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:US, France and Germany condemn Syria's Assad
US, France and Germany condemn Syria's Assad
The US, French and German leaders have condemned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the use of "indiscriminate violence" against protesters.
President Barack Obama called France's Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany's Angela Merkel and to discuss new measures against Damascus, the White House said.
Earlier, Syrian activists said security forces shot dead at least 13 people in unrest across the country on Friday.
The protests show no sign of abating, despite a government crackdown.
BBC:Scandal-hit Polish politician Andrzej Lepper dead
Scandal-hit Polish politician Andrzej Lepper dead
Polish populist politician Andrzej Lepper has died at the age of 57 in Warsaw, with police suspecting he killed himself.
The leader of the Self-Defence Party was found dead in a party office, police said.
His career in politics was latterly overshadowed by a long-running sexual assault case.
Mr Lepper served in government as deputy prime minister to Jaroslaw Kaczynski in a 2006-2007 coalition.
BBC:Sudan blocks South's oil shipment after money row
Sudan blocks South's oil shipment after money row
Sudan has blocked an oil shipment from the new state of South Sudan, accusing it of failing to pay customs duties.
The oil was being held at the northern export hub of Port Sudan, a government spokesman in Khartoum said.
South Sudan has to export oil via the north because it has no port or refineries of its own.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since South Sudan became independent on 9 July, analysts say.
BBC:Chile marks year since mine collapse
Chile marks year since mine collapse
Chile has held ceremonies to mark the anniversary of the mine collapse that left 33 men trapped for 69 days.
President Sebastian Pinera joined most of the miners at a religious ceremony in the town of Copiapo to give thanks for their rescue.
The San Jose mine collapsed on 5 August 2010, cutting off the miners at a depth of more than 700m (2,300ft).
The last miner was winched to safety on 14 October after a 22-hour televised rescue that gripped th
BBC:Cuba upholds US contractor Alan Gross sentence
Cuba upholds US contractor Alan Gross sentence
Cuba's Supreme Court has upheld a 15-year prison sentence imposed on a US contractor accused of crimes against the state.
The contractor, 62-year-old Alan Gross, was convicted in March of distributing illegal communications equipment in Havana.
He says he was just trying to help Cuba's small Jewish community.
The rejection of his appeal is likely to further sour relations between the US and Cuba.
BBC:Pilot Myrtle Rose prompts alert during Obama visit
Pilot Myrtle Rose prompts alert during Obama visit
Two F-16s intercepted Myrtle Rose's aircraft as she took to the skies over the suburbs of Chicago city on Wednesday afternoon.
The widow told US media she thought the warplanes were just admiring her plane.
The agency which oversees air safety in America said it was investigating.
Because of President Barack Obama's visit to Chicago on Wednesday to attend a fundraiser marking his 50th birthday, restrictions were in place forbidding private pilots to come within 30 miles (48km) of the city's O'Hare Airport.
Reuters:Libya denies report Gaddafi's son Khamis killed by NATO
Libya denies report Gaddafi's son Khamis killed by NATO
(Reuters) - The government of Muammar Gaddafi denied a rebel report Friday that a NATO air strike had killed the Libyan leader's son Khamis, commander of one of the government's most loyal and best-equipped units.
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the report of Khamis Gaddafi's death was a ploy to cover up the killing of a civilian family in Zlitan, a battlefront city where Gaddafi forces are trying to halt the rebel advance on Tripoli.
"It's false news. This is a dirty trick to cover up their crime in Zlitan and the killing of the al-Marabit family. They invented the news about Mr Khamis Gaddafi in Zlitan to cover up their killing," he told Reuters.
A rebel spokesman said the air strike had killed 32 Gaddafi loyalists in Zlitan, where Khamis Gaddafi's elite 32nd Brigade is believed to have been leading the stand to defend the approaches to Tripoli, 160 km (100 miles) away.
Reuters:July payrolls gain soothes recession fears
July payrolls gain soothes recession fears
(Reuters) - U.S. job growth accelerated more than expected in July, tamping down fears the economy was sliding into a fresh recession and easing pressure on the Federal Reserve to provide more support for the weak economy.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 117,000 after slowing abruptly in the past two months, Labor Department data showed on Friday. The rise beat economists' expectations for an 85,000 gain.
The unemployment rate dipped to 9.1 percent from June's 9.2 percent, but that was because discouraged job-seekers gave up the search for work. Still, the report was heartening after a rush of disappointing data over the past week.
"This shows that the U.S. economy is not dead yet. We have potential to get back on track with moderate growth to a strong recovery next year," said Kurt Karl, head of economic research and consulting at Swiss Re in New York.
Reuters:Gunman killed near Saudi prince's palace
Gunman killed near Saudi prince's palace
(Reuters) - Saudi security forces killed a gunman on Saturday morning after he fired at a checkpoint near the Interior Minister's palace in Jeddah, the state news agency said.
"At 1 a.m. on Saturday, a person carrying a gun fired at a checkpoint in Abdulrahman Al-Malki Street in Jeddah. He was dealt with swiftly and was killed. The event is still under investigation," the statement said.
Around the same time two years ago the Interior Minister's son, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef Al-Saud, who oversees the country's counter-terrorism program, survived an attempt on his life by a suicide bomber posing as a repentant militant.
Interior Ministry spokesperson Mansour al-Turki referred a call for comment to Jeddah police spokesperson Mesfer Aljoayed, who was not immediately available.
Reuters:Chavez to return to Cuba for more chemotherapy
Chavez to return to Cuba for more chemotherapy
(Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Friday he will return to Cuba for a second session of chemotherapy to treat a cancer that has forced him to slow his pace ahead of a re-election bid next year.
Chavez, who had surgery in Havana in June to remove a baseball-sized tumor, told state TV in a phone call that he would undergo medical tests in Cuba on Sunday and could resume chemotherapy treatment on Monday depending on the results.
"My evolution continues to be favorable. Recent tests show that. My physical condition is still not the best," the 57-year-old socialist leader said.
Chavez said his trip to Cuba could last five days.
Reuters:Venezuela frees more than 2,000 prisoners
Venezuela frees more than 2,000 prisoners
(Reuters) - Venezuela freed more than 2,000 inmates to improve conditions in its violent and overcrowded prisons at the start of what could be a much larger amnesty across the South American nation, state media said on Friday.
With about 50,000 prisoners confined to aging facilities designed to hold just 13,000, the penal system is in chaos, rights campaigners and government officials say.
The prisons crisis is a big issue ahead of next year's election, where President Hugo Chavez aims for another six-year term. It drew world attention in June when thousands of troops stormed one jail, guns blazing, to end a deadly insurrection.
State news agency AVN said the release program only applied to inmates serving sentences of five years or fewer and who had behaved well. Factors such as the crime committed and its impact on society were also taken into account.
Reuters:IRS will not go after airline fare hikes
IRS will not go after airline fare hikes
(Reuters) - The government does not plan to go after more than $400 million in airline revenue from fare increases that were facilitated by a two-week ticket-tax holiday resulting from a congressional dispute over aviation funding.
The Internal Revenue Service said on Friday it did not intend to seek retroactive payments from passengers or airlines relating to taxes that were not collected during a partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Consumer advocacy groups and some in government sought to shame the airlines, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and US Airways, into ending fare hikes that were imposed soon after the 7.5 percent ticket tax was suspended.
"What do they do the minute that they're not required to remit those fees to the government?" said Robert Mann, a former airline executive who is now an industry consultant. "They internalize them and make them part of the fare, which, of course, has the same effect, because out of pocket the customer is paying the same price."
Sun Times:‘Spam King’ could get 40 years for 27 mil. Facebook messages
‘Spam King’ could get 40 years for 27 mil. Facebook messages
SAN FRANCISCO — A Las Vegas man accused of sending more than 27 million spam messages to Facebook users faces federal fraud and computer tampering charges that could send him to prison for more than 40 years, according to a grand jury indictment.
Sanford Wallace, the self-proclaimed “Spam King,” pleaded not guilty during an initial court appearance Thursday after being indicted July 6 on six counts of electronic mail fraud, three counts of intentional damage to a protected computer and two counts of criminal contempt.
The indictment filed in San Jose federal court said Wallace compromised about 500,000 Facebook accounts between November 2008 and March 2009 by sending massive amounts of spam through the company’s servers on three separate occasions.
Wallace would collect Facebook user account information by sending “phishing” messages that tricked users of the social networking site into providing their passwords, the indictment said.