Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, Interceptor7, Magnifico, annetteboardman, jck, and Besame. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Man Oh Man, wader, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck, 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.
We begin with pictures from India, via Al Jazeera:
In the worst such attack since 1993, swarms of desert locusts devastate crops in the middle of the coronavirus lockdown.
Swarms of desert locusts have become the latest threat faced by coronavirus-hit India, with states scrambling to spray pesticides to prevent crop damage from the worst such attack in almost 30 years.
Crops and vegetable plantations in several Indian states, including Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh are in the path of the invading insects.
From CBS News (Reuters):
BY SOPHIE LEWIS
A group of monkeys in India swiped blood samples from coronavirus patients from a local medical college, stoking fears they could further the virus' spread in nearby regions, Reuters reported on Friday. Before they fled the scene, the monkeys attacked a health worker, according to authorities cited by the outlet.
From Reuters:
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump about the south Asian nation’s military standoff with China, a government source said on Friday, after Trump suggested Modi was upset about border tension.
The neighbours’ troops have been facing off along the disputed border in the western Himalayas since early May, after Chinese troops intruded into Indian territory, Indian military officials say.
From Newsweek:
BY DAVID BRENNAN
A Chinese general has warned that Beijing will not rule out the use of force to take control of Taiwan, as the Chinese Communist Party closed its annual National People's Congress in Beijing.
General Li Zuocheng, the chief of the Joint Staff Department and member of the Central Military Commission, said Friday that while peaceful diplomacy is preferred, China will consider using force to establish control over Taipei as part of its "One China" policy.
From The Guardian:
Home Office decision infuriates Chinese government and could risk backlash among traditional Tory voters
The Home Office appears to have dramatically widened the pool of Hong Kong citizens that will be eligible to apply for UK citizenship, implying millions may be able to apply if China presses ahead with plans for draconian new security legislation in the territory.
The UK government’s decision has infuriated the Chinese government, and could risk a backlash among traditional Conservative voters opposed to immigration.
From the NY Post:
Kim Jong Un has gone nuclear in a new crusade against sex — lashing out at “immorality” and “impure acts” among teens in the Hermit Kingdom, according to a report.
After lying low off and on for the past few weeks, the reclusive leader has targeted what he deems “treasonous” behavior by youth with overactive sex drives, the UK’s Express reported.
From NBC News:
CLIMATE IN CRISIS
Heat wave sparks concerns about devastating wildfire season and melting permafrost.
By Luke Denne and Olivia Sumrie
One of the coldest regions on Earth has been experiencing a record-breaking heat wave in recent weeks amid growing fears about devastating wildfires and melting permafrost.
Khatanga, a town in Siberia’s Arctic Circle, registered highs of over 80 degrees Fahrenheit this week, according to Accuweather, far above the 59 degrees F historical average, as the whole of western Siberia basked in unseasonable warmth.
From NPR:
The city of Moscow has suddenly doubled its coronavirus death toll from last month.
Media reports and analysts have questioned the accuracy of Russia's mortality figures for the virus.
Under its initial methodology, Moscow's Health Department had attributed 636 deaths to COVID-19. But on Thursday, the department announced that 1,561 deaths in April could be linked to COVID-19.
From CNN:
(CNN) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for new protections for women after a 14-year-old girl was allegedly murdered by her father in a so-called "honor killing," sparking outrage in the country.
From Al Jazeera:
Killings took place in Mezdah, 150km south of capital Tripoli, the interior ministry said.
The family of a Libyan smuggler killed by migrants has killed 30 migrants in a revenge attack, Libya's United Nations-recognised government said.
The killings took place in Mezdah, a town some 150km (95 miles) south of Libya's capital Tripoli, the interior ministry said on Thursday, adding that the 30-year-old smuggler was killed by "clandestine migrants" for unknown reasons.
From the BBC:
An Ethiopian soldier shot a man dead in front of several people after his phone rang during a public meeting, Amnesty International says.
It is one of many incidents the rights watchdog recorded from a security crackdown in Oromia regional state at the end of 2018 and 2019.
From the BBC:
Norway and Denmark say they will open up tourism between their two countries from 15 June but will maintain restrictions for Swedes.
Sweden did not impose a lockdown, unlike its Nordic neighbours, and its Covid-19 death toll - above 4,000 - is by far the highest in Scandinavia.
Danish PM Mette Frederiksen said Denmark and Sweden were in different places regarding the pandemic.
From the Washington Post:
ROME — Dario Bartoli, a tour guide who works mostly with Americans, was leading his latest group outing one recent evening, walking along a pedestrian bridge lined with angel statues, on the way to St. Peter's Square. Only this time, Bartoli was by himself. He held a selfie stick. His phone's video was rolling as he walked. A half-dozen Americans joined by Zoom.
News of the arts
We begin with this from the BBC:
Art historians are exploring their collections through a climate lens, revealing overlooked connections between our past and present, writes Diego Arguedas Ortiz.
As the 1850s were drawing to a close, the artist Frederic Edwin Church was navigating off the Canadian coast of Newfoundland in preparation for his next painting. The search for the Northwest Passage had captured the public’s imagination for much of that decade and Church – America’s best-known landscape painter – was also lured. He chartered a schooner to approach the sea ice and spent weeks among the frozen blocks before returning to his studio in New York with about 100 sketches.
From Cleveland.com:
AKRON, Ohio — Trustees of the Akron Art Museum have just presided over one of the most troubling periods in the 98-year history of a treasured local institution.
The museum, now closed during the coronavirus pandemic, is in recovery following allegations of racism, sexism and bullying of employees by managers that led to the resignation on May 18 of director Mark Masuoka.
From bizjournal.com (Baltimore):
On April 7, the education staff of the Modell Lyric held our first virtual theater workshop with 5th-grade students from Henderson Hopkins Partnership School. It had been a month since our last typical Tuesday workshop and they displayed their thirst for our theater arts curriculum.
It was beautiful to see students’ energetic, bright faces as they eagerly jumped into their improvisational scenes. At the end of the session they pleaded with us to give them more time before the workshop ended.
From the Los Angeles Times:
Like other movie houses in Los Angeles, the Egyptian Theatre remains closed indefinitely because of the conoravirus outbreak. But Rick Nicita, the chairman of the theater’s longtime owner American Cinematheque, says the future is bright.
Credit his optimism to, of all things, Netflix.
From American Theatre:
With a little help from her friends and colleagues—and some crucical advance planning—Sara Brunow was able to take Asolo Rep’s theatre education online.
SHRISHTI MATHEW
Sara Brunow was excited for the spring. She and her team at Asolo Repertory Theatre had been meticulously planning a set of new educational programs since she joined the Sarasota, Fla., theatre in August 2019. Brunow had gotten artists, the local community, and Asolo Rep’s marketing and development teams on board for her first fully realized project as the company’s education and engagement director.
The final product, a set of community-based educational theatre programs, launched over spring break, and she was very proud. The program included master classes, theatre games, and dramaturgy, among other offerings. “And then about three or four days after that, we ended up needing to stop and cancel,” she said.