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 Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, rfall, and JML9999. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal, Oke and jlms qkw. The guest editors are Doctor RJ and annetteboardman.
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BBC:Iceland's volcano ash alert lifted
Iceland's volcano ash alert lifted
An eruption near Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano that briefly threatened flights has ended, local officials say.
The fissure eruption at the Holuhraun lava field north of the Vatnajokull glacier stopped at 04:00 GMT on Friday.
Before lifting air travel curbs, the Icelandic Met Office (IMO) lowered its aviation warning from red to orange - the second-highest level.
Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted in 2010, producing ash that disrupted air travel across Europe.
BBC:Brazil's economy falls into recession, latest figures show
Brazil's economy falls into recession, latest figures show
Economic output, GDP, fell by 0.6% in the three months to June, worse than analysts had predicted, and revised figures for the first quarter of the year also showed a fall of 0.2%.
A recession is usually defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.
The news will be damaging for the government of President Dilma Rousseff.
According to the most recent poll, Ms Rousseff would lose to a rival candidate, environmentalist Marina Silva, if October's election went to a second round.
BBC:Iraq conflict: Kurds 'recapture oilfields from IS'
Iraq conflict: Kurds 'recapture oilfields from IS'
Kurdish Peshmerga forces say they have retaken oilfields near Mosul in north Iraq from Islamic State (IS) militants.
The attack on the three Ain Zalah installations began on Thursday morning, they said, but the militants blew them all up as they retreated.
The area is part of a large swathe of territory in northern Iraq overrun by Islamic State in recent weeks.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces backed by US air strikes have regained some ground, including the vital Mosul dam.
BBC:Ebola: Experimental drug ZMapp is '100% effective' in animal trials
Ebola: Experimental drug ZMapp is '100% effective' in animal trials
The only clinical trial data on the experimental Ebola drug ZMapp shows it is 100% effective in monkey studies, even in later stages of the infection.
The researchers, publishing their data in Nature, said it was a "very important step forward".
Yet the limited supplies will not help the 20,000 people predicted to be infected during the outbreak in West Africa.
And two out of seven people given the drug, have later died from the disease.
BBC:Japan defence ministry makes largest-ever budget request
Japan defence ministry makes largest-ever budget request
Japan's defence ministry has made its biggest ever budget request, amid severe tensions with China over a maritime dispute in the East China Sea.
The ministry is seeking 5.05 trillion yen (£29.4bn; $48.7bn) for the year - a 3.5% rise.
If approved, it would mark the third year the defence budget had been increased, after a decade of cuts.
Earlier this month, the ministry described the security environment around Japan as "increasingly severe".
BBC:Poland bars Russian minister's jet from airspace
Poland bars Russian minister's jet from airspace
Poland has refused to let a plane carrying Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu fly through its airspace.
The plane turned back to the Slovakian capital, Bratislava. Mr Shoigu had been on an official visit to Slovakia.
Poland said the plane had been barred because it had changed its status from a civilian to a military flight. It later permitted the flyover, after the flight was reverted to civilian status.
Russia said blocking the flight was a "violation of inter-state conduct".
Reuters:Ukraine seeks to join NATO; defiant Putin compares Kiev to Nazis
Ukraine seeks to join NATO; defiant Putin compares Kiev to Nazis
(Reuters) - Ukraine called on Friday for full membership in NATO, its strongest plea yet for Western military help, after accusing Russia of sending in armored columns that have driven back its forces on behalf of pro-Moscow rebels.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, defiant as ever, compared Kiev's drive to regain control of its rebellious eastern cities to the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in World War Two. He announced that rebels had succeeded in halting it, and proposed that they now permit surrounded Ukrainian troops to retreat.
Speaking to young people at a summer camp, Putin told his countrymen they must be "ready to repel any aggression towards Russia." He described Ukrainians and Russians as "practically one people," language that Ukrainians say dismisses the very existence of their thousand-year-old nation.
The past 72 hours have seen pro-Russian rebels suddenly open a new front and push Ukrainian troops out of a key town in strategic coastal territory along the Sea of Azov. Kiev and Western countries say the reversal was the result of the arrival of armored columns of Russian troops, sent by Putin to prop up a rebellion that would otherwise have been near collapse.
Reuters:U.S. authorities investigate suspected threat against Obama: reports
U.S. authorities investigate suspected threat against Obama: reports
(Reuters) - Authorities in Connecticut on Friday were investigating a possible threat against President Barack Obama, local media reported.
The U.S. Secret Service, which is responsible for presidential security, issued a statement saying, "Information has been received by law enforcement regarding a potentially suspicious person and vehicle. We are working with our local law enforcement partners to determine the validity of the information provided."
The Hartford Courant said state police were searching for a man who allegedly had made a threat against Obama and was driving a silver Volkswagen Jetta.
Obama was scheduled to be in Rhode Island on Friday night for a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser.
Reuters:U.S. options exchanges craft rules to fend off turmoil
U.S. options exchanges craft rules to fend off turmoil
(Reuters) - A year after Goldman Sachs (GS.N) bungled a software upgrade and lost tens of millions of dollars from unintended trades, the 12 U.S. stock options exchanges have crafted new rules for dealing with erroneous transactions, according to draft documents seen by Reuters.
Under the proposed rules, unintended trades placed by professional traders will usually have their prices adjusted to levels as close to their fair market value as possible, while wrong trades by retail customers will be mainly be undone, five sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The rules are meant to protect investors from algorithms gone wild and other sources of market turmoil. Regulators and exchange operators across equities, commodities and other markets have been taking steps to prevent mistaken trades from spiraling into collapses, a rising concern as trading grows increasingly automated.
Reuters:IMF board stands behind Lagarde over French probe
IMF board stands behind Lagarde over French probe
(Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund's board on Friday stood behind the global lender's leader Christine Lagarde, who is facing a criminal investigation in France tied to a political corruption probe dating from 2008.
French magistrates earlier this week put Lagarde under formal investigation for "negligence" after questioning her in Paris for a fourth time. The long-running saga concerns allegations that tycoon Bernard Tapie won a large arbitration payout due to political connections when Lagarde was French finance minister.
"The Executive Board has been briefed on recent developments related to this matter, and continues to express its confidence in the Managing Director's ability to effectively carry out her duties," the board said in a statement.
The 24-member board, which has the power to hire and fire the IMF's managing director, discussed the French corruption probe after the first three times Lagarde was questioned under her previous status as a witness, and also considered the case's implications when it decided to hire her in 2011.
Reuters:Silva widens lead ahead of Brazil presidential election
Silva widens lead ahead of Brazil presidential election
(Reuters) - Environmentalist Marina Silva has widened her lead over President Dilma Rousseff to 10 percentage points in what could be a likely runoff in Brazil's October election, a survey by polling firm Datafolha showed on Friday.
It was the third poll in less than a week that projected the Oct. 5 election would go to a second-round vote in which Rousseff would be unseated by Silva, who entered the race just 10 days ago following the death of her party's candidate.
The popular anti-establishment figure is threatening to end the 12-year rule of the Workers' Party in a hotly contested vote that is being watched closely by investors hoping that a change of government will issue in more market-friendly policies.
Silva has surged to 34 percent support from 21 percent in a previous Datafolha poll conducted before she launched her candidacy. She is now tied with Rousseff whose support has fallen to 34 percent from 36 percent in a first-round vote.
Reuters:Japan household spending slumps, output flat as tax pain persists
Japan household spending slumps, output flat as tax pain persists
(Reuters) - Japanese household spending fell much more than expected and factory output remained weak in July after plunging in June, government data showed, suggesting that soft exports and a sales tax hike in April may drag on the economy longer than expected.
While the Bank of Japan is in no mood to expand monetary stimulus any time soon, the data undermines the BOJ's rosy economic forecasts and will keep it under pressure to act if the economy fails to gather momentum, analysts say.
The soft readings may also fuel speculation that the government could delay a second sales tax increase scheduled for next year, or try to compile another fiscal stimulus package, which would further worsen Japan's debt burden.
"Production and consumption are both stagnating, and the economy is clearly undershooting projections of the government and the BOJ," said Taro Saito, senior economist at NLI Research Institute.
Int'l Business Times:iPhone 6 Coming Features: 9 Things To Expect From Apple's Latest Smartphone
iPhone 6 Coming Features: 9 Things To Expect From Apple's Latest Smartphone
With just a little over a week until Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) Sept. 9 launch event, the iPhone 6 rumor season is coming to a close. The Cupertino, California tech giant hasn't released any official details about the iPhone 6, but a flurry of recent part leaks and rumors have given fans a better idea of what's in store for the next-generation iPhone.
We’ve compiled all those details together so you know exactly what to expect when Apple announces the highly-anticipated iPhone 6. Here are the key features to watch for:
Two Sizes:
A larger iPhone is one of the most wanted features by Apple fans. Several part leak photos and reports have all but confirmed that the company plans to unveil two new iPhone models, the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6L. The iWatch is expected to be unveiled alongside the devices. However, a Re/Code report indicates that it may not ship until early 2015.
Storage:
Storage sizes options are expected to go as high as 128GB in the upcoming iPhone 6. Earlier reports indicated that Apple could make 32GB the new baseline storage option for the smartphone. But a new set of iPhone 6 logic board photos released by luxury iPhone vendor Feld and Volk suggest that Apple may continue to offer the iPhone 6 with 16GB storage.