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 Contributors are ScottyUrb, Bentliberal, wader,Oke, rfall, JML9999 and Neon Vincent.
BBC:David Cameron calls for Burma sanctions to be suspended
David Cameron calls for Burma sanctions to be suspended
David Cameron has said economic sanctions against Burma should be suspended in recognition of the changes taking place in the country.
The prime minister spoke after a meeting with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon.
Ms Suu Kyi welcomed his call and said the suspension of sanctions would "strengthen the hand of the reformers".
Mr Cameron is the first Western leader to visit Burma since her success in a series of parliamentary by-elections.
BBC:VAT rise 'could jeopardise Church renovation projects'
VAT rise 'could jeopardise Church renovation projects'
The Church of England fears church renovation projects could be scrapped because of planned changes to VAT set out in the Budget.
From October this year the Treasury will charge VAT at 20% on approved alterations to listed buildings - work which is currently exempt from the tax.
The Church thinks the change will cost it £20m a year.
The Treasury says funding will be available to ensure church renovations are not cancelled.
BBC:UN 'deplores' North Korea botched rocket launch
UN 'deplores' North Korea botched rocket launch
The UN Security Council has deplored the launch by North Korea of a rocket which broke up shortly after take-off.
A statement issued after closed-door talks said the launch was in breach of two Security Council resolutions.
Consultations on an appropriate response would continue, "given the urgency of the matter", it continued.
In an unusual step, the North admitted the launch of the satellite had failed, and went ahead with planned celebrations in Pyongyang.
BBC:Emperor penguins counted from spac
Emperor penguins counted from spac
Nearly twice as many emperor penguins inhabit Antarctica as was thought.
UK, US and Australian scientists used satellite technology to trace and count the iconic birds, finding them to number almost 600,000.
Their census technique relies in the first instance on locating individual colonies, which is done by looking for big brown patches of guano (penguin poo) on the white ice.
High resolution imagery is then used to work out the number of birds present.
BBC:Syria ceasefire: Security forces 'fire at protesters'
Syria ceasefire: Security forces 'fire at protesters'
Several people have been shot dead during protests in Syria, activists say, as the UN considers deploying monitors to oversee a peace plan.
Security forces fired into the air to disperse crowds in several locations. But in some, protesters were shot dead.
The demonstrations were seen as a major test of the ceasefire, in place since Thursday as part of UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's peace initiative.
The UN is expected to vote on a resolution on monitors on Saturday.
BBC:Venezuela's Chavez set for more Cuba cancer treatment
Venezuela's Chavez set for more Cuba cancer treatment
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has given a speech from the presidential palace in Caracas, the first since his latest round of treatment in Cuba for a malignant tumour.
Mr Chavez, who was more than two hours late, told thousands of supporters that he was "doing well".
But he also said he would return to Cuba on Saturday for more radiotherapy.
Mr Chavez said he did not know if he would be able to attend the Summit of the Americas in Colombia this weekend.
Reuters:Ocampo ends World Bank bid, backs Nigerian
Ocampo ends World Bank bid, backs Nigerian
(Reuters) - Former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo ended his bid to become World Bank president on Friday, leaving two candidates in an unprecedented challenge to U.S. control of the global development institution.
With the board of the World Bank to meet on Monday to pick a new president, Ocampo said he hoped emerging-market nations would rally behind Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in a race that he said had turned highly political.
Okonjo-Iweala, a former World Bank managing director, is now the sole candidate from developing nations in a race against U.S. nominee Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-American health expert who appears almost certain to secure the post.
Ocampo, who was nominated by Brazil, said his candidacy had been "handicapped" by a lack of support from his own country. Colombia said last month it was focusing on a bid for the presidency of the International Labor Organization, where it had a greater chance of success.
Reuters:Florida seeks to delay approval of BP settlement
Florida seeks to delay approval of BP settlement
(Reuters) - The Attorney General for the State of Florida has asked a federal court to delay granting preliminary approval of BP Plc's $7.8 billion settlement with businesses and individuals suing over the massive 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi, representing her constituents, said in a filing in Louisiana federal court on Friday that there is not enough information available about the settlement terms.
She asked that the court "delay any immediate decision on the preliminary approval" of the settlement and to establish a schedule to allow interested parties an opportunity to review the settlement.
The settlement requires approval from U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier.
Reuters:After Harvard, future is uncertain for Bo's son
After Harvard, future is uncertain for Bo's son
(Reuters) - Bo Guagua, a 24-year-old descendant of Chinese Communist royalty, seemed destined to one day become a rich and powerful businessman in an economy that in his lifetime would become the world's largest.
His pedigree, elite schooling, easy confidence and connections left those who knew him in no doubt he would pursue a business career and amass a fortune.
That was until a British expatriate, Neil Heywood, died last November in a hotel in a huge city in western China, a world away from the clipped lawns and hushed libraries of Harvard University where Bo was studying. The story now looks certain to ruin his family and upend his ambitions.
People are no longer sure of young Bo's fate: return to his family in China, seek asylum in the United States, or other options.
Reuters:Obama urged at summit to focus on Latin America
Obama urged at summit to focus on Latin America
(Reuters) - Washington should turn back to alliances with neighbors in Latin America rather than focus on faraway conflicts like Afghanistan, Colombia's president said on Friday before welcoming U.S. President Barack Obama to the Americas Summit.
U.S. influence has waned in recent years in a region it traditionally saw as its backyard, allowing China to gain ground and emerge as the No. 1 trade partner with various countries, including regional powerhouse Brazil.
"If the United States realizes its long-term strategic interests are not in Afghanistan or Pakistan, but in Latin America ... there will be great results," President Juan Manuel Santos said just before Obama flew into Cartagena.
Obama had a rapturous welcome at the last Summit of the Americas in 2009. But Latin American hopes, including for a U.S. rapprochement with communist-run Cuba, have been largely dashed as Obama has focused on other global priorities.
Reuters:Embarrassed by rocket crash, North Korea may try nuclear test
Embarrassed by rocket crash, North Korea may try nuclear test
(Reuters) - North Korea said its much hyped long-range rocket launch failed on Friday, in a very rare and embarrassing public admission of failure by the hermit state and a blow for its new young leader who faces international outrage over the attempt.
The isolated North, using the launch to celebrate the 100th birthday of the dead founding president Kim Il-sung and to mark the rise to power of his grandson Kim Jong-un, is now widely expected to press ahead with its third nuclear test to show its military strength.
"The possibility of an additional long-range rocket launch or a nuclear test, as well as a military provocation to strengthen internal solidarity is very high," a senior South Korean defense ministry official told a parliamentary hearing.
The two Koreas are divided by the world's most militarized border and remain technically at war after an armistice ended the Korean War in 1953.
Reuters:Tornado hits Oklahoma, start of expected weekend outbreak
Tornado hits Oklahoma, start of expected weekend outbreak
(Reuters) - Forecasters are warning of a major tornado outbreak in Kansas and Oklahoma this weekend, with Oklahoma getting a first taste of it on Friday with a tornado touching down near the National Weather Service office in Norman.
A tornado was seen near the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman just after 4 p.m. local time - the same town that holds the National Storm Prediction Center, according to a Twitter post from Rick Smith, a National Weather Service meteorologist. No damage report was immediately available.
An operator at the University of Oklahoma said people had been warned to get to a basement or low floor.
"I was watching this tornado on TV, which was neat until I realized it was right here in Norman," said the operator, who did not give a name.
Wa Po:On TV, legions of ‘strategists.’ A few probably really are.
On TV, legions of ‘strategists.’ A few probably really are.
On TV, just about everyone with a political opinion seems to be a “strategist.” Even when they’re not.
The label is bipartisan and multi-
network. CNN fills its air with people identified on-screen as either a “Republican strategist” or a “Democratic strategist.” So does Fox News and MSNBC. The broadcast networks shorthand their guests that way, too.
Apparently, the major political parties need a lot of strategy.
The “strategists” who sling opinions on TV, in fact, are many things — consultants, lobbyists, public-relations types, trade association executives. Some are even actual political strategists — though it’s hard to tell exactly who’s who and what the label means.