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:EU budget: David Cameron says deal 'not good enough'
EU budget: David Cameron says deal 'not good enough'
Prime Minister David Cameron has said the EU budget deal being offered in Brussels "was not good enough", as the summit broke up without agreement.
Mr Cameron said "unaffordable spending" was being cut in its member countries and EU institutions had to start to live in the "real world".
He said that what had been suggested amounted to "tinkering" with spending.
"We put down a very clear marker," said the PM, adding that a deal was still "doable" but not "at any cost".
BBC:Egypt President Mursi defends new powers amid protests
Egypt President Mursi defends new powers amid protests
President Mohammed Mursi has appeared before supporters in Cairo to defend a new decree that grants him sweeping powers.
He told them he was leading Egypt on a path to "freedom and democracy" and was the guardian of stability.
He was speaking as thousands of opponents gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square and offices of the president's party were attacked in several cities.
The decree says presidential decisions cannot be revoked by any authority.
BBC:Energy Bill: Households to fund £7.6bn green investment
Energy Bill: Households to fund £7.6bn green investment
The government has published details of its long-awaited Energy Bill, designed to keep lights on and emissions down.
It will allow energy firms to charge households an extra £7.6bn until 2020, which will go towards the development of low-carbon electricity generation.
A decision about setting carbon emission targets for 2030 has been delayed until 2016, after the election.
Fears have been expressed about the impact on bills and whether this delay will put off investors in new plants.
BBC:Pakistan suspends mobile networks over fears of attacks
Pakistan suspends mobile networks over fears of attacks
Pakistan's authorities are suspending mobile phone services in major cities to prevent sectarian violence during key Shia Muslim commemorations.
More than 90% of bombs are detonated by attackers using phones, officials say.
In some areas, motorbikes carrying passengers have been banned because of fears that this is how attackers could be brought to their targets.
Attacks on minority Shia by hard-line Sunnis have increased in recent months across Pakistan.
BBC:DR Congo conflict: UN aid agencies warn of crisis
DR Congo conflict: UN aid agencies warn of crisis
The UN has warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where rebels took the eastern city of Goma on Tuesday.
Aid officials said the fighting has made camps for people displaced by earlier conflicts inaccessible, with food and medicines running short.
Agencies say civilians also face killings, abductions and extortion at the hands of the M23 rebels.
Armed groups have battled over mineral-rich eastern DR Congo for two decades.
BBC:Colombia's Farc call for US release of Simon Trinidad
Colombia's Farc call for US release of Simon Trinidad
Colombia's left-wing rebel group Farc have called on Barack Obama to free a guerrilla leader serving a 60-year prison sentence in the US.
Simon Trinidad's presence would bolster the chances of peace talks with Colombia's government, said the group.
Trinidad was named as part of the Farc's negotiating team in September.
The rebels took a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Trinidad to peace talks in Cuba last week, but the US said it was unlikely to free Farc prisoners.
Reuters:Syria says Turkey's bid for NATO missiles "provocative"
Syria says Turkey's bid for NATO missiles "provocative"
Click Here in Cell then Paste text into formula bar
Reuters:Wall Street ends higher in short session, led by techs
Wall Street ends higher in short session, led by techs
(Reuters) - Stocks rose for a fifth day during a holiday-shortened, thinly traded session on Friday as investors picked up recently beaten-down shares of large technology companies.
Market participants were also encouraged by signs of progress in talks about releasing aid to debt-saddled Greece and piled into U.S. retail shares as Black Friday got the holiday shopping season under way.
U.S. stock market trading ended early and was closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Volume was the lightest of the year, though the session was abbreviated. Shares of big-cap technology companies climbed as investors took advantage of the day's upward momentum to add to positions, helping the S&P 500 rack up its second best week of 2012.
Reuters:Russian lawmakers introduce law on "foreign agent" media
Russian lawmakers introduce law on "foreign agent" media
(Reuters) - Russian lawmakers introduced a bill to the state Duma, or lower house of parliament, on Friday which would force foreign-funded media to register as 'foreign agents', adding to a raft of bills that critics say is aimed at cracking down on dissent.
The law would complement another piece of legislation that forces non-government organizations that engage in "political activities" and receive money from abroad to register themselves using the same term, which is steeped in Cold-War era hostility.
"Media will be considered as such if they receive money or property greater than 50 percent of revenues from foreign governments and their organs, international and foreign organizations as well as foreign citizens and people without citizenship," Interfax reported.
It was not clear how widely the new rules would be applied, and whether they would apply to Russian media with foreign funding or all foreign media organizations. Russian officials were not immediately available for comment.
Reuters:Goldman Sachs sets value for minority holders of Amil stock
Goldman Sachs sets value for minority holders of Amil stock
(Reuters) - United Health Group Inc (UNH.N) should pay minority shareholders in Brazilian health-insurance group Amil Participacoes SA (AMIL3.SA) between 25.84 reais and 27.07 reais ($12.42 and $13.01) a share for their stock as part of a takeover announced in October, Amil said in a statement on Friday.
The price was determined by the Brazilian unit of Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) which was hired to set a value for Amil shares, the statement said. U.S.-based United Health agreed to pay $4.9 billion for Amil in its largest-ever foreign acquisition that was unveiled on October 8.
When the minority stakes are purchased, Amil will be de-listed from the Sao Paulo BM&FBovespa exchange.
The upper range of the Goldman Sach's estimate is 12 percent below the 30.74 reais that United Health paid for its controlling stake.
Reuters:HP says products may have been sold to Syria by others
HP says products may have been sold to Syria by others
(Reuters) - Hewlett Packard Co said in a letter made public on Friday that its products could have been delivered to Syria through resellers or distributors, but the world's largest PC maker affirmed it did not sell directly to the country.
The letter was a response to a request from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Global Security Risk that asked whether HP's products were sold in countries where they would be subject to U.S. sanctions.
"We are aware of November 2011 news reports that your equipment was installed by the Italian company, Area SpA, in Syria as part of a nationwide surveillance and tracking system designed to monitor people in that country," the SEC wrote in its request.
"Please describe to us the nature, duration, and extent of your past, current, and anticipated contacts with Syria and Iran, whether through subsidiaries, distributors, resellers, vendors, retailers, or other direct or indirect arrangements."
Reuters:North Korea possibly preparing long-range missile test-report
North Korea possibly preparing long-range missile test-report
(Reuters) - North Korea, under heavy U.N. sanctions for its nuclear weapons program, could be preparing a long-range ballistic missile test, a Japanese newspaper said on Friday, citing officials who have seen U.S. intelligence analysis.
The report comes just weeks before South Korea's December 19 presidential election in which how to handle North Korea is a major campaign issue. The isolated North has for years tried to influence major events in the South by waging propaganda or armed attacks.
North and South Korea have been technically at war since their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, and regional powers have for years been trying to rein in the North's nuclear program.
"The United States has detected moves that are seen as preparation by North Korea for a long-range missile launch, which could take place as early as this month," the Asahi daily said citing unnamed government officials.
LA Times:US First Lady Receives Official White House Evergreen
US First Lady Receives Official White House Evergreen
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama received the official White House Christmas tree Friday - an annual day-after-Thanksgiving tradition.
Mrs. Obama inspected the tree with daughters Sasha and Malia and family dog Bo, after it was delivered on a horse-drawn carriage.
The first lady leaned down to smell the nearly 5.8-meter fir tree, while 14-year-old Malia commented that she always looks for a nice point on the top.
After Malia confirmed this year's tree has a "very good" one, Mrs. Obama gave a thumbs-up signifying the family's approval.