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.
BBC:Libya conflict: Gaddafi 'cluster bombing Misrata'
Libya conflict: Gaddafi 'cluster bombing Misrata'
Pro-government forces in Libya have been accused by a human rights campaign group of using cluster bombs, which are banned by more than 100 countries.
Human Rights Watch said one of its photographers had seen three of the bombs explode over a residential area of the rebel-held city of Misrata.
Libya's government has denied the allegation.
Government troops have intensified their siege of Misrata, the only west Libyan city still in rebel hands.
BBC:Syria: Clashes at mass Damascus protest
Syria: Clashes at mass Damascus protest
Syrian security forces have used tear gas and batons to disperse tens of thousands of protesters in the capital, Damascus, witnesses said.
The protesters called for reforms, while some demanded the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.
The protests, in Damascus and other cities, are believed to be the largest in a month of unrest in which about 200 people have been reported killed.
Mr Assad has made some concessions while cracking down on dissent.
BBC:Algeria leader Bouteflika pledges constitutional reform
Algeria leader Bouteflika pledges constitutional reform
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has been in power for 12 years, has promised to amend the constitution to "strengthen democracy".
Delivering a long-awaited speech on state TV, he said a constitutional commission would be created to draw up the necessary amendments.
It was his first address to the nation in three months.
Unrest broke out in January with strikes, marches and rioting echoing protests elsewhere in the Arab world.
BBC:Bolivia protests challenge Evo Morales
Bolivia protests challenge Evo Morales
Protesters in Bolivia have blocked main roads and clashed with police, on the ninth day of nationwide demonstrations against the government.
Police used tear gas to clear the main road south of La Paz, and protesters fought back with stones and slingshots.
Teachers and health workers are on strike to demand a 15% pay increase.
The unrest is the worst yet faced by President Evo Morales, who once led similar protests that forced two previous presidents from power.
BBC:Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaore sacks his government
Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaore sacks his government
Burkina Faso's president has dissolved his government after members of his presidential guard went on an overnight rampage in the capital Ouagadougou.
Blaise Compaore named a new army chief and fired the head of his presidential guard after the unrest - apparently in protest against unpaid allowances.
Mr Compaore, in power since 1987, had sought to calm soldiers earlier this month after similar complaints.
Burkina Faso has been affected by the turmoil in neighbouring Ivory Coast.
BBC:Afghan suicide bomber kills Kandahar police chief
Afghan suicide bomber kills Kandahar police chief
Khan Mohammad Mujahid was killed and two other police officers were injured in the blast, officials say.
A suicide bomber managed to penetrate the defences of the police headquarters by wearing a police uniform, the Afghan interior ministry said.
Mr Khan had survived previous attempts on his life. The police HQ has also been targeted in the past.
"The suicide attacker had strapped explosives to his body," deputy chief Shir Shah told the AFP news agency.
Reuters:Mubarak to be moved to Egypt army hospital
Mubarak to be moved to Egypt army hospital
(Reuters) - Egypt's ousted president Hosni Mubarak will be moved to a military hospital until he is well enough to face interrogation in a corruption investigation, the prosecutor said on Friday, as the army rulers seek to show they are serious about putting him on trial.
Little is known about what ails the 82-year-old Mubarak, who was admitted to a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday, shortly after he was questioned by prosecutors over corruption allegations.
State media said he suffered a "heart crisis" but medical sources at the hospital, and an unnamed official on the state news agency, said on Friday Mubarak was in good health.
A senior security source said Mubarak was likely to be transferred to a military hospital just outside Cairo within a few hours, which would be his first trip back to the capital he left when he stepped down on February 11 after mass protests.
Reuters:Nigerians pick president in crucial election
Nigerians pick president in crucial election
(Reuters) - Nigerians pick their next leader on Saturday in what they hope will be their first credible presidential election for decades, polls which could make or break the country's standing as a democratic leader in Africa.
The election pits President Goodluck Jonathan, the first head of state from the southern, oil-producing Niger Delta, against Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler with a reputation as a disciplinarian from the mostly-Muslim north.
Other candidates include former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu and Kano state governor Ibrahim Shekarau, although they are seen as rank outsiders.
The African giant, home to more people than Russia, has failed to hold a free and fair presidential election since military rule ended in 1999, leaving many of its 150 million citizens with little faith in the benefits of democracy.
Reuters:G20 backs early-warning plan against future crises
G20 backs early-warning plan against future crises
(Reuters) - Leading world economies agreed on Friday to put the policies of seven major nations under a microscope as part of a plan to prevent a repeat of the global financial crisis.
The pact was agreed by the Group of 20 nations after months of wrangling, which was highlighted by China's fears that its policy of limiting its currency's rise was being targeted.
Under the deal, the International Monetary Fund will look at national levels of debt, budget deficits and trade balances to determine if a nation's policies are putting the global economy at risk and should be changed.
One potential shortcoming is that countries will not be bound to follow any recommendations that emerge.
Reuters:NATO sea corridor mooted to help Libyan rebels
NATO sea corridor mooted to help Libyan rebels
(Reuters) - NATO is considering creating a sea corridor backed by naval vessels to enable merchant ships to boost trade with Libyan rebels and speed up humanitarian aid.
Fighting between Libyan armed forces and rebels who are trying to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi, as well as sanctions against the Libyan leader's government, have brought seaborne trade to a virtual standstill in recent weeks.
NATO has been enforcing a U.N. arms embargo on Gaddafi in international waters only. Merchant ships face a risk of attack inside Libyan waters due to the violence.
Two shipping sources said on Friday they were aware of proposals to create a secure shipping lane to Libya, though security sources said NATO would not be able to protect ships in port.
Reuters:Spy summit fails to resolve U.S.-Pakistan differences
Spy summit fails to resolve U.S.-Pakistan differences
(Reuters) - A summit of spymasters this week eased tensions but failed to resolve issues over U.S. drones and espionage that have imperiled the vital relationship between the CIA and Pakistan's main intelligence agency.
The United States and Pakistan have an uneasy alliance as U.S. soldiers fight the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan and the fragile government in Islamabad faces internal threats from Islamist militants and anti-American sentiment.
The case of a CIA contractor who killed two Pakistanis sent anger boiling and threatened the CIA's campaign of aerial drone strikes against militants hiding in Pakistan's tribal areas.
The U.S. spy agency is willing to expand consultations with Pakistan over drone operations, U.S. officials told Reuters after CIA Director Leon Panetta hosted Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency.
Reuters:Interest rates back to fixate investors
Interest rates back to fixate investors
(Reuters) - Financial markets have swung back into a new but familiar phase -- worrying about interest rates -- and, not coincidently, the euro zone debt crisis is also bubbling after a brief hiatus.
It all points to a couple of weeks ahead that are likely to be volatile -- risk-on, risk-off -- with a particular focus on the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting on April 26.
The interest rate issue is at its most obvious on the foreign exchange market, where carry trading has returned. Investors are borrowing in low-yielding currencies to invest in higher-yielding ones.
The euro, for example, is at its highest in 15 months against the dollar.
Irish Times:Early damages over radiation may be 50bn yen
Early damages over radiation may be 50bn yen
TOKYO – Japan plans to set up a government-backed insurance fund to put money into Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) and pay compensation stemming from the disaster at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the Nikkei newspaper said.
The plan aims to save Tepco from collapse, and would have the state initially shoulder the compensation costs, which it would then repay over several years by way of special dividends.
Tepco has yet to determine how much it will have to pay residents and businesses near the Fukushima plant, who were forced to evacuate after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami that caused deadly radiation leaks.
The company will make an initial compensation payment of 50 billion yen, its president Masataka Shimizu said yesterday at a news conference. He added that he did not know how much the final bill would be. Mr Shimizu said the power company would be aggressive in cutting costs.