November 16, 2009 (Monday)
- Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister of Australia, apologises to the "forgotten Australians" raised in orphanages and foster homes during the twentieth century. (The Australian)
- NASA launches Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-129 at 1928 UTC (2:28pm EST), bringing supplies and the first two ExPRESS Logistics Carriers to the International Space Station. (NASA)
- At least 8 people are dead and dozens missing after a ferry collided with an oil barge in Burma's Irrawaddy Delta. (AP)
- A Zambian court clears journalist Chansa Kabwela of Zambia Post newspaper of pornography charges after she sent pictures of a woman giving birth in a hospital car park to President Rupiah Banda in protest at the effects of a national strike. (Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation) (The Post) (BBC)
- U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in Shanghai, China, and holds a town-hall-style meeting with students. (AJNews)[permanent dead link]
- The United Nations "Hunger Summit" opens in Rome, Italy. (AFP)
- The IAEA expresses concern after a late declaration of a second nuclear site by Iran. (Al Jazeera) (UPI)
- One of the United Kingdom's most prolific rapists, known as the "Night Stalker" who it thought to have struck more than 200 times, is charged with 22 offences against the elderly from 1992 to 2009. (The Times)
- Algeria deploys security at the Egyptian embassy in Algiers after Egyptian businesses are attacked in the capital, and security is also tightened in Sudan ahead of a World Cup play off between the two countries. (BBC) (Times of India)
- The United Nations is criticised after a poster that made reference to China's internet censorship by the OpenNet Initiative at an international conference focussed on Internet freedom in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, is removed. (BBC) (CBC) (AP)
- Kosovo's ruling party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, claims victory in local elections, the first since the declaration of independence from Serbia. (Xinhua) (Deutsche Welle)