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Overnight News Digest: May 7, 2025 [1]

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

Date: 2025-05-07

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, doomandgloom and FarWestGirl. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man (RIP), wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, JeremyBloom, 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.

The Guardian: Xi Jinping begins four-day Russia visit after Ukrainian drones attack Moscow

Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for the start of a four-day visit during which he will attend Russia’s military parade commemorating the anniversary of the end of the second world war, known in Russia as Victory Day. The Chinese leader’s trip has coincided with mass Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian capital. Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said Russia’s air defence units destroyed at least 19 Ukrainian drones overnight. Xi was greeted on arrival in Moscow with a military band. The attacks forced most of Moscow’s airports to close and Russia’s national carrier, Aeroflot, said it was reordering timetables to cope with the disruption. The wave of drones launched by Kyiv to disrupt the Kremlin’s preparations for Victory Day forced at least one world leader to divert his Moscow flight on Wednesday, with the Serbian president’s plane rerouted to Baku, Azerbaijan before the jet eventually landed in the Russian capital.

The Guardian: Black smoke signals Vatican conclave has failed to elect new pope on first day

Plumes of black smoke have emerged from the chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel, signalling that the 133 cardinals sealed off inside have failed to elect a new pope on the first day of conclave. After the formal procession to the Sistine Chapel and each of the cardinals swearing the oath to secrecy, the first voting round only got under way at about 5.45pm local time. Then all eyes were on the famous chimney, which was diligently guarded by a seagull for some of the time the cardinals were voting. After a tense wait, black smoke finally appeared at 9:05pm – to loud applause from the crowd of more than 45,000 below.

Christian Science Monitor: Panama vs. US: Whoever runs the Panama Canal needs to find more water

Water was never something Genaro Acevedo Jiménez had to worry about in this verdant slice of rural Panama. But now, water has become his biggest problem. His village sits near the Panama Canal, on the site of a proposed dam and reservoir that authorities say are necessary to keep one of the world’s most critical trade routes passable.

CSM: How Trump cuts could affect your weather reports

Weather forecasts. Nautical charts used by the U.S. Navy. The cleaning and reopening of shipping ports after hurricanes. Seasonal climate predictions that help farmers plan their crop selection. All these fall under the purview of a federal agency called NOAA – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – that could soon lose a quarter of its budget. On May 2, the White House released preliminary details of its budget request for discretionary spending in the new fiscal year. The document provides a blueprint of the comprehensive budget the White House will send to Congress for its budget process. The document calls for $163 billion in cuts across the government and signals a desire to slash “spending contrary to the needs of ordinary working Americans.” Climate-related efforts, especially those the administration calls “radical,” were a target. The budget proposes a $1.5 billion reduction to NOAA funding – almost a 24% decrease from current funding levels. That’s left scientists and industry experts deeply concerned that NOAA won’t be able to fulfill services to people who depend on them, such as fishers, farmers, and the general public.

CSM: India and Pakistan have fought before. Why this skirmish has the world on edge.

The series of missile strikes that India launched in Pakistan Wednesday is a worrying sign of military boldness that could dramatically up the stakes in the long-simmering tensions between nuclear-armed rivals. India says the strikes, known as “Operation Sindoor,” were in retaliation for a recent militant assault in India-controlled Kashmir and are aimed specifically at “terrorist infrastructure” used to train militants and plan attacks against Indian citizens in Kashmir. They have triggered aerial skirmishes across the Line of Control (LoC) – the de facto border dividing the disputed Kashmir.

Times of India: Myanmar junta calls new ceasefire after quake

Myanmar's junta declared a new post-earthquake truce on Tuesday, days after the expiry of a previous humanitarian ceasefire it was accused of violating with a continued campaign of air strikes.

The March 28 magnitude-7.7 quake near the central city of Mandalay killed nearly 3,800 and has left tens of thousands homeless as the summer monsoon season approaches.

Monitors say junta aerial bombardments breached the first truce in April, with the Britain-based centre for information resilience logging 65 strikes, many in quake-hit regions.

Times of India: Bangladesh set to recognise internet access as civil right

DHAKA : The interim govt, headed by Muhammad Yunus , is set to finalise an ordinance within a week that will abolish nine controversial provisions of the cyber security act-2023, including one related to the liberation war and father of the nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.One of the provisions abolished during the drafting of the new ordinance is punishment for carrying out any “hateful, misleading or defamatory propaganda” against the liberation war, the spirit of the liberation war, Mujibur Rahman, the national anthem, or the national flag.” Law adviser Asif Nazrul said this provision had often been misused in the past to “harass” people.

Times of India: Bill Gates meets Indonesian leader to discuss health and sustainable development initiatives

JAKARTA: Bill Gates was in Indonesia on Wednesday to discuss health and sustainable development initiatives with the leader of the world's fourth most populous country. Gates met President Prabowo Subianto at the colonial-style Merdeka palace in Jakarta to discuss global health, nutrition, financial inclusion and public digital infrastructure, Indonesia's presidential office said in a statement ahead of the meeting. The co-founder of Microsoft and Gates Foundation praised Indonesia's adoption of vaccines like Rotavirus for diarrhea and Pneumococcus for pneumonia and the country's efforts in reducing child mortality. He said 10 million children under the age of five worldwide died when his foundation launched in 2000, with 90% of the deaths due to diarrhea, pneumonia or malaria. That number has now been cut in half to below five million, Gates said. "It's been an amazing time period. And there's many new tools coming," he told the meeting, which was also attended by prominent Indonesian businesspeople and philanthropists. Gates' foundation is currently developing a tuberculosis vaccine that's planned to be tested in Indonesia, Subianto said.

Times of India: Kenya court fines teens for trying to smuggle protected ants

A Kenyan court on Wednesday fined four people, including two Belgian teenagers, more than $7,000 for attempting to smuggle thousands of live ants out of the country. The haul included the rare Messor cephalotes species, a single queen ant of which currently sells for at least $99, according to the court report. The case has received considerable attention after the Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) accused the four of engaging in "bio-piracy". … Lornoy and Lodewijckx were arrested in possession of 5,000 queen ants packed in 2,244 tubes in Nakuru County, around 160 kilometres (100 miles) from the capital Nairobi.Duh and Nganga were found with ants stored in 140 syringes packed with cotton wool and two containers, according to a charge sheet seen by AFP. ... Police had put the value of the ants taken by the Belgians at one million shillings ($7,740).The haul included the rare Messor cephalotes species, a single queen ant of which currently sells for at least $99, according to the court report. Possession of any wildlife specimen or trophy without a permit is a criminal offence in Kenya, with suspects normally subject to a fine of up to $10,000 and five years or more in prison.

Times of India: US Fed pauses rate cuts again says ‘great deal of uncertainty’ over Trump's tariffs

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday warned that US President Donald Trump's escalating and uncertain tariff policies could force the central bank into a difficult position where its key objectives, low inflation and maximum employment, might come into conflict. “I think there's a great deal of uncertainty about, for example, where tariff policies are going to settle out and also when they do settle out, what will be the implications for the economy,” Powell said at a press conference. “We may find ourselves in a challenging scenario in which our dual mandate goals are in tension,” he added, referring to the Fed’s responsibility to balance price stability and job growth. The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged for a third consecutive meeting, holding them at 4.25% to 4.5%. The decision was unanimous, reflecting growing concern over the economic impact of Trump’s trade moves, especially the inflationary pressure from new tariffs and the risk of a slowdown in hiring. Wall Street stocks closed higher following the Fed's decision.

The Guardian: Rwanda says talks underway with US to host deported migrants

Rwanda confirmed on Monday that discussions were “underway” with the United States regarding a potential agreement to host deported migrants. Rwanda’s foreign minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, told state media on Sunday that the talks were in the “early stage.” When asked by the Associated Press on Monday, he confirmed the talks. …. The US state department declined to comment on a potential deal with Rwanda, but said engagement with foreign governments was an important part of the US government’s policy to deter illegal migration. This wouldn’t be Rwanda’s first time hosting deported migrants. The east African nation previously had an agreement with the UK to host migrants. Plans for the initiative, including prepared accommodations, were in the final stages but the deal collapsed after the Labour party took office in 2024. A similar plan in Australia also failed.

The Guardian: Failed Rwanda deportation scheme cost £700m, says Yvette Cooper

This is dated July, 2024, but it seems pertinent.

The Conservative government spent £700m of taxpayers’ money on the failed Rwanda deportation scheme, which has proved to be a “costly con”, the home secretary has said. Yvette Cooper described the policy, which was introduced two-and-a-half years ago and sought to send UK asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing, as “the biggest waste of taxpayer money I have ever seen”. She told the Commons that over the course of six years ministers had intended to spend £10bn on the policy, but they never divulged this figure to parliament. … Under the Conservatives, the Home Office refused to set out the full cost of the scheme, though an official letter last year stated it had reached £290m. In a report last spring the National Audit Office estimated that the cost of the policy had surpassed £500m.

The Guardian: US reportedly planning to deport migrants to Libya despite ‘clear’ violation of court order

The Trump administration is reportedly planning to deport a group of immigrants to Libya, despite a judge’s efforts on Wednesday to block any such flights and the state department’s previous condemnation of the “life-threatening” prison conditions in the country. Reuters cited three unnamed US officials as saying the deportations could happen this week. Two of the officials said the immigrants, whose nationalities are not known, could be flown to the north African country as soon as Wednesday, but they added the plans could still change. The New York Times also cited a US official confirming the deportation plans. The reported moves come as a federal judge ruled in favor of immigrant rights advocates, who asked him to block any deportation of immigrants to Libya . District court judge Brian Murphy agreed with advocates that a previous injunction he had issued already barred such flights. “If there is any doubt – the Court sees none – the allegedly imminent removals,” Murphy clarified, “would clearly violate this Court’s Order.” It was not clear what Libya would be getting in return for taking any deportees. In a rare show of unity, Libya’s rival governments have responded to news reports by saying that they would refuse to accept any deportees from the United States.

The Guardian:

Sudan to cut ties with United Arab Emirates over alleged RSF support Sudan’s security and defence council has declared that it will break diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates over its alleged backing of the paramilitary Sudanese Rapid Support Forces. During a televised speech on Tuesday, Sudan’s defence minister, Yassin Ibrahim, said Sudan was “severing diplomatic relations with the UAE” and recalling its ambassador, claiming the Gulf nation had breached Sudan’s sovereignty through its RSF “proxy”, which has been fighting the army in a bloody civil war since April 2023. The UAE insists it does not provide arms to the RSF, and on Monday fended off an attempt to persuade the international court of justice in The Hague to examine Sudan’s claims the UAE was complicit in a genocide in Darfur. The ICJ said it could not examine the claim because the UAE, a party to the genocide convention, had put in a reservation that prevented the ICJ adjudicating on claims that the UAE had breached the convention. Sudan’s diplomatic move came as alliance of aid agencies working in Sudan expressed deep concern about what it described as “the deliberate targeting of critical infrastructure in Port Sudan”, the main artery for aid into the north African country. The Guardian: Minerals, mobile phones and militias: how war unfolded in DRC Hello and welcome to The Long Wave. This week, after three months of fighting, a peace agreement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the works. I spoke to our east Africa correspondent, Carlos Mureithi, about the conflict, how quickly it escalated and the prospects for peace. … In late January, in a fast and shocking development, the M23 militia group seized Goma, one of the largest cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Weeks later, these rebels captured Bukavu, another large city of strategic importance, thwarting the Congolese army’s attempts to halt their march. M23’s mobilisation and rapid gains were the culmination of decades of political and economic tensions. Carlos tells me that the roots of this conflict lie in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, during which millions of refugees crossed from Rwanda to DRC and brought with them Hutu and Tutsi parties still litigating ethnic agendas. M23 is led by ethnic Tutsis, who took up arms more than 10 years ago and have engaged in several skirmishes since. The justification for the military action is that M23 needs to protect the minority group from further threats and marginalisation. Hundreds of thousands of Tutsis were slaughtered in the genocide by Hutu extremists.

Phys.org: After the apocalypse: Urban and near-urban farming may be enough to sustain mid-size cities

A new study suggests that, in the case of global catastrophe, urban agriculture alone could sustain only about one fifth of the population of a temperate, median-sized city, but the whole city could be fed by also farming land within a short distance of the urban area. Matt Boyd of Adapt Research Ltd, New Zealand, and Nick Wilson of the University of Otago, New Zealand, present these findings in PLOS One. Abrupt global catastrophes—such as nuclear wars, extreme pandemics, or solar storms—could severely hamper global trade. Shortages of resources like liquid fuels could disrupt food production and transport, possibly leading to famine. Prior research has suggested that this impact could be mitigated by urban agriculture, which includes such approaches as home, community, and rooftop gardens.

Phys.org: Bird flu in cats points to risk of another pandemic

It's spring, the birds are migrating and bird flu (H5N1) is rapidly evolving into the possibility of a human pandemic. Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Public Health have published a comprehensive review documenting research on bird flu in cats and calling for urgent surveillance of cats to help avoid human-to-human transmission. The work is published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases. "The virus has evolved, and the way that it jumps between species—from birds to cats, and now between cows and cats, cats and humans—is very concerning. As summer approaches, we are anticipating cases on farms and in the wild to rise again," says lead and senior author Dr. Kristen Coleman, assistant professor in UMD School of Public Health's Department of Global, Environmental and Occupational Health and affiliate professor in UMD's Department of Veterinary Medicine. "Bird flu is very deadly to cats, and we urgently need to figure out how widespread the virus is in cat populations to better assess spillover risk to humans," she said. "We want to help protect both people and pets."

Phys.org: The environmental, social and public health toll of Europe's factory farming dependency

The crisis sparked by the Trump administration's tariff policy has forced the world to consider which industries will be hardest hit by future levies on imports and exports. Soy and corn are two of the US' main exports to Europe, and are among the products that the European Union (EU) plans to tax in response to US tariffs. This is a reminder of the extraordinary impact that factory farming has on the balance of trade, as these two staple crops are imported in huge quantities to manufacture compound animal feed. Though not without its advantages, Europe's adoption of this intensive model of animal agriculture has had serious social, environmental and public health consequences.

Phys.org : Superbug can digest medical plastic, making it even more dangerous

This report is from London, not sure about the bug’s current range.

A dangerous hospital superbug has been found to digest plastic—specifically the kind used in some sutures, stents and implants inside the human body. Microbiologists at Brunel University of London show the bacteria can feed on plastic to survive, potentially enabling these pathogens to survive longer in hospital wards and within patients. The discovery, published in Cell Reports , challenges the widely held belief that pathogens cannot degrade medical plastics. A patient isolate of the common hospital-acquired bacterial infection Pseudomonas aeruginosa was shown to degrade polycaprolactone (PCL)—a plastic often used in sutures, wound dressings, stents, drug-delivery patches and surgical mesh. "It means we need to reconsider how pathogens exist in the hospital environment," said Professor Ronan McCarthy, who led the study. "Plastics, including plastic surfaces, could potentially be food for these bacteria. Pathogens with this ability could survive for longer in the hospital environment. It also means that any medical device or treatment that contains plastic could be susceptible to degradation by bacteria."

Phys.org: Sharks and rays found using offshore wind farms as habitat

A new study by Wageningen University & Research shows that offshore wind farms not only produce energy, but may also contribute to the protection of marine life. Several shark and ray species were detected in and around Dutch wind farms based on traces of DNA in the seawater (eDNA). The findings have been published in Ocean & Coastal Management. Elasmobranchs confirmed through eDNA sampling For the first time, scientists from Wageningen University & Research have been able to confirm the active presence of elasmobranchs within Dutch wind farms through eDNA traces in seawater. The study combined new fieldwork with data from The Rich North Sea Programme. In total, 436 seawater samples were collected, enabling researchers to detect species that had passed through an area without the need for physical capture. "We're trying to understand whether these animals are actually using the wind farms as habitat, or whether they're being displaced by them," says Annemiek Hermans, Ph.D. candidate at Wageningen University & Research.

Phys.org: Common diabetes drug can help aging hens lay more eggs for longer

Metformin has been around for decades, but new research keeps finding new effects and uses for this well tolerated drug.

What do chickens and people with a common reproductive disorder have in common? More than one might think—and a widely-used diabetes medication might just be the surprising link. At Penn State, researchers discovered that metformin, a drug usually prescribed for type 2 diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in humans, can actually help chickens lay more eggs. Specifically, it helps broiler breeder hens—the chickens that produce the broiler chickens we eventually eat—stay fertile and produce eggs for longer, even as they age. While the team has known that metformin can help egg production in chickens for a couple of years, they recently discovered how it works. They published their findings in the Biology of Reproduction.

Phys.org: Arctic fossils reveal world's oldest salmon and carp relatives

Most people picture the time of dinosaurs as a steamy, tropical world. But during the Late Cretaceous period, northern Alaska was a different kind of wild. Located far above the Arctic Circle, it endured months of winter darkness and freezing temperatures—even as much of the planet remained warm. Think sub-Arctic Canada today: cold, wet and seasonal. A diverse international team of scientists has now made a remarkable discovery: The world's oldest known relatives of salmon and carp lived in this extreme environment. Using the latest in 3D imaging technology, Lisa Van Loon and Neil Banerjee from Western and their collaborators analyzed fossilized fish bones found in the rocks of the Prince Creek Formation in Alaska to reveal a previously undiscovered polar ecosystem. The findings were published May 7 in the journal Papers in Paleontology.

Phys.org: T. rex's direct ancestor crossed from Asia to North America, new study finds.

Tyrannosaurus rex evolved in North America, but its direct ancestor came from Asia, crossing a land bridge connecting the continents more than 70 million years ago, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, also found that the rapid growth in size of tyrannosaurids (the group that included the T. rex) as well as a closely related group called megaraptors coincided with a cooling of the global climate following a peak in temperatures 92 million years ago. This suggests T. rex and its cousins might have been better suited to cooler climates than other dinosaur groups at the time, perhaps due to having feathers or a more warm-blooded physiology.

Hope everyone has a nice evening. :-)

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