Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame and jck. 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, 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.
We begin with news from major countries that I don’t cover nearly enough.
From Reuters:
MUMBAI/LUCKNOW, India, May 20 (Reuters) - A court case started by five Hindu women in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political constituency has become the latest battleground in India between the Hindu majority and minority Muslims over access to historically contested religious sites.
The women, backed by an influential hardline Hindu group linked to Modi's party, said they were determined to secure the legal right for Hindus to pray daily to the idol of a goddess and relics that they say are inside a prominent mosque in Varanasi.
And from Politico:
After a humiliating leadership review, Premier Jason Kenney announced his exit. But it was a wild week in Canada’s west — and he’s not gone yet.
OTTAWA, Ont. — The only thing certain in Alberta right now is that oil and gas revenues are surging.
Everything else is up in the air.
From CNN (Reuters):
Kigali, Rwanda Rwanda expects the first group of 50 asylum seekers to be transferred from Britain by the end of May, a government spokesperson has said .
In April the British government
announced plans to send people seeking asylum to the East African country, but earlier this month said it expected lawyers to lodge claims to prevent their removal.
From CNN:
(CNN) — A whole month of unlimited transport for just $9.50 -- that's a great deal at any time, but in a time of fuel price hikes, rocketing car rental rates and a worldwide cost of living crisis, it becomes unbeatable.
So pack your bags, because the most affordable travel destination this summer, if we're going by transport, appears to be Germany.
From the BBC:
By Leo Sands
French shoppers are facing a sour sight in supermarkets this summer - no mustard.
The nationwide shortage is due to a lack of mustard seeds needed to produce the condiment.
From The Hill:
Russia is cutting off its supply of natural gas to Finland as of Saturday as Helsinki moves forward with its effort to join NATO in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finnish energy company Gasum on Friday said it had been notified by the Russian energy giant Gazprom that it would shut off its supply of gas the next day.
From the Washington Post:
Rosneft said Schröder had informed the company that it was “impossible” to continue in the role. The former chancellor — who took up his
$600,000-a-year position at Rosneft in 2017 — had been “invaluable” in implementing large-scale infrastructure projects in Russia and Germany, the company said in a statement.
He still holds board positions with Nord Stream 2 — which built the controversial, now-shelved gas pipeline between Russia and Germany — as well as its parent company.
From NPR:
Russia is consolidating its control of the strategic Ukrainian city of Mariupol, after months of bombardment that Ukrainian officials say killed tens of thousands of civilians.
The battle for Mariupol has centered on the Azovstal steel plant in recent weeks. An estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters and several hundred civilians had been sheltering in the massive complex's underground maze of tunnels and bunkers, trapped inside for months with a dwindling supply of food, water and medical supplies.
From Reuters:
WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Friday there were no indications that Russia had used laser weaponry in Ukraine, following claims by Moscow that it was fielding a new generation of powerful lasers there to strike enemy drones.
"We don't have any indication of the use of lasers, at least weaponized lasers, in Ukraine. Nothing to confirm on that," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing.
From the Times of Israel:
But Sami Abou Shahadeh’s colleague Ahmad Tibi is reportedly in talks with Lapid to throw coalition a lifeline and ostensibly prevent another election
Speculation spiked that the bill to dissolve parliament would be submitted next Wednesday almost immediately after Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi announced she was quitting on Thursday morning, though most suspected the opposition-leading Likud party would be the one to move it forward. But as Benjamin Netanyahu’s party mulled on whether and when to make the announcement, it was one-upped by Abou Shahadeh, who heads the nationalist Balad faction within the six-seat, majority-Arab Joint List.
From The Guardian:
Two countries’ neutrality was rooted in different geographies, histories and national identities
Jon Henley
In the words of the Swedish prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, Sweden and Finland submitted their historic Nato membership applications this week “hand in hand”. But they have not travelled the same road to the alliance’s Brussels headquarters.
Russia’s unprovoked onslaught on Ukraine – ostensibly intended, at least in part, to prevent Nato’s expansion – has ended up achieving the reverse, as the Nordic neighbours have abandoned decades of military non-alignment in a seismic shift in Europe’s security order.
From CNN:
(CNN)A tornado swept through the German city of Paderborn Friday, injuring at least 30 people, authorities said, and blew away roofs, toppled trees and sent debris flying for miles.
The twister created a path of destruction from west to east of the city, Paderborn police said, adding it caused 30 to 40 injuries. At least 10 of those injuries were serious, authorities noted.
Also from CNN:South
But while flying a bill to a President's location is not uncommon, it also isn't entirely necessary.
From the BBC:
The prehistoric tribes that built Stonehenge likely "feasted" on the raw organs of cattle, scientists believe.
Analysis of human faeces found at a prehistoric village near the Wiltshire monument has uncovered evidence of parasitic worm eggs.
The study said that indicates they had eaten the raw or undercooked lungs or livers from an infected animal.