November 16, 2010 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- An anti-tank mine explodes under a truck in Battambang province of Cambodia, killing all 14 people aboard. (Zee)
- A suspected US missile attack on insurgents in the village of Bangi Dar in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan kills at least 15. (AP via Houston Chronicle)
- Iran started a 5-day air defense drill, claimed by its government to be the biggest drill of its kind ever. The drills are held near its nuclear facilities. (Reuters)
Arts and culture
- Clarence House announces the engagement of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, to be married next year. (BBC)
- The Beatles release their back catalogue on iTunes. (NME) (The Guardian) (The New York Times)
- UNESCO adds traditional dishes of France and Mexico to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity at a committee meeting in Nairobi, the first time cuisine is added to the list. (BBC)
- New York archbishop Timothy Dolan is voted president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (The New York Times)
Business and economy
- Facebook announces that it will launch a new messaging platform, providing an email address of "@facebook.com." (Xinhua)
- ExxonMobil says a raid by Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, a militant Nigerian group, has eliminated 45,000 barrels a day of production of natural gas liquids and condensates. (Reuters)
Disasters
- The death toll from the 2010 Haiti cholera outbreak passes 1,000. At least one man is shot dead by United Nations peacekeepers after allegedly opening fire on the peacekeepers. (BBC)
- The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in the Indian capital New Delhi rises to 66 with the search for victims continuing. (AFP via Yahoo! News) (Xinhua)
- Authorities in Shanghai arrest four people for unlicensed welding following the 2010 Shanghai fire. (Al Jazeera)
International relations
- Nigeria reports Iran to the United Nations Security Council over the seizure of a shipment of weapons. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
Law and crime
- Detainees at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney, Australia, go on a hunger strike following the suicide of an Iraqi detainee. (AAP via the Daily Telegraph)
- Thailand extradites suspected Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout to the United States to face terrorism charges. (Reuters), (AP via Minneapolis Star-Tribune)[permanent dead link]
- British author Alan Shadrake is jailed for six weeks in Singapore for contempt of court. (The Guardian)
Politics and elections
- The UK Government is to pay millions of pounds in compensation to around a dozen British citizens who were held in detention overseas, including the camp at Guantanamo Bay, and who say British security services colluded in their torture. (BBC)
- President Herman Van Rompuy predicts the possible collapse of the European Union but then says "I'm very confident we will overcome this". (The Guardian)
- Taoiseach Brian Cowen addresses Dáil Éireann ahead of a meeting of EU finance ministers, saying Ireland has not applied for financial support from the European Union. (The Guardian) (BBC) (RTÉ)
- The United States House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct finds Charlie Rangel guilty of multiple violations of House of Representatives rules. (CNN)
- The President of the United States Barack Obama presents a Medal of Honor, the highest United States military decoration to Staff Sgt Salvatore Giunta at the White House. (BBC)
- U.S. Republican Party Senators adopt a ban on earmarking, or setting aside money in bills for specific purposes specified by legislators. (Reuters)
Science
- A study done by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research concluded that reduced wintertime Arctic sea ice cover could create anomalies in wind patterns, resulting in overall cooler winters in continents across the northern hemisphere. (ABC News)