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Symbol of the 24th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS

The 24th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Karstjäger was a German mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of the Nazi Party that served alongside, but was never formally part of, the German armed forces during World War II. Formed on 18 July 1944 from a battalion, it was understrength and was soon reduced to a brigade. Its main task was fighting partisans on the rugged frontiers of Yugoslavia, Italy, and Austria, and it consisted mainly of ethnic Germans from Yugoslavia and Italy. It also disarmed Italian troops and protected ethnic German communities in Italy in the wake of the Italian surrender. Members of the division were implicated in the 25 August 1944 murder of 33 people in the village of Torlano near Nimis in Italy, and 22 other major crimes. At the post-war Nuremberg trials, the Waffen-SS was declared to be a criminal organisation due to its major involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Milk Drop Coronet (1957)

... that Doc Edgerton created a stroboscope that he used to take high-speed photographs of bullets being shot, insects flying, and drops of liquid (pictured)?
... that Michael Jerrell was the only player from the NCAA Division II level to be selected in the 2024 NFL draft?
... that Crystal Castles canceled their studio recording plans for "Not in Love" because of Robert Smith's demo vocals?
... that architect John Henry Hirst designed at least nine Grade II listed buildings, including Cambridge Crescent, Harrogate, which hosts the newsroom of the Stray Ferret?
... that Nosy Komba is a destination for both ecotourism and illegal logging?
... that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder and first president of Bangladesh, experienced his birthday in jail eight times?
... that Hadriana in All My Dreams, published in 1988, was the first novel by a Haitian author to win a major French literary award?
... that Hendrik Wortman oversaw the early development of the Zuiderzee Works, which dammed off the Zuiderzee to create arable land in the Netherlands?
... that though Donatello was a Bardi, he was not part of the Bardi family?

In the news

Kasia Niewiadoma

In cycling, Katarzyna Niewiadoma (pictured) wins the Tour de France Femmes.
Doctors strike and protests occur across India after the rape and murder of a female physician in Kolkata.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra becomes Prime Minister of Thailand after Srettha Thavisin is dismissed by the Constitutional Court.
The World Health Organization declares the mpox epidemic to be a global health emergency.

On this day

August 25

Rings of Neptune

1258 – George Mouzalon, the regent of the Empire of Nicaea, was assassinated as part of a conspiracy led by nobles under the future emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.
1758 – Seven Years' War: Prussian forces engaged the Russians at the Battle of Zorndorf in present-day Sarbinowo, Poland.
1914 – World War I: During the sack of Louvain in Belgium, German troops burned the town's Catholic university, destroying several medieval manuscripts.
1989 – The NASA spacecraft Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune and provided definitive proof of the existence of the planet's rings (pictured).
2011 – Mexican drug war: Fifty-two people were killed in an arson attack at a casino in Monterrey, Mexico.

Velma Caldwell Melville (d. 1924)
Babe Siebert (d. 1939)
Theresa Andrews (b. 1962)
Ray Jones (d. 2007)

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Today's featured picture

The splendid fairywren (Malurus splendens) is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is found across much of the Australian continent from central-western New South Wales and southwestern Queensland over to coastal Western Australia. It inhabits predominantly arid and semi-arid regions. Exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism, the male in breeding plumage is a small, long-tailed bird of bright blue and black colouration. Non-breeding males, females and juveniles are grey-brown in colour; this gave the early impression that males were polygamous as all dull-coloured birds were taken for females. The species comprises several similar all-blue and black subspecies that were originally considered to be separate species. Like other fairywrens, the splendid fairywren is notable for several peculiar behavioural characteristics; birds are socially monogamous and sexually promiscuous, meaning that although they form pairs between one male and one female, each partner will mate with other individuals and even assist in raising the young from such pairings. Male wrens pluck pink or purple petals and display them to females as part of a courtship display. This male splendid fairywren was photographed in Cargelligo State Forest in New South Wales, Australia.

Photograph credit: John Harrison

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