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.
The OND concept was borne under the keen keyboard of Magnifico - proper respect is due.
Current Contributers are ScottyUrb, Bentliberal, wader,Oke, rfall, JML9999 and Neon Vincent.
Editorial Note:The US Debt Ceiling is being covered elsewhere on this site with up to the minute updates. Meanwhile elsewhere on the planet.......
BBC:Turkey: Military chiefs resign en masse
Turkey: Military chiefs resign en masse
The chief of the Turkish armed forces, Isik Kosaner, has resigned along with the army, navy and air force heads.
They were furious about the arrest of senior officers, accused of plotting, shortly before a round of military promotions.
A series of meetings between Gen Kosaner and PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed to resolve their differences.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul moved quickly to appoint General Necdet Ozel as the new army chief.
BBC:Norway shooting: Funerals for Breivik victims
Norway shooting: Funerals for Breivik victims
Police now say 77 people, most of them teenagers, were killed in Oslo and on nearby Utoeya island.
Norwegian leaders also joined relatives in Oslo for a memorial service for victims of the Utoeya shootings.
Killer Anders Behring Breivik was meanwhile questioned again by police. The names of the remaining victims, 36 in total, have now been released.
Police had previously put the total number of people known to have died at 76. Reports say the discrepancy can be explained by the fact that one of the Utoeya victims later died in hospital.
BBC:Air France Rio crash: Pilots 'lacked training'
Air France Rio crash: Pilots 'lacked training'
France's BEA authority said pilots had failed to discuss repeated stall warnings and did not have the training to deal with the hazard. Air France rejected the accusation.
BEA called for mandatory training in high-altitude stalling for all pilots.
All 228 people on board the Airbus 330 from Brazil to France were killed.
'No passenger alert'
BEA head Jean-Paul Troadec said that "the situation was salvageable" during the flight's final minutes.
BBC:Mass protests staged again across Syria
Mass protests staged again across Syria
Troops fired live ammunition and tear gas at protesters, killing two people and wounding dozens, activists said.
There have been reports of fighting in the eastern city of Deir al-Zour between military intelligence agents and residents after five protesters were killed overnight.
Earlier, state media said a blast hit an oil pipeline near the city of Homs.
The attack was the second of its kind this month. State news agency Sana called the explosion a terrorist attack by a group of "saboteurs".
BBC:Egypt uprising: Islamists lead Tahrir Square rally
Egypt uprising: Islamists lead Tahrir Square rally
Many protesters - dominated by Muslim Brotherhood supporters - are calling for an Islamic state and Sharia law.
Correspondents say the rallies will be a worrying development for secularists.
The Brotherhood is the most organised political force in Egypt, although it was not prominent in the revolution.
Tensions have been running high between Egypt's Islamist and secular groups, who are at odds over the transition to democracy in the Arab world's most populated country.
BBC:Richard Nixon Watergate testimony ordered released
Richard Nixon Watergate testimony ordered released
Judge Royce Lamberth granted a request by historian Stanley Kutler to release the transcript, citing of its historical significance.
But it will not be unsealed until the government has had a chance to appeal.
The political scandal prompted Nixon to resign in 1974.
Nixon, who died 17 years ago, was the only US president to resign.
Reuters:Libyan rebels say commander killed by allied militia
Libyan rebels say commander killed by allied militia
(Reuters) - Libyan rebels said on Friday the gunmen who shot dead the rebel military chief were fighters of an allied militia, in apparent confirmation of deep rifts among the forces struggling to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.
The reports follow 24 hours of confusion over the killing of Abdel Fattah Younes, a defector from Gaddafi's inner circle, whose death deals a blow both to the rebels and their Western backers.
There had been widespread speculation as to whether Younes had been killed in an internal rebel feud or by Gaddafi forces which had penetrated the Benghazi-based movement.
The killing of such a senior figure was a setback for the rebels as they were winning broader international recognition and launching an offensive in the west, and has deepened fears that divisions within the rebel camp will prolong the conflict.
Reuters:California moves presidential primary to June
California moves presidential primary to June
(Reuters) - California has moved its presidential primary to June, consolidating trips to the poll to save money in an election that most voters in the Democratic leaning state see as a foregone conclusion.
Governor Jerry Brown signed the move into law on Friday.
The state for years tried to raise its profile in the national presidential race, but its efforts have been diluted as other states have made similar moves.
California spent nearly $100 million for its presidential primary on February 5, 2008, when 24 states, nearly half the nation, held nominating contests in a battle known as "Super Tuesday".
Reuters:Anonymous says hacked U.S. government cyber supplier
Anonymous says hacked U.S. government cyber supplier
(Reuters) - Hackers with the loose-knit group Anonymous said on Friday they had broken into the network of U.S. government contractor Mantech International Corp and posted some NATO-related correspondence online.
Anonymous, tweeting as AnonymousIRC, offered the correspondence between Mantech and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as proof of the breach. Two involve NATO contracting offices, and one discusses deploying staffers to an unnamed "NATO Theater of Operations" for what appears to be tech services.
Mantech, which claims the U.S. Defense, State and Justice Departments among its clients, declined to comment. It offers cyber security among its services.
Hackers associated with Lulz Security and Anonymous have claimed responsibility for cyber attacks on the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Senate, Sony Corp websites and the website of Murdoch's British newspaper group, News International, among others.
Reuters:U.S. military chief aims to reassure Afghans after attacks
U.S. military chief aims to reassure Afghans after attacks
(Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan on Friday, aiming to reassure a country rattled by a wave of high-profile attacks and assassinations.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. officials had long predicted the kind of attacks that have shaken southern Afghanistan and Kandahar province in recent weeks.
"We're not surprised at the spectacular attacks. We thought that's where they'd try to go. That's where they're going and we've got to work hard to prevent that," Mullen told reporters before departing for Kandahar province.
A suicide bomber killed the mayor of Kandahar on Wednesday, compounding fears of a dangerous power vacuum in Afghanistan's south in the wake of the assassination of President Hamid Karzai's half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai.
Reuters:Ford hopes to avoid strike in labor talks
Ford hopes to avoid strike in labor talks
(Reuters) - Ford Motor Co's (F.N) labor chief said the U.S. automaker hopes to avoid a strike in its talks for a new labor deal with the United Auto Workers union, which officially began on Friday.
"The last thing we want to do is incur a strike," said Marty Malloy at the kickoff ceremony at a Ford truck assembly plant in Dearborn, Michigan. "We work great with the UAW."
At the ceremony at the Ford factory, the UAW negotiating team was dressed in sky blue pullover shirts, while Ford executives wore dark business suits and ties. Despite the sartorial differences, both sides voiced optimism about the talks.
Ford, which has not suffered a UAW strike since 1976, was the last of the three U.S. automakers to open talks with the UAW, following Chrysler on Monday and General Motors Co (GM.N) on Wednesday. While the UAW cannot strike GM or Chrysler, it has no such limitation with Ford.
Reuters:Lehman to appeal order validating Barclays sale
Lehman to appeal order validating Barclays sale
(Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK) will appeal a court order upholding the rushed sale of its North American business to Barclays PLC (BARC.L) nearly three years ago, a deal Lehman said afforded Barclays an $11 billion (6.7 billion pounds) "windfall."
In court papers filed late Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Lehman said it will appeal to Manhattan federal court the February ruling from Judge James Peck, who presides over Lehman's bankruptcy.
Lehman was expected to appeal the matter, aspects of which have already been appealed by Barclays and by the trustee liquidating Lehman's brokerage.
Lehman's creditors' committee also filed an appeal notice Thursday, saying it would seek review of a related order rejecting the committee's objections to the Barclays deal.
LA Times:Tropical Storm Don closes in on Texas
Tropical Storm Don closes in on Texas
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- While Tropical Storm Don continues closing in on Texas, a new tropical disturbance has popped up in the Atlantic, and it's already showing signs of organization.
At 2 p.m. EDT on Friday the large tropical wave was about 1,150 miles southeast of the Lesser Antilles, moving northwest at 15 to 20 mph. It was about 2,750 miles southeast of Miami.
For now the National Hurricane Center gives it a 30 percent chance of strengthening into a depression or storm within the next two days. But forecasters note environment conditions are ripe for gradual development.
Where it will go, far too soon to say. Early model runs aim it generally toward Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the U.S. coast. But it could end up going anywhere from Central America to the North Atlantic.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/...