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Overnight News Digest: The world still turns... But check at the very end for a great idea! [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-06-13
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.
Photos come from The Guardian (pictures of the day) and the BBC (Africa).
Happy, or at least not disastrous, news above the fold. The more serious stories below it.
From The Guardian:
British Library to reinstate Oscar Wilde’s reader card 130 years after it was revoked Exclusive: Pass to be presented to playwright’s grandson after original cancelled over conviction for gross indecency Dalya Alberge The British Library is to symbolically reinstate Oscar Wilde’s reader pass, 130 years after its trustees cancelled it following his conviction for gross indecency. A contemporary pass bearing the name of the Irish author and playwright will be officially presented to his grandson, Merlin Holland, at an event in October, it will be announced on Sunday.
From the BBC:
Joy as grandad's painting tops railway art poll Tim Dale The granddaughter of war artist Eric Ravilious said she was "delighted" one of his works had been named as the world's best-loved railway artwork from the UK. Painted in 1940, Train Landscape shows the chalk white horse of Westbury, Wiltshire, through the window of a third-class train carriage.
From the South China MorningPost:
World’s oldest restaurant in Madrid faces challenge as nearby tavern eyes Guinness record The owners of Casa Pedro in Madrid say it is older than Guinness World Record holder Sobrino de Botín. But can they prove it? In the heart of Spain’s capital, Sobrino de Botín holds a coveted Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest restaurant. Exactly 300 years after it opened its doors, Botín welcomes droves of daily visitors hungry for Castilian fare with a side of history. But on the outskirts of Madrid, far from the souvenir shops and tourist sites, a rustic tavern named Casa Pedro makes a bold claim.
From the BBC:
Indian scientists search for the perfect apple Priti Gupta "My neighbours thought I'd lost my mind," says farmer Kakasaheb Sawant. In 2022 he had decided to plant some apple trees, not crazy for a farmer unless, like Mr Sawant, you live in subtropical southern India, where temperatures can hit 43C. He bought 100 saplings, of which 80 survived. Last year each tree produced between 30 and 40 kilogrammes of fruit.
From the South China Morning Post:
How sustainable wood furniture maker in Hong Kong turns fallen trees into unique pieces Hong Kong furniture maker Lam Che salvages fallen trees and construction waste to make one-of-a-kind pieces and art installations Rebecca Lo At the inaugural exhibition of the Tzu Chi Environmental Action Centre in Hong Kong’s Tai Wai neighbourhood in 2021, one particular installation stood out: a school of more than 100 suspended sharks made from wood that had been entirely salvaged. It was an effective and subtle way to convey the message from its creator, Lam Che, that trees and sea creatures share space with those who use and discard them with little thought. Also from the South China Morning Post:
Japanese monk adopts abandoned dog deemed too noisy, later saved by canine from fierce bear Faced with the bear, Yoshihara feels helpless despite his muscular build, but to his surprise, Chico jumps into action to drive beast away Fran Lu A Japanese Buddhist monk who adopted an abandoned dog was saved by the canine during a fierce bear attack. Tougen Yoshihara, the abbot of Youkoku Temple, a historic temple in Niigata in central Japan, was taking his one-year-old Beagle, Chico, for a walk in the woods near the temple on May 29 when an unexpected encounter occurred. From Phys.org: How the disappearance of mastodons still threatens native South American forests by Autonomous University of Barcelona Ten thousand years ago, mastodons vanished from South America. With them, an ecologically vital function also disappeared: the dispersal of seeds from large-fruited plants. A new study led by the University of O'Higgins, Chile, with key contributions from IPHES-CERCA, demonstrates for the first time—based on direct fossil evidence—that these extinct elephant relatives regularly consumed fruit and were essential allies of many tree species.
From The Guardian:
A map, a myth and a pre-Incan lagoon: the man who brought water back to a drought-ridden town When historian Galo Ramón uncovered a long-forgotten pre-Incan water system in Ecuador, he set about restoring it, and helped transform the landscape and livelihoods Mickal Aranha One day in 1983, while studying a hand-drawn map from 1792 of his home town in Ecuador, Galo Ramón, a historian, came across a dispute between a landowner and two local Indigenous communities, the Coyana and the Catacocha. The boundary conflict involved an ancient lagoon, depicted on the map. “The drawing depicted a lagoon brimming with rainwater,” says Ramón. Ravines were depicted forming below the high-altitude lagoon, indicating that it supplied watersheds further down – contrary to the typical flow where a watershed feeds into the lagoon.
From Al Jazeera:
Why have anti-immigration riots broken out in Northern Ireland? Anti-immigrant riots began in Ballymena, but economic grievances may not be enough to explain the phenomenon. By Federica Marsi Anti-immigration protests have escalated into clashes with police in several towns in Northern Ireland this week, marking a new wave of unrest to hit the United Kingdom. Disorder in towns across the region continued for a fourth night on Thursday. In Portadown, County Armagh, a crowd used bricks and masonry from a derelict building to throw at police.
From the BBC:
Two men jailed for £4.8m gold toilet heist Clodagh Stenson Two men have been jailed for stealing a £4.8m gold toilet from from an art exhibition at Blenheim Palace. Thieves smashed their way in and ripped out the functional 18-carat, solid gold toilet hours after a glamorous launch party at the Oxfordshire stately home in September 2019.
Also from the BBC:
MPs bar doctors from raising assisted dying with children Kate Whannel MPs have voted to prevent health professionals such as doctors from initiating conversations with under-18s about assisted dying, as they continued scrutiny of the Terminally Ill Adults Bill. The bill would only allow those over the age of 18, and with less than six months to live, to receive medical assistance to die in England and Wales.
From The Guardian:
Tui says ‘overtourism’ is fault of short-term let companies not hotel industry Travel operator hits back at Airbnb’s claim that it is being made a ‘scapegoat’ for problems in some holiday hotspots Mark Sweney Europe’s biggest travel operator, Tui, has hit back at an accusation by Airbnb that “overtourism” is the fault of the hotel industry, arguing that short-term home rentals companies are instead to blame. Tensions have risen between rivals in the tourism industry after protests by local people against overcrowding, rising housing costs and bad behaviour by tourists in some holiday hotspots across the continent.
From the BBC:
French antiques fraudsters found guilty of Versailles chair scam Alys Davies Two French antiques experts have been convicted of forging historic chairs that they claimed had once belonged to French royals such as Marie Antoinette. Georges "Bill" Pallot and Bruno Desnoues were given four months behind bars as well as longer suspended sentences for selling a number of fake 18th Century chairs to collectors including the Palace of Versailles and a member of the Qatari royal family.
From Al Jazeera:
In a first, France opens terror probe for racist killing of Tunisian barber Hichem Miraoui was gunned down by a suspect who was known for his anti-Arab views. By Phineas Rueckert On May 31, a Saturday, Hichem Miraoui was at his home in southeastern France on a video call with his sister Hanen, who lives nearby, and his mother in Tunisia. It was late morning in Puget-sur-Argens, his village near the French Riviera.
From the BBC:
Major music festival pulls out of Serbia after backing student protests Guy Delauney One of Europe's largest music festivals is pulling out of Serbia with organisers blaming "undemocratic pressures". Exit festival will hold its 25th anniversary edition in the country between 10 and 13 July, but said it "will be the last to take place" there.
From Al Jazeera:
Sorry, Mr Gates, your billions won’t save Africa No amount of foreign aid can fix what bad governance and political impunity continue to destroy. Tafi Mhaka On June 2 while addressing an audience in the Nelson Mandela Hall at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Bill Gates – the world’s second richest person and co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – announced that a significant portion of his nearly $200bn fortune would be directed towards improving primary healthcare and education across Africa over the next two decades. This extraordinary philanthropic pledge is expected to fulfil a commitment he made on May 8 to donate “virtually all” of his wealth before the Gates Foundation permanently closes on December 31, 2045. Former Mozambique first lady Graca Machel, a renowned humanitarian and global advocate for women’s and children’s rights, attended the event and welcomed the announcement. Describing the continent’s current situation as at a “moment of crisis”, she declared: “We are counting on Mr Gates’s steadfast commitment to continue walking this path of transformation alongside us.” From The Guardian: The grand tour: one playwright’s quest to set foot in every African country before turning 60 Worried that he didn’t understand the continent of his heritage, Femi Elufowoju Jr challenged himself to visit all 54 of its nations. His trip took him from bustling Ghana to the tranquility of Tanzania – and sparked the idea for a play Femi Elufowoju Jr
At 53, I made myself a promise. Having built a reputation as the go-to authority on African culture in UK theatre, I realised with uncomfortable clarity that my knowledge barely scratched the surface of the continent’s vast complexity. What followed was an extraordinary seven-year quest to visit all 54 African nations before my 60th birthday – a journey that would ultimately transform into my ambitious new theatrical project, 54.60 Africa. The catalyst came during a 2015 world tour with theatre company Complicité that took me to Cape Town. Standing in the shadow of Table Mountain, I confronted a paradox that had long troubled me: despite my Nigerian ancestry and theatrical expertise, my understanding of Africa remained frustratingly limited. Cape Town offered me an opportunity to begin addressing that knowledge gap, and one I was determined to seize. Also from The Guardian:
South African woman’s murder prompts anger at country’s high level of femicide Olorato Mongale, allegedly killed by man she went on date with, is latest victim of violence against women Rachel Savage A wave of anger and frustration has gripped South Africa after the murder of 30-year-old Olorato Mongale, allegedly by a man she went on a date with. It is the latest in a series of high-profile cases of violence against women and children in the country. Friends of Mongale, a former journalist who had been studying for a master’s degree in ICT policy, raised the alarm when she stopped checking in with them while on a date in Johannesburg on 25 May. Her body was found that day.
From Al Jazeera:
Kenya police officer arrested over blogger’s death in custody Hundreds of people have joined protests over the death in police custody of political blogger Albert Ojwang. A Kenyan police officer has been arrested in connection with the death of Albert Ojwang, a political blogger who died in police custody, in a case that has reignited anger over police abuse and triggered street protests in Nairobi. Police spokesperson Michael Muchiri said on Friday that a constable had been taken into custody, the AFP news agency reported.
From Live Science:
Enslaved Africans led a decade-long rebellion 1,200 years ago in Iraq, new evidence suggests By Owen Jarus The Zanj, enslaved people largely from Africa, rebelled at the same time they were ordered to build a massive system of canals in what is now Iraq, a new study finds. Around 1,200 years ago in what is now Iraq, enslaved people who were forced to build a vast canal system defied authority and rebelled, a new study indicates Between A.D. 869 to 883 a group known as the Zanj, many of whom were enslaved people taken from Africa, rebelled against the Abbasid Caliphate (ruled from 750 to 1258) and disrupted its control over the region, according to historical texts. The records also suggest that during the Middle Ages, the Zanj helped build a large system of canals spanning nearly 310 square miles (800 square kilometers) that was used to irrigate agriculture near the city of Basra.
From India Today:
Was stuck in traffic, it's my rebirth: Woman who missed London flight by 10 minutes The check-in gates were closed at 1.10 pm. However, she reached the airport at around 1.20 pm, which ultimately resulted in her missing the flight. Written By: Avijit Das In Short She reached the airport at 12.20 pm, after check-in closed at 12.10 pm.
Initially sad, she later learnt the flight had crashed
She considers missing flight as a re-birth and feels lucky Bhumi Chouhan from Baruch in Gujarat, who missed the ill-fated Air India flight to London by 10 minutes, has termed her miss as a re-birth. Speaking to India Today, she said that she missed the flight as she was stuck in traffic and was late in reporting for check-in. "The flight was scheduled for take-off at 1.10 pm and I had to check in by 12.10. I was stuck in traffic and by the time I reached the airport the check-in had closed," she said.
From the South China Morning Post:
Embassy contacts Hong Kong-based influencer’s ‘kidnapped’ father in Cambodia Influencer Stephanie Cheng said on social media that her father had gone missing before a meeting to expose a high-level fraud case Jess Ma The French embassy in Cambodia has said that it has been in contact with the father of a Hong Kong-based influencer who posted on social media that he had been kidnapped and his family and lawyers could not contact him.
And the most cheery story in the whole diary is here, at the end.
From The Guardian:
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