The Guardian
Revered abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who was the first woman to oversee an American military action during a time of war, was posthumously awarded the rank of general on Monday.
Dozens gathered on Veterans Day at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad state park in Maryland’s Dorcester county for a formal ceremony making Tubman a one-star brigadier general in the state’s national guard.
Wes Moore, the governor, called the occasion not just a great day for Tubman’s home state but for all of the US.
“Today, we celebrate a soldier and a person who earned the title of veteran,” Moore said. “Today we celebrate one of the greatest authors of the American story.”
Tubman escaped slavery herself in 1849 and settled in Philadelphia. Intent on helping others achieve freedom, she established the Underground Railroad network and led other enslaved Black women and men to freedom. She then channeled those experiences as a scout, spy and nurse for the Union amy during the civil war, helping guide 150 Black soldiers on a gunboat raid in South Carolina.
This is an open thread where everyone is welcome, especially night owls and early birds, to share and discuss the happenings of the day. Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
The Guardian
Art Garfunkel has described a recent tearful reunion with Paul Simon, in which the pair moved past old enmities.
Speaking to the Times, Garfunkel said: “I actually had lunch with Paul a couple of weeks back. First time we’d been together in many years. I looked at Paul and said, ‘What happened? Why haven’t we seen each other?’ Paul mentioned an old interview where I said some stuff. I cried when he told me how much I had hurt him. Looking back, I guess I wanted to shake up the nice guy image of Simon & Garfunkel. Y’know what? I was a fool!
“We’ve made plans to meet again. Will Paul bring his guitar? Who knows. For me, it was about wanting to make amends before it’s too late. It felt like we were back in a wonderful place. As I think about it now, tears are rolling down my cheeks. I can still feel his hug.”
BBC
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” in some of the harshest public criticism of the country by a Saudi official since the start of the war.
Speaking at a summit of Muslim and Arab leaders the prince also criticised Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Iran.
In a sign of improving ties between rivals Riyadh and Tehran, he warned Israel against launching attacks on Iranian soil.
Saudi's de facto leader was joined by other leaders present in calling for a total Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza.
BBC
The US will still continue fighting climate change and curbing its emissions of planet-warming gases despite the election of Donald Trump, the US special envoy told the COP29 conference on its opening day.
John Podesta, a Biden administration appointee, labelled the incoming president a climate denier and said he would dismantle environmental safeguards.
But in a sign of some early progress, country representatives struck an agreement over a long-standing sticking point in international climate negotiations.
The move could allow richer countries to make up for some of their atmosphere-heating pollution by investing in clean energy projects or forests in developing nations.
Several airlines have suspended flights to Haiti after a passenger plane from the US was hit by gunfire as it tried to land in Port-au-Prince.
Spirit Airlines Flight 951 from Fort Lauderdale in Florida was diverted to the neighbouring Dominican Republic, where it landed safely at Santiago Airport.
A flight attendant suffered minor injuries but no passengers were hurt in the attack, the second in three weeks on aircraft flying over Haiti's capital.
The incident comes as a new prime minister took office in the crisis-hit country, which has been plagued by armed gangs and escalating violence.
Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said his priority was "restoring security", according to AFP news agency.
Notwithstanding the country's "difficult circumstances", he promised to put all of his energy, skills and "patriotism at the service of the national cause".
NPR
Skygazers are in for a treat Monday night as the North Taurid meteor showers peak, offering viewers a chance to see some bright streaks across the night sky.
The North and South Taurids are meteor showers that come from the breakup of a large comet about 10,000 years ago, says Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. South Taurids are debris from Comet Encke, the largest object from the breakup, and North Taurids are debris from asteroid 2004TG10, Cooke says.
NPR
A study of cells from 84 cadaver brains suggests that Alzheimer's has two distinct phases, and that one type of neuron is especially vulnerable.
"There's an early phase where there's a very slow increase in the amount of pathology," says Ed Lein, a senior investigator at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle, "then a more exponential phase where suddenly things get really bad."
The study also found evidence that a small subset of neurons known as somatostatin inhibitory neurons begin to die off during the early phase of Alzheimer's, Lein and a team of nearly 100 other scientists report in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Al Jazeera
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has ordered preparations for the annexation of the occupied West Bank ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump taking office in January 2025.
In a statement on Monday, Smotrich voiced his hope that the new administration in Washington will recognise Israel’s push for “sovereignty” over the occupied territory.
In addition to his finance portfolio, Smotrich – who himself lives in an illegal Israeli settlement – also holds a position within Israel’s Defence Ministry where he oversees the administration of the occupied West Bank and its settlements.
“2025: the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” Smotrich wrote on X, using the biblical name by which Israel refers to the occupied West Bank.
Al Jazeera
At least 30 people have been killed across Gaza by Israeli military attacks as tanks entered the western side of the Nuseirat refugee camp in a new incursion.
Health officials at al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat, the central Gaza Strip, said 20 people were killed in a series of air and ground attacks overnight and into Monday, including one that hit a tent encampment.
In the northern town of Beit Lahiya, which Israeli forces have besieged since the beginning of October, medics said four people were killed in an Israeli air attack.
Others were killed in an air attack in Gaza City.
Medics also said three medical workers were injured at Kamal Adwan Hospital near Beit Lahiya due to fire from an Israeli drone.
Deutsche Welle
Dozens of people armed with sticks and firecrackers set a tram on fire in Amsterdam on Monday, police said.
It was not clear whether the unrest was related to attacks on Israeli football fans last week.
Also on Monday, police made several additional arrests related to the attacks.
It comes a day after riot police broke up a pro-Palestinian protest on Dam Square.
The tram caught fire at the '40-'45 Square in western Amsterdam, according to a police spokesman. The windows of the tram were also shattered.
The spokesman said that no one was injured in the incident, as the tram had been empty.
Deutsche Welle
Punjab, Pakistan's most-populous province, has imposed a ban on almost all open-air activities and ordered stores, markets and malls in some areas to close early as high levels of air pollution cause an unprecedented rise in smog-driven illnesses.
Schools have also closed in the main cities of the province, of which Lahore is the capital, with all the restrictions to run until November 17.
Earlier this month, Lahore, which regularly ranks among the world's most polluted cities, had an air pollution index score of 1,900 in some places, according to Swiss group IQAir.
Although the level is now lower, its index score of more than 600 on Monday still means that residents are breathing highly toxic air, with 0-50 considered the target score.
The Guardian
Italian police have dismantled a Europe-wide forgery network suspected of producing sophisticated replicas of works by some of the world’s most famous artists, including Banksy, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Gustav Klimt.
Thirty-eight people had been placed under investigation in Italy, Spain, France and Belgium on suspicion of conspiracy to handle stolen goods, forgery and illegal sale of artworks, Italy’s art police and Pisa’s prosecutor’s office said in a joint statement on Monday.
The investigation began last year when Italy’s art police seized 200 counterfeit pieces from the collection of a businessman in the Tuscan city of Pisa that included a copy of a drawing by the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani.
Reuters
SEOUL, Nov 12 (Reuters) - North Korea has ratified a
mutual defence treaty with Russia signed by the two countries' leaders
in June, which calls for each side to come to the other's aid in case of an armed attack, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.
The report came amid international criticism over increasing military cooperation between the two countries, with North Korea having sent tens of thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a decree to ratify the pact on Monday, KCNA said, adding it takes effect when both sides exchange the ratification instruments.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also
signed the treaty into law, which stipulates that the two countries should "immediately provide military and other assistance using all available means" if either side is in a state of war.
Kim clinched the accord with Putin at a
summit in June, touting it as a step to elevate bilateral ties to something akin to an "alliance"
The crew of the Overnight News Digest consists of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, jeremybloom, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Rise above the swamp, Besame and jck. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) eeff, Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw.
