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Overnight News Digest: Over There [1]

['Sabrina Haake', 'Bill In Portland Maine', 'Kelli Anne Busey']

Date: 2026-07-10  

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.

Pictures of the week from The Guardian, and from the same source pictures of the week in wildlife.

The more cheerful stories above the fold and the serious news below. We begin with The Guardian:

‘It’s good to do nothing’: why hundreds gathered to sit still on one Bangkok weekend Responding to a Facebook event which promised a chance to ‘escape’ the screen, young people turned out in Thailand’s capital to spend an hour being ‘useless’ Natasha May in Bangkok Bangkok is a city thrumming with an energy you can feel from its skyscrapers to the street, but an invitation last week to change the pace and do nothing drew hundreds to the lush green oasis in its centre. On beanbags, fold up chairs and picnic mats in Lumphini Park on 4 July, people laid back looking at the sky, while others sat upright facing the lake. One examined a twig, a few dozed off and only a handful checked their phones.

Also from The Guardian:

The Guardian view on Homer: The Odyssey is more modern than we might like to think Editorial The universal themes addressed by one of humanity’s greatest storytellers more than merit Hollywood box-office treatment The Magasphere’s endless appetite for culture wars is wearily familiar. But who could have foreseen that Greek literature would become the new casus belli? Ahead of its much-anticipated general release next week, Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey has triggered Elon Musk and other supposed defenders of western civilisation. Directorial decisions such as the casting of the Kenyan-Mexican actor Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy, Mr Musk ranted incoherently, amounted to “pissing on Homer’s grave”. The absurd insistence on the white skin of a mythological figure reveals nothing we didn’t already know about the owner of X. The rest of us can move on and look forward to a lavish cinematic take on a story that has inspired artists for almost 3,000 years. Homer’s account of Odysseus’s 10-year struggle to return home from the Trojan wars has been reworked by Virgil in the Aeneid, relocated to Dublin in James Joyce’s Ulysses, and given a feminist treatment by Margaret Atwood in her Penelopiad. Now for the 21st-century Hollywood treatment.

From Al Jazeera:

Bayeux Tapestry smuggled into Britain for first visit in 1,000 years The loan of the artwork is seen as symbolic of French-British relations as London works to mend ties post-Brexit. The Bayeux Tapestry has arrived in Britain for the first time in nearly 1,000 years following a secret journey from France. The priceless 70-metre-long medieval artwork depicting the Norman conquest of England was discreetly delivered to the British Museum in London in a high-security operation overnight on Friday.

From The Guardian:

The Hay Wain: Walking Constable’s Landscape review – a masterpiece for the climate crisis age Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich

While Britain boils in a heatwave, a new exhibition built around the much-reproduced canvas reminds us of the beauty of the natural world – and what we could lose Jonathan Jones I first saw John Constable’s 1821 painting The Hay Wain as a postcard with cruise missiles brutally stacked in the wooden cart and pointing at the sky. Peter Kennard’s anti-nuke photomontage is just one of the many parodies and travesties this image of a seemingly eternal rustic Britain keeps provoking. A few months ago, a newspaper cartoon depicted a ballistic missile from Iran speeding through Constable’s painting. But when I visited Ipswich to see its Hay Wain exhibition at the start of the latest heatwave it was the climate making a scorching, ironic comment on this temperate scene. Inside this Tudor house, grey, blue and brown masses of rain-promising cloud hung above Constable’s painted Suffolk fields, dappling them with shade. But outside the grass was straw yellow and the landscape around Dedham Vale and the River Stour, where Constable was born and in which The Hay Wain and many more of his works lovingly linger, appeared to have been blowtorched into oblivion.

From Deutsche Welle:

Why the World Cup can be good for your mental health Mathias Brück The World Cup can offer more than just entertainment, it can also benefit your mental well-being. DW explains why. AdvertisementIt’s the kind of thing many football fans experience during World Cup watch parties: The “home” team scores a goal and fans in a beer garden or pub cheer as one – and may even embrace in celebration – even though they had been complete strangers just moments earlier. For Katie Wood, a clinical psychologist at Swinburne University in Melbourne, these shared moments can actually support mental health. “The greatest protective factor for our mental health is connectedness—the connection to ourselves, to other people, to our community, and to our culture,” Wood told DW. And sport, in her view, hits exactly this note; it brings people together.

From Al Jazeera:

EDITOR’S ANALYSIS Sport|World Cup 2026 FIFA World Cup 2026: What happened to the beautiful game? How the World Cup has changed over the past 50 years and why there are only flashes of the beautiful game in 2026. By Rahul Pathak “They don’t care about the beautiful game. They don’t care about the elegance of football. In my time, we used to think and give a little show.” The words of arguably the greatest player of all time, Pele, back in 2014 before the World Cup in Brazil, which Germany won, say it all about the state of the world’s most popular game. That tournament was a watershed moment for Brazil: it was meant to showcase the individual talents of the likes of Neymar, Oscar and Hulk in front of a global audience.

And finally, helpful guidelines from The Guardian:

How not to be rude in 2026 Do you keep your headphones on at the checkout? Or chat people up then never follow through? You need our expert guide to the new social faux pas – and how to avoid them Words by Kate Lloyd. Ilustrations by Stephen Collins Work Emailing colleagues out of hours The old rules of rudeness were partly about showing respect to people above you in the social hierarchy, says Bridget Dalton, a semiotician and cultural analyst at Truth Consulting. “It would once have been considered impolite for a junior employee to set a boundary with a senior colleague, but now it’s much ruder to impose on people who are more junior.”

From Al Jazeera:

Under Lula, Amazon deforestation falls to lowest level in a decade The figures come months before Brazil’s presidential election, with Lula promising to end illegal deforestation by 2030. Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has fallen to its lowest level in a decade during the first half of 2026, according to official government figures. Friday’s statistics mark a milestone in President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s efforts to curb the destruction of the world’s largest rainforest.

From The Guardian (we are beginning the news section with a bit of ecological news):

Interview ‘We didn’t develop heads until we’d evolved an arse. I like that’: Chris Packham’s epic ode to evolution Zoe Williams His superpower has always been speaking his mind – and his majestic new BBC show aims to shatter our ideas about life itself. The presenter talks mass extinction, spiders who dream and why people get sick of him holding up rocks It’s impossible to meet Chris Packham without getting into a good mood. This is largely down to his contagious enthusiasm for the natural world, but on this occasion may also be his canary yellow polo shirt and stand-up-as-if-electrocuted hair. His new five-parter, Evolution, tells the story of the single cell that is all living things’ first common ancestor. Known as Luca, it is the indivisible connection between you and your cat, me and an elephant. (That’s an acronym, not poetry, by the way – Last Universal Common Ancestor, the single-celled organism from 4.2bn years ago that branched into everything that now lives.) “There is still a physical connection between me and you, and a cell that existed billions of years ago,” he says. “I find that absolutely brilliant.” The show seeks to shake up all our preconceptions: “We tend to stop at GCSE and are left with a legacy of thinking that evolution is laboriously slow, we are its be all and end all, and its story is over.” I mean, these aren’t all misconceptions – it is pretty slow, no? “There would have been billions of years when we just had cells floating in a broth in the sea,” he concedes. “We looked at it more as the turning points in evolution’s life, the periods when it moved very rapidly.” Evolution tells the story of different processes via specific animals. It explains breathing through the elephant, reproducing through the ostrich, eating through the bat, thinking through the dolphin, and running through the horse. “I don’t like to use the C word,” Packham says in the opener, watching a tree hyrax that is the improbably close genetic relative of the elephant, “but they are incredibly cute.”

News from Europe, beginning with Al Jazeera reporting:

UK police arrest man suspected of murdering former MP Ann Widdecombe Reform UK politician Widdecombe, 78, was found dead at her home on Thursday with serious injuries. British police have arrested a 26-year-old man on suspicion of murdering Ann Widdecombe, a former government minister and prominent Brexit campaigner, who was found dead at her home on Thursday. Matt Longman, from Devon and ⁠Cornwall Police, said on Friday that the suspect remained in custody and ⁠that the ⁠incident “is not ⁠being treated as terrorism” or politically ‌motivated.

From the Associated Press:

From The Guardian Opinion:



Opinion One thought on the Clacton contenders: the ‘establishment’ looks a bit different these days, doesn’t it? Marina Hyde Nigel Farage has billed his byelection as a clash with the powers that be. To wit: Laurence Fox, a naked celebrity and a man with a bin on his head Quick look at the Clacton byelection field as it stands: Nigel Farage, Count Binface, Piers Corbyn, Laurence Fox, some bloke who’s been on Married at First Sight and Dating Naked … anyway, there’s more, but you get the picture. It’s going to be a long hot summer. By the end of this contest Clacton will be begging to be left behind again. To recap, Reform leader Farage this week delivered an address to the nation on his political future, which can effectively be summarised as “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the messiest bitch of all?” Under fire over his recently exposed penchant for taking mental amounts of money and benefits from Thailand-based cryptophiliacs/convicted fraudsters and their mums, Nigel has decided to seek validation by asking the voters of Clacton to rule on him. So yes, Farage has triggered a byelection – but he’s also triggered anyone who’s ever been in a toxic relationship where their partner forces them into public declarations of loyalty. It’s all very “I always choose you over everyone, Nigel, and I hate that my family are trying to destroy us”.

Also from The Guardian Opinion:

Count Binface alone can‘t clean up British politics. MPs now have that chance, and they must seize it Stella Creasy Amid the allegations about dark money and funding, I have a solution: limit all single donations in a year – from any individual – to £100,000 It is sobering that Count Binface’s potential victory in the Clacton byelection seems be one of the few ways we can restore any confidence in the integrity of British political decision-making. Faced with questions about the millions he has raked in before and since being elected, Nigel Farage chose to face a byelection rather than face the standards procedures in parliament. Yet we cannot continue to rely on a man with a bin on his head to stop the toxic rot in our politics feeding off the public’s concern that donations drive our decision-making. With the next election on the horizon, the eye-watering sums involved compel us to tackle the capacity of the largest wallets to be the loudest voices, or risk them overwhelming our democracy altogether. The allegation that money buys you a mouthpiece is not new, or without precedent. Controversies over donors across the political spectrum – whether Bernie Ecclestone, Mohamed Amersi, Paul Marshall or Lubov Chernukhin – have dogged Westminster for decades. Campaigns such as Clean up Westminster have long pushed for stronger safeguards. Yet it is also true the scale of funds now pouring into our politics is fundamentally different. Research by Transparency International shows the share of private political donations coming from individuals and companies giving £1m or more has surged from just 1% in 2015 to 35% in 2024.

Also from The Guardian:

From Reuters:

Spanish wildfire victims burned in cars as roads turned into death traps Summary Authorities confirmed 12 deaths and said 23 people remain missing

Four people died in one car, Andalusia emergency chief Sanz said

Seven others died after abandoning cars and trying to escape on foot, Sanz said LOS GALLARDOS, Spain, July 10 (Reuters) – As a wildfire tore across the mountains towards them, panicked residents in rural Andalusian villages around Los Gallardos in ​southern Spain faced an impossible choice — shelter in place and endure the choking smoke, or take their chances and flee. At least 12 went against the advice of ‌local mayors and police who went door-to-door asking them to stay put, opting to flee by car from Bedar — a village that mostly escaped the flames — and instead driving right into them.

From The Guardian:

From DW:

Bundesrat backs healthcare savings bill Germany’s upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, has passed the government’s healthcare savings package. The legislation seeks to cut health care spending from 2027. The measures include higher co-payments for prescription medicines and tighter rules governing the free co-insurance of spouses under Germany’s statutory health insurance system.

Also from DW:

‘Right to repair’ bill passes parliament in boon for consumers In Friday’s flurry of summer signings in parliament, an EU directive known as the “right to repair” has also passed a vote. The bill seeks to reduce electronic waste and strengthen consumer rights.

From The Guardian:

Berlin’s mayor abandons reelection campaign after ‘tennis-gate’ outcry Kai Wegner admits poor communication in handling of power blackout overshadowed his other political work Kate Connolly Berlin’s embattled mayor has abandoned his campaign to stand for reelection after failing to recover from a row over his decision to play tennis while large parts of the German capital were hit by a power blackout in January. Kai Wegner announced on Friday afternoon that he would not run in Berlin’s 20 September election after coming under huge pressure to step down from his party, the Christian Democrats (CDU). Some members wrote an open letter to Wegner this week in which they appealed to him to withdraw his candidacy.

News from Africa, beginning with the Associated Press:

Africa secures $900 million in new clean cooking commitments By ALLAN OLINGO NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — African countries have secured $900 million in new financial commitments to expand access to clean cooking technologies, which replace polluting fuels with cleaner alternatives, the International Energy Agency, IEA, said Thursday. The new pledge builds on the $2.2 billion mobilized at the inaugural Africa Clean Cooking Summit in Paris in 2024, bringing total commitments to more than $3.1 billion, which will be used to expand access to cleaner cooking fuels, stoves and related infrastructure across the continent.

From Al Jazeera:

Opinion Nigeria’s counterterrorism gains carry a warning Mass surrenders may weaken armed groups, but reintegration without justice risks fuelling resentment. By Hakeem Najimdeen, CEO of Alafarika for Studies and Consultancy, Nigeria. Nigeria’s military announced on June 29 that several senior commanders from terrorist groups had surrendered in the northeast. Captain Mohammed Goni, acting military information officer for Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) against these groups, said the surrenders followed sustained military pressure and that those involved were being held in a secure location for profiling and debriefing. The announcement brought renewed attention to Nigeria’s terrorism crisis, which has widened significantly since the Boko Haram uprising of July 2009. What was once a largely Boko Haram-led insurgency confined to a small geography has become a broader conflict involving multiple terrorist factions and other armed networks. Today, Boko Haram is no longer the only major threat; the landscape also includes the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Ansaru, Mahmuda, Lakurawa, and many other, smaller groups involved in banditry, armed robbery and kidnapping.

A couple of World Cup stories from Africa as well, both from Al Jazeera:

Eliminated Morocco turn attention to cohosting 2030 World Cup Morocco were eliminated from the 2026 World Cup by a 2-0 defeat by France in the quarterfinals, but host next edition. Morocco proved unable to emulate their semifinal heroics of the last World Cup, again running into a French roadblock as they lost in the last eight on Thursday, but as cohosts of ⁠the next tournament will begin to reset their sights on the trophy. They had been beaten by France in the semifinal in Qatar four years ago and this time were again outplayed in the 2-0 win for Les Bleus in Boston.

And also from Al Jazeera:

Opinion|World Cup 2026 How an Egypt-Argentina World Cup game became a referendum on Palestine Contested calls and rival flags showed how Palestine now shapes debates over power and fairness in sport. By Mohamad Elmasry, Professor in the Media Studies program at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. Tuesday’s round-of-16 FIFA World Cup match between Egypt and Argentina in Atlanta was perhaps both the tournament’s most controversial game and its most politically consequential. After going up 1-0 against the defending champions, Egypt had a second goal controversially disallowed and its request for video review of an Argentina goal denied.

From People Magazine:

Influencer Dies at 26 After Falling from 27th Floor of Dubai Building Brazilian content creator Kauana Bilhar had over 20,000 followers at the time of her death, which local authorities are reportedly investigating By Zoey Lyttle NEED TO KNOW Brazilian influencer Kauana Bilhar died after she fell from the 27th floor of her high-rise building in Dubai, where she had been living for two years

The tragedy occurred on July 7, according to Brazilian outlet G1, and the circumstances are still being investigated by local authorities

Kauana’s mother, Darla Bilhar, posted a video responding to “mean comments” and “accusations” made about her late daughter Brazilian influencer Kauana Bilhar has died at age 26 after falling from the 27th floor of a high-rise building in Dubai. According to Brazilian outlet G1, the tragedy occurred on Tuesday, July 7. Her uncle told the outlet that Kauana — who had been living in the UAE for two years — fell from the balcony of her room. The case is still being investigated by local authorities, per G1, and the late content creator’s mother, Darla Bilhar, reportedly traveled to Dubai to follow the investigation and bring her daughter’s body home.

From France24:

India’s Hindu nationalists take 17th-century king as new anti-Muslim symbol Statues of 17th-century king Shivaji have been erected across various Indian cities over the past few years by Hindu nationalist groups, who view him as a symbolic defender of Hindus against Muslims. The campaign marks another act of intolerance toward Muslim and Christian minorities, who have been targeted since the Bharatiya Janata Party took power 12 years ago. A few hundred men paraded on motorcycles through the streets of Sangareddy, in the southern Indian state of Telangana, on May 29, 2026. They were supporters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS , the foremost organisation within the Hindu nationalist movement and the ideological backbone of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – the Hindu nationalist party of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Wearing saffron scarves around their necks, they rode down the roads waving their signature double-pennant flags, also saffron – the colour of the BJP.

From Space.com:

Making history! China lands rocket during an orbital launch for 1st time ever (video) By Mike Wall And China plans to refly the booster by the end of the year. China just notched a huge spaceflight milestone. The nation has recovered a rocket during an orbital launch for the first time ever, pulling off the feat during the Long March 10B’s maiden liftoff on Friday (July 10). And that recovery was unique: The rocket’s first stage nestled softly into a net-like structure carried by a ship at sea. “This mission marks my country’s first successful controlled recovery of a launch vehicle and the world’s first network-based recovery of a launch vehicle,” the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced via social media shortly after the launch. (Translation by Google.) “It signifies a historic breakthrough for my country in the field of reusable rocket technology and will lay a solid foundation for accelerating the improvement of my country’s space access capabilities.”

From Reuters:

A decade after historic ruling, Philippine fishermen say driven away from disputed shoal by China By Adrian Portugal and Karen Lema Summary A 2016 tribunal ruled that China’s fishing restrictions at Scarborough Shoal were unlawful

Local fishermen say they have been harassed by Chinese vessels near the shoal

Tribunal decision helped Philippines gain international support MASINLOC, Philippines, July 10 (Reuters) – The Philippines may have won a landmark victory against China’s claims in the ​South China Sea 10 years ago, but today local fishermen have become too afraid to venture out to Scarborough Shoal and its prized ‌fishing waters for fear of harassment by Chinese vessels. The shoal, one of Asia’s most hotly contested maritime areas, has been under China’s de facto control since 2012. In 2016, an international tribunal — the Permanent Court of Arbitration — ruled Beijing’s sweeping maritime claims had no basis under law.

From NBC News:

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