Portal:Current events/2005 November 23
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Conflict in Iraq:
- Israeli troops kill one Palestinian and Iyad Abu Rob, a suspected senior member of Islamic Jihad surrenders after a day-long siege, in the Palestinian refugee camp of Jenin. (BBC), (Reuters)
- The record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season continues as Tropical Storm Delta forms from a non-tropical low 1,000 nautical miles (2,000 km) southwest of the Azores. (U.S. NHC)
- The lower house of the Russian parliament passed a bill by 370-18 requiring local branches of foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to reregister as Russian organisations subject to Russian jurisdiction, and thus stricter financial and legal restrictions. The bill gives Russian officials oversight of local finances and activities. The bill has been highly criticised by Human Rights Watch, Memorial rights organization, and the nonprofit think tank Indem for its potential effects on international monitoring of the status of human rights in Russia. (Reuters)
- An explosion at a chemical factory on the Songhua River in northeastern China releases high levels of benzene into the river water. Authorities shut off the water supply for the downstream city of Harbin. (BBC)
- The new Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, goes to Paris, France for her first foreign trip in office. Some observers see this as a signal that intra-European affairs will be a high priority. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
- Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is officially declared as the winner of the Liberian presidential runoff, after she took 59.4 percent of the vote, making her Africa's first elected female head of state. (BBC)
- Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has dismissed his entire cabinet and deputy ministers after voters rejected a draft constitution. (BBC), (Reuters)
