As your faithful scribe, I welcome you all to another edition of Overnight News Digest.
I am pleased to share this platform with maggiejean, wader,
Doctor RJ, rfall, JLM9999 and side pocket.
Neon Vincent is our editor-in-chief.
Special thanks go to Magnifico for starting this venerable series.
Lead Off Story
HMS Bulwark Could Rescue Hundreds More Migrants
Risking Their Lives To Come To Europe
The first migrant rescue operation carried out in the Mediterranean by the Royal Navy's flagship is likely to be the "tip of the iceberg", as tens of thousands of refugees try to reach Europe from Libya.
Among the 110 asylum seekers rescued from a sinking dinghy by HMS Bulwark on Thursday were around 30 women, one of whom was at least seven months pregnant.
The rescue took place on HMS Bulwark's second day of patrolling and sources in the Royal Navy said they expected the Plymouth-based ship to be "very busy" during its deployment.
"This rescue was the tip of the iceberg because there are so many crossing," a source told The Telegraph.
"There's no danger of any of the assets being under employed."
telegraph
World News
Germany's Dilemma: Critics Want Tougher Berlin Stance Against Israel
The man who changed relations between Germany and Israel pauses to reflect as he sits in his living room in the western German town of Konigswinter. "The situation is pretty hopeless," he says. The comment sounds both disappointed and disenchanted.
His hair has receded and the wrinkles on his face are more pronounced, but he remains as sharp as ever. Rudolf Dressler, 74, is describing the current situation in Israel and expressing his deep concern.
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Today, Dressler has become a sharp critic of current Israeli policies. He calls the development in Israel "dramatic." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just won the elections based on a platform in which he clearly opposes the creation of a Palestinian state. Dressler is urging German politicians to make sure that this results in consequences. Germany has already waited too long, he says.
[...]
Other German politicians have similar opinions. "If the occupation status becomes permanent, we have to ask ourselves what this means in terms of our policy toward Israel," says the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the German parliament, Ruprecht Polenz of the CDU. What's more, the deputy leader of the parliamentary group of the left-leaning Social Democratic Party (SPD), Rolf Mützenich, warns: "If the new Israeli government abandons the two-state solution, this would constitute a new situation that we would have to reevaluate." He adds that the Israeli government must then realize "that the German government would have to assume a different basic stance."
derspiegel
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North Korean Show Of Force Greets U.S. Diplomatic Overture
North Korea has greeted a U.S. diplomatic overture with a fresh show of force, seemingly testing the Obama administration’s resolve for new nuclear talks.
After three years of diplomatic deadlock, the U.S. appears open to preliminary discussions to assess North Korea’s intentions and the prospects of ridding the country of nuclear weapons.
Then came Saturday’s claim that North Korea successfully test-fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine. Not long after that announcement, South Korean officials said the North fired three anti-ship cruise missiles into the sea off its east coast.
[...]
Pyongyang wants to be recognized as a nuclear power. But a denuclearized Korean Peninsula is the aim of the negotiating process that China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the U.S. say they want to revive.
The U.S. quietly proposed a meeting with North Korea this January, before the U.S. and South Korea began annual military exercises that North Korea regards as a provocation. Nothing came of the move.
japantimes
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Almost 50 Percent Of Mums To Lose Government Paid Parental Leave Entitlements
Almost 80,000 new mothers will lose some or all of their government parental leave payments in a move slammed by a key consultant for the paid parental leave scheme as "the mother of all insults".
Treasurer Joe Hockey made the surprise announcement on Mother's Day, as the Abbott government revealed its new childcare package ahead of Tuesday's budget.
The move represents a stunning turnaround from the government that less than six months ago was still promising to provide six months of paid parental leave for families, under Mr Abbott's now-dumped "signature" policy.
[...]
The Treasurer said the cut would save nearly $1 billion over four years, but added there was "no specific figure" on how many people would be hit. Prime Minister Tony Abbott also declined to give a specific figure during his press conference in Sydney.
"I just want to stress the fairness element," he said.
Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney that he was a big supporter of paid parental leave, but for a "whole host of reasons" the government had decided "the time was not right for the fullness of the policy that we took to the last election".
sydneymorningherald
U.S. News
Jimmy Carter ‘Not Feeling Well,’ Cuts South American Trip Short
Former President Jimmy Carter has taken leave of election observation efforts in South America amid health concerns, the Carter Center announced Sunday.
Specific details about the 90-year-old native Georgian’s condition were not provided.
“President Carter was not feeling well and has departed Guyana to return to Atlanta today,” the Carter Center announced. “The Carter Center election observation mission in Guyana is continuing its work and will keep him informed of developments.”
The election in Guyana, scheduled for Monday, will be the 100th observed around the world by the Carter Center, a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization based in Atlanta. Through its election observations, the center works to “advance democratic elections and governance consistent with universal human rights,” according to its website.
atlantajournalconstitution
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KC Police Learning To ‘Tactically Disengage’ To Avoid Violent Confrontations
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In Kansas City, an average of four people a year have been killed by police over the last decade.
The new Kansas City training could help save lives and reduce potential lawsuits over officer-involved shootings, which are being captured on cellphone video by civilians ever more frequently. Trainers are encouraging police officers to use critical thinking and problem-solving skills to avoid situations where they have to shoot someone who is threatening them.
“This is easier said than done, because oftentimes situations unfold rapidly, leaving officers seconds or less to make decisions,” [Police Chief Darryl]Forté wrote in a recent blog post that highlighted the new training.
The blog entry impressed one professor of criminal law who specializes in police regulation.
“If there is follow through on the ideas expressed in that post, it not only represents substantial changes in the way things are commonly done, but it represents a progressive and very critical set of changes,” said Seth W. Stoughton, a former Florida police officer who teaches law at the University of South Carolina.
kansascitystar
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2 Slain Police Officers Mourned In Mississippi Town
One was a decorated "Officer of the Year." The other was a proud recent graduate of the academy who had wanted to be a policeman since he was a boy.
A routine traffic stop led to their shooting deaths Saturday night — the first Hattiesburg police officers to die in the line of duty in more than 30 years — and four people were arrested, including two who were charged with capital murder.
The deaths of Officers Benjamin Deen and Liquori Tate stunned this small city in southern Mississippi.
On Sunday morning, bloodstains still marked the street where the two were shot, and a steady stream of people visited the site to leave flowers or balloons. In the nearby New Hope Baptist Church, worshippers prayed for the fallen officers and their families.
"This should remind us to thank all law enforcement for their unwavering service to protect and serve," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement. "May God keep them all in the hollow of his hand."
saintlouispostdispatch
Well, that's different...
Ironies
U.K.'s Bedfordshire Police were searching in April for the thief who ran off without paying for his Jesus arm tattoo at the RedINC Luton studio (to go with his "Only God Can Judge Me" inking on the other arm.) In fact, the shopkeeper also believes the man swiped the equivalent of $1,548 from a cash drawer when he was momentarily alone in the studio.
newsoftheweird
Bill Moyers and Company: Encore Edition
Bernie Sanders on Breaking Big Money's Grip on Elections
The only independent member of the US Senate tells Bill big money's purchase of political power is a grave threat, and shares his plan to put government back in voters control.