Overnight News Digest

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Friday June 17, 2022 · 8:53 PM PDT

2022/06/17 · 20:53

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, Rise above the swamp, and Besame. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Man Oh Man, wader, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), 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.

From Reuters:

Western Europeans wilt in early summer heatwave, compounding climate change fears

By Inti Landauro and Tassilo Hummel

Spaniards swelter as temperatures head for above 40 Celsius

Outdoor events stopped in part of France, drought hits Italy

Even hats off allowed at upmarket British horse-racing event

MADRID/PARIS, June 17 (Reuters) - Spain headed for its hottest early summer temperatures in four decades on Friday, one area of France banned outdoor events, and drought stalked Italian farmers as a heatwave sent Europeans hunting for shade and fretting over climate change.

From CBS:

Italy's largest river dries up, exposing World War II barge that sank in 1943

Water is so low in large stretches of Italy's largest river that local residents are walking through the middle of the expanse of sand and shipwrecks are resurfacing.

Authorities fear that if it doesn't rain soon, there'll be a serious shortage of water for drinking and irrigation for farmers and local populations across the whole of northern Italy.

From Al Jazeera:

Europe’s five hottest summers since 1500

In just more than 20 years, the continent has experienced its five hottest summers since 1500.

Sweltering temperatures in Spain and France have shone a spotlight on the increasing frequency of heatwaves in Europe.

In just more than two decades, the continent has experienced its five hottest summers since 1500.

And one final climate change article, from Live Science:

Hundreds of the world's smallest penguins have mysteriously washed up dead. What killed them?

By Harry Baker

Researchers suspect climate change may be to blame.

More than 500 of the world's smallest penguins have mysteriously washed up dead on beaches across New Zealand over the past couple of months. Experts aren't exactly sure what has been killing off such a large number of the adorable seabirds, but they suspect that climate change may have played a role.

Aggregations of deceased little penguins (Eudyptula minor), known locally as kororā, have been washing up on beaches in the country's North Island since early May, according to The Guardian(opens in new tab). The largest cluster was a group of 183 dead birds that washed up last week on Ninety Mile Beach near Kaitaia; another 109 penguins were found on that same beach in early May. An additional group of around 100 dead penguins also washed up last week on Cable Bay near Nelson, although the exact number is unclear. New Zealand's Department of Conservation (DOC) has now revealed that multiple other die-offs have been reported on beaches across North Island, ranging from a couple to dozens of bodies, The Guardian reported.

From the Associated Press:

EXPLAINER: Why is China denying Hong Kong was a UK colony?

KEN MORITSUGU

BEIJING (AP) — Hong Kong is preparing to introduce new middle school textbooks that will deny the Chinese territory was ever a British colony. China's Communist rulers say the semi-autonomous city and the nearby former Portuguese colony of Macao were merely occupied by foreign powers and that China never relinquished sovereignty over them.

It's not a new position for China, but the move is a further example of Beijing’s determination to enforce its interpretation of history and events and inculcate patriotism as it tightens its grip over Hong Kong following massive protests demanding democracy in 2019.

From the Washington Post:

China unveils cutting-edge aircraft carrier, first to be locally designed

By Lily Kuo and Cate Cadell

In a ribbon-cutting ceremony held at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, officials unveiled the Type 003 warship, called “Fujian” according to the country’s defense ministry and state media. Officials cited in state media said the ship would not be battle-ready for five years, but is an important step in Beijing’s ambition to develop a “blue water” navy, capable of projecting power far beyond its shores.

The carrier has been the focus of intense interest among military observers and rival nations tracking the development of China’s navy. It’s also a major milestone in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s multiyear drive to modernize the country’s military and cut reliance on foreign military suppliers.

From the Washington Post:

As nuclear test looms, North Korea reports intestinal epidemic

By Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Min Joo Kim

TOKYO — As South Korean and U.S. officials repeated their warnings this week about a potential North Korean nuclear test, Pyongyang announced it is fighting a new intestinal epidemic that comes as the country grapples with drought, covid and ongoing food and cash shortages from its border lockdown.

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During his visit to Washington this week, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin echoed U.S. assessments that North Korea apparently has completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test, which would sharply raise the stakes in the diplomatic standoff between Washington and Pyongyang. Park said he believes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is waiting for the time to make his “political decision.”

From the BBC:

Agnipath: One dead in violent India protests over military hiring

A person has died and 13 others have been injured in India after protests against a new army hiring plan turned violent.

He died when police and protesters clashed in Secunderabad city in the southern state of Telangana on Friday.

Police reportedly opened fire into the crowd but reports said it was not clear if the man died due to a gunshot wound.

From Al Jazeera:

Pakistan to stay on FATF watchdog’s ‘gray list’

Financial Action Task Force says Pakistan will be kept on list of countries that do not take full measures to combat money-laundering and ‘terror financing’.

An international watchdog says it will keep Pakistan on a so-called “gray list” of nations that do not take full measures to combat money laundering and “terrorism” financing but raised hopes its removal will follow an upcoming visit to the country to determine its progress.

The announcement on Friday by Marcus Pleyer, president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), was a blow to Pakistan’s newly elected government, which said it has mostly complied with the organisation’s tasks set for Islamabad.

From CNN:

Glass bar dangles over canyon in Georgia

Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN

(CNN) — You might need a stiff drink before you even get to this watering hole.

A 240-meter-long (787 feet) glass bridge with a "diamond-shaped" bar suspended in the center was unveiled at Dashbashi Canyon, located around two hours drive from capital city Tbilisi, in Southern Georgia earlier this week.

From the BBC:

WTO agrees deals on Covid vaccines and overfishing

Agreements including waiving patents for Covid vaccines and aiming to reduce overfishing have been passed by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The group of 164 countries spent five days negotiating deals which included pledges on health and food security.

The partial intellectual property waiver deal for coronavirus jabs will allow developing countries to produce and export vaccines.

From Digg:

The Highest Increases In Inflation Rate Around The World, Ranked

Key Takeaways:

Switzerland, an OECD nation not on the chart, had a -0.13 percent infation rate in Q1 of 2020 which went up to 2.06 percent in Q1 2022.

European nations like Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal experienced some of the highest inflation rises in the world.

In Asia, South Korea had the highest inflation increases over the last two years and its inflation rate grew a fraction higher than the United States.

From Al Jazeera:

Al Jazeera obtains image of bullet that killed its journalist

Veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead last month in the occupied West Bank while covering Israeli raids.

An investigation by Al Jazeera has obtained an image of the bullet used to kill the network’s journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

The photograph for the first time shows the type of ammunition used to kill the veteran Al Jazeera correspondent in the occupied West Bank last month.

From the BBC:

Paolo Macchiarini: Surgeon convicted for fatal Swedish transplants

By Paul Kirby

A Swedish court has given a disgraced Italian surgeon a suspended sentence for causing bodily harm during an experimental stem-cell windpipe transplant.

Paolo Macchiarini, once seen as a pioneering transplant surgeon, was cleared of two charges of assault.

Three patients treated in Sweden died.

From the Washington Post:

Catholic bishop, under fire for abuse record, declines cardinal honor

By Chico Harlan

CORRECTION

An earlier version of this story said the Diocese of Ghent did not intervene to stop an accused priest's activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Ghent. Bishop-Accountability says Bishop Lucas Van Looy notified civil authorities in 2014.

When Pope Francis in May announced his intention to create 21 new cardinals, one name stood out to a group of clerical-abuse advocates in Belgium: Lucas Van Looy. After facing weeks of pressure about his record of handling abuse cases, the would-be cardinal has now asked Francis not to receive the honor — a highly unusual request that the pope has accepted.

From The Guardian:

Canadian priest arrested for 1960s sexual assault at First Nations residential school

Canadian government has admitted that physical and sexual assault at the schools was rampant and has apologized

Canadian police said they arrested a 92-year-old retired priest for a sexual assault more than 50 years ago at one of Canada’s residential schools for Indigenous children.

Sgt Paul Manaigre of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said on Friday that police arrested retired Father Arthur Masse for the assault. Manaigre said the victim was 10 years old at the time and it happened between 1968 and 1970 at Ford Alexander residential school in Manitoba.

From CNN:

Funeral mass held for victims of church gun massacre in Nigeria

By Stephanie Busari, CNN

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN)A funeral mass was held on Friday for the victims of the gun attack in early June at a church in Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria, a relative of two of the victims told CNN.

Among those paying respects to the 40 people who died was Laide Ajanaku whose parents John Adesina Ajanaku, 67, and mother Olabimpe Susanah, 64, were killed when a group of armed men stormed the congregation during a Pentecost mass the St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, south-western Nigeria.

There has been a discrepancy in the figures given to media by authorities, with a local lawmaker Adeyemi Olayemi telling CNN that nearly 50 people died in the shooting after the attackers came in on motorcycles.

From the Washington Post:

Dom Phillips, journalist who chronicled Amazon deforestation, is dead at 57

The onetime music journalist had lived in Brazil since 2007 and was researching a book on the Amazon when he died

By Matt Schudel

Dom Phillips, a British journalist based in Brazil who had written for The Washington Post, the Guardian and other news organizations and was a leading chronicler of the devastating environmental effects of deforestation in the Amazon, has died in the remote Javari Valley of western Brazil, where he was researching a book. He was 57.

According to media reports, he and Bruno Araújo Pereira, an expert on the country’s Indigenous people, were traveling by boat on the Itaquai River in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, known in recent years for growing violence by illegal fishermen, loggers and drug dealers. The two men were last seen alive on June 5.

From NBC:

Populist or leftist? Colombian Americans vote in high-stakes presidential election

Most Colombian expats favor populist outsider Rodolfo Hernandez over leftist Gustavo Petro, over fears that Petro will "turn Colombia into another Venezuela," as one voter said.

By Carmen Sesin and Christopher Alvarez

MIAMI — Colombia is headed for a presidential runoff election Sunday between two nonestablishment candidates, and politicians in Florida, home to the largest population of expats in the U.S., are taking note.

The choice is between Gustavo Petro, a leftist and former guerrilla who has promised profound economic and social change, and Rodolfo Hernández, a millionaire businessman and political outsider that has vowed to drastically cut budgets and fight corruption.

From the AP:

Costa Rica chaos a warning that ransomware threat remains

By ALAN SUDERMAN and BEN FOX

WASHINGTON (AP) — Teachers unable to get paychecks. Tax and customs systems paralyzed. Health officials unable to access medical records or track the spread of COVID-19. A country’s president declaring war against foreign hackers saying they want to overthrow the government.

For two months now, Costa Rica has been reeling from unprecedented ransomware attacks disrupting everyday life in the Central American nation. It’s a situation raising questions about the United States’ role in protecting friendly nations from cyberattacks when Russian-based criminal gangs are targeting less developed countries in ways that could have major global repercussions.

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