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:Afghans set to vote in historic presidential election
Afghans set to vote in historic presidential election
Millions of Afghans are set to vote for a new president in what will be the nation's first ever transfer of power through the ballot box.
A massive security operation is under way to thwart the Taliban which has vowed to disrupt the election.
Eight candidates are vying to succeed Hamid Karzai, who is barred by the constitution from seeking a third consecutive term as president.
The poll has already been overshadowed by the shooting of two journalists.
BBC:US accuses Chinese man of breaching Iran nuclear sanctions
US accuses Chinese man of breaching Iran nuclear sanctions
A Chinese national faces US criminal charges that he conspired to export devices to Iran that could be used in uranium enrichment.
US prosecutors said Sihai Cheng supplied thousands of parts to a company involved in Iran's nuclear programme in violation of US sanctions.
Mr Cheng is in custody in the UK after being arrested at Heathrow Airport in February on a US provisional warrant.
He faces a hearing in June over whether he will be extradited to the US.
BBC:US economy adds 192,000 jobs in March
US economy adds 192,000 jobs in March
The US added 192,000 new jobs in March, in line with expectations, as the unemployment rate held steady at 6.7%.
Severe weather over the winter did not prevent the monthly average for new jobs from continuing a climb towards pre-economic crisis levels.
Employment grew in health care, and professional and business services, and in mining and logging.
The US Federal Reserve has been watching employment rates as an indicator of economic health.
BBC:Xbox password flaw exposed by five-year-old boy
Xbox password flaw exposed by five-year-old boy
A five-year-old boy who worked out a security vulnerability on Microsoft's Xbox Live service has been officially thanked by the company.
Kristoffer Von Hassel, from San Diego, figured out how to log in to his dad's account without the right password.
Microsoft has fixed the flaw, and added Kristoffer to its list of recognised security researchers.
In an interview with local news station KGTV, Kristoffer said: "I was like yea!"
BBC:Malaysia plane MH370: Pinger locator deployed in search
Malaysia plane MH370: Pinger locator deployed in search
The hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 moved into a new phase on Friday with the deployment of a towed pinger locator to find the black box.
Two ships with locator capabilities are searching a 240km (150 mile) path in a bid to retrieve the data recorder.
But Australia's search chief said it was a race against time as the battery-powered signal fades after 30 days.
The plane disappeared on 8 March en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It was carrying 239 people.
BBC:US authorises South Sudan conflict sanctions
US authorises South Sudan conflict sanctions
US President Barack Obama has signed an executive order authorising sanctions against anyone aggravating the conflict in South Sudan.
The order sets out a list of offences for which sanctions may be imposed, including attacking UN peacekeepers and commissioning human rights abuses.
In December, fighting broke out between troops loyal to President Salvar Kiir and his sacked deputy, Riek Machar.
The South Sudanese government says it is considering its response.
Reuters:Momentum stocks sink; Nasdaq posts worst day since February
Momentum stocks sink; Nasdaq posts worst day since February
(Reuters) - Momentum shares like Netflix and TripAdvisor sold off sharply for a second straight day on Friday, giving the Nasdaq its worst day since February and leaving investors anxious about how much further they may fall.
The big drop in momentum stocks overshadowed the day's relatively strong March jobs data, which helped the Dow and S&P 500 hit intraday record highs early in the session.
Nasdaq's 2.6 percent loss follows a nearly 1 percent slide on Thursday and puts the index more than 5 percent below its closing high for the year, which was set on March 5.
The day's action in momentum names - typically high-growth companies mostly in the tech and biotech sectors that led 2013's rally - extends their recent selloff, which investors mostly have been at a loss to explain.
Reuters:Mitsubishi Motors recalls Outlander plug-in hybrids for the third time
Mitsubishi Motors recalls Outlander plug-in hybrids for the third time
(Reuters) - Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) said it is recalling over 6,000 Outlander SUV plug-in hybrids in Japan because of three software programming glitches, in the model's third recall since going on sale in January last year.
The 6,517 cars were built between January and November at the company's Okazaki plant in central Japan, Mitsubishi said in a statement on Friday.
The vehicles may fail to start because of a software bug in the cell monitoring unit which could leave parked cars consuming lithium-ion battery power, Mitsubishi said.
Of the recalled vehicles, 4,621 may also stall because of a flaw in software that calculates how much power is left in the lithium-ion battery, the Japanese carmaker said.
Reuters:U.S. to skip China fleet review after Japan shunned
U.S. to skip China fleet review after Japan shunned
(Reuters) - The United States is scrapping plans for a Navy ship to join a fleet review in China after key ally, Japan, was not invited, U.S. officials said on Thursday, in a move that came just ahead of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's trip to Japan and China.
The United States had been invited to participate in the fleet review - essentially a parade of ships - as part of activities linked to the Western Pacific Naval Symposium, which is being held this month in Qingdao, an eastern port city.
The United States will still participate in the naval symposium and will observe the review, one official said.
"We're not going to put a ship in the actual parade. We'll observe the parade," the U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding the decision was taken last week and came after a request by ally Japan.
Reuters:U.S. judge refrains from making GM 'park' recalled cars
U.S. judge refrains from making GM 'park' recalled cars
(Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge refrained on Friday from issuing an emergency order that would have parked millions of General Motors Co cars recalled for defective ignition switches linked to at least 13 deaths.
District Court Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos at a hearing in Corpus Christi, Texas, said she would need more time to study briefs submitted by attorneys for two owners of a recalled GM car and receive documents from the carmaker's lawyers.
A ruling on the requested "stop drive order" is expected in the coming days.
Since February, GM has recalled 2.6 million cars equipped with the switch. So far this year, GM has recalled a total of nearly 7 million vehicles, or about the same number recalled in the previous four years combined.
Reuters:Boeing, GE say get U.S. license to sell spare parts to Iran
Boeing, GE say get U.S. license to sell spare parts to Iran
(Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N), the world's biggest airplane maker, and engine maker General Electric Co (GE.N) said on Friday they had received licenses from the U.S. Treasury Department to export certain spare parts for commercial aircraft to Iran under a temporary sanctions relief deal that began in January.
GE spokesman Rick Kennedy said the Treasury had approved the company's application to service 18 engines sold to Iran in the late 1970s. They will be serviced at facilities owned by GE or Germany's MTU Aero Engines (MTXGn.DE), which is licensed to do the work.
He said GE officials would meet with officials from Iran flag carrier Iranair and MTU in Istanbul next week to discuss Iran's needs.
A Boeing spokesman said his company received the license this week and would now contact officials in Iran to determine which parts were needed.
Reuters:McDonald's quits Crimea as fears of trade clash grow
McDonald's quits Crimea as fears of trade clash grow
(Reuters) - McDonald's Corp said on Friday it had closed its restaurants in Crimea, prompting fears of a backlash as a prominent Moscow politician called for all of the U.S. fast food chain's outlets in Russia to be shut.
Crimea's annexation by Russia, which Ukraine and the West do not acknowledge, has worried companies with assets in the Black Sea peninsula as it is unclear how the change may affect their business.
McDonald's said the decision was strictly based on business and had "nothing to do with politics." Nevertheless, its move to temporarily close restaurants in Simferopol, Sevastopol and Yalta is likely to be seen as emblematic of the rift in Western-Russian relations, now at their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.
"Like many other multi-national companies, McDonald's is currently evaluating potential business and regulatory implications which may result from the evolving situation in Crimea," McDonald's said in a statement.
P Eng:What if some machines still use Microsoft Windows XP after support ends April 8?
What if some machines still use Microsoft Windows XP after support ends April 8?
Ask Control Engineering: Some machines I have still need to use Microsoft Windows XP after support ends on April 8, 2014. What can I do?
A: After April 8, Microsoft support for Windows XP ends. If you're still using it on April 9, there are precautions, according to Dennis Brandl, president of BR&L Consulting, in Cary, N.C. He writes "Engineering and IT Insight" for Control Engineering.
Unless Microsoft outsources Windows XP support to an independent third party to provide Lifetime Support XP (lsXP), then "unfortunately, there is no easy answer to the upcoming loss of support for Windows XP," Brandl said.
Without that, "There are only three things to remember to keep your XP systems running: protect, protect, and protect. With zero day attacks continually being discovered, many that affect operating systems and services, there will be an ongoing need to protect your XP systems from infection. This means stronger firewall rules, stronger password rules, severely limited outside access, white listing tools, root kit inspections, tightly constrained external device (USB, CD) connections, and additional security training for system users.
"These systems will become more expensive to maintain and replace. This is the hidden future cost of using commercial software on systems that have lifetimes of 15-30 years. If this is not a wakeup call for vendors to take a long, hard look at the systems they use for their systems, then it is a wakeup call for end users to demand software that lasts as long as the hardware," Brandl said.