Sir Robert de Umfraville (c. 1363 – 1437) was a late medieval
English knight who took part in the later stages of the Hundred Years'
War, particularly against Scotland. Much of his career was focused on
defending the border with Scotland, which had seen near-constant warfare
since the late 13th century. He both fought there and participated in
embassies, negotiating treaties as a diplomat. Beginning his career
under Richard II, he probably fought at the 1388 Battle of Otterburn
with Henry "Hotspur" Percy. In 1415, de Umfraville travelled with
Henry V to France, where he may have taken part in the Battle of
Agincourt. He was famed for his prowess in martial arts, and his
successes in the north attracted praise and reward from the kings he
served. On a campaign deep into Scottish territory, he destroyed Peebles
and its market, bringing back so much booty that he was popularly
nicknamed "Robin Mendmarket". He carried out his last mission to
Scotland in March 1436 and died early the next year.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_de_Umfraville>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1858:
Big Ben, the bell in the Palace of Westminster's clock tower in
London, was cast after the original bell cracked during testing.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ben>
1919:
Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata was shot to death
near Ciudad Ayala, Morelos.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emiliano_Zapata>
1963:
The U.S. Navy nuclear submarine USS Thresher (SSN-593) sank
with all hands lost during deep-diving tests in the North Atlantic
Ocean.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Thresher_%28SSN-593%29>
1992:
First Nagorno-Karabakh War: Dozens of Armenian civilians were
massacred in the village of Maraga by Azerbaijani forces.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraga_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
deem:
1. (transitive, obsolete) To judge, to pass judgment on; to doom, to
sentence.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To adjudge, to decree.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To dispense (justice); to administer (law).
4. (transitive) To hold in belief or estimation; to adjudge as a
conclusion; to regard as being; to evaluate according to one's beliefs;
to account.
5. (transitive, intransitive) To think, judge, or have or hold as an
opinion; to decide or believe on consideration; to suppose.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deem>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The brave people of Ukraine are fighting for their freedom —
and for ours — in the face of unspeakable violence and an unjust
invasion. More than 4 million people, mostly women and children, have
had to flee for their lives — a population nearly the size of Ireland.
World leaders must stand up and stand by Ukranians now ... those who are
fighting and those who have fled ... and stand with refugees everywhere
who have been forced from their homes and their lands.
--U2
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/U2>
Viatkogorgon is a genus of gorgonopsian (a type of therapsid, a group
that includes modern mammals) that lived during the Permian Period in
what is now Russia. The first fossil was named as V. ivachnenkoi after
the paleontologist M. F. Ivakhnenko. It was found at the Kotelnich near
the river Vyatka in 1999. The holotype skeleton (pictured) is one of the
most complete gorgonopsian specimens known and includes some rarely
preserved elements, including gastralia and a sclerotic ring. A larger,
less well preserved specimen has also been assigned to this species. The
smaller specimen is about 80 cm (31 in) long, including the 14 cm
(5.5 in) skull, and may have been a young animal. It was robust with a
dog-like stance, high snout, and very large canine teeth. Gorgonopsians
would have been relatively fast predators, which killed their prey by
delivering slashing bites with their saber-teeth, and this genus may
have been adapted for swimming.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viatkogorgon>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1917:
First World War: The Canadian Corps began the first wave of
attacks at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in Vimy, France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge>
1942:
World War II: Japanese forces defeated Allied troops at the
Battle of Bataan in the Philippines before beginning to forcibly
transfer more than 90,000 prisoners of war to prison camps in the Bataan
Death March.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataan_Death_March>
1980:
Iraqi philosopher Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Amina
were executed by the regime of Saddam Hussein.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Baqir_al-Sadr>
1999:
President of Niger Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara was shot dead by
soldiers in Niamey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Bar%C3%A9_Ma%C3%AFnassara>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
grandfather:
1. (transitive, chiefly US, law) To retain existing laws or rules for (a
person or organization previously affected by them).
2. (intransitive, chiefly US, law) To retain existing laws or rules only
for people or organizations previously affected by them, and to apply
new laws or rules to the unaffected people or organizations.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grandfather>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Russia is not full of terrible people. It’s just that their
leadership has gone so horribly wrong. ... A lot of the world is
reacting in the right way. They are angry and they are frustrated. You
can see and hear the frustration in the leaders of the other world’s
countries. We can see it in the voice of your president, President
Biden. He has let slip a couple of his feelings a couple of times over
there. Other world leaders have done the same. And I think there’s a
groundswell of opinion worldwide. This sort of thing shouldn’t be able
to happen. It shouldn’t be able to be allowed. But we are in a world
where still, here we are, a fifth of the way through the 21st century
and still this obscene situation can happen. The mind boggles.
--David Gilmour
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Gilmour>
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2006 platform game developed by Sonic Team and
published by Sega. It was produced in commemoration of the 15th
anniversary of the Sonic series, and intended as a reboot for the
seventh-generation video game consoles. Players control Sonic, Shadow,
and the new character Silver, who battle Solaris, an ancient evil
pursued by Doctor Eggman. Development was rushed after Sonic co-creator
Yuji Naka (pictured) resigned from the team to form his own company, and
half of the team was diverted to work on the Wii game Sonic and the
Secret Rings. Sonic the Hedgehog was released for the Xbox 360 in
November and for the PlayStation 3 the following month; versions for
Wii and Windows were canceled. Praised in prerelease showings, the game
was a critical failure, described as one of the worst games in the
series. Reviewers criticized its loading times, camera system, story,
stability, and controls. In 2010, Sega delisted the game from retailers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_%282006_video_game%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
876:
Abbasid forces decisively defeated those of Saffarid emir Ya'qub
ibn Laith, forcing the latter to halt his advance into Iraq.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dayr_al-Aqul>
1630:
Kiliaen van Rensselaer purchased land near present-day Albany,
New York, to found the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, which became the most
successful patroonship under the Dutch West India Company.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manor_of_Rensselaerswyck>
1904:
Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan, was renamed Times Square
after the New York Times building.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square>
1942:
World War II: The United States Army Air Forces flew its first
mission from India over the Hump (the eastern end of the Himalayas) to
deliver materiel to China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hump>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
munshi:
1. (South Asia) A clerk or secretary.
2. (South Asia) A language teacher, especially one teaching Hindustani
or Persian.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/munshi>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The United States continues to work methodically to collect, to
preserve, to analyze evidence of atrocities and to make this information
available to the appropriate bodies. We’re supporting a multinational
team of experts that’s assisting a war crimes unit set up by
Ukraine’s prosecutor general, with a view toward eventually pursuing
criminal accountability. These efforts will also ensure that Russia
cannot escape the verdict of history. Just moments ago, as I was coming
into this room, I learned that UN member states had come together once
again to condemn Russia’s aggression and suspend it from the Human
Rights Council. A country that’s perpetrating gross and systematic
violations of human rights should not sit on a body whose job it is to
protect those rights.
--Antony Blinken
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antony_Blinken>
Pomona College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont,
California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists
who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern
California. In 1925 it became the founding member of the Claremont
Colleges consortium of adjacent, affiliated institutions. A four-year
undergraduate college, it enrolls about 1700 students and offers 48
majors in liberal arts disciplines. Pomona's student body is noted for
its racial, geographic, and socioeconomic diversity. Among the college's
traditions is a reverence for the number 47. Its athletics teams, the
Sagehens, compete jointly with Pitzer College in the SCIAC, a
Division III conference. Pomona has the lowest acceptance rate of any
U.S. liberal arts college. It is considered the most prestigious liberal
arts college in the American West and one of the most prestigious in the
U.S. It is a top producer of fellowship recipients and has prominent
alumni in various fields.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomona_College>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1896:
An Arctic expedition led by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen
reached 86°13.6′N, almost three degrees beyond the previous Farthest
North latitude.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridtjof_Nansen>
1949:
The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, based on
Tales of the South Pacific by James Michener, opened on Broadway.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pacific_%28musical%29>
1972:
Communist forces overran the South Vietnamese town of Lộc
Ninh.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Loc_Ninh>
1995:
First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops began a massacre
of hundreds of civilians in Samashki, Chechnya.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samashki_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chivvy:
1. (transitive, Britain) To coerce or hurry along, as by persistent
request.
2. (transitive, Britain) To subject to harassment or verbal abuse.
3. (transitive, Britain) To sneak up on or rapidly approach.
4. (transitive, Britain) To pursue as in a hunt.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chivvy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We have all seen the atrocities that have been committed in Bucha
and other places in Ukraine. This reveals the true nature of President
Putin's war, and the targeting and killing of civilians is a war crime
and therefore, NATO allies are supporting the international efforts to
establish all the facts, to investigate, and to make sure that
perpetrators are punished. ... We have seen no indication that President
Putin has changed his ambition to control the whole of Ukraine and also
to rewrite the international order. So we need to be prepared for the
long haul. We need to support Ukraine, sustain our sanctions, and
strengthen our defences and our deterrence, because this can last for a
long time and we need to be prepared for that.
--Jens Stoltenberg
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jens_Stoltenberg>
The Treaty of Guînes was a draft agreement to end the Hundred Years'
War, negotiated between England and France from 1353 to 1354. War had
broken out in 1337 and was aggravated when the English king claimed the
French throne. After a French defeat at the Battle of Crécy a truce was
agreed in 1347, although it was not fully observed. In 1352 full-scale
fighting broke out again, which went badly for the French. A faction in
favour of peace gained influence in the French king's council,
negotiations were reopened and a peace agreement that exchanged French
land for the English claim to the French throne was agreed. A draft
treaty was formally signed at Guînes on 6 April 1354. The detailed
treaty was supposed to be publicly announced in October, but a new
French council turned against it and the draft was repudiated. In 1360
the Treaty of Brétigny, which largely replicated the Treaty of Guînes,
was agreed. War flared up again in 1369 and the Hundred Years' War
finally ended in 1453, 99 years after the Treaty of Guînes was signed.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Gu%C3%AEnes>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1830:
Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and others formally
organized the Church of Christ, starting the Latter Day Saint movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ_%28Latter_Day_Saints%29>
1994:
The aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana
and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down in Kigali; the
event became the catalyst for the Rwandan genocide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Juv%C3%A9nal_Habyarimana_and…>
2012:
The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad unilaterally
declared the region of Azawad independent from Mali.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azawadi_declaration_of_independence>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Olympian:
1. (not comparable) Of or relating to Mount Olympus, the highest
mountain in Greece; or (Greek mythology) the Greek gods and goddesses
who were believed to live there.
2. (comparable, by extension) Resembling a Greek deity in some way.
3. Celestial, heavenly; also, godlike.
4. Acting in a remote and superior manner; aloof.
5. (historical) Of or relating to the town of Olympia in Elis, Greece.
6. (sports)
7. (historical) Of or relating to the ancient Olympic Games held at
Olympia; Olympic.
8. Of or relating to the modern Olympic Games; Olympic.
9. (Greek mythology) Any of the 12 principal gods and goddesses of the
Greek pantheon (Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus,
Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, and Hades); (specifically)
preceded by the: Zeus, the supreme ruler of the Greek deities.
10. (figuratively) A person with superior talents or towering
achievements.
11. An inhabitant of the city of Olympia, the capital of Washington,
United States.
12. (sports)
13. (historical) A sportsperson competing in the ancient Olympic Games.
14. A sportsperson competing in the modern Olympic Games.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Olympian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The war in Ukraine is one of the greatest challenges ever to the
international order and the global peace architecture, founded on the
United Nations Charter. Because of its nature, intensity, and
consequences. We are dealing with the full-fledged invasion, on several
fronts, of one Member State of the United Nations, Ukraine, by another,
the Russian Federation — a Permanent Member of the Security Council
— in violation of the United Nations Charter, and with several aims,
including redrawing the internationally-recognized borders between the
two countries. The war has led to senseless loss of life, massive
devastation in urban centres, and the destruction of civilian
infrastructure. I will never forget the horrifying images of civilians
killed in Bucha. I immediately called for an independent investigation
to guarantee effective accountability.
--António Guterres
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ant%C3%B3nio_Guterres>
Powder House Island (also known as Dynamite Island) is an artificial
island on the lower Detroit River in southeast Michigan, directly
adjacent to the Canada–United States border. It was constructed in the
late 1880s by the Dunbar & Sullivan Company to manufacture and store
explosives during their dredging of the Livingstone Channel, in a
successful attempt to circumvent an 1880 court order forbidding the
company from storing explosives on nearby Fox Island. In 1906, twenty
short tons (18,000 kg) of the island's dynamite exploded after two men
"had been shooting with a revolver" near it. The explosion was clearly
audible from 85 mi (137 km) away. By the 1980s, it was completely
unused; by 2015, the island was owned by the Michigan Department of
Natural Resources, managed by its Wildlife Division as part of the
Pointe Mouillee State Game Area, and accessible to the public for
hunting and camping.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_House_Island>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1614:
Pocahontas, a Native American woman, married English colonist
John Rolfe in the Colony of Virginia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocahontas>
1902:
A spectator stand collapsed during a Scotland–England
football match at Ibrox Park, Govan, killing 25 supporters and injuring
more than 500 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1902_Ibrox_disaster>
1944:
Siegfried Lederer, a Czech Jew, escaped from Auschwitz with the
aid of an SS officer who opposed the Holocaust.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Lederer%27s_escape_from_Auschwitz>
1986:
The Libyan secret service bombed a discotheque in West Berlin,
resulting in three deaths and 229 others injured.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Berlin_discotheque_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
whelm:
1. (transitive) To bury, to cover; to engulf, to submerge.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To throw (something) over a thing so as to
cover it.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To ruin or destroy.
4. (intransitive) To overcome with emotion; to overwhelm.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whelm>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The world has already seen many war crimes. At different times.
On different continents. But it is time to do everything possible to
make the war crimes of the Russian military the last manifestation of
such evil on earth.
--Volodymyr Zelenskyy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy>
Martin Rundkvist (born 4 April 1972) is a Swedish archaeologist who
focuses on the Bronze, Iron, and Middle Ages of Scandinavia. He has
excavated various sites in Sweden. In a 2011 book, he identified nine
possible regional power centres in Östergötland, and attempted to
determine where the "Beowulfian mead halls" of the day once stood. Years
later at one of these sites, Aska, he uncovered the foundations of a
large mead hall, and 22 ornate gold figures that may have represented
gods or royals. Rundkvist has also catalogued the finds from Barshalder,
the largest prehistoric cemetery on Sweden's Gotland island; excavated
the boat grave of a Viking; and analysed both the placement of deposited
artefacts in the landscape and the lifestyles of élite Scandinavians
during the Middle Ages. Rundkvist authors the blog Aardvarchaeology,
which the James Randi Educational Foundation termed "the most-read
archaeology blog on the Internet". He is an associate professor at the
University of Łódź in Poland.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Rundkvist>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1873:
The Kennel Club, the world's oldest kennel club, was founded in
the United Kingdom after Sewallis Shirley became frustrated by trying to
organise dog shows without a consistent set of rules.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kennel_Club>
1905:
An earthquake hit the Kangra Valley in India, killing more than
20,000 people and destroying most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj, and
Dharamshala.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1905_Kangra_earthquake>
1949:
Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty, establishing
NATO, an organization that constitutes a system of collective defense
whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an
attack by any external party.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO>
1968:
American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was
assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Martin_Luther_King_Jr.>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sensical:
That makes sense; showing internal logic; rational, sensible.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sensical>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street
fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past.
However, the icy winds of war, which bring only death, destruction and
hatred in their wake, have swept down powerfully upon the lives of many
people and affected us all. Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up
in anachronistic claims of nationalist interests, is provoking and
fomenting conflicts, whereas ordinary people sense the need to build a
future that, will either be shared, or not be at all. Now in the night
of the war that is fallen upon humanity, please, let us not allow the
dream of peace to fade!
--Pope Francis
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pope_Francis>
The 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup Final was a Women's One Day
International cricket match between England (pictured) and New Zealand,
played on 22 March at the North Sydney Oval in Australia. It was the
second time that the two teams had met at this stage of a World Cup –
England had won their previous final contest in 1993. This game was the
culmination of the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup, the ninth edition of
the tournament. England, who were considered the favourites, built an
opening partnership of 74 runs and continued to score steadily. Despite
regularly losing wickets, they won by four wickets with 23 balls to
spare. This World Cup title was their first in 16 years, their third
overall, and their first outside England. Nicky Shaw, a bowler who
replaced the injured Jenny Gunn in England's starting lineup minutes
before the game started, took a career-best four wickets for 34 runs and
was named the player of the match.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Women%27s_Cricket_World_Cup_Final>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1895:
The libel trial instigated by Irish author Oscar Wilde began,
eventually resulting in his arrest, trial and imprisonment on charges of
gross indecency.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde>
1922:
Joseph Stalin became the first general secretary of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin>
1948:
Division of Korea: A communist uprising began on Jeju Island,
eventually leading to thousands of deaths and atrocities committed by
both sides.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeju_uprising>
2016:
The first news stories on the Panama Papers were published,
revealing that shell corporations represented by the Panamanian law firm
Mossack Fonseca had been used for illegal purposes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Papers>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
loggerhead:
1. (obsolete) A stupid person; a blockhead, a dolt.
2. A metal tool consisting of a long rod with a bulbous end that is made
hot in a fire, then plunged into some material (such as pitch or a
liquid) to melt or heat it.
3. (nautical) A post on a whaling boat used to secure the harpoon rope.
4. (botany, Midlands, dialectal) Often in plural: a thistle-like
flowering plant of the genus Centaurea, particularly the common knapweed
(Centaurea nigra).
5. (zoology) Used as the name of various animals with large heads.
6. The loggerhead duck or Falkland steamer duck (Tachyeres brachypterus;
formerly Tachyeres cinereus), a species of steamer duck endemic to the
Falkland Islands.
7. The loggerhead kingbird (Tyrannus caudifasciatus), a bird endemic to
the Caribbean and West Indies.
8. The rufous-tailed flycatcher (Myiarchus validus), a bird endemic to
Jamaica.
9. The loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), a bird endemic to North
America.
10. The loggerhead musk turtle (Sternotherus minor), a large-headed
turtle endemic to the United States.
11. The loggerhead sea turtle or loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), an
oceanic turtle found throughout the world.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/loggerhead>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Ukraine has shown the world how to stand up for freedom &
democracy, for our shared humanity & for our common values.
--Roberta Metsola
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roberta_Metsola>
The northern rosella (Platycercus venustus) is a species of parrot
native to northern Australia, ranging from the Gulf of Carpentaria and
Arnhem Land to the Kimberley. It was described by Heinrich Kuhl in 1820,
and two subspecies are recognised. The species is unusually coloured for
a rosella, with a dark head and neck with pale cheeks—predominantly
white in the nominate subspecies from the Northern Territory and blue in
the Western Australian subspecies. The northern rosella's mantle and
scapulars are black with fine yellow scallops, while its back, rump and
underparts are pale yellow with fine black scallops. The long tail is
blue-green and the wings are black and blue-violet. Found in woodland
and open savannah country, the northern rosella consumes seeds,
particularly of grasses and eucalypts, as well as flowers and berries,
but it may also eat insects. Nesting takes place in tree hollows.
Although uncommon, the species is not threatened.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_rosella>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1863:
About 5,000 people in Richmond, Virginia, mostly poor women,
rioted in protest of the high price of bread.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_bread_riots>
1982:
Argentine special forces invaded the Falkland Islands, sparking
the Falklands War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_invasion_of_the_Falkland_Islands>
1992:
John Gotti, the head of the Gambino crime family of New York
City, was convicted of racketeering, murder, conspiracy to commit
murder, loansharking, obstruction of justice, illegal gambling, and tax
evasion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gotti>
2002:
Second Intifada: Palestinian militants sought refuge from
advancing Israeli forces in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem,
beginning a month-long siege.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_the_Church_of_the_Nativity>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
imburse:
1. (transitive, obsolete) To put into a purse; to save, to store up.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To give money to, to pay; to stock or supply
with money.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To pay back money that is owed; to refund, to
repay, to reimburse.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/imburse>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Let Moscow not forget that the sanctions policy will only be
continued and intensified. As long as there is no peace — sanctions
are needed. Until Russia begins to invest as sincerely in the search for
peace as it invests in the destruction of our state, sanctions will
remain unalterable.
--Volodymyr Zelenskyy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy>
Coropuna is a dormant volcano with several perennially snowbound conical
summits in the Andes mountains of southern Peru. The highest peak of the
compound volcano reaches an altitude of 6,377 metres (20,922 feet) above
sea level, making the Coropuna complex the third-highest in Peru. Its
thick ice cap is the most extensive in Earth's tropical zone, with
several outlet glaciers stretching out to lower altitudes. Below an
elevation of 5,000 metres (16,000 feet), the vegetation belts include
trees, peat bogs and grasses, as well as agricultural areas and
pastures. The Coropuna complex consists of several stratovolcanos
composed chiefly of ignimbrites and lava flows, on a basement formed by
similar material from the Middle Miocene. The complex has been active
for at least five million years. Current activity occurs exclusively in
the form of hot springs. The Inca archaeological site of Mawk'allaqta is
on the volcano's slopes.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coropuna>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1833:
Mexican Texans met at San Felipe de Austin to begin the
Convention of 1833.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_1833>
1978:
The Philippine College of Commerce became a chartered state
university and renamed the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytechnic_University_of_the_Philippines>
2001:
Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands was legalised (wedding
pictured), with the country becoming the first to do so.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_Netherlands>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
couth:
1. (obsolete) Familiar, known; well-known, renowned.
2. (Scotland) Variant of couthie.
3. Agreeable, friendly, pleasant.
4. Comfortable; cosy, snug. […]
5. Marked by or possessing a high degree of sophistication; cultured,
refined.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/couth>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier
dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.
--Otto von Bismarck
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Otto_von_Bismarck>