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 consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors jlms qkw, maggiejean, wader, Oke, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir and ScottyUrb, guest editor and annetteboardman, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains
BBC:DR Congo fighting 'sees refugee numbers rise'
DR Congo fighting 'sees refugee numbers rise'
Humanitarian workers have warned of a sharp rise in refugees in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo as a result of recent fighting.
The charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) told the BBC that there were now more than 800,000 displaced people in the province of North Kivu.
That marks a sharp rise from the 500,000 estimated in the province before the latest violence.
Last month it saw fighting between government forces and the M23 rebels.
BBC:Egypt crisis: Rival rallies as referendum looms
Egypt crisis: Rival rallies as referendum looms
Supporters and opponents of Egypt's president are staging final rallies ahead of a referendum on a draft constitution, due to start on Saturday.
Opponents say the draft document has been crafted poorly and without proper consultation, and is too Islamist.
President Mohammed Morsi insists the constitution is needed to complete the transition from Hosni Mubarak's rule.
The controversy has sparked unrest across Egypt and fresh clashes have broken out in Alexandria.
BBC:Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigns
Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigns
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has resigned after prosecutors decided to charge him with breach of trust.
Mr Lieberman has also resigned as deputy prime minister, and said he would fight to clear his name of the charges.
The case against him relates to a financial scandal dating back more than a decade.
His resignation comes five weeks before Israel's general election.
Editorial Note: Mr Lieberman who could be safely labeled a war hawk expressed concerrn in March of 2012 over war with Iran
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
BBC:Colombia general sentenced in US for paramilitary links
Colombia general sentenced in US for paramilitary links
A federal court in the United States has sentenced Gen Mauricio Santoyo, who was President Alvaro Uribe's security chief, to 13 years in jail for links with paramilitaries.
The retired police general pleaded guilty to links with the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC).
The group is accused of mass killings in Colombia and is on the US list of terrorist organisations.
Gen Santoyo was also fined $125,000 (£74,400)
BBC:Japan set for general election
Japan set for general election
Japan is set for a general election on Sunday widely expected to usher in a new government.
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) appears poised to oust the Democratic Party (DPJ) after only three years in office, with former PM Shinzo Abe likely to return to the top job.
Sales tax, nuclear energy and ties with China have all emerged as issues.
But many voters say they are undecided, amid widespread disillusionment in Japan over politics.
BBC:China submits East China Sea islands claim to UN
China submits East China Sea islands claim to UN
China has submitted to the UN a detailed explanation of its claims to a disputed area of the East China Sea.
It argues that certain geological features prove its territory extends out to a group of islands near Japan.
A UN commission of geological experts will examine China's submission but does not have the authority to resolve conflicting claims.
Beijing and Tokyo have long laid claim to the islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.
Reuters:With successful launch, Kim and allies cement rule in North Korea
With successful launch, Kim and allies cement rule in North Korea
(Reuters) - When North Korea's Kim Jong-un commemorates a year of his rule next week, he will be able to declare he has fulfilled the country's long-held dream of becoming a "space powerhouse".
In a mass parade in Pyongyang on Friday, tens of thousands of soldiers dressed in olive green and standing in serried ranks, as well as bareheaded civilians, celebrated this week's successful rocket launch, hailing Kim's "victory".
"Under the great leadership of Kim Jong-un, we are carrying out a sacred task towards our last victory so as to build strong and prosperous nation," Kim Ki-nam, a politburo member from the Workers Party of Korea, told the applauding and cheering crowds that turned out in freezing temperatures.
Sharing the kudos with the 29-year old leader will be three civilians who have grown stronger in the past year and have helped Kim exert control over the country's powerful military, which may edge the country closer to an attempt to reopen dialogue with the United States.
Reuters:NATO says Syrian Scuds hit "near" Turkey
NATO says Syrian Scuds hit "near" Turkey
(Reuters) - NATO accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces of firing Scud missiles that landed near to the Turkish border, in explaining why it was sending anti-missile batteries and troops to the bloc's frontier.
The Syrian government, which finds itself under attack from rebels in the capital Damascus and by a diplomatic alliance of Arab and Western powers, denies firing such long-range, Soviet-built rockets and had no immediate comment on the latest charge.
Admiral James Stavridis, the American who is NATO's military commander, wrote in a blog on Friday: "Over the past few days, a handful of Scud missiles were launched inside Syria, directed by the regime against opposition targets. Several landed fairly close to the Turkish border, which is very worrisome."
It was not clear how close they came. NATO member Turkey, once friendly toward Assad but now among the main allies of the rebels, has complained of occasional bullets and artillery fire, some of which has been fatal, for many months. It sought the installation of missile defenses on its border some weeks ago.
Reuters:Obama signs trade, human rights bill that angers Moscow
Obama signs trade, human rights bill that angers Moscow
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday signed a bill that brings U.S. trade relations with Russia into the 21st century but also ushers in a testy era in which the United States could publicly "name and shame" Russian human rights violators.
The measure, which Congress passed by an overwhelming margin, allows Obama to establish "permanent normal trade relations" - or PNTR - with Russia by lifting a Cold War-era restriction on trade.
It also directs Obama to bar Russian human rights violators from entering the United States and freeze any assets they have in U.S. banks. The provision is named in honor of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian anti-corruption lawyer many U.S. lawmakers believe was beaten to death in a Russian jail in 2009.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called the congressional approval of the bill "a purely political and unfriendly act."
Reuters:China, U.S. factory data improves, global risks remain
China, U.S. factory data improves, global risks remain
(Reuters) - China's vast manufacturing sector grew in early December and U.S. factories were having their best month since April, surveys showed on Friday, adding to hopes that the world's top two economies were on the mend.
Solid growth from the United States and China will be crucial to reviving the world economy in 2013, particularly with the euro zone likely sliding deeper into recession.
A possible budget crisis in the United States at year-end tempered investor optimism, however, and added a big dose of uncertainty to the economic outlook for the year ahead.
Investors and economists fear the United States could fall back into recession if lawmakers can't strike a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" and allow some $600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts to take effect in 2013.
Reuters:UBS to admit Japan criminal wrongdoing in Libor case: sources
UBS to admit Japan criminal wrongdoing in Libor case: sources
(Reuters) - UBS (UBSN.VX) will admit to criminal wrongdoing by its Japanese arm, where one of the Swiss bank's traders manipulated yen Libor and euroyen contracts, to secure a $1-billion-plus settlement with regulators, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Japan's financial regulator last December ordered UBS's Japanese securities arm to suspend Tibor- and Libor-related derivatives trading for a week after a probe found a former trader attempted to influence the Tokyo interbank offered rate.
UBS, which declined comment, is expected to pay $1 billion or more as early as Monday to settle the interest rate rigging charges, the sources said. The UBS settlement could include manipulation of Libor rates in currencies other than yen, after clues to UBS's alleged central role in the Libor conspiracy were included in documents filed earlier this year by the Canadian Competition Bureau, which investigates anti-competitive activity.
A settlement would make it the second major bank after Britain's Barclays (BARC.L) to be sanctioned for its role in the global scandal.
Reuters:Global shares fall on U.S. fiscal worry; oil up on China
Global shares fall on U.S. fiscal worry; oil up on China
(Reuters) - Global shares fell on Friday on unease over the lack of progress in U.S. fiscal negotiations and on signs of a deepening recession in the euro zone, but data indicating strong expansion in Chinese manufacturing helped lift oil prices.
China's vast manufacturing sector expanded in early December at the fastest pace in 14 months as new orders and employment rose, a survey showed, adding to evidence of a pick-up in the Chinese economy.
The dollar fell from a near nine-month high against the yen while the euro surged to its highest level against the greenback since early May as U.S. inflation data affirmed the Federal Reserve's ultra-easy monetary policy.
Talks between President Barack Obama and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on budget negotiations designed to avert the "fiscal cliff" were seen at an apparent standstill on Friday. Some $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts that are set to begin in January, unless lawmakers reach a deal, are seen as a threat that could tip the U.S. economy back into recession.
Reuters:Global telecom treaty without Net controls signed by 89 nations
Global telecom treaty without Net controls signed by 89 nations
(Reuters) - An international telecommunications treaty signed by 89 countries out of a possible 144 on Friday will have little impact on how carriers operate or how consumers surf the web or make calls around the world when it comes into effect in 2015.
But the acrimonious debate over the treaty - and refusal of so many countries, including the United States and much of Europe, to sign up immediately - have exposed a deep split in the international community.
A U.S.-led bloc advocated a hands-off approach to the Internet, while Russia, China and much of Africa and the Middle East sought greater governmental oversight of cyberspace.
About 150 nations met in Dubai, under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), to update a set of telecom rules dating back to 1988, before the Internet and mobile phones transformed communications. Their failure to find a consensus may herald a new fight over cyberspace.