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)
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)
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.
KingAbdullah 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)
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)
President
Mikheil Saakashvili justifies the police action by saying that neighboring Russia was stirring trouble and that he had expelled three Russian diplomats.
(VOA)
Six
American forces serving under
NATO's International Security Assistance Force are killed in an
insurgent ambush while patrolling in eastern
Afghanistan.
(CNN)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Six people are killed in clashes between government supporters and opposition party members during
local elections in the
Nigerian state of
Kano.
(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]
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)
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)[permanent dead link]
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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.
KingAbdullah 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)
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)
President
Mikheil Saakashvili justifies the police action by saying that neighboring Russia was stirring trouble and that he had expelled three Russian diplomats.
(VOA)
Six
American forces serving under
NATO's International Security Assistance Force are killed in an
insurgent ambush while patrolling in eastern
Afghanistan.
(CNN)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Six people are killed in clashes between government supporters and opposition party members during
local elections in the
Nigerian state of
Kano.
(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]
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)
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)[permanent dead link]
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)