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.
The weirder and good news above the fold. As always there is more beneath. We begin with CBS News:
By Simrin Singh
South Korean health officials are asking people not to deep fry and consume starch toothpicks, after the method, which turns the toothpicks into crunchy chips, went viral on social media.
In videos posted to TikTok and Instagram and viewed thousands of times, users are seen putting the toothpicks in hot oil until they puff up, and then adding seasonings like cheese or spicy powder before consuming them.
From The Guardian:
Women will take part in the hadaka matsuri in Inazawa, in which thousands of men dressed in next to nothing drive away evil spirits
Women in Japan have been permitted to take part in an ancient ceremony, known as the naked festival, for the first time in the event’s history, albeit with modifications.
Every February, thousands of men dressed in next to nothing take part in the hadaka matsuri at a Shinto shrine in Inazawa, a town in central Japan, to drive away evil spirits over the coming year.
From the Catholic News Agency:
Pope Francis on Friday clarified the Vatican’s position on same-sex blessings, affirming the recent declaration Fiducia Supplicans and emphasizing that “moral perfection” isn’t a requirement for receiving a blessing.
The Dec. 18, 2023, document, published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), authorizes nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples and others in “irregular situations,” including those who have divorced and remarried.
From The Guardian:
Two Delhi restaurants both claim to have the right to call themselves the home of the original butter chicken recipe
Hannah Ellis-Petersen
It’s one of India’s most beloved dishes and can be found bubbling on kitchen stoves or served on silver in restaurants across the country.
But exactly who came up with the recipe for rich and creamy butter chicken has long been a matter of dispute – one that has now reached India’s courts.
From Reuters:
SYDNEY, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Voting began on Friday in the tiny Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu in a national election that is being closely watched by China, Taiwan, the US and its ally Australia, amid a tussle for influence in the region.
Tuvalu, with a population of about 11,200 spread across nine islands,
has campaigned at international conferences for greater action to help low-lying nations address climate change, because science shows its capital Funafuti risks being inundated by tides by 2050.
From The Guardian:
Cyclone downgraded after dense fog hits parts of the US and India while drought affects Philippines and southern Africa
Tropical Cyclone Kirrily made landfall on the coast of Queensland on Thursday night (local time). Kirrily originated as a tropical low over the Coral Sea, and gradually intensified over several days. The tropical cyclone then quickly intensified on Thursday, reaching a category 2 system by 10am AEST, and category 3 by 3pm, producing gusts of 170 km/h (105mph). As Kirrily moved inland five hours later, it left more than 34,000 homes and business without power in Townsville. However, the cyclone was quickly downgraded back to a category 1 by midnight.
Another from The Guardian (full of news tonight, and yes, I do contribute):
Six members of the neo-Nazi group were arrested after dozens of men wearing black hoods and brandishing Australian flags were stopped at North Sydney station
Anthony Albanese has condemned the actions of a group of neo-Nazis, who wore black balaclavas while brandishing Australian flags when they swarmed a Sydney train on Friday, as “shocking” and having “no role in Australia”
The group of about 60 hooded men were seen at Artarmon station just before midday on Friday.
From The Guardian:
Backlash to ‘Invasion Day’ grows on annual commemoration of arrival of British fleet in Sydney in 1788
Thousands of Australians protested against the anniversary of British colonisation on Friday, with large crowds across the country calling for Australia Day to be moved and for a day of mourning to instead be held on what they call “Invasion Day”.
Speeches in major cities highlighted anger and despair over high Indigenous incarceration rates, deaths in custody and the forced removal of First Nations children from their families. The rallies come months after the proposal for an Indigenous voice to parliament was overwhelmingly defeated at a national referendum.
And The Guardian has photos of the protests.
Also from The Guardian:
Boy sent to mental health facility after Bae Hyun-jin left with cuts to her head from attack in Seoul
A 14-year-old boy who attacked a South Korean lawmaker with a rock has been sent to a mental health facility, police have said, as they continued to investigate the incident that left the politician, Bae Hyun-jin, with cuts to her head.
The suspect was arrested at the scene of the attack in southern Seoul on Friday and sent to a hospital after he was interviewed in the presence of his parents, said Cheon Young-gil, an official at Seoul’s Gangnam district police station.
From the BBC:
For decades, the smiling mugshot of Satoshi Kirishima has featured on wanted posters outside police stations across Japan.
After 49 years on the run, authorities think they may have got their man.
From CNN:
By Christy Choi, Mayumi Maruyama, Hanako Montgomery and Francesca Annio
The face of Japanese beauty is now a Ukrainian-born model — at least according to pageant judges who sparked a debate on cultural identity by naming 26-year-old Karolina Shiino as Miss Japan on Monday.
The annual Miss Nippon contest, which takes its title from the country’s Japanese name, awards the tiara to the contestant representing the “Foremost Beauty of All Japanese Women,” according to the organizers’ website. The decision to pick a winner with European heritage has raised questions about beauty standards and what it means to be Japanese.
From The Guardian:
Sawangjit Kosoognern charged with illegal possession after video showing animal being driven around Pattaya gains 2.6m views
A Thai woman has been charged with illegal possession of a lion cub, police said on Friday, after a video of the animal cruising in a Bentley went viral online.
The police ordered an investigation after a video showing a lion cub riding around the raucous Thai resort town of Pattaya in a Bentley gained more than 2.6m views online.
From the Associated Press:
BANGKOK (AP) — Simmering tensions in the South China Sea between China and several Southeast Asian nations now regularly spark direct confrontation. Fighting in Myanmar against the military government that seized power three years ago has grown to the point that most say the country is now in a civil war.
Hopes were high that Indonesia might be able to make significant inroads on both issues during its 2023 chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, using its clout as the bloc’s largest country, but little progress was made. Now Laos, the bloc’s poorest and one of its smallest countries, has taken over the rotating chair.
From NDTV:
India-Maldives Row: Former Maldives President Ibrahim Solih also congratulated India on the occasion of 75th Republic Day and called for the "unbreakable bond" between the two nations to go from "strength to strength".
Amid the ongoing diplomatic row between New Delhi and Male, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu extended his greetings to India on the occasion of 75th Republic Day.
He recalled the "centuries old friendship" between the two nations built on "mutual respect and a deep sense of kinship".
From the BBC:
India is celebrating its 75th Republic Day with a colourful parade at which French President Emmanuel Macron is the chief guest.
The day marks the anniversary of India officially adopting its constitution, making it a sovereign republic.
The parade, held in the capital, Delhi, went through the avenue of Kartavya Path (Path of Duty), formerly known as the Rajpath, which connects many important landmarks in the city. It culminated at the Red Fort, a 7th Century monument, about 7km (4.3 miles away).
From Al Jazeera:
What risk is there of India turning into a Hindu nation? | Inside Story
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated a controversial Hindu temple in the city of Ayodhya. The shrine was built on grounds where a mosque stood for centuries. That was destroyed by Hindu activists in 1992.
In elections in 2014, Modi campaigned with a promise to build a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Ram, on the very site of the demolished mosque.
From Al Jazeera:
ISIL (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack in the southeastern city that killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores.
The United States government had privately warned Iran that ISIL (ISIS) was preparing to carry out a terrorist attack ahead of the coordinated suicide bombings that killed nearly 100 people in the southeastern city of Kerman.
The confidential alert came after the US acquired intelligence that ISIL’s affiliate in Afghanistan was plotting to attack Iran, a US official said on Thursday.
From CNBC:
KEY POINTS
- Saudi Arabia’s first alcohol store has opened in the diplomatic quarter of its capital Riyadh, accessible to non-Muslim diplomats.
- The regulation of alcohol quotas for diplomatic missions is being put in place to “counter the illicit trade of alcohol goods,” Saudi Arabia’s Center of International Communication reportedly said in a statement.
- “Everyone knows which embassies sell booze … some of them have made a whole side business out of it,” one Saudi investor told CNBC.
From CNN:
A judge in Kenya has barred the East African nation from deploying 1,000 police officers to Haiti to lead a UN-backed multinational force to restore security in the Caribbean nation.
High Court judge Chacha Mwita ruled on Friday that President William Ruto and his National Security Council do not have the authority to send police officers to Haiti or any other country under Kenyan law.
Also about Kenya (from The Guardian):
Hunting by Kenyan lions impeded in ‘ecological chain reaction’ as big-headed ants fail to stop elephants stripping acacia trees – the cats’ ambush cover
When a lion decides to chase down a zebra it seems as though nothing can stop it. But now researchers have discovered these enormous predators are being thwarted by a tiny foe: ants.
Scientists have found the spread of big-headed ants in east Africa sets off a situation leading to lions making fewer zebra kills.
From The Guardian:
In today’s newsletter: 32 pieces of Asante gold are to return home from the British Museum and V&A … but only on loan
More than 150 years after they were “stolen in violent circumstances” by British soldiers, two top UK museums are returning some of Ghana’s “crown jewels”.
The items, which have been described as part of the “national soul” of Ghana, are being loaned – rather than given back – because a UK law bans national museums from “deaccessioning” items in their collections.
And another from The Guardian:
Alexander Stubb says Ukraine invasion spurred his candidacy, as far-right opponent gains ground before Sunday’s vote
Finland’s leading presidential candidate has said foreign policy and security are “existential” issues for the Nordic country, as it prepares to head to the polls for the first time since joining Nato.
Speaking on Friday at a breakfast event in Helsinki two days before Finland’s presidential election at a cafe named after him, Alexander Stubb, who was prime minister from 2014 to 2015, said he had thought he was finished with national politics. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had changed his mind.
From the Associated Press:
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Authorities in Denmark are working against the clock to stop a slow-moving landslide of contaminated soil from reaching a nearby water source as public officials and the company that operated the site argue over who should pay for the massive cleanup.
The 75-meter (250-foot) -tall heap of dirt at the Nordic Waste reprocessing plant south of the town of Randers in northwestern Denmark contains some 3 million cubic meters (100 million cubic feet) of soil contaminated with heavy metals and oil products. It is moving at a pace of up to 40 centimeters (16 inches) per hour toward a stream connected to the Baltic Sea via the Randers Fjord.
From the BBC:
MPs in the Czech Republic have approved an amendment tightening gun legislation, a month after the worst mass shooting in the country's history.
The amendment - which was proposed before the killings - must still pass through the senate and be signed by the president, and will not come into force until 2026.
It's far from revolutionary. So would it even have made a difference?
Also from the BBC:
Across Europe, tens of thousands of farmers have downed tools, mounted their tractors and taken to the streets.
They were already struggling with the cost of living crisis and they have now come out in force to air their grievances, from the European Union's sustainability policies to the effects of the war in Ukraine.
From CNN Business:
Britain is finding out just how hard it can be to negotiate free trade deals, even with close allies and friends.
Nearly eight years after Brexit campaigners persuaded a slim majority to vote to leave the European Union, on a platform that included promises of a brighter future as a global trading nation, the UK government has walked away from talks to replace its legacy EU trade deal with Canada over disputes involving beef, cars and cheese.
From The Guardian:
Toni Schiavone, who refused to pay notice written in English, says car park firm ‘threatened’ him with £10,000 legal costs bill
A Welsh-language campaigner embroiled in a three-year legal battle after refusing to pay a car park fine written in English has claimed the management firm is “threatening” him with a £10,000 legal bill.
Toni Schiavone was given the £70 penalty notice in a car park managed by One Parking Solution in the seaside town of Llangrannog, west Wales, in September 2020.
And finally, from Travel Off Path:
There are few places that tick off all the boxes for a picture-perfect sunny vacation more than the Caribbean.
With travelers looking to escape the cold weather in many parts of the U.S., many Caribbean destinations are a short flight away to paradise.
One of those is the gorgeous islands of The Bahamas, where typically all you have to worry about is being bit by a swimming pig.
