OND Editors 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 maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, side pocket, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir, Bentliberal, Oke, jlms qkw, Interceptor7, and ScottyUrb, guest editor annetteboardman, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains you.
BBC:Online gambling in New Jersey signals US expansion
Online gambling in New Jersey signals US expansion
Online gambling has been launched in the state of New Jersey, a sign that the US may slowly be opening up to the multibillion-dollar industry.
Unlike in many countries, online gambling remains prohibited by the US government because of legislation passed in 1961.
Individual states may allow online gambling if it does not cross borders.
A test is under way in New Jersey to make sure only people within the state can play.
BBC:Unidentified US national held by North Korea
Unidentified US national held by North Korea
North Korea has acknowledged that it is holding an American national, the US state department has said.
The captive's identity has not been confirmed as consular access has not been granted, AP news agency reports.
The disclosure comes amid concern for Merrill Newman, 85, who was reportedly detained weeks ago in North Korea.
Mr Newman's family have appealed to Pyongyang to free him, saying there has been "some dreadful misunderstanding" and that he may need medication.
BBC:US firm Duke Energy pays out over wind farm eagle deaths
US firm Duke Energy pays out over wind farm eagle deaths
A huge US energy supplier has agreed to pay out $1m (£620,000) over the deaths of golden eagles at two wind farms.
Duke Energy Renewables agreed to the sum after pleading guilty to charges over the deaths of 14 eagles in the past three years at the Wyoming site.
It is the first time the Obama administration has taken action against a wind energy company in such a case, the AP news agency report.
The fines will go to wildlife and wetlands conservation bodies.
BBC:Zimbabwe warns foreign firms of January 2014 arrest
Zimbabwe warns foreign firms of January 2014 arrest
The owners of foreign firms operating in certain sectors in Zimbabwe after 1 January 2014 will be arrested, a senior official has warned.
Economic Empowerment Secretary George Magosvongwe issued the warning in parliament, state media reports.
"Indigenisation" of the economy was one of President Robert Mugabe's main campaign themes in the March election.
Farming, hairdressing and baking are among the sectors now reserved for "indigenous", or black, Zimbabweans.
BBC:Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro gets special powers
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro gets special powers
Venezuela's National Assembly has given final approval to special powers for President Nicolas Maduro.
Under the measures Mr Maduro will be able to govern without consulting Congress for 12 months.
After signing the bill, he promised to keep prices down and conduct a "ground-shaking" anti-corruption offensive.
The president says the aim of the new powers is to tackle the economic crisis. However, critics fear he may use them against the opposition.
BBC:Iran nuclear talks: Kerry to join foreign ministers in Geneva
Iran nuclear talks: Kerry to join foreign ministers in Geneva
US Secretary of State John Kerry is heading to Geneva to help negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran.
The foreign ministers of the UK, France and Germany are also expected there, amid hopes of an agreement that would see Iran curb uranium enrichment in return for a loosening of sanctions.
The foreign ministers of Russia and Iran are already at the Geneva conference, which began on Wednesday.
Some US lawmakers say they will push for more sanctions if the talks fail.
Reuters:Afghanistan rejects U.S. call for quick security deal
Afghanistan rejects U.S. call for quick security deal
(Reuters) - The future of U.S. troops in Afghanistan remained in doubt on Friday after a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai rejected Washington's call to sign a security pact by the end of the year rather than after next year's presidential election.
The United States has repeatedly said it will not wait until after the April 2014 vote to seal the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) and rejected Karzai's suggestion for the signing to take place next year "properly and with dignity".
Without an accord, the United States could pull out most of its troops by the end of 2014, as it did two years ago when it failed to negotiate a deal with Iraq.
"We do not recognize any deadline from the U.S. side," said Aimal Faizi, a spokesman for Karzai, as Afghan tribal elders considered the pact for a second day. "They have set other deadlines also, so this is nothing new to us."(Reuters) - The future of U.S. troops in Afghanistan remained in doubt on Friday after a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai rejected Washington's call to sign a security pact by the end of the year rather than after next year's presidential election.
The United States has repeatedly said it will not wait until after the April 2014 vote to seal the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) and rejected Karzai's suggestion for the signing to take place next year "properly and with dignity".
Without an accord, the United States could pull out most of its troops by the end of 2014, as it did two years ago when it failed to negotiate a deal with Iraq.
"We do not recognize any deadline from the U.S. side," said Aimal Faizi, a spokesman for Karzai, as Afghan tribal elders considered the pact for a second day. "They have set other deadlines also, so this is nothing new to us."
Reuters:EU loses out on Ukraine, but may have dodged a bullet
EU loses out on Ukraine, but may have dodged a bullet
(Reuters) - In post-Soviet Europe, Russia looks to have won a decisive victory by convincing Ukraine to reject a trade deal with the European Union and deepen ties with Moscow instead.
But the EU has reason to breathe a sigh of relief, too.
Once any sense of rejection or thwarted ambition passes, the reality remains that taking Ukraine under its wing, a highly indebted country of 46 million people stricken by corruption and unpredictable politics, could have proven a costly and difficult burden for the EU, at least in the short term.
And in the longer term, it remains possible that Ukraine will turn its gaze back to the West and seek to reopen talks on deeper EU trade and political ties, although that is now unlikely to happen until after Ukrainian elections in 2015.
Reuters:Indonesia, Australia spy claim tension spreads to corporate world
Indonesia, Australia spy claim tension spreads to corporate world
(Reuters) - Rising diplomatic tension between Australia and Indonesia spread into the corporate world on Friday when a state-owned Indonesian firm suspended talks with Australian cattle farmers, citing trust issues between the neighbors.
Protests continued in Jakarta, where dozens of people burned Australian flags and images of Prime Minister Tony Abbott outside the heavily fortified Australian embassy in Jakarta. They demanded an apology over reports that Canberra had spied on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife.
The alleged spying prompted Yudhoyono to downgrade diplomatic ties with Canberra.
Australian Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said on Saturday he was postponing a planned trip to Indonesia next week due to the row.
Reuters:Brazil awards $9 billion of airport deals, prepping Rio for Olympics
Brazil awards $9 billion of airport deals, prepping Rio for Olympics
(Reuters) - Brazil opened two of its busiest airports to private investors on Friday, awarding $9 billion worth of contracts in a hotly contested auction as the country overhauls crowded terminals ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.
The concessions, in Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, mean private operators will be running the international airports in both World Cup host cities next year, but there will be little time for their investments ahead of the tournament in June.
Local contractors and foreign airport operators won the two concessions for a combined 20.8 billion reais ($9 billion), paying a premium of more than 250 percent over minimum bids as they hope to cash in on a recent boom in Brazilian air travel.
It was a welcome victory for President Dilma Rousseff, who has struggled to restore credibility with the private sector as economic growth slumps and investors complain of a heavy-handed approach to concessions in the power industry and elsewhere.
Reuters:China warns North Korea, blames Japan for tension
China warns North Korea, blames Japan for tension
(Reuters) - China warned North Korea on Friday it would not tolerate chaos on its doorstep, while blaming Japan for the tension between Asia's two largest economies.
Ties between Beijing and Pyongyang have deteriorated since North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in February. China signed on to U.N. sanctions in March, but remains the North's largest trading partner.
"China will never allow (anyone) to cause chaos and incidents on our home's doorstep and will never accept China's process of development from being disturbed and interrupted again," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on the foreign ministry's website.
Wang reiterated China's stance that it promotes the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, the solution of problems through dialogue and safeguards to peace and stability in the region.
Reuters:Q&A: Iran's Arak reactor is growing nuclear concern for West
Q&A: Iran's Arak reactor is growing nuclear concern for West
(Reuters) - The still uncompleted Arak heavy-water reactor, seen by the West as a potential source of nuclear bomb fuel, has emerged as a big stumbling block in Iran's talks with six world powers on a deal to rein in its nuclear program.
Iran denies Western accusations that it is seeking the capability to make atomic bombs and says the research reactor near the town of Arak, some 250 km (155 miles) southwest of the capital Tehran, will produce only radio-isotopes for medicine.
But experts say this reactor type is suitable for making plutonium, thus providing an alternative pathway to manufacturing fissile material for the core of a nuclear weapon, in addition to Iran's enrichment of uranium.
The plant - also known as the "IR-40" reactor as it is designed to produce that many megawatts of thermal power - has been under construction for years but apparently delayed by problems in importing specialized equipment due to trade sanctions imposed on Iran over its disputed nuclear activity.
LA Times:U.S. FDA approves GSK's bird flu vaccine for national stockpile
U.S. FDA approves GSK's bird flu vaccine for national stockpile
(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it has approved a vaccine made by GlaxoSmithKline Plc for use in the event of an H5N1 bird flu epidemic.
The vaccine, Pandemrix, will be added to the national stockpile and will not be available for commercial use, the FDA said.
It is the first H5N1 vaccine approved in the United States to contain an adjuvant, or booster, that turbo-charges the body's immune response to the vaccine.
"This vaccine could be used in the event that the H5N1 avian influenza virus develops the capability to spread efficiently from human to human, resulting in the rapid spread of disease across the globe," Dr. Karen Midthun, director of the FDA's biologics division, said in a statement.