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Today's featured article The German women's national football team represents Germany in international women's football and is directed by the German Football Association (DFB). The team – then informally called West Germany in English – played its first international match in 1982. After German reunification in 1990, the DFB squad remained the national side of the Federal Republic of Germany. The German national team is one of the most successful in women's football. They are two-time world champions, having won the 2003 and 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup. Germany is the only nation which has won both the men's and the women's World Cup. The team has won seven of the ten UEFA European Championships, claiming the last five titles in a row. Germany has won three bronze medals at the Women's Olympic Football Tournament, finishing third in 2000, 2004 and 2008. The popularity of the women's national football team has grown since the team won their first World Cup title. They were chosen as Germany's Sports Team of the Year in 2003. Silvia Neid has been the team's head coach since 2005, succeeding Tina Theune after nine years as her assistant. As of September 2011, Germany is ranked No. 2 in the FIFA Women's World Rankings. (more...) Recently featured: Liberty Head nickel – Cyathus – Battle of Rennell Island Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that The Art of Woo, starring Sook-Yin Lee and Adam Beach (pictured), was funded by a grant from the Canadian Film Centre's Featured Film Project? ... that there is no official list of the world's most wanted criminal fugitives? ... that Alexander is the first solo album created by Alex Ebert, lead singer of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Ima Robot? ... that the Society of Friends of the Constitution, formed in 1791 to support the Constitution of 3 May, was the first Polish political party? ... that Canberra Capitals player Michelle Cosier took a year off from basketball because she was pregnant? ... that in Bach's mature 1735 chorale cantata Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit, BWV 14, the cantus firmus of Luther's hymn is played by horn and oboes, while the voices perform a counter-fugue?

In the news In tennis, Victoria Azarenka and Novak Djokovic win the women's and men's singles titles, respectively, at the Australian Open. The European Men's Handball Championship concludes with Denmark defeating Serbia in the final. The European Union and 22 member nations sign the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, resulting in the resignation of the treaty's rapporteur and protests across Poland. Intense Tropical Cyclone Funso (pictured) stalls off the coast of Mozambique, killing 15 people at sea and at least 14 others through inland flooding. The European Union imposes an embargo on future oil contracts with Iran. On this day... February 1: Imbolc (Northern Hemisphere); Lughnasadh (Southern Hemisphere) 1327 – Fourteen-year old Edward III became King of England, but the country was ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer. 1709 – Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was rescued by English captain Woodes Rogers and the crew of the Duke after spending four years as a castaway on an uninhabited island in the Juan Fernández archipelago, providing the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe. 1942 – Voice of America, the official external radio and television service of the United States federal government, began broadcasting with programs aimed at areas controlled by the Axis powers during World War II. 1968 – The Government of Canada merged the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and the Royal Canadian Air Force into a unified structure, the Canadian Forces. 2009 – Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (pictured) became Iceland's first female Prime Minister and the world's first openly gay head of government of the modern era. More anniversaries: January 31 – February 1 – February 2 It is now February 1, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture High-purity niobium crystals, with a 1 cm3 cube of anodized niobium for comparison. Niobium is a soft, grey, ductile transition metal named after Niobe from Greek mythology. Niobium is typically used in steel alloys; only a tiny amount (0.1%) is required to improve the strength of the steel. Photo: Alchemist-hp Recently featured: Autofluorescence in tissue paper – Great Court of Baalbek – Elakala Falls, West Virginia, US

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