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:Algeria siege: 'Around 30' hostages unaccounted for
Algeria siege: 'Around 30' hostages unaccounted for
Hundreds of hostages have been freed from militants at an Algerian gas facility, state media say, but about 30 foreigners are still unaccounted for.
State-run APS news agency said 573 Algerians and 'around 100' of 132 foreign workers were freed at the In Amenas facility.
The militants remained holed up at the site, APS said. About 10 Britons are thought to be still held.
The agency says 12 workers died since a rescue operation began on Thursday.
BBC:US Federal Reserve 'underestimated financial crisis'
US Federal Reserve 'underestimated financial crisis'
The US Federal Reserve may have underestimated the looming 2007 global financial crisis, released transcripts from its meetings that year have shown.
The documents suggested Fed Governor Ben Bernanke wanted to hold off from addressing rising panic in the markets.
He said in December of that year that he did not "expect insolvency or near insolvency among major financial institutions".
Yet many US banks and other financial firms had to be rescued in 2008
BBC:Dreamliner crisis: Boeing halts 787 jet deliveries
Dreamliner crisis: Boeing halts 787 jet deliveries
Boeing has suspended deliveries of its new 787 Dreamliner aircraft until a battery problem is resolved.
An email from the US aerospace giant said it would continue to build the plane, but not deliver any until US safety officials gave their backing.
The Federal Aviation Administration has joined the Dreamliner investigation.
All 50 of Boeing's 787s have been suspended from flying since an All Nippon Airways flight on Wednesday made an emergency landing due to a fault.
BBC:Syria crisis: BBC sees evidence of Homs massacre
Syria crisis: BBC sees evidence of Homs massacre
The BBC has found evidence to support reports from Syria of a massacre this week in which at least 100 people were killed and burned in their homes.
A team visited the village of Haswiya, on the edge of the central city of Homs, and saw charred bodies still lying inside one of the houses.
Government soldiers said all the bodies had been taken away and blamed Islamist militants fighting with the rebels.
But one villager told the BBC the army was present at the time of the deaths.
BBC:China growth shows signs of pick-up from 13-year low
China growth shows signs of pick-up from 13-year low
China's economy, the world's second largest, is showing signs of a rebound that could help it emerge from its worst economic period in 13 years.
According to the latest government figures, growth picked up to 7.9% in the final three months of 2012, from 7.4% in the previous quarter.
This was driven by state investment in infrastructure projects and efforts to get consumers and companies to spend.
Economic stability is seen as vital for China as its new leaders take over.
BBC:Pakistan PM corruption official found dead
Pakistan PM corruption official found dead
One of the officials investigating a corruption case in Pakistan linked to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has been found dead.
Reports say the man, Kamran Faisal, was found hanged in the government hostel in Islamabad where he lived.
Police said it appeared he had taken his life but they were investigating all possibilities, including murder.
A relative said he did not believe he could have killed himself. A neighbour said he had been very depressed.
Reuters:Dow, S&P 500 end at five-year highs on early earnings beats
Dow, S&P 500 end at five-year highs on early earnings beats
(Reuters) - The Dow and S&P 500 closed at five-year highs on Friday as the market registered a third straight week of gains on a solid start to the quarterly earnings season.
Morgan Stanley (MS.N) was the latest Wall Street bank to report strong results. Its better-than-expected earnings followed similar report cards from Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and JP Morgan Chase (JPM.N) earlier in the week.
Shares of Morgan Stanley shot up 7.9 percent to $22.38. It reported a fourth-quarter profit after a year-earlier loss, helped by higher revenue at the bank's institutional securities business.
But Friday's rise was held back by shares of Intel Corp (INTC.O), which slumped 6.3 percent to $21.25 a day after it forecast quarterly revenue below analysts' estimates and announced plans for increased capital spending amid slow demand for personal computers.
Reuters:Caterpillar writes off most of China deal after fraud
Caterpillar writes off most of China deal after fraud
(Reuters) - Caterpillar Inc uncovered "deliberate, multi-year, coordinated accounting misconduct" at a subsidiary of a Chinese company it acquired last summer, leading it to write off most of the value of the deal and wiping out more than half its expected earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012.
Shares of Caterpillar fell 1.5 percent in afterhours trading following news of the fraud, which was discovered after problems were found with the Chinese company's inventory.
Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of tractors and excavators, said on Friday it would take a noncash goodwill impairment charge of $580 million, or 87 cents per share, in the quarter.
Analysts had expected the company to report $1.70 per share when it reports its results on January 28, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Reuters:U.S., China in deal on U.N. North Korea rebuke; Russia to back it
U.S., China in deal on U.N. North Korea rebuke; Russia to back it
(Reuters) - The United States and China have struck a tentative deal on a draft U.N. Security Council resolution condemning North Korea for its December rocket launch, U.N. diplomats said on Friday, and Russia predicted it would be approved by the council.
The resolution would not impose new sanctions, but would call for expanding existing U.N. sanctions measures against Pyongyang, the envoys said on condition of anonymity. They added that China's support for the move would be a significant diplomatic blow to Pyongyang.
The 15-nation council could adopt the compromise resolution next week, they said.
Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin confirmed the diplomats' comments in remarks quoted by the Russian state-run RIA Novosti news agency, saying that adoption was likely early next week.
Reuters:Clinton assures Japan on islands, invites Abe to U.S. in February
Clinton assures Japan on islands, invites Abe to U.S. in February
(Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton assured Japan on Friday of U.S. support in Tokyo's dispute with Beijing over a string of islands and invited new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Washington in late February for a meeting with President Barack Obama.
Clinton held a working lunch with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, and both emerged pledging that U.S.-Japan security and economic ties would remain strong following Abe's landslide election victory last month.
"Our alliance with Japan remains the cornerstone of American engagement with the region," Clinton told reporters, noting a wide range of cooperation on everything from disaster relief to the stand-off over nuclear North Korea.
Clinton, due to step down in coming weeks, again affirmed that the United States would stand by its longtime ally in its territorial dispute with China over islets in the East China Sea claimed by both countries.
Reuters:Don't shrink Afghan forces, two key Senate Democrats warn Obama
Don't shrink Afghan forces, two key Senate Democrats warn Obama
(Reuters) - Two Senate Democrats urged the White House on Friday to reconsider plans to shrink Afghan national security forces by a third after 2015, saying a robust Afghan fighting force will be needed to fight al Qaeda and its allies.
The appeal comes as President Barack Obama weighs how large of an American force to leave behind in Afghanistan after NATO declares the costly, unpopular war over at the end of 2014 and most foreign forces return home.
Officials say the White House is considering keeping between 3,000 and 9,000 troops in the country, a lower range than initially recommended by the top commander in Afghanistan.
Carl Levin of Michigan, head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and committee member Jack Reed of Rhode Island said Obama, a fellow Democrat, should use the U.S. troop level announcement - expected in the coming months - as an opportunity to revisit plans to slash the Afghan forces from 352,000 to 230,000 after 2015.
Reuters:Top U.S. commander denied visa in rights row: Russia
Top U.S. commander denied visa in rights row: Russia
(Reuters) - Russia denied entry to a former commander of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in retaliation against U.S. moves to punish Russian human rights violators, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov said on Friday.
The United States finalized the Magnitsky Act, named after an anti-corruption lawyer who died in a Moscow prison in 2009, in December to bar entry for alleged Russian rights violators and freeze any assets they hold in the United States.
Russia denied a visa to Rear Admiral Jeffrey Harbeson, former commander at the Guantanamo U.S. Naval Base in Cuba who now oversees Europe, NATO and Russia affairs at the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, a state-linked newspaper said in December.
Izvestia said Harbeson was denied a visa at the end of 2011, when Washington had already denied visas to some Russians believed to be linked to Sergei Magnitsky's death.
Forbes:What Will The 3D Printing Crowd Do With Nokia's Templates For The Lumia 820?
What Will The 3D Printing Crowd Do With Nokia's Templates For The Lumia 820?
Nokia’s decision today to release the modelling files to allow 3D printing of the back shells of the Lumia 820 is an interesting move. Not only does it endear Nokia to the ‘physical homebrew’ community of 3D modelers, and portrays Nokia as a forward thinking and innovative company (a vital asset as they continue their return to smartphone relevancy), most importantly it’s going to let them see what the hacking community can do with this basic design.