The Christmas tree is up with a goodly complement of ornaments, the peppermint cake is made (frosting it will wait until tomorrow), sugar cookie dough is resting in the fridge, peppermint bark and chocolate bark with cacao nibs and Malden sea salt are both resting after my yearly fight to get the chocolate properly tempered (I win, but it is always more effort than I think it should be). It is time to take a break and look at the rest of the world and see if they are having a better week/month/year than we are on this side of the Atlantic and the Pacific. (By the way, the image is from London in December of 2010, a local pub with lots and lots of sparkle).
Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, wader, Doctor RJ, rfall, annetteboardman and Man Oh Man with guest editor Chitown Kev and Magnifico. Alumni editors include (but are not limited to) palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal, Oke 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 (or if it is Friday night and the editor is me, a bit later).
Better news elsewhere? Sadly not really happening.
From Agence France Presse, via the Daily Star (Lebanon):
A metropolis of 20M, Cairo traffic poses daily test of survivalHaitham El-Tabei| Agence France Presse
CAIRO: In an endless cacophony of car horns, Mostafa Ekram each day confronts the frenzy of Cairo’s traffic jams: pedestrians darting out into the street, swerving tuk-tuks and even donkey carts. At the wheel of his SUV, in the heart of Egypt’s bustling capital, he doesn’t bat an eyelid as he narrowly dodges a black tuk-tuk, a three-wheeled vehicle, driving in the wrong direction.
It’s an everyday occurrence in Cairo, a sprawling metropolis of 20 million inhabitants where traffic laws are rarely respected and traffic jams can grind on well into the night.
“I feel like a prisoner in a car looking for an escape,” says Ekram, a young sales manager. “Traffic jams use up your energy and your time.
Also from Cairo, this from the Middle East Monitor:
Eyewitnesses reports on Cairo bombingThe stories by the residents of Al-Haram Street, Cairo, where a bomb was detonated earlier today reveal a surprise about the explosion. They believe that the bomb was planted inside a run down car in the street and not, as the media claimed, by individuals on foot.
Almesryoon newspaper recorded the stories of eyewitnesses to the explosion either living in the area or passing by during the explosion.
“As I was driving by the site, I heard a very loud explosion. I parked my car and went to see what had happened. I saw what seemed to me as the death of two Central Security officers and the wounding of another who was being transported to an ambulance,” said Ahmed Al-Deeb, one of the eyewitnesses.
There was a second bombing today in Egypt, one that killed one.
But perhaps we can end with a more cheerful story from Egypt, this one from Al Arabiyeh:
Egyptian women resist harassment with short dresses Ashraf AbdelHamid, AlArabiya.netA group of Egyptian women have resorted to a new and original way to fight sexual harassment during a march in the capital, Cairo - wearing short dresses.
As onlookers watched on in silent amazement, the women waved signs carrying the message: "we are wearing the dresses of the past, we want the streets of the past”. The message was referring to the sixties and seventies when women’s skirts and dresses were fashionably much shorter, but they received less unwelcomed attention.
Dr Riham Atef, the organizer of the march, told Al Arabiya.Net: “The concept behind this march is inspired by European traditions… We wanted to take part in the movement and raise awareness of the problem of sexual harassment in Egypt’s streets.”
Let's try another country. Anything positive at all out of Syria? New from the Middle East Eye:
Aleppo back under air attack as UN warns of missing civiliansActivist group says bombs have begun falling again in rebel areas, hours after Russia announced humanitarian pause
Syria's government resumed air strikes on remaining rebel-held territory in east Aleppo on Friday, a day after ally Moscow announced a "pause" in the assault, an activist group said.
The apparent resumption came hours after Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Syria's army was halting its three-week operation to recapture east Aleppo in order to allow the evacuation of civilians.
In the hours after the announcement, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and an AFP correspondent in east Aleppo said air strikes had halted, through heavy artillery fire continued.
From the BBC:
Syria war: IS edge closer to Palmyra againFighters with the Islamic State group (IS) have seized more territory close to the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, a monitoring group says.
IS held Palmyra and its nearby ruins for 10 months before it was recaptured by Syrian government forces in March.
But the group launched an offensive earlier this week, and has captured land on several fronts.
More cheerful news about a Syrian, even if not from Syria itself, comes from the CBC:
Customs red tape transformed to red Christmas ribbon for Syrian mosaic carpenterSyrian sanctions nearly deprive Saint John refugee of lucrative holiday crafts market
By Matthew Bingley, CBC News
A risky plan to retrieve a mosaic carpenter's creations from war-torn Syria almost ended in disaster, when his wares were bound in red tape at the Canadian border.
But Amer Al Asali can now relax as three crates containing his life's work sit in the kitchen of his Saint John apartment. Each is packed with dozens of boxes of various sizes and shapes — the culmination of 25 years of work.
Al Asali plans to start a local business, selling his mosaic creations, so he can get off government assistance.
From Ghana? This is one day old, but you may have missed the news. This comes from The World Weekly:
The scandal of Ghana’s fake US embassy Up until recently there were two US embassies in Ghana’s capital Accra. One was located in the affluent suburb of Cantonments, a crisp white, grand and heavily fortified structure; the other was a shabby, two-storey colonial-era building complete with a corrugated iron roof. The fake US embassy had been operating for nearly a decade when it was finally closed down after raids and arrests. A Ghanaian and Turkish crime ring had run the operation distributing fraudulently obtained, but authentic US visas and birth certificates at a price of $6,000 each. During raids authorities also found passports and travel documents for India, South Africa and the Schengen Zone. The criminals advertised their services on billboards across Ghana and also in neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire and Togo. Clients were picked up from their homes and then driven to Accra where they were housed in nearby accommodation.From Sahara Reporters:
Ghana Elects Law Student As A Member of ParliamentGhana has produced the youngest parliamentarian in its history, with law student Francisca Oteng Mensah clinching a parliamentary seat in the ongoing presidential and parliamentary elections, under the umbrella of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
She beat the National Democratic Congress (NDC) opponent, Iddisah Adams, in a landslide, amassing 70,688 votes to his 15,000, to emerge representative of the Kwabre East Constituency
Other news from the Ghanaian election, this from the BBC:
Ghana election: Opposition leader Akufo-Addo declared winnerGhana's opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo has won Wednesday's tightly contested presidential election.
President John Mahama called Mr Akufo-Addo to admit defeat, a spokesman for his party said, as the Electoral Commission announced the result.
Mr Akufo-Addo has promised free high-school education and more factories but critics have questioned the viability of his ambitions.
Celebrations have broken out in the capital, Accra.
Moving to Europe and a country we don’t hear that much about. From Mass Transit Magazine comes news about Switzerland:
Switzerland Opens the Longest Train Tunnel in the WorldIt's longer – and deeper – than any other train tunnel in the world. On Sunday December 11, 2016 the train will enter into service of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. This pioneering project will enable passengers to speed under the Alps in some 17 minutes. The dual-track tunnel will bring northern and southern Switzerland closer together, and cut travel time between neighbouring countries. It will permit passengers from near and far to spend more time at their destination, discovering the many delights of Switzerland north and south of the Alps.
Switzerland already possesses the densest public transport network on the planet. And over the years it has increased its impressive lead over other nations. June 2016 saw the festive inauguration of the Gotthard Base Tunnel – a 17-year pioneering project which extends for 57 kilometres down to a maximum depth of 2300 metres under the Gotthard massif. The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) have now finished subjecting the tunnel to exhaustive safety and technical tests. On Sunday December 11 – the day on which Switzerland's public transport network changes its annual timetable nationwide – the Gotthard Base Tunnel will enter into scheduled service.
From The Local (Switzerland):
Is Geneva the worst place to live in Switzerland?Geneva has more burglaries, air and noise pollution, crowded apartments and road accidents than other Swiss cities, according to a new study monitoring the quality of life in Switzerland.
The City Statistics (Urban Audit) study, published by the Swiss Statistics Office (BFS) this week, assessed eight major Swiss cities on 24 aspects relating to quality of life, including income, work, accommodation, safety, health and the environment.
And Geneva did not fare too well.
The city at the end of Lac Léman has the fewest number of people living in individual houses, as opposed to apartment blocks, and the largest number of homes comprising more than one person per room, found the study.
And from LifeSite News:
Swiss bishop: Catholics who choose euthanasia cannot receive last ritesJan Bentz
CHUR, Switzerland, December 9, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — Swiss Bishop Vitus Huonder has instructed his priests to deny last rites for Catholics who choose euthanasia, explaining “in this circumstance, the prerequisites for the reception of sacraments are not given.”
His statement and explanation are part of a pastoral message for “Human Rights Day” on December 10 in which he speaks to Catholics in the Diocese of Chur in the Grisonian Rhine Valley of Switzerland.
Bishop Huonder’s letter addresses growing concerns about putting one’s life in the “hands of specialists” who become “judges of our life, especially if we are not capable of judgment and cannot decide for ourselves.”
“Death is mine” was the title of a newspaper article on December 4 in the Neue Züricher Zeitung that stated the number of “assisted suicides has grown enormously.” Euthanasia is permitted under Swiss law if it is “not motivated by egotistic considerations.”
If I feel cynical about the world I often drop in north of the border. Here is what Justin Trudeau is doing as of Wednesday (from Global News):
Justin Trudeau to introduce Indigenous Languages ActGATINEAU, Que. – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government will introduce an Indigenous Languages Act in hopes of preserving and revitalizing First Nations, Metis and Inuit languages in Canada.
Trudeau made the announcement during a special assembly of First Nations leaders.