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, JeremyBloom, and doomandgloom. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man (RIP), 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 since 2007, 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.
From the New York Times:
The man ingested the egg locket at a jewelry store in New Zealand last week, according to the authorities.
The Fabergé egg locket was an extravagant homage to “Octopussy,” the 1983 James Bond movie about murder and jewelry smuggling that includes a scene in which Bond deftly swaps a real Fabergé egg for a fake one at an auction.
Crafted in 18-karat gold and decorated with green guilloche enamel set with 60 white diamonds and 15 blue sapphires, the egg opened to reveal a miniature gold octopus with two black diamonds for eyes.
From the South China Morning Post:
Ed Bambas took a cashier job at 82 to cope with grief and bills after his wife’s death, but a stranger’s kindness has changed everything
Ed Bambas from Michigan was presented with an oversized cheque for US$1.7 million on Friday – the result of an extraordinary online fundraising drive.
Also from SCMP:
In her online plea for rescue, she shares location, urges authorities to cut power in her neighbourhood to prevent electrocution
A Thai woman declined rescue and chose to remain stranded on a rooftop amid severe floods to stay with her pet dog and cat, garnering online praise.
The woman, known as Jazz, appealed for help on social media on November 22.
More news below the fold.
From NPR:
SEOUL – The biggest feud between Japan and China in more than a decade appears to be escalating, with China trying to isolate Japan diplomatically, as punishment for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks last month about Japan's possible involvement in a conflict over Taiwan.
No end to the spat is in sight, and neither side shows signs of climbing down.
From the BBC:
Steve Rosenberg and Vikas Pandey
Russian President Vladimir Putin will wind up a packed day in India at the place where he began his official engagements - with a banquet at the president's house, where he received a guard of honour in the morning.
In between, he held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attended a business forum and announced the launch of Russia Today, a Kremlin-funded state-controlled TV network.
From the National Catholic Reporter:
Pope Leo XIV's first trip abroad began much like his pontificate: full of intrigue but short on spectacle.
The pope's six-day tour through the Middle East began in Turkey, where the visit's diplomatic and ecumenical stakes were high, yet the atmosphere remained largely subdued.
From Deutsche Welle (link is to a video):
Gunnar Köhne
19 hours ago
The hospitality industry is under scrutiny after a family dies from pesticide poisoning at a hotel in Turkey. How could this have happened? We investigate the cause, uncover risks, and talk to those directly impacted.
From DW:
Finland cut Russian energy imports and closed the shared border after the Ukraine war, erasing €12 billion in trade. The shocks deepened the Nordic nation's deficit, already strained by defense and welfare spending.
Finland, ranked the world's happiest nation for eight years and traditionally one of the
European Union’s most fiscally disciplined countries, has just received a wake-up call from Brussels.
The European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, last week ordered Helsinki to devise a credible plan to resolve the country's budget deficit, which has crossed the EU’s limit of 3% of gross domestic product (GDP).
From USA Today:
Marc Ramirez
Perhaps someday, the
Catholic Church will allow women to serve as deacons. But that time, a Vatican commission has decided, is not now.
In a letter submitted to Pope Leo XIV and released this week, a Vatican group formed in 2020 under Pope Francis to mull the issue said historical and theological research "excludes the possibility” of considering allowing women to the diaconate.
From DW:
The new military service law will come into effect in January. Many think it goes too far, while others want to return to full conscription.
It is snowing, and 16-year-old Carlotta is standing on the vast military training ground in Grafenwöhr watching a howitzer 2000 fire live ammunition. It is cold and very loud when the shells are fired, so Carlotta has to wear earplugs.
This is not a day like any other for the young school student: While her friends are sitting in warm classrooms in Cologne, she has made her way to Bavaria by train alone. In the barracks of Tank Artillery Battalion 375 in Weiden, she has moved into a room and been given a uniform, in which she now stands in the winter cold on the grounds, together with two dozen other young men and women.
From Euronews:
The Île Longue facility houses France's four nuclear ballistic missile submarines and provides maintenance for the vessels that form the basis of the country's nuclear deterrent.
French marines opened fire on five unidentified drones that flew over a strategic nuclear submarine facility on Thursday evening, military officials confirmed on Friday.
The incident occurred at approximately 7:30 p.m. local time at the Île Longue naval base in Brittany, which serves as the operational hub for France's fleet of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.
From France24:
Holders Argentina and leading contenders Spain and England were all handed kind draws for the 2026 World Cup in a star-studded ceremony on Friday which saw US President Donald Trump receive FIFA's new peace prize.
The event in Washington started the final countdown to the tournament, six months out from the first-ever 48-team World Cup, with much-fancied France among those receiving a harder task.
From the BBC:
Vanessa Pearce
German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier has taken part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the ruins of the original Coventry Cathedral.
The city, including the cathedral, was heavily bombed by Germany's air force during World War Two.
The president was joined by his wife Elke Budenbender on the final day of their state visit to the UK.
From The Guardian:
Climate crisis and overfishing contributed to loss of 95% of penguins in two breeding colonies in South Africa, research finds
More than 60,000 penguins in colonies off the coast of South Africa have starved to death as a result of disappearing sardines, a new paper has found.
More than 95% of the African penguins in two of the most important breeding colonies, on Dassen Island and Robben Island, died between 2004 and 2012. The breeding penguins probably starved to death during the moulting period, according to the paper, which said the climate crisis and overfishing were driving declines.
From DW:
Washington hails a "historic" US-brokered Rwanda-DR Congo peace deal, but renewed clashes, mistrust between leaders, and warnings of US mineral ambitions reveal a fragile reality on the ground.
The ink is barely dry on the US-brokered
peace agreement between
Rwanda and the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but reactions reveal skepticism over whether the deal can deliver anything resembling peace — or whether it primarily serves US geopolitical and commercial interests.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump hosted Presidents Felix Tshisekedi of the DRC and Paul Kagame of Rwanda in Washington for a signing ceremony the White House hailed as "historic."
From NBC News:
He will challenge President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is running for a fourth nonconsecutive term, as the candidate of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party.
