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Castell Coch is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built above the village of Tongwynlais in South Wales. The first castle on the site was built by the Normans after 1081 to protect the newly conquered town of Cardiff. The castle's earth motte was reused by Gilbert de Clare as the basis for a new stone fortification, built between 1267 and 1277. John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, inherited the castle ruins in 1848. One of Britain's wealthiest men, he employed the architect William Burges to reconstruct the castle as a summer residence. Burges rebuilt the outside before his death in 1881, and the interior work was finished by his team in 1891; it featured elaborate decorations including extensive use of symbolism drawing on themes from classical mythology and legend. Crichton-Stuart planted a vineyard just below the castle, where wine production continued until the First World War. Castell Coch is considered to be one of the best surviving examples of Victorian architecture. (Full article...)

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Silicon Island

... that a plan to reclaim three islets in Penang was scaled down to just one—Silicon Island (pictured)—after an intervention by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim?
... that 1,10-decanediol could potentially hamper the production of nitrite in soil?
... that Doug Hamlin vowed to recruit more women and minorities to the National Rifle Association?
... that the upcoming Seattle Sounders FC season includes a tournament for which they qualified in 2022?
... that the 1999–2001 Liechtenstein financial crisis caused the country to be blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force?
... that the Vĩnh Điện River was used to transport sugar and cinnamon for international export in the 1840s?
... that after seeing a film at the United Palace, the televangelist Reverend Ike asked to buy the theater so he could move in the next day?
... that the staff of Sergiyev Posad-6 were banned from using libraries in Moscow?
... that the music video of "Speed Me Up" was described as "incredibly dumb" and a "cornucopia of hilarious imagery"?

In the news (For today)

Grand Kartal Hotel in 2007

A fire at a ski resort hotel (pictured) in Kartalkaya, Turkey, leaves at least 76 people dead and 51 others injured.
A series of attacks by the National Liberation Army in the Catatumbo region of Colombia leaves more than a hundred people dead.
A ceasefire agreement suspends the Israel–Hamas war, involving the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
Two Supreme Court judges are assassinated in a shooting at the Supreme Court of Iran in Tehran.

On the next day

January 23: Little New Year in southern China (2025)

Hongwu Emperor

1368 – The Hongwu Emperor (pictured) ascended to the throne, initiating the Ming dynasty, which would rule China for three centuries.
1571 – Queen Elizabeth I opened the Royal Exchange in London, giving it its royal title.
1846 – Ahmad Bey declared the legal abolition of slavery in Tunisia.
1870 – American Indian Wars: The United States Army killed about 200 Piegan Blackfeet, mostly women, children, and the elderly, in the Marias Massacre.
1915 – Rebels led by John Chilembwe attacked local plantation owners, beginning an uprising regarded as a key moment in the history of Malawi.
2010 – The final signal was detected from the NASA space probe Pioneer 10, then about 12 billion kilometres (7.5 billion miles) from Earth.

Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama (b. 1880)
Guida Maria (b. 1950)
Hsu Tain-tsair (b. 1953)

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Tomorrow's featured picture

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. It is native to Central Asia, South Asia, and northeastern Iran. It has long been used as a seasoning and culinary ingredient worldwide, with a history of several thousand years of human consumption and use, including use in traditional medicine. It was known to ancient Egyptians and other ancient cultures for which its consumption has had a significant culinary cultural impact, especially across the Mediterranean region and across parts of Asia. It is produced globally, but the largest producer is China, which produced 73% of the world's supply of garlic in 2021. This photograph shows a bulb and cloves of garlic, and was focus-stacked from 37 individual images.

Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus

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