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:UK GDP: Economy shrank at end of 2012
UK GDP: Economy shrank at end of 2012
The UK economy shrank by 0.3% in the last three months of 2012, further fuelling fears that the economy could re-enter recession.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the fall in output was largely due to a drop in mining and quarrying, after maintenance delays at the UK's largest North Sea oil field.
The economy had grown by 0.9% in the previous quarter, boosted by the London 2012 Olympic Games.
For the whole year, growth was flat.
BBC:Mali crisis: Troops 'take northern town of Hombori'
Mali crisis: Troops 'take northern town of Hombori'
Malian and French troops have retaken the town of Hombori, officials say, as they continue their campaign to regain control of northern Mali from rebels.
Hombori lies about 160km (100 miles) from the Islamist stronghold of Gao.
Earlier, French warplanes reportedly bombed rebel positions, fuel stores and ammunition dumps near Gao.
But there were also reports that rebels had blown up a bridge linking the east of the country with Niger, from where African troops plan to open a front.
BBC:UN 'plans to fight rebels in DRC'
UN 'plans to fight rebels in DRC'
The UN wants to set up an intervention force to fight rebels fuelling conflict in DR Congo, says a UN official.
Meanwhile, eight African presidents are set to sign a UN-brokered accord aimed at bringing stability to the region.
As many as 800,000 people have been displaced since the M23 rebel group took up arms against the Kinshasa government last May.
It accuses President Joseph Kabila of failing to honour an earlier peace deal to integrate rebels into the army.
BBC:Fatal clashes on Egypt uprising anniversary
Fatal clashes on Egypt uprising anniversary
Egyptian opposition supporters are protesting across the country on the second anniversary of the uprising that swept Hosni Mubarak from power, with five people killed in the city of Suez.
Police clashed with President Mohammed Morsi's opponents in Cairo outside his palace and near Tahrir Square.
Alexandria also saw clashes. In Ismailia, protesters set fire to the HQ of the Muslim Brotherhood's party.
Critics accuse Mr Morsi of betraying the revolution, which he denies.
BBC:Japan envoy meets Chinese leader amid islands dispute
Japan envoy meets Chinese leader amid islands dispute
An envoy for Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has met China's leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, amid a growing territorial dispute.
Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of the junior party in Japan's ruling coalition, handed Mr Xi a letter from Mr Abe - its contents have not been disclosed.
Mr Yamaguchi said the two had agreed it was important to maintain a dialogue.
Mr Xi urged Japan to "work hard with China" to resolve the issue, a Chinese foreign ministry statement said.
BBC:Russia Chechnya: Two Islamist commanders 'killed'
Russia Chechnya: Two Islamist commanders 'killed'
Russian security forces have killed two Islamist commanders and at least nine other militants in an operation in Chechnya, security sources say.
The two commanders were named as brothers Khusein and Muslim Gakayev, who were among the region's "most wanted" men.
Among other attacks, they were accused of trying to kill Chechnya's Moscow-backed leader, Ramzan Kadyrov.
They were reportedly killed after security forces responded to an ambush.
Reuters:Analysis: Lengthy 787 probe, fixing problem, may cost Boeing dear
Analysis: Lengthy 787 probe, fixing problem, may cost Boeing dear
(Reuters) - The slow progress of investigations into battery problems on Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner jets suggest the new plane could be grounded for months, raising fears that the financial hit to Boeing will be greater than had been initially predicted.
Wall Street had been working on the assumption that safety inspectors would find the root cause of two battery incidents in the United States and Japan within weeks and Boeing would implement a speedy fix costing no more than a few hundred million dollars.
But on Thursday, the head of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said it was only "early" in its investigation of a fire on a Japan Airlines Co Ltd jet in Boston on January 7, while Japanese aviation authorities appear no closer to resolving a battery problem that caused an emergency landing of a domestic All Nippon Airways Co Ltd flight last week.
"Saying we are in the early stages of the investigation sent a resounding message to those who thought this was a quick fix," said Carter Leake, aerospace analyst at BB&T Capital Markets.
Reuters:At Davos, bankers close in on Africa
At Davos, bankers close in on Africa
(Reuters) - Move over, China. The market that has got bankers attending the World Economic Forum at Davos this year excited is Africa.
"One market where we see plenty of opportunity is Africa," Peter Sands, Standard Chartered's (STAN.L) chief executive, said during an interview. "It's a part of the world that doesn't get so much focus because everyone, quite rightly, is all excited about India and China and the whole ASEAN region."
Chinese banks were among the first to make their way into the continent, with ICBC (1398.HK), the world's biggest bank by market value, having bought a 20 percent stake in South Africa's Standard Bank (SBKJ.J) in 2007.
Since then, other banks have started making their way into the region, mostly to facilitate trade between Africa and resource-hungry China. HSBC's (HSBA.L) chief executive for the Middle East and North Africa Simon Cooper called this "south-south trade."
Reuters:Frenchwoman freed from Mexico jail hails Sarkozy as savior
Frenchwoman freed from Mexico jail hails Sarkozy as savior
(Reuters) - A Frenchwoman released early from a 60-year Mexican jail term for kidnapping said former President Nicolas Sarkozy had saved her life by backing her case, as she arrived back in France on Thursday.
Teary-eyed but beaming, Cassez was careful to thank the current president, Francois Hollande, but made clear she considered Sarkozy's help had been crucial.
"I remember when Sarkozy took a stand in my case. It was a crucial moment. He saved my life because I went through very difficult times where sometimes I would get up in the morning and tell myself I was too tired to keep fighting," Cassez told a sea of TV cameras at Paris' Roissy airport.
"At that moment Nicolas Sarkozy arrived - and then later on, Francois Hollande. I owe him a lot," said Cassez.
Reuters:Russian tycoons concerned as Magnitsky fallout spreads
Russian tycoons concerned as Magnitsky fallout spreads
(Reuters) - It began with the death of an anti-corruption lawyer in a Moscow jail and grew into a row between Russia and the United States. Now Russia's business elite are worried their interests could be harmed by fallout from the Magnitsky affair.
With international concern spreading after the 2009 death of Sergei Magnitsky, some Russian tycoons are worried their legitimate cross-border money transfers involving anything from industrial investments to luxury properties will get hit by red tape.
And they complain that the Kremlin's hard-line stance on Magnitsky is not doing them any favors.
"The Russian business (community) is absolutely united. The situation is more than bad and things may well spread to the EU and UK and God knows who could be sucked in," said a Russian billionaire, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Reuters:Tokyo in drive to win back radiation-wary German tourists
Tokyo in drive to win back radiation-wary German tourists
(Reuters) - Two years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan is making a big push to win back German tourists, who are still avoiding the country because of concerns over radiation.
Visitor numbers from Germany, the world's biggest spenders on foreign holidays in 2011, fell 35 percent between 2010 and 2011, and in 2012 did not recover as much as other markets, Tokyo tourism officials said in Frankfurt this week.
"After the earthquake, business travelers came back fairly quickly, because business will not wait. But tourists are still cautious," said Hiromi Waldenberger, a tourism representative for Tokyo based in Germany.
Germans are especially sensitive to nuclear issues and reacted strongly to the Fukushima disaster, with Chancellor Angela Merkel taking the decision to exit nuclear power as a result.
Reuters:North Korea threatens war with South over U.N. sanctions
North Korea threatens war with South over U.N. sanctions
(Reuters) - North Korea threatened to attack rival South Korea if Seoul joined a new round of tightened U.N. sanctions, as Washington unveiled more of its own economic restrictions following Pyongyang's rocket launch last month.
In a third straight day of fiery rhetoric, the North directed its verbal onslaught at its neighbor on Friday, saying: "'Sanctions' mean a war and a declaration of war against us."
The reclusive North this week declared a boycott of all dialogue aimed at ending its nuclear program and vowed to conduct more rocket and nuclear tests after the U.N. Security Council censured it for a December long-range missile launch.
"If the puppet group of traitors takes a direct part in the U.N. 'sanctions,' the DPRK will take strong physical counter-measures against it," the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said, referring to the South.
PC Magazine:Vine (for iPhone)
Vine (for iPhone)
By Michael Muchmore
Microblogging, meet micro video sharing. Just as Twitter curtails anything of substance you'd like to say to a headline requiring a link to a blog or other webpage for any kind of depth, the free Vine app, recently acquired by Twitter, curtails your videos to a mere 6 seconds. That's not necessarily bad: Who wants to watch minute after minute of boring video? In a world where most people still think of Twitter as just short text snippets, can micro-videos make an impact?
Let's be clear: This isn't a case of "video finally comes to Twitter." You've already been able to embed a YouTube or Vimeo video in a Twitter post forever, so this isn't the first time anyone's been able two add video to tweets. Vine is more of an attempt to co-opt the craze for animated GIFs, most prominently evidenced on image-heavy mini-blogging site Tumblr. You could also think of it as the latest entry in the "Instagram for video" app genre.