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From today's featured articleSalih ibn Mirdas (died 1029) was the founder of the Mirdasid dynasty and emir of Aleppo from 1025 until his death. His sons and grandsons ruled Aleppo for most of the next five decades. In 1008 he seized the Euphrates river fortress of al-Rahba. He was imprisoned and tortured in 1012 by the emir of Aleppo, Mansur ibn Lu'lu', before escaping two years later and capturing Mansur in battle. With his Bedouin warriors, Salih captured a string of fortresses along the Euphrates, including Manbij and Raqqa, by 1022. He later allied with the Banu Kalb and Banu Tayy tribes in their rebellion against the Fatimids of Egypt, who ruled Aleppo. He annexed the central Syrian towns of Homs, Baalbek and Sidon before conquering Aleppo in 1025 and establishing a well-organized administration. He paid formal allegiance to the Fatimids, but his alliance with the Banu Tayy drew him into conflict with the Fatimid general, Anushtakin al-Dizbari, whose forces killed Salih in battle near the Sea of Galilee. (Full article...)
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George Whitefield (b. 1714) · George Cayley (b. 1773) · Chyna (b. 1969)
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The 2016 AFL Rising Star was presented to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for that year. An eligible player was nominated for the award each round during the AFL's regular season, and a panel of experts voted for the winner at the end of the season. The winner was Sydney player Callum Mills (pictured), who polled 49 votes. Mills was the third Sydney recipient to win the award, and the first New South Wales – born winner. The club that garnered the most individual nominations this season was Melbourne with four players nominated for the award, a record for the club. Essendon player Orazio Fantasia, who received a nomination in round 17, was previously nominated for the award in the 2015 season – becoming the tenth player ever to be nominated twice for a Rising Star award. (Full list...)
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The chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus) is a species of penguin that inhabits land masses in the Southern Pacific and Antarctic Oceans. The bird's black back and white underparts provide camouflage in the form of countershading when viewed from above or below, helping it to avoid detection by its predators, which include the leopard seal, the southern giant petrel, the brown skua and the south polar skua. The chinstrap penguin grows to a length of 68–76 cm (27–30 in) and a weight of 3.2–5.3 kg (7.1–11.7 lb), with the weight varying with the time of year. Males are greater in weight and height than females. This picture shows a chinstrap penguin photographed on Deception Island, in the Antarctic archipelago of the South Shetland Islands. Photograph credit: Andrew Shiva
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