Male in land phase

The smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) is widespread in Europe and parts of Asia and is an introduced species in Australia. It is brown with a dark-spotted orange to white underside, with males larger than females. The skin is dry and velvety while the newts live on land but becomes smooth after they migrate into water, when males become more vivid and grow a crest on their back. Smooth newts live nocturnally on land for most of the year, and are found in a wide range of habitats. They feed on invertebrates, and are eaten by fish, birds and snakes. They breed in ponds, where males court females with an underwater display. Females lay eggs on water plants, and larvae hatch after 10 to 20 days. The young metamorphose into terrestrial juveniles in around three months. Maturity is reached after 2 to 3 years, and adults live up to 14 years. This newt is classed as a least-concern species, but has suffered from habitat destruction and introduced fish. It is listed in the Berne Convention as a protected species. (Full article...)

Ed White during the Gemini 4 mission

• ... that Ed White (pictured) was the first American to perform a spacewalk?
• ... that the World War I memorial in Pierson, Iowa, was rededicated in 2018 by the Pritzker Military Museum & Library?
• ... that in September 2021, the England national netball team won a series in New Zealand for the first time?
• ... that in the 2017 case Bayev and Others v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russian laws against "promotion of homosexuality" violate freedom of speech?
• ... that Kanye West performed "Heartless" with altered lyrics at a youth ball for Barack Obama's first inauguration?
• ... that the wild jujube can be planted on sand dunes to provide erosion control?
• ... that Elizabeth Laurie Rees was the only woman to lead devotions at the 1928 World Baptist Congress in Toronto?
• ... that while Alexander Hamilton may not have broken the tie in the election of 1800, he did break the tie in "The Election of 1800"?

Alexei Navalny

• Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny (pictured) is awarded the Sakharov Prize.
• PAICV candidate José Maria Neves is elected President of Cape Verde.
• British Member of Parliament Sir David Amess dies after being stabbed during a constituency meeting.
• Severe Tropical Storm Kompasu kills 40 people in the Philippines and Hong Kong.

October 22: International Stuttering Awareness Day; feast day of Saint John Paul II (Catholicism)

Hubert Pierlot

• 1633 – Ming Chinese naval forces defeated a Dutch East India Company fleet in the Taiwan Strait, the largest naval encounter between Chinese and European forces before the First Opium War more than two hundred years later.
• 1740 – A two-week massacre of ethnic Chinese in Batavia, Dutch East Indies, came to an end with at least 10,000 people killed.
• 1907 – A bank run forced New York's Knickerbocker Trust Company to suspend operations, which triggered the Panic of 1907.
• 1940 – After evading French and Spanish authorities, Belgian prime minister Hubert Pierlot (pictured) arrived in London, marking the beginning of the Belgian government in exile.
• 2001 – The controversial video game Grand Theft Auto III was first released to critical acclaim, and went on to popularise open-world and mature-content games.