Quartz Daily Brief—AirAsia’s missing plane, war’s end in Afghanistan, Europe’s surprise surplus, Churchill’s Islamophilia

Good morning, Quartz readers!

What to watch for today

The search for the missing AirAsia plane resumes. Flight QZ 8501, carrying 162 passengers and crew, lost contact with air traffic controllers at 7:24am local time on Sunday, en route from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore. The search was suspended for the night.

Once more unto the breach for Russia’s currency. Despite assurances on Thursday from the finance minister that the ruble crisis was over, the currency weakened again on Friday; it’s down 39% this year. The central bank announced it was trebling a previously agreed rescue loan for a medium-sized lender, Trust Bank, thereby taking a sizeable chunk out of a planned bank rescue fund.

Japan Post could become the world’s biggest IPO. The state-owned postal service—which also runs Japan’s biggest bank—has announced plans to list its postal service, insurance, and bank units (paywall) in an IPO late next year. Government officials have estimated the share offering could raise $40 billion (paywall).. 

While you were sleeping

North Korea called Obama a “monkey,” and blamed the US for its internet breakdown. Officials pointed the finger—and racial epithets—at the US after suffering major internet outages. We may never know what really happened. “I guess accidents can happen,” one US official said last week.

The US and NATO declared the war in Afghanistan over. The Taliban insurgency continues to rage furiously, but the International Security Assistance Force declared its 13-year campaign had ended. Afghans will have to take comfort from the fact that 13,500 soldiers—mostly American—will remain, to train and guide local forces.

Libya’s largest oil port caught fire. Smoke is billowing (paywall) from the Es Sidr terminal, as fighting rages between the government and militias attempting to seize control of the country’s crude oil export income. The port, which can handle 400,000 barrels a day, has been closed since Dec. 13. Despite the fighting, oil prices continued their decline, underscoring the extent of the global oil glut.

Sony’s PlayStation network was restored. The company said it had resumed service after several days of disruptions by hackers calling themselves the “Lizard Squad.” The same group hacked the PlayStation network earlier this year. Microsoft’s XBox Live, which also went down on Christmas Day, was restored Dec 26.

Quartz obsession interlude

Steve Levine on how oil producers’ loss is Europe’s gain. “There is a very real possibility that the European Union will become the world’s largest surplus economy next year.” Read more here.

Matters of debate

The US ban on paying ransom for hostages make no sense. Many at the pointy end of the policy argue that it costs lives.

“Abenomics” will amount to nothing without more women in Japan’s workplace. But the prime minister’s stated goal of having 30% of managers being female seems fat-fetched: only 12% of his party’s candidates for the recent election were women.

New York’s cops should not have turned their backs on the mayor. But Bill de Blasio should pay heed that the police force is running low on morale.

Surprising discoveries

Winston Churchill’s family thought he might become a Muslim. In a newly discovered letter, written in 1907, his future sister-in-law advises him to curb his enthusiasm for Islam.

In New Zealand, wiping out millions of animals is an act of conservation. Almost all mammals on the islands are aliens, which are endangering native species—and must be culled.

Russia’s retaliation against Western sanctions bear fruit for a Putin pal. Oil trader Gennady Timchenko says “food security” is the reason he’s cornering the market for Russian apples.

Erdogan keeps a straight face when claiming Turkey has the world’s freest press. Even while threatening to jail more journalists.

Click here for more surprising discoveries on Quartz.

Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, framed spiderwebs, and doormats to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.