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 jlms qkw, maggiejean, wader, Oke, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir and ScottyUrb, guest editor and annetteboardman, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains
BBC:UK stops £21m aid payment to Rwanda
UK stops £21m aid payment to Rwanda
The UK has suspended aid to Rwanda amid concerns about its role in the conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo.
The International Development Secretary Justine Greening said a payment worth £21m would not now be released.
An aid payment of £16m was paid to Rwanda in September despite questions over the country's alleged support for the M23 militia in DR Congo.
Her predecessor, Andrew Mitchell, controversially authorised the payment on his last day in the job.
BBC:Wikileaks suspect Bradley Manning admits making noose
Wikileaks suspect Bradley Manning admits making noose
A US Army court has seen a noose made from a bed sheet by alleged Wikileaks source Private Bradley Manning as he considered suicide.
Pte Manning, 24, told the hearing he had done so while being held in Kuwait, shortly after his arrest in May 2010.
But the former intelligence analyst said he was no longer suicidal after he was taken to a US military prison.
He says charges he faces for allegedly giving secret files to Wikileaks should be dropped because of his jail ordeal.
BBC:Yahoo 'ordered to pay $2.7bn' by Mexican court
Yahoo 'ordered to pay $2.7bn' by Mexican court
Internet group Yahoo says it has been ordered to pay $2.7bn (£1.68bn) by a Mexican court.
The reported ruling follows a lawsuit stemming from allegations of breach of contract and lost profits related to a yellow pages listing service.
Yahoo said it "believes the plaintiffs' claims are without merit and will vigorously pursue all appeals".
The lawsuit had been brought by Worldwide Directories SA de CV and Ideas Interactivas SA de CV.
BBC:Cairo's Tahrir Square fills with anti-Morsi protesters
Cairo's Tahrir Square fills with anti-Morsi protesters
Tens of thousands of protesters opposed to Egypt's president and the sweeping new powers he assumed last week are in Cairo's Tahrir Square, hours after a new constitution was hastily approved.
The Islamist-dominated constituent assembly finished voting on the draft in the early hours on Friday.
The draft will now be sent to Mr Morsi, who is expected to call a referendum.
The Supreme Constitutional Court is due to rule on Sunday on whether the assembly should be dissolved.
BBC:Mercury's water ice at north pole finally proven
Mercury's water ice at north pole finally proven
Scientists have finally shown what has been postulated for decades: the planet Mercury holds billions of tonnes of water ice at its north pole.
A report in Science shows evidence from the Messenger spacecraft that craters in constant shadow host water.
A futher pair of Science papers shows that much of the ice is beneath an insulating layer of dark material rich in organic and "volatile" molecules.
The findings may help explain how these ingredients first arrived on Earth.
BBC:Leveson report: Newspaper editors to meet culture secretary
Leveson report: Newspaper editors to meet culture secretary
Newspaper editors are to meet the culture secretary on Tuesday to discuss their response to the Leveson report.
The BBC understands Maria Miller will tell them to draw up a better model for self-regulation than the one they presented to the Leveson Inquiry.
Their plan was criticised in the report for being insufficiently independent.
Mrs Miller says the "gauntlet has been thrown down" to papers to demonstrate how they could regulate themselves without legislation.
Reuters:Senate approves new sanctions for Iran energy, shipping
Senate approves new sanctions for Iran energy, shipping
(Reuters) - The U.S. Senate resoundingly approved on Friday expanded sanctions on global trade with Iran's energy and shipping sectors, its latest effort to ratchet up economic pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program.
The new package, which keeps in place exemptions for countries that have made significant cuts to their purchases of Iranian crude oil, would be the third round of sanctions in a year if passed into law.
The existing sanctions have already hurt Iran's economy, but it is uncertain whether the additional measures will stop or slow Iran's nuclear program.
Washington says Tehran is enriching uranium to levels that could be used in nuclear weapons. Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes.
Reuters:Fed's Stein backs QE3, says policy remains effective
Fed's Stein backs QE3, says policy remains effective
(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve should continue buying long-term bonds to support economic growth until the outlook for U.S. employment gets considerably better, Fed Board Governor Jeremy Stein said on Friday.
Stein, who joined the U.S. central bank in May, defended the Fed's unconventional monetary policies on a panel with Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota, who focused his comments on regulating big U.S. banks, arguing that the perceived risk of a failure has receded in recent years.
The Fed has kept short term rates almost at zero for four years and has bought some $2.5 trillion in bonds to drive down longer-term borrowing costs and boost the recovery from recession.
Stein argued that these policies have not only brought down rates on long-term government bonds, but also have made it cheaper for corporations to borrow in capital markets.
Reuters:House votes to expand visas for high-tech workers
House votes to expand visas for high-tech workers
(Reuters) - A bill to create a permanent visa program for foreigners with advanced science and technical degrees cleared the House of Representatives on Friday, the latest salvo in the broader fight over U.S. immigration reform.
The Republican-backed measure proposes reserving 55,000 permanent residence visas for foreign graduates of U.S. universities with master's and doctoral degrees in the "STEM" disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math.
Some Democrats argue that the plan unfairly pits lower-skilled immigrants against those with more education in the battle for visas as the new law would eliminate an existing program, often called the green card lottery, that provides visas to 55,000 people from countries with lower rates of immigration.
Many Democrats, including President Barack Obama, oppose the Republican bill as it moves ahead a narrow measure instead of focusing attention on a comprehensive immigration reform.
Reuters:Russia says has new evidence against opposition leader
Russia says has new evidence against opposition leader
(Reuters) - Russian detectives said on Friday they had new evidence in the investigation into an outspoken Kremlin opponent and his associates who allegedly sought to stir mass disorder and overthrow President Vladimir Putin's government.
The federal Investigative Committee, a state body with extended powers, formally charged leftist opposition leader Sergei Udaltsov and two associates last month with organizing mass disorder and detained them ahead of trial.
The men deny the charges and say they are victims of Putin's crackdown on the opposition following mass protests against his 13-year rule.
Udaltsov has since been released but faces a sentence of up to 10 years if convicted. His two associates remain in detention.
Reuters:Brazil economy surprisingly weak, adds to global fears
Brazil economy surprisingly weak, adds to global fears
(Reuters) - Brazil on Friday reported much slower economic growth in the third quarter than forecasters expected, piling pressure on President Dilma Rousseff to make deeper structural reforms and adding to fears that the global slowdown is hurting big emerging markets.
The economy expanded just 0.6 percent from the second quarter, government statistics agency IBGE said. That was just half the pace expected by financial markets, and below any of the forecasts by 42 analysts in a Reuters poll.
Brazil has been stuck in a pattern of slow growth since Rousseff took office last year, as companies struggle with high costs and severe infrastructure and labor bottlenecks. Rousseff has tried to revive activity with numerous tax cuts and other stimulus, but Friday's data showed companies are not responding, as investment fell for a fifth straight quarter.
Nagging weakness in Latin America's biggest economy reverberated in global markets. India also posted lower-than-expected growth, on track for its worst year in a decade.
Reuters:Special report: After a bashing, BOJ weighs "big bang" war on deflation
Special report: After a bashing, BOJ weighs "big bang" war on deflation
(Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa was feeling the heat in February when he was summoned to parliament five times to explain what he planned to do to get Japan out of its deflation doldrums.
Shirakawa tried to defend his cautious approach to easing monetary policy, but his tremulous voice was often drowned out by jeers from the benches. "We need a new governor," one MP shouted during one session. Some angry lawmakers even questioned whether the Bank of Japan should retain its independence from the government.
Shirakawa had been opposed to another round of policy easing, though most members of his policy board were actually arguing for it at that time, according to sources familiar with the bank's internal discussions.
The threat from lawmakers to withdraw the BOJ's charter granting its independence was what changed his mind, the sources said. So the central bank surprised the markets in February by setting an inflation target for the first time of 1 percent and announcing a $122 billion increase in its asset-buying program.
LA Times:Microsoft’s Surface 8 Pro Tablet Arrives in January for $899
Microsoft’s Surface 8 Pro Tablet Arrives in January for $899
Microsoft's next tablet, Surface with Windows 8 Pro, will launch in early 2013 with a starting price of $899, a hefty premium over the Windows RT version which went on sale in late October for $499.
Clearly hoping to ride the BYOD wave and make inroads in the business tablet market, Microsoft is outfitting the Surface Pro with an x86 processor from Intel and its touch-enabled, Windows 8 (non-RT) operating system. The software giant turned hardware maker is banking that enterprises, despite their appetite for tablets in recent years, can't shake their addiction to legacy desktop applications.
"Surface with Windows 8 Pro will run your current Windows 7 desktop applications – it's a full PC AND a tablet," wrote Panos Panay, General Manager of Microsoft Surface, in a company blog post.
Come January, the Surface Pro will go on sale carrying an $899 price tag for the 64 GB version. The 128 GB model will cost $999. It carries forward some of the RT version's most distinctive features, including the VaporMg casing, kickstand and support for the company's keyboard covers. WiFi network connectivity is provided by the same 2x2 MIMO antenna setup.