- A number of wildfires burned in Eastern Florida on May 7, 2006, clouding the skies with smoke. At 6,000 acres, the largest of the fires was the Areca Fire burning in Palmetto, pines, and grasses along the Interstate-95 corridor. Smoke from the fires closed roads in the region, including the Interstate, and forced about 1,000 people from their homes, reported CNN. The MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of the Areca Fire at 2:55 p.m., EDT. The fire itself is outlined in red, and a thick plume of smoke blows east over the Atlantic Ocean. The National Interagency Fire Center said that the Areca Fire was 80 percent contained as of May 8.
- Algeria - The World Factbook (cia.gov)
Algeria has known many empires and dynasties, including the ancient Numidians (3rd century B.C.), Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, over a dozen different Arab and Amazigh dynasties, Spaniards, and Ottoman Turks. Under the Turks, the Barbary pirates operated from North Africa and preyed on shipping, from about 1500 until the French captured Algiers in 1830. The French southward conquest of Algeria proceeded throughout the 19th century and was marked by many atrocities. A bloody eight-year struggle culminated in Algerian independence in 1962.
