I forgot to arrange for someone to do the Overnight News Digest for me tonight, so greetings as I wing my way across the north Atlantic. The internet connection isn’t really reliable so I will post what I can. Here is a look at news around the world. But first:
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 and annetteboardman. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) wader, planter, JML9999, 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.
From leafly.com:
Jamaica, the birthplace of landrace strains like Lamb’s Bread and icons like Bob Marley, has long been a capital of cannabis culture, but only in recent years did the country loosen its laws on the plant. Now, after years of regulatory wrangling, the island nation’s first legal ganja retailer is set to celebrate its grand opening.
On Saturday, Kaya Farms will be giving tours of its facility, a wellness-focused, tourist-friendly spot in Jamaica’s Saint Ann Parish, on the island’s north coast. With a café, lounge, juice bar, and
herbhouse—which offers a range of flower and concentrates for sale—it aims to showcase Jamaica’s cannabis history and give guests a place to relax and refresh.
From Newsweek:
Qantas Airlines is receiving heat for issuing a guideline of words its 30,000 employees cannot use so as not to offend fellow staffers and customers.
The guideline was sent by People and Culture group executive Lesley Grant within an information packet for Spirit of Inclusion Month. The information packet suggested avoiding words like “honey,” “darling” and “love” because they run the risk of offending people.
Other banned words included “husband” and “wife” because they “can reinforce the idea that people are always in heterosexual relationships.”
From The Guardian:
British politics and culture feel nostalgic about the Commonwealth and hope to rekindle the old relationship. But the reality is not so simple
Salil Tripathi
The countdown to leave the European Union began in the British summer of 2016, but nobody in the country seemed to know in which direction they were headed. Those who voted to leave don’t know what kind of future they would like; those who voted to stay don’t know what they can do to stop the process they are certain will create only misery. British politicians from the two major parties – Conservative and Labour – aren’t helping.
Also from the UK, also from The Guardian:
Outcry after photo shows female cleaner scrubbing out graffiti celebrating rights movement
Alexandra Topping
Oxford University has said it is “deeply sorry” after a female cleaner was pictured removing chalk graffiti saying “Happy International Women’s Day”.
Sophie Smith, the associate professor of political theory at University College, shared a picture of the scene on Twitter, writing: “What an image for #IWD.”
The university replied to the professor in a tweet saying the incident should not have happened. “We are deeply sorry for this and for offence caused. International Women’s Day is hugely important to Oxford. This should not have happened.”
From The Straits Times:
A macabre find was made in a city in south-east Russia: Twenty-seven pairs of what appear to be human hands, local reports say.
The Siberian Times said in a report on Thursday (March 8) that the hands were found in the Beshennaya channel of the Amur River in the city of Khabarovsk.
Just a single hand was spotted, at first, but the find led to the discovery of 54 hands in total that were placed in a bag.
From The Straits Times:
KOTA KINABALU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - French tourist Thiery Brethes was preparing to sleep before his hike up the peak of Mount Kinabalu in the wee hours of the morning when an earthquake shook the Ranau district.
The 44-year-old said he and his family felt severe shaking and heard loud rumblings at the Panar Laban resthouse, some 3,200m above sea level, at about 9pm on Thursday.
“We only realised it was an earthquake a few minutes later.
“There was a commotion as many of us came out of our rooms. We were immediately told to pack up as we would all be heading down the mountain,” he said.
From Quartz (India):
Christopher O'Bryan and Alexander Richard Braczkowski
A fleeting glimpse of the black spots and gold fur of a leopard is not an uncommon sight at
Sanjay Gandhi National Park in the Indian city of Mumbai.
Leopards are often thought of as a threat to humans, but rather than being a problem in Mumbai, they may actually be helping their human neighbours—even saving their lives—as we argue in our paper published today in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
Recent studies suggest there may be as many as 41 leopards roaming the 104km2 park. That’s about two to three times the leopard density you’d find in some of the most productive savannas in Africa or Sri Lanka.
From The Guardian:
Japanese-style short-stay rooms are making life easier for amorous unmarried couples
Michael Safi in Delhi
Police swept through the Mumbai hotels at about 3pm, going room to room,
arresting more than 40 unmarried couples. All were charged. The college students were forced to call their parents and admit what they had done.
Their crime was “indecent behaviour in public”, the police said. For couples without marriage certificates in India – especially those of different faiths – spending time in a hotel room together can still be a struggle.
But where many Indians see immorality, others in the country’s digital startup industry have seen opportunity.
From CNN:
Lagos, Nigeria (CNN)The President of Mauritius will resign next week, the island country's prime minister has said.
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim will step down over allegations she misused a credit card given to her by a charity.
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said Gurib-Fakim, who was facing impeachment proceedings over the alleged expense irregularities, had agreed to step down after the country's 50-year independence celebrations on March 12.
"The President of the Republic told me that she would resign from office and we agreed on the date of her departure," Jugnauth told reporters in Port Louis, the country's capital.
From Channel News Asia:
In Thailand, a group of people strive to give stray dogs a new chance at life. But their battle to change how Thais view the animals is a tough one.
PHUKET, Thailand: New Star had probably never been in so much pain than when an elastic band was tied around his snout. It was a punishment for the young stray dog, who was so hungry he stole someone’s food.
The skin on his muzzle had swelled for days before it broke. Each day, the sharp rubber ring cut deeper into his flesh, leaving him in terrible pain. By the time help came, the wound was so deep it became a permanent, ghastly scar.
In Thailand, such tales are common. Despite the Cruelty Prevention and Welfare of Animal Act, animal abuse remains a huge problem. Reports of dogs being stabbed, beaten, poisoned and starved are endless. Many of the victims are strays.
From Newsweek:
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein strongly condemned Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday for his government’s decision to include a U.N. investigator on a list of 600 people declared to be Communist terrorists.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, U.N. special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, was named in a government petition presented to a court in Manila last month. The petition accuses her of terrorism and alleged membership of the New People's Army (NPA) and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CCP). A former Philippine lawmaker and four former Catholic priests were also included on the list.
And now, for arts news, beginning with a story about Barbie from The Guardian:
‘The doll should have to match what the artist really was,’ says lawyer for late Mexican artist’s great
The toymaker Mattel is in a dispute with a distant relative of the late Mexican artist Frida Kahlo over rights to a Frida Barbie doll released as part of the company’s Inspiring Women series.
Kahlo’s great-niece Mara de Anda Romeo said Mattel doesn’t have the rights to use Kahlo’s image.
Pablo Sangri, a lawyer for de Anda Romeo, said his client doesn’t seek money, but wants Mattel to talk about redesigning the doll.
“We will talk to them about regularising this situation, and by regularising I mean talking about the appearance of the doll, its characteristics, the history the doll should have to match what the artist really was,” Sangri said.
From Mental Floss:
Until recently, Russia’s legal definition of "art" only applied to works created at least 50 years ago. As The Art Newspaper reports, a new law has changed that: Contemporary art now qualifies as art under Russian law, and wealthy private collectors are profiting from the revision.
Art museums and auctions have been a rarity in Russia for decades. In the 1990s, following the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian government passed legislation that discouraged art dealers from exporting cultural treasure to other countries. The law also had the added effect of making it difficult for Russians to import art: If a museum wanted to bring paintings into the country that were less than 50 years old, they would need to pay a 30 percent import tax on each item.
The Times Pacayune offers this:
Call it 3-D graffiti. An absurd sculpture bristling with 20 fake surveillance cameras has popped up on the St. Claude Avenue neutral ground in the Marigny, near several bars and restaurants.
The wooden sculpture satirizes the City’s proposed ordinance that would require businesses that serve alcoholic beverages to install outdoor video cameras and connect them to the city's anti-crime surveillance network.
From euronews:
Sallyann Nicholls and Ahed Alkalls
Akram Abu al-Fawz, from eastern Ghouta, has exhibited internationally and attracted followers worldwide with his unusual art, which he shares on Facebook.
In the seven years since the start of the Syrian civil war, images of bombings, war-torn buildings and bloody violence have been burned into the minds of millions inside and outside the country. But one man in the besieged town of Douma, eastern Ghouta, is changing all that by turning mortar shells and bullet casings into art.
Through his art, he aspires to express the voices of Syrians and their resistance to the Assad regime by finding inspiration from the war around him
One of my favourite artists is featured in WWD:
"In a way this work as also a kind of celebration and a tribute as well to migrants," says the artist.
Yinka Shonibare has landed in New York.
The London-based artist was in New York this week for the unveiling of his latest public artwork, his first in New York City. Located in the middle of Doris C. Freedman plaza at the southeast entrance to Central Park, his tall and bright “Wind Sculpture” was placed in collaboration with the Public Art Fund, which oversees the rotating public works in the area.
“The Public Art Fund has a mission to present the work of artists who are leading the conversation and the direction in contemporary art internationally,” says director of Public Art Fund Nicholas Baume, who joined Shonibare for the art’s public unveiling this week. “We of course are fundamentally committed to freedom of expression, artistic freedom, and the belief that artists should have a platform as a part of a dynamic, civic culture, and that public art is a vital way to do that.”
And in my opinion, the coolest art story of the week, from the BBC:
Two museum guides have helped identify a 17th Century artist whose painting hangs in a California museum after sunlight was reflected onto it.
The name of the artist - and date of when the work was painted - had been a mystery for decades, according to officials at the Hearst Castle museum.
In November a tour guide noticed a beam of light reflecting off a mosaic floor, illuminating the concealed signature.