Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, Besame, 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.
Pictures of the week this time come from the Irish Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press (Asia), the Atlantic, the BBC, and BBC Africa.
It seems pretty appropriate tonight to begin tonight with scandal, but a scandal on the other side of the Atlantic, with a story from The Guardian:
Spain's degree scandal shines light on its 'titulitis' epidemic
The prime minister is the latest politician to have his educational history scrutinised
Sam Jones
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has published his doctoral thesis online in an effort to put an end to allegations of plagiarism and distance himself from the degree scandal that has dogged some of the country’s most high-profile politicians.
Sánchez, whose socialist party came to power in June after ousting the corruption-mired conservative government of Mariano Rajoy, has become the most senior political figure to find their educational history under intense scrutiny.
A shock of a different source comes from the Australian Associated Press, via The Guardian:
Contamination crisis widens amid fears brands across four states have been targeted
A $100,000 reward has been offered for information on the Queensland strawberry saboteur amid fears six brands across four states have been targeted with needle insertion.
Fruit sold under Berry Obsession, Berry Licious and Donnybrook brands have been affected, while New South Wales police warn fruit sold under the Love Berry, Delightful Strawberries and Oasis brands were inserted with needles by a possible copycat.
Another story about food from the AP has a photograph/video at the top. So you may not want to click the link. You are welcome.
Shares plunge after pair forced to fish unwanted meat from their dinner
Lily Kuo
A couple dining at a well-known hot pot chain in eastern China have fished out what appeared to be a rat from their pot of stewed meat and vegetables.
Video footage of a diner holding the rat with a pair of chopsticks circulated on social media and a report of the incident appeared on 7 September. By Tuesday, shares in the restaurant’s parent company, Xiabuxiabu Catering Management, had fallen 12%.
From All Africa:
By Edmund Kagire
Two Rwandan football officials have been arrested for allegedly offering a bribe to influence the outcome of a match.
The Rwanda Investigations Bureau (RIB) on Thursday said it was holding the football federation (Ferwafa) Secretary-General Francois Regis Uwayezu and the Commissioner of Competitions Eric Ruhamiriza over allegations that they tried to bribe Jackson Pavaza, a Namibian referee who officiated the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier on September 9 between Rwanda and Cote d'Ivoire at Stade de Kigali.
News of another scandal comes from News24, of Cape Town, South Africa:
President Cyril Ramaphosa must speak up about alleged corruption on behalf of facility management company Bosasa, especially now that the DA has accepted the deputy president's challenge to report the issue to police.
This was according to DA chief whip John Steenhuisen, who had charges laid on Friday against ANC MP Vincent Smith, Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Communications Nomvula Mokonyane, former SAA Chairperson Dudu Myeni, Deputy Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Thabang Makwetla.
The DA wants them to be charged in terms of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (POCA).
From the Telegraph comes this loving description of Southeast Asia:
Clare Welham wins our weekly Just Back travel writing competition, and £250, for her tale of muddy trails, unexploded bombs - and an unknown threat - in Laos.
My friends and family seemed confused when I told them I was going to Laos.
“Is that the capital of Vietnam?” my mum asked. She was even more perplexed when I told her I was (sort of) going alone.
And from The Kathmandu Post:
Tibet said it would ‘open up’ to private investment in the trade and business sector from 2020 with Beijing seeking to penetrate the massive South Asian market via Nepal. To this end, the northern neighbour plans to extend the Tibet railway to the borders of the heavily populated Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and to the world’s eighth most populous country Bangladesh through Nepal.
In a bid to increase tourism and trade, the Tibet Autonomous Region of China will establish an industrial development fund to channel more private investment into the sector, and encourage private capital through tax holidays, said Qi Zhala, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, while addressing the fourth China Tibet Tourism and Cultural Expo in Lhasa on September 7.
A seemingly lesser scandal, but one with real punishment attached, was in CBS news coverage today:
Irina Ivanova
A man in Italy has been jailed and fined for trying to sell his good opinion.
The man, whose crime was to sell fake TripAdvisor reviews, will be required to pay a fine of 8,000 euros (about $9,300) and will be jailed for nine months, the company said.
It's the first time a person has been sent to jail for fake reviews, said TripAdvisor. The company, which was a civil party to the case, called the decision "a landmark ruling for the Internet."
From The Guardian, more news related to travel:
British citizens renewing their passports will now face losing any remaining months left
Jamie Grierson
Travellers who renew their passports face losing up to nine months’ validity due to a little-publicised change to rules brought in by the Home Office.
Up until last week, when British citizens renewed their passports, time remaining on the existing document was added to the new one – up to a maximum of nine months.
But passport applicants have been told this no longer applies and any remaining months will be lost if an attempt is made to renew the document early.
And travel sometimes goes very very wrong, as this BBC article shows:
Beneath layers of snow and ice on the world’s coldest continent, there may be hundreds of people buried forever. Martha Henriques investigates their stories.
By Martha Henriques
In the bleak, almost pristine land at the edge of the world, there are the frozen remains of human bodies – and each one tells a story of humanity’s relationship with this inhospitable continent.
Even with all our technology and knowledge of the dangers of Antarctica, it can remain deadly for anyone who goes there. Inland, temperatures can plummet to nearly -90C (-130F). In some places, winds can reach 200mph (322km/h). And the weather is not the only risk.
Now, news from the Art world. But it is newsworthy indeed, as this item from The Guardian shows well:
Pyotr Verzilov from the Russian protest group fell ill on Tuesday
A member of Russia’s Pussy Riot protest group says a fellow activist who was hospitalised for possible poisoning has regained consciousness.
Group member Maria Alekhina told the Associated Press via Facebook that Pyotr Verzilov regained consciousness on Friday, but remained in intensive care. Verzilov has been in the hospital since falling ill on Tuesday.
The BBC has a discussion about literature as well:
The mystery writer is the world’s best-selling novelist and most translated author – so what are non-Brits learning about English people and culture through her stories?
By Christine Ro
For many, Agatha Christie is as quintessentially English as queueing for Pimm’s at Wimbledon. But as the best-selling novelist in history, her reputation goes far beyond the UK.
Her works are seen as so easy to read, she’s a favourite author of people learning English. Christie is also, by leaps and bounds, the world’s most translated author – so if many people are learning the English language through Christie, they are learning about the English people through her, too. This is obvious, for instance, in the Collins English Readers series of abridged Christie books, whose cultural notes explain such topics as English village life and the saying ‘No smoke without fire’.
And finally we have this from The Guardian:
After sightings in London and Paris, whale is now making waves in Spanish capital
Sam Jones
Call me Ishmael. Or, better still, Spanish whale.
Madrid awoke on Friday morning to find that a 15-metre sperm whale had managed to swim up the Manzanares River before coming to an abrupt halt by the arches of the city’s oldest bridge.
The intrepid mammal turned out to be the hyper-real model – previously sighted as far afield as London, Paris and Antwerp – that a Belgian art collective is using to shock people into thinking about the environment.
The installation, by the Segovia Bridge, comes complete with a team of actors dressed as rescuers, who hose down the beached creature.