Portal:Current events/2012 November 13

November 13, 2012 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- Three Syrian tanks have entered the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights. Israel has launched a formal complaint to the United Nations. (Haaretz)
- France and six other states recognize the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. (France24)
Following over 150 rockets being fired into Israel over the past four days from Gaza and attacks by Israel, Egypt has mediated a truce. Both Hamas and Ehud Barak praise the efforts for peace. (JPost)

Politics and elections

Science and technology

A total solar eclipse occurred in parts of Australia and the South Pacific. The most populous city to experience totality was Cairns. (BBC)
A pinch of fine sand and dust became the first solid Martian sample deposited into the Sample Analysis at Mars, the biggest instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. The sample came from the patch of windblown material called Rocknest, which had provided a sample previously for mineralogical analysis by CheMin instrument. (JPL-NASA)

Medicine

Scott Routley, a 39-year-old Canadian man, makes medical history by becoming the first person believed to have been in a vegetative state to tell scientists that he is not in any pain. The discovery requires the rewriting of medical textbooks. (BBC)