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.
From the Independent:
‘They could do it, for them the life of the people [is] nothing,’ says Ukrainian president
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has warned “all of the countries of the world” need to be ready for Vladimir Putin using nuclear weapons.
Speaking from the country’s capital Kyiv, Mr Zelensky told CNN that the Russian president could also be prepared to use chemical weapons against Ukraine.
There are other things going on in the world these days, but I thought that one should be included. Below the fold are some of the other happenings.
From Reuters (okay, one more at least mentioning Ukraine):
ROME, April 15 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian and a Russian woman took part in Pope Francis' Good Friday "Way of the Cross" service, but the meditation they wrote was scrapped after Ukrainians protested, saying the war made it inopportune.
The traditional Via Crucis procession at Rome's Colosseum had become embroiled in controversy earlier this week when the programme showed that the two friends, a nurse and a student nurse at a Rome hospital, would take part.
From the New York Times:
Violence broke out at the Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, in the morning on the first day of a rare convergence of Ramadan, Easter and Passover.
From CNN:
By Amy Cassidy and Jack Bantock, CNN
(CNN)More rain and damaging winds are expected across South Africa's east coast, following days of severe storms and flooding in which nearly 400 people have died, the KwaZulu-Natal regional government warned on Friday.
Heavy rains and flooding first hit KwaZulu-Nata, which includes the coastal city of Durban, on Monday. Roads cracked and gave way to deep fissures, homes were destroyed, and stacks of shipping containers collapsed, news agency images showed.
From the BBC:
A doctor who fled Afghanistan as a 15-year-old has said he is "shocked", after hearing some asylum seekers will be given a one-way ticket to Rwanda under new plans.
Dr Waheed Arian grew up "hiding" from rockets and bombs during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
From the Associated Press:
PARIS (AP) — As she cooks lunch and talks politics, Sarah Gutmann has a nasty feeling — of would-be French president Marine Le Pen invading the privacy of her home and meddling with her Jewish faith and the plates of chicken and kosher sausages that she is frying for her husband and their eldest son.
That’s because the far-right candidate wants to outlaw ritual slaughter if she’s elected next Sunday. And that could directly impact how Gutmann feeds her family and exercises her religious freedom. She and her husband, Benjamin, say they would have to think about leaving France if a far-right government interfered with observant Jews’ kosher diets. Their fear is that under Le Pen, targeting ritually slaughtered meats could be just the start of steps to make French Jews and Muslims feel unwelcome.
A video from Reuters:
French President Emmanuel Macron praised the efforts to rebuild the Notre-Dame cathedral, three years after its roof was destroyed in a massive blaze.
From CBS News:
A mysterious leaden sarcophagus discovered in the bowels of Paris' Notre Dame cathedral after it was devastated by a fire will soon be opened and its secrets revealed, French archaeologists said Thursday.
The announcement came just a day before the third anniversary of the inferno that engulfed the 12th century Gothic landmark, which shocked the world and led to a massive reconstruction project.And from
And finally, from 9 News Australia:
Day one of the long weekend is expected to bring more disruption at airports across the country as 79,000 passengers are expected to fly at Sydney Airport. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have reportedly paid a secret visit to Queen Elizabeth II in the UK.