Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, Doctor RJ, Magnifico, annetteboardman and Man Oh Man. Alumni editors include (but are not limited to) palantir, wader, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal, Oke 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 (or if it is Friday night and the editor is me, a bit later).
We begin in Europe where a funeral is in the German news (from the BBC):
Funeral plans for former chancellor reveal extent of rift with those who were once closest to him
When he is laid to rest on Saturday, it might well be expected that Helmut Kohl’s role as the architect of German unification would be uppermost in people’s minds.
When East Germany collapsed, the West German chancellor rose to the occasion and helped heal the cold war’s bitter divisions
But instead of being remembered as an astute politician who had the foresight to realise unification before the euphoria around the collapse of communism faded, the late chancellor’s legacy is in danger of being overshadowed by the discord he appears to have sown among his family, friends and political allies.
From The New York Times:
By MELISSA EDDY and MARK SCOTT
BERLIN — Social media companies operating in Germany face fines of as much as $57 million if they do not delete illegal, racist or slanderous comments and posts within 24 hours under a law passed on Friday.
The law reinforces Germany’s position as one of the most aggressive countries in the Western world at forcing companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter to crack down on hate speech and other extremist messaging on their digital platforms.
And from The Guardian, a bit of Britain in New Zealand, or not:
Cereal is impounded after antipodean rival Weet-Bix argues customers of a UK-goods shop in Christchurch may be confused
Customs officers in New Zealand have seized and impounded hundreds of boxes of the breakfast cereal Weetabix after complaints by rival cereal giant Weet-Bix that it could confuse customers.
The pallet of Weetabix – about 300 boxes – arrived in a container load of British goods last week, destined for the shelves of A Little Bit of Britain grocery store in Christchurch, which largely caters to British expats.
But New Zealand customs officials detained the pallet at the request of Sanitarium, which claimed the cereal infringed its trademark cereal Weet-Bix, which is a staple in many New Zealand homes.
More below the fold. Come on along!
And from that side of the globe, from the BBC, a video:
A Malaysian beauty company's blackface advert has generated controversy online.
From Reuters, via The Indian Express:
The government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi had already said it would not cooperate with a mission set up after a Human Rights Council resolution was adopted in March.
Myanmar will refuse entry to members of a United Nations probe focusing on allegations of killings, rape and torture by security forces against Rohingya Muslims, an official said on Friday. The government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi had already said it would not cooperate with a mission set up after a Human Rights Council resolution was adopted in March.
From WBUR (Boston):
Martin Kessler
Before it was her turn to take the shot that could change her life, Shagufa Habibi remembers being uncomfortably warm.
Shagufa and 11 of her teammates were standing on a soccer pitch in Herat, Afghanistan. Herat doesn't have a golf course, so this soccer pitch was the best her team could do. It was a summer afternoon — the hottest part of the day in a city where temperatures can exceed 100 degrees. It was the only time locals would let the women have the field.
Shagufa wore a long black dress and a head scarf. She carried a wooden club.
From Thailand Business News (originally in the World Economic Forum):
Rising sea levels caused by climate change are threatening coastal areas around the world – but for some communities, it’s already too late to save their homes.
Here are five places with a Plan B.
And something rather odd in science news, from the BBC:
By Helen Briggs
Wild mallard ducks have been observed attacking and eating migratory birds.
This has never been documented before and is probably a new behaviour, say scientists.
Zoologists at the University of Cambridge filmed a group of mallard ducks hunting other birds on a reservoir in Romania.
And as always, arts news:
From CNN:
By Angus Watson and Karina Tsui
Hong Kong (CNN)In an industrial complex on Hong Kong's island of Ap Lei Chau, Kacey Wong's art installations and performance props set an idyllic scene. Below the studio's wide balcony, freighters and pleasure craft set out into the South China Sea.
Creative space is hard to come by in densely-populated Hong Kong, and Wong's studio must be the envy of many. But this seems of little comfort to him.
"I don't feel safe," Wong tells CNN, in the run up to this weekend's 20th anniversary of the
handover of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China. "Anything can happen."
And from Istanbul’s Daily Sabah:
A dog took over the stage during a Vienna Chamber Orchestra concert in the ancient city of Ephesus, which immediately became a social media hit.
And from the New Zealand Herald:
An email document shared between Maori TV's board members and obtained by RNZ revealed the board was not aware the programme would be broadcast on the channel.