U.S. SenatorJohn Kerry apologizes for a "poorly stated joke," which he says was aimed at President Bush but was widely perceived as an attack on U.S. troops. Kerry had said in a rally on 30 October: "You know, education if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq." (CNN)
White House Press SecretaryTony Snow said in a statement that "We are therefore increasingly concerned by mounting evidence that the Syrian and Iranian governments, Hezbollah, and their Lebanese allies are preparing plans to topple Lebanon's democratically elected government," and that "We're making it clear to everybody in the region that we think that there ought to be hands off the [Prime Minister Fouad] Siniora government; let them go about and do their business."(Reuters)
Turkish archaeologist Muazzez Ilmiye Cig is acquitted of inciting religious hatred; a charge made after she published a book stating that the Muslim headscarf originated in the clothing of Sumerian priestesses who initiated young men into sex. (BBC News)
Iran fires dozens of unarmed missiles to begin 10 days of militarywar games, with "ranges from 300 km to up to 2,000 km," some of which have "the capacity to carry 1,400 bombs," Iranian state television reported. (CNN).
The UKOffice for National Statistics announces that, in 2005, 565,000 immigrants arrived in the UK, mainly from Poland, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, while there were 380,000 emigrants, over half of whom were UK citizens. The most popular emigration destinations were Australia, Spain, and France. The net immigration total, 185,000, was 17,000 less than 2004's record. (BBC)
The death toll in a fire at the historic Mizpah Hotel in Reno, Nevada rises to nine with not all of the ruins having been searched yet. (Las Vegas Sun)
The North Korean Foreign Ministry releases a statement calling for Japan to leave the six-party talks regarding DPRK's nuclear program because the Japanese officials involved in the talks are "imbeciles" and Japan is a state of the U.S. The Foreign Ministry accuses the United States of "warmongering." (ABC News)
Reactions to the verdicts against Saddam and his compatriots vary with approval from some areas, particularly Iran and Shi'a regions of Iraq, but condemnation of the trial and process from some other quarters of the Muslim world. United States officials called it "a good day for the Iraqi people". The European Union, while welcoming the guilty verdicts, expresses its opposition to the imposition of the death penalty on humanitarian grounds. (CNN)(Reuters)
While Democrats have gained at least 5 seats in the Senate, the majority is still unclear. In order to take control, Democrats would need to take the seat in Virginia; they are leading in that state. (CNN)
Prime MinisterNuri al-Maliki states that he expects Hussein to be executed by the end of the year following conviction in his first trial, which Hussein is appealing. BBC
Operation Autumn Clouds: The Israeli Defense Forces began to pull its troops out of the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanun, Palestinian officials said. Fifty-three Palestinians, including 16 civilians, and an IDF soldier have been killed since the operation began on October 31. (Haaretz)
Israel braces itself for revenge attacks after yesterday's dawn barrage in the Gaza Strip leaves a family of 18 dead. The general in charge of Israel's Southern Command, Youav Galant, blames problems with the targeting device for the artillery strike. (The Times)
