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:Asteroid 2012 DA14 in record-breaking Earth pass
Asteroid 2012 DA14 in record-breaking Earth pass
An asteroid as large as an Olympic swimming pool has raced past the Earth at a distance of just 27,700km (17,200mi) - the closest ever predicted for an object of that size.
It passed far closer even than the geosynchronous satellites that orbit the Earth, but there was no risk of impacts or collisions.
Its closest approach was at 19:25 GMT.
For regions in darkness, it should remain visible until about midnight through good binoculars or a telescope.
BBC:Facebook was targeted by 'sophisticated' hackers
Facebook was targeted by 'sophisticated' hackers
Facebook has revealed it was the target of a "sophisticated attack" by hackers last month, but found no evidence any user data had been compromised.
The US-based social network said that the attack occurred when employees visited a mobile developer website "that was compromised".
Facebook said in a blog post that it was not the only company to have been attacked in this way.
More than one billion people use Facebook worldwide.
BBC:Brazil troops to fight wave of attacks in the south
Brazil troops to fight wave of attacks in the south
The Brazilian government has sent military reinforcements to tackle a wave of violence in the southern state of Santa Catarina.
More than 100 vehicles and offices have been attacked in the past month.
The government suspended classes on Friday, a day after bus drivers voted to limit journeys from 0700 to 1900, for fear of attack.
The reason for the attacks is unclear, but police say they could be a reaction to reported abuse in state prisons.
BBC:Uhuru Kenyatta free to run after Kenya election ruling
Uhuru Kenyatta free to run after Kenya election ruling
Kenya's deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta - accused of crimes against humanity - can stand in next month's election, after a court declined to bar him.
The High Court refused to rule in a case brought by campaign groups seeking to exclude him from the 4 March poll.
Mr Kenyatta and Prime Minister Raila Odinga are seen as the favourites.
Mr Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto deny the charges brought against them in The Hague.
BBC:G20 leaked communique doesn't single out Japan
G20 leaked communique doesn't single out Japan
Finance ministers of the G20 nations meeting in Moscow may not criticise Japan for weakening the yen, a leaked draft communique has indicated.
The news sent the yen sharply lower, falling 1.5% against the dollar.
Japan's new government has demanded looser monetary policy, causing the yen to fall 15% in value since September.
The weak yen gives Japan's exporters a price advantage, raising fears of a "currency war" - competitive devaluations by other big exporters.
BBC:Kashmir border: India kills Pakistani soldier
Kashmir border: India kills Pakistani soldier
A Pakistani soldier who strayed over the border in the disputed territory of Kashmir has been killed.
The Indian army say the soldier was killed in a gun battle on Thursday. Pakistan disputes this, saying the soldier had identified himself before being killed.
Last month several deadly cross-border attacks plunged the neighbours into the worst crisis in relations in years.
Claimed by both countries, Kashmir has been a flashpoint for over 60 years.
Reuters:Big powers to offer easing gold sanctions at Iran nuclear talks
Big powers to offer easing gold sanctions at Iran nuclear talks
(Reuters) - Major powers plan to offer to ease sanctions barring trade in gold and other precious metals with Iran in return for Iranian steps to shut down the nation's newly expanded Fordow uranium enrichment plant, Western officials said on Friday.
The officials said the offer is to be presented to Iran at February 26 talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and they acknowledged that it represents a relatively modest update to proposals that the six major powers put forward last year.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officials said their decision not to make a dramatically new offer in part reflected skepticism that Iran is ready to make a deal ahead of its June 14 presidential election.
The group, which includes Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - and is known as the P5+1 - wants Iran to do more to prove that its nuclear program is for only non-military purposes and to permit wider U.N. inspections.
Reuters:SAC has $1.68 billion in withdrawals as trading probe deepens
SAC has $1.68 billion in withdrawals as trading probe deepens
(Reuters) - Hedge fund billionaire Steven A. Cohen is feeling the pinch from the federal government's insider trading probe as outside investors in his SAC Capital Advisors submitted requests to withdraw a total of $1.68 billion from the firm by year's end.
The amount of the investor redemption notices exceeds the $1 billion figure Cohen had been telling the 900 employees at his $14 billion hedge fund to expect. The firm was bracing for withdrawals as the insider trading investigation increasingly focuses on the activities of former employees of Cohen's fund.
But the redemptions likely will not impede SAC Capital's operation in the near term, because they will be made in quarterly payments to the investors. And roughly 60 percent of the money managed by Cohen's firm is either his or his employees'.
Approximately $660 million in redemptions will be paid out on March 31, an amount that includes some prior redemptions received in 2012. The remaining roughly $1 billion of the new redemption request will be paid in out in the subsequent three quarters.
Reuters:Cuban dissident blogger prepares 'victory' tour abroad
Cuban dissident blogger prepares 'victory' tour abroad
(Reuters) - Cuba's best-known dissident, blogger Yoani Sanchez, said she plans to make good use of "my victory" when she leaves on an 80-day-tour of more than a dozen countries on Sunday.
Sanchez, under Cuba's sweeping migration reform that went into effect this year, was granted a passport two weeks ago, after being denied permission to travel more than 20 times over the past five years.
Sanchez, considered Cuba's pioneer in social networking, told Reuters on Thursday that she would visit the headquarters of Google, Twitter and Facebook, and travel to Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, the United States, Spain, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and other countries.
"This is a victory after fighting five years for my right to travel, using patience, energy, legal and journalistic tools, and most of all the solidarity of many people," she said, as she left her home to pick up a visa at a local embassy.
Reuters:North Korea tells China of preparations for fresh nuclear test - source
North Korea tells China of preparations for fresh nuclear test - source
(Reuters) - North Korea has told its key ally, China, that it is prepared to stage one or even two more nuclear tests this year in an effort to force the United States into diplomatic talks, said a source with direct knowledge of the message.
Further tests could also be accompanied this year by another rocket launch, said the source, who has direct access to the top levels of government in both Beijing and Pyongyang.
North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on Tuesday, drawing global condemnation and a stern warning from the United States that it was a threat and a provocation.
"It's all ready. A fourth and fifth nuclear test and a rocket launch could be conducted soon, possibly this year," the source said, adding that the fourth nuclear test would be much larger than the third, at an equivalent of 10 kilotons of TNT.
Reuters:In a rarity, a meteor hit and an asteroid near-miss on same day
In a rarity, a meteor hit and an asteroid near-miss on same day
(Reuters) - An asteroid half the size of a football field passed closer to Earth than any other known object of its size on Friday, the same day an unrelated and much smaller space rock blazed over central Russia, creating shock waves that shattered windows and injured 1,200 people.
Asteroid 2012 DA14, discovered just last year, passed about 17,200 miles from Earth at 2:25 p.m. EST (1925 GMT), closer than the networks of television and weather satellites that ring the planet.
"It's like a shooting gallery here. We have two rare events of near-Earth objects approaching the Earth on the same day," NASA scientist Paul Chodas said during a webcast showing live images of the asteroid from a telescope in Australia.
Scientists said the two events, both rare, are not related -the body that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, at 10:20 p.m. EST Thursday (0320 GMT Friday) came from a different direction and different speed than DA14.
Reuters:Obama to hold White House talks with Japan's Abe on Feb 22
Obama to hold White House talks with Japan's Abe on Feb 22
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama will host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for talks in Washington on February 22, the White House said on Friday.
"The president looks forward to in-depth discussions with Prime Minister Abe on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues, including the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance, economic and trade issues, and deepening bilateral cooperation," Obama's press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.
It will be the first meeting of the two leaders since Abe led his party back to power in December. A nuclear test by North Korea on Tuesday that drew international condemnation is sure to figure prominently in their talks.
Financial Times:Swiss account frozen over Heinz trades
Swiss account frozen over Heinz trades
The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged a Swiss bank account was used to improperly buy derivatives contracts in advance of the $28bn deal to take Heinz private.
