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:US to boost nuclear missile defence to counter N Korea
US to boost nuclear missile defence to counter N Korea
The US plans to bolster its missile defences on the west coast to counter the threat from North Korea, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has announced.
He said the US would add 14 interceptors, which can shoot down missiles in flight, to 30 already in place in California and Alaska by 2017.
Mr Hagel cited a "series of irresponsible and reckless provocations" recently by North Korea.
Pyongyang carried out a third nuclear test last month.
BBC:Francois Hollande defends Syria weapons plan
Francois Hollande defends Syria weapons plan
France's president has defended his plan to supply arms to Syria's rebels, as activists mark two years since the anti-government uprising began.
Speaking after an EU meeting, Francois Hollande said the rebels had given guarantees that weapons would not fall into the wrong hands.
France and the UK want the EU to lift its arms embargo, but Germany says it has not yet decided if it agrees.
An estimated 70,000 people have been killed and one million have fled Syria.
BBC:Israel PM Netanyahu signs coalition deal
Israel PM Netanyahu signs coalition deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached a deal to form a new coalition government.
His Likud-Yisrael Beitenu alliance signed the agreement with the centrist Yesh Atid and the pro-settler Jewish Home, the parties in the coalition say.
It is the first time in a decade that an Israeli coalition government will not include any ultra-Orthodox groups.
The deal follows weeks of deadlock since Mr Netanyahu's election win on 22 January.
BBC:SAC Capital fund pays $614m over insider trading
SAC Capital fund pays $614m over insider trading
A major hedge fund has agreed to pay a record $614m (£406m) to US regulators to settle charges of insider trading.
SAC Capital, run by Steve Cohen, did not admit or deny the charges.
A unit of the business was accused of profiting from secret information about a drug trial from a doctor before it was made public.
The Securities and Exchange Committee described the settlement a "sharp warning" to any fund that would break the law.
BBC:Mexico deadly fireworks explosion in Tlaxcala state
Mexico deadly fireworks explosion in Tlaxcala state
At least 12 people died and dozens more were hurt when a small lorry loaded with fireworks exploded in a small village in central Mexico.
The blast happened during a religious celebration in Jesus Tepactepec, a village in Tlaxcala state.
Villagers had been taking part in a procession when a firework accidentally landed on the vehicle, reports say.
Fourteen ambulances, a mobile medical unit and two air ambulances were sent to the village to treat the wounded.
BBC:UN: Pakistan 'does not sanction' US drone strikes
UN: Pakistan 'does not sanction' US drone strikes
The head of a UN team investigating US drone strikes in Pakistan has said that Islamabad does not consent to them and sees them as a territorial violation.
Ben Emmerson was speaking after a secret research trip to Pakistan.
However correspondents say the US could not launch drone strikes without tacit support from Pakistan.
They add that privately officials from both countries speak of an understanding as to why the drone programme has been allowed to continue.
It is estimated that between 2004 and 2013, CIA drone attacks in Pakistan killed up to 3,460 people.
Reuters:Colorado lawmakers pass universal gun purchase background checks
Colorado lawmakers pass universal gun purchase background checks
(Reuters) - Colorado lawmakers passed a bill on Friday to mandate universal background checks for all gun buyers in a state that has experienced two of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, a spokesman for majority Colorado House Democrats said.
The measure passed after months of debate on gun control in Colorado, and came after legislators approved four other gun control measures on Wednesday.
The legislation now awaits the signature of Governor John Hickenlooper for final approval. Hickenlooper, a Democrat, has indicated he supports universal background checks for gun buyers.
It was approved by both chambers of the Democrat-controlled Colorado legislature after last-minute amendments were worked out in a conference committee.
Reuters:Ex-JPMorgan executive tries to dodge harpoon of "whale" losses
Ex-JPMorgan executive tries to dodge harpoon of "whale" losses
(Reuters) - Ina Drew, the former JPMorgan Chase & Co executive who earned millions while in charge of the unit that made the disastrous "London whale" trades, refused on Friday to accept responsibility for the $6.2 billion in losses revealed last year.
Testifying before a Senate panel, the former chief investment officer instead pointed a finger at the traders and managers below her. They did not appear at the hearing because they are in London and outside the Senate's jurisdiction.
Blame-shifting proved to be a theme of the hearing held by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, even as Chairman Carl Levin hit Drew and other current and former JPMorgan executives hard over past statements he believed to be inaccurate.
The litany of accusations by the powerful panel raises the prospect that the trading debacle will continue to legally dog the Wall Street bank, long considered one of the best managed.
Reuters:Google's Schmidt to visit Myanmar, an untapped telecoms market
Google's Schmidt to visit Myanmar, an untapped telecoms market
(Reuters) - Google Inc Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, who visited North Korea in January, will become the first high-profile tech company executive to visit Myanmar in the wake of reforms that prompted Western nations to ease sanctions following decades of military dictatorship.
The visit next week to Myanmar, where Schmidt will speak at a technology and communications park and meet with government officials, is just one stop in a multi-country Asian tour to promote Internet access, according to Google.
Since Myanmar's military stepped aside and a quasi-civilian government was installed in 2011, setting off a wave of political and economic reforms, the country has enjoyed a surge of interest from overseas businesses.
The former Burma is the last virgin territory for businesses in Asia, with untapped markets including the telecoms sector: mobile penetration in the country of 60 million is estimated to be a meager 5-10 percent.
Reuters:If fund manager Lasry gets ambassador nod, investors likely to stay
If fund manager Lasry gets ambassador nod, investors likely to stay
(Reuters) - It's not every day that a money manager gets tapped as the next ambassador to France, but investors in Marc Lasry's $12 billion hedge fund Avenue Capital could be facing that scenario.
Lasry, a longtime Democratic donor and chief executive officer of the 18-year-old firm, is the frontrunner to be nominated by President Obama as the next ambassador to France, according to several people familiar with the situation.
Speaking at an event in Washington DC on Wednesday, former President Bill Clinton said that Lasry had been notified by the White House that he will be nominated for the post. Clinton's remarks were first reported by Politico.
Neither the White House, nor Lasry returned a request for comment on the nomination. But a person familiar with the situation confirmed Clinton's remarks.
Reuters:U.S. to press China on cyber attacks, seek deeper ties: official
U.S. to press China on cyber attacks, seek deeper ties: official
(Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will press China to take "serious steps" to stop cyber attacks directed at the United States and urge the administration of new Chinese President Xi Jinping to accelerate economic reforms, a U.S. official said on Friday.
Lew's visit to Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday comes at a crucial time, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity. "China is undergoing their once-in-a-decade leadership transition and, of course, their reform process is at a crossroads."
"It's important to deepen our relationship with China's new leadership team at this time," the official said.
Lew lacks the international stature of his predecessor, Timothy Geithner, and is signaling the importance the United States put on its economic relationship with China by making his first international trip as secretary to Beijing.
Reuters:Sony closes U.S. headquarters sale, biggest in two years: sources
Sony closes U.S. headquarters sale, biggest in two years: sources
(Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corp (6758.T) on Friday completed the sale of its U.S. headquarters for $1.1 billion to a group led by real estate developer the Chetrit Group, three sources familiar with the deal said.
SL Green Realty Corp (SLG.N) initially provided the full $925 million in loan financing for the deal for up to three years, depending on how long Sony remains a tenant in the building, one source said.
However, Bank of China Ltd (601988.SS) stepped up and agreed to take $600 million of the total debt financing in the form of a senior loan, the sources said.
Of the remaining $325 million in debt financing, a $175 million junior tranche was sold by SL Green to a Performing Debt Fund managed by Apollo Global Management LLC (APO.N), one of the sources said. That amount can be increased to $250 million, the three sources added.
NPR:The Man Who Coined 'The God Particle' Explains: It Was A Joke!
The Man Who Coined 'The God Particle' Explains: It Was A Joke!
We've explained it many times: Physicists are irked when we in the media call the Higgs Boson, "The God Particle."
The Higgs is important because the elusive subatomic particle is believed to give everything its mass. But as Marcelo Gleiser — of NPR's 13.7 — explained, the nickname doesn't quite explain the particle because while it "does have something of a centralizing influence," it's "nothing quite divine."
It's misnomer, even stupid, some physicists say.
All Things Considered spoke to the man credited with giving the particle its moniker. In 1993, Dick Teresi co-wrote The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question? with Leon Lederman, the Nobel prize winning physicist.