Portal:Current events/November 2009

See also: November 2009 in sports

2009

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November 2009 was the eleventh month of that common year. The month, which began on a Sunday, ended on a Monday after 30 days.

Portal:Current events

This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from November 2009.

November 1, 2009 (2009-11-01) (Sunday) At least two women are killed and six people trapped after a landslide in Los Gigantes, Tenerife. (The Daily Telegraph) (RTÉ) (Reuters) (BBC) South Sudan's leader, Salva Kiir, announces he will back the independence of the semi-autonomous region in a 2011 referendum. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) A ship carrying 100 tons of hydrochloric acid sinks in a section of the Yangtze River in China's central Hubei province after colliding with another vessel. (AFP) (Xinhua) Nigeria's main rebel group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, threatens to call off its ceasefire with the government if foreign oil companies do not leave their land. (Al Jazeera) At least 14 people are dead after Typhoon Mirinae hits the Philippines. (CNN) (Philippine Inquirier) China's legislature sacks the country's education minister, Zhou Ji, amid a corruption scandal, replacing him with his deputy Yuan Guiren. (Times of India) (Associated Press) (Xinhua) Six Uyghurs detained at Guantanamo Bay detention camp are released by the United States and resettled in Palau. (Associated Press) (Press TV) 11 people are killed after a Russian military cargo plane belonging to the Interior Ministry crashes in Yakutia. (RIA Novosti) (Press Trust of India) The West Atlas oil rig that has leaked oil and gas for 10 weeks into the Timor Sea catches fire after an attempt to plug the leak. (BBC) (The Australian) Several events are held to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Gaelic Athletic Association. (RTÉ) Afghan Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah pulls out of the run-off election versus Hamid Karzai due to concerns over the independence of Azizullah Lodin, the head of the Independent Election Commission. (The Guardian) Police in Italy detain two more suspected mafia bosses, one day after the seizure of their brother in a raid near Naples. (BBC) (France 24) The composer and pianist Elton John postpones three more concerts on The Red Piano Tour, this time in the United States, due to illness. (BBC) U.S. Republican Party candidate Dede Scozzafava, who withdrew her bid for New York's 23rd Congressional District in the House of Representatives Friday, endorses the Democratic challenger. (The New York Times) November 2, 2009 (2009-11-02) (Monday) Armed conflicts and attacks A large blast occurs in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, killing at least 35. (Reuters via the New York Times) Business and economy Large parts of Venezuela begin rationing water after unseasonably dry weather. (Latin American Herald Tribune) (BBC) The Royal Bank of Scotland announces cuts of 3,700 staff in the United Kingdom. (The Guardian) Disasters and accidents 16 people are killed in a fire that destroyed 58 houses in the Philippine city of Bacolod. (Times of India) At least 15 Tamil asylum seekers are feared dead while being rescued in seas off the coast of Australia. (The Age) International relations The United Nations announces it will suspend military assistance to an army brigade in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, after it was implicated in the killing of 62 people. (CNN) (Associated Press) North Korea requests direct talks with the United States regarding the former's nuclear program, warning that it will "go its own way" if its demands are not met. (Joongang Daily) (UPI) Law and crime Simon Mann, a British mercenary who had been serving a 34-year prison sentence in Equatorial Guinea for his role in a failed coup d'etat, is given a presidential pardon. (The Guardian)(CNN) Four people are sentenced to death by hanging in Tanzania for the killing of an Albino man last year. (IOL) (BBC) Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić is to attend his war crimes trial on Tuesday, after boycotting previous sittings. (euronews) (The Daily Telegraph) Two people are charged with "spreading false information" about the health of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej. (Bangkok Post) (The Times) Politics and elections United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon makes a surprise visit to Afghanistan ahead of the 7 November second round of the presidential election. (Xinhua) November 3, 2009 (2009-11-03) (Tuesday) After 29 years of decriminalized prostitution in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, Governor Donald Carcieri signs a bill into law outlawing prostitution. (Providence Journal) Voters go to the polls in elections in the United States for Governors of Virginia and New Jersey, special elections for two Congressional districts, and several municipal elections. (CNN) Czech President Václav Klaus signs the Lisbon Treaty after it was upheld by the Constitutional Court, thus fulfilling the final step in its ratification. (euronews)(BBC) North Korea says it has completed reprocessing 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods as part of its nuclear program. (CNN) (Yonhap) (Al Jazeera) African countries boycott the United Nations climate talks in Barcelona, Spain, after saying goals set by industrialised countries are too low. (Associated Press) (Bloomberg) Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić attends his war crimes trial for the first time after boycotting previous sittings. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (Reuters) India's Supreme Court judges disclose their assets online. (Indian Express) (BBC) (AFP) China accuses the Dalai Lama of damaging Sino-Indian relations ahead of his visit to the disputed border region of Arunachal Pradesh. (Times of India) (China Daily) Dubai announces it is to appoint female muftis for the first time in 2010. (The National) (Philippine Inquirer) Two senior United States officials arrive in Burma for talks with the military junta and National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (CNN) (Xinhua) Fiji expels envoys from Australia and New Zealand over alleged interference in the country's judiciary. (Fiji Times) (AFP) An oil leak on the West Atlas oil rig in the Timor Sea is plugged. (The Australian) (BBC) A former KGB agent, Russian-Israeli businessman Shabtai von Kalmanovic, is shot dead in Moscow, Russia. (The Guardian) (RIA Novosti) November 4, 2009 (2009-11-04) (Wednesday) The New York Yankees defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 to win the 2009 World Series. (Associated Press) (The New York Times) Rebel Houthis in Yemen cross the border into Saudi Arabia, killing a Saudi security officer and injuring 11 others. (Angola Press) (The Times) The Israeli navy intercepts the MV Francop, a ship alleging to have Iranian weapons bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon. (BBC) (New Zealand Herald) The Cambodian government announces that ousted Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra has been appointed as a government adviser. (Taiwan News) (AFP) Iranian protesters mark the 30th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. There are also clashes between security forces and anti-government demonstrators. (Press TV) (Al Jazeera) (BBC) The United Nations General Assembly debates on whether to endorse the Goldstone report on the Gaza War. (New York Times) The death toll from Typhoon Mirinae in Vietnam rises to at least 90. (AFP) (VietnamNet) An Italian court convicts 22 CIA agents and 2 Italian agents over the kidnap of Muslim cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr in Milan in 2003, in the first court case challenging the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" programme. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (CNN) United States officials meet Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein in rare talks. (BBC) (TIME) (Bangkok Post) The President of Sierra Leone Ernest Bai Koroma sacks two senior ministers on charges of corruption. (BBC) (Standard Times) (Reuters Africa) Italian politicians and the Vatican condemn a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that says having a crucifix in a classroom is a breach of human rights. (RTÉ) (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) Around 700 people are injured in two earthquakes in southern Iran. (CNN) (Fars News Agency) (Times of India) China approves a Disney theme park in Shanghai after a decade of negotiations. (The Times) (China Daily) Australia and New Zealand expel Fiji's top diplomats in response to the decision of the Government of Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama to expel senior Australian and New Zealand diplomats from Fiji. (AFP via Google News) A fire at a warehouse in Huwei Yunlin County, Taiwan, destroys between 400 and 500 historic puppets. (BBC) (Reuters India) Eight children drown after a boat carrying 35 pupils capsizes in Kerala, southern India. (IOL) (Press Trust of India) (Xinhua) United States elections, 2009 Michael Bloomberg wins a third term as Mayor of New York City. (Politico) Chris Christie wins the position of Governor of New Jersey, defeating incumbent Jon Corzine. (CNN) Bob McDonnell wins the position of Governor of Virginia. (CNN) Bill Owens wins the New York 23rd congressional district special election. (CQ Politics) Voters in the U.S. state of Maine reject a law allowing same-sex marriage to occur in their state. (New York Times) November 5, 2009 (2009-11-05) (Thursday) The Swedish and Finnish authorities give a permit to build the controversial Nord Stream gas pipeline in their exclusive economic zones. (Reuters) A U2 concert held at the Brandenburg Gate to mark the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall is controversial when a wall is built around the venue. (BBC) (The Irish Times) Saudi Arabia lifts a nine-year ban on Somali livestock imports, reopening Somalia's main export market. (BBC) (afrol News) (Voice of America) An international team of scientists announces that the genome of the domestic horse has been successfully sequenced. (BBC) (CBC) (The Himalayan Times) Venezuela deploys 15,000 troops to its border with Colombia. (AP) 13 people die and 30 people are injured in a shooting at the Fort Hood U.S. Army base in Texas. (BBC) The International Criminal Court is to open an investigation into the 2007 Kenyan post-election violence in which more than 1,000 people died. (AP) (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation) A United Nations court imposes a defense lawyer on former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić, and postpones his trial until March 2010. (Al Jazeera) (Daily Telegraph) Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai ends his boycott of the unity government. (IOL) (Xinhua) Thailand and Cambodia recall their ambassadors over the Cambodian government appointment of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. (Thai News Agency) (Xinhua) Hurricane Ida makes landfall in Nicaragua. (Reuters) (CNN) The United Nations is to pull non-essential staff out of Afghanistan after an increase in violence in the country. (Times of India) (The Times) (Al Arabiya) France's Europe Minister Pierre Lellouche describes the UK's Conservative Party pledge to return powers from Brussels to London as "pathetic". (France 24) (The Times) (Bloomberg) Two senior Indonesian officials resign over a plot to weaken the anti-corruption agency. (Jakarta Post) (BBC) (Al Jazeera) Paraguay's President Fernando Lugo replaces top military commanders amid rumours of a coup d'état. (CNN) China postpones a plan to raise the Three Gorges reservoir to its ideal height due to lack of water. (BBC) Ratu Epeli Nailatikau is sworn in as President of Fiji, succeeding Ratu Josefa Iloilo who retired in July 2009. (Fiji Times) (Radio New Zealand International) South Africa's Olympic governing body suspends Leonard Chuene, the President of Athletics South Africa, and apologises to Caster Semenya over the controversy it generated over her gender. (BBC) (The Times) November 6, 2009 (2009-11-06) (Friday) Tens of thousands of people protest against government cutbacks in eight Irish cities and ten locations across Northern Ireland. (The Irish Times) (RTÉ) Germany's Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg admits mistakes were made in a September 4 Afghan air raid which resulted in 142 deaths. (The Sydney Morning Herald) At least 34 people are killed and 29 are injured when a bus falls into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh. (The Times of India) (RIA Novosti) (BBC) (Reuters) (CNN) At least nine people are missing following the crash of a Russian military plane in the Pacific Ocean. (RIA Novosti) (BBC) Three people are hurt and a gunman takes his own life in a rare shooting incident in Yokohama, Japan. (BBC) (Daily Yomiuri) One person is killed and five are injured during a shooting in an office building in Orlando, Florida, USA. (CNN), (Reuters) Saudi forces continue more raids against rebel Houthi fighters in northern Yemen, after rebel fighters killed a Saudi security official. (Al Jazeera) (UPI) The Russian human rights group Memorial says security forces from Chechnya have kidnapped the head of another rights group in Moscow and flown him to Grozny. (Al Jazeera) (AP) Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says a deal to resolve the political crisis in the country is "dead", after interim leader Roberto Micheletti announced a unity government without him. (BBC) (New York Times) 19 people are killed after a truck runs into a crowd in Luanxian, Hebei, China. (Xinhua) (Press Trust of India) (RIA Novosti) Indian and Burmese armed forces target a Nagaland separatist rebel base in the northeast of Burma. (BBC) A court in Côte d'Ivoire orders that compensation due to thousands of people affected by the dumped waste of Trafigura should not be distributed to one man. (BBC) Niger's foreign affairs ministry confirms customs officials in Nigeria are blocking Niger from goods importation. (BBC) (Reuters) The composer and pianist Elton John is released from his hospital bed in London after a period of illness which saw him cancel several concerts on The Red Piano Tour. (BBC) (CBC) (Reuters India) November 7, 2009 (2009-11-07) (Saturday) A British tourist is shot dead by a masked gunman in the U.S. state of Texas. (The Guardian) (BBC) (The Times) Saudi forces bomb a Houthi rebel stronghold in northern Yemen for a third day. (AP) (Press TV) Thousands of people in Bermeo, Spain, demonstrate for the release of 36 Spanish fishermen being held by Somali pirates. (AFP) At least two workers are killed after a bridge under construction collapses in Andorra. (euronews) (IOL) A NATO airstrike kills 7 members of the Afghan security force in the western province of Badghis. (CNN) (Bangkok Post) Rival factions in Madagascar agree to form a unity government to end the political crisis in the country. (Xinhua) (BBC) Scientists in the South Island, New Zealand, discover the first dinosaur footprints in the country, thought to be 70 million years old. (AFP) (New Zealand Herald) 11 people are confirmed dead after the crashing of a Russian military plane into the sea in the Tatar Strait, in the far east of Russia, yesterday. (AFP) (RIA Novosti) Voters in the Northern Mariana Islands go to the polls to elect the governor, legislature and local municipal offices. (Marianas Variety) Venezuela deploys 15,000 soldiers to its border with Colombia. (The Sydney Morning Herald) (The Scotsman) Two Australian researchers compile new details on the dead from a World War I battlefield in Fromelles. (The Sydney Morning Herald) Lebanon's political opposition agrees to join a unity government under Prime Minister designate Saad Hariri. (BBC) Luigi Esposito, one of Italy's 30 most wanted men, is detained at a villa in Naples. (BBC) (ABC News) Ecuador rations its electricity, leading to some blackouts in areas, including the capital Quito. (BBC) Cuba removes peas and potatoes from its list of rationed foods but increases their prices. (The Daily Telegraph) Caracas is put under widespread water rationing for the first time in several years. (The Washington Post) Ashmolean Museum in Oxfordshire, the UK's oldest museum, reopens after renovations. (BBC) (Heart Radio Oxfordshire) (Kings Lynn News) November 8, 2009 (2009-11-08) (Sunday) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tells the country's army and civilians to "prepare for war" with Colombia. (AP) (Xinhua) Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, indicted by the International Criminal Court, cancels his trip to Turkey. (Hurriyet) (Sudan News Agency) (IOL) (BBC) El Salvador declares a state of emergency as 91 people drown from the effects of a coastal low. (BBC) (CNN)(CBC) The 21st summit of APEC begins in Singapore. (Channel News Asia) (Straits Times) At least 13 people are killed and at least 35 are injured in a suicide attack in Adezai, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera) (Hindustan Times) (BBC) (Reuters India) (RTÉ) Speaking at Sharm el-Sheikh's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China's Premier Wen Jiabao, pledges $10 billion (£6 billion) loans to Africa over a three-year period, in order to increase Sino-african cooperation. (BBC) (France 24) (RTÉ) (Bangkok Post) (The Age) North Korean leader Kim Jong-il sacks a top TV official after state television begins broadcasting advertisements, out of concern that they were "increasing the influence of capitalism". (RTHK) (Joongang Daily) (The Independent) Sharon Commins and her Ugandan colleague Hilda Kawuki are awarded the Hugh O'Flaherty Humanitarian Award. (RTÉ) Thousands of people in Okinawa, Japan protest, demanding the removal of a U.S. military base. (BBC) (Reuters) Police in the Democratic Republic of the Congo arrest 100 people accused of killing dozens and displacing thousands in a conflict over fishing rights. (IOL) The United States House of Representatives votes 220-215 to pass the highly debated health care reform act. (New York Times) The Dalai Lama begins a visit to Tawang, in the disputed territory of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India, amid objections from China. (Indian Express) (Hindustan Times) (BBC) Northern Mariana Islands general election, 2009 results are released Republican Party candidate Heinz Hofschneider and incumbent Governor Benigno Fitial virtually tie in the closest gubernatorial election in history. A runoff election will be held in the next 14 days to determine the winner. (Marianas Variety) November 9, 2009 (2009-11-09) (Monday) World leaders mark the twentieth anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall, with the main celebrations taking place at the Brandenburg Gate. (BBC) (Deutsche Welle) (The Age) (Bangkok Post) A senior Burmese diplomat says the military government will release Aung San Suu Kyi soon. (The Guardian) (AP) Somali pirates attack a Hong Kong-flagged oil tanker with long range rocket-propelled grenades 1,000 miles east off the Somali coast in the Indian Ocean. (Khaleej Times) (BBC) (AP) Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announces the formation of a unity government with Hezbollah. (Reuters) (Xinhua) Northern Mariana Islands gubernatorial election, 2009 The Northern Mariana Islands election commission sets November 23 as the guberntorial runoff election between Governor Benigno Fitial and challenger Heinz Hofschneider. (Saipan Tribune) Iraq sets its next general election for January 21, 2010. (Washington Post) A high speed rail link under construction, Gautrain, will not be ready for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. (BBC) (Times of South Africa) Three American hikers detained on the border between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran are to be charged for espionage by Iranian authorities. (The Independent) (Fars News Agency) Fifth outbreak of Shia insurgency in Yemen: Houthi fighters in Yemen say Saudi Arabia is using phosphorus bombs against them. (AFP) (Press TV) An Eritrean opposition leader claims weapons used by Houthi rebels are being supplied by Iran and transferred via Eritrea. (Yemen Post) In China eight ethnic Uyghurs and one Han are executed for their role in the Urumqi riots in July, in the first executions to take place. (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (Radio Television Hong Kong) MDC official Roy Bennett's trial on terrorism charges begins in Zimbabwe. (Al Jazeera) (Reuters South Africa) The death toll in El Salvador's floods and mudslides reaches 140. (BBC) (Sky News) (Reuters) Tens of thousands of people gather in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh to hear an address by the visiting Dalai Lama. (BBC) (Sify) (Radio Television Hong Kong) Downing Street defends Prime Minister Gordon Brown's habits after the mother of a soldier killed in Afghanistan labels a misspelled letter she received from him as a "hastily scrawled insult". (BBC) "House of Horrors" murderer Jason Somerville pleads guilty to strangling his wife Rebecca Somerville and neighbour Tisha Lowry before having sex with their corpses in Christchurch, New Zealand. (The Sydney Morning Herald) (Radio New Zealand) The South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo alleges that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has six personal trains and 19 stations for his own use. (AP) (Chosun Ilbo) (AFP) Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell announces that she will not seek re-election in 2010. (New York Times) November 10, 2009 (2009-11-10) (Tuesday) A power failure at Itaipu causes a massive blackout, affecting 15 states of Brazil and, briefly, the entire country of Paraguay; chaos is reported in major cities such as São Paulo. (BBC) South and North Korean naval ships fire on one another after a North Korean ship crossed the disputed Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea. The vessel later returned "wrapped in flames" after the incident. (Yonhap) (BBC) (China Daily) Prosecutors begin cross examining former Liberian President Charles Taylor at his war crimes trial. (Reuters) (BBC) (AllAfrica.com) Thailand's ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrives in Cambodia to take up his new appointment as economic adviser to the Cambodian government. (Al Jazeera) (ABC News) A conservation group warns that the koala could be extinct within 30 years. (The Age) (3 News NZ) (The Daily Telegraph) Former President of French Polynesia Gaston Flosse is arrested as part of a corruption investigation. (Radio New Zealand International) John Allen Muhammad, mastermind of the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks, is executed in Virginia. (AP via Fox News (US)) November 11, 2009 (2009-11-11) (Wednesday) Raymond Jessup is sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexual assault of an underage girl after the April 2008 raid of the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado, Texas. (UPI). Two bloggers from Azerbaijan, Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade, are sentenced by a court for "hooliganism" in a restaurant scuffle linked to the posting of a satirical video dressed as a donkey on YouTube that mocked government restrictions on civil liberties. (BBC) (Trend News Agency) (Taiwan News) A gold mining operation is investigated by Chinese authorities after allegations it has damaged part of the Great Wall of China in Inner Mongolia. (Xinhua) (BBC) (Times of South Africa) Iran protests to Oxford University's Queen's College over a scholarship in memory of the slain Iranian student Neda Agha Soltan. (AP) Officials in Brazil investigate the cause of a massive power cut which may have affected a fifth of the population and neighbouring Paraguay. (BBC) (New York Times) Yemen criticises "interference" by Iran in the conflict with Houthi rebels in the country, after Iran criticised Saudi Arabian intervention in the conflict. (Khaleej Times) (Yemen News Agency) (AFP) Anti-monarchy protesters and riot police clash in Montreal, Quebec, during a tour by Prince Charles. (Metro) (The Daily Telegraph) (CBC) A Russian-born German man is sentenced to life imprisonment for fatally stabbing Marwa El-Sherbini in a court, an attack that caused uproar in the Muslim world. (AP) (NY Times) (Deutsche Welle) The discovery of a new dinosaur species, named Aardonyx celestae, in South Africa is announced. (IOL) (AP) (AFP) Cambodia rejects a request by Thailand to extradite ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. (Phnom Penh Post) (Thai News Agency) (BBC) South Korean troops are put on high alert for possible retaliation after a naval clash with North Korea yesterday. (Al Jazeera) (AP) Local government offices in southern Nepal shut in protest after a senior local official is slapped by Deputy Agriculture Minister Karima Begam. (BBC) (Telegraph Nepal) (IOL) For the first time since World War I, the leaders of Germany and France appear together at a ceremony on Remembrance Day to commemorate the end of the conflict. (MSNBC) The classic Yahoo homepage retired today. November 12, 2009 (2009-11-12) (Thursday) The discovery of two sunken World War II Japanese submarines off Oahu, Hawaii, is announced. (NY Times) (The Christian Science Monitor) United States Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan will face 13 charges of murder for the Fort Hood shooting. (AP via New York Times) United States federal prosecutors begin legal action to seize properties owned by the Alavi Foundation on the grounds that it has ties with Iran. (New York Times) In the Glasgow North East by-election, voters pick Labour candidate Willie Bain as the replacement for former Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin. (BBC News) Russian President Dmitry Medvedev calls for an overhaul of the Russian economy and democratic modernisation in an annual state of nation address. (BBC) (Reuters South Africa) (ITAR-TASS) The head of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces, Sarath Fonseka, resigns over reports he is suspected to contest the next presidential election. (AP) U.S.-based rights group Human Rights Watch accuses Chinese authorities of running illegal "black jails" where Chinese citizens are detained for bringing up local complaints. (Al Jazeera) (Ghana Broadcasting Corporation) (The Independent) Sheikh Mohamed Abdi Aware, a Somali judge known for issuing tough sentences to pirates and Islamists, is shot dead in Somalia's Puntland region. (IOL) (BBC) (Press TV) At least 18 people are killed in the collapse of an illegal mine in western Ghana, Ghana's most devastating mining tragedy. (Times of India) (BBC) (RTÉ) Thousands of Maoist supporters demonstrate in an anti-government protest in Nepal over the President's decision to overrule attempts to sack the head of the army. (Hindustan Times) (AFP) (Xinhua) (The Himalayan Times) Former President of Palau Thomas Remengesau Jr. is convicted of 12 ethics code violations. (RNZI) The government of Venezuela nationalizes the Fama de America and Cafea coffee producers. (Businessweek) November 13, 2009 (2009-11-13) (Friday) Philippines President Gloria Arroyo signs a law banning torture, making it a criminal offence punishable by up to 30 years imprisonment. (Philippine Inquirer) (Bangkok Post) The Turkish government unveils a plan to improve rights of the Kurdish minority to end the decades long ethnic conflict in the southeast of the country. (Today's Zaman) (AFP) (Xinhua) Cambodia detains a Thai man on charges of spying for Thailand. (Bangkok Post) (Times Live South Africa) (Sina) Microsoft admits that the Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool contains code that is covered by the GNU General Public License and offers to make it available under the terms of that license. (PC Magazine) American politician William J. Jefferson, former Democratic Party Congressman from the U.S. state of Louisiana, is sentenced to 13 years in prison for corruption. (AP via Houston Chronicle) NASA claims to have discovered water after the LCROSS satellite crashes near the South Pole of the Moon. (New York Times) South African President Jacob Zuma says the police do not have a "licence to kill" after recent incidents of innocent people being killed by police. (Eyewitness News) (BBC) Two people are killed and 43 rescued from a bomb shelter in a fire that triggered multiple explosions at an arms depot near Ulyanovsk, western Russia. (BBC)(RIA Novosti) (Al Jazeera) At least 240 villages in southwestern Saudi Arabia are evacuated due to fighting between Yemeni Houthi rebels and Saudi forces along the border. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) Chinese nationals in Angola say they are increasingly being targeted in "mafia-style" attacks by Angolan gangs. (AFP) (BBC) Four members of Algeria's national football team are injured when their bus comes under attack by stone throwers in Cairo, Egypt. (BBC) (Taiwan News) 38 people are killed in collapsed school buildings and road accidents caused by heavy snowfall in China, the heaviest in 60 years. (BBC) (China Daily) (Times of India) Czech Prime minister Jan Fischer deposits the Treaty of Lisbon ratification instrument at the Italian foreign ministry in Rome. (Foreign ministry of Italy) Tens of thousands of Maoist supporters in Nepal block the headquarters for the Nepali government for a second day. (AP) (Al Jazeera) The diaries of Gareth Jones, a British reporter who exposed the 1933 famine in Ukraine, are put on public display for the first time. (AP) (BBC) A bomb hits the Peshawar office of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency with at least seven people dead and 35 injured. (BBC) Jersey's Chief Minister Terry Le Sueur hosts the 13th summit of the British–Irish Council. (RTÉ) The Japan Coast Guard evacuates 28 passengers and crew from the Ariake commercial ferry after it rolls over onto its side in rough seas off Mie Prefecture in the Pacific Ocean. (Mainichi Shimbun) (IOL) Kosovo prepares for historic elections after a flare-up earlier this week targeted Prime Minister Hashim Thaci in the western town of Deçan. (CNN) Actor and film director Clint Eastwood is made a commander of the Légion d'honneur. (Xinhua) (ABC News) (Gulf Daily News) A court in Buenos Aires declares Argentinean law restricting marriage to a man and a woman unconstitutional, allowing a same-sex couple to marry; the city government announces it will not appeal. (Reuters) (CNN) The United States opens its first marijuana cafe. (Reuters) November 14, 2009 (2009-11-14) (Saturday) New Zealand qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1982, by defeating Bahrain in a playoff billed as "the biggest sporting event ever staged in New Zealand" and the country's most attended football match ever. (BBC) (Arabnews) U.S. evangelist Tony Alamo is sentenced to 175 years in prison for taking underage girls across several states for sexual intercourse. (CNN) (Telegraph.co.uk) The Ogaden National Liberation Front, a separatist Somali rebel group in the southeast of Ethiopia, says it has begun a new offensive. (BBC) (Ethiopian Review) A Peruvian court orders the arrest of two Chilean military officers on charges of spying, causing a diplomatic row between the two countries. (AFP) (BBC) Two Saudi soldiers are killed and five wounded killed in fighting with Houthi rebels in northern Yemen. (Press TV) (Al-Sharq al-Awsat) Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine (AFP) More than 1,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrate outside the offices of U.S. firm Intel in Israel in protest at work taking place at the site on the Jewish Sabbath. (Jerusalem Post) (Reuters) (BBC) A fire at a shooting range in Busan, South Korea, kills 10 people, including two Japanese tourists, and injures six others. (Korea Times) (Japan Today) (UPI) Slovenia signs an agreement with Russia to allow the South Stream gas pipeline to Europe pass through the country. (ITAR-TASS) (Bloomberg) Thousands of protesters demonstrate in Taipei, Taiwan, against imports of certain U.S. beef products. (Radio Taiwan International) (AFP) (Taiwan News) Several people are killed and dozens injured after an express train crashes near Jaipur, India. (NDTV) (BBC) (Indian Express) The United Nations chief of the Food and Agriculture Organization completes a 24 hour hunger strike in Rome, Italy, ahead of a UN summit next week. (AP) At least 11 people are killed and 24 injured after a bomb explodes in Peshawar, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera) (Geo TV) (Brisbane Times) The Papal ban on discussion of the ordination of women priests is challenged by Willie Walsh, Bishop of Killaloe, during his address to the Association of European Journalists in Dublin. (RTÉ) (BBC) (The Irish Times) The body of veteran Slovenian mountaineer Tomaž Humar is located in the Himalayas days after going missing whilst climbing Langtang Lirung. (The Irish Times) (BBC) Sweden returns 22 skulls taken by Swedish scientists from indigenous cemeteries in Hawaii during the 19th century. (BBC) Russian authorities in Perm detain three homeless males on charges of murder, cannibalism and the unlawful selling of body parts to a kebab shop. (BBC) (The Irish Times) (The Times of India) (ABC Online) November 15, 2009 (2009-11-15) (Sunday) The Metro Gold Line extension opens in East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights after decades of planning. (Los Angeles Times) Domenico Raccuglia, considered one of Italy's 30 most dangerous fugitives, is arrested after 15 years on the run. (BBC) (AFP) Belle de Jour, the best-selling author of The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl, identifies herself as Dr. Brooke Magnanti, a specialist in cancer epidemiology at the Bristol Initiative for Research of Child Health. (BBC) (Times Online) (AP) Four people are hospitalised and at least 60 others are injured at Millennium Point in Birmingham during a performance by JLS. The rest of the event is cancelled. (BBC) Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologises for the role of the United Kingdom in sending thousands of children to former colonies in the 20th century. (RTÉ) Kosovars go to the polls for the first local elections since declaring independence from Serbia. (Deutsche Welle) (Xinhua) U.S. President Barack Obama becomes the first U.S. President to meet with Burma's military government, calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. (Reuters) (BBC) (Bangkok Post) APEC leaders say a deal on global warming will not be possible before next month's United Nations summit in Denmark. (CNN) (The Times) Colombia announces it will release four detained members of the Venezuelan National Guard who were arrested on Colombian territory. (BBC) (Press TV) A group of Cuban dissidents holed up in a house in Havana begin a liquid-only fast. (CNN) The Nigerian rebel group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta announces it has begun peace talks with the government. (Afrique en ligne) (NEXT) (Reuters) Iran's Parliament approves President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's final three ministerial choices. (Press TV) (Taiwan News) (Xinhua) Chechen security forces kill up to 20 anti-government fighters southwest of the capital Grozny. (Al Jazeera) November 16, 2009 (2009-11-16) (Monday) Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister of Australia, apologises to the "forgotten Australians" raised in orphanages and foster homes during the twentieth century. (The Australian) NASA launches Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-129 at 1928 UTC (2:28pm EST), bringing supplies and the first two ExPRESS Logistics Carriers to the International Space Station. (NASA) At least 8 people are dead and dozens missing after a ferry collided with an oil barge in Burma's Irrawaddy Delta. (AP) A Zambian court clears journalist Chansa Kabwela of Zambia Post newspaper of pornography charges after she sent pictures of a woman giving birth in a hospital car park to President Rupiah Banda in protest at the effects of a national strike. (Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation) (The Post) (BBC) U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in Shanghai, China, and holds a town-hall-style meeting with students. (AJNews) The United Nations "Hunger Summit" opens in Rome, Italy. (AFP) The IAEA expresses concern after a late declaration of a second nuclear site by Iran. (Al Jazeera) (UPI) One of the United Kingdom's most prolific rapists, known as the "Night Stalker" who it thought to have struck more than 200 times, is charged with 22 offences against the elderly from 1992 to 2009. (The Times) Algeria deploys security at the Egyptian embassy in Algiers after Egyptian businesses are attacked in the capital, and security is also tightened in Sudan ahead of a World Cup play off between the two countries. (BBC) (Times of India) The United Nations is criticised after a poster that made reference to China's internet censorship by the OpenNet Initiative at an international conference focussed on Internet freedom in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, is removed. (BBC) (CBC) (AP) Kosovo's ruling party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, claims victory in local elections, the first since the declaration of independence from Serbia. (Xinhua) (Deutsche Welle) November 17, 2009 (2009-11-17) (Tuesday) A prominent human rights campaigner for the Western Sahara region, Aminatou Haidar, who is on hunger strike at an airport in the Canary Islands, is to appear in a Spanish court on charges of public disorder. (Reuters) (AFP) The head of the opposition in Comoros is arrested after openly criticising President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi. (IOL) Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution which overthrew the communist government of Czechoslovakia. (CNN) (BBC) A Russian icebreaker with 100 tourists on board is stranded in ice in the Antarctic. (AP) (RIA Novosti) Israel approves a further 900 settler homes in a settlement in East Jerusalem. (Daily Telegraph) (Xinhua) (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) Piracy in Somalia: A chemical tanker, the Singapore-operated MV Theresa VIII with 28 North Koreans on board, is seized by Somali pirates northwest of the Seychelles. (BBC) (AP) The Spanish ship Alakrana and its crew of 36 are released after a US$3.5 million ransom is paid. (Al Jazeera) (Channel News Asia) An inquiry into a scandal known as "Indonesia's Watergate" says a police case against two anti-corruption officials should be dropped. (Jakarta Post) (BBC) (UPI) South African human rights activist Kumi Naidoo becomes the executive director of Greenpeace, the first African to head the organisation. (AP) U.S. President Barack Obama continues his first trip to China and meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. (Reuters) (Xinhua) (Asia Times Online) The death toll after a ferry collided with an oil barge in the Irrawaddy Delta, off the coast of Burma, rises to 50. (Al Jazeera) The Original of Laura, an incomplete novel by Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov, is published 32 years after his death despite his wish that its manuscript be burned. (BBC News) (The Independent) (The Cornell Daily Sun) November 18, 2009 (2009-11-18) (Wednesday) The France national football team beat the Republic of Ireland at the Stade de France to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa, with Thierry Henry admitting after the game that he committed handball in the move leading to the decisive goal. (The Daily Telegraph) The population of Africa reaches one billion. (BBC) The Government of Hong Kong unveils a new democratic political reform plan, which includes the expansion of the Legislative Council. (Radio Television Hong Kong) (Channel News Asia) (Straits Times) Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi vetos part of the country's new election law, putting the scheduled January 2010 elections in doubt. (Al Jazeera) (AP) (BBC) Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd announces that he will consider a probe of the Church of Scientology in Australia after an attack on the organization by independent parliamentarian Nick Xenophon. (BBC) According to the 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index, Somalia is the most corrupt of 180 countries surveyed, and New Zealand is the least corrupt. (Reuters) Four people are killed after a bomb left over from the Vietnam War explodes as they try to remove explosive material in southern Tây Ninh Province. (AFP) Taiwanese universities announce they will admit mainland Chinese students for the first time next year. (Taiwan Today) (China Daily) (AFP) Senator and President pro tempore of the United States Senate Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia becomes the longest serving member in the history of the United States Congress. (Associated Press) Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the Parliament of the United Kingdom and delivers Her Majesty's Most Gracious Address. (Daily Telegraph) (BBC) November 19, 2009 (2009-11-19) (Thursday) New guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for cervical cancer screening suggest that a woman should have her first pap smear at age 21. (New York Times) Google releases the source code of its open source Operating system Chrome OS. (PCMAG) U.S. media mogul and talk show host Oprah Winfrey announces she will end her long running talk show in 2011. (AP via Newser) European Union / Three new positions created by the Treaty of Lisbon: The Prime Minister of Belgium, Herman Van Rompuy, is chosen as the first permanent President of the European Council by European Union leaders. (BBC) British politician Catherine Ashton is selected as EU's first Foreign Minister. (BBC News) French diplomat Pierre de Boissieu is selected as the first Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union. (AFP via Google News) Yemeni government forces say they have killed a leader during fighting with Houthi rebels in the north of the country. (Reuters) Egypt recalls its ambassador to Algeria after complaints about violence towards its football fans after a World Cup play off. Sudan also summons its envoy to Egypt over media coverage of the game's aftermath. (BBC) (AFP) (Al Bawaba) Irish politicians, including Taoiseach Brian Cowen, call for a controversial football playoff for the 2010 FIFA World Cup between France and Republic of Ireland to be replayed as the Football Association of Ireland lodges an official complaint with FIFA. (RTÉ) (The Guardian) (Radio Netherlands) (The LA Times) The discovery of three ancient crocodile species, Kaprosuchus saharicus, Araripesuchus rattoides and Laganosuchus thaumastos, is announced. (AP) (National Geographic News) (Times Online) The European Court of Justice rules that airlines will have to pay compensation to passengers who experience delays of more than three hours. (Independent) (European Court of Justice) Bangladesh's Supreme Court upholds the death sentences of five former soldiers convicted of assassinating the country's founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. (bdnews24.com) (Al Jazeera) (BBC) Zimbabwe begins withdrawing soldiers from diamond mines after recommendations by the Kimberley Process regarding human rights abuses. (The Herald) (Reuters South Africa) (AFP) The Russian Constitutional Court prolongs a ban on the death penalty. The moratorium had been due to expire on January 1. (RIA Novosti) (BBC) (Xinhua) Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo steps down as head of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD party and endorses her former defense minister Gilberto Teodoro for President. (Straits Times) (BBC) (Philippine Star) Cambodia takes control of a Thai-owned air traffic control firm in a deepening diplomatic row between the two countries. (Thai News Agency) (BBC) (UPI) A suicide blast near the judicial complex in Peshawar, Pakistan, kills at least 17 people and wounds more than 30 others. (NY Times) November 20, 2009 (2009-11-20) (Friday) The Large Hadron Collider, the largest atom collider in the world, is restarted after a fourteen-month delay for repairs. (The Daily Telegraph) (BBC) (Reuters) Three political parties file a motion of no confidence against French Polynesian President Oscar Temaru. (Tahitipresse) The United States Senate clears Senator Roland Burris of legal wrongdoing in relation to his appointment to the Senate. (WLS Chicago) At least 100 people are killed and around 50,000 displaced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with some fleeing to the Republic of the Congo, in an ethnic conflict over fishing rights. (BBC) (Times LIVE) (People's Daily) Officials from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, China and the United States express "regret" at Iran's refusal to accept nuclear proposals. (Reuters) 200 European football matches are under investigation in a match-fixing inquiry, at least three from the UEFA Champions League and 12 from the UEFA Europa League as Europe's biggest ever match-fixing scandal is revealed. (BBC) (IOL) (Bangkok Post) FIFA turns down the Football Association of Ireland's request for a rematch between France and Republic of Ireland, after a controversial handball decided the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification playoff between the two countries. (RTÉ) (Sky News) (CNN) The Iraq Football Association is suspended by FIFA following government interference. (FIFA) 35 people are injured and fire bombs are thrown after Egyptian riot police clash with protesters at a demonstration outside the Algerian embassy in Cairo, following Egypt's defeat in a World Cup qualifying playoff match. (BBC) (Ennahar) Floods in Great Britain and Ireland: The Irish Defence Forces are deployed to assist civil authorities after widespread flooding hits the west and south of Ireland after the heaviest rainfall in over thirty years falls in one night. The worst affected areas are Cork and Galway, where there is widespread disruption to public transport and services and several major roads are closed. Lectures at University College Cork are cancelled as the university is submerged. (RTÉ) (The Irish Times) (Ireland Online) Cumbria, England: A high volume of people, including one policeman, are declared missing, more than 200 people are rescued in Cockermouth and a bridge collapses in Workington during floods. The body of a policeman is later recovered. (BBC) Somalia announces it is to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, leaving the United States the only country not to ratify it. (BBC) Colombia accuses Venezuelan troops of blowing up two border bridges between the two countries. (Colombia Reports) (El Universal) (Al Jazeera) At least five people are killed, including the gunman, and a further eight injured in a spree shooting in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. (Saipan Tribune) (BBC) (AP) MS Oasis of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship, is officially unveiled at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, live on an American morning television show. (The Independent) Brenda, a transsexual named in a sex scandal involving former Lazio governor Piero Marrazzo, is found burned alive following a fire at her Rome flat. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph) (Reuters) Two fingers and a tooth belonging to astronomer Galileo Galilei are located more than 100 years after their disappearance. (BBC) November 21, 2009 (2009-11-21) (Saturday) Protestors gather at the French Embassy in Dublin in a continuation of the dispute with FIFA over the controversial handball incident in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between France and Republic of Ireland. (RTÉ) (The Irish Times) (BBC) President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak says on national television he will not tolerate the "humiliation" of Egyptian nationals abroad following the riots between Algeria and Egypt over a qualifying match for the 2010 World Cup. (BBC) Italian police arrest two Pakistani nationals suspected of providing logistical support to the group responsible for the attacks in Mumbai in 2008. (The Hindu) (Reuters) (BBC News) Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Pope Benedict XVI agree to "seek closer relations" in a meeting in Rome. (BBC News) (The Daily Telegraph) (Associated Press) Floods in Great Britain and Ireland: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown travels to Cumbria to meet victims of the floods that have affected the area. (BBC News) Ireland's Emergency Co-Ordination Committee meets to discuss the flooding. Green Party leader and Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government John Gormley visits the scene of the worst damage in Cork and describes it as "a once in 800 years event". (RTÉ) (The Irish Times) (Sky News) (The Straits Times) U.S. President Barack Obama's job approval rating slips below 50 percent in a daily tracking survey by Gallup poll. (Reuters) New research concludes that Homo floresiensis, discovered in 2003, is a distinct species and not a previously known species with dwarfism or microcephaly. (The Daily Telegraph) (U.S. News) Sri Lanka's government announces that Tamil refugees held in camps since the end of the conflict with the Tamil Tigers will be free to leave the camps next month. (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (The Island) A gas blast at a coal mine in Heilongjiang province, northeastern China, kills 42 people and traps 66. (BBC) (Xinhua)(AP) The Netherlands win the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Click Clack" by Ralf Mackenbach. (NOS) November 22, 2009 (2009-11-22) (Sunday) An Algerian court acquits Abdulli Feghoul, who had been detained at Guantanamo Bay detention camp without trial for almost seven years. (AP) (BBC) Efren Peñaflorida, who started a "pushcart classroom" in the Philippines to provide education to poor children, is named the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year. (The Philippine Star) (UPI) (CNN) Three Royal National Lifeboat Institution crew members are located "in good condition" after their boat capsizes off County Wexford in Ireland. (RTÉ) At least seven people are killed and more than 55 injured in a bombing in Assam, northeastern India. (Times of India) (Al Jazeera) (UPI) A 400lb bomb partially explodes outside the headquarters of the Policing Board in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In another incident, three men are arrested after a shooting incident involving PSNI officers in the border village of Garrison, County Fermanagh. (The Daily Telegraph) (CNN) (RTÉ) Romanians go to the polls for the first round of the presidential election and to vote on proposed parliamentary reform. (Agerpres) (BBC) Jeong Nam-gyu, one of South Korea's most prolific serial killers, commits suicide in his cell on death row. (Joongang Daily) (BBC) (New York Times) Former Iranian Vice President Mohammad-Ali Abtahi who was sentenced to six years imprisonment in connection with the June election protests is released on bail. (Xinhua) (AFP) 2009 Azerbaijan-Armenia negotiations in Munich: Azerbaijan and Armenia hold talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan has warned that the meeting of presidents in Munich will be "decisive" and that its troops are ready to take the territory by force unless there is a breakthrough in negotiations. (Reuters) Debate is stoked over whether scientists have overstated the case for man-made climate change after computer hackers break into a server at University of East Anglia, the well-respected climate change research center. (Wall Street Journal) (Washington Post) An Indonesian ferry carrying over 200 passengers sinks off the cost of Sumatra. (Jakarta Post) (AFP via News Limited) (China Daily) The United States Senate votes to allow a debate on the healthcare reform bill. The debate is to begin on November 30, 2009. (The Guardian) (BBC News) (Voice of America) (MSNBC) The number killed in an explosion in Heilongjiang province, China rises to 92. (BBC News) (Reuters) (Associated Press) (New York Times) November 23, 2009 (2009-11-23) (Monday) Forty three people, including a local politician and about a dozen journalists, are killed in a massacre in Maguindanao, Philippines.(The Philippine Star) The first atom collisions have taken place in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, near Geneva, Switzerland. (The Times) (BBC News) A second fire at an arms depot plant in Ulyanovsk, Russia, kills at least eight people, 10 days after a previous explosion at the same site. (RIA Novosti) (Al Jazeera) The family of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was mistakenly shot dead by the Metropolitan Police in London in 2005, reach a compensation deal with police, resolving "all litigation" between them. (BBC) India's main opposition BJP party condemns a leaked Liberhan Commission report that implicated opposition figures in the destruction of the Babri Mosque in 1992 by Hindu nationalists. (IBN) (Times LIVE) (BBC) Voters in the Northern Mariana Islands participate in the Commonwealth's first ever gubernatorial runoff election between Governor Benigno Fitial and challenger Heinz Hofschneider. Hofschneider had bested Fitial in the first round by just 8 votes on November 7, the closest gubernatorial election in history. (Saipan Tribune) The war crimes trial of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia hears its final arguments. (Phnom Penh Post) (CNN) (Al Jazeera) The world's largest mass immunisation against yellow fever begins in West Africa, targeting 12 million people. (BBC) 21 bodies are discovered so far after a convoy of around 50 people including politicians, journalists and supporters is hijacked by dozens of armed gunmen in Maguindanao, southern Philippines. (AP) (Philippine Inquirer) (GMA News) Clashes break out between refugees from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan at an Australian immigration centre on Christmas Island. (BBC) (Xinhua) (ABC News) Flooding in Great Britain and Ireland Residents in Cockermouth, Cumbria, begin returning to their homes; meanwhile, the search resumes for a missing woman swept away near Brecon, Powys. (BBC) (BBC) Taoiseach Brian Cowen visits Ireland's worst hit areas in the recent flooding. (RTÉ) Relatives protest about the recent mine disaster in China. (Daily Mail) (RTÉ) (Reuters) Chinese human rights activist Huang Qi, who campaigned for the parents of the children killed in schools in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, is sentenced to three years in prison for "illegally holding state secrets". (BBC) (AFP) November 24, 2009 (2009-11-24) (Tuesday) An appeal court in Casablanca, Morocco, upholds a three year jail term against a human rights activist, Chahib Khayari, for "offending the authorities" after accusing top officials of being involved in drug networks. (Reuters) (IOL) Two French charity workers are kidnapped in the Central African Republic, in the latest in a series of kidnappings. (IOL) (Afrik.com) Four people are killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Netanya in northern Israel. (Jerusalem Post) (RTT News) (Trend News Agency) A nationwide public service strike involving medical staff, teachers and civil servants takes place in areas of Ireland not badly affected by recent ongoing flooding. (The Irish Times) (BBC) (Irish Independent) The Government of Ireland announces a €10 million humanitarian fund for the worst affected by ongoing floods in the country. (RTÉ) Over 1,500 complaints are received from American viewers after a gay kiss involving Adam Lambert is televised during an awards ceremony. (BBC) Iran lifts a ban on one of its best-selling newspapers, Hamshahri, a day after it was banned from publication after publishing a picture of a temple from the banned Baháʼí faith. (Press TV) (Reuters) The trial of two Congolese militia leaders, Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, begins at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (AP) Russian President Dmitry Medvedev orders an investigation into the death of an anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky who died in prison while awaiting trial on charges of tax evasion. (RIA Novosti) (The Daily Telegraph) The European Parliament approves a major overhaul of telecommunications systems in the European Union aimed at boosting the rights of mobile and internet users. (AFP) (euronews) An inquiry opens in the United Kingdom over the country's involvement in the Iraq War. (BBC) (CNN) (Angola Press) Pirates kill a Ukrainian sailor after an oil tanker is attacked off the coast of Benin. (BBC) (Press TV) China executes two people for their role in the tainted milk poisoning scandal. (Xinhua) (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera) In a tribute to Hindu goddess Gadhimai, approximately 20,000 buffalo and 300,000 birds, sheep and goats are ritually slaughtered in a festival in Bariyapur, Nepal. (BBC) (Times of India) (CNN) Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declares a state of emergency in the entire Maguindanao province in southern Philippines following the bloodiest election-related massacre in Philippine history which left at least 40 people dead, including a local politician and about a dozen journalists. (ABS-CBN News) Northern Mariana Islands gubernatorial election, 2009 In the Northern Mariana Islands' first ever runoff, incumbent Governor Benigno Fitial of the Covenant Party leads Republican Party Rep. Heinz Hofschneider by 501 votes. (Saipan Tribune) An estimated 1,200 absentee ballots still need to be counted before a winner is declared on December 7, 2009. (Saipan Tribune) Web browser Opera closes a loophole which allowed Chinese users to access websites banned by the government. (BBC) Chilean writer and historian, José Arraño Acevedo dies at the age of 88. [1] November 25, 2009 (2009-11-25) (Wednesday) Irish floods: Water levels rise between Gort and Kinvara, the main Galway-Limerick road is partially impassable, water levels in Athlone reach 50cm over the highest level on record, Waterways Ireland describes water levels on the River Shannon as "unmanageable" and says one third of Ireland's annual rain has so far fallen during November alone. (RTÉ) 2009 South Yemen insurgency: Five Yemenis die when security forces clash with southern separatists. (Reuters) President of French Polynesia Oscar Temaru is ousted in a motion of no confidence by the Assembly of French Polynesia. The Assembly elects Gaston Tong Sang as president. Gaston returns to power just nine months after leaving office. This is the eleventh new government in five years. (Radio Australia) Dubai World, the state-owned real-estate and ports giant, asks for a moratorium on its 59 billion US dollars' in debt until at least May 30, 2010. (Bloomberg) Two journalists kidnapped more than a year ago in Somalia, an Australian and a Canadian, are released. (AP) (ABC News) Five people are killed at a rally demanding secession in Shabwa, southern Yemen. (Reuters) (BBC) (Xinhua) A court in Pakistan charges seven suspects in connection with the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. (Al Jazeera) (Hindustan Times) (AFP) Prosecutors in the trial of a former Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Guek Eav request a 40 year prison sentence. (Phnom Penh Post) (AP) (Press TV) Maguindanao massacre Philippine police name a political ally of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as prime suspect in the Maguindanao massacre. (ABS-CBN News) The Philippine National Police take full control of the province of Maguindanao to prevent an escalation of violence. (Philippine Daily Inquirer) November 26, 2009 (2009-11-26) (Thursday) Ireland's Taoiseach Brian Cowen is confronted by displeased residents in Athlone during his half-day tour of flood-hit areas in Galway, Offaly, Roscommon and Westmeath. (The Irish Times) (RTÉ) The Murphy Report, commissioned by the Irish government, finds that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin covered up widespread sexual abuse of children by priests until the mid 1990s. (Irish Times) (Reuters) (BBC) All pleas to halt British hacker Gary McKinnon being extradited to the United States to face trial for breaking into NASA and military computers looking for UFO evidence fail as UK Home Secretary orders his extradition. (The Daily Telegraph) The Namibian National Society for Human Rights announces it will approach the High Court after the electoral commission withdraws its observer status for the general election on Friday. (The Namibian) (BBC) The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) labels the Maguindanao massacre in the Philippines the "single deadliest event for the press" ever documented. (Philippine Daily Inquirer) The Supreme Court in Bogotá convicts and sentences former general Jaime Uscátegui to 40 years in prison for his role in the Mapiripán Massacre in 1997 by far right militias. (The Guardian) (Colombia Reports) Floods in Saudi Arabia kill around 77 people in Jeddah, Rabigh and Mecca, and a further 351 are missing in the heaviest rainfall in years. (AFP) (Saudi Gazette) Germany's army chief Wolfgang Schneiderhan resigns over allegations of a cover up related to a September NATO airstrike in northern Afghanistan. (Deutsche Welle) (Xinhua) South Korea's Constitutional Court strikes down a decades old law that punished men for making false promises of marriage to engage in sexual relations with women. (Yonhap) (Korea Herald) (Times of India) A gunman attacks the University of Pécs in southern Hungary, killing one and injuring at least three people. (BBC) (Caboodle.hu) Ceremonies are held in India to mark the first anniversary of a series of attacks in Mumbai by Pakistani militants which killed 166 people. (Hindustan Times) (BBC) (The Guardian) China unveils its first firm target to cut greenhouse gas emissions, ahead of a United Nations summit in Copenhagen next month. (Xinhua) (The Times) (Reuters) Police in Hong Kong attempt to find the founder of a Facebook group whose members claim to have planned to commit a mass suicide on December 21. (IOL) (China Daily) (Radio Television Hong Kong) Citizens of St Vincent and the Grenadines reject a new constitution which would have replaced Queen Elizabeth II with a president as Head of State. (Antillean) (Caribbean News Agency) November 27, 2009 (2009-11-27) (Friday) A Russian high-speed passenger train traveling on the Moscow – Saint Petersburg Railway derails near Uglovka in a suspected terrorist attack, killing 26 people and injuring more than 100. (RIA Novosti) (BBC) Tiger Woods, the world's number one golfer, is hospitalised after sustaining injuries in a car crash in Orlando, Florida, USA. (The Daily Telegraph) (BBC) (The Irish Times) The World Health Organization reports a one-week global increase of more than 1,000 deaths (85% increase in Europe) from the pandemic H1N1/09 virus. (BBC) (World Health Organization) A ferry carrying over 1000 people partially sinks in the Tetulia river in southern Bangladesh, trapping an unknown number of people. (BBC) (IOL) (The Daily Star) The International Atomic Energy Agency passes a resolution 25-3 condemning Iran for developing a secret uranium enrichment site. (BBC) (Xinhua) (Press TV) (RIA Novosti) Vanuatu's Prime Minister Edward Natapei loses his parliamentary seat after he missed three consecutive sittings without submitting an explanation. (AFP) (BBC) (Xinhua) Voters in Namibia vote in a general election. (The Namibian) (Al Jazeera) (AFP) At the Khmer Rouge war crimes trial, Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, pleads to be released. (Phnom Penh Post) (AP) Great Britain and Ireland floods: Prince Charles visits areas of Cumbria hit by the recent floods. (The Guardian) Hundreds of people attend the funeral held for a police officer who died when a bridge collapsed in Workington, Cumbria. (BBC) Royal Engineers from the British Army begin construction of a temporary footbridge over the River Derwent. (BBC) The Irish Farmers' Association begins an operation to distribute emergency supplies of donated fodder to Ireland's flood-hit regions as the River Shannon rises further, threatening Limerick City. (The Irish Times) (RTÉ) Multibillion-dollar debt problems of Emirati investment company Dubai World, including the possibility of default, upset markets worldwide. (MarketWatch) The China National Space Administration sets a launch date of October 2010 for Chang'e 2, its second lunar orbiter. (AP) The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2009 opens with the following issues on its agenda: discussion of climate change ahead of the December United Nations Climate Change Conference; Rwanda's admission into the Commonwealth of Nations; and Sri Lanka's bid to host the 2011 meeting. (BBC) South Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission acknowledges the government's execution of 5,000 civilians accused of sympathizing with North Korea during the early months of the Korean War. (Los Angeles Times) The Ugandan parliament passes a controversial land bill, criticised by the Buganda kingdom. (Daily Monitor) (BBC) (New Vision) Franz Josef Jung resigns as Germany's Minister of Labour and Social Affairs following allegations of covering up the Kunduz airstrike, during which he served as Minister of Defence. (Deutsche Welle) (BBC) President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso nominates a new team of commissioners for his second five-year term. (BBC) (The New York Times) Space Shuttle Atlantis returns to Earth following the completion of its STS-129 mission. (Reuters) A mass shooting at a Thanksgiving party in Jupiter, Florida, United States kills four people and critically wounds a fifth. (CNN) November 28, 2009 (2009-11-28) (Saturday) The death toll in a ferry accident in southern Bangladesh rises to 33. (Sify) (Press TV) (Bangkok Post) Sri Lanka's former army chief Sarath Fonseka announces he will run for President in the presidential election next year. (Daily News & Analysis) (AFP) A Chinese court hears the first civil lawsuit by a parent whose child fell ill during last year's tainted milk scandal. (AP) (China Daily) (BBC) The Government of Ireland promises more money to the flood relief fund as ongoing flooding worsens in some counties, including Clare, Galway and Offaly. (RTÉ) Protesters and police clash at a demonstration protesting a meeting of the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. (Swissinfo) (Wall Street Journal) At least 73 people die as a ferry sinks in Lake Mai-Ndombe in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) Pakistan's National Reconciliation Ordinance, issued by former President Pervez Musharraf in October 2007 to provide several thousand politicians (including current President Asif Ali Zardari) amnesty from charges of political corruption, expires. (AFP) (CNN) (Daily Times Pakistan) Russia's prosecutor general opens a criminal case into the 2009 Nevsky Express bombing which killed at least 26 people yesterday. (Deutsche Welle) (Russia Today) (BBC) Three people are killed and four injured after a Zimbabwean cargo plane catches fire at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. (Xinhua) (AP) (Bernama) Japan launches its fifth spy satellite on the H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center. (Kyodo) (Mainichi Shimbun) (Times of India) A second day of voting in national and presidential elections in Namibia takes place. (AFP) November 29, 2009 (2009-11-29) (Sunday) Nepal announces it will hold a cabinet meeting on Mount Everest to highlight the effect of global warming on glaciers. (BBC) (Xinhua) (The Himalayan Times) Somali pirates capture the Greek owned oil tanker Maran Centaurus 1,300 kilometres off the coast of Somalia. (BBC) Uruguayan voters elect Broad Front candidate José Mujica as their new president. (Reuters) The Commonwealth of Nations urges the Fijian government to restore democracy in the country. (BBC) Israel announces it is likely to release 980 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for captured soldier Gilad Shalit. (Ha'aretz) (AFP) Four police officers are shot and killed while in a coffee shop in Parkland, Washington, United States. (MSNBC) (BBC) Irish floods: At least 13 ambulances from the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps in Dublin travel to Athlone and Ballinasloe to deliver relief to flood victims there. Dublin's River Liffey bursts its banks and floods several areas. (RTÉ) (The Sunday Business Post) Voters in Switzerland approve a referendum to ban the construction of new minarets in the country. (Swissinfo) (BBC) (Al Jazeera) Nuclear program of Iran: The Iranian parliament urges the government to reduce ties with the International Atomic Energy Agency. (Fars News Agency) (BBC) (Xinhua) The Iranian government approves plans to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants. (Press TV) (Sky News) Russian police issue an appeal for witnesses following the Nevsky Express bombing. (BBC) (IOL) The central bank of the United Arab Emirates announces it will provide extra liquidity to Dubai banks. (Gulf News) (BBC) Saudi Arabia says its forces have seized control of a key mountain area amid the country's ongoing fight with Houthi rebels in Yemen. (Al Jazeera) Statements from bishops relating to the Murphy Report into sexual abuse scandal in Dublin archdiocese are read at Masses across Ireland. (RTÉ) A witness in the case of the murder of nun Dorothy Stang shot dead in the Amazon Rainforest in 2005 is critically wounded after being shot. (BBC) (Canadian Press) Officials investigate a radiation leak at the Kaiga nuclear plant in southern India which left 55 employees requiring medical treatment. (Indian Express) (Reuters) (BBC) The Peruvian government apologizes to citizens of African origin for centuries of abuse. (BBC) (Latin American Herald Tribune) Honduras holds its first general election five months after a coup d'état ousted Manuel Zelaya as President. (BBC) (The New York Times) (The Washington Post) Voters in Equatorial Guinea take part in a presidential election. (Xinhua) (Al Jazeera) A United States Senate report states that Osama bin Laden was "within grasp" of the United States Army in Tora Bora in December 2001. (BBC) British scientists at the University of East Anglia, who are criticised, say they will publish their figures in full. (The Daily Telegraph) (Associated Press) Rwanda is admitted under the Edinburgh criteria as the second member of the Commonwealth of Nations without any historical ties to the United Kingdom. (The New York Times) (Bernama) November 30, 2009 (2009-11-30) (Monday) A court in Argentina blocks Latin America's first gay marriage, overturning an earlier ruling, saying the Supreme Court should decide on its constitutionality. (Buenos Aires Herald) (AFP) (BBC) On St. Andrew's Day, the Scottish Government concludes the National Conversation into Scotland's constitutional future by publishing a white paper for their proposed referendum on independence. (The Independent) (Scotland.gov.uk) Officials in Equatorial Guinea announce that incumbent President Teodoro Obiang Nguema won the presidential election with 96.7% of the vote, as the opposition claims irregularities. (AFP) (Press TV) In a major provincial leadership reshuffle in the People's Republic of China, Lu Zhangong was appointed secretary of the Henan CPC Provincial Committee, replacing Xu Guangchun. Sun Chunlan was appointed secretary of the Fujian CPC Committee. Former Jilin Party chief Wang Min was appointed secretary of the Liaoning CPC Committee, replacing Zhang Wenyue. Former Minister of Agriculture Sun Zhengcai took over as Party chief of Jilin Province. And former governor of Hebei Hu Chunhua was appointed Party chief of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, replacing Chu Bo, who retired.(Xinhua) An explosive device goes off under a train travelling from Tyumen, Russia, to Baku in Azerbaijan, in the northern Caucasus republic of Dagestan. (RIA Novosti) (Azeri Press Agency) (Times of India) Three Spanish aid workers are kidnapped in northern Mauritania, after they became separated from an aid convoy. (CNN) (The Guardian) Former rebel leader Agathon Rwasa, of the National Liberation Forces in Burundi, is selected as a candidate in next year's presidential election. (Reuters) (BBC) A new railway station opens in Workington, providing a link across the River Derwent after all but one of the bridges in the town were put out of action by floods. (BBC) John Demjanjuk goes on trial in Munich accused of war crimes relating to the killing of 27,000 Jews in the Holocaust. (Deutsche Welle) (BBC) (Reuters) (Sydney Morning Herald) The Large Hadron Collider sets a new world record for particle accelerations. (The Times) (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph) Police in Seattle report that the suspect, Maurice Clemmons, shot in the murder of four police officers in Parkland, Washington, is on the run. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) Argonne National Laboratory announces that nanodiscs, made from an iron-nickel alloy and subjected to a magnetic field, destroy 90 percent of cancer cells in tests. (AFP) (Scientific American) Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announces she will run for Congress. (ABS-CBN News) A study in the journal Pediatrics indicates that if a child is diagnosed with autism early, intervention can raise IQ levels while improving language skills and behavior. (CNN)

November 2009 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30  Ongoing events Disasters Great Britain and Ireland floods Saudi Arabia floods Economic Automotive industry crisis Financial crisis Worldwide recession Medical H1N1/09 flu pandemic West African meningitis outbreak HIV/AIDS in Africa Political Health care reform debate Honduran constitutional crisis Maguindanao massacre Nigerien constitutional crisis Scientific Expedition 21  Recent deaths November 29: Prince Alexander of Belgium 29: Robert Holdstock 24: Samak Sundaravej 22: Billy Joe Daugherty 22: Ali Kordan 22: Juan Carlos Muñoz 21: Konstantin Feoktistov 20: Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi 20: Lino Lacedelli 20: Celso Pitta 19: Daul Kim 18: Jeanne-Claude 16: Robert J. Frankel 16: Edward Woodward 15: Antonio de Nigris 15: Pierre Harmel 15: Patriarch Pavle of Serbia  Ongoing conflicts Africa / Middle East Chadian Civil War Iraq War Israeli–Palestinian conflict Maghreb insurgency Niger Delta conflict Shia insurgency in Yemen South Yemen insurgency Somali Civil War Turkey–PKK conflict Asia War in Afghanistan Balochistan conflict Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir Insurgency in the Philippines Ethnic conflict in Nagaland Naxalite–Maoist insurgency War in North-West Pakistan South Thailand insurgency Americas Colombian conflict Mexican drug war  Elections Recent November 7: Northern Mariana Islands, Governor and Legislative 10: Moldova, President (indirect) 22: Romania, President (1st round) and constitutional referendum 23: Northern Mariana Islands, Governor (2nd round) 25: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, constitutional referendum 27–28: Namibia, General Upcoming: November 29: Equatorial Guinea, President 29: Honduras, General 29: Switzerland, Referendum 29: Uruguay, President (2nd round)  Trials Recently concluded Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi Canada: Larry O'Brien New Zealand: Clayton Weatherston Peru: Alberto Fujimori Sweden: The Pirate Bay Republic of China: Chen Shui-bian United States: James Charles Kopp, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Phil Spector, Bernard Madoff, William J. Jefferson Ongoing Cambodia: Khmer Rouge Tribunal China: Organized crime in Chongqing France: Church of Scientology Germany: Heinrich Boere Iraq: Supreme Criminal Tribunal Italy: Raffaele Sollecito, Amanda Knox Netherlands: Thomas Lubanga (ICC), Radovan Karadžić (ICTY) Palau: Thomas Remengesau Jr. Russia: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev Sierra Leone]]: Charles Taylor (SCFSL) Singapore: Tak Boleh Tahan Thailand: Thaksin Shinawatra United States: Jena Six Upcoming Germany: John Demjanjuk Sudan: Lubna al-Hussein United Kingdom: Allen Stanford United States: Viktor Bout, Noshir Gowadia, Ehren Watada, Sheila Dixon, Joseph Bruno  Holidays  and observances November Ongoing 15 – December 24: Nativity Fast (Eastern Christianity) 25–30: Hajj (Islam) 27–30: Eid al-Adha (Islam) 27–28: Buy Nothing Day (Anti-consumerism) Current 28: Ascension of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (Baháʼí Faith) 28: Feast of the Holy Sovereigns (Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii) 28: Independence Day (Albania) 28: Proclamation of the Republic Day (Chad) 28: Declaration of Independence Day (East Timor) 28: Independence Day (Mauritania) 28: Independence Day (Panama) Upcoming 29: Advent Sunday (Western Christianity) 29 – December 24: Advent (Western Christianity) 29: Liberation Day (Albania) 29: Kaf-Tet November (Israel) 29: William Tubman's Birthday (Liberia) 30: Cities for Life Day 30: Independence Day (Barbados) 30: Bonifacio Day (Philippines) 30: St. Andrew's Day (Scotland) 30: Independence Day (Yemen)