Portal:Current events/November 2019

• 2019 Ménaka attack
  • Gunmen kill 53 soldiers and a civilian in a mass shooting in Ménaka Region, Mali. (Reuters)

• Google purchases activity tracker company Fitbit for US$2.1 billion, in an attempt to break into the digital health and smartwatch markets. (Reuters)
• The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States launches a national security review of TikTok-owner ByteDance's US$1 billion purchase of social media platform Musical.ly. (Reuters)
• California Governor Gavin Newsom issues a statement calling on the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the state's largest utility company, to find a "consensual resolution" to its bankruptcy case, threatening a state takeover if an agreement cannot be reached. PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January in response to lawsuits pertaining to wildfires caused by PG&E's equipment. (NPR)

• A Grumman OV-1 Mohawk crashes at an air show in Stuart, Florida, killing the pilot. (WPTV-TV)
• In Tottenham, London, a 1-year-old boy dies after falling from a ninth-floor council flat window with a faulty handle in a tower block. The boy's mother had urged the Haringey London Borough Council to fix the window for two months, a neighbour says. Critics say the death is the latest in a number of incidents suggesting problems with the ways in which public housing is managed in the country. (The Sun)

• Crime in France
  • A gunman shoots and injures six people at a bar in Marseille, France. The gunman is still at large. (Euronews)
• 2019 Samoa assassination plot
  • A man who had pled guilty to conspiracy to assassinate the Prime Minister of Samoa, and was due to be sentenced today, has changed his plea from guilty to not-guilty. (Radio New Zealand)
• Irish mixed-martial artist Conor McGregor is convicted for assaulting a man in a Drimnagh pub in April, and is fined €1,000. (BBC News)
• Essex lorry deaths
  • Earlier statements about the victims being of Chinese nationality are repudiated. Essex Police say all victims were Vietnamese. (BBC News)

• 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
  • Former Texas representative Beto O'Rourke drops out of the presidential primaries. (Vox)
• Tens of thousands of protestors, mostly consisting of supporters of the conservative Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazal, march in Islamabad demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan by Sunday. The army announces later in the evening that they will continue to support the elected government. (Reuters)
• 2020 United States presidential election, 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses
  • A New York Times-Siena College poll finds there is no clear Democratic Party frontrunner among voters in Iowa three months away from the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses. Senator Elizabeth Warren leads the poll with 22 percent, followed by Senator Bernie Sanders with 19 percent. South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg holds 18 percent in a rise to third place, while former Vice President Joe Biden, seen by many to be the frontrunner for his party's nomination, comes in fourth place with 17 percent. (CNN)

• Syrian Civil War
  • A car bomb explodes in Tell Abyad, Raqqa Governorate, on the Turkish border. It kills 13 people and wounds more than 30 others, mostly civilians. (Reuters)
• War in Afghanistan
  • A bomb blast kills nine children, aged seven to ten, who were on their way to school in Takhar Province. (BBC News)
• Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
  • Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announces that ISIL prisoners will be sent back to their home countries. (Reuters)
  • ISIL claims responsibility for the attack in Mali on 1 November that killed 54. (NBC News)
  • ISIL – Sinai Province pledges allegiance to the new caliph, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. (Voice of America)
• Illegal militant loggers in the Amazon rainforest shoot dead an indigenous activist named Paulo Paulino Guajajara and wounds another. (Reuters)

• The United Kingdom imposes an immediate moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking", a technique for the recovery of oil or gas reserves. (Reuters)

• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • Protestors vandalize numerous businesses, such as the headquarters of HSBC and the offices of Xinhua News Agency, and set fire to the entrance of numerous metro stations after police violently clashed with protestors earlier in the day. (Reuters)
• 2019 Iraqi protests
  • Thousands of protestors block the roads leading to Umm Qasr Port near Basra, demanding the end to foreign influence in the country. The blockades were set up after security forces clashed with protestors earlier. (Al Jazeera)

• A shipwreck stuck at Niagara Falls moves for the first time in 101 years due to high winds and heavy rains. (MSN)

• 2019 Rugby World Cup
  • South Africa defeat England 32–12 to be crowned World Champions for the third time. (NBC Sports)

• 2019 Ethiopian clashes
  • The death toll of recent clashes in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia rises to 86. (Reuters)
• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • Four people are injured at a mall as a knife-wielding man attacks a crowd in Hong Kong. The suspect, a pro-Beijing Mandarin speaker, is subdued and arrested by police. (BBC News)
• War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
  • At least nine Afghan security forces are killed in clashes with Taliban forces in northeastern Afghanistan. (WION)

• Saudi Vision 2030
  • Saudi Aramco announces it will go public on the Riyadh stock exchange, with shares totalling up to two percent of the firm's worth made available at its IPO launch. Valued at US$1.2 trillion, the company is being partially privatized to reduce the kingdom's economic dependence on oil. (BBC News)
• McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook is fired for having a relationship with an employee. Current company president Chris Kempczinski immediately assumes his position. (BBC News)

• Thirty-three people are injured, four critically, when a FlixBus overturns at an exit near Amiens, France. (BBC News)

• 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis
  • Following similar measures by Argentina last month, the government of El Salvador expels diplomats of the government of Venezuela led by Nicolás Maduro. (BBC News)
• 2019 Iraqi protests
  • Protestors storm the Iranian consulate in Karbala, where they set fires around the building and replaced the Iranian flag with an Iraqi one. (Al Jazeera)

• 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship
  • Lewis Hamilton wins his sixth Driver's Championship title at the 2019 United States Grand Prix. (Motor Authority)

• 2019 Iraqi protests
  • At least five people are killed, and up to 30 wounded, when security forces fire live rounds at protestors trying to scale a barricade near Ahrar Bridge in Baghdad. (Al Jazeera)
  • The Iraqi government cuts off internet access in much of the country, including a total blackout in Baghdad, amid continued civil unrest. (Reuters)
• LeBarón family massacre
  • Gunmen kill 9 American Mexican Mormons in Sonora, northern Mexico. (BBC News) (USA Today) (BBC News)
• Sinai insurgency
  • Egypt military kill over 80 Islamic State militants in central and North Sinai over the month. (Reuters)
• Nine crew members of a Norwegian ship were kidnapped off the coast of Benin. (BBC News)

• The Niagara Parks Commission says the wreckage of the Niagara Scow, stuck in the rapids above Niagara Falls since 1918 before being moved downstream about 164 feet due to a strong storm, is being monitored as it moves closer to the edge of the falls, but that the scow could be stuck in its new position for "days or years." (Sky News) (CTV News)

• Iran–United States relations
  • On the 40th anniversary of the Iran hostage crisis, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chairman Ali Akbar Salehi announces his government has doubled the amount of advanced centrifuges limited by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and are working on a prototype that is fifty times faster than those allowed. He blames the United States's withdrawal from the agreement last year for these actions. (Al Jazeera)
• United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement
  • The United States notifies the United Nations of its formal withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. (NPR)
• Japan–South Korea relations
  • South Korean President Moon Jae-in hold a 11-minute conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe at ASEAN summit in Bangkok. (The Hankyoreh)

• Tax returns of Donald Trump
  • The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rules that Mazars, a global audit, accounting and consulting group, must turn over eight years of U.S. President Donald Trump's tax returns in its possession to New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. (Forbes)
• Impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump
  • The U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs release the transcripts of the first two closed-door depositions in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. The testimonies are that of former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and former Ambassador to Brazil Michael McKinley. Yovanovitch said she felt threatened by President Trump, while McKinley said that he resigned from his position because he was concerned about "the engagement of our missions to procure negative political information for domestic purposes," something he says he had never observed the State Department try to take part in throughout his career, with the exception of the Trump administration. (CNN)
  • U.S. House Republicans are reportedly having "active and serious" discussions about assigning Ohio Representative Jim Jordan to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence so that the Republican Party can more effectively challenge the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. (Mediaite)

• 2019 Speaker of the British House of Commons election
  • Members of the UK House of Commons vote to elect a new Speaker of the House, replacing the retiring John Bercow. The Labour Party's Sir Lindsay Hoyle defeats Chris Bryant in the fourth and final ballot. (The Guardian)
• Politics of Romania
  • The Romanian Parliament elects Ludovic Orban as Prime Minister after Viorica Dăncilă was ousted on 10 October by a vote of no-confidence. (ABC News)

• Voyager program
  • NASA says it has received the first message from interstellar space from its Voyager 2 spacecraft. (The Guardian) (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

• Hulman & Company, owners of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and INDYCAR, LLC (including the IndyCar Series), announces its sale to Penske Entertainment Corp., a subsidiary of Penske Corporation, parent company of Team Penske. The transaction is expected to close in January, pending regulator approval and ends 74 years of Hulman-George family ownership of the historic race track. (The Washington Post)

• Yemeni Civil War, Yemeni peace process
  • Yemen and the Southern Transitional Council sign a power-sharing deal in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to put an end to infighting between the two groups in Aden. (Al Jazeera)
• Mexican Drug War
  • LeBarón family massacre
    • U.S. President Donald Trump offers Mexico military support to help defeat drug cartels, should his counterpart Andrés Manuel López Obrador request help, after nine American Mexican Mormon fundamentalists, including six children, are killed in an ambush by suspected cartel members in Sonora, northern Mexico. (The Independent)

• LGBT rights in the Cook Islands
  • The Cook Islands announces it will retain its ban on homosexual practices by men and that it will be extended to women as well. Homosexuals face up to seven years of imprisonment on the islands. (Radio New Zealand)
• Crime in Italy
  • Three firefighters are killed while two others and a policeman are injured after an explosion at an abandoned farm building in Quargnento, Piedmont, Italy. The explosion was caused by two bombs placed in the building. (Fox News)
• Murder of Ana Kriégel
  • An Irish judge sentences two 15-year-old boys to jail for the 2018 murder of 14-year-old Ana Kriégel in suburban Dublin. The boys were 13-years-old at the time they murdered her and are the youngest people convicted of murder in Ireland. They have not been named due to their age. One boy was sentenced to life in detention to be reviewed after twelve years—he was also sentenced to eight years for sexual assault to run concurrently with the murder sentence. The other boy was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but his sentence will be reviewed after eight years instead of twelve. Her parents said that "justice has been served for Ana", but about the sentences that "forever is not long enough". (RTE News and Current Affairs) (RTE News and Current Affairs₂)
• Impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump
  • Gordon Sondland, the United States Ambassador to the European Union, reverses his previous testimony, admitting to a quid pro quo in the withholding of military aid for Ukraine. (The New York Times)

• 2019 Virginia elections, 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election
  • Democrats win majorities in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly (Senate and House), resulting in Democratic trifecta control of the governorship and General Assembly for the first time since 1993. Democratic Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear defeats Republican incumbent Matt Bevin to win the governorship of Kentucky. (Vox) (The Washington Post) (CNN)

• Terrorism in Tajikistan
  • Twenty gunmen open fire around a border checkpoint between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, killing a border guard and a policeman. Fifteen assailants are killed and five others captured. (Al Jazeera)
• A knife-wielding man launched a random assault wounding eight people, including four foreign tourists and four locals, before being arrested in Jerash, Jordan. A Mexican tourist and a Jordanian tour guide are seriously injured. Among the injured there is a bus driver stabbed while trying to stop the assailant from entering a cafeteria full of tourists. (BBC News)
• Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
  • Ten civilians are killed by ADF militiamen who crossed the border from Uganda into the Beni Territory, North Kivu, DR Congo. (France 24)
• Insurgency in the Maghreb
  • Thirty-seven people are dead and 60 others are injured after gunmen attack a Canadian gold mining company convoy on a road in Burkina Faso. (BBC News)
  • France announces it will send ground troops to three border areas in Burkina Faso. (Al Jazeera)
• 2019 Yala attack
  • Gunmen kill 15 people and injure five at a security checkpoint in Yala Province, Thailand. The attack is the most deadly in years. (Reuters) (Bangkok Post)
• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • Hong Kong pro-government politician Junius Ho and his assistant are hospitalized after being stabbed by a man pretending to be a supporter. The perpetrator is arrested. (BBC News) (CNN) (South China Morning Post)
• LeBarón family massacre
  • A suspect has been arrested for the mass shooting in Sonora, Mexico. (USA Today)
• 2019 Iraqi protests
  • At least three people are killed, and a further 17 wounded, when security forces fire at protestors trying to block a bridge in Baghdad. This is in spite of the government announcing the military was banned from using live rounds. (Al Jazeera)

• Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal
  • A court filing by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra reveals for the first time that the state launched an 18-month investigation into Facebook’s privacy issues in response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The filing accuses the company of refusing to cooperate with investigators, and asks the court to require them to turn over information regarding third-party access to data and changes in privacy settings. (Reuters)

• Israel–Jordan relations
  • Israel releases two Jordanian citizens it held in detention since August, after the Jordanian government successfully negotiated for their release on Monday. (Al Jazeera)
• Nuclear program of Iran
  • French media reports that Iranian nuclear scientists began injecting uranium into centrifuges in the presence of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. Effectively it turns the plant from a research site into an active nuclear site, in further violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. (Al Jazeera)

• Dutch police evacuate passengers and crew onboard an Air Europa flight at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport to investigate reports of a "suspicious situation". The airline later tweets it was a false alarm. (BBC News) (NL Times)
• 2019 Chilean protests
  • Regional prosecutor for East Santiago Manuel Guerra announces his intentions to investigate 14 police officers for allegedly torturing protestors. (Reuters)
• Two former Twitter employees are charged for spying on at least 6,000 users on behalf of Saudi Arabia. (BBC News)

• 2019–20 Lebanese protests
  • Protestors sit-in at numerous government ministries, offices of major utility company Électricité du Liban, and property development sites at Zaitunay Bay in Beirut as protests enter their fourth week. (Al Jazeera)
  • Hundreds of students at schools and universities join the protests. (Al Jazeera)

• A Cirrus SR22 crashes into a house in Upland, California, killing the pilot. (Los Angeles Times)

• LGBT rights in Malaysia
  • Five Malaysian men are sentenced to six months in jail, fined, and caned for "attempting gay sex". (Reuters)
• The International Criminal Court sentences Bosco Ntaganda to 30 years in prison for war crimes as leader of the National Congress for the Defence of the People which operated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Al Jazeera)
• 2019 Bolivian protests
  • The mayor of Vinto, Patricia Arce of the ruling MAS party, is attacked by opposition protesters who dragged her through the streets barefoot, covered her in red paint and forcibly cut her hair. (BBC News)
  • Limbert Guzman, a 20-year-old student, is killed following clashes between supporters and opponents of Bolivian President Evo Morales. (Voice of America)

• 2019 Mauritian general election
  • Citizens of Mauritius cast their vote in the country's latest parliamentary election. Militant Socialist Movement, led by incumbent Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth wins a huge majority securing the re-election. (Foreign Brief) (The New York Times) (Reuters)

• A 5.9-magnitude earthquake strikes 60 km (35 miles) from Hashtrud, East Azerbaijan Province, in northwestern Iran, killing at least six and injuring more than 300. The United States Geological Survey warns that "significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread". (Al Jazeera)
• An explosion in a mine in Teutschenthal, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, injures two workers and traps around 30 underground in a secure area. All are rescued several hours later. (Deutsche Welle)

• Takuma Sakuragi, a 76-year-old former Japanese assemblyman from Inazawa, Aichi, is sentenced to life in prison by the Guangzhou City First Intermediate Court in southern China for smuggling drugs hidden in his suitcase at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in October 2013. He had been detained by Chinese authorities since then. (Kyodo News Plus) (Los Angeles Times)
• A federal judge orders the immediate release of former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. (Reuters)
• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • A student from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, named Chow Tsz-lok, died after suffering brain damage following a fall during anti-government protests. (The Guardian) (The New York Times)
• Impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump
  • During her testimony before U.S. House investigators last month in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, Fiona Hill, Trump's former top adviser on Russia and Europe, said that she received death threats and "hateful calls" and was the subject of false "conspiracy theories" as part of a targeted harassment campaign she claims was implemented after she agreed to cooperate with the inquiry, according to a deposition transcript. (NBC News)

• Turkey's Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announces that his country will begin repatriating ISIL prisoners on Monday. (Reuters)
• Under pressure of sanctions by ECOWAS, newly appointed Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau Faustino Imbali resigns. (Yahoo! News)
• 2019 Bolivian protests
  • Several dozen policemen were seen joining the protests against Evo Morales' government in at least three cities. Bolivia's defence minister stated that no "military measures" would be taken against the policemen, but added that he would "get" the disobedient officers. (Reuters) (The Guardian)

• 2019 Chilean protests
  • Overnight, protesters forcibly storm the Argentine embassy in Santiago and set it on fire because of the Argentine government's support for President Sebastián Piñera. Ambassador José Octavio Bordón is unharmed and now considering moving the embassy. (Buenos Aires Times)
• 2019 Bolivian protests
  • Police guards outside Bolivia's presidential palace abandoned their posts and join the protest against Evo Morales. (Associated Press) (Fox News)

• Bushfires in Australia
  • The bodies of three people killed by bushfires in Australia are found – two near Glen Innes, and one at Johns River – as fires that have destroyed at least 150 houses continue to burn in eastern New South Wales and Queensland. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Half a million people are evacuated from the Bangladesh coastal area in preparation for the landfall of Cyclone Bulbul. (CNN)

• Ayodhya dispute
  • The Supreme Court of India rules in favor of Hindus over a place of worship that has been the center of disputes between them and the Muslim community in the country. (Reuters)

• President of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio calls for urgent action on Guinea-Bissau to "avoid a civil war". He makes the statement before the Chairman of ECOWAS, Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou. (The Patriotic Vanguard)

• Five Italian soldiers are wounded by a bombing in Kirkuk, Iraq. Three of the soldiers are seriously injured, two of whom suffer an amputated leg, while another an amputated foot. The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack. (Fox News)
• The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announces it has "neutralized" the leader of an offshoot of a Hutu militia, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, in another blow to a "weakened group". (Reuters)
• Syrian Civil War, 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria
  • Turkey says a car bomb near the Syrian city of Tell Abyad killed at least eight civilians and injured twenty others. (The Washington Post)
• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • Protesters vandalize a subway station as violence breaks out across the New Territories amid anger over a demonstrator's death and the arrest of pro-democracy politicians. (ABC News)

• 2019 Japanese imperial transition
  • The new Emperor Naruhito and his wife Empress Masako take part in a parade in central Tokyo as tens of thousands of onlookers line the streets in celebration of the emperor's enthronement. (Mainichi Shimbun) (Kyodo News Plus) (Associated Press)

• 2019 Bolivian protests, Evo Morales government resignation
  • Bolivian President Evo Morales announces new general elections after accusations of fraud. (Deutsche Welle) (The New York Times)
  • Hours after the announcement, Morales resigns from the presidency amid pressure from the military and the police in what he deemed a 'coup'. (BBC News) (The Guardian)
  • The constitutional successors of Morales, Vice President Álvaro García Linera, President of the Senate Adriana Salvatierra and President of the Chamber of Deputies Víctor Borda also resign. Mining Minister César Navarro also announces his resignation. (Reuters)
  • Vice President of the Senate Jeanine Áñez becomes the acting president of Bolivia, the first woman to ascend to that office. (Time)
• 2019 Romanian presidential election
  • People in Romania cast their votes in the country's latest presidential election. (Deutsche Welle)
• Israel–Jordan peace treaty
  • Israel returns the territory of the "Island of Peace" to Jordan. (The Times of Israel)
• November 2019 Spanish general election
  • Citizens of Spain head to the polls for the second general election within a year. (Deutsche Welle)
  • The PSOE, headed by incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, wins the election but loses 3 seats and its absolute majority in the Senate. Political deadlock remains. (The Guardian)
  • Far-right Vox gains 28 seats and raises from fifth to the third national force. (BBC News)
  • The center-right Citizens, the third national force going into the elections, goes from 57 seats in Congress to just 10, the biggest seat loss in the election. Albert Rivera quits as Citizens' leader as a result. (El País) (The New York Times)
• 2019 Chilean protests
  • An American white supremacist shoots a protester in Reñaca. Before being detained by the police, he uploads a video to YouTube confessing the attack, claiming to have fired in self-defense. (The Washington Post)
  • Interior Minister Gonzalo Blumel announces the government will propose the creation of a new constitution through the existing Congress instead of a constituent assembly as requested by the protesters. (Bloomberg News)

• 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs
  • The Seattle Sounders FC defeat Toronto FC 3–1 at CenturyLink Field to win their second MLS Cup. (Major League Soccer)

• 2019 Bolivian protests, Evo Morales government resignation
  • Buildings are set alight in La Paz overnight in apparent retaliatory attacks after Evo Morales resigned under pressure from anger over his disputed re-election. (Reuters)
  • Armed gangs attack people in Cochabamba who appear to be celebrating Evo Morales's resignation. (The New York Times)
  • Drinking water supplies to La Paz and El Alto, Bolivia's top two largest cities, are cut off. (The New York Times)
  • Former Bolivian President Evo Morales says he has accepted an offer of political asylum in Mexico and boards a Mexican government plane as Bolivian Army troops are deployed in the capital. (BBC News)
• Gaza–Israel conflict
  • The Israel Defense Forces say they've killed Baha Abu al-Ata, leader of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine's armed wing known as the Al-Quds Brigades, in an airstrike on a building in the Gaza Strip. PIJ confirms the death of Baha Abu al-Ata and his wife, vowing to "shake the Zionist entity to its core" in response. (Haaretz) (The Jerusalem Post)
• Syrian Civil War, Israeli involvement in the Syrian Civil War
  • Israeli Air Force jets target a downtown Damascus house belonging to Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine. The strike killed one of the militant's son. (Haaretz)
  • Three blasts targeting the town of Qamishli in Syria kill 6 and wound dozens of others. All the blasts were claimed by ISIL. (Al Jazeera)
  • ISIL also claims responsibility for the killing of an Armenian priest and his father. (Vatican News)
• Gunmen kill nine in twin attacks in Punjab a Pakistan province. The ambushes killed two police officers, two intelligence officers and an informant in the first attack. The second attack happened at a checkpoint when unknown gunmen killed an officer and three others. (TOLOnews) (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
• A 33-year-old Yemeni man stabbed and wounded three Spanish theatre actors in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Is not known if the attack is in protest against the war in Yemen or for the attacker's opposition to Saudi Arabia’s growing entertainment industry. (The Arab Weekly)

• The wreckage of United States Navy submarine USS Grayback (SS-208), which disappeared with its 80 crew members in the East China Sea on February 27, 1944 during World War II, is discovered on the sea floor using new drone technology. (BBC News) (CNN)

• James Le Mesurier, the British co-founder of the White Helmets, a volunteer civil defence organisation in Syria, is found dead near his home in Istanbul, Turkey. The cause of death is not known. (BBC News)
• Cristian Sabou pleads guilty to the murder of Valerie Graves. He is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 23 years 272 days. (The Guardian)

• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • Protesters in Hong Kong call for a city-wide strike amidst an escalation in violence. Police shot a man with a live round at point-blank range in Sai Wan Ho district, besieged the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and fired tear gas inside the campuses. (Reuters)
  • Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says on Monday that violence has exceeded protesters' demands for democracy and labels the demonstrators as the "people's enemy". (Reuters)
• The Kiribati High Court clears the way for the opposition to file a motion of no confidence against President Taneti Mamau amid reported discontent with the government's decision to switch its diplomatic recognition of Taiwan to recognition of the People's Republic of China. (Radio New Zealand)
• International reactions to the persecution of Rohingyas in Myanmar
  • Fifty-seven countries file a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice against Myanmar, formally accusing their government of committing a genocide against the country's Rohingya population. (ABC News)
• 2019 United Kingdom general election
  • Major parties put forward veterans' platforms for Remembrance Day, the first in a campaign season since the 1923 election, with the Conservatives proposing an amendment to the Human Rights Act so that it will no longer apply to The Troubles or other 20th-century actions and the Labour Party promising extra childcare for military families and a new railcard for veterans. This is the 100th anniversary of the two-minute silence and other Armistice Day commemorations worldwide. (BBC News)

• Transit of Mercury
  • In a rare celestial event, Mercury passes directly between Earth and the Sun for five and a half hours. Mercury's next transit will be in 2032. (CBS News)

• Gaza–Israel conflict
  • Israel conducts airstrikes on Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (PIJ) targets in Gaza Strip. (NPR)

• Mondobhag train collision
  • Two passenger trains collide head-on in Kasba, Bangladesh, killing at least 16 people and injuring over 100. (Yahoo! News)
• Sea level rise driven by effects of global warming on oceans, Acqua alta
  • An exceptional high tide of 187 centimetres (6.14 ft) hits flooded Venice, Italy. It is the second highest acqua alta in Venetian history, after the 1966 Venice flood. Two deaths are reported. (NDTV) (BBC News) (The Guardian)

• Cuba–Spain relations
  • Felipe VI becomes the first ever Spanish Monarch to visit Cuba. (The Washington Post)

• LGBT rights in Uganda
  • Police in Uganda raid a gay-friendly bar in Kampala and charge 67 people with "common nuisance" in what is described as the "latest attack on Uganda's LGBT community". (The New York Times)
• Crime in China
  • A man attacks a kindergarten class in Kaiyuan, China, with chemical spray, injuring 51 children and three teachers. (CNN)
• Crime in Thailand
  • In Chanthaburi Province, Thailand, an ex-policeman shoots and kills two people, including a former prime minister's lawyer and a plaintiff, before being killed by return fire. (ABC News)

• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • As the situation worsens with clashes in the central financial district, police say violence is bringing the city to the "brink of total breakdown". Large-scale protests continue near the City University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and other districts including Central and Tai Po. (Reuters)
  • After police shoot a protester with live ammunition, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam speaks out and labels the protesters as "selfish" for "paralyzing" the city and urges all students not to take part in protests. (Reuters)
  • Police investigate protesters for attempted murder after they are filmed setting a 57-year-old man on fire during an argument. (CNA)
• November 2019 Spanish general election
  • Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez from the PSOE and Pablo Iglesias, leader of the left-wing Podemos, announce a first government agreement that will constitute the first coalition government in Spain's democratic history. This follows the failure to reach an agreement last summer and the rise of the far-right party Vox. (The New York Times)
• 2019 Catalan protests, Catalan independence movement
  • Protesters block the two main passages between Spain and France. In La Jonquera, on the border between Catalonia and France, French National Police try to expel rioters. (The Guardian) (BBC News)
  • The Parliament of Catalonia approves a resolution expressing willingness to exercise the right to self-determination concretely, mocking the warnings of the Constitutional Court, which suspends its effects shortly thereafter. (The New York Times)
  • During the night, some major throughways of Barcelona and Tarragona and national roads in Basque Country are blocked for a few minutes. (The Local)
• 2019 Bolivian protests, Evo Morales government resignation
  • Despite lacking a quorum in a session of the National Congress, Senator Jeanine Áñez immediately declares herself President of Bolivia due to the vacancy arising from the resignation and exile of Evo Morales. (The New York Times)
• 2019 United Kingdom general election
  • Nigel Farage announces that his Brexit Party will withdraw its candidates in the 317 seats that the ruling Conservative Party won in the last general election. The move is expected to increase the chances of a Conservative majority in parliament. (The Washington Times)
• Politics of Moldova
  • A vote of no-confidence ousts the government of Prime Minister Maia Sandu after breaking the coalition government with Socialist Party. (Reuters)

• War in Afghanistan
  • November 2019 Kabul bombing
    • A suicide car bomb kills 12 people and injures 20 others near the Interior Ministry in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Al Jazeera) (Yahoo! News)
• Terrorism in Indonesia
  • A suicide bomber kills himself and injures six other people when he detonates near police headquarters in Medan, Indonesia. (Deutsche Welle)
• Gaza–Israel conflict; Gaza–Israel clashes (November 2019)
  • Israeli airstrikes leave 22 Palestinians (20 militants and 2 civilians) dead and dozens injured. (Haaretz)
  • More than 200 rockets are fired into Israel from Gaza. (New York Post)
  • An Islamic Jihad rocket commander and five relatives are killed in an Israeli airstrike. (The Times of Israel)
• Islamist insurgency in Mozambique, Mozambique–Tanzania relations
  • Jihadists kill six civilians and injure seven in a village near the Mozambique–Tanzania border. All the victims are Tanzanian nationals, while the terrorists are identified as Mozambicans. (News24)
• Crime in Poland
  • Two people are arrested in Poland for planning to kill Muslims in an attack inspired by the 2011 Utoya/Oslo attacks by Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, and the Christchurch, New Zealand mosque shootings. (Reuters)

• A bus collision with a truck near Nitra kills 13 people and leaves at least 17 wounded. The disaster is the deadliest in Slovakia in a decade. (Reuters)

• Japan–North Korea relations, Japan–South Korea relations
  • South Korean media reports that between May and September, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe sent personal letters to North Korea's Kim Jong-un to hold bilateral meetings to ease tensions between the two countries. A Japanese government spokesman denies the report. (The Japan Times)
• Foreign relations of Bolivia, Foreign relations of Venezuela, 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis
  • Interim President of Bolivia Jeanine Áñez officially establishes relations with Juan Guaido's government after he recognizes her as President of Bolivia on Twitter. (Daily Sabah)

• Catholic Church sexual abuse cases
  • The Australian High Court agrees to hear a final appeal from ex-Vatican treasurer and convicted child sex offender George Pell, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting three teenage choirboys. (Reuters)
• After the South Korean government launches an investigation into comfort women, a survivor tells the press that Japan "lacked honor" for failing to attend the South Korean court's proceedings. (Reuters)

• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam vows not to give in to protesters as chaos continues into Wednesday morning. (The Straits Times)
  • Schools, transport links and businesses close amid rising clashes in the city. (Reuters)
• 2019 Bolivian protests, Evo Morales government resignation
  • Bolivia's exiled former president Evo Morales rejects the presidency of opposition senator Jeanine Áñez, but police bar lawmakers from his party from entering the legislature to undo it. (The Washington Post)
  • Two people were killed on in clashes between Bolivian police and supporters of former president Evo Morales. In total, 10 people have been killed so far since political turmoil broke out in Bolivia. (Al Jazeera)
• Politics of Tunisia
  • Rached Ghannouchi is elected Speaker of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People of Tunisia. (France 24)

• Ford announces that its new electric SUV will be known as the Mustang Mach-E. The "Mustang" model name, previously employed by Ford's muscle cars, could be an important asset for the new venture. (Reuters)

• A vehicle collision in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan Province kills at least 28 people, all Afghan nationals. (BBC News)

• 2019 Saugus High School shooting
  • A school shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, injures five students, two fatally. The 16-year-old gunman, identified as Nathaniel Berhow, shoots himself, is hospitalized, and dies a day later. (The Cincinnati Enquirer)
• 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • After the admission of the European Arrest Warrant against her, ousted Catalan Education Minister Clara Ponsatí, who is in a "self-exile" in Edinburgh, appears in court and is bailed without charges hours after. (BBC News)

• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • Chief Superintendent of Police of Hong Kong Tse Chun-chung says protesters' acts are "another step closer to terrorism". (Reuters)
• Japan–South Korea relations
  • South Korean government officials announce that Japan and the United States are interested in renewing the GSOMIA pact between Japan and South Korea to maintain bilateral cooperation between the two nations in defense issues. (Yonhap News Agency)
• 2019 Bolivian protests, 2019 Bolivian political crisis
  • Bolivian police use tear gas to break up a peaceful pro-Morales counter-protest in La Paz, then block about a dozen pro-Morales senators from entering the nation's legislature. Pro-Morales demonstrators respond with cries of "dictatorship" and throw stones at the police. (The New York Times)
• Politics of Moldova
  • Ion Chicu is sworn in as Prime Minister after the collapse of Maia Sandu's government on 12 November. (Reuters)

• The Iranian government announces that, effective immediately, petrol will be rationed to 60 litres per month, and prices will increase 50%. Fuel beyond the limit will cost double. Iranians take to the streets to oppose the plan, which results from United States sanctions against Iran. (Al Jazeera) (The New York Times)

• North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens, Japan–North Korea relations
  • Sakie Yokota, the mother of a Japanese girl abducted by North Korea 42 years ago at the age of 13, appeals directly to Kim Jong-un to release her and all Japanese abductees. She also decries the lack of Japanese government action on the issue. (NHK World-Japan)
• Japan–South Korea relations, Japan–United States relations, South Korea–United States relations
  • Japan, South Korea and the United States agree to boost multilateral military cooperation and defense issues. (Yonhap News Agency)

• Criminal charges brought in the Mueller special counsel investigation
  • A federal jury convicts Roger Stone of lying to the United States Congress and tampering with a witness about his efforts to learn about the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks's release of hacked Democratic emails in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. (The Washington Post)

• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • A 70-year-old bystander dies after being hit by a brick while filming a clash between protesters and residents. Police is treating the act as a murder. (BBC News) (South China Morning Post)
  • Pro-Beijing Hong Kong Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng suffers minor injuries after being heckled in London. China's Foreign Ministry condemns the protesters. (Reuters) (South China Morning Post)
• 2019 Chilean protests
  • An agreement is signed by most of the political parties supporting a referendum in April 2020 regarding the draft of a new constitution through a constituent convention. This will be the first time the Constitution of Chile is written with popular participation. (The Guardian)

• 2019 Bolivian protests
  • Security forces open fire on protesters in Cochabamba, killing at least five. (CBC News)

• Terrorism in Sri Lanka
  • Gunmen open fire on two buses carrying Muslim voters to the polls near Anuradhapura. No casualties are reported and no arrests take place. (The Guardian)
• Syrian Civil War
  • Turkey blames another attack on the PKK. The bombings targeted a bus terminal in al-Bab, Aleppo Governorate, killing 18 and wounding dozens of others. (Al Jazeera)
• 2019 Iraqi protests
  • A car bomb detonates near a protest in Baghdad, killing two people and injuring 20. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
• Gaza–Israel clashes (November 2019)
  • Continuing rocket fire leads Israel to launch fresh strikes into Gaza in response. (France 24)
• An attack on civilians in the village of Mbau, Democratic Republic of the Congo, using bladed weapons, kills over 18 civilians. Islamic militants are the suspected attackers. (Reuters)
• 2019 Bolivian protests
  • At least eight people were killed and dozens injured in Sacaba after security forces fired on supporters of ousted president Evo Morales. (NPR) (Associated Press)
  • Bolivia's interim president met with a UN envoy, Jean Arnault, to discuss the country's political turmoil. (Global News)

• LGBT rights in Hong Kong
  • Amid violent protests, Hong Kong holds its gay pride parade in spite of a police ban. Human rights and pro-democracy and openly gay activist Jimmy Sham heads the march. (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• Iran–United States relations, Iran–Saudi Arabia relations, Egypt–Iran relations, Iran–United Arab Emirates relations, Bahrain–Iran relations, Shia–Sunni relations
  • United States Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein asks Gulf States to be united amid rising tensions with Iran as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have divided opinions with Qatar. (Reuters)

• List of mass shootings in the United States in 2019
  • A man killed his estranged wife and their three children and injured another child before killing himself in San Diego. (The New York Times)

• 2019 Iranian fuel protests
  • Large protests rock major Iranian cities with clashes reported between protesters and security forces. (Radio Farda)
• 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election
  • Sri Lankan voters head to the polls to elect a new president. Although 35 candidates are running, the main frontrunners are former Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa of the right-wing Sri Lanka People's Front and current Minister of Housing and Construction Sajith Premadasa of the centre-right United National Party. (Reuters)
  • Rajapaksa claims victory and Premadasa concedes defeat, with half of the votes counted for. (Reuters)
• Yellow vests movement
  • Parisian police fire tear gas and water cannons at protestors and arrest around 105 people on the anniversary of the first yellow vest protests. (Reuters)
• 2019 Louisiana gubernatorial election
  • Incumbent Democratic governor John Bel Edwards narrowly defeats businessman and Republican candidate Eddie Rispone to retain his seat; Louisiana Republicans also fall short of winning a supermajority in the Louisiana House of Representatives, allowing Edwards to retain veto power over legislation. The results follow recent gains by the Democratic Party in elections in Virginia and Kentucky and is considered as another blow to U.S. President Donald Trump. (Reuters)
• 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests
  • In Hong Kong, soldiers belonging to China's People's Liberation Army are spotted in the streets helping clear debris left by protesters. (The Epoch Times)
• Protests in the Czech Republic
  • On the 30th anniversary of the outbreak of the Velvet Revolution, over 200,000 people gathered at Letná, Prague, demanding better political culture and the resignation of prime minister Andrej Babiš. This was the second mass demonstration organized at Letná by Milion chvilek pro demokracii after a similar protest on 23 June 2019. (BBC News)

• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • Clashes erupt on the campus of Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Police use tear gas and water cannons. Protesters fire bows and arrows and petrol bombs, and set fires. (Reuters)
  • Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong urges Germany to stop military assistance to China. (Outlook)

• A gas explosion in Chittagong, Bangladesh, kills at least seven people and injures eight. (Reuters)

• 2019 Samoa measles outbreak
  • In response to a measles outbreak, Samoa declares a state of emergency, closes all schools and urges all persons under 17 to avoid public gatherings. (ABC News)

• 2018–19 Korean peace process
  • U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and South Korean Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo announce that their countries will postpone their annual joint military air exercises to help facilitate the peace process. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Japan–United States relations, Japan–North Korea relations
  • Japanese Defence Minister Tarō Kōno tells his United States and South Korea counterparts that "no one could be optimistic about North Korea" after "they launched over 20 missiles so far this year". (Yahoo! News)

• 2019 Fresno shooting
  • At least ten people are shot, with four killed, at a backyard party in Fresno, California. (CNN)

• 2019 Belarusian parliamentary election
  • Voters in Belarus head to the polls in the country's latest parliamentary election. The election is closely watched by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe due to the country's poor human rights record. (Deutsche Welle)

• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • Police seal off and trap hundreds of students and protesters inside Hong Kong Polytechnic University amid fears of a crackdown. After a police officer is injured, security forces threaten to fire live bullets if protesters do not give up lethal weapons. (Reuters)
  • Protesters manage to escape from the university by shimmying down plastic hosing from a bridge and fleeing on waiting motorbikes as the police fire projectiles. (Reuters)
• Second Libyan Civil War
  • An airstrike on a biscuit shop kills five Bangladeshi nationals and two Libyans and wounds 33 others in Tripoli, Libya. A U.N. envoy to Libya claims that it could be a war crime. (The Seattle Times)
• Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
  • A South Korean oil drilling rig is seized by Houthi rebels. It is unknown how many sailors were on board. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian)
• 2019 Iranian fuel protests
  • A Revolutionary Guard commander vows decisive action to restore calm to Iran. (Newsweek)
  • The death toll in the protests rises to 12, but reports vary. (BBC News)
• Northern Mali conflict
  • Militants kill 24 soldiers and wound 29 others on an army patrol in northern Mali. Seventeen militants were also killed in the melee. 6 injured soldiers later die increasing the death toll to 42. (Reuters) (The New York Times)

• Japan opens its first military arms show, as it tries to improve its military technology to combat external threats from China and North Korea. (Reuters)

• Fukushima nuclear disaster
  • The Japanese government authorizes a release of contaminated water from the plant into the Pacific Ocean. Officials say that the release represents a "significantly small" risk to human health. (Kyodo News Plus)

• Russia–Ukraine relations, Ukrainian crisis
  • Russia returns three Ukrainian Navy vessels it seized during an incident in the Kerch Strait last year. (Deutsche Welle) (Reuters)
• Israel–United States relations, Israeli occupation of the West Bank
  • The Trump administration announces that the United States no longer considers Israeli settlement of the West Bank as illegal per se under international law. The announcement is praised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and condemned by the European Union, the Palestinian National Authority, and Jordanian Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi. (The Guardian)

• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • The Hong Kong High Court rules that the government's mask ban violates the Basic Law. (South China Morning Post)
• LGBT rights in Saudi Arabia
  • Two Saudi journalists, one of whom worked for CNN and the BBC, are outed as gay, which prompts them to flee and seek asylum in Australia. (Reuters)
• 2019 Bolivian protests
  • Interim interior minister Arturo Murillo threatens to arrest MAS legislators, who refuse to recognize Jeanine Áñez's legitimacy, for "subversion". (The Globe Post)

• Marshall Islands general election
  • Citizens cast their votes for the 33 members of the country's legislature. (Reuters)
• 2019 Bolivian protests
  • Thousands of Bolivian coca farmers came out in protest in favour of Evo Morales and called for the resignation of Añez as Acting President. (Reuters)

• War in Afghanistan, Afghan peace process
  • In Zabul Province, the Taliban releases two foreign hostages, American professor Kevin King and Australian professor Timothy Weeks, who had been held captive since being kidnapped outside the American University of Afghanistan in 2016. Three high-ranking Taliban militants are released in exchange for the hostages. (BBC News)
  • Afghan President Ashraf Ghani claims victory over ISIL, citing the surrender of over 600 of their fighters in the past weeks as an example that the group has given up. (Reuters)
• Second Libyan Civil War
  • Libyan National Army (LNA) warplanes carry out airstrikes on the port city of Misrata. The LNA say they were targeting munitions and armored vehicles that had been delivered from Turkey. (Reuters)
• 2019 Iranian fuel protests
  • Rioters armed with knives kill three members of Iran's security forces, bringing the death toll up to 11. (Al Jazeera)
  • Amnesty International reports that 106 protesters have been killed during the protest. Some reports indicate a much higher death toll. (BBC News) (National Post)
• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • After the attack on pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham the month prior, another pro-democracy activist, Albert Ho, is attacked by masked men at a minibus stop. (South China Morning Post)
• 2019 Bolivian protests
  • At least three people are killed and 22 injured after Bolivian police and military forces use armored vehicles and helicopters to unblock access to a major fuel plant that had been blockaded by supporters of former president Evo Morales. (The Guardian)
  • Bolivia's congress, controlled by lawmakers from Morales' Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, said it would cancel a contentious vote in the legislature that had been expected to reject Morales' resignation. (Reuters)

• 2019 Japan–South Korea trade dispute
  • Officials from Japan and South Korea hold their second round of trade talks as part of the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement process. (NHK World-Japan)
  • Japan and South Korea have failed to narrow their differences over Japan's export controls in the second round of bilateral talks. (NHK World-Japan)
• Amid continuing fallout over rape allegations against Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and controversy over his close friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, several businesses—including British banking group Standard Chartered, KPMG, Aon and drug giant AstraZeneca—cut ties with the Prince. Pitch@Palace, an initiative founded by Prince Andrew to support entrepreneurs, removes its entire web page listing its supporters. (Yahoo! News) (CNN)

• Fifteen children are confirmed (and three more suspected) dead from measles in Samoa as the illness epidemic continues within the country. (Radio New Zealand)

• Hong Kong–United States relations, China–United States relations, 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • The U.S. Senate unanimously passes the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which mandates that the State Department at least annually checks to see if Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to retain its special trade status with the United States. The Senate also unanimously passes another bill banning the sale of certain crowd-control munitions to the Hong Kong police. The former's passage is condemned by China. (Reuters)

• Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority
  • A Swedish prosecutor says she will drop charges of rape against Julian Assange after a review of the evidence. (Reuters)
• Death of Jeffrey Epstein
  • Two prison guards who worked at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City are arrested in connection with the death of American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The guards are accused of falsifying the records of their watch the night Epstein was found dead. (Washington Examiner) (New York Post)
• The Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives calls for the impeachment of Governor Ralph Torres amid an ongoing Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation into his businesses. (Radio New Zealand)
• Crime in Germany
  • Son of former German president Richard von Weizsäcker, a physician, is stabbed to death during a lecture. The attacker is reported as 57 years old. (Deutsche Welle) (The Berlin Spectator)
• Operation Car Wash
  • A Rio de Janeiro judge issues an arrest warrant against former President of Paraguay Horacio Cartes, accusing him of operating a money laundering scheme with a friend, Dario Messer, who is prosecuted as part of Operation Car Wash. (EFE) (Clarín)

• Shinzō Abe becomes the longest-serving Prime Minister of Japan. (The Straits Times)
• 2019 Chilean protests
  • An impeachment inquiry is launched against Chilean President Sebastián Piñera due to his alleged role in the violation of human rights in the ongoing protests. (World Socialist Web Site)
• Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah is named by the Emir as the new Prime Minister of Kuwait, replacing Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. (Gulf News)
• 2019 Montserratian general election
  • After his victory in the general election, Easton Taylor-Farrell is sworn in as Premier of Montserrat. (RJR News)
• Silveria Jacobs is appointed as the new Prime Minister of Sint Maarten. (The Daily Herald)

• Syrian Civil War
  • The Israeli military launches airstrikes on dozens of Quds Force targets in Damascus and surrounding towns in response to a missile intercepted the previous day over the Golan Heights. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports 23 are killed, including several Iranian fighters. (Associated Press)
  • Missiles and airstrikes strike a crowded facility in Qah and Idlib, killing approximately over 20 including women and children. Activists claim that Syrian Armed Forces were behind the attack. (BBC News)
• War in Afghanistan
  • The U.S. military says two American service members have been killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. (USA Today)
• 2019 Bolivian protests
  • The death toll in the protests rises to 30. (Reuters)
• 2019 Iranian fuel protests
  • According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, casualties are estimated to be around 106 protestors and rising. (Radiofarda)
• Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
  • Houthi militants release the South Korean ship they captured two days prior. (Al Jazeera)
• Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
  • Militants target civilians in the DR Congo near the border with Uganda, killing 19 and kidnapping others. Churches were also burned down in two separate attacks. It is believed that the Allied Democratic Forces is behind the attacks. (Reuters)

• Prince Andrew, Duke of York, halts all public duties in light of allegations of rape, saying his "ill-judged" association with American convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had caused major disruption to the royal family's work. (Reuters)

• 2019 Japan–South Korea trade dispute
  • South Korea's finance minister Hong Nam-ki presses Japan to take steps to lift its export restrictions. (Yonhap)
• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • Joshua Wong calls on HSBC to re-open an account used to support the pro-democracy movement in the city. (The Telegraph)
• Google announces it will ban targeted ads that use voter data, effective within a week. (Reuters)

• Iran–Saudi Arabia relations
  • King Salman of Saudi Arabia blames Iran for the "chaos and destruction" their multiple missiles and drone attacks have caused in the country, and reiterates that his country will not hesitate to defend itself. (Reuters)
• Pope Francis arrives in Bangkok for a three-day visit to Thailand. The Catholic Church in Thailand is celebrating 350 years of Holy See recognition of the Church in Thailand. Bishop Arpondratana of Chiang Mai diocese states that the pope's visit is important for the Church in all of Asia. (Catholic News Agency)

• Tongan authorities contact their New Zealand counterparts to warn them of death threats against Tongan Prime Minister Pohiva Tuʻiʻonetoa on social media. (RNZ)
• Ali al-Haj, secretary of the Islamist Popular Congress Party, is arrested after Sudanese authorities summon him for questioning over his role in the coup d’état that put former President Omar al-Bashir in power. (Reuters)
• International reactions to the Rohingya genocide
  • The office of Myanmar's civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, releases a statement announcing that she will personally lead the legal team defending the Burmese military's actions against the Rohingya minority in the International Criminal Court. Nine days earlier, fifty-seven countries led by The Gambia filed a lawsuit in the International Criminal Court, formally accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya. (CNN) (TIME)

• 2019 referendum on the creation of a Sidama region
  • The Sidama people of Ethiopia go to the polls for a referendum on further autonomy for the Sidama Zone. If autonomy is approved, then local taxes, education, security and laws will be decided by the Sidama instead of the government of Ethiopia. (Reuters)
• 2020 Israeli legislative election
  • Blue and White Alliance leader Benny Gantz's mandate to form a new government expires. As both he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form one, Israel will likely face a third election in two years. (Al Jazeera)

• 2019 Bolivian protests
  • Bolivian riot police fire tear gas to break up a funeral procession that had turned into massive anti-government protest. (France 24) (International Business Times) (Reuters)

• Two USAF airmen are killed when two planes collide at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma, United States. (Associated Press)
• An explosion at a fireworks factory in the town of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Sicily, Italy, kills five people and injures two others. (Sky News)

• Cross-Strait relations
  • After the running mate for the presidency of Taiwan for Tsai Ing-wen, William Lai, says he supports Taiwanese independence, China condemns the move as a "disaster" which crosses a red line China is not willing to accept. (Reuters)

• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • The Hong Kong High Court denies the lift of a travel ban imposed on pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, who was scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom to receive a human rights award from the two houses of the British Parliament. The judge cites the risk of absconding and says he can remain in the city to help restore peace. (The Independent)
• 2019 Chilean protests
  • Amnesty International releases a report regarding human rights violations committed by the Carabineros and the Armed Forces against peaceful protesters. (Reuters)
• Investigations involving Benjamin Netanyahu
  • Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu is officially indicted by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. Netanyahu protests the allegations as being part of a political "witch-hunt" against him. (The Guardian)
• 2019 Iranian fuel protests
  • The Supreme National Security Council gradually restores the internet to some provinces and parts of Tehran, after shutting it off nationwide five days ago to counteract protests. (Al Jazeera)
• Nine Extinction Rebellion protesters are arrested for storming U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. (Washington Post)

• Vanuatu backtracks on a controversial law that would have allowed immigration authorities to racially profile and closely follow people from the Middle East. (RNZ)
• 2019 Colombian protests
  • Thousands of protestors take to the streets in Colombia demanding the resignation of President Iván Duque Márquez. The protests were instigated over controversial tax and labor reforms proposed by Congress, murders of indigenous leaders, and the government’s failure to implement the FARC peace deal. (Washington Post)

• China–United States trade war
  • The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) unanimously votes to label Chinese telecommunications giants Huawei and ZTE as national security risks, thereby disqualifying them from the Universal Service Fund. In a separate vote, the FCC mandates that national wireless carriers remove both companies' products from their existing networks. The companies have 30 days to appeal. (Reuters)
• 2019 Japan–South Korea trade dispute
  • South Korea halts its World Trade Organization complaint concerning Japan's tightened export controls of key chemicals South Korea uses for computer chips and displays. (Voice of America)
• Amazon files a lawsuit against the United States Department of Defense for awarding a US$10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft. The company had previously accused the Department of bias in their decision, given CEO Jeff Bezos has been a vocal critic of U.S. President Donald Trump. (Reuters)

• 2019 Samoa measles outbreak
  • Samoa confirms that 20 persons, all but one under the age of four, have died of measles, and 11 more are in critical condition. Authorities recorded 1,644 cases since the outbreak began last month. (RNZ)

• Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute
  • The United Kingdom misses a United Nations deadline to return control of the disputed Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, prompting the government of Mauritius to call the UK an "illegal colonial occupier". (BBC News)

• Murder of Grace Millane
  • After a three-week trial, a 27-year-old New Zealand man is found guilty of murdering 22-year-old British tourist Grace Millane in Auckland in December 2018. (BBC News)
• Former Paraguayan Congresswoman Cynthia Tarragó is arrested alongside her husband at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey and charged with money laundering, following an undercover operation from FBI agents who purported to be drug traffickers. According to court documents, in addition to money laudering, Tarragó offered to traffic drugs herself from Paraguay. (ABC Color) (Última Hora) (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• 2021 German federal election
  • Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who replaced German Chancellor Angela Merkel as leader of the Christian Democratic Union, threatens to stand down as a chancellor candidate if her centre-right party continues to disagree over support. (BBC News) (The Guardian) (The Telegraph)
• 2019 Bolivian protests, 2019 Bolivian political crisis
  • Bolivia's new interior minister, Arturo Murillo, files a criminal complaint against former President Evo Morales for alleged sedition and terrorism. (The Guardian) (Reuters)

• Syrian Civil War, November 2019 Syria bombings
  • A car bomb detonates in Tell Abyad, Raqqa Governorate, killing ten people and wounding 25 others. (Reuters)
• 2019 Colombian protests
  • Three Colombian police are killed and seven wounded by a car bomb in Santander de Quilichao, Cauca province. (The Guardian)

• 2019 Samoa measles outbreak
  • Tonga and Fiji declare a state of emergency as part of an ongoing measles outbreak. Conditions worsen in Samoa where the death toll continues to rise and schools remain closed. There are 1,797 confirmed cases as of Saturday, with 153 detected on Friday alone. (BBC News)

• 2019 Iranian fuel protests
  • Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri warns regional states of dire consequences, claiming the protests are "directly linked to the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel." (Reuters)
• Iran–Iraq relations
  • The border between Iran and Iraq reopens, after being closed for a week due to mass protests in their respective countries. (Reuters)
• China–United States relations
  • Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi accuses the United States of being the "world's biggest destabilizing factor" and of "smearing China everywhere" at the G20 meeting in Nagoya. (Reuters)
• Australia–China relations, Chinese intelligence activity abroad
  • Australian network newspapers, Nine’s The Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers, report that a Chinese spy, Wang ‘William’ Liqiang - who defected to Australia, gives counter-espionage agency the names of senior military intelligence officers he says funded and conducted operations in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia. (South China Morning Post)
  • Wang says he was personally involved in infiltration and disruption operations in all three territories, and “revealed in granular detail” how Beijing covertly controls listed companies to fund intelligence operations, including the surveillance and profiling of dissidents and the co-opting of media organizations. (BBC News)
  • Wang is now seeking asylum in Australia, saying he ‘will be dead’ if he returns home. (ABC)
  • The Shanghai police department says that Wang is a conman who was convicted for fraud in 2016 and is being investigated for another case of fraud since April 2019. (South China Morning Post)
• Pope Francis travels to Japan
  • During his 23 to 26 November journey to Japan, Pope Francis visits Tokyo, Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The only pope to previously visit Japan was Pope John Paul II from 23–26 February 1981. (Holy See Press Office) (Vatican News)

• 2019 Bougainvillean independence referendum
  • People in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville vote to choose between more autonomy within Papua New Guinea or outright independence. However, the Papua New Guinea central government will have the final say on accepting independence. (RNZ)
• 2019 referendum on the creation of a Sidama region
  • The Ethiopian electoral board announces that the referendum to grant autonomy to the Sidama Zone passed with 98.5% of the vote. (Reuters)
• Climate change policy, Harvard-Yale football game
  • A non-violent protest was held at the Yale Bowl during the annual Harvard-Yale football game at halftime. The apparently scheduled protest included both Yale and Harvard students. The students were protesting the colleges' usage of endowments from fossil fuel companies. The game was delayed for about an hour. There were some arrests. (CNN) (The New York Times}

• 2019 Copa Libertadores
  • The premier association football club competition of South America concludes with Brazilian club Flamengo beating titleholders River Plate 2-1 in Lima's Monumental Stadium. It is their first title since 1981 and second overall. (BBC Sport)

• War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
  • Taliban insurgents storm a checkpoint in Daykundi Province, killing eight Afghan Army personnel. After reinforcements were sent to the area, Afghan soldiers drive off the attackers, killing at least 20 of them. (Washington Post)
  • A grenade attack in Kabul hit a United Nations car killing one foreigner and injuring five others. (Reuters)
• 2019 Iraqi protests
  • Security forces opened fire on protesters, killing nine and wounding dozens. (Reuters)
• 2019–20 Lebanese protests
  • Clashes between anti-government protestors, and Hezbollah and Amal Movement supporters break out when the former group blocked a main bridge in downtown Beirut. At least five people are injured. (Reuters)

• 2019 Busy Bee crash
  • A plane crashes shortly after takeoff in a densely populated neighborhood of the city of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing all the 19 people on board. About ten other people are killed on the ground. (Reuters) (BBC News)

• Foreign relations of Tuvalu
  • Tuvaluan Foreign Minister Simon Kofe says Tuvalu rejects Chinese offers to build artificial islands for his country, which deals with rising sea levels because Tuvalu sees the offers as an "attempt to reduce Taiwanese influence in the Pacific region". Tuvalu is one of four Pacific nations to recognize Taiwan in the One-China policy dispute. (RNZ)

• 2019 Bolivian political crisis
  • Bolivia's legislative assembly approves the annulment of the October general election and the holding of new elections. Ex-president Evo Morales is barred from participating. (DW)
• 2019 Guinea-Bissau presidential election
  • Citizens of Guinea-Bissau head to the polls to vote for a new president amidst political turmoil. (Euronews)
• 2019 Hong Kong protests, 2019 Hong Kong local elections
  • Local elections are held in Hong Kong. Barring military intervention from Beijing, the outcome is seen as a major indicator for the political future of the protest-ridden region. (DW)
  • With a record 71% turnout, the pro-democracy camp wins 333 of 452 seats up for election. Jimmy Sham, one of the leaders of the protest, won in his electorate while major pro-Beijing leader Junius Ho lost in his. (Reuters)
• 2019 Romanian presidential election
  • People of Romania cast their vote in the second round of the latest presidential election. (DW)
• 2019 Uruguayan general election
  • Uruguay holds the second round of the 2019 presidential election. (Al Jazeera)
• 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Michael Bloomberg 2020 presidential campaign
  • Former Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg announces he's running for the presidency as part of the Democratic ticket. (NPR)
• U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper forces Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer to resign over his handling of the court martial of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher. (Reuters)

• 2019 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
  • With four rounds to go, Flamengo wins the Brazilian league for the sixth time. They are the first team since 1963's Santos FC to win the national league and the Copa Libertadores on the same weekend. (Globo Esporte)
• 2019 CFL season
  • The Winnipeg Blue Bombers win the 107th Grey Cup, defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-12, in Winnipeg's first Grey Cup win since 1990. Winnipeg running back Andrew Harris becomes the first player in Grey Cup history to be named both Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Canadian. (Sportsnet)

• Protestors storm the MONUSCO headquarters in Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and set UN vehicles on fire in anger at the peacekeepers' failure to stop the Allied Democratic Forces insurgency. Congolese security forces fire at the crowd to disperse them, killing at least two. (Al Jazeera)

• Transport for London announces it will not grant a new license to operate to Uber, citing safety failures. The company will appeal. (BBC News)

• 2019 Ménaka helicopter crash
  • Thirteen French soldiers are killed in a helicopter crash during an operation against jihadists in Mali. (BBC News)

• 2019 Samoa measles outbreak
  • Fijian Health Minister Ifereimi Waqainabete warns that police will be deployed to areas under quarantine if people continue not to respect the order to stay at home if they have measles, amid an ongoing outbreak of the illness in various Pacific island nations. (Fiji Times) (RNZ)

• Iran–Israel relations, Iran–Saudi Arabia relations, Iran–United States relations, 2019 Iranian protests
  • Head of the Revolutionary Guards Hossein Salami delivers a televised speech toward Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United States and those who are protesting against the government in which he says "We will destroy you" if they cross Iran's red line. (Haaretz) (The Washington Post)

• Essex lorry deaths
  • The driver of the lorry in which 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in Grays, Essex, England, pleads guilty to conspiring to assist unlawful immigration. (The Independent)
• Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Argentina
  • Two Roman Catholic priests are sentenced to more than 40 years in prison for sexually assaulting deaf children at a church school in Mendoza Province, Argentina; the school's gardener also receives an 18-year sentence. (BBC News) (The Guardian)

• Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web, launches a World Wide Web Foundation scheme Contract for the Web. (CNBC)

• Syrian Civil War, November 2019 Syria bombings
  • A car bomb kills 17 civilians and injures 20 others in an attack in Ras al-Ayn, Al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria. (Reuters)
• War in Afghanistan
  • An American is identified as the victim killed in a Kabul grenade attack on a United Nations convoy. (The Jerusalem Post)
• Terrorism in the Netherlands
  • Two men are arrested in the Netherlands after plans were uncovered to commit a jihadist attack with explosive belts and car bombs. (NL Times)
• Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
  • A grenade attack kills two including a government official and wounds four others. Two militants were also killed in another incident. (Al Jazeera)
• Iraqi insurgency (2017–present)
  • Multiple bombings in Baghdad kill six people and injure 15 others. Most are motorcycle bombs. (U.S. News and World Report)

• Foreign relations of Israel
  • It is announced that in a United States-backed peace plan, Israeli citizens will be allowed to visit the Gulf States for "business and political purposes", starting next year. (Middle East Monitor)
• China–United States trade war
  • Discount retailer Dollar Tree reports that it will miss its analysts' profit expectations for this quarter, blaming the shortfall on the tariff costs imposed by the United States government on products it imports from China. (Reuters)

• 2019 Albania earthquake
  • A 6.4 magnitude earthquake hits coastal Albania, bringing down many buildings and leaving people trapped under rubble. The Defense Ministry confirms 30 people killed and 650 others injured, mostly in Durrës County. (BBC News)
  • Pope Francis prays for victims of the earthquake in Albania and sends “heartfelt condolences” to Albanian President Ilir Meta. The quake's epicenter is less than 20 miles from Tirana, the country’s capital city, which has a population of 900,000. Additional earthquakes occurred in southern Bosnia and the Greek island of Crete. (CNA)

• 2019 Samoa measles outbreak
  • The death toll from the measles outbreak in Samoa has reached 32 with over 2,400 cases recorded. (ABC Australia)

• Censorship in Vietnam
  • A court in Vietnam sentences a Facebook user to six years in prison for anti-state posts on the social media. It is the latest case seen as a crackdown on government dissidents. (Reuters)
• 2019 Chilean protests
  • Human Rights Watch releases a report about "serious" human rights violations committed by Carabineros, confirming the findings of Amnesty International published last week. (France 24)

• Politics of Mauritius
  • Acting President Barlen Vyapoory resigns from office. Eddy Balancy, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Mauritius, becomes the country's new acting president. (L'Express)
• 2019 Australian Parliament infiltration plot, Chinese intelligence activity abroad
  • ASIO is investigating an alleged plot by the Communist Party of China to install an agent into the Parliament of Australia. (ABC Australia)

• 2019 in spaceflight
  • Egypt's first ever communications satellite TIBA 1 is launched by Arianespace on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre. (Reuters)

• Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
  • Islamist militants of the Allied Democratic Forces kill nineteen people near the city of Oicha in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following a week's worth of protests against the mass killings from rebels that killed four others near a United Nations base. (Reuters)
• Second Libyan Civil War
  • The eastern-based Libyan National Army loyal to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar recaptures the strategic Elephant Field oil field in southwestern Libya after driving out GNA forces with airstrikes. (Reuters)
• 2019 Iraqi protests
  • Iraqi protesters storm and set fire to the Iranian Consulate General in Najaf. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
• War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
  • A roadside bomb in Kunduz Province kills 15 civilians and injures two others. (Al Jazeera) (VOA)

• A chemical plant producing butadiene in Port Neches, Texas, United States, explodes and burns. It damages thousands of buildings over several square miles and sending three workers to the hospital. (Yahoo! News)
• A fire at a Minneapolis apartment building leaves five dead and three injured. (The New York Times)

• China–United States relations, Hong Kong–United States relations, 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • U.S. President Donald Trump signs the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act into law despite strong opposition from China. The bill means the U.S. will only trade with Hong Kong if it retains enough autonomy and bans the export of crowd-control munitions to Hong Kong Police Force. (Reuters)

• 2019 Guinea-Bissau presidential election
  • The latest presidential election in Guinea-Bissau has to go into a second round on December 29 as no candidate managed to win more than 50% of the votes during the first round. The second round will be a run-off between Domingos Simões Pereira and Umaro Sissoco Embaló while incumbent president José Mário Vaz was eliminated from the race. (DW)
• 2019 Namibian general election
  • Citizens of Namibia head to the polls to elect both the country's president and National Assembly members. (The Washington Post)
• Ninth European Parliament
  • The European Parliament confirms the Von der Leyen Commission, which will begin acting on December 1. (DW)

• Following a public outcry, Twitter apologises and backtracks one day after saying that it would begin deleting inactive accounts outside the United States on December 11, after users were upset that the measure would cause the removal of accounts belonging to users who had died. It now says that it will first implement a process for "memorialising" dead users. It would have been the first large scale cull of inactive accounts on the social media platform. (BBC News)

• The Arena Football League announces that it has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and will immediately cease operations. This marks the effective end of the 32-year-old league, and the second liquidation bankruptcy in its history. (USA Today)
• City Football Group (CFG) owner Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who is also chairman of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., the fifth most valuable association football club in the world, agrees to sell a $500 million stake to American private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, making CFG the most valuable association football group in the world. (Reuters) (BBC News)

• Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
  • An attack on a United Nations center in the Congo by Mai-Mai militants kills three Ebola response workers and a police officer. (LA Times)
  • The death toll in November attacks by Islamist militants in the Democratic Republic of the Congo increases to 107 from violence in and around Beni since November 5. (Al Jazeera) (TRT World)
• 2019 Iraqi protests
  • In one of the deadliest days of the protests so far, Iraqi security forces open fire and kill 25 people who were blocking a bridge in Nasiriyah, while 10 people are killed in Najaf, and four people are shot dead in the capital Baghdad. The Iraqi Armed Forces says an emergency unit had been created to "impose security and restore order" in response to the violence. 45 people have been killed by security forces in total. (BBC News) (The Guardian)
• Two Turkish troops are killed by mortar fire in the Akçakale district of Turkey, near the Syrian border. (AA)
• South Korean army officials claim that North Korea launched two projectiles "from a super-large caliber multiple rocket launcher." (CNN)

• 2019 Albania earthquake
  • Twenty more bodies are found under destroyed buildings after the earthquake in Albania two days ago, bringing the death toll to 50 people. (Shqiptarja.com)

• 2019 Samoa measles outbreak
  • The United Nations blames anti-vaccination messages for the current outbreak of measles in the Pacific island nation, where the death toll has risen to 39 and is expected to rise as 200 are reported hospitalised, according to the World Health Organization. Total cases now soar to near 3,000. (The Guardian) (RNZ)

• Foreign relations of Benin
  • The government of Benin orders EU ambassador Oliver Nette to leave the country after accusing him of "meddling in their internal affairs". (DW)
• Foreign relations of Bolivia, Foreign relations of Israel
  • Bolivia and Israel reestablish diplomatic relations after Bolivia suspended ties over a decade ago as a consequence of Operation Cast Lead. The foreign minister of the Bolivian transitional government says President Evo Morales took the decision in 2009 "without thinking about the economic and commercial consequences". (The Jerusalem Post)

• Censorship in Vietnam
  • In the third case this month, and the second this week, a court in Vietnam convicts and sentences a Facebook user to nine years in prison for defaming the ruling Communist Party and government. (Reuters)
• Hillsborough disaster
  • David Duckenfield, the former South Yorkshire Police chief superintendent who was in charge of the 1988–89 FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool F.C. and Nottingham Forest F.C. at Hillsborough Stadium, is cleared of manslaughter by gross negligence relating to the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans who were crushed to death during the match. The verdict sparks outrage from the families of victims. (BBC News) (The Guardian)

• 2019 Hong Kong protests, Hong Kong–United Kingdom relations
  • Following the U.S. legislation regarding Hong Kong, pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong urges Western nations, especially the United Kingdom, to "stand with Hong Kong" and calls for the penalization of leader Carrie Lam. (Federal News Network)
• War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), Afghanistan–United States relations
  • U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump make an unannounced Thanksgiving visit to troops at the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, their second visit to a combat zone since taking office. While there he also claims he has re-started talks with the Taliban. (The New York Times)

• 2019 London Bridge stabbing
  • A terrorist mass stabbing at London Bridge kills two civilians and injures three others. The attacker, Usman Khan, wearing a fake explosive belt, is shot dead by police on the bridge. Khan was a former prisoner convicted of terrorism offences, and had links to Islamist terrorist groups. (BBC News)
• War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
  • After a surprise visit by U.S. President Donald Trump, the Taliban say they are ready to restart peace talks and reach a ceasefire. (Reuters)
• 2019 Iraqi protests
  • Protests continue across Iraq with a death toll of seven protesters by unsourced reports. Other reports by hospital sources state the death toll is over 20 due to Iraqi forces opening fire in Nasiriya. (Al Jazeera) (BBC News)
• Yemeni Civil War
  • Houthi militants say that they shot down a Saudi Arabian helicopter, killing both pilots. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed the incident. (Sputnik)

• 2019 Samoa measles outbreak
  • It is expected that there will be 70 deaths from the illness, and at least 6,500 people will be infected by the highly infectious disease. (NZ Herald)

• The government of Sudan repeals all laws restricting women's freedom of dress, movement, association, work and study, and dissolves the former ruling party. Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok praises women on social media and says that the laws were “an instrument of exploitation, humiliation, violation, aggression on the rights of citizens”. (The Guardian)
• A national court rules President of Suriname Dési Bouterse guilty of murder. The case addresses the execution of 15 government critics in 1982, following the 1980 Sergeants' Coup led by Bouterse. Six other former military officers are also declared guilty. (The Guardian)
  • Police report that three young people have been wounded in a stabbing on a shopping street in The Hague, Netherlands. (Reuters)
• Burning Sun scandal
  • K-pop singer-songwriter Jung Joon-young receives a six-year prison term and former boy band member Choi Jong-hoon is sentenced to a five-year term for having sex with a woman who was unable to consent, as well as other sex crimes including filming women without consent. (AP)

• 2019 Iraqi protests
  • Prime Minister of Iraq Adel Abdul Mahdi announces plans to offer his resignation to the country's parliament as a reaction to the ongoing protest movement. (DW)
• Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat intends to step down following controversy over an ongoing investigation about the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia two years ago. (DW)
• Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone dies at the age of 101. (NHK WORLD News)

• ADF insurgency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Twelve civilians are killed in an attack by militants. (Al Jazeera)
  • Two alleged rebels are lynched by civilians who suspected that the two were involved in the deaths of dozens of civilians since November 5. (The Straits Times)
  • The DR Congo armed forces say that they have killed a top militant, Mouhamed Mkubwa Islam, who is one of three leaders of the insurgency. (CGNT)

• Nine people are killed and another three are injured in a plane crash in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. (USA Today)

• Japan–North Korea relations
  • In an insult-laden statement, North Korean media warn Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe that he "may see a real ballistic missile in the near future." (Reuters)

• Samoa measles epidemic
  • The Prime Minister of Samoa, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, says that he will propose a law which would penalize parents who refuse to vaccinate their children, amid an ongoing epidemic that has killed 44 people, mostly children under the age of four. (RNZ)

• Protests against poor living conditions break out in the central town of Jilma, Tunisia after a man set himself on fire for the same reason on Friday. Police use tear gas to disperse the protestors. (Reuters)