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:Cameron and Merkel set for EU talks
Cameron and Merkel set for EU talks
Prime Minister David Cameron has flown to Berlin to press his demands for sweeping reform of the European Union.
Mr Cameron believes the EU needs to change to allow the UK, along with other members, not to be bound by all of its decisions.
The prime minister is accompanied by his wife Samantha and their three children, following an invitation from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Talks will also cover the forthcoming G8 summit in the UK, and Syria.
BBC:US publishes Magnitsky list of sanctioned Russians
US publishes Magnitsky list of sanctioned Russians
The United States has published a list of mainly Russian officials banned from entering the country because of alleged human rights abuses.
Russia had earlier warned against making the 18 names public, warning it could severely damage relations.
The US imposed the sanctions after Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died in jail in 2009 in disputed circumstances.
The list includes tax officials and police officers who jailed Magnitsky after he accused them of corruption.
BBC:John Kerry to press China over North Korea
John Kerry to press China over North Korea
US Secretary of State John Kerry is due in China, where he is expected to urge Beijing to use its influence over North Korea to rein in its belligerence.
Ahead of the visit, Mr Kerry said that a policy of denuclearisation shared by the US and China had to have "teeth".
Mr Kerry's four-day tour of Asia comes amid speculation that North Korea is preparing for a missile launch.
The US said there was no evidence North Korea could deploy a nuclear-armed missile, contradicting a leaked report.
BBC:IMF recognises Somalia government after 22-year break
IMF recognises Somalia government after 22-year break
The International Monetary Fund has recognised the government of Somalia after a break in relations of 22 years.
The move could enable the IMF to provide technical support and policy advice to the impoverished country in the Horn of Africa.
However, the IMF will not lend money to Somalia until it clears a $352m (£230m) debt it owes to the organisation.
Somalia has been slowly rebuilding itself following two decades of civil conflict.
BBC:Australia to face Japan over whaling in UN court
Australia to face Japan over whaling in UN court
The UN's International Court of Justice has set dates for public hearings on Australia's challenge against Japan's whaling programme in Antarctica.
The hearings will start in June in The Hague, in the Netherlands, the court said in a statement on Thursday.
Australia took legal action against Japan over whaling in 2010.
There has been a ban on commercial whaling for 25 years, but Japan catches about 1,000 whales each year for what it calls research.
BBC:Egypt army denies torturing protesters
Egypt army denies torturing protesters
Egypt's defence minister has denied claims that the armed forces were involved in killing and torturing protesters during Egypt's revolution.
Minister Abdel Fatah al-Sissi's remarks follow a report leaked to a British newspaper which implicates the army in serious human rights abuses.
He called the claims a "betrayal".
Over 800 people were killed in violence during and after Egypt's 2011 uprising, but the deaths were widely blamed on the police rather than the army.
Reuters:Senate plan would deport illegal immigrants entering U.S. after 2011
Senate plan would deport illegal immigrants entering U.S. after 2011
(Reuters) - Senators crafting an immigration bill have agreed that foreigners who crossed the U.S. border illegally would be deported if they entered the United States after December 31, 2011, a congressional aide said on Friday.
The legislation by a bipartisan group of senators would give the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the United States illegally a way to obtain legal status and eventually become U.S. citizens, provided certain measures are met.
But of the unauthorized immigrants, those who entered after the December 2011 cut-off date would be forced to go back to their country of origin, said the aide, who was not authorized to speak publicly because the bill is still being negotiated.
"People need to have been in the country long enough to have put down some roots. If you just got here and are illegal, then
Reuters:BlackBerry to ask regulators to probe report on returns
BlackBerry to ask regulators to probe report on returns
(Reuters) - BlackBerry plans to ask securities regulators in Canada and the United States to probe what it said is a "false and misleading" report that consumer return rates for BlackBerry's new Z10 smartphone have been especially high.
The Canadian company, which has pinned its turnaround hopes on its new BlackBerry 10 line of smartphones, went on the offensive on Friday after the report from Boston-based research and investment firm Detwiler Fenton sent its stock tumbling on Thursday.
BlackBerry said return rates for its flagship Z10 devices have been at, or below, its forecasts and in line with industry norms.
"To suggest otherwise is either a gross misreading of the data or a willful manipulation," Chief Executive Thorsten Heins said in a statement. "Such a conclusion is absolutely without basis and BlackBerry will not leave it unchallenged."
Reuters:Venezuela says it foiled plot to destabilize presidential vote
Venezuela says it foiled plot to destabilize presidential vote
(Reuters) - Venezuela's government said on Friday it foiled a plot to destabilize Sunday's presidential election, the latest in a flurry of claims that the opposition has derided as crude attempts to distract voters from the country's problems.
Vice President Jorge Arreaza went on national television to announce that security forces had captured two Colombians posing as Venezuelan military officials who were allegedly planning to disrupt this weekend's vote, though he did not say how.
Flanked by the military's top brass, Arreaza held up photos of the Colombian suspects. He also displayed about 50 assault rifle cartridges and explosives that he said were linked to a group of Salvadoran mercenaries previously accused by the Venezuelan government of plotting to kill acting President Nicolas Maduro, who is favored to win on Sunday.
"We've managed to dismantle a plan that would try to influence the election or the post-election period," said Arreaza, a son-in-law of late president Hugo Chavez, whose death from cancer on March 5 triggered this weekend's vote.
Reuters:United States puts Japan on notice in currency report
United States puts Japan on notice in currency report
(Reuters) - The Obama administration on Friday put Japan on notice that it was watching its economic policies to ensure they were not aimed at devaluing the yen to gain a competitive advantage.
In a semi-annual report on currency practices of major trade partners, the United States also said China's currency remained "significantly undervalued," but again stopped short of labeling the world's second-biggest economy a currency manipulator.
It has been more than 18 years since the U.S. Treasury has designated any country a manipulator. China was labeled a manipulator between 1992 and 1994.
The U.S. Treasury said it would press Japan to adhere to the commitment it made in February as a member of the Group of Seven and Group of 20 nations to let the market determine exchange rates. The U.S. move followed comments by Japanese officials that suggested they were targeting a weaker yen.
Reuters:Japan, U.S. agree on Tokyo joining Trans-Pacific trade talks
Japan, U.S. agree on Tokyo joining Trans-Pacific trade talks
(Reuters) - Japan and the United States on Friday agreed on a deal paving the way for Tokyo to join talks on an Asia-Pacific free trade agreement, increasing the economic weight of the proposed pact and triggering a loud protest from U.S. automakers.
The deal brings Japan closer to entering talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Australia and New Zealand hope to finish this year.
"I think Japan's national interests are protected under this U.S.-Japan agreement," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters on Friday after a meeting with Cabinet ministers.
Abe, who took office in December, is making the regional free trade pact a keystone of his strategy to open Japan's economy and spur long-sought growth.
Reuters:Strong earthquake hits western Japan, no tsunami warning
Strong earthquake hits western Japan, no tsunami warning
(Reuters) - A 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit western Japan early on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami warning was issued, the nation's meteorological agency reported.
"Although there may be slight sea-level changes in coastal regions, the earthquake caused no damage to Japan," the agency said on its website.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initially reported the quake's magnitude at 6.3 and said it had its epicenter 24 miles northwest of Wakayama in western Honshu island, and occurred at a depth of 3.3 miles.
Kyodo news agency reported that was also no immediate reports of damage to the Ikata nuclear power plant in the area, citing its operator, Shikoku Electric Power Co..
PC Magazine:Facebook Home Now Available in Google Play Store
Facebook Home Now Available in Google Play Store
Facebook Home, the social network's new more-than-just-an-app, which turns select smartphones into almost Facebook phones, is now available in the Google Play store for free download.
Facebook Home, revealed earlier this month, was made available Friday for owners of the HTC One X, HTC One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III, and Samsung Galaxy Note II. The new $99.99 HTC First smartphone, also released Friday, comes preloaded with Facebook Home, while the interface will be made available for the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 at a future date, Facebook said.
Owners of other Android phones will have to wait until Facebook releases Home for their phones. Tablets running Google's mobile operating system will also get access to Facebook Home at some point, the company said.
The best news for early adopters? Facebook Home doesn't have ads and won't for at least several months, according to the company.