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:Saddam aide Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri 'killed' in Iraq
Saddam aide Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri 'killed' in Iraq
Fugitive Iraqi militant leader Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, who was right-hand man to Iraq's ex-leader Saddam Hussein, has been killed, Iraqi officials say.
They say he died in fighting in Salahuddin province, north of Baghdad. His supporters have denied the claim.
Douri, 72, led the Naqshbandi Order insurgent group, a key force behind the recent rise of Islamic State (IS).
He was deputy to Saddam Hussein, who was ousted when US-led forces invaded Iraq in 2003 and executed in 2006.
BBC:South Africa shops looted despite Zuma call for peace
South Africa shops looted despite Zuma call for peace
Foreign-owned shops in South Africa have been attacked and looted in east Johannesburg, the latest in a series of xenophobic attacks.
A standoff developed in the city, with police forming a barrier between an angry crowd and foreign-owned shops.
The violence comes despite Thursday's rally against xenophobia in the coastal city of Durban, and condemnation from President Jacob Zuma.
At least five people have died in anti-foreigner attacks in recent weeks.
BBC:Argentina launches lawsuit against Falkland oil drillers
Argentina launches lawsuit against Falkland oil drillers
Argentina has begun legal proceedings against three British and two US companies for drilling oil near the Falkland Islands.
Daniel Filmus, Argentina's minister for the islands - called the Malvinas locally - announced the case in London.
The companies involved are Falkland Oil and Gas, Premier Oil, Rockhopper, Edison International and Noble Energy.
Mr Filmus told the BBC the companies were "performing illegal acts by entering Argentine territory".
BBC:Russian opposition parties form anti-Putin alliance
Russian opposition parties form anti-Putin alliance
The political party founded by murdered Russian dissident Boris Nemtsov is to join forces with another opposition party ahead of Russia's 2016 elections.
RPR-Parnas will share a joint platform with the Party of Progress, founded by opposition activist Alexei Navalny.
Russia's political opposition has in recent years been riven by infighting, weakening its ability to challenge President Vladimir Putin.
A former deputy prime minister, Nemtsov was gunned down in Moscow in February.
In a joint statement on Friday, the two parties called on opposition figures to "consolidate on a common platform of a rejection of lies, corruption and aggression".
BBC:Australia 'repatriates Vietnamese asylum seekers'
Australia 'repatriates Vietnamese asylum seekers'
Australia is repatriating up to 50 Vietnamese asylum seekers who had arrived by boat, local media report.
The HMAS Choules is said to be hours away from Vietnam's capital Ho Chi Minh City and is headed to the port of Vung Tau, said Fairfax Media.
The West Australian said the group were first intercepted at sea north of Australia, and some members face persecution in Vietnam.
Australia's tough asylum policies have been criticised by rights groups.
BBC:China jails journalist over leaked 'state secrets'
China jails journalist over leaked 'state secrets'
China has jailed a top journalist for seven years for leaking a confidential paper to a foreign website.
Gao Yu, 71, had "illegally provided state secrets to foreigners", the court in Beijing said.
China has not confirmed which document the case relates to, but it is thought to be a Communist Party strategy paper known as "Document No 9".
The paper is said to call for aggressive restrictions on democracy, civil society and the press.
Reuters:Wall Street falls steeply with China, Greece fears paramount
Wall Street falls steeply with China, Greece fears paramount
(Reuters) - The S&P 500 posted its biggest percentage loss since March 25 on Friday as investors shunned risk amid new trading regulations in China, renewed worries about Greece running out of money, and tepid U.S. corporate earnings.
Selling followed sharp overseas stocks declines and was broad, with all 10 major S&P 500 sectors losing ground.
Among the biggest drags, the S&P financials index was down 1.3 percent, with shares of Dow component American Express falling 4.4 percent to $77.32 after revenue missed analysts' estimates, partly due to the currency impact.
The Dow and S&P 500 both snapped two weeks of gains. For the week, the Dow was down 1.3 percent, the S&P 500 down 1 percent and the Nasdaq down 1.3 percent.
Reuters:Japan and U.S. ministers to meet for trade talks before summit
Japan and U.S. ministers to meet for trade talks before summit
(Reuters) - Japan and the United States will hold cabinet-level trade talks from this weekend, but are unlikely to seal a final deal, seen as crucial for a broader trans-Pacific free trade pact, by a summit this month, Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari said on Friday.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will discuss farm and car trade when he meets Amari in Tokyo on Sunday and Monday, Amari told reporters.
A U.S.-Japan deal is considered vital to the success of a long-delayed Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, as these two economies, the world's biggest and third-biggest, account for about 80 percent of the economic output of the 12-member TPP.
Amari said he did not expect to finalize the deal in his talks with Froman, but that it would be good if they could make enough progress to be welcomed by President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when they meet in Washington on April 28.
Reuters:Japan says didn't see strong G20 concern over weak yen
Japan says didn't see strong G20 concern over weak yen
(Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday the dominant view among Group of 20 finance leaders was that recent exchange-rate moves largely reflected economic fundamentals, while Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said he had not faced criticism from his G20 counterparts over the weak yen.
"I didn't get the impression there was strong concern (among the G20) about heightening market volatility," Kuroda told a joint news conference alongside Aso after the G20 meeting in Washington.
The BOJ has argued that its massive monetary stimulus was aimed solely at achieving its inflation target, though some countries have criticized the move as triggering sharp falls in the yen that give Japan's exports an unfair trade advantage.
Reuters:U.S. warns export giants not to rely too much on U.S. consumers
U.S. warns export giants not to rely too much on U.S. consumers
(Reuters) - The United States on Friday pressed the world's leading exporters, including Germany and Japan, to generate more economic growth within their borders, warning that the world could not rely too much on U.S. consumers.
"We are concerned that the global economy is reverting to the pre-crisis pattern of heavy reliance on U.S. demand for growth," Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a statement that also called on South Korea and China to boost domestic demand.
Lew also said it was "imperative" that countries hold to international commitments on exchange rate policies, which ban devaluing currencies in order to boost exports.
In his statement to the International Monetary and Financial Committee meeting, Lew said China's yuan remained "significantly undervalued."
Reuters:IMF warns clear fiscal reform plan key to success of BOJ's stimulus
IMF warns clear fiscal reform plan key to success of BOJ's stimulus
(Reuters) - Japan must come up with and implement a clear, specific plan to cut its huge debt pile in order to make its monetary stimulus effective, the IMF's mission chief for the country said, warning Tokyo against loosening its grip on fiscal consolidation.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe put off a sales tax hike last year and has been slow in pushing through painful spending cuts, arguing that Japan should focus more on boosting tax revenues by reflating the economy with stimulus.
The Bank of Japan's massive stimulus, deployed in 2013 and expanded last year, has kept borrowing costs ultra-low. But bank lending has failed to pick up as companies hold off on spending. Inflation ground to a halt on slumping oil costs, keeping alive expectations that the BOJ will ease again this year.
Kalpana Kochhar, the International Monetary Fund's mission chief for Japan, said the BOJ has done a lot already and with some promising signs of wage growth, Japan will see inflation pick up toward the end of this year.
Reuters:G20 more upbeat on growth, but officials fret over Greece
G20 more upbeat on growth, but officials fret over Greece
(Reuters) - The Group of 20 leading economies struck a hopeful tone on the outlook for global growth on Friday, even as officials fretted that Athens' inability to strike a deal with its lenders could upset Europe's tentative recovery.
In a communique after a two-day meeting, G20 finance ministers and central bankers welcomed brighter economic signs in rich nations, but lamented weakness in emerging markets.
"Risks to the global economy are more balanced since we last met," the finance officials said. "Near-term prospects in advanced economies, notably the euro area and Japan, have improved recently, while the U.S. and UK continue to record solid growth, which could support a stronger global recovery."
Still, the group of developed and emerging market nations, which represent around 80 percent of global economic output, cited challenges from an array of sources, including exchange rate volatility and geopolitical tensions.
LA Times:What's next for Microsoft's 'universal' Office apps
What's next for Microsoft's 'universal' Office apps
Microsoft is developing and testing simultaneously two different versions of its next release of Office: Office Desktop and Office Universal.
"Office Desktop" is how company officials refer to the next full version of the Windows and Mac desktop Office apps/suites. Microsoft released an IT/pro preview of Office 2016 for Windows in March, and a public preview of Office 2016 for Mac in March. Jared Spataro, General Manager of Microsoft Office, said there will be more end-user-oriented preview builds of these available to testers "in the coming months."
"Office Universal" refers to the new versions of the core, touch-first Office apps -- Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook -- that Microsoft is building to run on Windows 10 Desktop and Windows 10 Mobile. Microsoft made a first test build of these apps available for testers running Windows 10 Desktop on PCs, laptops and tablets back in February.