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, sometimes09OP0az 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.
Some of the more interesting and perhaps less earth-shattering news above the fold. Below it climate disasters and concerns and conflicts.
We begin with the story horifying the art world. First up this, from euronews:
British Museum staff sacked for disappearance of artefacts named as senior curator
The British Museum says it's taking legal action and the Metropolitan Police's economic and crime command is investigating.
The British Museum staff member sacked after the disappearance of a number of artefacts has been named as Peter Higgs.
Higgs, an expert on Greek and Mediterranean artefacts, had been with the British Museum for almost three decades and was its curator of Mediterranean cultures.
From The Art Newspaper:
The items include a piece of Roman jewellery—reportedly worth between £25,000 and £50,000—being offered with a minimum price of £40
Precious items allegedly stolen from the British Museum in London by one of the institution’s senior curators were put up for sale on eBay according to a report in The Telegraph. The objects, including a piece of Roman jewellery offered with a minimum price of £40, appeared on the auction and shopping website as early as 2016.
Peter John Higgs, a prominent curator who was employed at the British Museum for 30 years, was identified in UK press reports as the person alleged to be responsible for stealing priceless artefacts from the museum’s collection.
From Space.com (with video):
India's Chandrayaan-3 snaps close-up photos of moon ahead of landing try
Chandrayaan-3 is gearing up for a touchdown attempt on Aug. 23 or Aug. 24.
India's Chandrayaan-3 probe has captured more amazing imagery of the moon ahead of its historic touchdown try, which is just a few days away.Chandrayaan-3 launched on July 14, on a mission to pull off India's first-ever successful lunar landing. The lander-rover duo has been checking its boxes on schedule so far; it entered lunar orbit on Aug. 5 and separated from its propulsion module yesterday (Aug. 17).
The very very thin crescent moon tonight was spectacularly beautiful.
From Business Insider:
A 15-year-old medieval girl was buried face down with her ankles possibly tied together to stop her from returning from the dead, researchers say
- A 9th century gravesite unearthed in England suggests ancient settlers may have feared the undead.
- Researchers with the Museum of London Archeology discovered a 15-year-old girl buried face-down.
- The unusual burial technique suggests people wanted to prevent her from coming back, researchers said.