• Overnight News Summaries ,
• Tags: Africa, Chad, China, Colombia, Cuba, earthquake, Egypt, FARC, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Middle East, North Korea, Protest, protests, Russia, Tunisia, UAE, virus, Yemen
• 14 Feb

KEY STORYLINES

• AFRICA: A Libyan military commander called for the suspension of the interim parliament and the formation of a presidential committee to govern until new elections are held.
• AMERICAS: Members the Venezuelan opposition said they were bracing for a crackdown after authorities tried to search the offices of a political party following protests.
• ASIA: Taiwan’s former vice president Lien Chan is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week.
• EUROPE: Italian PM Letta will formally step down on and leftist challenger Matteo Renzi is poised to win the nomination to replace him.
• MIDDLE EAST: Yemeni security forces began hunting down 29 escaped inmates, including 19 suspected al-Qaeda members, who broke out of jail in the capital.
• TECHNOLOGY: Silk Road 2 moderator Defcon reported in a forum post that hackers used a transaction malleability exploit to hack the marketplace, stealing over 4,474.26 bitcoins worth USD 2.7 million.

TOP STORY

• Korean Peninsula: Talks end in accord on reunions.
• The two Koreas wrapped up a second round of high-level talks aimed at securing a planned reunion for divided families despite the North’s objection to overlapping South Korea-US military drills.
• China’s Foreign Ministry pushed back against US pressure on North Korea as US Secretary Kerry arrived in Beijing for high-level meetings.
• Recent satellite imagery suggests North Korea has stepped up excavation work at its main nuclear test site, but there are no signs of an imminent test.
• Coverage: AFP, AFP-2, NYT, Reuters, WP

AFRICA

• Region: France is to hold a meeting of its top defense committee on the Central African Republic and later host Chad’s President Deby. (AFP)
• Egypt: The government and Russia are nearing a USD 3 billion arms purchase agreement that will be financed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. (AFP)
• Libya: A military commander called for the suspension of the interim parliament and the formation of a presidential committee to govern until new elections are held. (Reuters)
• Malawi: A corruption scandal has caused international donors to slash aid disbursements to the country. (DPA)

AMERICAS

• Cuba: The government hopes the opening of negotiations on a new political agreement with the EU could lead to similar talks with the US. (Reuters)
• Brazil: The government admitted for the first time to the possibility of more blackouts. (Xinhua)
• Colombia: The government and the FARC closed the 20th round of peace talks with some agreements on drug-trafficking. (Xinhua)
• Venezuela: Members the opposition said they were bracing for a crackdown after authorities tried to search the offices of a political party following protests. (AP)

ASIA

• Afghanistan: Key Taliban commander Mullah Zahid was killed in Kunar province. (Xinhua)
• China: Taiwan’s former vice president Lien Chan is set to meet President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week. (AFP)
• Japan: The government may allow the US to bring nuclear weapons into the country in an emergency that threatens the safety of Japanese citizens. (Kyodo)
• Philippines: Two people were killed and eight were wounded after Abu Sayyaf ambushed government troops in the south of the country. (Xinhua)
• Thailand: The government deployed thousands of riot police in Bangkok to try to reclaim the government headquarters and other areas long occupied by protesters. (Reuters)

EUROPE

• Germany: FM Steinmeier said that he wanted to improve ties with Russia despite differences over Ukraine. (DPA)
• Italy: PM Letta will formally step down on and leftist challenger Matteo Renzi is poised to win the nomination to replace him. (AFP)
• Russia: FM Lavrov warned the West against interfering in Ukraine’s crisis. (Reuters)

MIDDLE EAST

• Iran: The IEA reported that sales of Iranian crude oil rose by 100,000 barrels a day in January, to 1.32 million. (NYT)
• Lebanon: PM-designate Salam was set to present a proposed cabinet line-up to the President as he looks to end a 10-month vacuum. (AFP)
• Syria: The OPCW said it has chosen two US and Finnish companies to help destroy the country’s chemical arsenal. (AFP)
• Syria: Russian FM Lavrov accused backers of the opposition of seeking “regime change”. (Reuters)
• Yemen: Security forces began hunting down 29 escaped inmates, including 19 suspected al-Qaeda members, who broke out of jail in the capital. (AFP)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

• Cybersecurity: Silk Road 2 moderator Defcon reported in a forum post that hackers used a transaction malleability exploit to hack the marketplace stealing over 4,474.26 bitcoins worth USD 2.7 million. (TechCrunch)

WORLD

• Cyclones: Nothing to report.
• Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
• Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
• Volcanoes: Mount Kelud, Indonesia
• Two killed, flight cancelations, 100,000 displaced. (CNN)
• Global Disease Outbreaks:
• Novel Coronavirus (MERS-CoV, SARS-related)
• Cases: Global Number of Cases as of 07FEB: 182 (Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Italy, France, Germany, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, UAE, United Kingdom)
• Deaths: Global Number of Deaths as of 07FEB: 79 (Saudi Arabia, France, Qatar, United Kingdom, UAE, Oman)
• Sourcing: WHO, WHO-2

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK (15FEB)

• Afghanistan: Liberation Day, anniversary of withdrawal of Soviet forces – 1989
• Canada: National Flag of Canada Day
• Kenya: Defense ministers from the East African region to meet in Nairobi to seek ways of enhancing peace and security cooperation
• Serbia: Serbian National Day – 1804

END