(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Overnight News Digest: August 12, 2026 [1] ['Thom Hartmann'] Date: 2026-08-12 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 FarWestGirl. 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, JeremyBloom, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP), jlms qkw, and doomandgloom. 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. Space ………… On this day in space! Aug. 12, 2005: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launched. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) in the Hazardous Payload Service Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on July 20, 2005 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Image credit: Matt Stroshane/Getty Images On Aug. 12, 2005, NASA launched its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission lifted off on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V-401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (now known as the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station) in Florida. Some of the best cameras ever launched into space are on MRO, and the spacecraft has taken some seriously amazing photos of Mars . The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE camera , takes super-sharp photos of the Martian surface and has helped NASA scout the Red Planet for suitable landing sites for rovers like Curiosity . It also serves as a data relay station for other spacecraft on Mars that need to beam data back to Earth. MRO has also studied water and ice on Mars, and its cameras have revealed some pretty remarkable landscapes . . Cosmic treasure chest explodes with baby stars | Space photo of the day for Aug. 7, 2026. The Carina Nebula’s “Treasure Chest” stuns in this new image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Reiter The Carina Nebula is truly something to behold in this new snapshot. In a nebula far, far away, colossal clouds of dust and gas tower amongst the stars. What is it? This spectacular new image from the James Webb Space Telescope showcases the brilliant majesty of the Carina Nebula, a giant cloud of dust and gas found 7,500 light-years away in the constellation Carina. You may have seen the Carina Nebula before — in the first-ever image released from JWST , which has been dubbed “Cosmic Cliffs.” . Radiation-shielding vest aced Artemis I lunar test, could protect astronauts on moon and Mars missions. The “phantoms” Helga and Zohar inside the Orion spacecraft at NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building prior to the launch of Artemis I. Zohar, right, wore the AstroRad vest while Helga did not. Image credit: NASA/Lockheed Martin/DLR “AstroRad could help overcome one of the major health challenges limiting long-duration human exploration beyond Earth.” A radiation-shielding vest might one day protect astronauts from dangerous, random outbursts from the sun, a new study finds. More than 50 years after the final Apollo mission, NASA’s Artemis program aims to return humans to the moon . To succeed, this project must protect astronauts from solar radiation, especially the intense and unpredictable radiation from solar storms . Coating an entire spacecraft with a meaningfully thick layer of radiation shielding remains impractical due to weight constraints, but wrapping astronauts in protective garments may potentially be helpful. In the new study, researchers experimented with the AstroRad vest , which was designed by the Israeli startup StemRad with support from the Israel Space Agency and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin. The garment was created to protect astronauts from explosions from the sun known as solar particle events. . Perseid meteor shower peaks under perfect skies tonight — here’s what to expect. Don’t miss the Perseid meteor shower 2026 peak tonight. Image credit: Background: Kevin Key / Slworking via Getty Images, Text and notification symbol added in Canva Pro Don’t miss the peak of the Perseid meteor shower tonight. Here’s when, where and how to see it. The Perseid meteor shower, one of the most prolific and impressive meteor showers of the year, peaks tonight! Widely regarded as one of the best meteor showers of the year, the Perseids can produce up to 100 meteors per hour under ideal viewing conditions and weather permitting. This year’s display is particularly favorable because the shower peaks on the night of the new moon, leaving skies free from bright moonlight that can wash out fainter meteors . . Green comet caught soaring over Namibia | Space photo of the day for Aug. 12, 2026. Comet 220P/McNaught soaring over Namibia on August 8, 2026. Image credit: Gerald Rhemann and Michael Jäger A shot so spectacular it will leave other astrophotographers green with envy. What a view. Astrophotographers in Namibia have captured a bright green comet soaring overhead in a spectacular new photograph. What is it? In this incredible new photograph is the comet 220P/McNaught. Discovered by Australian astronomer Robert H. McNaught, the comet orbits our sun once every 5.5 years. Back in June, the comet reached perihelion, or the closest point in its orbit around the sun. Around that time, the comet experienced a large outburst, which brightened it about 8,000 times. . World/General ……………… https://www.theguardian.com/science/ng-interactive/2026/aug/12/cruise-ships-quiet-towns-and-an-all-day-festival-millions-flock-to-eclipse-viewing-spots-across-europe. Cruise ships, quiet towns and an all-day festival: millions flock to eclipse viewing spots across Europe. Beginning in Russia’s remote Arctic north, the eclipse traced an arc over much of western Europe – with the best views in Spain, Iceland and Greenland. It was a moment of awe shared by millions across Europe: an eclipse that blocked out the sun, plunging parts of the continent into a daytime darkness in which temperatures dropped and birds suddenly went quiet. Wednesday’s eclipse began in Russia’s remote Arctic north, going on to trace an arc over much of western Europe. From the UK to northern Italy, tens of millions of people turned to the sky as the light of the setting sun was almost completely blocked out. The most sought-after experiences were in Greenland, Iceland and Spain along with a small strip of Portugal. It was in parts of these countries that totality – referring to when the moon completely covers the sun’s light – was on offer, drawing millions of local people and thousands of tourists from across the globe into the path of the eclipse. “It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Sara García Alonso, a reserve astronaut for the European Space Agency, told broadcaster RTVE. “It gave me goosebumps.” . https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/12/trump-greenland-oil. Greenland forces Trump-linked US oil firm to delay drilling. Greenland authorities have forced a US oil company connected to Donald Trump to postpone drilling wells in the Arctic territory, defying claims by the US president’s envoy that Americans could be extracting crude by next year. Amid Trump’s imperialist threats, tensions have been rising on Greenland’s eastern coast after the oil company brought drilling equipment ashore in July without permission, drawing a “strong warning” from the government. Just week before Greenland Energy intended to sink its first wells into the tundra, the government said on Thursday: “The necessary regulatory process cannot be completed, and the necessary approvals cannot therefore be obtained before the planned start of drilling.” They’re working from Putin’s book on invasions. . https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/06/ebola-virus-drc-mutating. Ebola virus behind massive outbreak in DRC could be mutating, officials say. Cases have passed 4,000 and health watchdog plans to go door to door to find patients in major response escalation. The virus causing a massive outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be mutating, health officials fear, as confirmed cases pass 4,000. Africa’s public health watchdog said the time for incremental action was over as they announced plans to scale up every aspect of the response and go “door to door” looking for patients. The Ebola outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, was first reported on 15 May, although there are suspicions the disease could have been spreading since January. There have been 3,973 cases and 1,801 deaths recorded as of 4 August, according to the DRC’s national public health institute. Speaking on Thursday, Dr Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), told a press briefing cases had topped 4,000. . https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/12/former-mexican-governor-charged-in-case-of-43-students-who-vanished-in-2014. Former Mexican governor charged in case of 43 students who vanished in 2014. Ángel Aguirre indicted in case that rocked Mexico and became symbol of its brutal cartel violence. The former governor of Guerrero state in Mexico has been formally charged over his alleged involvement in the disappearance of 43 students in 2014, a case that has become a symbol of the country’s brutal cartel violence and government impunity. Ángel Aguirre, who was arrested last week, is accused of forced disappearance and obstruction of justice for ordering the destruction of surveillance tapes that may have shed light on what happened to the students from the Ayotzinapa teacher training college on the night of 26 September 2014. . https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/12/comac-c919-chinese-passenger-jet-china-plane-first-international-flight. Passenger jet billed as China’s answer to Boeing and Airbus prepares to make first international flight. China hopes to break into the world of commercial aviation with the first international flight of a Chinese-made passenger jet scheduled for Wednesday. The Comac C919 will take off from Beijing capital international airport at 3pm, landing in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, just over two hours later. It has been billed as China’s alternative to the Boeing-Airbus duopoly that dominates global aviation, particularly in Asia, but analysts say it could take generations before a Chinese aircraft could meaningfully challenge their global dominance. The C919 is made by the Chinese state-owned aircraft manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) and is similar in size to the Boeing 737. . https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/11/syria-bashar-al-assad-death-sentence-war-crimes. Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for war crimes. Verdict relates to atrocities committed during the country’s 14-year civil war in which about 500,000 people died. A Syrian court has sentenced the country’s former president Bashar al-Assadand his brother Maher to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes during the 14-year civil war, in which about half a million people died. The two men fled to Moscow after being ousted by a lightning rebel offensive in December 2024 which toppled the dictatorial regime in just 11 days. The former president and his brother, who commanded the feared fourth division and was considered the regime’s top security official, oversaw a brutal crackdown in which government forces killed, arrested and tortured indiscriminately to crush protests that started in 2011. The court said Bashar al-Assad had been sentenced to death for crimes of “premeditated and intentional murder of more than one person and of children” as well as “torture, arbitrary arrest and crimes against humanity”. . https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/13/israeli-settlers-besiege-three-palestinian-families-in-occupied-west-bank. Israeli settlers besiege Palestinian families in West Bank’s Qusra. Dozens of settlers besiege Palestinian families in Qusra, cutting off water, power and essential supplies. Israeli settlers have besieged three Palestinian families inside their homes in the occupied West Bank, blocking access and cutting off water and electricity, in a campaign residents describe as an attempt to steal their land. Security camera footage from the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, on Wednesday shows Israeli settlers and soldiers surrounding one of the houses. Residents said Israeli soldiers failed to disperse the settlers. Aisha Abu Rida, one of the residents under siege, told Al Jazeera that the siege began on Sunday, with settlers blocking all entrances to her home. “We are surrounded by settlers, but we are steadfast, God willing. We will not leave our home, no matter what happens. Despite the water and electricity being cut off, we will remain steadfast,” she said. . https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/13/zimbabwes-land-reform-enters-a-new-chapter. Zimbabwe’s land reform enters a new chapter. A new land policy is reopening disputes over farms seized during Zimbabwe’s land reform after 2000. Harare, Zimbabwe – More than two decades after Zimbabwe seized thousands of mainly white-owned commercial farms, some of those properties are set to change hands again. But President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government insisted the move is not a reversal of the land redistribution programme that reshaped Zimbabwe’s countryside after 2000. . https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/10/one-million-evacuated-as-typhoon-dolphin-pummels-east-china-what-we-know. One million evacuated as Typhoon Dolphin pummels east China: What we know: Provinces in eastern China have been inundated with heavy rain and flooding caused by Typhoon Dolphin, the strongest storm to make landfall in China this year. Dolphin struck eastern China, including Shanghai, with winds up to 150 kilometres per hour (93 miles per hour), forcing more than one million people to evacuate their homes. The storm has disrupted flights and other transport while bringing heavy rain, flooding and the risk of landslides across the region. . https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/10/wildfires-burn-across-indonesia-as-officials-cite-el-nino-as-a-cause. Wildfires burn across Indonesia as officials cite El Nino as a cause. A volunteer battles a wildfire near Mount Bromo – one of Indonesia’s most popular tourist destinations, [File: Juni Kriswanto/AFP Close to 50,000 firefighters and disaster personnel, backed by dozens of helicopters, are battling wildfires in several parts of Indonesia after an unusually dry season in the sprawling archipelago. Increased El Nino conditions have raised the risk of more forest and land fires during the peak dry season, said Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Djamari Chaniago, on Monday. Authorities in East Java say the largest blaze is in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, where about 743 hectares (1,836 acres) of land have been scorched. The park is closed to visitors until further notice. “This closure is a crucial step to ⁠⁠maintain the safety of visitors, staff and ⁠⁠people in the surrounding areas,” the park’s operator said on its Instagram page. The fire has burned large areas of dry grassland, vegetation and protected Edelweiss flowers. Flames have spread to the Penanjakan area, a popular viewpoint for tourists visiting the volcanic landscape of Mount Bromo, one of Indonesia’s best-known attractions. No injuries or building evacuations have been reported. . https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/8/11/vietnams-vinspace-announces-deal-with-spacex-to-launch-first-satellite. Vietnam’s VinSpace announces deal with SpaceX to launch first satellite. Vietnam’s Vinspace has announced that it will partner with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch its first satellites next year. Vinspace said on Tuesday that it will use SpaceX’s Transporter ride-share programme to deploy the satellites into orbit in the second quarter of 2027. . https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/8/11/the-global-souths-digital-future-must-not-belong-to-bezos-and-musk. The Global South’s digital future must not belong to Bezos and Musk. Satellite internet can close the digital divide, but the Global South must not trade access for dependence on foreign corporations. Amazon recently announced that its Leo satellite internet service is expected to enter South Africa in 2027 through Herotel, the country’s largest fixed internet provider. The partnership, Leo’s first agreement of its kind in Africa, will connect homes and businesses beyond the reach of fibre and fixed wireless networks. Herotel serves more than 350,000 customers in over 550 towns, giving Amazon a route into farming areas and rural communities where distance, terrain and sparse populations make conventional networks costly. Amazon is entering a market already being transformed by satellite internet. Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, served 10.3 million subscribers across 164 countries and markets through about 9,000 satellites as of March, reflecting its rapid expansion throughout Africa, Latin America and Asia. . https://www.dw.com/en/due-to-the-iran-war-iraq-is-running-out-of-money/a-78341409. Due to the Iran war, Iraq is running out of money. Because of the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, Iraq cannot export enough oil to fund the country’s huge public sector. Protests have already started. Will the Iran war destabilize Iraq again? They may be thousands of kilometers away but the Strait of Hormuz — or more specifically, its blockade — is making life increasingly difficult for many ordinary Iraqis. For the last three months or so, Mahmoud Waleed’s salary has been arriving later and later. The 38-year-old teacher is paid by the Iraqi Ministry of Education, but because Iraq cannot export enough oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the government is running out of cash. As a result, thousands of Iraqis like Waleed are not being paid on time. “The delay affects you a lot,” the Mosul local told DW. “Like most people, we have financial obligations as well as basic living expenses. We’re just more and more convinced that we need to reduce expenses and keep some money aside for emergencies — just until things return to normal. It makes you really anxious and fearful.” . https://www.dw.com/en/gulf-states-scramble-for-strait-of-hormuz-alternative/a-78336679. Gulf states scramble for Strait of Hormuz alternative. Saudi Arabia has redirected oil exports away from the Strait of Hormuz, but most Gulf producers still lack a reliable backup option to the world’s most important energy choke point. Months of blockades and uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz have pushed energy exporters to look for ways to bypass the key shipping lane. Iranian officials had insisted the waterway would remain closed and negotiations would not resume unless the United States complied with a June framework agreement and offered compensation to Tehran for alleged violations. . https://www.dw.com/en/preaching-and-teaching-in-a-warming-world/a-77509351. Preaching and teaching in a warming world. US pastors, a Ugandan musician and salmon-friendly tech delivered good environmental news this week. Science Chaser ……………….. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-recyclable-bonds-underwater-seconds-years.html. Recyclable glue bonds underwater in seconds and holds for years. Schematic of the underwater Marangoni effect between an ionic liquid solution and water. The direction of the white arrow indicates the Marangoni flow of DMSO solvent. Credit: Nature Communications (2026). Most glues need a dry surface to stick properly. Bonding materials underwater is challenging because water forms a thin film on any surface, so instead of an adhesive touching a material directly, it touches a layer of water, which weakens the bond. But scientists from China have now created a superglue that repels water and forms a strong, recyclable bond within seconds, as they report in a paper published in Nature Communications. How the glue works To make their glue, the research team synthesized a supramolecular ionic liquid, a salt-like material whose molecules are held together by temporary, reversible interactions. They mixed it with a solvent called dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and applied the solution directly onto submerged objects made of ceramic, copper, epoxy resin and polyamide. When the mixture hits the underwater surface, differences in surface tension trigger a rapid motion called Marangoni flow that disrupts the thin layer of water on the surface. The DMSO solvent then diffuses outward, causing the molecules to reassemble into a tough, water-resistant adhesive within seconds. “Marangoni flow not only speeds up supramolecular aggregation but also effectively penetrates hydration layers,” noted the study authors in their paper. The adhesive, which the researchers named BP16TPB, reached a bonding strength of 1.1 megapascals on ceramic after only 10 seconds. Within five minutes, this had risen to 1.3 megapascals. The adhesive’s ability to work underwater comes from its unusual self-assembly process. As the solvent leaves, the molecules form a network of temporary bonds that gives the material its strength. . https://phys.org/news/2026-08-microbes-protein-vitamin-b9-commercially.html. Microbes turn CO₂ into protein and vitamin B9 at commercially viable prices. In the laboratory run by environmental biotechnologist Lars Angenent, researchers are investigating microbial processes to enable the production of proteins and vitamins for human consumption from simple chemical raw materials. Credit: Jörg Jäger/Universität Tübingen Researchers are developing biotechnological processes that enable microbes to produce proteins and vitamins for human consumption using basic chemical ingredients, such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen and oxygen—entirely bypassing livestock farming and agriculture. Because these methods also require energy input, they are popularly called “power-to-protein” and “power-to-vitamin” processes. Environmental biotechnologist Lars Angenent, of the University of Tübingen’s excellence cluster, Control of Microorganisms to Fight Infections (CMFI), has optimized one such process in the laboratory; it produces proteins as well as vitamin B9, also known as folic acid. The process is unique in that it comprises two steps, using two different microbes sequentially. Angenent and his team have been working to find out whether it can be scaled up to technically and economically viable industrial production. They have found that a production facility capable of supplying 5.6 million people with the recommended daily dose of vitamin B9 and contributing to their protein intake at market prices would pay for itself after just five years. The study has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The growing world population and global warming pose major challenges for conventional agriculture. Livestock farming, in particular, uses a lot of resources and contributes significantly to the release of substances harmful to the environment. According to United Nations estimates, as early as 2023, 733 million people—more than 9% of the world’s population—were suffering from undernourishment. “It is feared this number will continue to rise. Especially in poorer countries, protein needs cannot be met,” Angenent says. The human body cannot produce all essential nutrients on its own and relies on the intake of certain proteins and vitamins. . https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-personalized-cell-therapy-metastatic-kidney.html. Personalized T-cell therapy eliminates detectable metastatic kidney tumor in adolescent after multiple relapses. The then 17-year-old Mailo receives T-cell therapy against PRAME with his genetically modified immune cells in July 2025. Credit: German Cancer Research Center Researchers and physicians at the Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ) and other leading cancer centers report an exceptional treatment outcome in an adolescent with an advanced, treatment-resistant kidney tumor. Using a novel, personalized T-cell therapy, they succeeded in completely reversing the disease despite multiple metastases. The individual compassionate-use treatment has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine and underscores the potential of cellular immunotherapies for children and adolescents with solid tumors. The clinical trial building on these findings is planned for 2027. The patient developed a kidney tumor (nephroblastoma) at age 7 and experienced numerous relapses with metastases over 10 years. At the time of treatment, the disease was far advanced: Large tumor lesions in the abdominal cavity, numerous metastases in the lungs, liver and pelvis, and a brain metastasis characterized the clinical picture. No curative treatment options or suitable clinical trials were available. Molecular tumor analyses performed as part of the INFORM tumor sequencing program showed that the cancer cells produced the tumor antigen PRAME (“Preferentially Expressed Antigen in Melanoma”). . https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-energy-storage-device-recycled.html. An energy storage device designed to be recycled. This glider’s propeller was powered by prototype supercapacitors on its wings that can be disassembled and recycled into new energy storage devices. Credit: Tse Nga Ng Smartwatches, phones and even some drones rely on lightweight, rechargeable energy storage systems. Once those devices wear out, many end up as electronic waste. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Energy Letters have developed a compact supercapacitor that can be quickly disassembled into reusable components. They used the devices to power a glider’s propeller and then took apart one supercapacitor and sequentially reused parts in two new ones that performed as well as the original device. Many rechargeable devices use lithium-ion technology and contain flammable electrolytes. Additionally, they are hard to recycle because the components don’t come apart easily. So, Tse Nga Ng, Nandu Koripally and colleagues searched for a more sustainable approach for compact energy storage. Their work led them to develop a supercapacitor that used zinc ions in a water-based, nonflammable electrolyte, dissolvable adhesives and reusable electrically conductive materials. “We built on our lab’s prior work, combining high-energy alternative zinc-ion chemistry and structural supercapacitors to make a recyclable version that enables second-life cells and outperforms prior state-of-the-art devices,” says Koripally, the lead author of the study. . https://phys.org/news/2026-08-south-african-river-bacteria-natural.html. This South African river has a bacteria count off the charts: A natural filter is cleaning it for watering food gardens. Food gardens irrigated with nature-based treated water from the Water Hub. Credit: Kevin Winter. Every day, millions of liters of polluted water flow through many South African rivers and disappear into the sea. In South Africa, the small Stiebeuel River in Franschhoek, 75 kilometers (47 miles) east of Cape Town, is badly polluted. Sewage and polluted rainwater run into the river because of inadequate sanitation and drainage systems serving the nearby informal settlement of Langrug. About 26,000 people there live in densely populated housing, where aging and overstretched infrastructure struggles to cope. I’m a water researcher at the University of Cape Town’s Future Water Institute and research director at an off-campus research facility called the Water Hub, in Franschhoek. I’m part of a group of water researchers who are working more closely with nature—and learning from it—as a means of treating and reusing water. The research at the Water Hub takes place at a disused wastewater treatment plant. We are developing this research site into a living laboratory to demonstrate ways of turning highly contaminated water into a safe resource without the addition of chemicals. In a recent research paper, we reported what we discovered in a project where we set up natural water-filtering systems to clean water from the Stiebeuel River. We turned old drying beds, once used to dry sludge from the former wastewater treatment plant at the site, into places to filter the water. . https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/aug/12/african-armyworm-crop-pest-discovery-fungus-science-hope-farmers. Halting the march of the African armyworm: a natural cure offers hope to farmers. Hearing about fields full of dead caterpillars enveloped in a mysterious white substance intrigued the South African scientist Letodi Luki Mathulwe. Something was killing off the African armyworm – one of the most devastating pests for farmers in east and southern Africa. The white substance was a naturally occurring fungus and it was wiping out the caterpillar, which gained its name from its march-like advance through fields of crops. An outbreak of African armyworm (Spodoptera exempta) in 2025 had started in northern South Africa and by April had reached the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, where Mathulwe was working for the agriculture department. Every day she was getting panicked calls from local farmers who were finding the caterpillars in their fields. Mathulwe went out to the KwaZulu-Natal countryside to see for herself and it was there, in the fields of Kikuyu grass – crucial grazing for livestock – that she realised she had made an important discovery. . Running a bit late tonight, I’ll be adding some more. 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