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Overnight News Digest: Wednesday February 19 [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-02-19

The crew of the Overnight News Digest consists of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, jeremybloom, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, doomandgloom, farwestgirl, Besame, and jck. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Rise above the swamp, 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 since 2007, 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.

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From The Guardian:

Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier released from prison: ‘finally free’

Native American activist moves to home imprisonment after Joe Biden commuted sentence at end of presidency. The Native American activist Leonard Peltier – convicted in 1975 for the killings of two FBI agents – was released from federal prison on Tuesday after Joe Biden commuted his sentence at the end of his presidency in January. [...] Peltier had maintained his innocence since his conviction before Biden ordered Peltier – now 80 and in poor health – to transition to home confinement after spending nearly 49 years federally imprisoned. ***

From Reuters:

Exclusive: Office overseeing Afghan resettlement in US told to start planning closure, sources say

WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The State Department office overseeing the resettlement of Afghans in the United States has been told to develop plans to close by April, according to a U.S. official, a leading advocate and two sources familiar with the directive, a move that could deny up to an estimated 200,000 people new lives in America. Family members of Afghan-American U.S. military personnel, children cleared to reunite with their parents, relatives of Afghans already admitted and tens of thousands of Afghans who worked for the U.S. government during the 20-year war are among those who could be turned away if the office is shut, the advocate and the U.S. official said. ***

From The National News:

Abu Dhabi is in line to become a global player in building Earth observation satellites following a Dh378 million agreement between companies in the emirate. AI-powered SpaceTech company Space42 won the contract from Fada, a subsidiary of military contractor Edge, which will improve the UAE’s Earth observation capabilities over the next five years. Space42 will use data from its Foresight constellation of synthetic-aperture radar satellites to provide geospatial analytics to government bodies. This means several government entities would have insights from satellite data that could help them with decision-making in areas like urban planning, environmental monitoring and security. ***

From Kyiv Independent:

Ukraine and Moldova sign cooperation memorandum on EU accession

Ukraine and Moldova have signed a memorandum of cooperation to strengthen their efforts toward European Union integration and accession, Ukraine’s government press service reported on Feb. 18. The agreement, signed by Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna and Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister Cristina Gherasimov, aims to enhance collaboration in the accession process. It outlines key areas of cooperation, including EU enlargement negotiations, legal harmonization, judicial reform, and financial support. The memorandum also promotes the exchange of knowledge and experience in democratic governance, economic policies, and the fight against corruption. ***

From The Guardian:

Thousands of tourists flock to see Etna eruption, blocking rescue services

Thousands of tourists have flocked to Mount Etna to watch spectacular eruptions on the volcano, but some people are blocking streets and preventing rescue services from reaching those in need of assistance, the local authorities have said. Sicily’s head of regional civil protection, Salvo Cocina, described the tourism of recent days at Etna as “wild” and “extremely dangerous”, warning that day-trippers drawn by the exceptional views had parked their cars along narrow streets, impeding rescue vehicles. In a post on Facebook on Sunday night, Cocina said the flow of people had created “a wild scene with cars crowding the narrow roads, a traffic standstill … and rescue vehicles unable to pass”. He added: “As darkness falls, the situation becomes extremely dangerous, with rising risks of falls and people sinking into the snow.” ***

From The Conversation:

Greenland’s rapidly melting ice and landslide-prone fjords make the oil and minerals Trump covets dangerous to extract

Since Donald Trump regained the presidency, he has coveted Greenland. Trump has insisted that the U.S. will control the island, currently an autonomous territory of Denmark, and if his overtures are rejected, perhaps seize Greenland by force. During a recent congressional hearing, senators and expert witnesses focused on Greenland’s strategic value and its natural resources: critical minerals, fossil fuels and hydropower. No one mentioned the hazards, many of them exacerbated by human-induced climate change, that those longing to possess and develop the island will inevitably encounter. That’s imprudent, because the Arctic’s climate is changing more rapidly than anywhere on Earth. Such rapid warming further increases the already substantial economic and personal risk for those living, working and extracting resources on Greenland, and for the rest of the planet. ***

From The Guardian:

State department orders cancellation of media subscriptions around world

The state department has reportedly ordered its outposts around the world to cancel all subscriptions to news and media outlets that are supposedly “non-mission critical” in another extraordinary Trump administration crackdown on normal information channels. An email memo was circulated to embassies and consulates earlier this month explaining that the move was a further effort to cut costs by the federal government, the Washington Post reported late on Tuesday. [...] The reported directive to cancel news subscriptions will apply at hundreds of US diplomatic offices across the globe and a state department official who asked not to be named while discussing internal departmental matters told the Post that embassy teams around the world would be hindered by having media subscriptions cut off, especially for important activities such as examining threats to US national security and arranging trips in risky areas for diplomats and staff. ***

See you March 5 and 19. Farwestgirl will do March 12 and 26.

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