Rodents are mammals of the order Rodentia, characterized by two pairs of continuously growing incisors, one pair in the upper and one in the lower jaw. About forty percent of all mammal species are rodents, and they are found in vast numbers on all continents except Antarctica. They are the most diversified mammalian order, including mice, rats, squirrels, prairie dogs, porcupines, beavers, guinea pigs, and hamsters, and can be found in a variety of habitats, including manmade environments. There are arboreal, burrowing, and semi-aquatic species. While the largest species, the capybara, can weigh as much as 66 kg (146 lb), many rodents weigh less than 100 g (3.5 oz) and have robust bodies, short limbs and long tails. They use their sharp incisors to gnaw food, defend themselves, and shape their habitat. Most eat seeds or other plant material. Many species live in societies with complex forms of communication. Rodents can be monogamous, polygynous, or promiscuous. The rodent fossil record dates back to the Paleocene on the supercontinent of Laurasia. ( Full article...)

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• Five banks charged with manipulating foreign exchange rates plead guilty and agree to fines totaling over US$5.7 billion.
• The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant captures the strategic city of Ramadi, Iraq, and the historic city of Palmyra, Syria.
• A landslide in Salgar, Colombia, kills more than 75 people.
• In association football, FC Barcelona (head coach Luis Enrique pictured) win La Liga.
• Aruna Shanbaug, a rape victim whose case sparked debate on euthanasia in India, dies after 42 years in a persistent vegetative state.
• In ice hockey, the IIHF World Championship concludes with Canada defeating Russia in the final.
• Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is sentenced to death for his role in the Wadi el-Natrun prison break during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.

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May 22: Unity Day in Yemen ( 1990)

• 853 – Byzantine–Arab Wars: The Byzantine navy sacked and plundered the port city of Damietta on the Nile Delta, whose garrison was absent at the time.
• 1826 – HMS Beagle departed on her first voyage from Plymouth for a hydrographic survey of the Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego regions of South America.
• 1915 – Lassen Peak, in the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California, violently erupted (pictured), the only volcanic eruption in the contiguous U.S. in the 20th century until Mount St. Helens in 1980.
• 1915 – Five trains were involved in the United Kingdom's deadliest train crash near Gretna Green, Scotland, killing 227 people and injuring 246 others.
• 1945 – The United States Army formed a plan to evacuate German scientists and engineers to help in the development of rocket technology.

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Ninety-seven Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order were appointed by King Edward VII, plus an additional 239 honorary Knights Grand Cross, between his accession to the throne on 22 January 1901 and his death on 6 May 1910. The Royal Victorian Order is an order of knighthood awarded by the sovereign of the United Kingdom and several Commonwealth realms. It is granted personally by the monarch and recognises personal service to the monarchy, the Royal Household, royal family members, and the organisation of important royal events. The order was instituted with five grades, the highest of which was Knight Grand Cross, which conferred the status of knighthood on holders (apart from foreigners, who typically received honorary awards not entitling them to the style of a knight). Of the 97 appointments, 6 were members of King Edward VII's own family, 3 were Indian princes, 1 was an archbishop, 31 were already peers and 56 were knights (including 8 baronets). Of the total substantive appointments, 30 were to serving commissioned officers, including General Sir John French and Admiral of the Fleet John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher. Royalty feature heavily in the foreign appointments; the King of Greece was among them, as were the future kings of Norway, Denmark, Greece and Thailand. ( Full list...)

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