Israel central bank says ultra-Orthodox need to join military to help economy
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, 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
Turkey's main opposition party has claimed big election victories in the main cities of Istanbul and Ankara.
The results are a significant blow for Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had hoped to regain control of the cities less than a year after he claimed a third term as president.
He led the campaign to win in Istanbul, where he grew up and became mayor.
But Ekrem Imamoglu, who first won the city in 2019, scored a second victory for the secular opposition CHP.
Mr Erdogan had vowed a new era in Turkey's megacity of almost 16 million people, but the incumbent mayor of Istanbul was on course to win more than 50% of the vote, over 10 points ahead of the president's AK Party candidate.
This was also the first time since Mr Erdogan came to power 21 years ago that his party was defeated across the country at the ballot box.
BBC
Cannabis decriminalised in Germany from 1 April (April Fuel’s Day)
"Some German people drink their beer after work. We just want to smoke our weed."
So says Marcel Ritschel who's celebrating as Germany - traditionally "beer land" - becomes a more cannabis-friendly country.
Germany has, as of April 1, partly decriminalized marijuana use.
But police unions are warning of real-world harm. The law-change may have come on April Fool's Day but for them it is no joke.
- Over 18's can possess up to 25 grams of cannabis in public
- Adults can grow up to three plants, per household
- But people won't be allowed to smoke joints within sight of schools, sports centres or in "pedestrian zones" between 7am and 8pm
The Guardian
An attack of the vapours: Tennessee bill endorses chemtrails conspiracy theory
The “chemtrails” conspiracy theory is enjoying its moment in the clearly visible, not blocked by government-released toxic chemicals, sun, after the Tennessee state senate passed a bill this month targeting the baseless concept.
Legislation banning the “intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances” swept through the Republican-dominated senate, and will now be considered by the Republican-dominated house, before then being weighed by Tennessee’s Republican governor. There is also a movement to pass a similar law in Pennsylvania.
“There’s no such thing as chemtrails,” said Alan Robock, a climate science professor at Rutgers university.
Also, too:
Fritts introduced a resolution earlier this year calling for Tennesseeans to “join in a 30-day season of prayer and intermittent fasting” in July “to seek God’s hand of mercy healing on Tennessee”.
That motion passed the house on 5 March, and could be adopted around the same time as the chemtrails legislation.
Al Jazeera
Tens of thousands of Israelis take part in anti-gov’t protests
Tens of thousands of people have gathered outside the Israeli parliament building in Jerusalem in the largest anti-government protest since Israel launched its assault on Gaza.
The protesters on Sunday demanded the government secure a ceasefire deal that would also free Israeli captives held by Hamas in Gaza and called for early elections.
Demonstrators claimed the Jerusalem protest was the biggest since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has faced widespread criticism over the security failure of the October 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in which 1,139 people were killed and around 250 others taken hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 32,782 people, mostly women and children, according to Palestinian authorities.
Reuters
Israel central bank says ultra-Orthodox need to join military to help economy
JERUSALEM, March 31 (Reuters) - The Bank of Israel on Sunday warned of economic damage if more ultra-Orthodox Jewish men do not join the country's military, weighing in on a contentious issue that has caused a rift in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wartime government.
In its 2023 annual report, the central bank said
Israel's war against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza that began on Oct. 7 had highlighted the personnel needs of the military and has added a burden to the economy due to the sharply increased amount of service days that will be required for both conscripts and reserve soldiers.
This, it said, impairs the soldiers' economic output as well as the spouse's employment. "As the burden of military service is divided among a higher number of soldiers ... the economic impact on each of them declines, as does the aggregate impact on the economy," the Bank of Israel said.
Washington Post
A strong storm system is poised to roll across the United States and deliver widespread hazardous weather. It arrived Saturday in California, where it produced thunderstorms, flooding and heavy mountain snow. As it charges eastward, few areas will be spared from its effects.
On Monday and Tuesday, it will sweep through the Central and Eastern states, bringing the threat of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Some areas — especially from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic — could also see flooding rain.
The storm’s last stop will be in New England midweek, where some areas could see an usually intense late-season snowstorm.