Damage from the storm is estimated to reach US $50 billion, according to economists, but the impact on the broader U.S. economy is said to be minor. (AFP)
Canada and Australia launch women's literary prizes. (The Guardian)
The estate of William Faulkner sues over the use of the writer's quote "we must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it" in an advertisement by American global aerospace and defense technology company Northrop Grumman Corporation. (The Guardian)
Lirak Bejko, the Albanian former political prisoner who set himself on fire in protest at delays in government compensation for communist-era dissidents, is dead. (BBC)
Syrian opposition groups hold a meeting in Doha, Qatar, to discuss reforming the structure of the group, a few days after a War Crime investigation commenced at the UN. (BBC)
A suicide car bomber detonates a bomb in the Hama province of Syria killing 50 Syrian military personnel. This attack is the largest attack on Bashar al-Assad's forces in the civil war so far. (Reuters)
Five bombs go off in the neighborhoods of Gudaibiya and Adliya in Manama, Bahrain, killing two foreign workers and injuring another. (BBC)
British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron orders a fresh investigation into allegations of sexual abuse involving a senior Conservative politician from the Thatcher era. The allegations concern sexual abuse at children's homes in Wales during the 1970s and 1980s. (BBC)
Prime Minister of SpainMariano Rajoy criticises Catalonia's drive for independence on radio, claiming its such an attempt "goes against history, goes against the sign of the times, and goes against simple common sense". (Al Jazeera)
At least five people are reported shot at a workplace (Apple Valley Farms, a poultry and meat processing plant with about 50 employees) in central Fresno, California, according to the Fresno Bee newspaper. Initial reports have said that the gunman then shot himself nearby. (MSN)[permanent dead link]
Barack Obama is projected to defeat his Republican opponent Mitt Romney in the electoral college vote and win re-election as President of the United States, after having won the crucial swing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. Florida remains too close to call. (CNN)
The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico votes to become a U.S. state. If previous procedure is followed, Congress will now request that Puerto Rico establish a state constitution. Then, Congress would vote to approve it as a state, which it usually does. However, Congress is not obligated to follow this procedure, and by its vote, it ultimately must decide, which is not yet certain. Obama and Romney had both pledged to support the result of the referendum and to work with Congress on the issue. (BBC)
British Conservative Party MP Nadine Dorries is suspended from the party after her decision to become the first serving politician to appear on a reality television series. The move could take her away from Parliamentary business for up to a month. (BBC)
Voters in the states of Colorado and Washington approve the legalization of recreational use of marijuana in voter ballot initiatives, while the state of Massachusetts approves a referendum legalizing the use of medical marijuana. (CNN)
Voters in the state of California approve a tax increase to fund public schools, community colleges and state universities. (The New York Times)
Two days ahead of the Irish children's referendum, the Supreme Court—ruling against the government's distribution of information on the referendum—finds the government has breached the 1995 McKenna judgement requiring that referendums be explained to the public in an unbiased manner. The referendum's website is immediately taken down. (Irish Independent)
U.S. PresidentBarack Obama announces his intention to visit Burma later this month, which would make him the first U.S. President to visit the country. (BBC)
Clashes break out at a jail in Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing at least 13 inmates and injuring 32 others. At least nine police officers, a prison guard and a bystander were also injured during the disturbances. (Al Jazeera)(AP)
The UK broadcaster ITV faces an investigation by the media regulator Ofcom after television presenter Phillip Schofield handed Prime Minister David Cameron an internet-generated list of potential suspects in a child abuse case involving a care home during a live interview on Thursday, and asked him to comment. (The Independent)(BBC)
An individual included on the list issues a lengthy statement denying all involvement in the abuse case, dating from the 1980s. (The Daily Telegraph)(Statement)
The BBC issues an apology after a key witness in a Newsnight report aired on 2 November wrongly identified a senior politician as a pedophile. (The Daily Telegraph)
Two suicide bombings in Daraa killed at least 20 Syrian troops. (Fox News)
At least 27 people are killed and dozens are wounded in conflicts between inmates and guards at Welikada prison in Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka. (BBC)
Palestinian militants fire a barrage of rockets from Gaza into southern Israel, in a cross-border escalation following an earlier attack in which four Israeli soldiers are injured, two seriously, when an anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza Strip hits an Israeli army jeep patrolling some 200 meters inside the Israeli border with Gaza; Israel carries out counter-strikes, killing five Palestinians and wounding 30. (The Times of Israel)
Disasters and accidents
Seventeen Turkish soldiers are killed in a helicopter crash on Herekol mountain in the Pervari area of Siirt province. The crash occurred due to bad weather conditions. (Reuters)
A married couple is presumed dead, seven are hospitalized, and five houses are completely destroyed (at least 27 were damaged and up to 81 were affected) in a massive explosion in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of the far southside of Indianapolis. A faulty furnace or gas leak is suspected. The blast, with an affected area of several blocks, was so large it registered on IUPUI earthquake detectors and was felt for several miles. (Indianapolis Star)
Law and crime
Two members of the Kuwaiti royal family are released after being held for tweeting messages supporting the opposition. (Al Jazeera)
Clashes take place between Syrian troops and rebels near the borders of Iraq and Turkey. (Khaleej Times)
The Israel Defense Forces has fired an anti-tank missile in the direction of a mortar position in Syria after a 120mm mortar shell exploded near an Israeli post in the Golan Heights. Although the missile was reportedly intended as a "warning shot" and directed to miss the mortar position on purpose, the IDF's response marks the first time since the 1973 Yom Kippur War that Israel has fired at Syrian territory. (Ynetnews)(Arutz Sheva)
A second mortar shell from Syria has been fired at an Israeli military outpost in the Golan Heights, after a similar incident the day before. The Israel Defence Forces have responded with tank fire at the source of the bombardment, scoring several direct hits on artillery units belonging to the Syrian Army. (NY Times)
At least 38 police officers are killed in northern Kenya amid clashes with cattle rustlers. (CNN)
Muslim cleric Abu Qatada will be released on bail after winning an appeal against deportation from the United Kingdom to Jordan. The UK government says it will appeal against the ruling. (BBC)
Following over 150 rockets being fired into Israel over the past four days from Gaza and attacks by Israel, Egypt has mediated a truce. Both Hamas and Ehud Barak praise the efforts for peace. (JPost)
A pinch of fine sand and dust became the first solid Martian sample deposited into the Sample Analysis at Mars, the biggest instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. The sample came from the patch of windblown material called Rocknest, which had provided a sample previously for mineralogical analysis by CheMin instrument. (JPL-NASA)
Medicine
Scott Routley, a 39-year-old Canadian man, makes medical history by becoming the first person believed to have been in a vegetative state to tell scientists that he is not in any pain. The discovery requires the rewriting of medical textbooks. (BBC)
Backed by the Russian domestic security service, Federal Security Service, Russian president Vladimir Putin signs a new treason law, which opponents expect him to use to silence critics and almost anyone who associates with foreigners. (Reuters)(Daily Times)
According to the UN refugee office, at least 414,838 Syrians are in neighboring countries registered as refugees or waiting to register. Turkey has the single highest number, with 114,944. (CNN)
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced that his government recognizes the newly formed Syrian National Coalition as the legitimate leader of the Syrian people, two days after France became the first Western country to recognize the council. (New York Times)
The Palestinian death toll rises to at least 16, including 2 children. Officials in Gaza report at least 150 have been injured since the start of the Israeli operation. (Al Jazeera)
Two rockets are fired at Tel Aviv, with one landing in the sea and the other hitting an uninhabited area in the city's suburbs. Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for the incident, which was the first attack against the city since the 1991 Gulf War. (The Jerusalem Post)(KleineOnline)
As nationwide protests over fuel price hikes continue in Jordan, unidentified gunmen storm a police station in the northern town of Irbid, leading to the fatal shooting of 22-year-old civilian, and injuries to 13 police officers and 4 protesters. Protests and sporadic looting are reported from Al Karak, Salt and Madaba. (Al Jazeera)
Separately, the two highest-ranking BP supervisors on board the Deepwater Horizon on the day of the explosion have been indicted on 23 criminal counts. (CNN)
Xi Jinping delivers his first speech as General Secretary in a "plain-spoken" style very different from that of his predecessor, Hu Jintao. (BBC)(BBC Transcript)
The Myanmar government pardons 452 prisoners under an amnesty in a goodwill gesture before a visit by US President Barack Obama. State media said some of the people released were foreigners, though it remained unknown if any dissidents are among them at all. Human Rights Watch accuses the government of using strategically timed prisoner releases to appease the international community. (Al Jazeera)
Hostess Brands announces it will file for bankruptcy and liquidate its assets, stating that a bakery union's worker strike stemming from contract disputes "crippled" its operations. 18,500 workers are expected to be laid off. (Bloomberg)
The furniture retailer IKEA says it "deeply regrets" the use of political prisoners in the former German Democratic Republic as forced labour by some of its suppliers. (BBC)
An Israeli strike on a home in Gaza has killed at least 10 people, officials say, as Sunday became the deadliest day since Israel launched an operation against Hamas militants last week. Over 80 Israeli alleged terrorist targets were hit today by IDF bombs including rocket firing sites and weapon smuggling tunnels. The IDF releases a video showing rocket launching sites adjacent to a Mosque and accuses Hamas of using human shields. (BBC)(The Jerusalem Post)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells foreign leaders Israel is ready to accept a cease fire agreement with Hamas if their rocket attacks cease. Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense in response to rocket attacks from Gaza and is currently amassing troops in preparation for a ground incursion. (HaAretz)
Israel has been shelling Gaza from the sea and air as its bombardment of the coastal enclave moves into a fifth day as over 492 rockets have been fired into Israel. (BBC)
At the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also told a meeting of the Israeli Cabinet that, if necessary, he would be prepared to authorize a substantially broader operation, though he did not indicate whether the 75,000 Israeli soldiers put on reserve would be used in a future ground operation or not. Egypt, whose leaders have been working with the U.S., Hamas leaders, the Arab League (which has convened an emergency meeting), Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been trying to secure a (lasting) cease-fire, to avoid a repeat of the 2008 war. During his Asia trip, U.S. PresidentBarack Obama reiterated that Israel had a right to use any means possible to keep its citizens safe from external attacks. (NBC News)
Police in Kenya fire tear gas amid clashes between rioters and ethnic Somalis in the capital Nairobi, after a bus bombing yesterday killed nine people. (Times of India)
Scores of Kenyan soldiers go on the rampage in the northeastern town of Garissa after three soldiers are shot dead by unknown gunmen. (BBC)(Capital FM Kenya)
In the Netherlands a 45-year-old man is arrested following a DNA profiling match in connection with a high-profile rape and murder case of a sixteen-year-old girl on May 1, 1999. (DutchNews)
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Drain orders the baker's union and Hostess Brands to negotiate through mediation, which was skipped when the company gave its ultimatum to shut down and release its employees and the strike continued. This halts the shutdown process and the moves by other companies to acquire it, for now. (Peoria Journal Star)
Indianapolis and Indiana state homeland security and police authorities now say that the $4.4 million explosion in Richmond Hill neighborhood may not be due to gas or a faulty furnace, but may somehow have been an intentional criminal homicide; they are seeking a white van that was seen in that subdivision the day of the blast with a $10,000 reward. (MSN)(The Indianapolis Star)
The pro-Israel non-governmental organization HonestReporting brings attention to footage captured by the BBC and transmitted by CNN that shows a Palestinian man being carried away from a bomb blast only to reappear moments later uninjured. CNN's Anderson Cooper who was reporting on the original story issued a retraction during his television show. (Honest Reporting)(Fox News)
The BBC is further caught in controversy after tweeting a photograph of a young girl on a stretcher as being killed in Gaza when the photograph is 3 weeks old and of a child killed in Syria. (Fox News)
Israel’s PMBenjamin Netanyahu reportedly delays an IDF ground invasion into Gaza by 24 hours; the announcement precedes a series of critical international negotiations pushing for a ceasefire between the two sides. (RT)(BBC)
Islamist rebel groups in Aleppo denounce what they call a "conspiratorial project" and the new Syrian opposition, and say they seek to establish an "Islamic state". (Al Jazeera)
Tension between central African neighbours is reaching breaking point over an uprising in Congo's eastern hills. (Al Jazeera)
M23 fighters reportedly enter centre of Goma after seizing military airport in largest city in mineral-rich east. (Al Jazeera)
Arts and culture
Sesame Street puppeteer Kevin Clash, known for being the voice of Elmo, resigns after a second accuser files a complaint that Clash had underage sexual relations with him. (BBC)
Over 160 rockets were fired into Israel on Tuesday killing one Israeli soldier and a civilian. One of the rockets fired from Gaza landed near Bethlehem, in the West Bank. Israel drones and airstrikes also kill 31 Palestinians, including civilians. (The Jerusalem Post)
Hundreds of government soldiers and policemen surrender to M23 rebels at a stadium in the city of Goma, which fell to rebel forces on November 20. (Al Jazeera)
Unidentified gunmen shoot and kill Benghazi's police chief Faraj al-Deirsy in front of his home in the latest attack against security officials in Libya's second largest city. (Al Jazeera)
Puerto Rican professional boxerHéctor Camacho is shot multiple times in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. The driver of Camacho's car is killed in the attack. Camacho was shot in the neck and face and taken to St. Paul's Hospital in Río Piedras, where he was pronounced to be in critical condition shortly thereafter. (El Nuevo Herald)
Russia lifts a 16-year ban on the import of Britishbeef and lamb. British farmers had been stopped from exporting to Russia following the 1996 BSE outbreak in the UK, despite the lifting of a worldwide ban in 2006. (The Telegraph)(BBC)
A hostage situation in the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece, ends peacefully, as policemen arrest a 72-year-old Greek pensioner who was threatening to set a tax office building on fire due to a financial dispute. (Global Times)
Two military OV-10 Bronco aircraft collide in the air during a demonstration flight near military El Libertador Air Base in the state of Aragua, Venezuela. One of the pilots, guiding his aircraft away from a populated area, is killed. Three soldiers are also injured in the crash. (Pravda)(Bernama)
Opposition leaders in Egypt call for large protests after President of EgyptMohamed Morsi passed a decree giving himself sweeping new powers. Protests for and against his decision are taking place in Cairo, and violence has occurred throughout Egypt. (BBC)(RT)
Around 10,000 people demonstrate against austerity in Dublin amid calls for a general strike to shut the country down. (BBC)
Retail analysis says more Americans went out to shop (as opposed to shopping online) on Black Friday, 23 November. However, total sales decreased 1.8% from the previous Black Friday. (CNN)
Egypt's top judges accuse President of EgyptMohamed Morsi of staging an "unprecedented attack" on the judiciary, after he passes a decree granting himself extensive new powers. Critics and supporters have staged rallies. Crowds gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square, vowing to stage a sit-in protest. (BBC)
Basque separatist group ETA has reportedly indicated a readiness to disband, give up its weapons and enter talks with the governments of France and Spain. (BBC)
Scientists have found life in an AntarcticLake Vida that was sealed off from the outside world by a thick sheet of ice several thousands of years ago. (The Guardian)
A Chinese-made training airplane K-8 crashes during an air force flying exhibition in Venezuela, the two pilots ejected successfully. The French-made military helicopter Cougar sent to rescue the pilots also crashes, no one is injured. (The Montreal Gazette)
Education
The UK government is to create a new wave of universities both in the private and public sector, the first new universities in the country for two decades. (BBC)
A HungarianMP from the far right Jobbik party calls for a list of Jewish politicians and government employees who are a "threat to national security". The Hungarian Government later released a statement condemning the comments. (BBC)
M23 rebels announce their withdrawal from territory captured from government troops after a pullout deal was reached in Uganda. (Al Jazeera)
More than 200 people are wounded in a second day of clashes between Tunisian security forces and thousands of protesters in Siliana, Tunisia. (BBC)(Al Arabiya)
Business and economy
The UK's Home Office launches a ten week consultation on whether to introduce a minimum price for the sale of alcohol of 45p a unit. The plans are aimed at tackling binge drinking and other alcohol related problems. (BBC)
Seven students and a teacher are injured as the result of a small explosion in an eighth-grade science classroom in Wilson Middle School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Two of the students were flown by helicopter to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. One was released that evening, the other is in fair condition. (AP via MSN)
Law and crime
British student Richard O'Dwyer reaches an agreement with authorities in the United States to avoid being extradited from the United Kingdom to stand trial over infringement of U.S. copyright laws over his TVShack website which hosted links to pirated films and television shows. (BBC)
Zachary Holly, 28, of Bentonville, Arkansas, is charged with the rape and capital murder of his nextdoor neighbor, 6-year-old Jersey Bridgeman, whom he was babysitting. (NBC News)
No violent crime is reported in New York City for an entire day, 26 November, the first time in recent memory. (BBC)(Reuters)
Syrian opposition fighters battle the Syrian Army outside Damascus, forcing the closure of the main airport road, and the suspension of some flights. (Reuters)
Train services in the Channel Tunnel are suspended after a freight train fire on the French side. Everybody on the train is safely evacuated, traffic is resumed two hours after. (BBC)
British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron says he backs the principles of the report's recommendations, but has "serious concerns and misgivings" about introducing any new legislation to underpin a regulatory body to oversee the media. (BBC)
A murder–suicide attack occurs in Casper, Wyoming, United States. Two people are murdered, including a female computer science instructor (off campus), and a male faculty member that she'd been seeing (in a classroom) at Casper College, before the perpetrator, the male professor's son, killed himself in the classroom. (NBC News)
A New Hampshire federal grand jury indicts David Kwiatkowski, 33, a former employee of Exeter Hospital in Exeter, New Hampshire, on fraud and product-tampering charges in connection with an outbreak of hepatitis C that sickened more than 30 people and caused concern in 7 states. (CNN)
