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.
We will start with the news about Ukraine, perhaps including a few things you haven’t read yet. This first story comes from Al Jazeera:
Al Jazeera catches up with former residents of the city where Russia is alleged to have carried out atrocities.
By Liz Cookman
It was a striking picture.
Valentyna Konstantinovska, then 79, laid out on the floor wearing a lemon-yellow coat, learning to aim a mock assault rifle at a civilian weapons training in Ukraine’s southeastern port city of Mariupol.
Less than two weeks later, on February 24, Russia invaded.
The city was cut off and laid siege to, with Ukrainian officials estimating that as many as 25,000 civilians were killed and at least 95 percent of Mariupol was destroyed in the brutal months that followed.
Konstantinovska had planned to stay behind, no matter what.
From The Guardian:
This war is Russia’s fault. But European nations rebuffing Russia during the noughties did not help
Why did Vladimir Putin invade Ukraine and try to capture Kyiv in February 2022, and not years earlier? Moscow has always wanted to dominate Ukraine, and Putin has given the reasons for this in his speeches and writings. Why then did he not try to take all or most of the country after the Ukrainian revolution of 2014, rather than only annexing Crimea, and giving limited, semi-covert help to separatists in the Donbas?
On Friday’s one-year anniversary of Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine, it is worth thinking about precisely how we got to this point – and where things might be going.
From WION:
India and China have abstained, along with 30 other nations of the 193-member UN General Assembly, in the 141-7 vote in favour of the resolution that called for invoking principles of the United Nations charter underlying a "comprehensive, just and lasting peace" in Ukraine.
Abstentions in a diplomatic vote are like silences in a conversation: Some denote slyness, some helplessness, some a stoic acceptance, and some a sort of confusion. It is in interpreting silences and abstentions, and the word that sits in the middle, 'reticence' that we need to understand India and China in the context of the painful first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
From Business Insider:
- A ruined Russian tank has been dumped outside the country's embassy in Berlin.
- The project was organized by two German artist-activists with the help of Ukraine's MOD.
- The rusted heap appeared as a vivid symbol on the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
From Reuters:
BENGALURU, Feb 24 (Reuters) - France will not sign off on a G20 communique unless it contains the same denunciation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine as it did last year, its finance minister said on Friday on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in India.
"I want to make very clear that we will oppose any step back from the leaders on the statement from the leaders in Bali on this question of war in Ukraine," Bruno Le Maire told a news conference.
From the Economist:
A young person’s guide to escaping Nigeria
No matter who wins the election, lots will want to leave. Many who have already emigrated can’t imagine moving back
By Ore Ogunbiyi
The Nigerian presidential election is more unpredictable than it has been in decades. The surprise popularity of Peter Obi, an outside candidate, has given some young Nigerians hope that they will be able to build a fulfilling life for themselves in their native land. Others think it makes little difference whether this week’s election is won by Obi, who is considered a whippersnapper at 61, or by one of his older opponents from the two main parties. There are a lot of young Nigerians (more than 60% of the population is under the age of 25), but they don’t have much to look forward to. Nigerians are poorer than they were when Muhammadu Buhari, the 80-year-old president, took the reins eight years ago. Universities are closed for months at a time owing to strikes; hospitals have at times stopped treating people for the same reason. Official estimates put unemployment at 33%, and youth unemployment at 42.5%. Even those with a stable job have cause to worry: double-digit inflation is gnawing away at their salaries.
From:
PARIS/JOHANNESBURG, Feb 24 (Reuters) - International financial crime watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Friday added South Africa to its "grey list" of countries under special scrutiny to implement standards to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.
Being added to the list is a reputational setback for Africa's most advanced economy, which has been trying to address shortcomings identified by the FATF.
From News24:
For almost 16 years Kate and Gerry McCann have been craving answers about what happened to their three-year-old daughter.
Now, the case of missing toddler Madeleine McCann has once again been thrust into the spotlight after a Polish woman named Julia Faustyna came forward saying she believes she’s the little girl who disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, all those years ago.
From WION:
Boris Johnson hints he may not support Rishi Sunak’s Northern Ireland deal
From CNN:
By Christian Edwards and Gabby Gretener
A winter heatwave, record low levels of rain and a startling lack of snow in Europe are pushing rivers, canals and lakes across the continent to alarmingly low levels, with experts warning there could be repeat of last year’s severe droughts.
Images of dried-up river beds and shrunken lakes are usually associated with the scorching heat of summer – not the winter. But an exceptionally warm and dry start to the year is affecting a swath of Europe, including central and southwest France, northern Spain and northern Italy.
From Euractiv:
France is to adopt a series of water restriction measures and a major water plan, as it currently faces an unprecedented winter drought, Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion Minister Christophe Béchu announced in an interview on Wednesday.
Speaking to France Info on Wednesday, Béchu recalled that France was “in a state of alert” after a month without significant rainfall. This is “the driest winter since 1959”, he said.
From CNN:
Opinion by Marja Heinonen
Editor’s Note: Marja Heinonen, a Finnish author of several books, has more than three decades’ experience as a journalist, editor and in academia, and holds a doctorate in communications. The views expressed here are her own. Read more opinion on CNN.
When it comes to friendships between nations, not much comes between Sweden and my home country of Finland.
We’re not just neighbors; We are bound together by centuries of shared history. Parts of Finland were ruled for 500 years (sometimes uneasily, to be honest) by the kingdom of Sweden. And along with Finnish, Swedish is one of two official languages in Finland. Most Finns learn to speak the language passably well.
From CNN:
The heart of occupied
Nablus is one of the most ancient cities in the Middle East. With two churches, 12 mosques and a Samaritan synagogue around densely populated residential areas, the occupied West Bank city’s nickname is “Little Damascus” because of the way its architecture, arches and even the local accent and food are reminiscent of those of the Syrian capital.
On a normal day, the smell of spices and hand-made Nablus soap, the bright colors of cloth, and the welcoming faces of people fill the narrow alleys of the Ottoman-era Old City.
From NDTV:
Lovepreet Singh aka Toofan Singh belongs from Gurdaspur in Punjab. He was arrested for his connection in a kidnapping and assault case
Chandigarh: Lovepreet Singh walked out of jail today after a pro-Khalistan organisation lay siege to Ajnala police station in Punjab's Amritsar. But who is he and who is the Amritpal Singh that led the group to Ajnala police station.
Who is Lovepreet Singh
Lovepreet Singh aka Toofan Singh belongs from Gurdaspur in Punjab. He was arrested for his connection in a kidnapping and assault case. Lovepreet Singh is also a part of Waris Punjab De, and a close aide of Waris Punjab De's chief Amritpal Singh.
From NPR’s Goats and Soda:
There's been virtually no progress in reducing the number of women who die due to pregnancy or childbirth worldwide in recent years. That's the conclusion of a sweeping new report released jointly by the World Health Organization and other United Nations agencies as well as the World Bank.
The report estimates that there were 287,000 maternal deaths globally in 2020 — the most recent year these statistics cover. That's the equivalent of a woman dying every two minutes — or nearly 800 deaths a day.