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 crisis: Misrata tribes 'may fight rebels'
Libya crisis: Misrata tribes 'may fight rebels'
Tribes loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have said that if the army cannot drive rebels from the besieged port city of Misrata, they will, a senior official says.
Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said the army had tried to keep civilian casualties low but the tribes would not show the same restraint.
Col Gaddafi's forces have been pounding Misrata for weeks.
Meanwhile, Nato forces carried out more air strikes on the capital, Tripoli.
BBC:France seeks change to Schengen border agreement
France seeks change to Schengen border agreement
France has called for an easier mechanism to temporarily suspend an agreement which allows freedom of movement across 25 European countries.
The move follows an influx of migrants from Tunisia and Libya into Italy.
Italy's decision to grant Tunisians 20,000 temporary residence permits, allowing free travel in the passport-free Schengen zone, has angered France.
Last week, French officials temporarily stopped trains with migrants crossing the border from Italy into France.
BBC:US oil spill: Transocean 'contributed' to Gulf disaster
US oil spill: Transocean 'contributed' to Gulf disaster
A lax safety culture and poorly working kit aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig contributed to last year's explosion, the US Coast Guard says.
In a report on the incident, which killed 11 and caused a massive spill, the agency criticised the practices and training of rig owner Transocean.
It said equipment was poorly maintained and alarms and automatic shutdown systems did not work properly.
A Transocean spokesman on Friday rejected the findings
BBC:US seeks Haiti election explanation amid fraud concerns
US seeks Haiti election explanation amid fraud concerns
The United States embassy in Haiti has said it is worried about possible fraud in recent legislative elections there.
In a statement, the embassy said the Haitian government and the country's provisional electoral commission needed to explain why a number of candidates won seats in the final results, when they hadn't been leading in preliminary counts.
Of 18 such cases, it said, 16 favoured the governing Unity party - known in Haiti as Inite - of the outgoing President, Rene Preval.
Haiti's President-elect, Michel Martelly, has called for an investigation into the results and urged Mr Preval not to ratify them.
BBC:Yemen unrest: Largest pro-Saleh rally held in Sanaa
Yemen unrest: Largest pro-Saleh rally held in Sanaa
Yemen's president has welcomed the Gulf Arab plan for a transition of power, in a speech to the largest demonstration by his supporters so far.
But Ali Abdullah Saleh made no commitment to accept the plan.
Hundreds of thousands rallied in his support in the capital, Sanaa, while similar numbers of opponents met nearby and in the southern city of Taiz.
At least 120 people have died in two months of protests demanding the end of Mr Saleh's 32-year rule.
BBC:Ivory Coast: Alassane Ouattara recalls army to barracks
Ivory Coast: Alassane Ouattara recalls army to barracks
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has ordered all soldiers to return to their barracks as he tries to restore normality after months of unrest.
He said that law and order would now be enforced by the police and gendarmes.
He took power last week after his forces arrested his rival, Laurent Gbagbo, who had refused to concede defeat in last year's elections.
But some pro-Gbagbo militias continue to operate in parts of the main city, Abidjan.
Earlier this week, two rival group of pro-Ouattara forces clashed in the city - the "Invisible Commandos" which had taken control of parts of Abidjan and the Republican Forces who had swept across the country from their northern bases in March.
Reuters:Syria buries scores of dead; more protests due
Syria buries scores of dead; more protests due
(Reuters) - Scores of pro-democracy protesters killed by security forces will be buried across Syria in funerals expected to attract large crowds on Saturday and fuel mounting defiance against authoritarian rule.
A group of activists coordinating the demonstrations said regular forces and gunman loyal to President Bashar al-Assad shot dead at least 88 civilians on Friday. Rights groups had earlier put the death toll at a minimum of 70.
The Local Coordination Committees activist group sent Reuters a list with names of 88 people classified by region. The group said they were killed in areas stretching from the port city of Latakia to Homs, Hama, Damascus and the southern village of Izra'a.
It was by far the bloodiest day yet in a month of demonstrations demanding political freedoms and an end to corruption in the country of 20 million people.
Reuters:NATO hits near Gaddafi compound, Libya says three dead
NATO hits near Gaddafi compound, Libya says three dead
(Reuters) - NATO jets hit a target near Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's compound in central Tripoli early Saturday, which the government described as a car park but which Reuters reporters said looked like a bunker.
Government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said three people were killed by the "very powerful explosion" near Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziyah compound in the early hours of Saturday.
Reuters reporters said cars were parked on the empty land but the area was surrounded by a wall and guarded by watchtowers and soldiers, suggesting it was not simply wasteland.
They saw two large holes in the ground, where the bombs had torn through a layer of soil, followed by a layer of reinforced concrete, to pierce what appeared to be an underground bunker.
Reuters:Iraq must decide in "weeks" on U.S. troops: Admiral Mullen
Iraq must decide in "weeks" on U.S. troops: Admiral Mullen
(Reuters) - Iraq has only weeks to decide if it wants to keep U.S. troops beyond an end-2011 deadline for their withdrawal, the top U.S. military officer said Friday in Baghdad following talks with Iraq's prime minister.
The comments by Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, are the strongest so far by U.S. officials warning Baghdad that Washington will soon have to initiate the withdrawal of its 47,000 forces under the terms of a bilateral security pact.
Asked what Iraq's deadline was for deciding, Mullen said: "I think the timeline is in the next few weeks."
"Because there, for the withdrawal, there is what I call a physics problem with 47,000 troops here, lots of equipment and physically it just takes time to move them."
Reuters:Thai, Cambodian troops clash again on disputed border
Thai, Cambodian troops clash again on disputed border
(Reuters) - Thai and Cambodian troops clashed again on Saturday on their disputed border, Cambodian officials said, a day after fighting in the area killed at least four Thai paramilitary troops and three Cambodian soldiers.
Both sides have evacuated thousands of villagers and accused each other of firing first in the thick, disputed jungle around Ta Moan and Ta Krabei temples in the northeastern Thai province of Surin, about 150 km (93 miles) west of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which saw a deadly stand-off in February.
Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said the latest fighting began before dawn on Saturday and had not stopped. Cambodian Defense Ministry spokesman Chhum Sucheat said the clashes are more intense than Friday's fighting.
He accused Thailand of operating "spy planes" in the area and firing at Cambodian troops with heavy artillery.
Reuters:Arab Emirates crown prince to visit Obama on Tuesday
Arab Emirates crown prince to visit Obama on Tuesday
(Reuters) - The crown prince of the United Arab Emirates will visit President Barack Obama at the White House next Tuesday to discuss relations between the two countries, the White House said on Friday.
Obama and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will use the visit to discuss strong ties between the two countries and "our common strategic interests" in the region, a statement said.
The United Arab Emirates has been among the Gulf Arab states seeking to negotiate an orderly transition of power in Yemen after three months of unrest.
Reuters:U.S. backs peaceful settlement of Honduran conflicts
U.S. backs peaceful settlement of Honduran conflicts
Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed strong support on Friday for efforts to resolve political and safety challenges in Honduras, divided by the aftermath of a coup in 2009.
Clinton and President Porfirio Lobo spoke by telephone about "political and citizen safety challenges" in Honduras and her strong support of work by Lobo and the Honduran people to address the challenges, said a State Department official.
"Secretary Clinton also conveyed her commitment to seeing Honduras readmitted to the OAS (Organization of American States) and rejoin the Inter-American community of democratic states," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Lobo was elected president following the June 2009 military coup that deposed Manuel Zelaya. There are reports of increased crime and drug trafficking amid the civic dissension that followed the coup. Zelaya reportedly plans to return to Honduras in May.
NY Times:Amazon’s Trouble Raises Cloud Computing Doubts
Amazon’s Trouble Raises Cloud Computing Doubts
As technical problems interrupted computer services provided by Amazon for a second day on Friday, industry analysts said the troubles would prompt many companies to reconsider relying on remote computers beyond their control.
“This is a wake-up call for cloud computing,” said Matthew Eastwood, an analyst for the research firm IDC, using the term for accessing services and information in big data centers remotely over the Internet from anywhere, as if the services were in a cloud. “It will force a conversation in the industry.”
That discussion, he said, will most likely center on what data and computer operations to send off to the cloud and what to keep inside the corporate walls.
But another issue, Mr. Eastwood said, will be a re-examination of the contracts that cover cloud services — how much to pay for backup and recovery services, including paying extra for data centers in different locations. That is because the companies that were apparently hit hardest by the Amazon interruption were start-ups that, analysts said, are focused on moving fast in pursuit of growth, and less apt to pay for extensive backup and recovery services.