Some of tonight’s stories:
-
France regional election: Macron and Le Pen fail to make ground - exit poll
South Africa gems that sparked rush are quartz not diamonds
‘Forces for good will prevail’: Joy in Taiwan as US sends 2.5m Covid vaccine doses
As Brazil Tops 500,000 COVID-19 Deaths, Protesters Blame President
Tens Of Thousands Sign Petition To Stop Jeff Bezos From Returning To Earth
Iran’s only nuclear power plant undergoes emergency shutdown
Afghan President Ghani to meet Biden as violence surges
Germany's Left party plans to scrap NATO, end troop deployments
US preparing new Russia sanctions over Navalny poisoning, says official
New U.S. envoy for North Korea says looks forward to 'positive response' on dialogue
10 people, including nine children, die in fiery car crash as storm batters Southeast
Free popcorn. Cheap booze. Private ‘Black Widow’ screenings. How movie theaters are luring fans back
Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame, jck and Rise above the swamp. . Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw.
Since 2007 the OND has been 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 and consider this an open thread.
BBC
France regional election: Macron and Le Pen fail to make ground - exit poll
Early results indicate both President Emmanuel Macron and his opponent Marine Le Pen will fail to make the gains they were hoping for in the first round of regional elections in France.
Exit polls show Mr Macron's centrist party is at risk of falling short of the 10% needed to take part in the second round next weekend.
One of his MPs, Aurore Bergé, said it was a "slap in the face".
Mrs Le Pen's far-right National Rally party looks set to come second.
Her party was expected to top Sunday's first round of polling, and win at least one region for the first time. Mrs Le Pen is not running as a candidate but she has been leading the campaign.
She described the record-low voter turnout - a projected 66% abstention - as a "civic disaster".
BBC
South Africa gems that sparked rush are quartz not diamonds
The South African government says that stones found in a village last month are not diamonds but quartz.
A cattle herder first uncovered the stones in KwaZulu-Natal province. It prompted thousands to rush to KwaHlathi village, more than 300km (186 miles) south-east of Johannesburg.
But after conducting tests, officials have said the stones are quartz crystals, which are far less valuable.
After feldspar, quartz is the most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust.
"The tests conducted conclusively revealed that the stones discovered in the area are not diamonds," a local government statement reportedly said.
The rush occurred in one of South Africa's poorest regions.
The country - which already suffers from high levels of economic inequality - has seen a surge in joblessness amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The Guardian
‘Forces for good will prevail’: Joy in Taiwan as US sends 2.5m Covid vaccine doses
Taiwan has reacted with an outpouring of thanks to the United States for shipping 2.5m Covid-19 vaccine doses to the island, more than doubling its arsenal as it deals with a rise in domestic infections.
Washington, competing with Beijing to deepen geopolitical clout through “vaccine diplomacy”, initially had promised to donate 750,000 doses but increased that number as President Joe Biden’s administration advances its pledge to send 80m US-made shots around the world.
“What a sight! What a gesture!” Taiwan’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu, tweeted in thanks late on Saturday, linking to pictures of the vaccines being loaded onto a China Airlines Boeing 777 freighter at Memphis airport.
“The Taiwan-US relationship is rock solid, & we’ll keep cooperating closely in combating Covid-19. Forces for good will prevail!”
Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen said she was touched by the US move. “Thank you to the US for this moving gesture of friendship. These vaccines will go a long way toward keeping Taiwan safe & healthy.”
NPR
As Brazil Tops 500,000 COVID-19 Deaths, Protesters Blame President
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Anti-government protesters took to the streets in more than a score of cities across Brazil on Saturday as the nation's confirmed death toll from COVID-19 soared past half a million — a tragedy many critics blame on President Jair Bolsonaro's attempt to minimize the disease.
Thousands gathered in downtown Rio de Janeiro waving flags with slogans such as "Get out Bolsonaro. Government of hunger and unemployment."
"Brazil is experiencing a great setback. The country was an exemplary country for vaccination in the world. We have widely recognized institutions, but today we are in a sad situation," said Isabela Gouljor, a 20-year-old student who joined the protest in Rio.
Other marchers hoisted posters reading: "500 thousand deaths. It's his fault," alluding to Bolsonaro.
Similar marches took place in at least 22 or Brazil's 26 states, as well as in the Federal District, Brasilia.
NPR
Tens Of Thousands Sign Petition To Stop Jeff Bezos From Returning To Earth
On July 20, Amazon's founder and billionaire magnate Jeff Bezos and his brother Mark will board the New Shepard suborbital rocket system. The Bezos brothers, one auction winner with $28 million to spare, and a fourth person will become the first crew aboard the reusable rocket for its 11-minute voyage to space.
Since Bezos made the announcement about his journey to space earlier this month, tens of thousands of people have come together to petition against his return to the planet. There are multiple petitions out there, but the frontrunner, "Do not allow Jeff Bezos to return to Earth," had collected more than 33,000 signatures by late Sunday. "Billionaires should not exist," the description read. "On Earth, or in space, but should they decide the latter they should stay there."
Al Jazeera
Iran’s only nuclear power plant undergoes emergency shutdown
Iran’s sole nuclear power plant has been temporarily shutdown for a “technical overhaul”, Iranian state TV has said.
An official from the state electric energy company, Gholamali Rakhshanimehr, said on a talk show that the Bushehr plant shutdown began on Saturday and would last “for three to four days”.
He added that power outages could result. He did not elaborate further, but this is the first time Iran has reported an emergency shutdown of the plant, located in the southern port city of Bushehr.
It went online in 2011 with help from Russia. Iran is required to send spent fuel rods from the reactor back to Russia as a nuclear nonproliferation measure.
In March, nuclear official Mahmoud Jafari said the plant could stop working since Iran cannot procure parts and equipment for it from Russia due to banking sanctions imposed by the United States in 2018.
Al jazeera
Afghan President Ghani to meet Biden as violence surges
US President Joe Biden will meet Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah at the White House on Friday to discuss the US troop withdrawal amid a surge in fighting between Afghan forces and the Taliban across the country.
In their first face-to-face meeting, Biden will seek to reassure Ghani and Abdullah of US support for the Afghan people including diplomatic, economic and humanitarian assistance, the White House said in a statement on Sunday. Biden will also repeat his pledge to ensure that the country never becomes a safe haven for armed groups.“The visit by President Ghani and Dr Abdullah will highlight the enduring partnership between the United States and Afghanistan as the military drawdown continues,” the White House said.
Deutsche Welle
Germany's Left party plans to scrap NATO, end troop deployments
Germany's Left party (Die Linke) on Sunday adopted a national platform with a focus on social care that also calls for the NATO alliance to be scrapped.
Although the party has no realistic chance of forming a government, it could have a say in policy as part of a future coalition.
Foreign policy: An end to all foreign deployments of the Germany's military, the Bundeswehr. The party wants to replace NATO with a collective security system involving Russia. In addition, the party advocates an end to all arms exports.
Climate change: An energy revamp with a focus on renewable energy. The party also wants to phase out coal by 2030 at the latest and to see Germany climate-neutral by 2035.
Transport: The manifesto would commit to a goal of local public transport free of charge, and for rail travel to also become cheaper. There would also be a ban on domestic flights of less than 500 kilometers (310 miles).
Deutsche Welle
US preparing new Russia sanctions over Navalny poisoning, says official
The United States is readying a new package of sanctions against Russia over last year's poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a top official said on Sunday.
US President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, issued the warning during an interview with CNN.
"We have sanctioned Russia for the poisoning of Alexei Navalny ... We rallied European allies in a joint effort to impose costs on Russia for the use of a chemical agent against one of their citizens on Russian soil," Sullivan said.
"We are preparing another package of sanctions to apply in this case, as well. We've shown along the way we're not going to pull our punches," Sullivan added. The US and the European Union already imposed sanctions over the poisoning back in March. That round of measures targeted the head of Russia's FSB security agency, which is believed to have been behind the poisoning.
Reuters (This is all they let me copy)
New U.S. envoy for North Korea says looks forward to 'positive response' on dialogue
SEOUL, June 21 (Reuters) - The United States' new top envoy for North Korea said on Monday he looks forward to a "positive response soon" on dialogue from North Korea, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, during his Seoul trip to meet counterparts from South Korea and Japan.
Washington Post
10 people, including nine children, die in fiery car crash as storm batters Southeast
A fiery car crash on a rain-slicked highway killed 10 people, including nine children, Saturday afternoon in southern Alabama, where more than a dozen vehicles were wrecked during one of the first storms of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season.
Officials described the crash as one of the worst ever in Butler County, a rural area about 60 miles south of Montgomery with years of experience in battling inclement weather. The pileup began with a vehicle that probably hydroplaned as it drove on waterlogged roads across an Interstate 65 bridge, Butler County Coroner Wayne Garlock told The Washington Post. From there, he said, “it was just a chain reaction,” with cars and trucks careening into one another. Police said that 17 vehicles were involved and that seven caught fire.
Among the first to crash was a van owned by the Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranches, a nonprofit organization that serves children who have faced abuse or neglect. Authorities said nine people, including eight children between the ages of 3 and 17, were inside, heading home from a beach vacation. The children, who have not been identified, were killed when the van collided with another car and burst into flames.
L A Times
Free popcorn. Cheap booze. Private ‘Black Widow’ screenings. How movie theaters are luring fans back
Cinema Cafe, an independent circuit of dine-in movie theaters on the coast of Virginia, is a country away from the Hollywood premiere of Universal Pictures’ “F9: The Fast Saga.” But the small chain of six movie houses is welcoming the release in its own way — with a car show.
Caitlin Walker, Cinema Cafe’s head of marketing and promotions, said the company has been working with local dealerships and custom auto shops to bring vehicles to their locations to make an event of the blockbuster’s release next weekend.
“We’re trying to give our guests more to look forward to as we celebrate moviegoing,” Walker said.Theaters are finally open almost everywhere in the U.S. In California, capacity restrictions are now lifted — a major relief for venues that previously had to limit their seating by at least 50%. After months of uncertainty, studios are sticking to their release plans for big movies, having seen some success with films such as Warner Bros. and Legendary’s “Godzilla vs. Kong” and Paramount’s “A Quiet Place Part II.