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, Doctor RJ 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 editor is annetteboardman.
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BBC:South Sudan mediators attack 'unacceptable' talks failure
South Sudan mediators attack 'unacceptable' talks failure
Mediators in peace talks between South Sudan's government and rebels have said both sides' failure to reach a deal is morally and politically "unacceptable".
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, the chair of a regional body overseeing the talks, said South Sudan's leaders had failed its people.
Their inaction, he said, would prolong suffering and a senseless war.
The 14-month conflict in South Sudan has displaced more than a million people and killed tens of thousands.
BBC:CIA director Brennan orders major overhaul
CIA director Brennan orders major overhaul
CIA director John Brennan has ordered one of the largest reorganisations of the spy agency in its history.
In a memo to staff, the director said that the changes were driven by a wider range of threats and the impact of technological advancements.
The reforms aim to impose greater accountability on managers and to improve cyber capabilities.
The biggest change is the breakdown of the division between operators and analysts.
BBC:US data breach: Prosecutors charge alleged hackers
US data breach: Prosecutors charge alleged hackers
US prosecutors have charged two Vietnamese and a Canadian for their roles in what they claim is one of the biggest data breaches in US history.
It's alleged that they stole nearly a billion email addresses by hacking into eight email service providers.
They used the data to spam tens of millions of people and sell them fake products, netting over $2m (£1.3m).
US authorities say that most of America's email distribution companies were infiltrated between 2009 and 2012.
BBC:Canada gunman blamed foreign policy, video reveals
Canada gunman blamed foreign policy, video reveals
The gunman who shot dead a Canadian soldier and tried to storm parliament last year was protesting against Canada's military role overseas.
In a video newly released by police and made by Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shortly before the attacks, he cites Iraq and Afghanistan.
He said he wanted to show that Canadian soldiers were "not even safe in your own land".
Zehaf-Bibeau was shot dead as he tried to storm parliament.
BBC:Venezuela to get South American help for food crisis
Venezuela to get South American help for food crisis
Foreign ministers from 12 South American nations gathering in Caracas have promised to help Venezuela overcome an ongoing shortage of food, medicine and other products.
The regional Unasur bloc agreed with President Nicolas Maduro to provide items that have gone missing from many Venezuelan supermarkets.
The shortage of staples has contributed to popular discontent.
Unasur highlighted the importance of safeguarding democratic stability
BBC:Bangladesh seizes gold from North Korean diplomat
Bangladesh seizes gold from North Korean diplomat
Customs officials in Bangladesh have seized gold worth around $1.7m (£1.1m) from the hand luggage of a North Korean diplomat.
Son Young-nam, first secretary at the North Korean embassy in Dhaka, landed in the city on a flight from Singapore on Thursday night.
His baggage was searched and almost 27kg (59lb) of gold bars and ornaments were recovered.
Authorities in Bangladesh say they plan to pursue charges against him.
Reuters:Japan, China to hold first security talks in four years
Japan, China to hold first security talks in four years
(Reuters) - Japanese and Chinese officials will hold their first security talks in four years in Tokyo later this month, Japan's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, the latest sign of a possible improvement in ties strained by a territorial dispute.
Relations between the world's second- and third-largest economies have been damaged by conflicting claims to a group of tiny East China Sea islands and the legacy of Japan's wartime occupation of its larger Asian neighbor.
Patrol ships and fighter jets from both countries have shadowed each other regularly near the uninhabited islands that are controlled by Japan, prompting fears that an accidental collision could escalate into conflict.
The security meeting, to be held on March 19, will involve top officials from the two countries' foreign and defense ministries, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The last such meeting was in January 2011 in Beijing.
Reuters:Mali delays local elections over insecurity in the north
Mali delays local elections over insecurity in the north
(Reuters) - Mali has postponed local and regional elections scheduled for next month because insecurity in the country's north has held up the revision of voter rolls, a government official said.
Nearly two years after a French-led operation pushed al Qaeda-linked rebels from towns in the north, remnants of Islamist militant and separatist groups continue to launch sporadic attacks in the area.
The deployment of a 10,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission helped allow presidential elections to go ahead in 2013. The postponement of the local elections is the second time they have been pushed back.
"The postponement of communal and regional elections is confirmed. There's no precision of the date, but it will be October 25 at the latest," Alhousseny Toure, a spokesman for the ministry of territorial administration, said late on Thursday.
Reuters:Russia defends Ukraine pilot's detention; U.N., U.S. demand release
Russia defends Ukraine pilot's detention; U.N., U.S. demand release
(Reuters) - The United Nations, the United States and Britain demanded during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday that Russia release Ukrainian military pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, but Russia defended her detention as legal.
Pro-Russia forces captured Savchenko eight months ago and handed her over to Russia, where she is being held on charges of aiding the killing of two Russian journalists in east Ukraine.
The 33-year-old, who has been on a hunger strike since December, has become a national hero in Ukraine and a symbol of resistance to Russian aggression. She denies the Russian accusation, but could be jailed for 20 years if found guilty.
"It is highly important to ensure that Ms. Savchenko is released from custody immediately. She should either be released under the "all for all" formula, or on humanitarian grounds, because of her health conditions," U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic told the council.
Reuters:GSK sacks 110 China staff in wake of drug bribery case: sources
GSK sacks 110 China staff in wake of drug bribery case: sources
(Reuters) - Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), which was fined 3 billion yuan ($479 million) in China last year for bribery, is dismissing 110 employees in the country for misconduct, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
The British company confirmed it had taken disciplinary action against staff whose conduct contravened its values and code of conduct but declined to specify the number involved. The misconduct took place before mid-2013, GSK added in a statement.
The dismissals follow detailed investigations into wrongdoing by employees in the wake of the corruption scandal, which badly damaged the drugmaker's reputation and hit its business in a fast-growing emerging market.
"As we have previously said, we have increased our monitoring of expense claims and increased our compliance efforts. We also engaged an independent legal firm and external consultancies to review our operations in China," GSK said.
Reuters:Greece sends EU reform list, more hurdles before early cash
Greece sends EU reform list, more hurdles before early cash
(Reuters) - Greece sent its euro zone partners an augmented list of proposed reforms on Friday but EU officials said several more steps were required before any release of aid funds to a country that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says has a noose around its neck.
Struggling to scrape together cash and avoid possible default, Athens made a 310 million euro partial loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund, while Tsipras pleaded to be allowed to issue more short-term debt to plug a funding gap.
Greece is running out of options to fund itself despite striking a deal with the euro zone in February to extend its EU/IMF bailout by four months.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has refused to raise a limit on Athens' issuance of three-month treasury bills which Greek banks buy with emergency central bank funds. He said on Thursday the EU treaty prohibited indirect monetary financing of governments.
Reuters:U.S. missionary kidnapped in Nigeria freed, church says
U.S. missionary kidnapped in Nigeria freed, church says
(Reuters) - An American missionary who was kidnapped in central Nigeria in February was safely released to authorities and church leaders on Friday, her Free Methodist Church said in a statement.
Reverend Phyllis Sortor, 71, a Free Methodist missionary to Nigeria, was safely handed over into the care of authorities and church leaders in Nigeria, the church said.
"We are deeply grateful to all who prayed for Phyllis' safe return and praise God the family representative was able to secure her release," David W. Kendall, for the Board of Bishops, said.
Sortor was abducted from the Hope Academy compound in Emiworo, in Nigeria's Kogi State, on Feb. 23, the church said.
USA Today:'Heroic' Ford's crash injuries detailed
'Heroic' Ford's crash injuries detailed
The 72-year-old actor and aviator remained in a hospital recovering from injuries he sustained Thursday when a small plane he was piloting lost engine power and he crash-landed on the green at a municipal golf course just yards away from a densely populated residential area in Venice, Calif.
Ford is being hailed as a heroically skilled pilot for getting the plane to what little open space was available when he could not return to the Santa Monica Municipal Airport nearby.
"I would say that this is an absolutely beautifully executed — what we would call a forced or emergency landing, by an unbelievably well-trained pilot," said Christian Fry of the Santa Monica Airport Association, according to the Associated Press.