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 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 consist of founder Magnifico, regular editors jlms qkw, maggiejean, wader, Oke, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir, BentLiberal and ScottyUrb, guest editor annetteboardman, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent. We invited our readers to comment & share other news.
BBC:Al-Qaeda's Abou Zeid killed in Mali - Chad's Deby
Al-Qaeda's Abou Zeid killed in Mali - Chad's Deby
A senior al-Qaeda militant has been killed in northern Mali, Chadian President Idriss Deby has said.
He said the country's forces killed Abdelhamid Abou Zeid during clashes in the remote region.
He is said to be second-in-command of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which is fighting foreign forces in Mali.
The Algerian national is accused of killing two Western hostages - Briton Edwin Dyer in 2009 and Frenchman Michel Germaneau the following year.
BBC:US judge orders cut in Samsung payout to Apple
US judge orders cut in Samsung payout to Apple
A judge in the US has ordered $1bn (£660.4m) in damages awarded to Apple last year against Samsung be cut by 40%, and set a new trial to assess the level of damages.
Last year's award was the biggest in a series of global legal fights between the two companies over patents.
The ruling, in California, means the two are set to meet again in court.
The judge said the jury, which set the $1bn original award, had incorrectly calculated part of the damages.
BBC:Brazil economy grew 0.9% in 2012
Brazil economy grew 0.9% in 2012
The Brazilian economy grew at its slowest pace for three years in 2012, according to official figures.
Gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the value of all the goods and services produced, grew 0.9% in the year, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said.
At the start of the year, the government was predicting 4.5% growth.
President Dilma Rousseff has been trying to stimulate the economy with tax cuts and low interest rates.
BBC:Pakistan-Iran pipeline work 'to begin on 11 March'
Pakistan-Iran pipeline work 'to begin on 11 March'
Work on a gas pipeline between Iran and Pakistan will begin on 11 March, Pakistani officials say.
The project has led US officials to warn that it may fall foul of sanctions on Iran's nuclear programme.
The long-delayed project is seen in Pakistan as a way of combating the country's chronic energy shortages with supplies of Iranian gas.
Officials told Pakistani media they hoped the presidents of both countries would attend a ceremony on 11 March.
BBC:Italy election: President Napolitano rejects new polls
Italy election: President Napolitano rejects new polls
The prospect of an early repeat vote in Italy to break the February election gridlock has receded after the outgoing head of state rejected the idea.
Giorgio Napolitano, who as president holds the power to dissolve parliament, said he doubted his successor in the post would favour the idea either.
Mr Napolitano must stand down as president in mid-May.
The three main political forces are sharply divided after none managed to win an outright majority.
BBC:John Kerry holds talks on Syria crisis in Ankara
John Kerry holds talks on Syria crisis in Ankara
New US Secretary of State John Kerry has been holding talks with his Turkish counterpart on the conflict in Syria.
At a news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Mr Kerry said the two Nato allies shared a common goal - to end the suffering of innocent civilians in Syria.
Turkey and the US both oppose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but differ on how best to support the opposition.
The visit has been overshadowed by the Turkish PM's remarks about Zionism.
Reuters:Michigan governor clears way for state takeover of Detroit
Michigan governor clears way for state takeover of Detroit
(Reuters) - Michigan Governor Rick Snyder cleared the way for a state takeover of Detroit, declaring that the birthplace of the U.S. automotive industry faces a fiscal emergency and that he has identified a top candidate to assume its management.
Friday's declaration by the Republican governor virtually assures that the state of Michigan will assume control of Detroit's books, and eventually decide whether the city should file the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Detroit has faced the steepest population decline of any major American city in recent decades. Once the fifth largest U.S. city and springboard for music icons such as Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, it now ranks 18th in size with about 700,000 people.
"Its time to say we should stop going downhill," Snyder told a forum of residents hand-picked by his office, at a Detroit public television station. "There have been many good people who have had many plans, many attempts to turn this around. They haven't worked," he said.
Reuters:Dollar gains, U.S. shares rebound on ISM data
Dollar gains, U.S. shares rebound on ISM data
(Reuters) - Global equity markets fell and the euro slumped to a two-month low on Friday as weak economic data from Europe and China weighed on prices, but Wall Street stocks rebounded on news of surprisingly strong U.S. manufacturing and consumer sentiment.
Government bonds rallied and the dollar rose in safe-haven buying as concerns about imminent U.S. spending cuts and the post-election political stalemate in Rome remained major headwinds for assets considered more risky.
Growth in U.S. manufacturing, which rose at its fastest pace in over a year and a half in February, offset some jitters. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity rose to 54.2 from 53.1 in January, topping economists' forecasts of a pullback to 52.5.
While economic data from Europe and China was disappointing, there are clear signs of economic recovery in the United States and some evidence that Japan is beginning to turn around, a potential swing factor in 2013, said Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy at Standard Life Investments in Edinburgh.
Reuters:Tests find horsemeat in Taco Bell UK ground beef
Tests find horsemeat in Taco Bell UK ground beef
(Reuters) - Britain's food regulator said on Friday that testing had found horsemeat in ground beef at Taco Bell UK fast-food outlets, a discovery that puts new pressure on parent Yum Brands Inc, which is grappling with a food safety scare in China.
Taco Bell said the horsemeat issue is isolated to its UK market, where the Mexican-inspired chain has just three restaurants, and that it will step up testing of its beef.
On Monday, Yum said it would stop using more than 1,000 poultry slaughterhouses in China as it moves to tighten food safety and reverse a sharp drop in business at KFC restaurants in its top market after a scare over contaminated chicken.
Europe's horsemeat scandal erupted in January, when testing in Ireland revealed that some beef products also contained equine DNA.
Reuters:China plans unionization push into Big Four accounting firms
China plans unionization push into Big Four accounting firms
(Reuters) - China's state-backed trade union is planning to expand into yet another bastion of capitalism, targeting the Big Four accounting firms and their 40,000 employees in mainland China, according to state media reports and the companies on Friday.
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions made a push into foreign firms operating about four years ago and now has a union presence in most firms with a manufacturing or retail base.
The push to unionize PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd, Ernst & Young and KPMG comes from the ACFTU's Shanghai chapter, which decided in January to extend penetration into all top international companies based in Shanghai, according to a Shanghai government notice earlier this year.
The Shanghai union had previously established chapters in about 83 percent of foreign companies, whereas 91 percent of foreign companies are unionized nationwide -- possibly reflecting Shanghai's status as a financial rather than manufacturing center.
Reuters:White House says it will seek "fast-track" trade authority
White House says it will seek "fast-track" trade authority
(Reuters) - The White House on Friday said it would work for approval of politically contentious legislation that would ease the way for new trade deals, as it tries to wrap up talks on an Asia-Pacific free-trade agreement this year.
But the brief reference to the legislation known as "trade promotion authority" in an annual report on the president's trade agenda failed to impress some key Republicans who have been pressing for action on the issue for years.
House of Representative Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, a Michigan Republican, urged President Barack Obama to "demonstrate his commitment to a vigorous and productive trade policy" by opening talks with Congress on the "fast track" powers and "nominating a qualified and committed U.S. trade representative."
The current U.S. trade representative, Ron Kirk, plans to step down soon. That will leave the position of chief U.S. trade negotiator vacant as the United States prepares to launch trade talks with the European Union and as it seeks to finish talks on a Trans-Pacific Partnership pact by the end of the year.
Reuters:Assad forces take Aleppo village, reopening supply line
Assad forces take Aleppo village, reopening supply line
(Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces seized a village southeast of the city of Aleppo on Friday, reopening a supply line to the country's biggest city where they have been battling rebels for eight months, a monitoring group said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the capture of Tel Shghaib marked the last step to creating a land supply route north into Aleppo from Hama province, crucial for Assad's forces who have lost control of part of the main north-south highway.
Rebels say they hold most of the city itself and nearly all the rural hinterland. But they have been unable to achieve a decisive victory and complain that they are outgunned and vulnerable to Assad's air force, artillery and ballistic missiles, which killed dozens of people in Aleppo last week.
The United States pledged direct but non-lethal aid to the rebels at a meeting in Rome on Thursday, disappointing Assad's opponents who had hoped for more tangible military support to tip the balance of forces on the ground.
ABC News:Cancer Risk From Fukushima Found in Japanese Infants
Cancer Risk From Fukushima Found in Japanese Infants
Infants who were in the Japanese region most affected by radiation after the 2011 tsunami have a slightly elevated lifetime risk of some cancers, according to the World Health Organization.
Baby girls in the region have the greatest relative risk increase – 70 percent for thyroid cancer – the agency said in a 168-page health risk assessment.
But the agency cautioned that's on top a small baseline lifetime risk of 0.75 percent, so that the absolute increase in cases of thyroid cancer is expected to be small.