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.
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BBC:Barack Obama pledges greater surveillance transparency
Barack Obama pledges greater surveillance transparency
President Barack Obama has promised "appropriate reforms" to guarantee greater oversight of controversial US surveillance programmes.
At a White House news conference, he proposed "safeguards against abuse", including amending legislation on the collection of telephone data.
Mr Obama also urged appointing a lawyer to challenge the government at the nation's secretive surveillance court.
He has been defending the programmes since they were leaked in June
Reuters Take on the story
BBC:US embassies to reopen after terror alert except Yemen
US embassies to reopen after terror alert except Yemen
The US says 18 of the 19 diplomatic missions recently closed due to security threats will reopen on Sunday.
The State Department says its embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa will stay closed "because of ongoing concerns".
The US closed 19 diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa last Sunday in response to what it said was a threat of a terrorist attack.
The consulate in the Pakistani city of Lahore, which closed after a separate threat, will also not reopen yet.
BBC:Mexico court frees drugs kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero
Mexico court frees drugs kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero
A court in Mexico has released drugs baron Rafael Caro Quintero, after he served 28 years in prison for the kidnap and murder of a US agent.
The court cut short Caro Quintero's 40-year sentence for the 1985 killing of US Drug Enforcement agent Enrique Camarena.
It ruled that Caro Quintero, now 60, should have been tried in a state rather than a federal court.
The murder strained US-Mexico ties and changed the war on drugs trafficking.
BBC:Zimbabwe's MDC challenges Robert Mugabe election victory
Zimbabwe's MDC challenges Robert Mugabe election victory
Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has filed a legal challenge to Robert Mugabe's victory in last week's presidential elections.
The electoral petition seeks an order for the result to be declared null and void and a new election to be called within 60 days.
The MDC's 15 grounds include alleged bribery, abuse of "assisted voting" and manipulation of the electoral roll.
Mr Mugabe, 89, won with 61% of the presidential vote.
BBC:Bangladeshi man imprisoned for plotting Fed bomb attack
Bangladeshi man imprisoned for plotting Fed bomb attack
A Bangladeshi man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for plotting to bomb the US Federal Reserve in New York.
Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, 22, apologised to a judge, to his parents and to the city of New York before the sentence was handed down.
Officials said he took dummy explosives to the central bank branch and tried to set them off using a mobile phone.
In February, he pleaded guilty to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and to supporting al-Qaeda.
BBC:John Kerry: US and Russia must talk despite 'collisions'
John Kerry: US and Russia must talk despite 'collisions'
The US and Russia must find progress on critical issues despite "collisions and moments of disagreement", US Secretary of State John Kerry has said.
At a meeting in Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the two nations had laid a "solid foundation" for future co-operation.
The conference comes days after US President Barack Obama cancelled a summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
He cited Russia's decision to grant asylum to the fugitive Edward Snowden.
Reuters:Obama, tech executives met to discuss surveillance
Obama, tech executives met to discuss surveillance
(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama met with the CEOs of Apple Inc, AT&T Inc as well as other top technology and privacy representatives on Thursday to discuss government surveillance in the wake of revelations about the programs, the White House confirmed on Friday.
Google Inc computer scientist Vint Cerf and transparency advocates also participated in the meeting, along with Apple's Tim Cook and AT&T's Randall Stephenson, according to the White House.
"The meeting was part of the ongoing dialogue the president has called for on how to respect privacy while protecting national security in a digital era," a White House official said in confirming a report by Politico, which broke the news of the meeting.
The closed-door session was not included on Obama's daily public schedule for Thursday. It followed another private session on Tuesday of Obama administration officials, industry lobbyists and privacy advocates.
Reuters:SAC, prosecutors strike formal deal to keep firm going
SAC, prosecutors strike formal deal to keep firm going
(Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday approved an agreement between Steven A. Cohen's hedge fund, SAC Capital Advisors, and federal prosecutors to allow the hedge fund to continue to operate while the criminal case against it proceeds.
Manhattan federal Judge Richard Sullivan issued a protective order that requires SAC to hold on to the vast majority of the assets it manages for Cohen.
Though the firm is operating normally, several employees were leaving on Friday as investor redemptions reduced the size of the workforce SAC will need.
The agreement has been widely expected since Manhattan federal prosecutors filed criminal charges and a civil asset forfeiture claim against the $14 billion fund last month, but it required approval of the judge presiding over the asset forfeiture case.
Reuters:U.S. considering arrests in JPMorgan 'whale' case: sources
U.S. considering arrests in JPMorgan 'whale' case: sources
(Reuters) - U.S. authorities investigating the $6.2 billion "London Whale" trading losses at JPMorgan Chase & Co are considering making arrests, the latest twist in a case that created a scandal for the largest U.S. bank, according to two people familiar with the situation.
The main target of the investigation is Javier Martin-Artajo, according to the sources, who did not want to be identified because the investigation is ongoing. Artajo worked in London as the direct supervisor of Bruno Iksil, the trader who became known as "the London Whale" after making outsized bets in a thinly traded derivatives market.
The U.S. is also looking at Julien Grout, Iksil's junior trader, according to one of the sources. Grout, who stayed on at JPMorgan after Iksil, Martin-Artajo, and another employee were fired from the bank, is the most junior person under investigation by authorities.
The timing of the possible arrests was not clear.
Reuters:After nine years, Tesco gives up on cracking China alone
After nine years, Tesco gives up on cracking China alone
(Reuters) - After nine years in China, British supermarket firm Tesco is to fold its unprofitable operation into a state-run company as a minority partner, becoming the latest foreign retailer to give up on trying to crack China on its own.
Lured by the prospect of a rapidly growing middle class in the world's second-biggest economy, many foreign firms have waded into China's retail market only to find they lack local expertise, particularly in building supplier relationships.
The world's No.3 retailer said on Friday it was in talks to team up with China Resources Enterprise Ltd (CRE), a move that follows decisions to abandon the United States and Japan and focus on investing in its British home market.
The move would cede control, with Tesco having just a 20 percent stake, but bring their combined market share close to market leader Sun Art Retail Group Ltd.
Reuters:U.N. agency says it's monitoring Fukushima and ready to help
U.N. agency says it's monitoring Fukushima and ready to help
(Reuters) - The U.N. atomic energy agency is following closely the leak of radioactive water from Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea and is ready to help out if asked, it said on Friday.
Fukushima plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) has struggled to contain highly radioactive water that is pouring from the plant wrecked by a 2011 tsunami, prompting the government to step in to try to help with the clean-up.
"Japanese authorities have explained their planned countermeasures against current leakage and further leakages," Serge Gas, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) director of public information, said in a statement.
He noted the IAEA had already provided recommendations to Japanese authorities on how to manage liquid waste, and that a report from a mission in April had encouraged Tepco to review its strategy for handling water that had accumulated at the site.
Reuters:American Tower to acquire towers in Brazil, Mexico for $811 million
American Tower to acquire towers in Brazil, Mexico for $811 million
(Reuters) - American Tower Corp (AMT.N), under attack from short-seller Muddy Waters over earlier acquisitions in Brazil, said it will acquire about 4,500 telecom towers in Brazil and Mexico from Latin American telecom service provider NII Holdings Inc (NIHD.O) for $811 million.
American Tower said it expects the towers to collectively generate about $149 million in annual revenue and add to its adjusted funds from operations upon closing.
A majority of the 2,790 towers in Brazil and 1,666 towers in Mexico are located in and around major population areas and along major highways.
The towers have a tenancy ratio -- the fraction of total number of operators sharing the towers -- of just over one tenant per tower, with Nextel Brazil or Nextel Mexico as the primary tenant.
LA Times:Apple Judge Proposes Remedies in E-Books Pricing Case
Apple Judge Proposes Remedies in E-Books Pricing Case
The federal judge who ruled that Apple Inc. (AAPL) conspired to fix prices of digital books proposed remedies she said would prevent the iPad maker from further harming competition in the e-books market.
U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan today considered the federal government’s proposed injunction against Apple, the world’s largest technology company. She told the parties to discuss her proposals for an order and said she would hold another hearing in a couple of weeks.
“I want to fashion as narrow a remedy as possible to restore competition to retailers of e-books,” Cote said today in court. “We do need an injunction here. There was blatant price-fixing.”
Cote, ruling after a nonjury trial, found in July that Apple violated U.S. antitrust law by conspiring with publishers on prices. A second trial will be held to determine damages that, according to Apple lawyer Orin Snyder, could be “hundreds of millions of dollars.”