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 ScottyUrb, Bentliberal, wader, Oke, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir and jlms qkw, guest editors maggiejean and annetteboardman, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains
BBC:Two British soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan
Two British soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan
Two British soldiers, from the Royal Logistic Corps, have died in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.
The soldiers, who were attached to 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh Battlegroup, were killed in an enemy mortar rocket attack on their base in the Nahr-e-Saraj district of Helmand province.
Their families have been informed.
The number of service personnel killed in operations in Afghanistan since October 2001 now stands at 412.
BBC:US expects dissident Chen Guangcheng to leave China soon
US expects dissident Chen Guangcheng to leave China soon
The US says it expects China to allow prominent dissident Chen Guangcheng to travel abroad soon.
The US state department said Mr Chen had been offered a fellowship at an American university, and it would allow his wife and children to accompany him.
Earlier, Beijing said the blind activist could apply to study abroad - paving the way for a resolution to a tense diplomatic stand-off with the US.
Mr Chen fled house arrest last month and spent six days in the US embassy.
BBC:Scores injured and arrested in fresh Egypt clashes
Scores injured and arrested in fresh Egypt clashes
One soldier is reported to have been killed and hundreds of people hurt in fresh clashes between Egyptian security forces and protesters in Cairo.
Soldiers used water cannons and tear gas outside the defence ministry.
Dozens of people have been arrested and a night-time curfew is now in force. Protesters later dispersed and some joined a protest in Tahrir Square.
On Wednesday, unidentified assailants attacked protesters outside the ministry, leaving at least 20 dead.
BBC:Scores hurt as balloons explode at Armenia rally
Scores hurt as balloons explode at Armenia rally
Scores of people have been injured in the Armenian capital Yerevan after clusters of gas balloons exploded at a political rally.
Crowds were attending a government campaign event in the city's central square ahead of parliamentary polls.
Health officials said some 144 people had been injured, with over 100 taken to hospital with burns, none of which are thought to be life-threatening.
Officials blamed the explosions on a cigarette being lit near the balloons.
BBC:Iran holds parliamentary election run-offs
Iran holds parliamentary election run-offs
Iranians are voting in a second round of parliamentary elections which are expected to see opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad make further gains.
State TV said 130 candidates were competing in run-off votes for 65 seats in the 290-seat Majlis, including 25 of the 30 seats in the capital, Tehran.
Conservative opponents of the president won a majority in March's first round.
The parliament lacks executive power but will play a part in choosing his successor before next year's election.
BBC:Syria peace plan 'on track' despite violence
Syria peace plan 'on track' despite violence
The peace plan for Syria negotiated by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan is "on track", despite reports of ceasefire violations, his spokesman says.
Ahmed Fawzi told a news conference in Geneva that a crisis which had been going on for over a year was "not going to be resolved in a day or a week".
But he acknowledged there were "no big signs of compliance on the ground" with the ceasefire which began on 12 April.
Activists said at least 23 people were killed by government troops on Friday.
Reuters:Treasury to sell more AIG common stock
Treasury to sell more AIG common stock
(Reuters) - The Treasury Department said on Friday it plans a third sale of the common stock of American International Group (AIG.N) that it acquired as part of the government bailout of the insurer in 2008, at the height of the financial crisis.
The Treasury said the size and price of the offering are to be determined. Buyers purchased $6 billion of AIG common stock in March and $5.8 billion worth in May 2011.
AIG has said it intends to buy up to $2 billion of the stock sold in the offering, the Treasury Department said in a statement. AIG bought around $3 billion worth of stock in the March sale, a Treasury official said.
The Treasury and the Federal Reserve made $182 billion available to prop up the company, which couldn't meet its credit insurance obligations when housing markets crashed. U.S. authorities retain approximately $44 billion of that investment, a Treasury official said.
Reuters:Senator likely to be rebuffed in News Corp inquiry
Senator likely to be rebuffed in News Corp inquiry
(Reuters) - The British judicial inquiry investigating questionable reporting practices by Rupert Murdoch's media properties is unlikely to cooperate with a prominent senator's request for evidence of misconduct in the United States, three people familiar with the inquiry said.
The sources said that the judicial inquiry, created by British Prime Minister David Cameron and chaired by Sir Brian Leveson, a senior English judge, is not authorized to provide legal assistance or evidence to other bodies or organizations, including foreign government agencies or components. Nor is the inquiry investigating matters outside Britain.
Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, on Wednesday sent a letter to Leveson asking if his inquiry has uncovered any misconduct on the part of Murdoch's News Corp that occurred in the United States or violated American laws.
Murdoch and his global media empire have been embroiled in a "phone hacking" and bribery scandal since last summer when evidence emerged that Murdoch's now-shuttered News of the World tabloid hacked into voicemails of a missing British schoolgirl.
Reuters:No escaping European risks
No escaping European risks
(Reuters) - The prospect of political risks joining economic and debt problems on the euro zone's list of worries, just as the outlook for global growth becomes uncertain, will keep investors focused firmly on safety plays in the coming week.
The implications of French and Greek elections for the region's drive to impose fiscal austerity will be crucial, while March readings on industrial production in Spain, Germany, Italy and France will also highlight the challenges facing the region.
China takes centre stage towards the end of the week with the release of inflation, retail and factory output numbers, as signs of a weaker U.S. economic performance and the deepening recession in Europe make Asia's strength more crucial.
The disappointing 115,000 increase in U.S. non-farm payrolls in April reported on Friday has served to heighten fears the recovery in the world's biggest economy is fading, and will put speculation about the Federal Reserve's next move high on the agenda.
Reuters:U.S. doesn't expect Pakistan to reopen Afghan war supply routes soon
U.S. doesn't expect Pakistan to reopen Afghan war supply routes soon
(Reuters) - As the Taliban kicks off its spring fighting season in Afghanistan, an agreement with Pakistan that would help NATO supply its troops there could be weeks or months away, forcing military leaders to spend two-and-a-half times as much to ship some supplies through Central Asia.
The Obama administration remains locked in negotiations with Pakistan to reopen the key supply routes into Afghanistan, and officials do not expect talks bogged down over proposed tariffs and U.S. military assistance to reach resolution anytime soon.
The continued closure of ground routes, which Islamabad shut after two dozen of its soldiers were killed by NATO aircraft in November, poses one more challenge to U.S. President Barack Obama's already troubled campaign in Afghanistan.
A deal is almost certainly impossible before May 20-21, when Obama will host NATO leaders in his hometown of Chicago. There, Western leaders will define plans for moving out of Afghanistan and for funding local troops they hope can contain a resilient insurgency when NATO withdraws.
Reuters:Russia talk of pre-emptive strike unjustified: NATO
Russia talk of pre-emptive strike unjustified: NATO
(Reuters) - A Kremlin threat to launch pre-emptive strikes on a planned NATO missile defense system in Europe is unjustified as the system poses no threat to Russia's security, the head of the Atlantic alliance said on Friday.
NATO has long insisted that the anti-missile shield it is developing is aimed at protecting member states from a possible Iranian attack, but Russia says it fears the system could undermine the effectiveness of its own nuclear arsenal.
In a stark warning head of Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency next week, Russia's military chief-of-staff said on Thursday that Moscow could carry out pre-emptive strikes on NATO missile defense installations.
"These statements are unjustified," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in Berlin after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Reuters:Ohio court reverses $2 billion judgment against Ford
Ohio court reverses $2 billion judgment against Ford
(Reuters) - The Ohio Court of Appeals reversed a $2 billion judgment against Ford Motor Co this week and ordered a new trial for a group of dealers who said the No. 2 U.S. automaker overcharged them for commercial trucks over an 11-year period.
In its Thursday ruling, the appeals court said the contract at the heart of the dealers' class-action suit was "ambiguous." It also said evidence submitted by Ford was wrongly excluded.
"We hold that the trial court abused its discretion in excluding Ford's mitigating evidence at the damages trial," the court said in its ruling.
Ford disclosed the reversal in a quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
CNET:McAfee founder booked on drug, weapons charges, report says
McAfee founder booked on drug, weapons charges, report says
John McAfee, the man behind the anti-virus name, says he's being bugged by Belize's Gang Suppression Unit.
His home was raided by four different arms of armed Belize official organizations, including the GSU and the police. At least that is what is being reported by Channel 5 in Belize.
When I say "his home," this appears to consist of nine houses and is the site of the Belize Ecological Foundation. The Belize Gang Suppression Unit's press release declares that McAfee, 66, was there with his 17-year-old girlfriend (referred to as a minor) and five security guards.
The GSU reportedly says it discovered 10 firearms and 5 air rifles, all allegedly unlicensed. It also claims that it took samples of an alleged antibiotic that was being manufactured at this home. The GSU is sure that McAfee had no license for such a production, the report says.