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 CNBC:
Key Points
- Local media outlets have shown Finnish support for NATO membership hitting a record high following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
- Speaking to CNBC’s Hadley Gamble on Friday, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Finland’s move to consider joining the NATO military alliance was a direct result of Russia’s invasion of its neighbor on Feb. 24.
- “The message from NATO and from me is that it is for Finland to decide,” Stoltenberg said.
From Reuters:
April 8 (Reuters) - Finland will return to Russia some Russian art works seized by Finnish customs, the country's foreign ministry said on Friday.
Finnish customs had stopped three shipments of art works worth around 42 million euros ($46 million) to check whether they were classed as luxury goods and were therefore subject to economic sanctions.
From The Guardian:
Global food prices rise to highest ever levels after Russian invasion
World wheat prices soared by 19.7% in March as war in Ukraine disrupted Black Sea exports, FAO price index reveals
Global food prices rose to their highest ever levels in March as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UN has reported.
Cooking oils, cereals and meats hit all-time highs and meant food commodities cost a third more than the same time last year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s monthly food price index published on Friday.
From the BBC:
By Jeremy Bowen
Remember how it was in Kyiv after the Russians invaded: thousands cramming bitterly cold railway platforms, pushing and shoving to get any train heading away from the Russians. At the height of it, in the week that straddled the end of February and the beginning of March, 50,000 people were moving west from Kyiv station every single day. Rusty carriages that looked as if they had spent years pensioned off in some siding were hauled back into service so the railway company could lay on dozens of extra services.
From USA Today:
OTTAWA, Ontario – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government announced Thursday it will ban foreign investors from buying homes in Canada for two years in a bid to cool off a hot housing market.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland took a number of measures to tamp down speculation and demand amid record home prices in announcing the federal budget for the year.
From ABC News:
A British judge has sentenced a sexual predator to at least 36 years in prison for the murder of Sabina Nessa, a primary school teacher killed as she walked to meet a friend in London
By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press
LONDON -- A British judge on Friday sentenced a sexual predator to at least 36 years in prison for the murder of Sabina Nessa, a primary school teacher killed as she walked to meet a friend in London.
Koci Selamaj, from Eastbourne on England’s south coast, pleaded guilty to carrying out the premeditated attack on Sept. 17. Closed circuit television images captured the moment the garage worker attacked Nessa from behind and hit her over the head 34 times with a 2-foot-long metal traffic triangle.
From Politico:
If Russia apologist Marine LePen wins the French elections, Washington fears she could unravel the Western NATO alliance.
The White House has begun to harbor fears that Vladimir Putin could soon notch his biggest victory of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — in Paris.
There is growing concern within President Joe Biden’s administration about the narrowing polls in the French presidential election that show a tight race between incumbent Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen.
From Reuters:
PARIS, April 8 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday appealed to younger, progressive-leaning voters in his last scheduled interview before Sunday's first-round presidential vote while his forecast lead over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen further evaporated.
"When it comes to correcting social inequalities at their root, we have begun the work, but we are very far from having succeeded," he told online news outlet Brut in a long interview, pledging also to do more to fight climate change.
From Al Jazeera:
The global average of true infection numbers is believed to be 16 times higher than the number of confirmed reported cases – but could have been 97 times higher in Africa, WHO says.
More than two-thirds of people living in Africa may have contracted COVID-19 over the past two years, about 97 times more than the number of reported infections, a World Health Organization (WHO) report has suggested.
Laboratory tests have detected 11.5 million COVID-19 cases and 252,000 fatalities across the African continent. But according to the report released on Thursday, some 800 million people could have already been infected by last September.
From Reuters:
Sunak's wife to pay British tax on global income
- Akshata Murthy is daughter of founder of Infosys
- Indian citizen previously only paid UK tax on UK income
- Row is latest setback for Sunak, possible future UK leader
From the BBC (video report at the link):
Israeli security forces have killed a Palestinian man who opened fire at a bar in Tel Aviv, killing two people and wounding 12 others, police say.