Marie Zimmerman co-wrote the suffragist anthem "Votes for Women: Suffrage Rallying Song"?
... that between 1985 and 1988, Televerket spent 2 million kronor paying youth sports teams to monitor payphones for vandalism?

In the news

Virat Kohli

In cricket, the T20 World Cup concludes with India defeating South Africa in the final (player of the final Virat Kohli pictured).
In Bolivia, troops led by Juan José Zúñiga storm the presidential palace in an attempted coup.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is released from prison as part of a U.S. plea bargain.
Protesters attack the Parliament Buildings in Nairobi, Kenya, leaving 19 people dead and at least 160 others injured.

On this day

July 3

French destroyer Mogador burning after British shellfire

324 – Civil wars of the Tetrarchy: Roman emperor Constantine the Great defeated his former colleague Licinius at the Battle of Adrianople.
1754 – French and Indian War: George Washington surrendered Fort Necessity in Pennsylvania, the only military surrender in his career.
1940 – Second World War: The Royal Navy attacked the French fleet at Mers El Kébir (pictured), fearing that the ships would fall into Axis hands after the French–German armistice.
1970 – Dan-Air Flight 1903 crashed into the slopes of the Montseny Massif in Catalonia, Spain, killing all 112 people aboard.
1979 – U.S. president Jimmy Carter signed a presidential finding, authorizing covert operations to aid the mujahideen against the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

Leoš Janáček (b. 1854)
Bo Xilai (b. 1949)
Lew Hoad (d. 1994)
Lisa Kahn (d. 2013)

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Today's featured picture

Ectophasia crassipennis is a species of flies in the family Tachinidae and the subfamily Phasiinae. It is present in southern Europe and warmer parts of central Europe. Adults can reach a length of about 5 to 9 millimetres (0.20 to 0.35 inches). Their large compound eyes are red, while the body varies between black and orange-brown, with large wings featuring wide brown or grey dots. The broad abdomen is flattened and sternite 7 is ventrally folded. This male E. crassipennis fly was photographed in Keila, Estonia.

Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus

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