OND Editors OND is a 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 12:00AM Eastern Time.
OND Editors Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, rfall, and JML9999. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal, Oke and jlms qkw. The guest editors are Doctor RJ and annetteboardman.
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BBC:Indian election: Narendra Modi hails 'landmark' win
Indian election: Narendra Modi hails 'landmark' win
Incoming Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hailed a "landmark" election victory by his BJP party.
Thanking supporters in his own constituency in his home state of Gujarat, Mr Modi said they had written a new chapter in the country's history.
Results show the BJP won the biggest victory by any party for 30 years, gaining a majority in parliament and trouncing the outgoing Congress Party.
The controversial leader campaigned on promises to revive the economy.
BBC:Turkey mine disaster: Tear gas fired at Soma protesters
Turkey mine disaster: Tear gas fired at Soma protesters
Turkish police have fired tear gas and water cannon at thousands of protesters in the eastern town of Soma, where some 300 miners died on Tuesday.
The demonstrators in the town shouted anti-government slogans.
The protest occurred after the mine operators held a news conference to deny any negligence over the disaster.
There have been angry anti-government rallies across Turkey for the last three days over what has become the country's worst-ever mine disaster.
BBC:Colombia and Farc rebels agree on drug trade plan
Colombia and Farc rebels agree on drug trade plan
Colombia's government and the Farc, the country's largest rebel group, have agreed on a plan to deal with the illegal drug trade.
Both parties agreed to eliminate all illicit drug production in Colombia should a final deal be reached.
The Farc, which controls large patches of rural Colombia, is believed to be partly funded by money generated by the illegal drug trade.
This was the third on a six-point peace agenda being negotiated in Cuba.
BBC:Kenya's Nairobi hit by twin bomb blasts in Gikomba market
Kenya's Nairobi hit by twin bomb blasts in Gikomba market
At least 10 people have been killed and scores more injured in a twin bombing in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Police said two improvised explosive devices had been detonated in the sprawling Gikomba market.
Meanwhile hundreds of UK tourists were evacuated from the coastal resort area of Mombasa amid warnings of an attack.
In recent years, Kenya has been hit by a spate of attacks, mostly been blamed on the al-Shabab militant Islamist group from neighbouring Somalia.
BBC:Libya clashes between rival militias in Benghazi
Libya clashes between rival militias in Benghazi
Fierce clashes in Libya killed 24 people on Friday after a paramilitary force led by a former general attacked Islamist militias in Benghazi.
Local media reported that government troops had also joined the attack against the Islamists.
But acting Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni condemned the operation as "a coup against the revolution".
Libya's leaders have struggled to bring stability to the country since Muammar Gaddafi was removed from power in 2011.
BBC:Argentina finds liquid cocaine inside transformers' oil
Argentina finds liquid cocaine inside transformers' oil
Argentina says it has foiled a plan to produce and ship liquid cocaine to the United States and Europe.
At least eight people are suspected of having sent two tonnes of the drug, mixed with insulating oil inside large transformers, to Mexico.
A Mexican chemist and several Argentine police officers are among the arrested, Argentine Security Minister Sergio Berni told reporters.
It was the second seizure of liquid cocaine in Argentina this year.
Reuters:Apple, Google settle smartphone patent litigation
Apple, Google settle smartphone patent litigation
(Reuters) - Apple Inc and Google Inc's Motorola Mobility unit have agreed to settle all patent litigation between them over smartphone technology, ending one of the highest profile lawsuits in technology.
In a joint statement on Friday, the companies said the settlement does not include a cross license to their respective patents.
"Apple and Google have also agreed to work together in some areas of patent reform," the statement said.
Apple and companies that make phones using Google's Android software have filed dozens of such lawsuits against each other around the world to protect their technology. Apple argued that Android phones that use Google software copy its iPhones.
Reuters:New York's pension 'smoothing' may short-change retirement fund
New York's pension 'smoothing' may short-change retirement fund
(Reuters) - New Yorkers who rely on the state pension fund for their retirement may be short-changed about $735 million over the next 10 years as a result of Governor Andrew Cuomo's policy of permitting local authorities to defer fund payments so they can fill budget gaps and pay for services such as schools, street lights and police.
Cuomo has been trying to rid New York of its reputation as a high-tax state and has put limits on tax increases by local governments, reducing their ability to meet their often rising obligations. The smoothing policy is intended to make it easier for them to raise money without raising taxes.
At stake is whether the $176 billion state pension fund will be able to fully meet its obligations, or instead be used as a piggy bank for municipalities who haven't budgeted or raised money well enough to meet their present obligations. Though New York's pension system is 87 percent funded, one of the best in the country, the smoothing program may undermine its future health, critics said.
"New York has traditionally been a good state as far as funding policy goes but they have in recent years shown that they are willing to take steps backwards," said Josh McGee, a pension expert at the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, a policy group that's expressed concern about the fiscal dangers presented by pension plans for public employees. "Giving deferrals in the short run just means you have to come up with more money in the long run."
Reuters:Bitcoin Foundation hit by resignations over new director
Bitcoin Foundation hit by resignations over new director
(Reuters) - As the most prominent trade group pushing adoption of the electronic currency Bitcoin begins its annual conference on Friday, it is being roiled by controversy.
At least 10 members of the nonprofit Bitcoin Foundation have resigned over last week's election of onetime Disney child star and current Bitcoin entrepreneur and financier Brock Pierce as a new director, officials at the group said.
Some of the members cited Pierce's troubled past. That includes allegations in lawsuits from three employees of Pierce's first company, bankrupt web video business Digital Entertainment Network, that he provided drugs and pressured them for sex when they were minors.
Pierce has denied the accusations, which first surfaced in 2000.
Reuters:U.S. warns 'time is short' as Iran nuclear talks make little progress
U.S. warns 'time is short' as Iran nuclear talks make little progress
(Reuters) - Iran and six world powers made little progress this week in talks on ending their dispute over Tehran's nuclear program, U.S. and Iranian officials said on Friday, raising doubts over the prospects for a breakthrough by a July 20 deadline.
After three months of mostly comparing expectations rather than negotiating compromises, the sides had intended to start drafting a final agreement that could end more than a decade of enmity and mistrust and dispel fears of a wider Middle East war.
"We believe there needs to be some additional realism," a senior U.S. official said on condition of anonymity, declining to provide details on what issues had caused the most difficulty. "Time is not unlimited here."
"In any negotiation there are good days and bad days, there are ups and downs, this has been a moment of great difficulty but one that was not entirely unexpected," the official added. "We are just at the beginning of the drafting process and we have a significant way to go."
Reuters:Obama's Asia pivot tested by China's bold maritime claims
Obama's Asia pivot tested by China's bold maritime claims
(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama sought to reassure allies in Asia last month that the United States would support them in the face of a more assertive China.
But after one of Beijing's boldest moves in years to lay claim to contested waters off Vietnam, some Asia countries are asking a simple question: Where is Washington?
Days after Obama left the region, China deployed an oil drilling rig 150 miles off the coast of Vietnam, into a part of the South China Sea claimed by itself and Hanoi. That sparked deadly anti-China riots in central Vietnam and raised questions over whether Obama's long-promised strategic "pivot" of military assets to Asia is more than talk.
"We have been pushing the U.S. to change its policy and take sides in the regional dispute," said a senior Philippine defense official. "I wanted to see the U.S. match with stronger action what President Obama has said during his recent visit in the Philippines."
Reuters:Scientists warn of dengue fever risk during Brazil's World Cup
Scientists warn of dengue fever risk during Brazil's World Cup
(Reuters) - The risk of an outbreak of dengue fever during the upcoming soccer World Cup in Brazil is serious enough to warrant a high alert in three of the 12 host cities, according to an early warning system for the disease.
Scientists who developed the system said the overall threat of the disease during the month-long competition was low, but they warned that the northeastern venues of Natal, Fortaleza and Recifethere faced a serious risk.
Dengue, sometimes called breakbone fever because of the severe pain it can cause, is a viral infection transmitted by a type of mosquito called Aedes aegypti. It can range from a mild, flu-like illness to a potentially deadly one, which develops in around 5 percent of patients. There are no vaccines or effective treatments.
Brazil has more cases of dengue fever than anywhere else in the world. More than 7 million infections were recorded between 2000 and 2013.
Wa Po:GM recall investigation reveals banned words
GM recall investigation reveals banned words
DETROIT — What do the words “safety,” ‘’chaotic” and “problem” have in common?
They’re all on General Motors’ list of banned words for employees who were documenting potential safety issues.
The revelation of the 68-word list is one of the odder twists in GM’s ongoing recall of 2.6 million older-model small cars for defective ignition switches.
On Friday, the U.S. government slapped GM with a $35 million fine for failing to report the deadly defect for more than a decade. The government also released a 2008 GM training document that includes the list and warns employees to stick to the facts and not use language that could hurt the company down the road.
The word “defect,” for example, “can be regarded as a legal admission” and should be avoided, the company document says.