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.
Back home, which is lovely. I was greeted by two very happy cats who took a while to remember how p****d they were at me. I am horribly jetlagged, though, so this might be a bit short. We do have two relatively positive stories for this category tonight, but one is about a child who died young and the other about development in Africa, which probably is the least-connected continent in the world.
From the Associated Press:
Harris announces plans to help 80% of Africa gain access to the internet, up from 40% now
Vice President
Kamala Harris announced Friday the formation of a new partnership to help provide internet access to 80% of Africa by 2030, up from roughly 40% now.
The announcement comes as follow-through on Harris’ visit to the continent last year and in conjunction with this week’s visit to Washington by Kenyan President William Ruto. Harris and the Kenyan leader had a public chat on Friday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about how public-private partnerships can increase economic growth.
From CBS News:
By Lucia Suarez Sang
An Italian teenager who was informally known as "God's Influencer" for using his computer skills to spread the Catholic faith is set to become the first saint of the millennial generation, the Vatican announced Thursday.
Carlo Acutis died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15. Born in London, he grew up in Milan where he managed the website for his parish and later a Vatican-based academy. He also used his computer skills to create an online database of Eucharistic miracles around the world.
From the NY Times:
Negotiators plan to ask for more time. Among the sticking points are equitable access to vaccines and financing to set up surveillance systems.
Countries around the globe have failed to reach consensus on the terms of a treaty that would unify the world in a strategy against the inevitable next pandemic, trumping the nationalist ethos that emerged during Covid-19.
The deliberations, which were scheduled to be a central item at the weeklong meeting of the World Health Assembly beginning Monday in Geneva, aimed to correct the inequities in access to vaccines and treatments between wealthier nations and poorer ones that became glaringly apparent during the Covid pandemic.
From the BBC:
Lucy Clarke-Billings
A French policeman has killed a protester in France's Pacific territory of New Caledonia.
Seven people have now died in a week of violence sparked by controversial voting reforms.
Prosecutor Yves Dupas, in New Caledonia's capital Nouméa, said the officer came under attack from demonstrators and fired his weapon on Friday.
From the BBC:
Emergency services are racing to reach villages hit by a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea's isolated Enga province, where hundreds of people are feared to be dead.
A rapid response team made up of medics and military personnel has managed to reach the isolated landslide site, humanitarian agency Care Australia said.
Difficult terrain and damage to main roads has complicated their journey to the area, it added in a statement.
From UPI:
May 24 (UPI) -- The legendary World War II submarine USS Harder was located off the Philippines island of Luzon by an organization dedicated to finding the subs the United States lost during the conflict, officials said Friday.
The organization Lost 52, found and documented the last resting place of the Harder in 3,000 feet of water near Luzon, sitting upright and "relatively intact."
From Reuters:
TAIPEI, May 25 (Reuters) - China ended two days of war games around Taiwan, in which it simulated attacks with bombers and practiced boarding ships, and Taiwan's defence ministry detailed on Saturday the surge of Chinese warplanes and warships involved.
Chinese state television's military channel said late on Friday the drills had concluded. A commentary in the official People's Liberation Army Daily said they had lasted for two days from Thursday to Friday, as previously announced.
From the AP:
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Friday called the removal of Estonian buoys by Russian border guards on a river separating the Baltic country from Russia “unacceptable,” and demanded an explanation from Moscow and the immediate return of the orange floats.
Early Thursday, Estonian border guards noticed that their Russian counterparts had removed 25 of the 50 buoys that Estonia had installed on the Narva River to prevent boats from accidentally crossing the border.
From Politico:
Orbán seeks to ensure non-participation in missions outside of the defense alliance’s territory.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday his country was looking to redefine its membership in NATO to ensure the country cannot be involved in operations outside of the military alliance's territory.
"Now a new term has been invented to describe the Hungarian position in NATO, it is called non-participation. We are not a participant now," Orbán said in an interview with Kossuth Radio, according to a report by Hungarian news portal Telex.
Fron Al Jazeera:
Elections in the country are won based on party popularity, but some personalities are driving the discourse.
From The Guardian:
In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities are struggling to find shelter for half a million displaced people as a health crisis looms
by Fernanda Canofre in Canoas, Brazil
As the rain poured down during the night of 3 May, a stream of people began to arrive at the Lutheran University of Brazil in Canoas, a city in the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul. For a week, heavy rains had been pummelling the landscape, raising river levels and flooding homes, forcing many to seek shelter elsewhere.
Three weeks later, the university harbours thousands of people and is the largest camp for the displaced amid a growing humanitarian crisis in the state of 10 million inhabitants. More than 580,000 people have been displaced, with almost 70,000 of them depending on shelters, according to a state government report. A total of 2.3 million people have been affected by the torrential rain and floods.
From CNN:
After months of planning and discussion, the deployment of an international force to violence-wracked Haiti has been delayed again, puncturing hopes that a vanguard of Kenyan police would arrive this week.
High-profile meetings on Thursday hinted at once-high expectations. In the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, the country’s governing Transitional Presidential Council posted photos of its meeting with a Kenyan delegation. In Washington, US President Joe Biden and Kenyan President William Ruto touted their nations’ collaboration on the mission (largely equipped by the US) at a joint press conference.
And finally, the CBC:
Mexico is about to experience its 'highest temperatures ever recorded' as death toll climbs
The extreme heat smothering much of Mexico has killed dozens of people across multiple states
The extreme heat smothering much of Mexico has already killed dozens of people, but the hottest temperatures are yet to come, officials say.
"In the next 10 to 15 days, the country will experience the highest temperatures ever recorded," researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) said in a statement earlier this week. They called the heat wave "unprecedented."