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Overnight News Digest September 29, 2023 [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-09-29
Subbing for annetteboardman tonight.
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.
BBC
Why finding alien life in Universe is now 'only a matter of time'
Many astronomers are no longer asking whether there is life elsewhere in the Universe. The question on their minds is instead: when will we find it? Many are optimistic of detecting life signs on a faraway world within our lifetimes - possibly in the next few years. And one scientist, leading a mission to Jupiter, goes as far as saying it would be "surprising" if there was no life on one of the planet's icy moons. "We live in an infinite Universe, with infinite stars and planets. And it's been obvious to many of us that we can't be the only intelligent life out there," says Prof Catherine Heymans, Scotland's Astronomer Royal. "We now have the technology and the capability to answer the question of whether we are alone in the cosmos."
BBC
Storm Daniel: Greek farmers fear they may never recover
In Greece, people are counting the cost of the devastating floods that hit the centre of the country after Storm Daniel in early September. Fruit trees, corn and around a fifth of Greece's cotton crop have been destroyed and over 200,000 animals and poultry killed. Estimates by academics suggest the short-term effects alone could cost the Greek economy up to 5 billion euros ($5.3bn; £4.3bn). One of the worst hit areas is the Thessaly plain, in central Greece. Thessaly is one of the country's main agricultural regions, and there are fears about the impact on food production. Greece's Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, had promised speedy help for the victims of the flooding. Speaking immediately after the disaster, he said Greece had "the financial capabilities and the mechanism for quick aid," so that people would be able to "restart their lives, repair their homes… and operate their businesses again." But many people here say it's simply not enough.
BBC
Sweden gangs: Army to help police after surge in killings
The Swedish army is stepping in to support police in tackling a recent surge in gang killings, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has announced. He said that from next week the army would start providing assistance with analysis and logistics, as well as in handling explosives and forensic work. Mr Kristersson added that Sweden's laws also needed updating to enable more military involvement. So far this month, 12 people have been killed in gang violence in the country. This is the highest number since December 2019, according to the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.
NPR
Despair flows after England's Sycamore Gap tree is cut down. Could it regrow?
LONDON — The tree was special, giving visitors to Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, England, a magical backdrop for picnics, proposals and vacation photos — and supplying the rest of us with an image that looked to be a pinnacle of nature's timeless peace. But the famous Sycamore Gap tree was cut down this week, setting off ripples of shock, sadness and anger after a well-loved landmark was reduced to a stump. "It felt genuinely mythical," said writer Katy Madgwick, describing her family's first visit to the tree in May. "I'm a bit heartbroken tbh. My kids will be too." Northumbria Police said officers arrested a 16-year-old boy on Thursday in connection to "what we believe was a deliberate act of vandalism." The tree grew for centuries in a gully along Hadrian's Wall, the ancient frontier of the Roman Empire (and a UNESCO World Heritage Site) in what is now northern England. Thriving in a landscape of rocks and grass, the tree was iconic, featuring on postcards and even in Kevin Costner's 1991 film, Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. "We believe the tree to be around 200 years old,"
Further news on the story:
The Guardian
Sycamore Gap: man, 60, arrested in connection with felled tree
A man in his 60s has been arrested by officers investigating the felling of the world-famous Sycamore Gap tree in Northumberland, police have said. The tree, next to Hadrian’s Wall, was cut down overnight between Wednesday and Thursday in what detectives have called a “deliberate act of vandalism”. It was made famous in a key scene in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and was among the UK’s most photographed trees. A 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage on Thursday in connection with the incident and has since been released on bail. Northumbria police said the man in his 60s was arrested on Friday evening and he remains in police custody assisting officers with inquiries.
NPR
More than 2,500 migrants crossing the Mediterranean died or went missing this year
More than 2,500 migrants died or went missing this year while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe, according to the United Nations. It's a startling two-thirds increase from last year's toll of 1,680 people in the same period, and comes as Europe sees a massive influx of migrants making the perilous journey in numbers not seen in years. Between January and Sept. 24, about 186,000 people arrived by sea in southern Europe, landing in Italy, Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Malta. The U.N.'s refugee commissioner "has repeatedly called for the establishment of an agreed regional disembarkation and redistribution mechanism for people who arrive by sea, in a spirit of responsibility sharing and solidarity with front-line states.
The Guardian
Robert Kennedy Jr to run for president as independent in 2024 – report
Robert F Kennedy Jr is reported to be ending his challenge to Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination and run instead as an independent candidate, in a move that could upset the 2024 race for the White House. Kennedy, 69 and a scion of a famous political dynasty – a son of the former US attorney general and New York senator Robert F Kennedy, and a nephew of the former president John F Kennedy – will announce his run in Pennsylvania on 9 October, according to Mediaite. A third-party candidate is widely seen to be likely to peel more support from Biden than the likely Republican nominee, Donald Trump, thereby potentially handing the presidency to the Republican.
Reuters
Suicide bombings at two mosques in Pakistan kill at least 57
QUETTA/PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Suicide bombings ripped through two mosques in Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 57 people, including seven children, as believers marked the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad, police and health officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, from which the death toll could climb, with many people seriously injured and others having been trapped beneath the wreckage. In the first blast, in Mastung in the southwestern province of Balochistan, the bomber detonated his explosives near a police vehicle where people were gathering for a procession, senior police official Munir Ahmed said.
Reuters
Russia's Putin signs decree on autumn military conscription
Sept 29 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree setting out the routine autumn conscription campaign, calling up 130,000 citizens for statutory military service, a document posted on the government website showed on Friday. All men in Russia are required to do a year-long military service between the ages of 18 and 27, or equivalent training while in higher education. Putin's move comes as Russia's armed forces press on with their "special military operation" in Ukraine, now in its 20th month. The president, who signed an order in March calling up 147,000 people for the spring campaign, said this month he was bracing for a long war in Ukraine.
Deutsche Welle
China's property crisis: Evergrande's woes threaten recovery
China has spent nine months trying to kickstart the world's second-largest economy after three years of strict COVID lockdowns. Despite targeted stimulus measures to boost exports and domestic consumption, growth has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. Beijing is already forecast to miss its 5% growth target for this year. To make matters worse, the country's real estate crisis — which first unfolded two years ago — has become a slow-motion car wreck. On Thursday, shares in China Evergrande, the country's second-largest property developer, were suspended as the firm teeters on the edge of bankruptcy. A day earlier, news agency Bloomberg reported that the company's CEO, Hui Ka Yan, also known as Xu Jiayin, is being held by police under "residential surveillance."
Deutsche Welle
Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenians fleeing in dramatic escape
After Azerbaijan's recapture of the breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians have fled to Armenia. The Armenian prime minister expects even more to arrive in the coming days. People are escaping however they can, in cars, on tractors or trucks, or by bus, and with as many belongings as they can, tied onto the roof if need be. They are squashed together, many crying, with drivers looking petrified. The most important thing is to leave. Narine Shakaryan, a grandmother of four, told DW it had taken over 24 hours for her family to get to Goris, a small city in the south of Armenia. "The children were hungry and crying. None of us had eaten anything!" The industrial hub in the mountainous province of Syunik is usually quiet, but now it has become the center of a mass exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. Thousands have arrived in the past few days alone.
Al Jazeera
UN to send mission to Nagorno-Karabakh for first time in nearly 30 years
The United Nations will send a mission to Nagorno-Karabakh for the first time in about 30 years, scrambling to address humanitarian needs after Azerbaijan retook the territory and triggered a major refugee exodus, a spokesman has said. “The government of Azerbaijan and the UN have agreed on a mission to the region. The mission will take place over the weekend,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Friday. The announcement came on the heels of a request by Armenia to the World Court to order Azerbaijan to withdraw all its troops from civilian establishments in Nagorno-Karabakh so that the UN have safe access, the court said on Friday.
L A Times
Trump attacks Pelosi and Newsom while rallying California Republicans
Former President Trump, opening up the California Republican Party’s fall convention, assailed Gov. Gavin Newsom, “California radicals” and “tech tyrants” on Friday in a rambling speech that drifted from mandated vaccines for schoolchildren to the quality of his Palos Verdes golf course. The clear front-runner for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination told the 1,500 party loyalists gathered at a $600-a-plate luncheon at the Anaheim Marriott that Republicans had been “screwed for years” in left-leaning California, which he vowed to rectify if voted back into the White House. “We’re thrilled to be here with the conservative patriots who are leading the charge to take back the state from the radical left lunatics,” Trump said.
Washington Post
Newsom facing competing pressures as he decides on Feinstein successor
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