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.
OND Editors consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors ScottyUrb, Bentliberal, wader, Oke, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir and jlms qkw, guest editors maggiejean and annetteboardman, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains
BBC:France election: Sarkozy and Hollande trade insults
France election: Sarkozy and Hollande trade insults
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his challenger Francois Hollande have traded insults in their only TV debate of the election campaign.
The president called Mr Hollande a "little slanderer", while his rival said Mr Sarkozy shirked responsibility.
Mr Sarkozy defended his record and said he had kept France out of recession. But Mr Hollande said France was going through a "serious crisis" and was struggling with slow growth.
The vote takes place on Sunday.
BBC:Sir Mervyn King renews push for bank reform
Sir Mervyn King renews push for bank reform
The governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King, has renewed calls for reform of the banking industry.
Sir Mervyn said that more money from banks' shareholders' should be "on the line", to make banks more careful in choosing to whom they lend.
He added that recommendations made by Sir John Vickers, including ring-fencing retail bank operations, should be enacted "sooner rather than later".
He also admitted the BoE should have done more to avert the banking crisis.
BBC:Edvard Munch's iconic artwork The Scream sold for $120m
Edvard Munch's iconic artwork The Scream sold for $120m
Edvard Munch's masterpiece The Scream has sold at auction for $120m (£74m), making it one of the most valuable works of art ever sold.
The 1895 pastel was bought at Sotheby's in New York City. Bidding began at some $50m, and lasted for just 12 minutes.
The work is one of four in a series by the Norwegian expressionist artist and was the only one still owned privately.
Proceeds of Wednesday's sale are to go towards the foundation of a new museum, hotel and art centre in Norway.
BBC:Bolivia takeover: Spain dismayed by TDE nationalisation
Bolivia takeover: Spain dismayed by TDE nationalisation
Spain's economy minister has expressed disappointment with Bolivia's nationalisation of a Spanish-owned electric power company.
Luis de Guindos warned it could deter investment, but also stressed Bolivia had agreed to pay compensation.
The European Commission said the move sent a "negative signal" to investors.
President Evo Morales ordered the takeover of REE's Bolivian subsidiary on Tuesday, saying it had not invested enough in Bolivia.
BBC:Kosovo court acquits ex-rebel KLA leader and aides
Kosovo court acquits ex-rebel KLA leader and aides
A Kosovo court has acquitted an ethnic Albanian former guerrilla commander and three aides over the torture and killing of Serb detainees in 1999.
Fatmir Limaj - now a politician - and three former aides in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) were prosecuted for abuses at the Klecka prison.
The acquittal came after a key witness killed himself in Germany.
The court in the Kosovo capital Pristina is run by the EU, as part of the Eulex law and order mission.
BBC:Chen Guangcheng left US embassy 'after family threats'
Chen Guangcheng left US embassy 'after family threats'
Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng says he gave up his refuge in the US embassy in Beijing after Chinese authorities made threats to family members.
He initially appeared to accept assurances of a safe future with his family, but later said he feared for them and now wanted to leave China.
The US said it had no knowledge of Chinese threats and that Mr Chen had at no point asked for asylum.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Beijing for high-level talks.
Reuters:Natgas trading legend Arnold retires, ending era
Natgas trading legend Arnold retires, ending era
(Reuters) - Legendary natural gas trader John Arnold is closing down his flagship Centaurus fund, sources said o n Wednesday, ending an era in which the former Enron wunderkind defined the high-risk, big-reward energy speculator.
After two years of struggling to maintain outsized returns as gas prices sank to 10-year lows and trading regulations grew tighter, Arnold told investors he would return their funds and pursue "other interests," according to an investor in the fund who had received the letter.
Natural gas prices tumbled after news of the fund's closure, ending the day down nearly 5 percent.
Centaurus, famed for gaining more than 300 percent in 2006 by taking bets opposite to those held by failed rival Amaranth Advisors, was the most successful energy hedge fund ever, boasting a compound annual return of about 130 percent.
Reuters:Florida governor rejects gun ban for Republican convention
Florida governor rejects gun ban for Republican convention
(Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott has shot down a request by Tampa's mayor to allow local authorities to ban guns from the city's downtown during the Republican National Convention in August.
Citing Second Amendment protections in the U.S. Constitution, Scott told Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn that conventions and guns have co-existed since the nation's birth and would continue to do so during the four-day event beginning August 27.
"It is unclear how disarming law abiding citizens would better protect them from the dangers and threats posed by those who would flout the law," the Republican governor said in a letter on Tuesday.
Local officials need Scott's permission to enact the temporary restrictions after state lawmakers last year passed a measure that prohibits local governments from adopting gun ordinances that are stricter than state law.
Reuters:Special Report: Inside Chesapeake, CEO ran $200 million hedge fund
Special Report: Inside Chesapeake, CEO ran $200 million hedge fund
(Reuters) - As chairman and CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp, Aubrey McClendon has been a powerhouse in the vast U.S. natural gas market, directing the company's multibillion dollar energy-trading operation and setting output targets for America's second-largest producer.
Behind the scenes, a Reuters investigation has found, McClendon also ran a lucrative business on the side: a $200 million hedge fund that traded in the same commodities Chesapeake produces.
On Tuesday, two weeks after Reuters reported that McClendon has taken up to $1.1 billion in loans against his stakes in Chesapeake oil and gas wells, the company stripped McClendon of the chairmanship and reiterated that it's reviewing details of the loans. A statement quoted McClendon, who will stay on as CEO, saying that the move will enable him to focus his "full time and attention on execution of the company's strategy."
But for at least four years, from 2004 to 2008, McClendon's attention extended well beyond his job at Chesapeake.
Reuters:Clinton urges China to help on North Korea
Clinton urges China to help on North Korea
(Reuters) - China should help make clear to North Korea that it should avoid "further provocation", the U.S. Secretary of State said in remarks in Beijing on Thursday.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in her opening remarks for the two-day Strategic and Economic Dialogue, also said that it is critical to keep up pressure on Iran.
The annual U.S.-China meeting is likely to be overshadowed by the case of a Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, who left the U.S. embassy on Wednesday.
Reuters:Analysis: China steel mills too big to fail - or succeed
Analysis: China steel mills too big to fail - or succeed
(Reuters) - In a ramshackle township in northwest China's Shaanxi province, red Communist Party banners call on a nearby steel mill's workers to seek "progress" and avoid making "backward steps".
The slogans demonstrate the hybrid nature of China's floundering steel sector, which as it tries to serve the twin masters of the state and the market has seen margins plummet and racked up a mountain of debt.
Beijing's attempts to tackle the problems by forcing lumbering state-owned mills to consolidate or push up the value chain look likely to aggravate rather than solve the problems of a sector that accounts for 3-4 percent of China's GDP.
An obvious solution - to allow the worst performers to go out of business - seems unlikely in an industry identified by Chairman Mao Zedong nearly half a decade ago as a key symbol of the country's economic and political prowess.
Reuters:Analysis: China's shipyards founder as building boom ends
Analysis: China's shipyards founder as building boom ends
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WaPo:BlackBerry 10: Can the device retain its loyal following without a keyboard?
BlackBerry 10: Can the device retain its loyal following without a keyboard?
Another day, another flailing tech company trying to get back in the game. Welcome to Research in Motion. Welcome to BlackBerry 10 — the next version of the company’s mobile operating system just unveiled at BlackBerry World, a huge gathering the Canadian phonemaker holds every year in Florida.
The story of RIM’s struggles isn’t really fresh. In recent months, you’ve probably read numerous stories about its CEO shake-ups, partnership losses and shrinking stock price. What’s different now, however, is that for the first time in a long time, the company has something legitimately new to show off.
And that new thing is BlackBerry 10 — a complete rethink of RIM’s phone operating system that will be available later this year.
For starters, it actually looks like a modern operating system, something that can compete with the likes of Apple’s iOS or the latest version of Google’s Android.