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From today's featured article

Statuette of Pepi I Meryre

Pepi I Meryre was the third king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, ruling for more than 40 years around the second half of the 24th century BC. Pepi was the son of the dynasty's founder Teti, had at least six queens, and was succeeded by son Merenre Nemtyemsaf I. Confronted with the decline of the pharaoh's power at the expense of local officials, Pepi reacted with a vast architectural program involving the construction of temples and numerous chapels throughout Egypt, reinforcing his presence in the provinces. Egypt's prosperity allowed Pepi to become the most prolific builder of the Old Kingdom period. His external policy included military campaigns against Nubia, the Sinai and the southern Levant. Trade with Byblos, Ebla and the oases of the Western Desert flourished while Pepi launched mining and quarrying expeditions to Sinai and further afield. Pepi had a pyramid complex built for his funerary cult in Saqqara next to which he built at least a further six pyramids for his queens. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

High heels with dyed-black harp seal fur by Nicole Camphaug

... that a pair of sealskin-covered high heels (example pictured) by Inuk designer Nicole Camphaug are held in the Bata Shoe Museum of Toronto?
... that an incident at Bridle Trails State Park resulted in a horse being euthanized?
... that cricketer Kekhashru Mistry, an all-rounder in the first all-Indian cricket team that toured England in 1911, had to return after three games because he was also the aide-de-camp to the maharaja of Patiala?
... that contestants in the Financial Modeling World Cup solve problems in Microsoft Excel?
... that Nicholas Horsfall published five commentaries on Vergil's Aeneid after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis?
... that a strike by uranium miners in 1974 in Ontario led to the creation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act?
... that impressionist Paul Boland has imitated over 100 voices during his performances including Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles?
... that a ghostly figure can be seen at the legendary home of King Arthur?

In the news

Desmond Tutu

South African archbishop and human rights activist Desmond Tutu (pictured) dies at the age of 90.
Ariane flight VA256, carrying the James Webb Space Telescope, is launched from the Guiana Space Centre.
A ferry fire in Bangladesh kills at least 40 people.
Floods in Malaysia leave at least 46 people dead and displace more than 68,000 others.
At least 85 people are killed in a shipwreck off the coast of Madagascar.

On this day

December 28: Proclamation Day in South Australia (1836)

Constance Markievicz

1767 – Taksin the Great was crowned king of the newly established Thonburi Kingdom at the new capital of Thonburi in present-day Thailand.
1832 – John C. Calhoun became the first vice president of the United States to resign.
1918 – Irishwoman Constance Markievicz (pictured) was elected to the House of Commons as the first female British member of Parliament, although she never took her seat.
1943 – World War II: After eight days of brutal house-to-house fighting, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division captured the town of Ortona, Italy.
2011 – Kurdish–Turkish conflict: Acting on information that Kurdish militants were crossing the border from Iraqi territory, two Turkish F-16 jets fired at a group of villagers, killing 34 people.

Andrea Gritti (d. 1538)
Shen Congwen (b. 1902)
Barbara Judge (b. 1946)

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Today's featured picture

Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat (Temple of the Great Jewelled Reliquary), colloquially referred to as Wat Phra Si or Wat Yai, is a Buddhist temple (wat) in Phitsanulok Province, Thailand. It is located on the east bank of the Nan River, near Naresuan Bridge. The temple is famous for its gilded statue of the Buddha, shown in this photograph. The statue is considered to be one of the most beautiful and classically magnificent figures of the Buddha in Thailand, and worthy of the highest respect among the Thai people.

Photograph credit: Supanut Arunoprayote

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