Lost Tombstones, Shootouts, and Social Support for Reindeer Herders

In this week's Odder News: reindeer herders catch a break, international disagreements need some space, and construction workers make a macabre discovery.

• Construction workers in Volgograd, during work near a local cathedral, found a nineteenth-century tombstone among construction waste. The owner was a merchant who died in 1881, so he, presumably, isn't missing it.
• The city of Ufa is set to start a "social taxi" program with the inauguration of the sensitively-named "Deafmobile," serving hearing-impaired drivers, dispatchers, and riders.
• Of all the places for a Western-style shootout, a Moscow funeral home seems the least likely. That didn't stop these Russians, whose argument over funeral payment spilled out into the parking lot.
• If you're a young reindeer herder falling on hard times, don't worry: Yakutia has your back, and is willing to help support your housing situation.
• Against a backdrop of space-related tension, Russian authorities are less than thrilled about the recent SpaceX launch. In the words of one: "Only with a single clenched fist can we fight off the aggressive competition from our Western partners."
• Wildfires? Bad. Zombies? Also bad. Zombie wildfires? This can't be good. Thanks to a warm, dry winter, embers from last year's blazes pose a threat to this year's forests, in what European environmental scientists have termed "zombie wildfires." Sounds optimistic.