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, Bentliberal, wader, Oke, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir and ScottyUrb, guest editors maggiejean and annetteboardman, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains
BBC:UN adopts resolution on northern Mali
UN adopts resolution on northern Mali
The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution paving the way for military intervention in Mali to retake the north from Islamist extremists.
The resolution requests a detailed plan for such an operation from African organisations within 45 days.
The UN has so far refused to endorse requests for military intervention without details of a plan.
Islamist groups and Tuareg rebels took control of the north after Mali's president was overthrown in March.
BBC:Galileo: Europe's version of GPS reaches key phase
Galileo: Europe's version of GPS reaches key phase
The third and fourth spacecraft in Europe's satellite navigation system have gone into orbit.
The pair were launched on a Russian Soyuz rocket from French Guiana.
It is an important milestone for the multi-billion-euro project to create a European version of the US Global Positioning System (GPS).
With four satellites now in orbit - the first and second spacecraft were launched in 2011 - it becomes possible to test Galileo end-to-end.
BBC:RBS sale of 316 branches to Santander collapses
RBS sale of 316 branches to Santander collapses
Royal Bank of Scotland's proposed sale of 318 branches and other interests to Santander has collapsed.
The Spanish bank pulled the plug on the sale, saying that the already-delayed deal could not be completed by the revised deadline.
RBS chief executive Stephen Hester said the collapse was "disappointing" and that a new buyer would be sought.
The disposal was ordered by the European Commission in return for UK government's £45bn rescue of the bank.
BBC:Syria plane carried radar parts, not weapons - Russia
Syria plane carried radar parts, not weapons - Russia
Russia says the Syria-bound plane intercepted by Turkey amid reports it was carrying cargo which could aid government war efforts was transporting a legal shipment of radar equipment.
"There were no weapons on the plane," said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
His comments followed heated exchanges between Turkey and Syria over the exact nature of the items confiscated.
Turkey's PM earlier said Russian-made defence equipment was found on board - a claim Syria dismissed as a lie.
BBC:Cuban refugees' raft sinks off Mexico's Mujeres island
Cuban refugees' raft sinks off Mexico's Mujeres island
An improvised raft carrying 23 Cuban refugees has sunk as it approached a Mexican island near the popular resort of Cancun.
Two people have died and 11 are missing and presumed dead.
Survivors told Mexican media that their home-made raft sank as it hit the reefs surrounding Mujeres island on Friday morning.
The refugees said they headed for Mexico in the hope of joining relatives in the United States.
The accident happened some 150 metres (140 yards) off Mujeres island, in an area known for its strong currents, the Mexican Navy said.
BBC:Syria: Rebels 'seize air defence base' near Aleppo
Syria: Rebels 'seize air defence base' near Aleppo
Syrian rebels have taken an air defence base from government forces near the northern city of Aleppo, activists say.
The al-Taaneh base lies east of Aleppo, where fighting between the two sides has raged for months.
In Aleppo itself, state media said soldiers destroyed 14 rebel pick-up trucks mounted with machine-guns.
Meanwhile in the row over Turkey's interception of a Syria-bound plane, Russia said the aircraft was legally carrying radar parts.
Reuters:U.S. intelligence hurt when Libya base was abandoned
U.S. intelligence hurt when Libya base was abandoned
(Reuters) - U.S. intelligence efforts in Libya have suffered a significant setback due to the abandonment and exposure of a facility in Benghazi, Libya identified by a newspaper as a "CIA base" following a congressional hearing this week, according to U.S. government sources.
The intelligence post, located 1.2 miles from the U.S. mission that was targeted by militants in a September 11 attack, was evacuated of Americans after the assault that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Three other Americans died in the attacks on U.S.-occupied buildings, including two who were hit in a mortar blast at the secret compound.
The publication of satellite photos showing the site's location and layout have made it difficult, if not impossible, for intelligence agencies to reoccupy the site, according to government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The post had been a base for, among other things, collecting information on the proliferation of weaponry looted from Libyan government arsenals, including surface-to-air missiles, the sources said. Its security features, including some fortifications, sensors and cameras, were more advanced than those at rented villa where Stevens died, they said.
Reuters:Congress widens scrutiny of meningitis outbreak
Congress widens scrutiny of meningitis outbreak
(Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Friday widened its investigation into the deadly meningitis outbreak to include the role health regulators played in monitoring the pharmacy that produced steroid treatments suspected of causing the crisis.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee called on the Massachusetts pharmacy board to tell congressional staff what it knew about the New England Compounding Center before the recall of more than 17,000 vials of sterile injectable steroid treatments for back and joint pain from health facilities in 23 states. Massachusetts board officials were not immediately available for comment.
The panel, which oversees health issues including drug safety, said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was aware of production problems at Framingham, Massachusetts-based NECC in 2006, including potential public health risks involving a different sterile injectable drug.
The rare fungal form of meningitis has killed 14 people in 12 states, with the first case reported in Texas on Friday. The number of cases nationwide reached 184, an increase of 15 from Thursday, CDC said.
Reuters:Softbank might borrow $23 billion to finance Sprint bid: sources
Softbank might borrow $23 billion to finance Sprint bid: sources
(Reuters) - Japanese wireless service provider Softbank Corp (9984.T) is in talks with three major Japanese banks to borrow $23 billion (1.8 trillion yen) to finance a bid for U.S. operator Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N), sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday.
Softbank has been looking at how to break into the U.S. market for months, eyeing growth beyond its stagnating home market, according to a person with knowledge of its planning. But one brokerage warned that a deal of this size could leave Softbank with "unacceptably high" levels of debt.
Sprint, whose market value soared on news of its talks with Softbank - confirmed by both companies - has net debt of about $15 billion, while Softbank has net debt of about $10 billion.
Adding the $2 billion net debt of smaller rival eAccess Ltd (9427.T), which Softbank recently agreed to buy, would raise the new company's "post-deal gearing levels to unacceptable heights," Societe Generale said in a client note. "This deal simply appears to be driven by Masayoshi Son's belief that Sprint Nextel is too cheap, and little more."
Reuters:Budget deficit tops $1 trillion for fourth straight year
Budget deficit tops $1 trillion for fourth straight year
(Reuters) - The United States government reported a budget surplus for the final month of the 2012 fiscal year, but the tiny bump in revenues did not prevent the country's deficit from exceeding $1 trillion for the fourth year in a row.
The 2012 budget gap was $1.089 trillion, narrower than last year's deficit of $1.297 trillion because of higher corporate income tax receipts and less spending, the Treasury Department said on Friday.
The deficit equaled 7.0 percent of U.S. economic output, down from 8.7 percent last year, the department said. Economists generally consider deficits exceeding 3.0 percent of gross domestic product to be unsustainable in the long term.
The year-end budget report comes in the final weeks of the presidential election campaign, where the massive budget gap and President Barack Obama's economic policies have dominated the debate.
Reuters:Clinton says U.S. must embrace Arab Spring despite dangers
Clinton says U.S. must embrace Arab Spring despite dangers
(Reuters) - The United States must look past the violence and extremism that has erupted after the "Arab Spring" revolutions and boost support for the region's young democracies to forge long-term security, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday.
Clinton, seeking to reinforce the Obama administration's Middle East policy following a wave of anti-American violence and last month's deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, said Washington cannot be deterred by "the violent acts of a small number of extremists."
"We recognize that these transitions are not America's to manage, and certainly not ours to win or lose," Clinton said in a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
"But we have to stand with those who are working every day to strengthen democratic institutions, defend universal rights, and drive inclusive economic growth. That will produce more capable partners and more durable security over the long term."
Reuters:EU moves closer to new Iran sanctions
EU moves closer to new Iran sanctions
(Reuters) - The European Union provisionally approved new economic sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program on Friday, with senior diplomats giving their backing to measures against Tehran's banking sector, industry and shipping.
The move marks a major step-up of European efforts to pressure Tehran to scale back its nuclear work, amid growing concerns over Iran's military intentions, foundering diplomacy and threats of attack on Iran's nuclear installations by Israel.
Iran denies it wants to produce nuclear weapons and has so far refused to meet international demands made in three rounds of talks this year, unless major economic sanctions are lifted.
European efforts complement plans for more sanctions in the United States and aim to tighten the financial noose on the government. Already, the Iranian economy is suffering and the rial currency has lost nearly two-thirds of its value to the dollar over the last year.
Reuters:Freed Pussy Riot member says protests must be "more cunning"
Freed Pussy Riot member says protests must be "more cunning"
(Reuters) - Newly released from Russian prison, Pussy Riot's Yekaterina Samutsevich said her protests against Vladimir Putin's rule had to become "more cunning" and that she would fight to free fellow band members still in jail.
In one of her first interviews since a judge suspended her two-year sentence on Wednesday, Samutsevich, 30, said she was trying to deal with public attention and increased scrutiny by the authorities.
"I want to continue the actions of Pussy Riot, but that means you have to be more careful and you have to be more cunning," she said on radio station Echo Moskvy.
"You have to understand that all your conversations are being listened to and your mail is being read," said Samutsevich, who spent time in prison reading books by Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek and French thinker Michel Foucault.