Subbing for annetteboardman tonight.
Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, Interceptor7, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame and jck. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw.
OND is a regular 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 12:00 AM Eastern Time.
Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
BBC
Blind man fails citizenship test after being denied Braille
A blind man has been denied US citizenship after immigration agents refused to provide him with an English language sentence to read in Braille.
Lucio Delgado, 23, was born blind and uses a cane to get around. He moved to the US from Mexico six years ago.
Mr Delgado said he was offered a large-print sentence to read, which he could not, being totally blind.
Mr Delgado, who is legally blind under Illinois state law, was told to get a doctor's note to prove his condition.
"Over here I was going to get the education I couldn't get in Mexico," he told CBS News from his home on a farm in Pembroke Township, Illinois - about 70 miles (110km) south of Chicago.
After taking the test in May, he recently received a letter from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) informing him that he had been rejected.
"Unfortunately, you were unable to read a sentence in the English language," the letter said. "Regrettably, you were unable to achieve a passing score on the reading portion of the naturalisation test."
BBC
Saudi Arabia detains three senior members of royal family
Three senior members of Saudi Arabia's royal family, including the king's brother, have been arrested for unexplained reasons, US media report.
Two of the men were among the kingdom's most influential figures.
The detentions have been linked to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In 2017 dozens of Saudi royal figures, ministers and businessmen were confined to the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh after the crown prince ordered their arrests.
Mohammed bin Salman is considered the de facto ruler of the kingdom, after he was named crown prince by his father in 2016.
The three men arrested are the king's younger brother Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, former crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef, and a royal cousin, Prince Nawaf bin Nayef.
Mohammed bin Nayef was interior minister until he was removed from his role and placed under house arrest by Mohammed Bin Salman in 2017.
BBC
Coronavirus: Italy reports biggest daily jump in death toll
The death toll from the new coronavirus in Italy has risen to 197 after the largest daily increase in fatalities there since the outbreak began.
Officials said 49 people had died in 24 hours, while more than 4,600 cases have been reported in total.
The country has now reported the most deaths outside of China, where the virus emerged in December.
The World Health Organization says nearly 100,000 people worldwide have contracted the coronavirus.
More than 3,000 people have died - the majority in China.
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the spread of the virus "deeply concerning" and urged all countries to make containment "their highest priority".
Al Jazeera
Filthy dollars: Fed quarantines currency repatriated from Asia
The greenback faces the same fate as many travellers returning home from China and other coronavirus hot spots.
The United States Federal Reserve has begun quarantining physical dollars that it repatriates from Asia before recirculating them in the US financial system as a precautionary measure against spreading the virus, a Fed spokesperson told Reuters. (A 2014 study by researchers at New York University identified 3,000 types of bacteria on dollar bills due to how widely and frequently they change hands.) The spokesperson said regional Fed banks that help manage the money supply will set aside shipments of dollars from Asia for seven to 10 days before processing and redistributing them to financial institutions. The policy, first reported by Reuters, was implemented on February 21, 2020 the official said.
NPR
At Least 32 Dead After Shooting In Kabul; ISIS Group Claims Responsibility
Gunmen opened fire on a memorial ceremony Friday in Kabul, killing at least 32 people and wounding dozens more in the first major attack in the Afghan capital since the U.S. signed a peace framework with the Taliban late last week. Several prominent politicians, including the country's chief executive and recent presidential candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, were in the audience but escaped unharmed.
A spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of the Interior said the gunmen retreated to a nearby building, where they were killed during an hours-long standoff with security forces.
An Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. The ceremony marked 25 years since the death of Abdul Ali Mazari, a leader of the country's Shiite minority, and the Sunni militant group that targeted a similar event last year.
"This situation looks endless in our country," one of the people injured in the attack told local media. "There are political games, but only the poor people pay the price — how long will this continue?"
Deutsche Welle
US rejects Russian plan for Syria ceasefire at UN Security Council
Russia and Turkey agreed on a ceasefire for Syria, but the agreement failed to get the backing of the UN Security Council on Friday. A ceasefire endorsement proposed by Russia was rejected when the United States, which is one of the five countries with veto power on the Council.
Russian ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, had asked the other 14 Security Council members to adopt the agreement, but the United States rejected it saying it and called the deal "premature." Some European nations welcomed the proposal but wanted to amend the statement.
Opposition from "one delegation"
Nebenzia said Russia wanted to issue a press statement afterward, "but due to the position of one delegation, it was not possible.''
Several diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed, said that was a reference to the United States. But they added that Russia was unwilling to negotiate on proposals made by France and the United Kingdom.
Art News
The Musée d’Orsay in Paris has received $22.3 million from an anonymous American donor that will see its administrative spaces converted into galleries and education areas. [The New York Times]
According to the Global Art Market Report, published by Art Basel and UBS, the global art market dipped 5 percent in 2019, though private sales were up across the board. [The Art Newspaper]
The Armory Show opened in New York yesterday to invited guests, with “business as usual” despite fears of the coronavirus. [ARTnews]
An unknown drawing by Albrecht Dürer, dated to 1503 and titled Virgin and Child, is being sold by the London dealer Agnews. [The Art Newspaper]
Al Jazeera
Women Make Science: Greece's Dolphin Sanctuary
Anastasia Miliou knows just about everything there is to know about dolphins.
She is a hydrobiologist and scientific director of the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation. It is the largest NGO of its kind and has monitored marine life in the Aegean Sea for the past 20 years.
It is also halfway through a project to host the world's first marine life sanctuary off the small Greek island of Lipsi.
A remote hamlet, the sanctuary's blue-green waters will offer refuge to local animals as well as those injured or threatened around the world. This includes dolphins released from captivity as marine life parks, widely criticised for their treatment of animals, fall out of public favour and shut down.
It will also house marine animals threatened by the 8 million tonnes of plastic waste dumped into the ocean each year.
But building the remote sanctuary, away from noise pollution and human activity, is no small task.
Construction is tricky as they must secure funds, organise logistics and build a diverse habitat for future animal guests.
All the while, Anastasia mentors a team of young women, passing on the science as well as the confidence to study and protect the ocean's rich ecosystems.