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:Italy's Mario Monti resigns, as MPs pass budget
Italy's Mario Monti resigns, as MPs pass budget
Mario Monti has resigned as Italian prime minister, officials say, keeping a promise to step down after the passing of his budget by parliament.
MPs earlier passed the 2013 budget drawn up by his government with 309 votes in favour and 55 against.
An announcement on whether Mr Monti will take part in elections - expected in February - will probably be made at a news conference on Sunday.
Mr Monti was brought in to form a technocratic government last year.
BBC:Argentina looting spreads to Buenos Aires province
Argentina looting spreads to Buenos Aires province
Argentine police have clashed with hundreds of people trying to loot a supermarket near Buenos Aires.
The incident took place in broad day light outside a Carrefour supermarket in San Fernando, in the outskirts of the capital.
Riot police used tear gas and managed to stop the attack. But in other parts of the country, supermarkets and shops have been looted.
The government says trade unions linked to the opposition are to blame.
BBC:Tesco airlifts supplies to restock Shetland shelves
Tesco airlifts supplies to restock Shetland shelves
A retailer is planning to airlift supplies of food to Shetland because the usual ferries and freight boats have been disrupted by the weather.
There have been no sailings to or from the islands for two days due to strong winds and high seas.
Operator Serco Northlink has said it is unlikely anything will now move until Christmas Eve at the earliest.
Tesco said islanders had stripped shelves bare of produce. The firm has chartered a plane to help restock.
BBC:Syria military 'continuing to fire Scud-type missiles'
Syria military 'continuing to fire Scud-type missiles'
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says Syrian government forces are continuing to fire short-range ballistic missiles at rebel fighters.
A Nato source told the Reuters news agency that surveillance had detected multiple launches of "Scud-type missiles" on Thursday morning.
Mr Rasmussen said it was the "act of a desperate regime approaching collapse".
Last week, Nato and the US said more than six missiles had been fired from the Damascus area into northern Syria.
BBC:South Sudan army 'shoots down UN helicopter'
South Sudan army 'shoots down UN helicopter'
The UN says a helicopter from its peacekeeping mission in South Sudan has been shot down by the army, killing all four crew, believed to be Russians.
A spokesman said the aircraft was shot down while on a reconnaissance mission in eastern Jonglei state.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the attack on the "clearly marked" helicopter.
However, South Sudan's minister of information told the BBC that the cause of the incident was not clear.
BBC:Egypt crisis: Fresh Alexandria clashes ahead of voting
Egypt crisis: Fresh Alexandria clashes ahead of voting
Clashes have broken out in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on the eve of the second leg of voting in the country's constitutional referendum.
Police fired tear gas as thousands of Islamists were met by a smaller group of protesters near a large mosque.
The Islamists back President Mohammed Morsi and his draft constitution. Opponents say the document has been rushed and does not protect minorities.
Alexandria voted in the first leg of a referendum that has split the nation.
Reuters:Ex-SAC fund manager indicted in insider trading scheme
Ex-SAC fund manager indicted in insider trading scheme
(Reuters) - Federal prosecutors on Friday lost one opportunity to build a case against hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen when a grand jury indicted one of Cohen's former employees on charges related to an insider trading scheme, severely reducing the possibility he would cooperate as a witness against Cohen.
The grand jury in New York returned an indictment against Mathew Martoma, a former portfolio manager at CR Intrinsic Investors, one of SAC Capital Management's funds, in what prosecutors have called the "most lucrative" insider trading scheme ever.
Martoma, 38, of Boca Raton, Florida, was indicted on three counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud related to trades made in Elan Corp Plc and Wyeth - now part of Pfizer Inc - based on tips prosecutors say he received from a doctor.
The trades allegedly helped CR Intrinsic avoid losses and reap profits totaling $276 million in the summer of 2008. The indictment followed an earlier criminal complaint federal prosecutors filed November 20.
Reuters:Oil falls as US fiscal cliff talks dissolve
Oil falls as US fiscal cliff talks dissolve
Dec 21 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than 1 percent on Friday, eroding this week's earlier gains after Republican lawmakers in the United States withheld support for a proposal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.
Fears that a budget deal will not be reached before the end of the year, coupled with downbeat data on consumer morale in the United States and Germany, fuelled selling across riskier asset classes including stocks and oil. The dollar gained on safe haven flows, adding more pressure to crude.
The Republicans late on Thursday abandoned their own proposed solution, championed by House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, to head off $600 billion worth of tax increases and spending cuts that investors fear could push the U.S. economy into recession next year.
Efforts to avert that outcome were in disarray by Friday afternoon, with lawmakers leaving Washington for the holidays.
Reuters:Russian lawmakers back adoption ban in dispute with U.S.
Russian lawmakers back adoption ban in dispute with U.S.
(Reuters) - Russia's lower house of parliament approved on Friday a proposed law banning Americans from adopting Russian children, in retaliation for U.S. human rights legislation which Vladimir Putin says is poisoning relations.
The State Duma overwhelmingly backed a bill which also would outlaw U.S.-funded "non-profit organizations that engage in political activity", extending what critics say is a clampdown on Putin's opponents since he returned to the presidency in May.
The bill responds to a new U.S. law known as the Magnitsky Act, passed by the U.S. Congress to impose visa bans and asset freezes on Russian officials accused of involvement in the death in custody of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009.
Washington's ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul, said the Russian bill unfairly "linked the fate of orphaned children to unrelated political issues," while the U.S. State Department rejected any parallels with the Magnitsky Act.
Reuters:Russia won't try to persuade Syria's Assad to quit: Lavrov
Russia won't try to persuade Syria's Assad to quit: Lavrov
(Reuters) - Russia refuses to act as an intermediary trying to talk Syrian President Bashar al-Assad into fleeing, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in comments released on Friday.
Russia is at loggerheads with the West and some Arab states who accuse Moscow of shielding Assad, a long-term buyer of Russian arms, in the Syrian conflict that has already claimed more than 40,000 lives since it erupted in March 2011.
"We are not in the business of regime change. Some of the regional players were suggesting to us 'Why don't you tell President Assad to leave? We will arrange for some safe haven for him'," Russia's veteran Foreign Minister told the state-owned Russia Today English-language TV channel in an interview.
"My answer is very simple: if indeed those who suggested this to us have this in mind, they should take it directly to President Assad. Why should they use us as a postman? If President Assad is interested, this must be discussed directly with him," he said in comments recorded on Wednesday.
Reuters:China probes safety of Yum Brands' KFC chicken products
China probes safety of Yum Brands' KFC chicken products
(Reuters) - Yum Brands Inc's fast-food chain KFC was supplied with chicken in China that contained excessive amounts of antibiotics, said food safety authorities investigating allegations of tainted KFC products.
The finding by the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) deals a blow to KFC's reputation in China, where it is facing fierce competition from the likes of Taiwanese-owned fried chicken chain Dico and Japanese-style noodle chain Ajisen (China) Holdings Ltd. Yum Brands has forecast a drop in same store China sales in the fourth quarter.
Eight of the 19 batches of chicken samples Yum Brands sent to a testing laboratory in 2010 and 2011 contained overly high levels of antibiotics, the SFDA said in a statement on its Website late on Thursday.
An investigation is underway to determine whether Yum Brands had taken corrective measures at that time, and the Louisville, Kentucky-based company may face harsh penalties if the probe showed laws had been violated, the SFDA said.
Reuters:Banker sent to New York to face charges in Olympus fraud case
Banker sent to New York to face charges in Olympus fraud case
(Reuters) - A former Singapore banker accused of helping "liquidate" hundreds of millions of dollars in an accounting fraud at Japan's Olympus Corp (7733.T) was ordered to face charges in New York after he was arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Chan Ming Fon, a one-time bank vice president, was ordered held without bail by U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Walsh and transported to New York.
Chan, who resides in Singapore and is a citizen of Taiwan, is the latest executive and first from outside Japan to be indicted in the $1.7 billion accounting cover-up at the camera and medical equipment maker.
"My client is looking forward to going to New York to address the charges as quickly as possible," said his attorney, David Grable, in the Los Angeles office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
BGR:Instagram diverts attention from botched policy change with another new filter
Instagram diverts attention from botched policy change with another new filter
Instagram messed up big time this week when it freaked everyone out with changes to its privacy policy related to licensing user photos for advertisements. After days of backlash, Instagram reverted back to its old terms of service. While the damage has already been done, Instagram is hoping a new update to its iOS and Android app will silence everyone. Instagram 3.4.0 adds a new filter called “Mayfair” that adds another hint of lavender to images and brightens up the center, support for 25 languages, photo sharing from any album, Facebook (FB) iOS 6 integration and various bug fixes. Version 3.4.0 comes hot off last week’s update that added the new “Willow” filter and numerous UI tweaks. Is a new filter enough to keep users from flocking to the new Flickr or Twitter apps; both with built-in filters? Instagram certainly hopes so.