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Overnight News Digest: Friday Night Elsewhere [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-04-04
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, JeremyBloom, and doomandgloom. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man (RIP), wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw. OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos since 2007, 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.
Happier stories above the fold, more serious ones below. First — pictures of the week from The Guardian, both around the world and the week in wildlife.
We begin with this story from The Guardian
The film fans who remade Jurassic Park: how an Australian town got behind a $3,000 ‘mockbuster’ Jurassic Park: Castlemaine Redux is a shot-for-shot labour of love made with amateur actors, beanbag dinosaurs and an army of volunteers. Three years later it is finished – and ‘bigger than Ben-Hur’ Jenny Valentish This morning’s location: a field outside Castlemaine, Victoria. The air is thick with flies, attracted to the cow dung but ignoring the nearby dinosaur poo, sturdily constructed from papier-mache. “Oh god,” Sam Neill groans – though these words aren’t actually uttered by Neill but local builder Ian Flavell, who has taken on Neill’s role as palaeontologist Alan Grant – and drops to his knees in front of an ailing triceratops.
From CBS News:
Rat named Ronin breaks world record for sniffing out wartime landmines in Cambodia Kerry Breen Belgian non-profit APOPO announced Friday. An African giant pouched rat is being honored in the record books after detecting more than 100 landmines and other undetonated explosives in Cambodia,Friday. The rat, named Ronin, was named APOPO's most successful Mine Detection Rat. He also was acknowledged by the Guinness World Records.
From Deutsche Welle (DW):
Vintage fashion hype: Gen Z on a treasure hunt Laetitia Glück 19 hours ago From niche to mainstream, second-hand fashion is enjoying record demand as online vintage clothing sales boom. But what makes cast-off clothes so attractive to young people? Browsing for special clothes is one of Leonie's favorite hobbies. However, the 27-year-old fashion design student doesn't focus on the new collections from fashion companies. She instead looks specifically for second-hand pieces. And she finds most online. "It's like a digital treasure hunt," says Leonie, describing her approach. It's important to enter the right keywords — and in different languages. That's when she's most likely to come across an unusual find. It's a great feeling.
From The Guardian:
White Lotus TV show helps boost UK Thai takeaway orders by up to 25% Data suggest viewers seek to ‘travel via their taste buds’ in Monday ritual that has gone viral on social media Mabel Banfield-Nwachi Beyond yodelling along to the opening credits or decoding hidden clues about the show’s plot, some fans of the critically acclaimed comedy drama The White Lotus have taken their obsession a step further this season. Since the drama – this season set in Thailand – premiered on 17 February in the UK, Thai takeaway orders through Just Eat have increased by 11%, as viewers look to “[travel] via their taste buds”.
From The Guardian:
One final one from The Guardian:
A daily walk in any weather can work wonders on body and mind Readers respond to an article by Kate McCusker about the joy that can be found in daily walks Kate McCusker’s article on walking resonated with me ( The one change that worked: I loathed all forms of exercise – until I moved to a big city and walked miles, 31 March ). I, too, have signed up for aerobic classes, pilates sessions, tai chi courses and other activities, and though I did enjoy them, I hated being indoors. I began walking every day for long periods when both my children were chronically ill for several years. My daily walks helped me manage the stresses of being a caregiver. They got me out of the house without having to go too far, lifted my mood and delighted my senses. I found beautiful walks near my home through fields and parks and am fortunate to have some wooded areas within walking distance. My children are now grown, but I rarely miss a day of walking. I stroll through cities while on vacation, hike up mountains near my cottage and generally walk every day without fail, regardless of the weather.
The other side of the news below the fold...
From The Guardian:
Bigger than Texas: the true size of Australia’s devastating floods In outback Queensland, an area four times the size of the UK has been inundated with torrential rain, leaving many cut off or forced to abandon homes Joe Hinchliffe and Ben Smee The extent of flood waters that have engulfed Queensland over the past fortnight is so widespread it has covered an area more than four times the size of the United Kingdom. The inundation is larger than France and Germany combined – and is even bigger than Texas. The seemingly endless plains of outback Queensland are so vast and remote as to boggle any attempts to visualise the scale of what is being described as one of the most devastating floods in living memory.
Also from The Guardian:
A lucky rascal or a feral critter that ‘should be euthanised’? Hunt for Valerie the dachshund divides Kangaroo Island Wildlife groups claim the resourceful miniature sausage dog was sighted again this week. But not everyone is on Team Valerie Tory Shepherd on Kangaroo Island There’s a roo carcass on the side of the road, near the turnoff to one of Kangaroo Island’s many excellent cellar doors. Black ravens lift sullenly from their feast as cars speed past. Some think this sort of roadkill is how Valerie, the miniature dachshund that has been missing for more than 500 days, has survived since running away from her owners. It’s hard to picture the 4kg, adorable, goofy-eared, big-eyed sausage dog choosing this particular meal, but that’s a prevailing theory.
From Al Jazeera:
Malaysia suspends search for long-missing flight MH370 Relatives of passengers lost on the 2014 flight have continued to demand answers from Malaysian authorities. The latest search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been suspended as it is “not the season”, according to the country’s transport minister, more than a decade after the plane went missing. “They have stopped the operation for the time being, they will resume the search at the end of this year,” Anthony Loke said in a voice recording sent to the AFP news agency on Thursday. “Right now, it’s not the season.”
From CNN:
From the NY Times:
They Fought to Save Lives in Myanmar. The Earthquake Claimed Theirs. Five friends defied the junta to care for people injured in the military coup. One returned from the battlefield to find his four friends among the dead in the March 28 earthquake. By Hannah Beech The five young doctors took up their mission together: defying Myanmar’s junta to treat the wounded through the coup and deadly military crackdown four years ago. Since then, each continued supporting the democratic cause. For Dr. Min, 32, that meant fleeing to the jungle to offer battlefield triage to rebel forces who were fighting the army. But when the earthquake last week devastated his home city, Mandalay, he knew he had to cross combat zones to check on his family and help his friend group of doctors again.
From CNN Travel:
US tourist arrested after allegedly attempting to contact ‘world’s most isolated’ tribe Lex Harvey and Esha Mitra Byand An American tourist has been arrested after allegedly traveling to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal and attempting to contact one of the world’s most isolated tribes. Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, made the illegal voyage to North Sentinel Island, home to the enigmatic Sentinelese tribe, on March 29, Indian police told CNN.
From The Deccan Herald:
Waqf protests erupt in Kolkata, Ahmedabad In Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, there were protests outside the iconic Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, largely led by leaders of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). Ahmedabad/Lucknow/Kolkata: A day after the Waqf (Amendment) Bill cleared the Parliament hurdle, protests erupted in Ahmedabad and Kolkata while in Uttar Pradesh the government said it would begin seizing properties that were ‘illegally’ claimed by the Waqf board. The passage of the contentious Bill reverberated in Bihar and Kerala as well. In Bihar, Muslim leaders in the ruling JD(U) expressed their “utter disappointment” over the stand taken by Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar. Kerala, around 50 people from the Munambam coastal village near Kochi, who have fighting against the Waqf board’s claims on their land, joined the BJP.
From DW:
Sri Lanka: Former 'Tamil Tigers' struggle to reintegrate Murali Krishnan Ranjini reminisces with a mix of nostalgia and regret about her years fighting in Sri Lanka's civil war as a former company commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), popularly known as the Tamil Tigers. The 54-year-old recalls the camaraderie and sense of purpose felt during the conflict, even as she still struggles to find her place in a post-war society. Because of her crippling battle injuries, Ranjini limps, and can use only one arm.
From the NY Times:
‘It Had Teeth’: A 3-Year-Old Discovers Ancient Treasure in Israel While on a hike with her family, a child stumbled across a 3,800-year-old Egyptian amulet. It will go on display in an upcoming exhibition. By Jonathan Wolfe A 3½-year-old in Israel recently made an important archaeological discovery. The child, Ziv Nitzan, was hiking with her family last month on a dirt trail about 25 miles outside Jerusalem when a small rock caught her attention. She was drawn to it, she said in an interview translated from Hebrew by her mother, because “it had teeth on it.”
From the NY Times:
When Kenyan Maids Sought Help Overseas, Diplomats Demanded Sex Women say that embassy officials added a new level of indignity to the abuse they suffered while working abroad. By Justin Scheck and Abdi Latif Dahir Selestine Kemoli fled to the Kenyan Embassy in Riyadh in 2020, terrified and desperate. Ms. Kemoli had been working in Saudi Arabia as a maid. Like many East Africans in her situation, she said, she was being abused. She told the embassy’s labor attaché that her boss slashed her breasts with a paring knife, forced her to drink urine and raped her.
From The Guardian:
‘Only job I know’: tiny Lesotho’s garment workers reel from Trump’s 50% tariffs Impoverished African country is hit with highest tariff rate, overturning decades of global trade policy Rachel Savage in Johannesburg and Majirata Latela in Maseru The day after Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs, Lesotho’s garment workers feared for their jobs. Last year, Lesotho sent about 20% of its $1.1bn (£845m) of exports to the US, most of it clothing under a continent-wide trade agreement meant to help African countries’ development via tariff-free exports, as well as diamonds.
From Al Jazeera:
Zimbabwe must abandon Rhodesian style of governance Replacing Mnangagwa with another corrupt elite while keeping the dysfunctional system intact will not deliver the change Zimbabweans demand and need. Tafi Mhaka On March 31, Zimbabwean security forces spent the entire day dispersing small gatherings of people who were trying to stage a peaceful protest against the ruling ZANU-PF party’s attempts to secure an unconstitutional third term for President Emmerson Mnangagwa. By day’s end, the police had apprehended 95 demonstrators for allegedly promoting “public violence” and causing “breaches of peace”. However, the police did not manage to detain the man behind this protest, Blessed Geza. A veteran of the 1970s liberation war, Geza remains at large despite being sought by law enforcement on four criminal charges since February. He was expelled from the ZANU-PF party on March 6 for supposedly undermining the party’s leadership by calling on Mnangagwa to step down. Subsequently, on March 26, Geza took to YouTube, dressed in military fatigues, to criticise Mnangagwa and many key figures associated with the 82-year-old leader. He warned that he was starting to take unspecified action against “Zvigananda” – people who are accruing wealth through illegal means and looting the nation’s wealth. The “Zvigananda” on Geza’s list include numerous government ministers, senior civil servants, party officials, war veterans and three wealthy, highly influential businessmen with close ties to the government who are widely believed to be corrupt: Scott Sakupwanya, Wicknell Chivayo and Kuda Tagwirei.
From DW (link is to a video):
Kantanka Automobiles elevates the Made-in-Ghana brand Bouba Jalloh 19 hours ago Kantanka Automobile stands as Ghana's pioneering car brand, championing the country's commitment to local manufacturing. This notable automobile maker proudly boasts of having exported various models to countries such as Liberia, Benin, and even the distant shores of Norway. However, many Ghanaians are still taken aback by the sight of an actual Kantanka vehicle gliding down their streets.
From DW:
What are nutria, and how could they possibly be a problem? Martin Kuebler The nutria, also known as a coypu or swamp beaver, is originally from South America. But the semi-aquatic mammal has managed to spread far beyond its native wetlands, infiltrating swamps and riverbanks across North America, Asia, Africa and Europe. It first came to Europe in the 19th century, introduced by entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on the success of Argentina's fur farming industry. Today, though the fur trade has dwindled since its 20th-century heyday, nutria have flourished.
From the NY Times:
A Mass Grave of the Roman Empire Is Found Under a Vienna Soccer Field Archaeologists found the remains of at least 129 people, many of them bearing the injuries of battle, dating to when Rome battled Germanic people nearly 2,000 years ago. By Eve Sampson Under a soccer field in a Vienna neighborhood along the Danube, archaeologists have found a mass grave dating to the era when the Roman Empire was battling Germanic tribes almost 2,000 years ago, experts announced this week. The grave was discovered in October by a construction company doing renovations for the field in Vienna’s Simmering district, a team of archaeologists and historians at the Vienna Museum said in announcing its findings. The extraordinary discovery was tied to what they called a “catastrophic” military event, possibly one where Roman troops were badly defeated and fled the site quickly.
From The Guardian:
Also from The Guardian:
Mining firm withdraws plan for UK’s first deep coalmine in 30 years Move ends bid for site near Whitehaven, Cumbria after planning permission was quashed by high court Helena Horton The Whitehaven coalmine’s planning application has been withdrawn, bringing an end to a process that could have created the UK’s first deep coalmine in 30 years in Cumbria. Planning permission for the mine was quashed in the high court last year which meant the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government had to reassess the planning application. However, the company has now written to the government withdrawing its planning application.
From the NY Times:
How a British Dad Made Comedy Gold Imagining Two Toddlers Chatting George Lewis’s riffs on the absurdities of millennial parenting — and the inner lives of 2-year-olds — have won him legions of fans online and galvanized his once middling stand-up career. By Amelia Nierenberg He had played the same club several years earlier, also for just a few minutes and also for little more than gas money. Both times, he did what he had to do. He showed up. He made the audience laugh.
From The Guardian:
From burger wrappers to masks, bird nests tell story of throwaway culture Nests on Amsterdam canals provide archive of plastic waste and show how the material ‘is really here to stay’ Rachel Keenan One day in 1996, someone ate a McDonald’s McChicken burger in Amsterdam. Perhaps it was a quick bite after work? A leisurely stroll down the canals? A family outing? These details are lost to time, but others are hard to erase completely.
Also from The Guardian:
‘They didn’t call us for Live Aid’: the stars behind Black Britain’s forgotten charity record In 1985, a star-studded lineup of Black UK musicians, including Aswad, Dennis Brown and Janet Kay, recorded a charity single to raise funds for famine-stricken Ethiopia. Why are their efforts so little known? Kevin Le Gendre The Ethiopian famine of the early 1980s was one of the defining news stories of the decade, an exposure of the stark divide between developed and developing nations, still referred to at the time as the Third World. It is a received wisdom that the general public in Britain learned about the crisis when shocking images of emaciated men, women and children were shown on BBC news reports. This is not entirely true. In fact, plenty of Rastafarians were already aware of the situation. The east African country was their spiritual home – many in the movement viewed its former emperor Haile Selassie as their messiah – and a place free from the iniquities of the west. “A lot of Rastafarians went to Ethiopia [before they] came to London,” says the musician and campaigner Leon Leiffer. “I knew many of them, and there was a rumour going around that things were really bad because of the drought. We heard it like that before the mainstream media. And I had the idea to do something to help before we saw anything on the BBC.”
From DW:
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