November 17, 2005 (Thursday)
- Sri Lankan presidential election, 2005: Sri Lanka holds its presidential election to appoint the fifth executive president. The election was conducted peacefully despite a few minor incidents. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa defeats former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in the election. (Times of India) (Reuters)
- The press baron Conrad Black is charged with multiple counts of fraud regarding his dealings with Hollinger International. (BBC)
- English writer David Irving is arrested in Vienna on charges of denying the Holocaust, a criminal offence in Austria. (Reuters)
- Former rock star Gary Glitter, previously convicted on child pornography charges, is being sought by Vietnamese authorities who seek to question him about under-age sex allegations. (Reuters)
- The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the leader of the world-wide Anglican Communion, is challenged to rethink his personal stance on the ordination of gay clergy in the light of scripture by nearly half of all the Anglican Primates. (Guardian Online)
- French Police declare a "return to normalcy throughout France" as civil unrest subsides. (Le Monde)
- British Secretary of State for Education Ruth Kelly promises that student selection will not return to schools. (BBC)
- Members of the European Parliament pass an item of controversial chemical safety testing legislation, known as the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) law. (BBC)