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Overnight News Digest: Rare comet may be visible for the first time in 160,000 years [1]
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Date: 2025-01-13
BBC
A bright comet could be visible in skies across the globe over the coming days for the first time in 160,000 years. Nasa said the future brightness of a comet is "notoriously hard" to predict, but that Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) could remain bright enough to be seen by the naked eye. On Monday, the comet was at perihelion, the point at which it is closest to the Sun, which influences how bright it appears. Experts say it could be visible from Monday night. While the exact locations for possible visibility are unknown, experts believe the comet, which could shine as This is an open thread where everyone is welcome, especially night owls and early birds, to share and discuss the happenings of the day. Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
Kyiv Independent
A chemical plant in Russia's Bryansk Oblast was allegedly damaged in an aerial attack on the night of Jan. 13, Russian media reported. Regional Governor Alexander Bogomaz reported that Russian air defense units were repelling a drone attack over Bryansk Oblast. Later in the evening, the Astra Telegram news channel reported that the Bryansk chemical plant had been hit — possibly by a long-range ATACMS missile — and posted footage showing explosions at the site. The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims. The Bryansk chemical plant produces gunpowder and explosives, according to Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's counter-disinformation center. "It is important for the production of artillery ammunition and missiles for the Russian army," Kovalenko said in a Telegram post after the alleged attack. "This enterprise is one of the key elements of the Russian military industry. "The plant was reportedly damaged in a previous attack in November.
Al Jazeera
Mozambique has sworn in its new parliament with the streets of the capital largely deserted after the opposition leader called for a strike to protest against the result of highly disputed elections. Two smaller opposition parties boycotted the opening ceremony on Monday as they refused to accept the outcome of the October election, while the incoming president, Daniel Chapo, called for calm and unity after months of deadly unrest. Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who is popular with Mozambique’s marginalised youth, claims the results were rigged in favour of Chapo’s Frelimo party, which has been in power for 50 years. He urged his supporters at the weekend to “demonstrate our refusal” of the official election result with a national strike from Monday to Wednesday when Chapo is due to be sworn in as president.
Al Jazeera
At least 40 farmers have been killed in an attack by armed groups in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State, according to government officials. Fighters from the Boko Haram group and ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in West Africa Province(ISWAP) were suspected of carrying out the attack, Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum and State Information Commissioner Usman Tar said on Monday. Tar said the groups rounded up dozens of farmers in Dumba on the shores of Lake Chad and shot them dead late on Sunday. “Initial report indicates about 40 farmers have been killed while the whereabouts of many who escaped the attack are being traced for reunion with their families,” Tar said.
Le Monde
In 2016, during his first presidential campaign, Donald Trump used a slogan that struck a chord with the American working-class electorate: "Drain the swamp!" The idea was to denounce the elites and lobbies who, behind the scenes, apparently ran the country in the interests of the few, to the detriment of the rest of the population. With Trump due to be inaugurated for the second time on January 20, the expression has all but disappeared from his vocabulary. Legitimized by a solid electoral base, the billionaire no longer even pretends to present himself as the herald of an America free of corruption and cliques. The worrying stranglehold of tech tycoons on political power is a case in point. The transition period between his upcoming presidency and Joe Biden's has been marked by potential conflicts of interest and the distribution of stipends to the benefit of a handful of Silicon Valley executives.
x Robots are set to revolutionize daily life, moving from industry to homes and healthcare, addressing labor shortages while at the same time raising questions about job displacement and the societal impact of AI.
[image or embed] — The Japan Times (@japantimes.co.jp) January 13, 2025 at 2:10 PM
ProPublica
On a Thursday morning last May, about a hundred people gathered in the atrium of the Ohio Capitol building to join in Christian worship. The “Prayer at the Statehouse” was organized by an advocacy group called the Center for Christian Virtue, whose growing influence was symbolized by its new headquarters, directly across from the capitol. It was also manifest in the officials who came to take part in the event: three state legislators and the ambitious lieutenant governor, Jon Husted. After some prayer and singing, the center’s Christian Engagement Ambassador introduced Husted, asking him to “share with us about faith and intersecting faith with government.” Husted, a youthful 57-year-old, spoke intently about the prayer meetings that he leads in the governor’s office each month. “We bring appointed officials and elected officials together to talk about our faith in our work, in our service, and how it can strengthen us and make us better,” he said. The power of prayer, Husted suggested, could even supply political victories: “When we do that, great things happen — like advancing school choice so that every child in Ohio has a chance to go to the school of their choice.” The audience started applauding before he finished his sentence.
x The future of accessing TikTok in the U.S. will be decided by the Supreme Court any moment now. So far, the justices seem inclined to uphold a bipartisan law that would ban the app as soon as Jan. 19.
[image or embed] — Axios (@axios.com) January 13, 2025 at 2:10 PM
The Guardian, US
Gavin Newsom has accused the tech billionaire Elon Musk of “encouraging looting” in an escalation of a row over disinformation surrounding the deadly Los Angeles fires. The California governor lashed out after Musk, who is President-elect Donald Trump’s wealthiest supporter, reposted a message on X – the social media platform he owns – that falsely accused the governor and his fellow Democrats of decriminalising looting. “Stop encouraging looting by lying and telling people it’s decriminalized. It’s not,” Newsom wrote . “It’s illegal – as it always has been.” The clash came amid concerns of a looting spree after owners who had been forced to abandon their homes as the flames spread later returned to find the contents had been burgled. … Newsom’s exchange with Musk was triggered by a user who posted a television interview in which the governor said there would be “zero tolerance for looters”. Above the footage, the user wrote: “LOOTING: Newsom and California Democrats literally decriminalized looting, barring police from arresting looters and prosecutors from prosecuting them. Now he’s opposed to looting.” Musk, who has been prominent in Republican criticism of the Democrat response to the fires, reposted the message with a clown emoji and a globe.
The Guardian, EU
Spain has announced plans to impose a tax of up to 100% on real estate bought by non-residents from countries outside the EU, such as the UK, in an aim to tackle the country’s housing crisis. The measure was one of a dozen unveiled Monday by the country’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, as the government seeks to quell mounting angerover housing costs that have soared far beyond the reach of many in Spain. Sánchez sought to underline the global nature of the challenge, citing housing prices that had swelled 48% in the past decade across Europe, far outpacing household incomes. “The west faces a decisive challenge: to not become a society divided into two classes, the rich landlords and poor tenants,” he told an economic forum in Madrid.
x Featured story: The LNG plant is replacing 984 acres of wetlands northeast of Brownsville in the sensitive Laguna Madre area, a crucial habitat for migratory birds and ocelots separated from the Gulf by the Padre barrier island.
[image or embed] — Texas Observer (@texasobserver.org) January 13, 2025 at 2:02 PM
The Guardian, International
The South African government has launched a mission to bring to the surface potentially hundreds of people in an illegal mine who last year had supplies of food, water and medicine blocked by police in an attempt to force them out. The government agreed to the attempt on Friday after the sister of one of those underground initiated a court case in response to letters from minersbrought to the surface on Thursday. One of the letters claimed 109 people had already died in the Buffelsfontein gold mine near Stilfontein, about 100 miles south-west of Johannesburg. Illegal mining has flourished in South Africa in recent decades as many industrial mines have been exhausted. Analysts estimate there are about 30,000 “zama zama” illegal miners producing 10% of South Africa’s gold output in 6,000 abandoned mineshafts, often controlled by violent criminal syndicates.
The Guardian, Australia
Wildlife advocates are calling for a halt to the commercial harvesting of kangaroos in Victoria’s Grampians region after bushfires there. Wildlife Victoria warned of “catastrophic and long-term impacts” on native plants and animals due to the fires, which burned through 76,000 hectares of national park and farmland, and called for a stop to the controversial practice until the impact on kangaroo populations could be fully assessed. While some ecologists agreed, citing precaution, others supported commercial culling as a strategy to aid the recovery of plants and smaller mammals. Australian mainland states permit the killing of nearly 5 million kangaroosannually as part of an industry that supplies meat and leather products for sale in Australia and for export. The practice is contentious locally and abroad, with some US states and sports brands stopping the import and useof kangaroo products.
x Greenland tried to quell a diplomatic firestorm set off when Trump said it was an “absolute necessity” for the U.S. to take over the island
[image or embed] — The Wall Street Journal (@wsj.com) January 13, 2025 at 2:15 PM
BBC
The terms of a deal between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages are being finalised, a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations has told the BBC. It comes as US President Joe Biden said a deal was "on the brink" of coming to fruition, and that his administration was working urgently on the matter. An Israeli official also told news agency Reuters that negotiations were in "advanced stages", with a deal possible in "hours, days or more". US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, and with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar - who is mediating the negotiations - on Monday.
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