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The Flag of Canada is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. Its adoption in 1965 marked the first time a national flag had been officially adopted to replace the Union Flag. The Canadian Red Ensign had been unofficially used since the 1890s and was approved by a 1945 Order-in-Council for use "wherever place or occasion may make it desirable to fly a distinctive Canadian flag". In 1964, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson appointed a committee to resolve the issue, sparking a serious debate about a flag change. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by George F. G. Stanley was chosen. The flag made its first appearance on February 15, 1965; the date is now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day. Other flags have been created for use by Canadian officials, government bodies, and military forces. Most of these flags contain the maple leaf motif in some fashion, either by having the Canadian flag charged in the canton, or by including maple leaves in the design. The Royal Union Flag is also an official flag in Canada, used as a symbol of Canada's membership in the Commonwealth of Nations, and of its allegiance to the Crown. The Royal Union Flag forms a component of other Canadian flags, notably the provincial flags of Manitoba and Ontario. (more...)

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• Flooding (rising Des Moines River pictured) continues in the Midwestern United States, leading to the evacuation of thousands of homes.
• Irish voters reject the Treaty of Lisbon in a referendum, thus putting into question the reform program of the European Union.
• Pakistan condemns a United States air strike near the Afghan border that killed 11 Pakistani paramilitary troops, along with eight Taliban militants.
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  On this day...

  June 14: Liberation Day in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Flag Day in the United States

  

  • 1777 – The Second Continental Congress adopted the stars and stripes design for the flag of the United States.
  • 1807 – In the last major battle in the War of the Fourth Coalition, the French decisively defeated the Russians at the Battle of Friedland near present-day Pravdinsk, Russia.
  • 1822 – Charles Babbage (pictured) proposed a difference engine in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society.
  • 1846 – Settlers in the Town of Sonoma began a rebellion against Mexico, proclaiming the California Republic.
  • 1982 – Argentine forces surrendered to the British, ending the Falklands War.
  • 1985 – A group with alleged links to Hezbollah hijacked TWA Flight 847 shortly after take-off from Athens.

  • More events: June 13 – June 14 – June 15

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