Two Afghan women charity workers are shot dead. They were travelling between Lashkar Gah and Garmser, a volatile area in the Helmand River valley, when they were attacked. (dawn)
A suicide bomber kills two Pakistani policemen and wounds 10 others as security forces try to stop him from walking into their local headquarters in Swabi, 100 kilometres northwest of Islamabad. (Dawn)
Ambac Financial Group announces that it may have to declare bankruptcy, though it is still in talks with its senior bondholders about a consensual rescheduling of its debts. Before the 2008 financial crisis, Ambac was one of the two dominant bond insurance companies. (Reuters)
An examiner appointed by the DelawareBankruptcy court says that there is no value left in the estate of defunct bank Washington Mutual for the stockholders to receive anything. (Reuters)
A court in Uganda orders a newspaper to cease publishing the names and photographs of people it says are homosexual, following attacks on homosexuals in the past month. (BBC)
While attempting to open a mental health care facility in Dublin, Irish Health Minister Mary Harney is pelted with red paint by an opposition politician highlighting the "blood budget" which "will result in the unnecessary and avoidable deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of people over the coming years". Harney is overseeing hospital cuts of €1 billion. (The Straits Times)(ABC News)(RTÉ)
A court in Zambia grants bail to two Chinese managers accused of attempted murder for shooting and injuring 11 coal miners during a protest over pay and working conditions. (Reuters)(Zambian Watchdog)
Irish TD and former government minister Jim McDaid resigns suddenly from Dáil Éireann after disagreeing with his colleagues, once again reducing the fragile majority of the country's government and provoking new calls for a general election ahead of a hard-hitting budget; four seats are now vacant following the latest resignation. (The Irish Times)(RTÉ)(Reuters)(Financial Times)Resignation letter
The central bank of Iceland, i.e. the Sedlabanki, cuts its key interest rate to 5.50 percent, a somewhat deeper cut than had been expected. This is part of an ongoing policy of expanding the money supply in response to the crisis of 2008. (Reuters)
Two men are charged with terrorism following parcel bomb attacks in Greece, as a 14th bomb addressed to the French embassy in Athens is detonated by police. (AFP)(BBC)
Thomas Hoenig, a member of the Federal Reserve Board, gives some indication of the split within that body in a speech to the National Association of Realtors. Though the Fed announced a new round of quantitative easing on Wednesday, Hoenig said that the Fed risks inflation and another boom-bust. (Bloomberg)
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei claims that he has been placed under house arrest to stop him organising a demolition party to observe the destruction of his studio. (BBC)(CNN)
The jury in the Petit family home invasion murder trial continues to deliberate whether murderer Steven Hayes should receive the death penalty or life imprisonment. (Fox News)
Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar says “the Jews will soon be expelled from Palestine” in the same way that they were “kicked out” by European countries “because they betrayed, stole and corrupted these countries." (The Jerusalem Post)
Politics and elections
Tens of thousands of people participate in an anti-nuclear demonstration against a waste shipment on its way from France to Germany. (Reuters)
SomaliIslamist militant group al-Shabaab threaten more attacks in Burundi and Uganda in retaliation for their participation in an African Union peacekeeping operation in the country. Meanwhile, seven people are killed in fighting in the capital Mogadishu. (CP)
At least three people die, including two members of Sons of Iraq due to a bomb planted at their checkpoint in central Iraq, and an imam was shot dead in Baghdad. (CNN)
Supporters of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei hold a party at his studio in Shanghai ahead of its scheduled demolition; he cannot attend as he is under house arrest. (BBC)
Residents of Cap d'Agde, Europe's largest nudist colony, criticise foreign nudists and express unhappiness at "an explosion of libertarianism" they claim is turning the resort into the "European capital of debauchery" and an "open-air brothel". (The Observer)
Swedish police announce that a 38-year-old male had been brought into custody on suspicion of being involved in the 2009–10 Malmö shootings. (CNN)(BBC)
Scores of candidates in the Afghan parliamentary election protest at the lack of any results from the election held on September 18 and call for a new election. (Reuters)
Qantas Flight 32: Qantas announces that it has found "slight anomalies" in the engines of its Airbus 380 aircraft and is keeping it grounded for the time being. (BBC)
Express delivery company DHL promises better screening of customers and parcels before they are sent to airports after recent parcel bombs sent from Yemen and Greece. (Reuters)
A government conservation campaign, and possible hoarding by state oil companies, causes a severe shortage on diesel fuel in the People's Republic of China, disrupting industry and commerce. (CNBC)[permanent dead link]
The United States offers to drop Sudan from its list of "state sponsors of terrorism", ending its isolation, if two scheduled referendums take place with respected results. (Al Jazeera)
Law and crime
Libyan authorities arrest 10 reporters apparently for criticizing Libya's leadership. (The Jerusalem Post)
Human rights organizations say the Palestinian Authority is depriving Palestinians in Gaza affiliated with Hamas of passports; Hamas has retaliated by depriving Gazans belonging to Fatah of their passports. (The Jerusalem Post)
Two people are killed and several injured after a protest camp in Western Sahara is broken up by Morocco, hours before talks on the disputed territory begin. (BBC)(Taiwan News)
In Dublin, dozens of complaints are made about the "heavy-handed" tactics of "excessive force" deployed by gardaí following last week's nationwide student demonstration against a government-proposed fee increase, the largest such demonstration in a generation. (The Irish Times)(RTÉ)
Secret documents are released showing churches and civilians upon the enemies list of Indonesian special forces Kopassus. The U.S. government had just removed a twelve-year funding ban on the group this summer.(Democracy Now!)
Law and crime
In the first public sign that the sentence of death by stoning passed on Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is causing divisions within the regime, Alef, a conservative newspaper in Iran, challenges the handling of the case. (The Australian)
A man surrendered to police and confessed to killing five and wounding one in two separate attacks in South China's Hainan province. (China Daily)
A second Russian journalist is attacked in Moscow. Motivation is unclear but both had written about trees being felled to make way for motorways. (Al Jazeera)
American Gabe Watson leaves detention in Australia after serving time for the death of Tina Watson after she drowned in 2007 after he failed to rescue her. He will be extradited to Alabama to face murder charges upon suspicion of murder. (News.Com.Au)
Sudanese government forces clash with Arab fighters in the country's Darfur region, according to the U.N. and rebel sources; the Sudanese army denies any fighting took place (Reuters Africa)
An ongoing clean-up operation conducted by the Afghan and NATO-led forces kills four Taliban militants in Afghanistan's Logar Province, 60 km south of capital city Kabul. (People Daily)
International media are giving the impression that all of Mexico is awash with drug violence while ignoring other matters concerning the country, according to Mexico's ambassador to the United States at the American think tank Council on Foreign Relations. (BBC)
An Israeli settler attacked a Palestinian family, injuring two children and one old woman, the attack happened in the Tuqu village of Bethlehem. (Al Jazeera)
Israeli police and stone-throwing youths clashed for a third day running in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Issawiya in occupied East Jerusalem. (Al Jazeera)
Following the detonation of explosive devices near the Gaza border, Israel Air Force helicopters targeted an area near the city of Khan Yunis, causing damage to houses and injuring a number militants suspected of involvement in the attack. (Ynet)(Al Jazeera)(The Jerusalem Post)
Arts and culture
Medical records searched through by University of Manchester professor Stephen Parker suggest the playwright Bertolt Brecht may have died after contracting undiagnosed rheumatic fever as a child. (BBC)
The UK's National Union of Journalists calls off a second planned 48-hour strike at the BBC scheduled for 15 and 16 November after the Corporation agrees to hold talks aimed at resolving a dispute over pension scheme changes. (BBC)
A Panama registered cargo ship sinks off Japan's southern islands. Only 5 out a total 25 crew have been accounted for, with 1 body found. (AFP via Google)
Iceland opens an inquiry as it emerges that its citizens may be being spied on by the United States embassy. This follows similar investigations into possible illegal U.S. activities in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland, with possibly hundreds of Norwegians being monitored and Sweden describing the matter as "very serious". (BBC)
The United Nations says there has been "no material change" for people in Gaza since Israel announced it was easing its economic blockade. An Israeli spokesman stated that the reason for the blockade was "because the territory has been overtaken by a declared terror movement."(BBC)(The Jerusalem Post)
The BBC says that without explaining why, the Sri Lankan government has banned its news crews from traveling to the north for public hearings of a commission investigating the civil war. (BBC)
Students plan a nationwide protest on 24 November against increased fees brought about by the British government. (The Guardian)
A student who guessed the answers to former Governor of AlaskaSarah Palin's security questions in 2008 is convicted of hacking and sentenced to one year in state custody. (BBC)
One day after the failure of his appeal, Twitterers combine to support Paul Chambers, a Briton convicted and fined for a threatening Twitter message. (BBC)
Irish Health Minister Mary Harney is targeted with eggs and cheese by protestors shouting "Bloody Mary" in response to her healthcare funding cuts. It follows a similar incident involving red paint last week. (The Irish Times)(RTÉ)(Irish Examiner)
Morocco arrests 96 people it accuses of inciting violence during last Monday's deadly police raid on the Gdaim Izik camp in Western Sahara. Half a dozen appear before a military court, including activist Annaama Asfari. (Al Jazeera)
Yines, a previously unknown indigenous tribe, is discovered in the Amazonian jungle of southeast Peru. (Al Jazeera)
The UK is to become one of the first countries to officially monitor happiness in a government scheme designed to measure psychological and environmental wellbeing. (The Guardian)
Sweden's Robin Söderling wins his first major tennis tournament by winning the Paris Masters final, currently ranking fourth in the world in tennis. (BBC News)
Iran started a 5-day air defense drill, claimed by its government to be the biggest drill of its kind ever. The drills are held near its nuclear facilities. (Reuters)
The UK Government is to pay millions of pounds in compensation to around a dozen British citizens who were held in detention overseas, including the camp at Guantanamo Bay, and who say British security services colluded in their torture. (BBC)
After Alpha Condé was declared the first democratically elected president of Guinea, at least nine people have been killed during riots in Guinea’s capital, Conakry. (CNN)(Ottawa Citizen)
Germany heightens its police security presence at its airports after identifying "concrete indications" that a terrorist attack is planned for the end of November (BBC News)
Israel approves plans to withdraw IDF troops from the northern half of Ghajar, a village on the Israeli-Lebanese border. (BBC News)
EU finance ministers downplay the importance of talks on a potential bailout for Ireland, claiming that no detailed discussions were held on the issue (BBC News)
A United States bankruptcy judge orders Bank of America to return $500 million it seized from the bank accounts of the defunct Lehman Brothers trading firm a few weeks before Lehman declared bankruptcy in 2008. (Bloomberg)
Facebook inadvertently disabled some users' accounts when a system designed to detect fake accounts malfunctioned. The problem has since been resolved. (CNN Money)
A study published by The Lancet medical journal describes how short blasts of radio waves to the kidney may help regulate blood pressure. (BBC News)
Major fishing nations meet in Paris to discuss quota limits for fishing of the critically endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna; many nations are urging that lower fishing rates are needed.(Reuters)
Thirty five people are arrested in Salt, Jordan, to restore calm after four days of rioting following the police shooting of an alleged traffic violator. (The Washington Post)
North Korea shells Yeonpyeong island, South Korea at 14:34 local time in response to South Korean shelling close to the North Korean border during military drills. The North's shelling kills two marines and prompts a military response by the South in one of the most serious clashes since the 1953 armistice of the Korean War. (YTN Television)(BBC)(Yonhap)(China Daily)(The Sun UK)
A Saudi woman accused of torturing her Indonesian maid is sent to jail while the maid is hospitalised, in a case that has caused tensions between the two countries. (AFP via Google News)
The Gambia severs diplomatic and economic relations with Iran and orders Iranian government representatives to leave within 48 hours. The Gambia has given no reason for the move. (BBC)(Reuters)
India forms two new military divisions, comprising more than 36,000 men, to be deployed in Arunachal Pradesh near the border with China. (BBC)
The opposition Labour Party grants its leader Eamon Gilmore "a free hand to take any initiative he deems appropriate over the coming days". (RTÉ)
A candidate in Thursday's by-election withdraws calling it a complete farce with a general election now due to occur in January. Some islands voted in the by-election yesterday. (RTÉ)
University students throughout England and Wales stage a day of demonstrations against increases in tuition fees and cuts to higher education funding. (BBC)
Armed conflicts and attacks
At least one person is killed and more than 40 left wounded after hundreds of Christian protesters clash with riot police in Cairo, Egypt. (Pravda)
Israel demolishes several buildings in the West Bank, including one Palestinians say was a mosque; Israeli officials said the structures were temporary and built without Israeli issued permits in a military fire zone. (Al Jazeera)(BBC)
Irish financial crisis. Widespread speculation that senior bondholders of Irish banks will have to take a "haircut" -- i.e. share in the costs of an EU bailout -- leads to downgrades in the credit worthiness of the institutions that hads the most at stake in the ballooning property values of recent years. (CNBC)
Authorities in Saudi Arabia arrest 149 people with links to al-Qaeda suspected of planning attacks on government officials and journalists. (Al-Jazeera)
Human Rights Watch criticizes the punishment of Israeli soldiers who forced a Palestinian child to open bags thought to be booby-trapped as inadequate and a sign that the "Israeli military justice system will not seriously sanction soldiers convicted for offenses that are war crimes". (Human Rights Watch)(Press TV)
Hundreds of Pakistani Muslims demonstrate in Lahore against a potential pardon for a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy against Islam. (news.com.au)
Ed Miliband launches a two-year review of British Labour Party policy, saying that the Party must move beyond New Labour and calling on activists to make it the "People's Party" again. (BBC)
The White House issues a statement of condemnation "in the strongest terms [of] the unauthorised disclosure of classified documents and sensitive national security information". (BBC)
The EU approves an €85 billion rescue deal for Ireland, which includes €10 billion for bank recapitalisation, €25 billion for banking contingencies and €50 billion for financing the budget. (RTÉ)(BBC)
Voters in Egypt go to the polls for parliamentary elections amid reports of the detention of hundreds of opposition supporters, scattered violence, vote buying and the ejection of independent monitors as the government cracks down on the opposition; 21 people are wounded in skirmishes connected with the poll. (Bloomberg)(AP)(Tehran Times)(People)
Iranian nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari is killed and his wife injured, while another scientist is wounded during two attacks in Tehran. Iran says Western governments and Israel may have carried out the killing. (BBC)(Al Jazeera)
12 of the 18 candidates in Haiti's presidential election call for a cancelled vote, describing it as fraudulent and favouring the ruling party, as the UN expresses "deep concern" and thousands of people march in Port-au-Prince . (BBC)(Al Jazeera)
An inquiry is ordered over the death of an immigrant in France, who was tear gassed, batoned, and twice tasered during an incident which left four police injured. (BBC)
Students protest in Rome and other Italian cities as politicians threaten to cut funding for education and research. (BBC)
Officials from multinational corporations Royal Dutch Shell and Halliburton are to be questioned in Nigeria in relation to bribery scandals and corruption. (BBC)
Ecuador invites Julian Assange of WikiLeaks to speak publicly and offers him residency where he can make more revelations. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez praises the website and calls for the resignation of U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton. (BBC)
The easing of Israel's blockade of Gaza six months ago has led to "little improvement" for people living there, a report by 21 aid and rights agencies says; Israeli officials says that the claims "are biased and distorted" and that truckloads of supplies entering the Gaza Strip has increased from 86 to 176 truckloads per day, since June.(The Jerusalem Post)(BBC)(Al Jazeera)
FIFA Vice-President and CAF President Issa Hayatou denies allegations of bribery and threatens to sue the BBC after its Panorama programme alleges he received bribes from sports marketing firm ISL. (BBC)