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 ScottyUrb, Bentliberal, wader, Oke, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir and jlms qkw, guest editors maggiejean and annetteboardman, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains
BBC:Sonic weapon' deployed in London during Olympics
Sonic weapon' deployed in London during Olympics
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed a device which can be used as a "sonic weapon" will be deployed in London during the Olympics.
The American-made Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) can be used to send verbal warnings over a long distance or emit a beam of pain-inducing tones.
The equipment was spotted fixed to a landing craft on the Thames at Westminster this week.
An MoD spokesman said it would be used "primarily in the loud hailer mode".
BBC:JPMorgan shares dive after $2bn trading loss
JPMorgan shares dive after $2bn trading loss
Shares in JPMorgan Chase have dived 9% after the biggest US bank, revealed a trading loss of at least $2bn (£1.2bn).
Chief executive Jamie Dimon blamed "errors, sloppiness and bad judgement" for the losses and warned "it could get worse".
In reaction to the loss, the company's credit rating was downgraded by the agency Fitch.
US media reports say that market regulators have already begun an investigation into the losses.
BBC:US resumes some Bahrain arms sales for 'external defence'
US resumes some Bahrain arms sales for 'external defence'
The United States is resuming sales of some weapons to Bahrain, but says it will not supply the Gulf state with any crowd control equipment.
The US State Department says the shipment will help Bahrain "maintain its external defence capabilities."
Arms sales were frozen last year after the Bahraini government suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations.
Amnesty International says 60 people have been killed since the protests began in February 2011.
BBC:Third Greek coalition bid fails
Third Greek coalition bid fails
The leader of Greece's socialist party, Evangelos Venizelos, has abandoned efforts to form a new government.
Mr Venizelos, the third leader to try to forge a coalition since Sunday's inconclusive elections, said he would now meet the president in a last-ditch effort to avoid fresh polls.
There has been no breakthrough in Mr Venizelos's talks with other parties.
Greece is deeply divided over budget cuts demanded in return for a bailout by the EU and the IMF.
BBC:Peru ministers resign over Shining Path rebel clashes
Peru ministers resign over Shining Path rebel clashes
Peru's interior and defence ministers have resigned in the face of a public outcry over a failed security operation against Shining Path rebels.
Interior Minister Daniel Lozada and Defence Minister Alberto Otarola had been facing censure in congress.
Both had been criticised after at least nine soldiers and police officers were killed in clashes with the rebels.
There was particular outrage after the father of one dead officer was left to recover his body from the jungle.
BBC:Sudan bombing ‘outrages’ UN's Navi Pillay
Sudan bombing ‘outrages’ UN's Navi Pillay
The UN human rights chief has condemned Sudan's bombing of South Sudan, carried out despite a UN resolution demanding an end to hostilities.
Navi Pillay, on a visit to Juba, said she was "outraged and saddened" by the continued aerial bombardments.
Sudan's leader Omar al-Bashir warned on Thursday that no organisation had the right to dictate to his country, especially when it was threatened.
South Sudan seceded last July as part of a deal to end years of civil war.
Reuters:Chesapeake wins breathing space with $3 billion loan
Chesapeake wins breathing space with $3 billion loan
(Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp said it had received a $3 billion loan from Goldman Sachs and Jeffries Group that will give it breathing room to sell assets and close a funding gap this year.
The company, which has been embroiled in a corporate governance crisis that prompted its move to replace co-founder Aubrey McClendon as chairman, said the new unsecured loan will be used to repay money borrowed under its existing $4 billion revolving credit facility.
"This short-term loan from Goldman and Jefferies provides us with significant additional financial flexibility as we execute our asset sales during the remainder of 2012," McClendon, who will remain as chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The company, the nation's second largest natural gas producer, said it plans to sell $9.0 billion to $11.5 billion in assets this year.
Reuters:Avon cooperating with SEC in stock trading probe
Avon cooperating with SEC in stock trading probe
(Reuters) - Cosmetics company Avon Products Inc is cooperating with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which was reported on Friday to be looking into trading activity before fragrance maker Coty Inc's $10 billion offer to buy Avon.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the SEC sent a letter to Avon on April 2, the day Coty made its offer public, asking for telephone records and other information.
In the letter, reviewed by the newspaper, the SEC said it "is examining trading in the securities of Avon Products Inc ahead of today's announcement that Coty Inc has submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire Avon."
There was no immediate comment from the SEC. An Avon spokeswoman told Reuters the company is cooperating in the matter but declined to comment further.
Reuters:U.S. lawmakers want Haqqani named "terrorist" group
U.S. lawmakers want Haqqani named "terrorist" group
(Reuters) - The leaders of congressional intelligence committees, who recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan, urged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday to immediately designate the militant Haqqani network as a "terrorist" group.
U.S. officials blame the al Qaeda-linked network for attacks in Afghanistan including assaults on embassies and the parliament in Kabul. The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen, called the Haqqani group a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's intelligence service.
The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate and House of Representatives intelligence committees, in a letter to Clinton, said their trip to Afghanistan last week reaffirmed concerns about the network.
"It was clear that the Haqqani Network continues to launch sensational and indiscriminate attacks against U.S. interests in Afghanistan and the group poses a continuing threat to innocent men, women, and children in the region," the letter said.
Reuters:U.S. says "eyes wide open" in response to Myanmar changes
U.S. says "eyes wide open" in response to Myanmar changes
(Reuters) - The United States is matching Myanmar's tentative steps toward democracy after decades of harsh military rule with a calibrated re-engagement, aware of the potential for setbacks, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Friday.
Patrick Murphy, the State Department's deputy special representative for Myanmar, said Washington is deepening its engagement with the reformist government, looking at easing more sanctions and likely to appoint a U.S. ambassador "in coming weeks."
"We embrace these changes that are taking place with eyes wide open," he said in remarks at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank.
Washington was pleased so far with dramatic developments over the past year that have seen the freeing of hundreds of political prisoners, a more liberal media environment and the seating in parliament of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and her fellow National League for Democracy lawmakers, said Murphy.
Reuters:Top Republican rejects Panetta's defense budget criticism
Top Republican rejects Panetta's defense budget criticism
(Reuters) - A top Republican lawmaker on defense issues on Friday rejected Pentagon chief Leon Panetta's criticism of budget maneuvering in Congress, underscoring the difficulty of finding a compromise on security spending at a time of sharp political polarization.
Representative Buck McKeon, chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, told Panetta in a letter that he was "clearly operating under some misconceptions" about a defense policy bill passed this week that authorized $554 billion in defense spending for the 2013 fiscal year.
McKeon said the House panel added nearly $4 billion in additional funding to the Pentagon's budget request because Panetta told them spending cuts ordered by Congress had taken the Defense Department "right to the razor's edge."
McKeon's letter came a day after Panetta warned at a news conference that efforts to protect the defense budget at the expense of other programs was likely to create gridlock in Congress that could block efforts to avert a big automatic cut in the defense budget in January.
Reuters:Putin flexes muscle in shunning U.S.-hosted G8 talks
Putin flexes muscle in shunning U.S.-hosted G8 talks
(Reuters) - Of all the signals and symbols that shape Russian foreign policy, this one seemed particularly blunt: Vladimir Putin, in one of the first decisions of his new presidency, will shun a Group of Eight summit hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama.
The May 18-19 visit was to have been Putin's first foreign trip since he returned to the Kremlin on Monday, a chance to begin putting U.S. ties back on track after a growth in tension over missile defense, Syria and Russia's presidential campaign.
Instead, Putin is sending his junior partner, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev - and a message that as long as he is in charge, Russia will not bend to Washington's will when its interests are at stake.
"I think the signal he wants to send to America ... is that agreements with America will be built on a balance of the strategic interests of America and Russia," said Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center think-tank. "Russia will not make any unilateral concessions."
LA Times:Apple-Owned Map Technologies to Replace Google in iOS 6
Apple-Owned Map Technologies to Replace Google in iOS 6
Apple’s “Maps” app will be updated in iOS 6 to use Apple-owned technologies to replace Google’s mapping data for the backend, according to unnamed sources at 9to5Mac and AllThingsD. Included is a new 3D mode that will reportedly be part of the re-engineered system.
Over the past few years, Apple has acquired several mapping technologies, including PlaceBase (July 2009), Poly9 (July 2010), and C3 Technologies (October 2011). Rumors began before the release of iOS 5 that Apple would be abandoning Google’s maps in favor of its own. However, for iOS5 Apple and Google extended their cooperative agreement.
It seems that with iOS 6 these acquisitions will finally be put to use and the relationship with Google for this service will come to an end.
The Maps app has always had an Apple designed interface, but the mapping data has been pulled from Google databases. The new app is rumored to have a slightly different icon to note the changes in its capabilities.