Now
No more the foreign sun does meddle at our earth,
Enforce the green and bring the fallow land to birth,
Nor winter yet weigh all with silence the pine bough
From Archibald MacLeish, “Immortal Autumn”
Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame, jck, and JeremyBloom. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) 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.
OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time. Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
We begin with this from lifehacker:
Getting outside more is better for you. Here are six tips to ditch your weather excuse and enjoy the benefits of nature
I don’t own an umbrella. The logic behind that is simple: If it’s raining, I’m not going outside. Rain is just one on a long list of excuses I use to justify staying indoors (also on the list: all other forms of precipitation, temperatures outside the range of 50-90℉, dirt, and mosquitos).
From CBS News:
BY KERRY BREEN
Medievel (sic) artifacts dating as far back as the Bronze Age were declared treasure by the Welsh government this week.
The items, which were found between 2020 and 2022, include a hoard of bronze artifacts such as axes, spearheads, rings and a sword scabbard. The items were discovered by Dr. Peter Anning and Alex Evans in Feb. 2021 in an empty field in Wales where drainage work had been done. The items were dated between 1000 and 800 B.C., and it's likely that they were deliberately buried in the ground by a local community in a ritual ceremony, Wales' Amgueddfa Cymru museum said in a news release.
From India Today:
As India gets ready to host the World Cup final in Ahmedabad, the city is witnessing a tourism boom. Hotels are booked to capacity and flight tickets to the city are in high demand, with prices soaring. The excitement is infectious as tourists from all over the world converge in Ahmedabad to witness the final. Alongside locals, VVIPs including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have confirmed their attendance, creating a high-profile event.
We’ll discuss things a bit thematically this week, beginning with earth sciences of various sorts. We begin with The Guardian:
His book about a blaze so hot it vaporised concrete and turned a Canadian city to ash has just won the Baillie Gifford prize. John Vaillant explains why the world we think we live in no longer exists
Claire Armitstead
On the afternoon of 3 May 2016, firefighters spotted a plume of smoke near the Canadian oil city of Fort McMurray. It was early in the fire season for the subarctic region and slabs of ice were still floating on its lakes. A water-bombing helicopter was immediately scrambled but it was already too late. Within two hours, flames had roared through 60 hectares (150 acres) of forest. By the end of the day, 90,000 people had been driven from their homes. Whole neighbourhoods had been reduced to ash.
From CNN (video at the link):
India's capital is often ranked among the world's most polluted cities. A recent Air Quality Life Index report found that poor air quality could shorten average life expectancy of New Delhi residents by nearly 12 years. CNN reporter Vedika Sud explains why pollution often peaks at the same time every year and why this problem is so hard to tackle.
From Eye on Africa:
Deadly flash floods hit Horn of Africa
More than 100 people, including 16 children, have died and over 700,000 been forced out of their homes in the Horn of Africa due to flash flooding, the British charity Save the Children said Thursday. The region, particularly Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, has been lashed by unrelenting downpours since the beginning of the month.
From NBC News:
The presidential palace said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. instructed government agencies to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone affected by the quake.
MANILA, Philippines — A powerful undersea earthquake shook the southern Philippines on Friday, causing ceilings in shopping malls to plunge to the ground as shoppers screamed. There were no immediate reports of injuries, and no tsunami warning was in effect.
The magnitude 6.7 quake was located about 15 miles from Burias at the southern tip of the Philippines, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was centered at a depth of 48 miles, it said.
From NBC News:
Residents who were evacuated from their homes in Grindavik in southwestern Iceland said they dreaded the future as the risk of volcanic eruption remained high. They were speaking at a roadblock as they waited for permission to return to their homes and collect their belongings.
Also from NBC:
It is hoped that the construction workers, who have been stuck underground for days, can crawl to their freedom through a series of pipes welded together.
LUCKNOW, India — Rescuers drilled deeper into the rubble of a collapsed road tunnel in northern
India on Friday to fix wide pipes for 40 workers trapped underground for a sixth day to crawl to their freedom.
Drilling with a new machine started on Thursday and has covered a stretch of about 80 feet so far, said Devendra Patwal, a disaster management official.
Now we switch to election news around the world, beginning with Al Jazeera:
Mohamed Muizzu, who is seen as pro-China, campaigned on a promise to evict Indian troops from the country.
The new Maldives president, Mohamed Muizzu, says he will remove foreign military personnel from the country, reaffirming his support for the departure of a small Indian force from the Indian Ocean archipelago, where India and China vie for influence.
At his inauguration on Friday, Muizzu – who is seen as more pro-China than his predecessor Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who had sought closer ties with India – said that he would pursue trade with both nations.
From africanews:
Liberia: election observers applaud peaceful conduct
Observers from the European Union (EU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Thursday congratulated Liberia on the "largely" peaceful conduct of the second round of the presidential election.
From France24:
Pedro Sanchez won the backing of Spain's parliament on Thursday for another term as prime minister, with the country divided over his amnesty for Catalan separatists in exchange for their crucial support in a confidence vote. Sanchez, in office since 2018, won the slim backing of 179 lawmakers, three more than the absolute majority of 176 in the 350-seat parliament after an often tense two-day debate. His Socialist party finished second in an inconclusive July general election but he reached deals with several smaller parties to back re-establishing his minority coalition government with hard-left party Sumar. To win the support of two Catalan separatist parties, he agreed to grant an amnesty to hundreds of people facing legal action for their role in Catalonia's separatist movement over the past decade. Among the beneficiaries is Carles Puigdemont, who headed the regional government of Catalonia when it staged a failed secession bid in 2017. With Sánchez now assured the prime ministership, despite intense controversy over amnesty for separatists, FRANCE 24's Tom Burges Watson is joined by Carlos Mascarell Vilar, Political Analyst and Carlos Mascarell Vilar, Columnist on Spanish, Catalan, European and International Affairs.
From the Washington Post:
BUENOS AIRES — In his 30 years as a priest, Rodolfo Viano never imagined he would find himself here, knocking on doors to warn neighbors about a threat to democracy.
But days before Argentina’s presidential election, for at least the 10th time in recent months, he walked down the dirt road of his working-class neighborhood outside Buenos Aires, hoping to persuade undecided voters to “make the best decision possible.”
From Reuters:
BERLIN, Nov 17 (Reuters) - A German court ruling that wiped billions from the federal budget could drag down growth by as much as half a percentage point next year in Europe's biggest economy, an economy ministry source told Reuters on Friday.
The coalition is scrambling to fix a large hole in its finances after a court ruling blocked the government from transferring 60 billion euros ($65 billion) in unused funds from the pandemic towards green initiatives and industry support.
From The Guardian:
Downing Street says ignoring ECHR and parts of UN refugee convention could delay emergency bill
Downing Street has ruled out a proposal by rightwing Conservatives to override international law to remove asylum seekers to Rwanda, prompting threats that rebel MPs will simply seek to amend planned legislation.
Rishi Sunak has promised to introduce a bill to parliament to get around Wednesday’s supreme court ruling that flights to Rwanda could not take place because of the risk that people could be wrongly returned to their home countries.
From the BBC:
A French senator has been questioned on suspicion of plying an MP with a drug without her knowing.
Joël Guerriau was detained at his home after the MP allegedly had a drink with him and then complained of feeling unwell.
From the BBC:
Seven months after the start of Sudan's civil war, conditions for many in the capital, Khartoum, are worse than ever - but some of those who escaped from the city in the early days are also struggling to survive.
Abdul-Aziz Hussein - whose name has been changed for his safety - took the decision in April to stay in Khartoum. He never thought the fighting between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) would last so long.
And in a more pleasant end to the diary, we have this from Kansas City’s PBS station, KCUR:
Ingredients from the Kansas outdoors — including wild game and foraged produce — will be featured in the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks' first-ever Wild Foods Cook-Off. The event will take place Sunday, Nov. 19 at Baker University Wetlands Discovery Center in Lawrence.
Squirrel, elderberries and pawpaws aren't usually the stars of Kansas cuisine. But they — and other ingredients found in the Kansas outdoors — are taking center stage at Wild Foods Cook Off in Lawrence this weekend.