Portal:Current events/2017 November 15
November 15, 2017 (Wednesday)
Arts and culture
- Salvator Mundi, a painting generally attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, is sold at auction Christie's in New York City for US$450.3 million; setting a new record for the sale of an original work of art. (The Guardian)
Disasters and accidents
- Flash floods on the outskirts of the Greek capital Athens kill at least 14 people and injure dozens more after a severe thunderstorm. (AP via ABC Australia), (The Guardian)
Law and crime
- Rancho Tehama Reserve shootings
- Authorities discover the murdered wife of spree killer Kevin Janson Neal under the floorboards of their home, raising the death toll to six with ten others wounded in eight separate shootings. (Los Angeles Times)
Politics and elections
- 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état
- Zimbabwe Defence Forces troops seize control of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation headquarters as explosions are heard in the capital Harare amid reports of a coup against President Robert Mugabe. (Reuters)
- A high-ranking representative of the Zimbabwe National Army broadcasted a military statement calling on the various sectors of society to keep calm and support the country's development. (The Guardian)
- Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo is among those people detained overnight in Zimbabwe. (The Guardian)
- Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey
- The outcome of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey is announced with 61.6% voting yes to allow same-sex marriage with 79.5% of Australian voters participating. (Canberra Times)
- 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference
- High level statespersons from France, Germany and other nations speak at the 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn / Fiji. (ABC News)
Science and technology
- LIGO announces it has detected gravitational waves from the merger of two black holes. (LIGO Caltech)