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:Pakistan poised for crucial election
Pakistan poised for crucial election
Millions of Pakistanis are preparing to cast their votes in national and provincial elections on Saturday.
The vote will mark Pakistan's first transition from one civilian government to another in its 66-year history.
However, the run-up to the election has been marred by violence in which more than 100 people have been killed.
Tens of thousands of troops will be deployed at polling stations after the Pakistani Taliban threatened to carry out suicide attacks.
BBC:Dhaka building collapse: Woman pulled alive from rubble
Dhaka building collapse: Woman pulled alive from rubble
A woman has been pulled alive from the ruins of an eight-storey building that collapsed in a suburb of Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, 17 days ago.
Rescuers said the woman, named Reshma, was found in the remains of the second floor of the Rana Plaza after they heard her crying: "Please save me."
She has been taken to hospital, but is not thought to have serious injuries.
More than 1,000 are now confirmed to have died, most of them women working in clothes factories.
BBC:Guatemala's Rios Montt found guilty of genocide
Guatemala's Rios Montt found guilty of genocide
A court in Guatemala has found former military leader Efrain Rios Montt guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity.
A three-judge tribunal sentenced the 86-year-old to 80 years in prison.
Rios Montt was convicted of ordering the deaths of 1,771 people of the Ixil Maya ethnic group during his time in office in 1982 and 1983.
Survivors described horrific abuses committed by the army against those suspected of aiding left-wing rebels.
BBC:North Korea sets out jailed American's 'crimes'
North Korea sets out jailed American's 'crimes'
North Korea has released details of the alleged crimes of a US man it sentenced to 15 years of hard labour.
Pae Jun-ho, known in the US as Kenneth Bae, smuggled anti-government materials and plotted the state's downfall, a Supreme Court spokesman told state news agency KCNA.
He denied Mr Bae was being used as a "political bargaining chip" with the US.
Mr Bae was detained last year after entering North Korea as a tourist.
BBC:Kofi Annan: Africa plundered by secret mining deals
Kofi Annan: Africa plundered by secret mining deals
Tax avoidance, secret mining deals and financial transfers are depriving Africa of the benefits of its resources boom, ex-UN chief Kofi Annan has said.
Firms that shift profits to lower tax jurisdictions cost Africa $38bn (£25bn) a year, says a report produced by a panel he heads.
"Africa loses twice as much money through these loopholes as it gets from donors," Mr Annan told the BBC.
It was like taking food off the tables of the poor, he said.
BBC:Egypt detains leading youth activist Ahmed Maher
Egypt detains leading youth activist Ahmed Maher
Egyptian security forces have detained a prominent activist on suspicion of inciting an anti-government protest.
Ahmed Maher, who leads the April 6 Youth Movement, was arrested at Cairo airport after flying back from the US, officials said.
The April 6 Youth Movement was at the forefront of protests that overthrew former leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Mr Mubarak's retrial on charges linked to the revolt is due to begin on Saturday.
Reuters:SoftBank asks banks not to finance Dish's Sprint bid - sources
SoftBank asks banks not to finance Dish's Sprint bid - sources
(Reuters) - SoftBank Corp has asked investment banks not to finance a rival bid for Sprint Nextel Corp by Dish Network Corp, saying this could hurt the banks' chances of gaining a role in the highly anticipated public offering of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Japanese telecom company SoftBank, which is a big shareholder in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba with a 33 percent stake, is locked in an escalating bidding war with Dish, after the U.S. satellite TV provider made a $25.5 billion proposal for Sprint in April.
SoftBank, which has an existing agreement with Sprint to buy 70 percent of the U.S. wireless carrier for $20.1 billion, has heavily criticized Dish's offer, saying the rival bid does not have committed financing in place.
Dish, which has said it would need to raise $9 billion in debt to finance the offer, is in the process of lining up financing, but is encountering challenges partly because banks have come under pressure from SoftBank to avoid any financing of Dish, the people said on Friday.
Reuters:New York Times reporter ordered to leave Pakistan
New York Times reporter ordered to leave Pakistan
(Reuters) - The government of Pakistan ordered the New York Times' bureau chief in Islamabad to leave the country on the eve of national elections, the newspaper said on Friday.
A two-sentence letter was delivered by police officers to the home of the bureau chief, Declan Walsh, at 12:30 a.m. local time on Thursday, it said.
"It is informed that your visa is hereby canceled in view of your undesirable activities," the Times quoted the letter as saying. "You are therefore advised to leave the country within 72 hours."
The newspaper protested the action and urged the government to reconsider, said Danielle Rhoades Ha, a company spokeswoman.
Reuters:Russia says no new plan to sell air defense systems to Syria
Russia says no new plan to sell air defense systems to Syria
(Reuters) - Russia's foreign minister said on Friday Moscow had no new plans to sell an advanced air defense system to Syria, but left open the possibility it could deliver such systems under an existing contract.
The Wall Street Journal this week reported that Israel had informed the United States a Russian deal was imminent to sell S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
That would significantly boost Syria's ability to stave off outside intervention in its civil war, such as the air strikes launched by Israel this month.
Asked by a journalist in the Polish capital about the reports of a missile deal, Sergei Lavrov said: "Russia is not planning to sell. Russia already sold them a long time ago. It has signed the contracts and is completing deliveries, in line with the agreed contracts, of equipment which is anti-aircraft technology."
Reuters:China issues new rules targeting wealth management fund pools: sources
China issues new rules targeting wealth management fund pools: sources
(Reuters) - China's bond market regulator closed off a loophole on Friday that allowed banks that sell high-yielding wealth management products (WMPs) to evade regulatory requirements by moving money between the WMP accounts they manage and their own proprietary accounts, bond traders at four Chinese banks told Reuters.
The four traders, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to media, told Reuters the China Government Securities Depository Trust & Clearing Co Ltd (CDC) and the Shanghai Clearing House had jointly notified commercial banks they could no longer trade bonds between their own proprietary accounts and the WMPs they manage for clients.
The rules will go into effect Friday afternoon, the sources said.
"Yesterday we could do it, today everybody has to undo it; it's new regulation after new regulation," said one of the traders.
Reuters:U.S. sends Japan currency warning as G7 meets
U.S. sends Japan currency warning as G7 meets
(Reuters) - The United States told Japan it would be watching for any sign it was manipulating its currency downward, but Tokyo said it met no resistance to its policies at a meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers which will conclude on Saturday.
As ministers and central bankers met on Friday in a stately home set in rolling countryside 40 miles outside London, differences were also evident over whether to prioritize debt-cutting or promoting economic growth.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Japan had "growth issues" that needed to be dealt with, but that its attempts to stimulate its economy needed to stay within the bounds of international agreements to avoid competitive devaluations.
"I'm just going to refer back to the ground rules and the fact that we've made clear that we'll keep an eye on that," Lew told the CNBC business news channel.
Reuters:Despite winning top world trade job, even Brazil looks beyond WTO
Despite winning top world trade job, even Brazil looks beyond WTO
(Reuters) - Brazil campaigned hard to get the top job at the World Trade Organization this week but behind closed doors even it acknowledges that the WTO's main mission - pushing forward in global trade talks - looks for the moment like a lost cause.
Instead, President Dilma Rousseff's government is moving, albeit cautiously, towards less ambitious bilateral and regional deals that may have a greater chance of success. Rousseff's hope is that more trade could shake Latin America's most insular major economy from a surprisingly deep recent slump.
Rousseff was thrilled that Brazilian diplomat Roberto Azevedo won an election on Tuesday to head the Geneva-based WTO, cheering the choice as a victory for developing nations in a trade club long dominated by the rich.
Azevedo's victory over a Mexican candidate, made possible by support from African nations with which Brazil has worked hard to cultivate ties during the past decade, was also hailed as another sign of Brazil's growing economic clout.
Computerworld:Bank security weaknesses led to cyber looting of $45M from ATMs
Bank security weaknesses led to cyber looting of $45M from ATMs
Computerworld - Alberto Yusi Lajud Pena, found dead in the Dominican Republic two weeks ago, was the leader of the New York cell of an international gang of cyber thieves that authorities allege stole a staggering $45 million from ATM machines around the world.
One startling aspect of the case, sure to be closely reviewed by banks worldwide, is that Pena and his cohorts pull off the theft quickly using just 17 prepaid debit cards.
Federal prosecutors in New York on Thursday handed down indictments against Pena and seven other individuals on cyber hacking charges related to the theft. The defendants allegedly formed a New York-based cell of an international group that hacked into global financial institutions to access prepaid debit card data that they later used to steal money from ATM machines.
Pena and his co-conspirators are accused of withdrawing about $2.8 million from ATMs in NYC on two separate occasions.