Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, interceptor7, Magnifico, annetteboardman and Besame. And jck. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) wader, palantir, JML9999, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Man Oh Man, Doctor RJ, 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.
Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
The Guardian
The race to replace Viagra
Are we witnessing the end of an era for Viagra and Pfizer? Since the famous “little blue pill” exploded on to the market in 1998, becoming the fastest selling drug in history, the American pharmaceutical giant has made vast sums marketing it to erectile dysfunction sufferers all over the world. Within three months of its launch, Viagra had already earned Pfizer $400m, and over the past two decades, it has consistently generated annual sales to the tune of $1.8bn.
However, this will soon come to an end, as in 2020, Pfizer’s remaining patents on Viagra expire for good. A whole host of generic versions have emerged in the past six years, often in quirky forms such as mint strips or breath sprays, as Pfizer’s grip on the rights to the drug has slowly loosened. Soon, these are expected to flood the market, as manufacturers jostle for a slice of the pie.
The Guardian
Hong Kong protests: Chinese state media blames 'foreign forces'
“Foreign forces” are trying to hurt China by creating chaos in Hong Kong over an extradition bill that has prompted mass protests in the former British colony, an official Chinese newspaper has claimed.
Riot police surrounded Hong Kong’s parliament early on Monday after what had been a peaceful rally attended by an estimated one million people descended into running clashes between police and protesters.
Hundreds of thousands had jammed Hong Kong’s streets earlier on Sunday to protest against the bill in the biggest demonstration in years. Critics say the proposed law would allow mainland China to pursue its political opponents in the city, which has traditionally been a haven from the Communist party.
After seven hours of marching, organisers estimated that more than one million people had taken part, far outstripping a demonstration in 2003 when half that number successfully challenged government plans for tighter national security laws. A police spokesman said they estimated that 240,000 were on the march at its peak.
The Guardian
Millions join general strike in Sudan aimed at dislodging army
Millions of people in Sudan have joined a general strike called by pro-reform groups, shutting down the centre of cities across the country despite a wave of arrests and intimidation.
The massive shutdown was called to take place on Sunday, the first day of the working week, and is aimed at relaunching an opposition movement battered by a brutal crackdown and forcing the country’s new military leaders to resign.
Shops were closed and streets were empty throughout the capital, Khartoum, and in the neighbouring Omdurman. Four protesters were killed in sporadic violence in the two cities.
The Sudanese Professionals Association, a leading opposition group, said it had called on people to stay home in protest at the deaths of more than 100 people on Monday last week, when security forces violently dispersed a pro-democracy sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum.
I keep wondering when we will have millions of people here protesting this regime.
Al Jazeera
'Reaching end game': New paper on climate change raises alarm
A climate change paper grabbed headlines this week with its terrifying prediction of what the world will be in 30 years' time - absent drastic and immediate change to human societies.
"World of outright chaos," "Climate apocalypse," "We're all gonna die," the media banners blared.
The sobering headlines and equally disconcerting stories beneath described a "scenario analysis" by an Australian think-tank, Breakthrough National Center for Climate Restoration.
The paper portrayed what the year 2050 will look like if urgent action to build carbon-neutral energy systems around the world fails to come to fruition in the next 10 years.
It's worse than any of the apocalyptic Hollywood horror films making the rounds. One billion people displaced and fighting desperately for survival, with half the world's population subjected to "lethal heat" conditions for more than 20 days a year - "beyond the threshold of human survivability".
Reuters
Johnson baulks at Brexit cost as leadership race hots up
LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Boris Johnson, the favourite to succeed Theresa May as Britain’s prime minister, said on Sunday he would withhold payment of the country’s European Union exit bill to try and get a better deal - a move that drew an immediate rebuke from France.
Johnson is one of 11 lawmakers vying to run the world’s fifth largest economy after May resigned as leader of the governing Conservatives on Friday, having failed to unite parliament or the country behind her Brexit plan.
Britain is mired in its deepest political crisis in decades over how, when and whether it should leave the EU - a decision that will fall to May’s successor and affect both its future role on the world stage and prosperity for generations to come.
As the contest to replace May gathered pace on Sunday, Johnson made his first major intervention, targeting the large pro-Brexit wing of his Conservative Party with a promise to take a hard line with Brussels over the terms of Britain’s exit.
Deutsche Welle
Historic sailboat sinks after container boat collision near Hamburg
Hamburg's oldest operating seagoing vessel has sunk after colliding with a container ship in the Elbe River on Saturday.
There were 43 passengers on board when the 1883-built No. 5 Elbe collided with the 141-meter-long (462-foot) container ship Astrosprinter about 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of Hamburg.
The passengers were almost immediately rescued, thanks to a quick response from five rescue boats that were attending a minor accident just a few hundred meters away. At least five people were injured, one of them severely.
"It would have been fatal for the passengers if we hadn't been in the vicinity," operations director Wilfried Sprekels told local newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt.
However, the wooden gaff schooner suffered serious damage and sank, though rescuers were able to secure the wreck relatively close to the surface. The container ship continued its voyage, having suffered almost no damage.The historic 37-meter (121-foot) vessel had only just returned to Hamburg's waters after a complete overhaul. It had spent eight months in a Danish shipyard undergoing a €1.5-million ($1.7-million) renovation and was unveiled earlier this week.
NPR
Why South Korea Is Sending $8 Million In Food Aid To North Korea
South Korea last week approved $8 million in food aid to North Korea, in response to what U.N. agencies say are the worst harvests there in a decade and severe food shortages affecting 40% of the North's population.
Despite the South Korean government's insistence on separating the aid from politics, the donation is widely seen as having the political goal of improving inter-Korean relations. With nuclear negotiations with the U.S. in limbo, South Korea is eager to nudge the North to return to the negotiating table — and humanitarian aid is one way to do that. Seoul was quick to point out that U.N. sanctions targeting the North's nuclear programs allow for humanitarian assistance and that the Trump administration is on board with it.
Even though North Korea requested the aid from international aid organizations and South Korean food will be distributed through those groups, Pyongyang was not impressed with the donation. It called the gesture — the first from Seoul since 2015 and the first under the administration of President Moon Jae-In — "non-essential" to ties between the two Koreas.
Raw Story
Bill Barr belongs to Lindsey Graham — and by proxy Donald Trump
According to an extensive New York Times report, Attorney General’s allegiance belongs to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and because of their close relationship, President Donald Trump too.
Before Barr released special counsel Robert Mueller’s extensive report on the Russia investigation, it was Graham’s advice he sought. Over a steak dinner in a wood-paneled conference room, Barr and Graham shared their conspiracies about the officials who initially investigated Russia. They clearly abused their powers, the men thought.
“Maybe one of the most important things we’ll ever do is clean up this mess,” Graham said.
Barr began the “cleanup” less than two months later, when he wrote his own version of the Mueller report, lying about the findings.
Trump famously called for his own version of Roy Cohn to defend him at all costs, and miraculously, Barr became the loyal ally the president demanded.
Washington Post
China adds Washington Post, Guardian to ‘Great Firewall’ blacklist
BEIJING — Websites of The Washington Post and the Guardian appear to now be blocked in China as the country’s government further tightens its so-called “Great Firewall” censorship apparatus as it navigates a politically sensitive period.
Until this weekend, The Post and the Guardian were among the last few major English-language outlets that were still regularly accessible from mainland China without the use of virtual private networking software, according to the censorship tracker Greatfire.org.
Chinese Internet authorities have gone into overdrive in recent weeks ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre on June 4, 1989, prohibiting users on the popular WeChat social media service to post keywords or pictures related to the event.
All but the most oblique references to the incident were immediately scrubbed, and, during the days around the anniversary, users complained about not even being able to access the function to change their avatars.
Washington Post
Pentagon to stop training Turkish pilots on F-35s as dispute over purchase of Russian system escalates
The Pentagon said Friday that it would stop training Turkish pilots to fly F-35 aircraft because Turkey has persisted in its plans to acquire a sophisticated air defense system from Russia.
The 42 Turkish pilots have been training in Arizona and Florida since last year, in anticipation of shipment of the first of 100 F-35s Ankara has contracted to buy. The pilots are now required to leave the United States by July 31.
In a letter Thursday to his Turkish counterpart, acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan said that Turkish personnel also cannot participate in management activities related to the F-35 program, a consortium of a number of allied countries, each of which is responsible for building parts of the aircraft.
Turkish companies currently produce almost 1,000 parts for the F-35, including landing gear and fuselage components. The Pentagon is working with Lockheed Martin, the plane’s manufacturer, to find new manufacturers for parts that have been made in Turkey.
Buzzfeed
This Woman Tried To Take A Photo Of Her Lobster Roll In Maine But Failed In The Most Incredible Way
“I wanted a lobster roll," she told BuzzFeed News in a phone interview on Saturday, "because that's been a bucket list item of mine since I was a kid: to get a lobster roll in Maine."
When Jessop made a stop at Nubble Lighthouse on Friday, one of the state's most photographed attractions, there happened to be a lobster hut in the parking lot. So she decided to fork out $21.50 — it is a lobster roll, after all — and got in line with the other customers to buy one.
[snip]
Yep, a seagull had flown in as if from nowhere and helped himself to her pricey sandwich — and, amazingly, Jessop had managed to take a photo at the exact moment of her misfortune.