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 consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, side pocket, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir, Bentliberal, Oke, jlms qkw, Interceptor7, and ScottyUrb, guest editor annetteboardman, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains you.
BBC:Top German spy chiefs to go to Washington for talks
Top German spy chiefs to go to Washington for talks
Germany is to send its top intelligence chiefs to Washington to "push forward" an investigation into allegations the US spied on its leader Angela Merkel.
The heads of foreign and domestic intelligence would hold talks with the White House and the National Security Agency, a government spokesperson said.
Earlier, Germany and France said they want the US to sign a no-spy deal by the end of the year.
EU leaders have warned a lack of trust could harm the fight against terrorism.
BBC:JP Morgan settles for $5.1bn with US housing regulator
JP Morgan settles for $5.1bn with US housing regulator
JP Morgan has reached a $5.1bn (£3.2bn) settlement with the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) over charges it misled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the housing boom.
A separate settlement with the US Justice Department is expected to be announced soon.
"This is a significant step to address outstanding mortgage-related issues," the FHFA said in a statement.
It is the biggest settlement ever by a US bank.
BBC:Nigerian militants raid northern city of Damaturu
Nigerian militants raid northern city of Damaturu
Suspected Boko Haram militants have engaged security forces in a lengthy gun battle and raided a hospital in the northern Nigerian city of Damaturu.
Residents told the BBC that it was a "big, audacious attack" and that assailants stole drugs from the hospital and drove off in ambulances.
Meanwhile, the military said it had killed 74 suspected Boko Haram militants in a raid in Borno state.
Authorities have recently stepped up their campaign against the militants.
BBC:Mystery girl Maria's parents found in Bulgaria by DNA
Mystery girl Maria's parents found in Bulgaria by DNA
DNA tests have confirmed a Bulgarian Roma couple as the biological parents of mystery child Maria, found in Greece last week, Bulgarian officials say.
They identified the couple as Sasha Ruseva and Atanas Rusev.
The officials are investigating whether the mother had sold the child - a claim she has denied.
Maria was found at a Roma camp in central Greece. Police noticed the lack of resemblance between the blonde girl and the adults she was staying with.
BBC:Chinese court rejects Bo Xilai appeal and upholds life sentence
Chinese court rejects Bo Xilai appeal and upholds life sentence
A Chinese court has rejected the appeal of former politician Bo Xilai and upheld his life sentence for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.
The former Chongqing Communist Party leader was convicted of the charges in September.
He was removed from office in 2012 amid a scandal which saw his wife convicted of a British businessman's murder.
The high court in Shandong, the province where Bo's trial was held, accepted his appeal earlier this month.
BBC:North Korea returns six South Koreans to Seoul
North Korea returns six South Koreans to Seoul
North Korea has returned six South Korean men to their homeland, South Korean officials say, in a rare move.
The men, between the ages of 27 and 67, were handed over on Friday at the truce village of Panmunjom, on the border between the two countries.
Their names were not released and details surrounding their detention in the North remain unclear.
The two Koreas remain technically at war, as the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice and not a peace treaty.
Reuters:Nasdaq says FINRA caps Facebook IPO claims at $41.6 million
Nasdaq says FINRA caps Facebook IPO claims at $41.6 million
(Reuters) - The total value of the claims that market makers can recover after suffering losses due to Nasdaq OMX Group Inc's botched handling of Facebook Inc's initial public offering is $41.6 million, the exchange operator said Friday.
The claims figure, which was calculated by Wall Street's industry-funded watchdog the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, falls short of the $62 million that Nasdaq had initially set aside to repay brokerages that lost money.
Nasdaq said the figure is lower in part because some claims did not qualify for compensation under its plan.
The main reason for the lower figure, however, was because one firm opted to try to recover funds through arbitration.
Reuters:U.S. says spy charges cause 'moment of tension' with allies
U.S. says spy charges cause 'moment of tension' with allies
(Reuters) - The United States said on Friday allegations that U.S. intelligence agencies tapped the mobile phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and others in France and Italy have "posed a moment of tension" with some allies and should not undermine cooperation on such issues as Syria and Iran.
"There is no question that the disclosure of classified information has posed a moment of tensions with some of our allies," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.
"We are having discussions with those allies," she said referring to a visit next week by German intelligence chiefs to Washington to seek answers.
She said Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the accusations, based on allegations by fugitive ex-U.S. intelligence operative Edward Snowden, with officials in France and Italy during a recent visit to Europe.
Reuters:Merkel to seek 'no spy deal' within EU as well as with U.S.
Merkel to seek 'no spy deal' within EU as well as with U.S.
(Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants the European Union's 28 member states to reach a "no spy deal" similar to an agreement France and Germany seek with the United State following allegations Washington tapped her mobile phone.
A German government spokesman late on Friday confirmed Merkel had made such a proposal to European leaders gathered at a summit in Brussels. Sources who attended the meeting said they appeared to be open to the suggestion.
Charges that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) accessed tens of thousands of French phone records as well as monitored Merkel's phone have caused outrage in Europe. Germany said on Friday it will send its top intelligence chiefs to Washington next week to seek answers from the White House.
Merkel demanded on Thursday that Washington strike a "no spying" agreement with Berlin and Paris by the end of the year, adding she wanted action from U.S. President Barack Obama, not just apologetic words.
Reuters:Soviets conducted nuclear blasts at oilfield to be tapped with China
Soviets conducted nuclear blasts at oilfield to be tapped with China
(Reuters) - A Siberian oilfield that Russia and China plan to develop together was the site of Soviet nuclear blasts in the 1970s and 1980s, Russian officials said on Friday.
The government and state oil firm Rosneft said the field was safe, rejecting environmentalists' concerns that oil extracted from it could be contaminated with radiation.
But the revelation raises questions for a strategic joint venture announced a week ago in which Russia, the world's top energy producer, ceded a share of its oil wealth to China, the leading consumer.
At least seven "peaceful" nuclear detonations were performed at the Srednebotuobinskoye oilfield, according to a report published by the environment ministry of the Republic of Sakha, a remote region in Eastern Siberia also known as Yakutia.
Reuters:ThyssenKrupp could set up steel processing in Brazil: report
ThyssenKrupp could set up steel processing in Brazil: report
(Reuters) - Germany's ThyssenKrupp (TKAG.DE) could seek a partner to set up steel processing in Brazil if it fails to sell its steel mill in the Latin American country, the Wall Street Journal Deutschland reported, citing sources.
ThyssenKrupp has for more than a year been trying to offload its Steel Americas business, comprising the steel slab-producing mill in Brazil and a rolling mill in Alabama.
The Brazil plant has the capacity to produce up to 5 million tonnes of slab a year, part of which is sold to the Alabama mill for processing into flat products shipped mostly to carmakers.
A new processing plant in Brazil could take up the output of slabs that ThyssenKrupp can no longer ship to its plant in Alabama if it finds a buyer for only the U.S. plant, the WSJ Deutschland said.
Reuters:Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant undamaged after quake
Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant undamaged after quake
(Reuters) - The operator of Japan's wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant said on Saturday there was no damage or spike in radiation levels at the station after a large earthquake struck in the ocean east of Japan, triggering a small tsunami.
There were no immediate reports of damage on land from the quake, classified as magnitude 7.1 by the Japan Meteorological Agency, which struck about 370 km (230 miles) out to sea. Earlier the agency said the quake had a magnitude of 6.8.
Japanese television said a 30 cm (1 foot) tsunami had reached Japan's east coast.
A spokesman at Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), operator of Fukushima, said some workers had been ordered to evacuate to higher ground after the quake, but that there was no damage or change in readings at radiation monitoring posts around the plant.
PC Magazine:Governors Push for Zero-Emission Cars
Governors Push for Zero-Emission Cars
The governors of eight states this week joined forces to put millions of zero-emission cars on the road in the next decade.
The governors of California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont signed an agreement to promote and spur the adoption of more environmentally friendly vehicles in their states. Ideally, there will be 3.3 million zero-emission cars in their states by 2023.
To get there, the governors pledged to harmonize building codes so that it's easier to build electric car charging stations, and come up with financial and other incentives for residents to purchase zero-emission cars. That includes the possibility of electricity discounts for home-charging systems.
Meanwhile, the governors said they would lead by example by adopting zero-emission vehicles in their own fleets, and develop common standards for roadway signs and charging networks.