Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, , annetteboardman, Besame,and jck,. 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, JeremyBloom, FarWestGirl, 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.
BBC
Japan's high-stakes gamble to turn island of flowers into global chip hub
The island of Hokkaido has long been an agricultural powerhouse – now Japan is investing billions to turn it into a global hub for advanced semiconductors.
More than half of Japan's dairy produce comes from Hokkaido, the northernmost of its main islands. In winter, it's a wonderland of ski resorts and ice-sculpture festivals; in summer, fields bloom with bands of lavender, poppies and sunflowers.
These days, cranes are popping up across the island – building factories, research centres and universities focused on technology. It's part of Japan's boldest industrial push in a generation: an attempt to reboot the country's chip-making capabilities and reshape its economic future.
Locals say that beyond the cattle and tourism, Hokkaido has long lacked other industries. There's even a saying that those who go there do so only to leave.
But if the government succeeds in turning Hokkaido into Japan's answer to Silicon Valley - or "Hokkaido Valley", as some have begun to call it - the country could become a new contender in the $600bn (£458bn) race to supply the world's computer chips.
NPR
Texas men indicted in plot to take over Haitian island and enslave women and children
Two men from North Texas have been charged over violent plans that included an armed coup on the Haitian island of Gonave, according to the Justice Department.
Gavin Weisenburg, 21 years old of Allen, and Tanner Thomas, 20 years old of Argyle, along with other co-conspirators planned to murder all men on the Haitian territory before taking over the island, and enslaving the women and children as "sex slaves," according to an indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on Thursday.
"The co-conspirators conducted research, reconnaissance, recruiting, planning, and sought training to effectuate their plan," the indictment reads. "It was the goal of the conspiracy to take military control of the Island of Gonave by murdering all the men on the island and capturing all the women."
Both men are charged with conspiracy to kill or kidnap persons in a foreign country and face one count of producing child pornography. They could face life in prison if convicted on the conspiracy charge. The child pornography charge carries up to a 30-year prison sentence.
NPR
In DR Congo, exhibit reveals nostalgia for former dictator Mobutu
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Young people gaze up at large photographs of Mobutu Sese Seko, in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) national museum.
A charismatic and outrageously corrupt former dictator, Mobutu seized power in the 1960s and ruled the country with an iron fist for over 30 years. At the height of his power, Mobutu was courted by royalty and presidents — and put Zaire on the map with the legendary Rumble in the Jungle, the 1974 boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
But in today's Congo, which is politically unstable and plagued by seemingly endless armed conflict, there's a growing sense of nostalgia for the comparatively peaceful years of Mobutu's reign. An exhibit celebrating the former dictator's life opened recently in the capital Kinshasa, and it's proven a surprising success. Mobutu seized power in a coup in 1965, and within a few years, he had established a one-party state and a personality cult. State television broadcasts used to begin with an image of Mobutu in the clouds.
Christian Science Monitor
US senators slam Trump’s Russia-Ukraine peace plan as rewarding aggression
U.S. senators critical of President Donald Trump’s approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine war said Saturday that the peace plan he is pushing Kyiv to accept would only reward Moscow for its aggression and send a message to other leaders who have threatened their neighbors.
The 28-point peace plan was crafted by the Trump administration and the Kremlin without Ukraine’s involvement. It acquiesces to many Russian demands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has categorically rejected on dozens of occasions, including giving up large pieces of territory. Trump says he wants Ukraine to accept the plan by late next week.
The senators' opposition to the plan follows criticism from other U.S. lawmakers, including some Republicans, none of whom have the power to block it. The senators, who spoke at an international security conference in Canada, included a Democrat, an Independent and a Republican who does not plan to seek reelection next year.
AP News
Airlines cancel flights to Venezuela after FAA warns of worsening security, military activity
CARACAS (AP) — International airlines increasingly canceled flights to Venezuela on Sunday after t he U.S. Federal Aviation Administration warned pilots to use caution when flying in the country’s airspace because of worsening security and heightened military activity.
Marisela de Loaiza, president of the Airlines Association in Venezuela, told The Associated Press that six carriers have indefinitely suspended flights: TAP, LATAM, Avianca, Iberia, Gol and Caribbean. Turkish Airlines suspended flights from Nov. 24 to 28.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote Sunday on X that “there must be regular flights to all Latin American countries and from Latin America and the world.”
“Countries are not blocked, because blocking countries means blocking people, and that is a crime against humanity,” Petro added.
On Friday, the FAA warned pilots that unspecified threats “could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes” as well planes taking off and landing in the country and even aircraft on the ground.
The Guardian
Mamdani reiterates Trump is a ‘fascist’ just days after cordial meeting
Zohran Mamdani has reiterated his view that Donald Trump is a “fascist” and a “despot” just days after the pair had a surprisingly cordial meeting at the White House.
Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, the New York City mayor-elect was asked if he still considered Trump a threat to democracy. “Everything that I’ve said in the past I continue to believe,” Mamdani replied. “I think it is important in our politics that we don’t shy away from where we have disagreements.”
“It was a conversation where we spoke about the need to deliver on this agenda,” Mamdani told NBC on Sunday, saying that he appreciated how the president took the time to tour him around the cabinet and point out the portraits of previous presidents. “We were not shy about the places of disagreement about the politics that has brought us to this moment and we also wanted to focus on what it could look like to deliver on.”
The Guardian
‘That doesn’t exist’: Doge reportedly quietly disbanded ahead of schedule Goodby Big Balls
The “department of government efficiency” (Doge) has apparently been dissolved with eight months still remaining on its contract, ending a drawn-out campaign of invading federal agencies and firing thousands of federal workers.
“That doesn’t exist,” office of personnel management (OPM) director Scott Kupor told Reuters earlier this month when asked about Doge’s status, adding that it was no longer a “centralized entity”.
The statement confirmed longstanding suspicions that Doge, created by an executive order that Donald Trump signed on his first day, was on its way out. The tech billionaire Elon Musk and the former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy were tapped to lead the effort and were expected to drive “large scale structural reform” through 24 July 2026.
uspicions that Doge may have been disbanded began to surface earlier this summer, after Politico reported in June that staffers had “packed up their clothes and bedding” at the department’s headquarters, where they had been sleeping since February, and looked for new homes.
Reuters
China says Japan sent 'shocking' wrong signal on Taiwan
HONG KONG, Nov 23 (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said it was "shocking" for Japan's leader to openly send a wrong signal concerning Taiwan, according to an official statement on Sunday, the latest remarks in a row that has shaken relations for more than two weeks.
Wang, the most senior Chinese official to have commented publicly on the issue, said Japan was crossing a red line that must not be touched, according to the statement posted on the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website.
He accused Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of attempting to intervene militarily over Taiwan. Wang was referring to comments on November 7 in which she told a questioner in parliament that a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically governed Taiwan could
trigger a military response from Tokyo.
Reuters
Union asks judge to order Trump officials to fund US consumer watchdog.
Nov 23 (Reuters) - A federal employees' union on Sunday asked a federal judge to order the Trump administration to fund the top U.S. consumer watchdog, weeks after the agency said its cash could run out by year's end.
In a court filing, lawyers for the National Treasury Employees Union and other plaintiffs disputed officials' claim that they cannot legally fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
President Donald Trump has sought to dismantle the CFPB since he took office in January and installed Russell Vought, his budget director, as the acting head of the agency. While Vought's effort to fire the vast majority of its employees is tied up in litigation, he has successfully shut down most of the CFPB's activities.
Hindustan Times
Chinese pharma is on the cusp of going global
For much of the past century drug discovery was dominated by Western firms, the companies collectively often called “big pharma”. No longer.
AFTER AMERICA, China is the world’s largest developer of new medicines and its companies ran about a third of the planet’s clinical trials last year. That is up from just 5% a decade before . It is also rising to the forefront in critical areas of research, such as those relating to cancer. Investors have taken note. Shares in Chinese biotech companies have surged by 110% this year, more than three times as much as their American peers.
