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, sometimes09OP0az 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.
News about animals above the fold, and other subjects below.
First up, pictures from CNN:
By Issy Ronald and Lianne Kolirin
It is an otherworldly scene. A paper nautilus floats on a piece of
ocean debris after a volcanic eruption in the
Philippines, its orange eye bright against the black water, its parchment-like shell curled in a perfect spiral, with specks of light falling like raindrops on the image.
And for this photo of a paper nautilus, a type of octopus, Jialing Cai has been named the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2023, beating thousands of photos submitted to the competition which aims to display the beauty of the oceans and the threats they face.
From CBS News:
BY CHRIS LIVESAY
Marrakech — In the aftermath of Morocco's powerful earthquake, CBS News found life amid the rubble. While reporting in Talat N'Yaqoob, close to the epicenter of the devastating 6.8 magnitude quake that killed almost 3,000 people, we heard faint yelps coming from a pile of debris.
Just beyond a heap of crumbled cinder block and ashes in Morocco's High Atlas Mountains, a tiny, dark-brown creature, about the size of a hamster appeared disoriented and was struggling to move. It turned out to be a puppy, so young its eyes were still sealed shut.
From the BBC:
By Harrison Jones & Jo Couzens
Owners of American bully XLs have spoken of their "heartbreak" at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's decision to ban the breed.
The announcement on Friday follows a spate of attacks, including one which killed 52-year-old Ian Price.
Mr Sunak described bully XLs as a "danger to communities, particularly our children".
From the New York Times:
General Li Shangfu’s recent absence from the public eye, which follows the removal of two top commanders, has raised questions about Xi Jinping’s confidence in his military.
China’s defense minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, has been placed under investigation, according to two U.S. officials, fueling speculation about further upheaval in the military after the abrupt removal of two top commanders in charge of the country’s nuclear force.
General Li has not been seen in public in more than two weeks. He had been expected to take part in a meeting last week in Vietnam, but there was no word of his attendance. Asked by reporters on Friday about General Li’s whereabouts, Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said she had no information.
From NPR:
The Southern Indian state of Kerala is now battling another deadly outbreak of the Nipah virus, its fourth since 2018. Authorities were alerted to the outbreak after two deaths attributed to the virus. A 49-year-old man named Mohammed Ali, who lived in the village of Maruthonkara, died on August 30, and 40-year-old Mangalatt Haris, who lived in the town of Ayanchery, died on September 11.
On September 13, test results confirmed that both men had died of Nipah. Authorities tested for the virus from routine nose swabs. A combination of flu-like and neurological symptoms — headache, fever, cough, acute respiratory distress and seizures — alerted them to test for the virus.
From the Barents Observer:
The U.S Treasury adds a significant number of Russian individuals and companies to its sanctions list. It means trouble for the developers of liquified natural gas and new mines in the Russian Arctic.
Russian natural gas company Novatek and its leader Leonid Mikhelson is among the ones that most likely is tearing his hair in despair over the new U.S anti-war measures.
Novatek is a key target in the updated sanctions list that was announced on the 14th of September. Several subsidiary units of the company is on the list. The same goes for a number of the companies that supply Novatek with equipment, technology and manpower.
From The Guardian:
Majid Tavakoli says protesters should have had more help from abroad but the west doesn’t understand what Iran has become
The majority of Iranians wish for a “normal life and for a government similar to the governments based on the liberal democratic system”, one of Iran’s most prominent political activists has said, as he prepares to start a six-year jail sentence, leaving his wife and three-year-old daughter behind.
Majid Tavakoli’s incarceration is part of the extraordinary crackdown that the Iranian regime has imposed on dissent as a result of protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody after she was arrested for wearing the hijab improperly. The first anniversary of Amini’s death falls on Saturday, and the regime is taking every step to prevent protests, including with patrols outside the Amini family home.
From the Associated Press:
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A delegation from Yemen’s Houthi rebels has flown into Saudi Arabia for talks with the kingdom on potentially ending the yearslong war tearing at the Arab world’s poorest nation, officials said.
It remains unclear what terms are being discussed between Riyadh and the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have held Yemen’s capital of Sanaa since September 2014. But this first public trip by a senior Houthi delegation comes after regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a Chinese-mediated détente earlier this year and as there has been a flurry of diplomatic activity between the different parties in the proxy war.
From The Economist:
Two women are leading the opposition to the government’s legal reforms
As she ended the marathon hearing late on September 12th, Esther Hayut, the president of Israel’s Supreme Court, wished the packed courtroom a “g’mar chatima tova”. The Hebrew blessing, which means “a good final sealing” in the Book of Life, is usually proclaimed on the eve of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. That is still two weeks away, but her utterance seemed a fitting finish to the proceedings.
For over 13 hours, all 15 justices, sitting together on one case for the first time in the court’s history, heard petitions demanding that they disqualify an amendment passed by the government seven weeks ago, limiting the judges’ powers. The main broadcasters suspended their programming to show the session. Spellbound, Israelis watched the arguments over the future of their democracy.
From The Times of Israel:
'I DON’T BELIEVE IN ANYONE’S AUTHORITY BUT THAT OF G-D'
Despite calls by Jerusalem and Kyiv to stay away this year, hundreds of devout Jews have brought their young children to the annual Rosh Hashanah celebration
UMAN, Ukraine – Tired and hungry, Ofer Azran waits patiently as his six-year-old son browses for a wallet at one of the overpriced convenience stores that pop up in Uman ahead of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
Azran and his son traveled for 30 hours from Israel, through Poland and much of war-torn Ukraine to get to the Uman gravesite of Rabbi Nachman, an 18th-century luminary who inspired the Breslov movement of Hasidic Judaism, by the eve of Rosh Hashanah. His burial place is the focus of the world’s largest Jewish pilgrimage outside Israel.
From Deutsche Welle:
From Newsweek:
Key Putin Ally Ramzan Kadyrov Is Critically Ill: Ukrainian Report BY KAITLIN LEWIS
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is reportedly in critical condition amid his ongoing health problems, according to Ukrainian intelligence.
Andriy Yusov, a representative for the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, told the Belarusian news site Nexta that Kadyrov's current health status had been confirmed by both "medical and political circles." The Chechen leader has reportedly faced health problems due to ongoing kidney issues and recently blamed his worsening health on his personal doctor.
From Politico:
Donald Tusk describes the unfolding events as ‘the biggest scandal of the 21st century in Poland.’
WOJCIECH KOŚĆ
WARSAW — Exactly a month before a pivotal general election, Poland’s ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party is scrambling to contain a snowballing scandal, in which officials have been fired and others arrested and charged over an alleged bribery scheme to hand out Polish visas.
Poland’s government prides itself on its tough-on-migration credentials but the allegation at the heart of the scandal is that its operatives in consulates worldwide — particularly in Africa and Asia — doled out Polish visas, and EU access, for generous sweeteners. Polish media said some 250,000 visas had been granted since 2021, for thousands and even tens of thousands of euros each.
From CNN:
The Italian city of Venice and its lagoon were not listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage in Danger list during a meeting of the UN agency in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, according to Italy’s culture ministry.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee had warned earlier in July that Italy was not doing enough to protect the city from the threat of overtourism, development and climate change. It recommended that it be added to its heritage danger list.
From Deutsche Welle:
Germany is known the world over for its beer-guzzling fall festival. Even though it's a highly traditional event, DW's Louisa Schaefer says new fashion trends can be seen at the fun-loving celebration.
Just a few weeks ago, I was at a Cologne-based "vintage" store (modern vernacular for "second-hand" in Germany) with my 15-year-old daughter. While rummaging through one rack, I came across a beautiful dirndl, one that busty young women traditionally wear during
Oktoberfest in the southern Bavarian region of Germany while serving up massive mugs of beer to boisterous drinkers.
From the Insider:
One person is dead and over a dozen have been hospitalized in a
botulism outbreak in France.
A couple from California on holiday in Bordeaux are among those who got sick.
The toxin is thought to have come from improperly preserved sardines they ate at a wine bar.
From Politico:
The absences of both France’s president and Britain’s prime minister have raised eyebrows.
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron is hopping from one diplomatic meeting to another, but there’s one place he isn’t going — and that’s the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
Macron is not alone. Other heavyweights aren’t showing up to the global diplo fest either.
In addition to the absences of China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladmir Putin, Britain’s Rishi Sunak and India’s Narendra Modi are also skipping the gathering in New York next week.
From France24:
From Business Insider
- Cocaine is set to become Colombia's top export this year, edging out oil products, according to a note from Bloomberg Economics.
- Revenue derived from Colombia's cocaine business is nearing $20 billion, ahead of the country's $19.1 billion in 2022 oil exports.
- Cocaine production in Colombia is at its highest level since 1991 amid lenient policies from Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
The shift comes as Colombian President Gustavo Petro keeps a lenient policy towards the coca crop industry in place that dates back to 2013, when the cocaine industry generated just $2.2 billion in export revenues, according to Bloomberg estimates.