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Citizens ofNantes paying homage to John and Joanna of Montfort

Theinitial campaign of the Breton Civil War took place in 1341.John, Duke of Brittany, had died on 30 April 1341 and theDuchy of Brittany was claimed by both his younger half-brother,John of Montfort; andhis niece's husband,Charles of Blois, a nephew of the king of France,Philip VI. John quickly installed friendly garrisons in most of the towns and castles of Brittany. Rumours of John's discussions with English emissaries reached Philip, causing him to recognise Charles as the new duke. John refused to give way and Philip sent an army to Brittany to impose Charles. Within a month John had been defeated and was a prisoner. His wife,Joanna, took command of her husband's army, stormed the town ofRedon and moved to the small but strongly walled port ofHennebont. There she set up her two-year-old son, also namedJohn, as the faction's figurehead. TheHundred Years' War between France and England had been ongoing since 1337, so she despatched a senior counsellor to encourage English military intervention. (Full article...)

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Mark Carney

In Canada, theLiberal Party, led by Prime MinisterMark Carney(pictured), is re-elected to aminority government inthe federal election.
An explosion and fire at thePort of Shahid Rajaee, Iran, kills at least 70 people and injures more than 1,200 others.
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Militantsattack a group of tourists inIndian-administered Kashmir, killing 26 people.

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On this day

April 30:Yom HaZikaron in Israel (2025)

Evacuees on the USS Midway

311 – TheDiocletianic Persecution of Christians officially ended in the easternRoman Empire.
1943 –Second World War: TheRoyal Navy submarineHMS Seraph beganOperation Mincemeat to deceive Germany about the upcominginvasion of Sicily.
1963 – A refusal by theBristol Omnibus Company and theTransport and General Workers' Union to permit the employment of black bus crews led toa bus boycott inBristol, England.
1975 – American forces completeda helicopter evacuation(aircraft and evacuees pictured) of U.S. citizens,South Vietnamese civilians and others fromSaigon, just beforeNorth Vietnamese troopscaptured the city and ended theVietnam War.
2021 –A crowd crush killed 45 people duringthe annual pilgrimage to thetomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Israel.

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Today's featured picture

Mimetite is alead arsenate chloride mineral (Pb₅(AsO₄)₃Cl) which forms as a secondary mineral in lead deposits, usually by theoxidation ofgalena andarsenopyrite. The name derives from the GreekΜιμητής (mimetes), meaning "imitator," and refers to mimetite's resemblance to the similar mineralpyromorphite. Thisfocus-stacked photograph shows a 3 cm × 1.7 cm × 1 cm (1.18 in × 0.67 in × 0.39 in) sample of mimetite collected from the Congreso-León mines in the Mexican state ofChihuahua.

Photograph credit:Ivar Leidus

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