Portal:Current events/November 2007

• The Swedish Mint (Swedish: Myntverket) in Eskilstuna, Sweden, loses the competition to produce Swedish national coins to Rahapaja Oy of Finland, ending a more than 1000-year-long tradition of minting Swedish coins in Sweden. (Dagens Nyheter)
• Automaker Chrysler announces plans for cutting an additional 12,000 jobs worldwide as part of a major restructuring plan. (AP via CNN)
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunges over 360 points, or 2.6%, in its worst daily loss since February 27. Similar percentage losses occurred in Europe earlier in the day. (AP via Yahoo! Finance)
• 2007 Atlantic hurricane season: Tropical Storm Noel strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane and heads towards Bermuda having killed at least 108 people so far. (Reuters)
• Benazir Bhutto leaves Karachi for United Arab Emirates amidst speculations that President Pervez Musharraf might impose martial law in Pakistan. (Dailyindia.com/ANI)
• 2007 Tabasco flood: Massive flooding hits the Mexican state of Tabasco, with Governor Andrés Granier estimating that 80% of its 25,000 km² surface area is underwater. (BBC) (El Universal)
• The London Metropolitan Police is found guilty of violations of Health and Safety law over the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes on the London Underground in July 2005, and is fined £175,000 and ordered to pay £385,000 in legal costs. (Sky News) (BBC)
• Flash floods in central Vietnam kill at least 13 people and injure 31 with 14,000 homes submerged in Quảng Trị, Quảng Bình and Quảng Nam provinces. (Reuters)
• A suicide bomber attacks a bus carrying Pakistan Air Force personnel in Punjab resulting in at least five deaths and 40 people being injured. (AP via NYT)

• The United Nations will send home 108 of the 950 Sri Lankan peacekeepers in Haiti, accusing them of sexual abuse, including with underage girls. (BBC)
• 2007 Georgian demonstrations: Tens of thousands of Georgians protest outside parliament in Tbilisi, urging President Mikhail Saakashvili to step down. (BBC)
• S. P. Thamilselvan, the political chief of the Sri Lankan rebel group Tamil Tigers, is killed in an attack by the Sri Lanka Air Force near Kilinochchi. (Bloomberg)
• Stocks across Asia drop sharply after a rough Thursday in Europe and the United States, with the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong losing over 1,000 points, or 3.25%, the biggest loss of any Asian market. London's FTSE 100 Index loses ground for a second day after the news in Asia. (The Times)
• ICANN celebrates Vint Cerf years, names Peter Dengate Thrush chairman, forms working group on internationalized domain names. (NZ Herald) (AP) (CBC.ca)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency
  • President Pervez Musharraf declares a period of emergency rule amid rising militant violence. (BBC) (Reuters)

• At least six people are killed as a Learjet 35 crashes into a residential district in São Paulo, Brazil. (Reuters via News Limited)
• The Wall Street Journal reports that Charles Prince has resigned as the head of Citigroup to be replaced by former United States Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin. (BBC)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • Former cricketer and chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan escapes from house arrest.
  • Lawyers prepare for a countrywide strike tomorrow.
• Guatemalan general elections are held to elect a new president. (BBC)
• Antonio Cromartie of the San Diego Chargers breaks the record for the longest play in NFL history with a 109 yard missed field goal return.

• Rookie running back Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings sets the NFL single game rushing record with 296 yards in a 35-17 victory over the San Diego Chargers.

• The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong drops over 1,500 points, or 5%, three days after a previous sizable decline. The Hang Seng registers its largest daily loss since September 2001. (Bloomberg)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • The Netherlands suspends aid to Pakistan following the imposition of emergency rule.
  • Several demonstrating lawyers protesting outside the Sindh High Court are arrested.
  • President of the United States George W. Bush calls on the President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf to end the state of emergency and restore civilian rule. (BBC)
• Italian police arrest Sicilian mafia boss Salvatore Lo Piccolo, his son Sandro and two other mafiosi in Carini, Palermo. (BBC)
• A fire at a retirement home in a village near Tula, Russia, kills at least 23 people. (BBC)
• The Writers Guild of America asks 12,000 of its members to join a Hollywood screenwriters strike over a dispute over residuals. (BBC)
• Álvaro Colom is elected President of Guatemala in the 2007 general election. (Reuters)
• Google and the Open Handset Alliance announce the Android operating system, a joint effort in handheld computing. (Ars Technica) (CNN)
• The number of people in southern Mexico displaced by the 2007 Tabasco flood nears a million (VOA), with 300,000 more still trapped in their homes, waiting to be rescued. (BBC)
• Kimi Raikkonen wins the Formula One World Championship.

• Queen Elizabeth II formally opens High Speed 1 and London's St Pancras station, the new home for Eurostar trains linking London with Paris and Brussels as of November 14, replacing the Eurostar terminus at Waterloo station. (BBC)
• At least 35 people are killed and dozens more wounded in a suicide bombing in northern Afghanistan, officials say. (BBC)
• 2007 Belgian government formation: Belgium sets a new national record for the longest period without a new government – 149 days have passed since the general election – as parties are still trying to bridge their opposing views on state reforms. (Daily Telegraph)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency: Over 100 anti-emergency activists are arrested as part of a crackdown process in Pakistan.
• King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia visits the Vatican in what is the first audience by the head of the Roman Catholic Church with a Saudi monarch. (BBC)
• Scores of students are injured and arrested ahead of protests in Venezuela. The demonstrations, scheduled for Wednesday, are to demand a delay to a referendum aimed at expanding the powers of Hugo Chávez. (ABC News Australia)
• Efficient wins the 2007 Melbourne Cup. (ABC News Australia)
• The incumbent People's National Movement party retains power in the Trinidad and Tobago elections. (BBC)
• John "Jordan" Lewis is arrested by the Miami-Dade Police Department for the killing of Police Officer Charles Cassidy at a Dunkin' Donuts shop in the East Oak Lane section of Philadelphia on October 31, 2007. [1]

• About 80,000 students march in Caracas, Venezuela, to protest against a constitutional referendum that would give more power to President Hugo Chávez. Nine students are injured by riot controllers at the Central University of Venezuela. (NYT)
• In Belgium, government formation discussions have gone on for a record 150 days as Flemish and Walloon politicians clash over Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde. (Economist)
• Astronomers in the United States have found a fifth planet in orbit around the star 55 Cancri 41 light years from Earth. (BBC)
• Space Shuttle Discovery lands at the Kennedy Space Center, ending STS-120, a 15-day mission to the International Space Station. (Spaceflightnow.com)
• A fire in Gwalior, India, ruins over 400 small stores. Losses are estimated at 10 million rupees (USD 250,000).
• Taliban militants capture the Pakistani town of Madyan in Waziristan's Swat region and hoist their flags over buildings.
• Four Albanian militants are killed in a Macedonian police operation. (Wikinews)
• 2007 Georgian demonstrations:
  • Georgian riot police use tear gas, water and sonic cannons to break up thousands of anti-government protesters calling for the resignation of President Mikhail Saakashvili in Tbilisi. (RussiaToday) (Wired) (Aljazeera)
  • The President announces a 15-day nationwide state of emergency. (AP via CNN)
• At least eight people are killed and several injured in a school shooting in Tuusula (Tusby), north of Helsinki, Finland. (BBC)
• The U.S. dollar stumbles to new lows after Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, calls for China to shift more of its $1.43 trillion of currency reserves into "stronger currencies", such as the euro. (MarketWatch)
• Brad Wall is elected as Premier of Saskatchewan as his Saskatchewan Party defeats the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party by a 37-21 margin in the 26th Saskatchewan general election. (CBC)

• EU interior ministers agreed that nine member states from central and eastern Europe are sufficiently prepared to join EU's Schengen border-free zone on December 21. (EUobserver)
• A United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashes in Santa Lucia di Piave, Italy, killing four people and injuring six. (BBC)
• The United States Senate confirms Michael Mukasey as the Attorney General of the United States. (Reuters)
• At least 29 miners are killed in a gas leak in a colliery in China's Guizhou province. (BBC)
• Pakistan Television quotes President Pervez Musharraf as saying that Pakistan will hold elections before 15 February 2008.
• 2007 North Sea flood: a 3 metre storm tide heads for the English Channel, causing dozens of flood warnings by the UK's Environment Agency. Prime Minister Gordon Brown calls an emergency COBRA meeting for Friday, as the wave could potentially affect thousands of properties and a threat to many lives. The tidal wave is thought to be caused by gale-force winds off Scotland and high tides. 200 are evacuated. (Daily Mail) (BBC)
• At least seven construction workers are killed and 15 others injured when a bridge under construction collapses in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (BBC)
• 2007 Georgian demonstrations:
  • Georgia's opposition says it is suspending anti-government protests in Tbilisi, after President Mikheil Saakashvili declared a state of emergency and closed all independent news outlets. (IHT)
  • President Mikheil Saakashvili justifies the police action by saying that neighboring Russia was stirring trouble and that he had expelled three Russian diplomats. (VOA)
  • President Mikheil Saakashvili announces that he will participate in a special presidential election on January 5, 2008, and that a referendum will be held on the same day for the timing of parliamentary elections, which the opposition had demanded be held next spring. (NYT)
• The United States Congress overrides President George W. Bush's veto of the $23 billion Water Resource Bill. (CNN)
• Asian markets drop sharply for the third time in five sessions. The volatile Hang Seng Index drops nearly 1,000 points on the day, and the Shanghai Composite Index ends nearly 5% lower. (MarketWatch)

• Student protests against the 2007 Venezuelan constitutional referendum continue. Five people are wounded in Mérida in a clash between rival student groups. (NYT)
• The People's Republic of China suspends the export of toys covered in a toxic chemical 1,4-butanediol that have been recalled in both the United States and China. (AP via IHT)
• The Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger declares a state of emergency to clean up an oil spill in San Francisco Bay caused by a container ship hitting the San Francisco Bay Bridge on Wednesday. (BBC)
• At least 40 people die in Mogadishu in heavy fighting between Ethiopian forces and Somalian Islamist insurgents. (Reuters via News Limited)
• Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army chief Joseph Kony tells peace negotiator Norbert Mao that Vincent Otti, his former deputy, is not dead as rumored, but is under house arrest for espionage. (BBC)
• Iraqi insurgency: The United States Army releases five Iranian suspects who had been arrested in Iraq. (BBC)
• 2007 North Sea flood: The Environment Agency of England and Wales issues eight severe flood warnings for eastern England with residents ordered to evacuate from 7,500 homes in Great Yarmouth. (CNN)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • Benazir Bhutto is placed under house arrest hours before a proposed mass rally against the 2007 Pakistani state of emergency. Over 5000 supporters of Pakistan Peoples Party have been arrested to avert rally. (AFP via Channel News Asia) (BBC)
  • Benazir Bhutto is released from house arrest bringing to an end a day long stand-off between the former prime minister and security forces. (CNN)
• Protests break out in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India, over the caricatures of Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a local newspaper. (Kashmir Observer)

• Iranian police arrest about 180 Sufi Muslims who attacked a Shia mosque in Borujerd after a cleric said their religion was "illegitimate". (BBC)
• Peruvian archaeologist Walter Alva uncovers a 4,000-year-old temple in the Ventarron site in the Lambayeque Region of Peru. (Reuters)
• Six American forces serving under NATO's International Security Assistance Force are killed in an insurgent ambush while patrolling in eastern Afghanistan. (CNN)
• 2007 Bersih Rally: Malaysia sees its largest political protest in 10 years. (CNN)
• Battle of Mogadishu (November 2007): More than 70 people die and over 200 are wounded in battles in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. (BBC)
• 2007 North Sea flood: The German ports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven suffer in the floods. (Euronews)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • Malik Mohammad Qayyum, the Attorney General of Pakistan predicts that the 2007 Pakistani state of emergency could be lifted within a month. (BBC)
  • Benazir Bhutto is to lead a long march against the emergency on 13 November.
• Stagehands belonging to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees go on strike, shutting down most Broadway plays and musicals. (AP via Fox News)
• Workers at La Scala opera house in Milan go on strike in a dispute over pay and contracts. (BBC)
• Pekka Koskela skates the 1000 metres in a new world record time of 1:07.00. (Helsingin Sanomat)

• Prince William, an officer in the Blues and Royals, laid a wreath for the first time by the Cenotaph as his grandmother The Queen and his father The Prince of Wales, looked on. (AP)
• A majority of French citizens would support a union with the French-speaking Belgian region of Wallonia if Belgium were to cease to exist, according to a survey. (Journal du Dimanche)
• A similar survey held in the Netherlands shows that 45% of the Dutch would support a union with Flanders, whereas 49% would oppose such a union. (Trouw)
• Danilo Türk wins the 2007 Slovenian presidential elections with a large margin. (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
• Former Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister, Ieng Sary and his wife, Ieng Thirith are arrested in Phnom Penh to face charges before that country's U.N. genocide tribunal. (AP via FOX News)
• The Ulster Defence Association announces that its Ulster Freedom Fighters' units are to stand down from midnight. (RTÉ)
• Gabriele Sandri, a 26-year-old supporter of the sports club S.S. Lazio is killed by police in a service station near Arezzo, Italy. Football fans later clash with police in most Italian stadiums. (BBC)
• Transport for London takes over the North London Line and the other suburban rail lines hitherto operated by Silverlink to form the London Overground. While remaining part of the National Rail network, the contracting authority for the franchise is Transport for London, rather than central Government.

• Didymus Mutasa, the Minister of Lands and Security of Zimbabwe, admits in a court in Paris, France, that the Mugabe government stole land from ten citizens of the Netherlands. If the government does not voluntarily compensate the citizens then they have the right to seize property owned by the Zimbabwean government of equal value. (VOA)
• The Milan Court of Appeal sentences Giovanni Consorte, Ivano Sacchetti and Emilio Gnutti to six months in jail for insider trading in the Unipol case. (Rainews24)
• Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki reappoints Samuel Kivuitu as the head of Kenya's Electoral Commission ahead of the 2007 general election. (BBC)
• Georgian opposition parties choose Levan Gachechiladze as their common candidate to challenge President Mikheil Saakashvili in the 2008 presidential election. (BBC)
• IBM announces it will buy business intelligence firm Cognos for US$5 billion. (BBC)
• A 16-year-old Spanish anti-racism activist is killed during a far-right anti-immigration protest in Madrid. (BBC)
• The trial of Yvan Colonna, a Corsican separatist accused of murdering former Prefect of Corse-du-Sud Claude Érignac in 1998, opens in Paris. (BBC)
• Airbus and Boeing both win a giant order of 100 planes from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, a United Arab Emirates jet leasing corporation. (BBC)
• A new government headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, India's main opposition party, takes office in the state of Karnataka. (BBC)
• Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase agree to a US$75 billion plan designed to heal the credit markets. (BBC)
• War in Afghanistan: The United States Army kills 15 insurgents and three civilians in the Helmand Province. (BBC)
• Nigeria's State Security Service arrests a group of Islamic militants with suspected links to al-Qaeda. (BBC)
• Thousands of Fatah supporters gather in Gaza to mark the third anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death. Hamas security forces kill seven people and wound several. (BBC)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • Pakistan Army renews air attacks in the Swat valley targeting extremists positions.
  • Foreign ministers of the Commonwealth of Nations meet in London to discuss the issue of Pakistan. They demand that President Pervez Musharraf lift the state of emergency, release political prisoners and step down as army chief by November 22, or otherwise the country will be "suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth." (BBC)
  • Pakistan Supreme Court summons President General Pervez Musharraf to the hearing of a petition filed against him for proclaiming the state of emergency.
  • Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto tells journalists in Lahore that she has ended talks with President Pervez Musharraf over power sharing. (BBC)
• Russian troops kill eight suspected militants in Makhachkala, Dagestan. (BBC)
• Ceferino Namuncurá is the first indigenous Argentinian to be beatified by the Roman Catholic Church. 100,000 people attend the ceremony in Chimpay. (BBC)
• Four ships sink during a powerful storm in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea. 2,000 tonnes of fuel oil are spilled into the Strait of Kerch. Three sailors die and eight are missing. (BBC)
• Intel announces that it is using a hafnium compound instead of silicon dioxide to insulate transistors in its newly introduced Penryn microprocessor, eliminating power leakage through the gate (but not through the channel). (WSJ)

• The fossil of a new prehistoric great ape species, named Nakalipithecus nakayamai, is discovered in Kenya. (BBC)
• Turkish helicopters bomb several Kurdistan Workers Party positions in northern Iraq. (BBC)
• 21 Cameroonian soldiers are killed by unknown attackers in the Bakassi peninsula. (BBC)
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said that an overwhelming victory for United Russia in the legislative elections would give him the "moral right" to maintain a strong influence in the country. (The Moscow Times)
• In France, rail workers and Paris Métro personnel go on strike in the first wave of public-sector strikes. (Reuters)
• An explosion hits the south wing of the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Quezon City, killing three people, including Congressman Wahab Akbar, and wounding 10. (BBC)
• Clean-up operations continue in the Strait of Kerch after the oil spill disaster. Ten ships have sunk, 2,000 tons of fuel oil and 6,000 tons of sulphur have been spilled, three sailors have died and about 20 are missing. (BBC)
• Hamas security forces arrest 400 Fatah supporters after a rally to commemorate Yasser Arafat's death ended in gunfire. (BBC)
• The President of Israel, Shimon Peres, meets the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, in Ankara, and he will also address the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. (BBC)
• Danish voters go to the polls for an early parliamentary election called by Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. (BBC)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency: Backed by hundreds of police officers, the Pakistani government again placed former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto under house arrest to prevent a protest against President Pervez Musharraf. (NYT) (BBC)

• Strikes in France:
  • French transport and energy workers' strike against President Nicolas Sarkozy's pension reform broadens, disrupting especially rail services. (BBC)
  • President Nicolas Sarkozy calls for negotiations and a speedy end to the strikes, but the unions refuse. (BBC)
• The 2007 National Book Awards go to Denis Johnson (Tree of Smoke), fiction, Tim Weiner (Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA), non-fiction, Sherman Alexie (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian), young people's literature, and Robert Hass (Time and Materials), poetry. (Reuters)
• German train drivers start a 62-hour train strike against Deutsche Bahn, asking for a 31% pay increase. (BBC)
• The European Parliament far right bloc, Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty, collapses after five Romanian MEPs resign following Alessandra Mussolini's claim that Romanians are "habitual law-breakers". (BBC)
• A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hits northern Chile, near the town of Calama. Two deaths and over a hundred injuries are reported. (BBC)
• President of Ghana John Kufuor is involved in a car accident in Accra, but is not hurt. (BBC)
• Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian nuclear negotiator, is charged with espionage by Iran's intelligence ministry. He allegedly gave classified information to the British embassy. (BBC)
• Iraqi insurgency: A roadside bomb kills two civilians near Baghdad's Green Zone. (BBC)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • Pakistani opposition leader Imran Khan is arrested at the University of the Punjab in Lahore. (BBC)
  • Pakistani forces kill at least 16 Taliban militants in heavy fighting in the Swat valley. (BBC)
• Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen's liberal-conservative government has secured a third term in office following early parliamentary elections to the Folketing. (The Times)
• High Speed 1 (formerly known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link) opens for commercial use in Britain, linking London St. Pancras, which also opened for commercial use, to the Channel Tunnel. (BBC)

• Strikes in France: French transport workers' strike against President Nicolas Sarkozy's pension reform enters its second day, but energy workers and CFDT members return to work. (BBC)
• German train drivers extend their strike action against Deutsche Bahn, starting a 48-hour passenger service strike. (BBC)
• The United Nations General Assembly Third Committee approves a resolution draft that calls for a moratorium on the capital punishment. (Reuters)
• The City of Westminster Magistrates' Court rules Egyptian-born Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri can be extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States, where he is accused of terrorism. (BBC)
• A New South Wales coroner concludes that a group of five journalists, known as the Balibo Five, were deliberately killed by Indonesian forces in 1975 in order to prevent them exposing Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor. (AAP via stuff.co.nz)
• Major League Baseball player Barry Bonds is indicted by a federal grand jury in San Francisco for perjury and obstruction of justice, having allegedly lied under oath about his use of steroids. (AP via ESPN)
• Nuclear program of Iran:
  • The White House urges more sanctions on Iran, saying that "selective co-operation" is "not good enough". (BBC)
  • The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran is still enriching uranium. (BBC)
• The Supreme Court of Canada denies asylum to Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, two United States soldiers who deserted the Iraq War. (BBC)
• Iraqi insurgency: The United States Army announces it has killed 25 insurgents in Taji, but the Taji Awakening Council says airstrikes killed 45 pro-U.S. fighters. (BBC)
• A Saudi Arabian gang rape victim is sentenced to jail and 200 lashes for being in the car of an unrelated man. (BBC)
• Celestin Chibalonza, the governor of Sud-Kivu, is impeached for failing to curb violence and mismanaging finances. (BBC)
• The United States Treasury freezes all assets of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation, claiming that it acts as a "front to facilitate fundraising" for the Tamil Tigers. (BBC)
• The execution of Mark Dean Schwab in Florida is suspended while the United States Supreme Court decides if lethal injection is unconstitutional. (BBC)
• Powerful aftershocks hit Chile after the Antofagasta earthquake, as President Michelle Bachelet visits the affected areas. (BBC)
• United Nations human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro visits political prisoners, including Su Su Nway, in Burma's Insein Prison. (BBC)
• Rift Valley fever kills at least 96 people in the White Nile, Sennar and Gazeera states of Sudan. (BBC)
• The Russian Ground Forces shut down their last remaining base in Georgia, located in the city of Batumi. (BBC)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • President Pervez Musharraf appoints Muhammad Mian Soomro, Chairman of the Senate, as interim Prime Minister. (BBC)
  • Pakistan's Attorney General, Malik Mohammad Qayyum, says he expects President Pervez Musharraf to step down as army chief by December 1. (BBC)
  • Major General Waheed Arshad announces the Pakistan Army has killed at least 33 Taliban militants in the Swat valley. (BBC)
  • Pakistani authorities drop all charges against Rashid Rauf, who was arrested in August 2006 in connection with the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot. (BBC)
• President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas states in a speech that "we have to bring down" Hamas. (BBC)
• Formed in the Bay of Bengal, Category 4 Cyclone Sidr approaches the coastal districts of Bangladesh, forcing tens of thousands of people to move away. (BBC)
• Farmway LRT station opened along the West Loop of the Sengkang LRT line.

• An Airbus A340-600, scheduled to be delivered at Etihad Airways' base in Abu Dhabi, crashes into a barrier at Toulouse Blagnac International Airport during tests. Five people are injured. (BBC)
• Russia's deputy finance minister Sergei Storchak, one of Russia's top officials on international financial relations, is detained as part of a criminal investigation. (AP)
• 2007 Georgian demonstrations:
  • President Mikheil Saakashvili lifts the state of emergency that was imposed on November 6. (BBC)
  • Prime Minister of Georgia Zurab Noghaideli resigns citing health problems; President Mikheil Saakashvili nominates Lado Gurgenidze as Noghaideli's successor. (Civil Georgia)
• The Nepali Supreme Court rejects a plea for conducting a Constituent Assembly election on November 22 saying the prescribed date is more of a moral question rather than a legal one.
• Strikes in France: French train drivers' strike against President Nicolas Sarkozy's pension reform enters its third day. (BBC)
• German architect Heike Hanada of Weimar wins the international competition for extending the Stockholm Public Library. (Dagens Nyheter) (Asplund Competition)
• The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda sentences Juvénal Rugambarara, the former mayor of Bicumbi, to 11 years in jail for crimes he committed during the Rwandan Genocide. (BBC)
• United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon holds talks with Lebanese political leaders, trying to break an impasse over the election of the next President. (BBC)
• The German train driver strike enters its third day. (BBC)
• Turkish prosecutors ask the Constitutional Court to ban the Kurdish Democratic Society Party, claiming it has links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party. (BBC)
• The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe announces it will not be able to monitor the 2007 Russian legislative election since its staff has been denied visas. (BBC)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • United States Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte speaks with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on the phone and tells her that "moderate forces" should work together to bring the country back to democracy. (BBC)
  • Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto says the new interim government is "not acceptable" and "there can be no fair and free elections under the emergency." (BBC)
  • Muhammad Mian Soomro, hitherto Chairman of the Senate, is sworn in as interim Prime Minister. (China Daily)
  • Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is released from house arrest, but there are still dozens of policemen around her house. (BBC)
• Donald Tusk, leader of the Civic Platform party, is sworn in as Prime Minister of Poland in coalition with the Polish People's Party. (BBC)
• Police in Uttar Pradesh arrest three Pakistani members of Jaish-e-Mohammed who were plotting to kidnap an Indian politician. (BBC)
• Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda flies to the United States to hold talks with U.S. President George W. Bush. (BBC)
• The death toll from Cyclone Sidr increases to 242 as the storm weakens and passes through the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. (BBC)
• Former Russian frogman Eduard Koltsov claims he killed British diver Lionel Crabb while he was spying on a Soviet warship in 1956. (BBC)
• U.S. Senator John Kerry accepts T. Boone Pickens' one-million-dollar Swift Boat challenge. (AP)

• War in Afghanistan: Two NATO Canadian soldiers and an interpreter are killed by a roadside bomb in Panjawi, Kandahar province. Three more soldiers are wounded. (BBC)
• 2007 Burmese anti-government protests: The State Peace and Development Council admits 15 people have died during the protests, while United Nations envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro meets with ministers and political prisoners, including Win Tin. (BBC)
• Unicef announces Mai-Mai forces have released 232 children they had abducted in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (BBC)
• Cyclone Sidr: The death toll from the cyclone rises to 2,000 after it hits central and southern Bangladesh. (BBC)
• Algeria's People's National Army kills Abdelhamid Sadaoui, the alleged treasurer of al-Qaeda in North Africa, in Tizi Ouzou, Kabylie, Algeria. (BBC)
• Kosovan voters go to the polls for a parliamentary election, with Hashim Thaci expected to win. (BBC)
• 2007 Antofagasta earthquake: Chile is hit by a magnitude 6.0 aftershock 41 miles northwest of Antofagasta. (Reuters)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto returns to Karachi after release from house arrest in Lahore.
  • TV networks Geo TV and ARY Digital are shut down by the Pakistan government. (All Things Pakistan)
  • United States Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte meets President Pervez Musharraf and vice army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. He calls for an end to the state of emergency, but Musharraf defends it. (BBC) (BBC)
• Russian prosecutors confirm the detention of Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak and two businessmen on suspicion of "attempting large-scale embezzlement from the Russian state budget through fraud". (Interfax)

• Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's former Prime Minister, announces he will dissolve the Forza Italia party and found a new one called Freedom People's Party. (BBC)
• Japan resumes whaling of humpbacks for the first time in 40 years. Greenpeace and other environmentalist groups condemn the decision. (BBC)
• Cyclone Sidr: Rescue efforts reach the most remote areas of Bangladesh, as the death toll rises to 2,400 people. (BBC)
• 2007 Burmese anti-government protests: ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong says Burma will not be suspended from the organization. (BBC)
• Hong Kong voters go to the polls in District Council elections, with pro-Beijing parties expected to recover. (BBC)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • Hina Jilani leads a protest in London to ask for the release of all political prisoners and to vocalize the call for President Pervez Musharraf's resignation. (BBC)
  • United States Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte says President Pervez Musharraf should lift the state of emergency and free political opponents. (BBC)
• Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez opens the 2007 OPEC meeting in Saudi Arabia, warning the United States against attacking Iran. (BBC)
• 2007 Writers Guild of America strike: Screenwriters announce they will resume negotiations with movie studios on November 26. (BBC)
• Cyclone Sidr: Rescue efforts in Bangladesh continue, with helicopters and ships being used to reach isolated areas. (BBC)
• 28 people die in a fire at a Saudi Aramco gas pipeline in Hawiya, Saudi Arabia. Twelve more people are missing. (BBC)
• Strikes in France: Transport workers strike for the fifth consecutive day, rejecting an offer by public railway company SNCF. (BBC)
• George Charamba, the spokesman for Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, says the Mugabe government is preparing for a British invasion. (BBC)
• Hashim Thaçi, a former rebel leader who has promised to declare Kosovo's independence if mediation efforts fail, declares victory for his party in the parliamentary election. (AP via Google News)
• An explosion in a coal mine in Zasyadko, Ukraine, kills at least 63 people and leaves many more trapped below ground. (BBC)
• Jimmie Johnson wins his second straight NASCAR Nextel Cup championship for the 2007 season. (NYT) (Bloomberg) (LA Times)

• 2007 Burmese anti-government protests:
  • Philippine President Gloria Arroyo says her country will not ratify the new Association of Southeast Asian Nations Charter unless the State Peace and Development Council frees opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (BBC)
  • The European Union imposes tougher sanctions on Burma, including an embargo on gemstones, metal and timber, and a tighter visa ban against members of the State Peace and Development Council. (BBC)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • Pakistani Attorney General Malik Qayyum announces the Supreme Court of Pakistan has dismissed five of the six petitions against President Pervez Musharraf's re-election. (BBC)
  • At least 80 people die and 100 are wounded in sectarian violence in Kurram Agency. (BBC)
  • Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf rejects United States Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte's demand to lift the state of emergency.
• 2007 Zasyadko mine disaster: Rescuers continue the search for 20 trapped miners, but a union official says there is "no chance" for them. (BBC)
• November 2007 strikes in France: The transport workers' strike enters its sixth day, but unions have agreed to restart negotiations with SNCF on November 22. (BBC)
• Khieu Samphan, the former Khmer Rouge head of state, is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity by a Cambodian tribunal. (BBC)
• A suicide bomber kills seven people in the Nimruz Province of Afghanistan, including the son of governor Ghulam Dastageer. (BBC)
• Israel releases 450 Palestinian prisoners ahead of the 2007 Mideast peace conference with the Palestinian Authority. (BBC)
• About 70 people die and 50 are missing after a flooding caused by cyclone Guba in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea. (BBC)
• Six people are killed in clashes between government supporters and opposition party members during local elections in the Nigerian state of Kano. (BBC)
• The new government of Karnataka, India, led by Bharatiya Janata Party member B. S. Yeddyurappa, falls after just one week when Janata Dal withdraws support. (BBC)
• Amazon.com began selling the Kindle, a wireless electronic reading device that played a key role in popularizing e-books.^[1]

• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • Thousands of people escape Pakistan's Swat district, where the Pakistan Army is fighting with pro-Taliban militants. (BBC)
  • More than 100 journalists are arrested for protesting against the state of emergency and media restrictions. (BBC)
  • The Government of Pakistan releases 3,400 people who were jailed during the state of emergency. (BBC)
  • Pakistan Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retired) Qazi Mohammad Farooq announces the next general elections will be held on January 8, 2008.
• November 2007 strikes in France:
  • French President Nicolas Sarkozy vows to continue his economic reforms. (BBC)
  • Students and civil servants join transport workers in the strike. (BBC)
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
  • The Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert and the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas are formally invited to the 2007 Mideast peace conference. (BBC)
  • Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert holds talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh. (BBC)
• The Cambodia Tribunal holds its first public hearing, evaluating a bail request by Khang Khek Ieu. (BBC)
• The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe reverses its decision not to monitor the 2007 Russian legislative election. (BBC)
• Manfo Kwaku Asiedu is sentenced to 33 years in jail for his role in the 21 July 2005 London bombings. (BBC)
• Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is sentenced to five years to life in jail for complicity in rape. (BBC)
• Jordanian voters go to the polls in the 2007 parliamentary election. (BBC)
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations members sign their first charter at the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore. (BBC)
• Bangladesh calls for more international aid for the survivors of cyclone Sidr. (BBC)
• The death toll from the 2007 Zasyadko mine disaster rises to at least 90. (BBC)
• Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, announces Iran has agreed to a new round of talks about Iraq with the United States. (BBC)
• The United Nations reduces its estimate of how many people are infected with HIV in 2007 from nearly 40 million to 33 million. (BBC)
• The UK's HM Revenue and Customs admits that it has lost two computer discs which contained data, including bank details and National Insurance numbers, about every family with a child under 16 in the country. (BBC)

• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • Opposition politician and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan is released from prison in Punjab. (BBC)
  • Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry tries to leave his house in Islamabad but is blocked by security forces. (BBC)
  • Major General Waheed Arshad announces the Pakistan Army has killed 40 pro-Taliban militants in the Shangla District in the last two days. (BBC)
  • Pakistani security forces kill senior Balochistan Liberation Army leader Balach Marri. (BBC)
• November 2007 strikes in France:
  • Transport unions start talks with management and the government over pension reforms in the eighth consecutive day of strike. (BBC)
  • Public railway company SNCF says its TGV train network has been disrupted by a "concerted campaign of sabotage". (BBC)
  • President Nicolas Sarkozy asks the police to make sure those who sabotaged the TGV network are "punished with the most extreme severity". (BBC)
• United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the White House wants to broker a permanent deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority before President George W. Bush leaves office. (BBC)
• Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs Luís Amado says Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is not welcome at the December European Union-African Union summit in Lisbon. United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he will not attend if Mugabe is present. (BBC)
• England fail to qualify for Euro 2008 after 3-2 loss to Croatia. (CNN)
• Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan claims that United States President George W. Bush was involved in the Plame affair. (BBC)
• Former President of France Jacques Chirac is probed by a judge for alleged embezzlement of public funds when he was Mayor of Paris. (BBC)
• Researchers in Kyoto, San Francisco, and Wisconsin publish evidence of turning human skin cells into stem cells by the retroviral insertion of genes. (NYT)
• The death toll from flooding caused by cyclone Guba in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea rises to 150. (BBC)
• The Islamic Action Front loses most of its seats in the 2007 Jordanian parliamentary election. (BBC)
• The Bangladesh Army says it has reached almost all areas affected by cyclone Sidr. (BBC)
• The Nigerian Army is deployed in Kano State after six people died in clashes during local elections. (BBC)
• After a standoff lasting two hours, one of the German Spezialeinsatzkommando hostage rescue units successfully resolves a situation with a man held at knife-point outside a cafe at Berlin's Hauptbahnhof main train station. No one was hurt or injured. [2]
• The United Nations General Assembly approves Resolution 62/9, stating that the "emergency phase" in Chernobyl is over, and the "recovery phase" should start. (BBC)
• About 1,000 people a day are returning to Iraq from Syria and Jordan. (BBC)
• A South African Police Oryx helicopter crashes near Wepener, killing 14 officers. (BBC)
• The Indian Army is deployed in Kolkata after a riot against Bangladeshi feminist writer Taslima Nasreen erupts into violence. (BBC)

• Jordanian King Abdullah appoints technocrat Nader al-Dahabi as the new Prime Minister. (BBC)
• Bangladeshi feminist writer Taslima Nasreen leaves Kolkata after riots against her in which at least 43 people were hurt. (BBC)
• Argentinian defense minister Nilda Garré sacks the head of military intelligence, Brigadier General Osvaldo Montero, for plotting to replace her. (BBC)
• Sri Lanka bans the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation charity, saying it "is funding the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam". (BBC)
• A bomb attack on a bus kills five people and hurts 12 in the Russian republic of North Ossetia-Alania. (BBC)
• England football coach Steve McClaren and his deputy Terry Venables are sacked after England lost 3-2 to Croatia at Wembley Stadium. (BBC)
• Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen says that Denmark will hold a new referendum on relinquishing its opt-outs, including an exemption from the European common currency, the euro, during the next four years. (AP via Google News)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency
  • Pakistan is suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations again for its imposition of the state of emergency. (BBC)
  • A contempt petition against Pervez Musharraf is filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
  • The Supreme Court of Pakistan dismisses the last remaining petition to challenge the dereliction of President Pervez Musharraf. (BBC)
• The head of IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, says the agency cannot be sure "about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities" in Iran. (BBC)
• A report by the EMCDDA says the number of cocaine users in the European Union has increased by one million in one year. (BBC)
• Two Iraqi soldiers and eight members of the Hawr Rajab Awakening Council are killed by al-Qaeda militants in Hawr Rajab. (BBC)
• Aid agencies say they have reached all areas of Bangladesh struck by cyclone Sidr, but more aid is needed for the survivors. (BBC)
• Farid Babayev, a Russian politician with the Yabloko party, is shot and seriously wounded in Makhachkala, Dagestan. (BBC)
• Nur Hassan Hussein, head of the Somali Red Crescent and former policeman, is named the new Prime Minister of Somalia. (BBC)
• Despite talks between the transport workers, the management and the government, the November 2007 strikes in France continue for a ninth day. (BBC)
• Tens of thousands of Venezuelan students march in Caracas in two different rallies, one to oppose Hugo Chávez and the other one to support him. (BBC)
• 2008 United States presidential election:
  • New Hampshire sets January 8, 2008 as the date for the presidential primary, maintaining the tradition of being the first state to vote. (BBC)
  • Hundreds of thousands of immigrants may not be able to vote because of delays at the Citizenship and Immigration Services agency. (BBC)

• Polish parliament speaker Bronisław Komorowski said that Poland's new government is set to be the first to ratify the EU's Reform Treaty. (EUobserver)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • The Supreme Court of Pakistan orders the Election Commission to declare Pervez Musharraf the winner in the 2007 Pakistani presidential election. (BBC)
  • The Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Inam-ul-Haq, says the country's suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations is "unjustified". (BBC)
• The term of Lebanese President Émile Lahoud ends with no successor and a political dispute over who is in power. (BBC)
• A court in Copenhagen, Denmark, convicts three men for plotting terrorist attacks using triacetone triperoxide. (BBC)
• An Israeli psychiatrist and reserve officer is charged with giving classified information to Iran, Russia and Hamas. (BBC)
• The Senate of Nigeria declares the handover of the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon was "illegal". (BBC)
• A bomb explosion kills at least 13 people and hurts 50 in the Ghazil pet market of Baghdad, Iraq. (BBC)
• The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control finds that the rate of new cases of AIDS in Europe has doubled since 1999. (BBC)
• Louise Christian, the lawyer for Alexander Litvinenko's wife, reveals that the polonium-210 that killed him probably came from a Russian nuclear plant. (BBC)
• Many employees of Paris Métro cross picket lines and return to work, defying the ongoing public-sector strikes. Transit officials report near-normal operation. (BBC)
• Typhoon Mitag remains stationary but threatens the Bicol Region, east of the Philippines, and is expected to make landfall in Virac, Catanduanes tomorrow. (GMANews.TV)
• The icebreaker/cruise ship MS Explorer sinks in the Southern Ocean after striking an iceberg. Everyone aboard is rescued.

• United States and Iraqi forces arrest at least 20 suspected militants in Kirkuk, Iraq. (BBC)
• An explosion at a petrol station kills four people and hurts at least 30 in Shanghai, China. (BBC)
• 2007 UK child benefit data scandal: HM Revenue and Customs confirms that a further six data discs have gone missing in transit between its offices in Preston and London. (BBC)
• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk declares that Poland should concentrate on getting its economy ready for euro-zone entry as quickly as possible rather than setting a concrete target date to adopt the euro. (WSJ via Onet.pl)
• 12 people are killed when a students' union rally turns violent in Guwahati, India.
• Wildfires in Malibu, California, cause 100 homes in 3 separate communities to be evacuated. 250 acres (1.0 km²) of state park land burned south of Malibu Lake. (AFP via Google News)
• Typhoon Mitag remains static over the Philippine Sea but changes course, and is expected to make landfall in Aurora-Isabela provinces of the Philippines on Monday due to the very slow and unusual movement. (BBC) (GMANews.tv)
• Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov is arrested during a The Other Russia rally in Moscow. (BBC)
• Pope Benedict XVI creates 23 new cardinals in a ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. (BBC)
• At least six people, most of them children, are killed by a suicide bomber in Paghman, Afghanistan. (BBC)
• Australian federal election, 2007:
  • The national election in Australia results in a change of government, with the Australian Labor Party securing an electoral swing of more than 5%. Kevin Rudd will take office as 26th Prime Minister of Australia and the outgoing Prime Minister John Howard is also likely to lose his seat in parliament. (The Australian)
  • John Howard calls the leader of the Australian Labor Party, Kevin Rudd, on the phone and concedes defeat.
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • Former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz refuses to contest in forthcoming elections and denied rumors that he is leaving the country.
  • Two suicide car bombings kill at least 30 people and injure many more in Rawalpindi. (BBC)

• At least eight football fans die when part of the Fonte Nova stadium in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, collapses. (BBC)
• Riots break out in the Villiers-le-Bel and Arnouville suburbs of Paris, France, after a car accident between a police car and a motorbike kills two teenagers. (BBC)
• Syria accepts a United States invitation to participate in the 2007 Mideast peace conference. (BBC)
• Croatia's opposition Social Democrats take a narrow lead on in a close national election, according to exit polls, after a campaign fought over corruption, the economy and future European Union membership. (Reuters)
• A wildfire in Malibu, California, destroys 51 structures, including 49 homes. The fire has also burned 4,720 acres (1,910 hectares) and caused the evacuation of 10,000 people. It is currently 40% contained, being fueled by Santa Ana winds that gusted up to 60 mph (96 km/h) on November 24. (Reuters)
• Russia protests of 2007:
  • Russia prepares for new protests after Garry Kasparov's arrest. (France24 News)
  • Garry Kasparov is jailed for 5 days after a protest rally in Moscow and opposition leaders are detained. (Webindia123) (RIA Novosti)
• 2007 Pacific typhoon season:
  • Three typhoons are forecast to batter the Philippines in the following days. (ABS-CBN News)
  • PAGASA announces another weather disturbance to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility in the next few days and names it "Nonoy" locally, but stresses that "Nonoy" is not expected to make landfall, but may affect the eastern part of the country. (ABS-CBN News)
  • Seven people die in floods in two provinces of the Philippines. (ABC News Australia)
• The bodies of five Singaporeans are found after their dragon boat capsized two days ago at the end of a 1,500-metre Cambodia-ASEAN Traditional Boat Race event during the Bon Om Thook races on the Tonlé Sap in Phnom Penh. 17 other members of the team survived. (CNA)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrives at Lahore Airport with his family members.
  • At least 1800 supporters of PML-N are detained in Punjab ahead of Nawaz Sharif's return from exile.
• President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili resigns his position to re-run for the early presidential election scheduled in January 2008. (Civil Georgia)
• Police fire tear gas and chemical-laced water cannon to disperse a rally of approximately 30,000 people organized by HINDRAF in Kuala Lumpur. (Al-Jazeera) (Malaysiakini)

• At least 60 miners are trapped underground following an explosion in a gold mine in Ponce Enriquez in southern Ecuador. (AP via CTV)
• The Romanian nationalist Greater Romania Party is voted out of the European Parliament in the European Parliament election, 2007. (BBC)
• Chadian Civil War (2005–2010): Chad's army claims to have killed hundreds of rebel fighters in heavy fighting near Sudan's Darfur region. (Reuters)
• 35 militants are killed in a ground offensive against pro-Taliban militants by the Pakistan Army.
• The Federation Council of Russia sets March 2, 2008 as the date of the Russian presidential election, 2008. (BBC)
• At least three people die and 45 are injured in Indonesia following earthquakes off the coast of Sumatra and Sumbawa. (VOA)
• Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif announces he will file nomination papers in the Pakistani general election, 2008. However, he will not serve as Prime Minister under the current President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf. (BBC) (Canadian Press via Google News)
• At least three people die in clashes over a new draft constitution in Sucre, Bolivia. (BBC)
• The People's Republic of China signs a deal to buy 160 Airbus aircraft in a deal worth $US17 billion during a visit by the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy. (AFX via Forbes)
• Newsweek Magazine will come out with a new edition, about the top ranked schools in the United States. (US News and World Report)

• The Annapolis Conference, a peace conference trying to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, is held in Annapolis, Maryland, in the United States. (NYT)
• Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt Jr. is sentenced to a year and one day in jail for breaching the rules of the United Nations oil-for-food program. (San Jose Mercury News)
• Russian Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov said that the fact that the election day has been set for March 2 allows president Vladimir Putin, who is required to leave office when his second term ends in May 2008, the option of resigning early and then running again. (The Moscow Times)
• Zimbabwe's economic crisis
  • Zimbabwe's Central Statistical Office has not issued estimated inflation figures because no products are being sold. Inflation is independently estimated at around 15,000% to 20,000%. (DPA via Earth Times)
  • Zambian Airways ends direct flights to Harare, Zimbabwe. British Airways ended flights last month and Ethiopian Airlines will end flights to Zimbabwe in December, leaving only three foreign airlines with planes flying to Zimbabwe in 2008. (allAfrica)
• Nearly 80 French police officers have been injured during a second night of riots by youths in the suburbs of Paris, the police say. (BBC)
• The mascots for the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Paralympics are introduced. This is the first time that both Olympic and Paralympic mascots are unveiled at the same time. (CBC)

• An explosion and fire southeast of Clearbrook, Minnesota, kills two workers and forced the closure of a pipeline that carries nearly a fifth of U.S. crude oil imports from Canada. (MarketWatch)
• Striking Broadway stagehands and producers reach a deal. (WABC)
• Arlington High School (LaGrange, New York) announces that a Columbine-style attack on the school was thwarted by New York State Police, who arrest three students. (Poughkeepsie Journal)
• Google announces plans to invest tens of millions of dollars on renewable energy research, including solar thermal power, wind power and geothermal power. (InfoWorld)
• Ford Motor Company settles class action lawsuits in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Texas over 1991-2001 models of the Ford Explorer. (AP via Google News)
• The United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announces that retired United States Marine Corps General James L. Jones will be a special envoy for Middle East security. (Reuters)
• Harry Redknapp, the manager of Portsmouth F.C., is one of five men arrested as part of an ongoing investigation of alleged corruption in British football. (The Times)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • The President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf stands down as the head of the Pakistan Army. (Fox News)
  • General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani succeeds Musharraf as the 14th Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army.
• A suicide bomber blows herself up outside Sri Lankan Minister's office, killing one and injuring two.
• The Chinese Type 051B destroyer Shenzhen visits Tokyo in the first visit of a Chinese warship to Japan since World War II. (AP via Google News)
• Authorities in Sudan charge a British school teacher at Unity High School in Khartoum with the crime of insulting Islam for letting students name a teddy bear Muhammad. (AP via Yahoo! News)

• The Supreme Court of Mexico rules 6–4 that Governor of Puebla Mario Marín has no case to answer in the inter-state abduction, jailing, and harassment of journalist Lydia Cacho. (NY Times)
• A 7.4 M_w earthquake rocks the Windward Islands in the Caribbean near the island of Martinique. (USGS) (AP via Yahoo! News)
• Gillian Gibbons is found guilty of inciting religious hatred and sentenced to 15 days in prison and deportation from Sudan, after she let pupils name a teddy bear "Muhammad". (AP via Yahoo! News)
• Al Jazeera television releases an audio tape featuring a message believed to have been recorded by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. (ITN)
• Ukrainian political parties backed by Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yushenko put together a parliamentary majority coalition in Parliament. (Interfax)
• The Savyolovsky Court in Moscow finds the Russian businessman in exile Boris Berezovsky guilty of embezzling nearly 215 million rubles from Aeroflot. (Interfax)
• 2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
  • Pervez Musharraf is sworn in as the President of Pakistan for a second term, this time as a civilian. (ABC News Australia)
  • President George W. Bush welcomes Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, urges him to lift emergency rule.
  • Musharraf announces the 2007 Pakistani state of emergency will be lifted on 2007-12-16. (BBC)
  • Restrictions on Pakistani TV channels are challenged in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
• Manila Peninsula Rebellion:
  • The Armed Forces of the Philippines storm the The Peninsula Manila where the Magdalo Soldiers are holed up. (Bloomberg)
  • Detained Philippine Senator Antonio Trillanes IV walks out of his trial and goes to The Peninsula Manila calling for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to step down. (Inquirer.net)

• Colombian authorities release seized videos of 16 hostages being held by the FARC rebel group; these include former senator and presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt, last heard from in 2002, and three U.S. defence contractors abducted in 2003. (Independent)
• The Miami-Dade Police Department arrests four people in relation to the killing of Washington Redskins player Sean Taylor. (AP via ABC News)
• A man takes hostages at U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign office in Rochester, New Hampshire. He has a package strapped to his chest. The siege ends at 6pm with his arrest. (Boston Channel) (WMUR-TV) (NYT)
• Amtrak Pere Marquette train #371 en route from Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Chicago, Illinois, collides with a parked freight train on the south side of Chicago, seriously or critically injuring five Amtrak employees and slightly injuring 100 to 150 of the 187 passengers on board. (Fox News) (AP via the Daily Herald)
• Protesters in Sudan demand execution of Gillian Gibbons for insulting the prophet Muhammad after she let students name a teddy bear after him. (BBC)
• The wreckage of Atlasjet Flight 4203 carrying 56 passengers and crew is found in central Turkey with no survivors. (BBC) (Reuters via the Melbourne Age)
• Wang Qishan resigns as the Mayor of Beijing, being succeeded by acting Mayor Guo Jinlong, who left his post in Anhui. (Xinhua)
• DNA tests confirm that "Baby Grace", the deceased two-year-old found floating on Galveston Bay in Texas, is indeed Riley Ann Sawyers. Earlier in the week, her mother and stepfather confessed to beating the child to death. (Houston Chronicle)