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Modern statue of Jochi

Jochi (c. 1182 – c. 1225) was a prince in the Mongol Empire. For months before his birth, his mother Börte had been a captive of the Merkit tribe, one of whom forcibly married and raped her. Although there was thus doubt over his parentage, Börte's husband Genghis Khan considered Jochi his son and treated him as such. Many Mongols, most prominently Börte's next son Chagatai, disagreed; these tensions eventually caused Jochi's exclusion from the line of succession. After Genghis founded the Mongol Empire in 1206, he entrusted Jochi with nine thousand warriors and a large territory in the west of the Mongol heartland; Jochi campaigned extensively to extend Mongol power in the region. He also commanded an army during the invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire, but tensions arose between him and his family during the siege of Gurganj in 1221. They were still estranged when Jochi died of ill health. His descendants continued to rule his territories, which became known as the Golden Horde. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Mawali tribal sheikhs, 1880s

... that in the 18th century the Mawali tribe (pictured) was driven from the Syrian steppe to the regions of Hama and Idlib, where their descendants live today?
... that a reviewer described Ceechynaa, who entered the UK singles chart earlier this month with "Peggy", as "proudly waving the sexual liberation flag"?
... that vitamin E was named "tocopherol" as it was identified as essential for live births in rats?
... that in the 1950s Michel Klein opened one of the first veterinary practices in Paris?
... that the sexual onomatopoeia puff-puff was censored in English releases of Dragon Quest until Dragon Quest XI?
... that newspaper publisher Jacob Frolich built trapdoors and hiding places in his house in case it was raided by Radical Republicans?
... that nearly 300 construction workers showed up at 8 am to continue building Chernobyl Reactors 5 and 6, unaware of the Chernobyl disaster earlier that day?
... that war correspondent Bernard Gray was killed while travelling as an unofficial passenger aboard a Royal Navy submarine during the Second World War?
... that Good Gravy!, a Thanksgiving dinner–themed roller coaster, was first tested with a train full of plush turkeys?

In the news

Jeju Air aircraft

Jeju Air Flight 2216 (aircraft pictured) crashes at Muan International Airport, South Korea, killing 179 people and injuring 2 others.
Acting president and prime minister of South Korea Han Duck-soo is impeached by the National Assembly.
Former prime minister of India Manmohan Singh dies at the age of 92.
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 is shot down near Aktau International Airport, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people.
At least 11 people are killed when a bridge connecting the Brazilian states of Tocantins and Maranhão partially collapses.

On this day

December 29

Capture of HMS Java by USS Constitution

1812 – War of 1812: In a three-hour single-ship action, HMS Java (drawing shown) was captured by USS Constitution off the coast of Brazil.
1876 – A railway bridge collapsed over the Ashtabula River in Ohio, killing 92 people and injuring 64 others on a Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway train.
1928 – The Northern Expedition, a military campaign by the National Revolutionary Army of the Kuomintang, ended with the complete control of the Republic of China.
1959 – American physicist Richard Feynman gave a speech entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" at Caltech, anticipating the field of nanotechnology.
1994 – Turkish Airlines Flight 278 crashed on approach to Van Ferit Melen Airport in Van, Turkey, killing 57 of the 76 people on board.

Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee (b. 1844)
Jürgen Ehlers (b. 1929)
Ann Demeulemeester (b. 1959)
Twinkle Khanna (b. 1973)

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Today's featured picture

The cinnamon hummingbird (Amazilia rutila) is a species of hummingbird in the "tribe of the emeralds", Trochilini. Currently, four regional subspecies are recognized. It is predominantly found along the Pacific western coast of Mexico and south through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, with some also residing in Belize and the southern Mexican states of Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatán. Cinnamon hummingbirds are typically found at or just slightly above sea level, often inhabiting coastal and lowland areas, as well as further inland in warmer locations in the southern parts of their range. The hummingbird has a length of approximately 9.5 to 11.5 centimetres (3.7 to 4.5 in), and on average weighs about 5 to 5.5 grams (0.18 to 0.19 oz). Its diet usually consists of food foraged from the understory to the mid-story, but it will also visit taller flowering trees. The cinnamon hummingbird feeds on nectar from a very wide variety of flowering plants and also eats insects. It is a territorial species, defending its feeding sites from intrusion by other hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. This cinnamon hummingbird feeding from a flower in flight was photographed in Los Tarrales Natural Reserve near Patulul, Guatemala.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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