International Headlines
Nov 7: Greenpeace India Shut Down
The environmental campaigning group Greenpeace says its charitable registration to operate in India has been revoked which effectively shuts it down in India. The government has previously accused Greenpeace of flouting tax laws and having an anti-development agenda. Greenpeace says it plans to challenge this decision, interim Executive Director Vinuta Gopal said "We are confident of overcoming this order." Greenpeace has been working in India for 14 years.
Nov 6: Brazil Dam Burst
A dam holding waste water from an iron ore mine in Minas Gerais state in Brazil has ruptured. The neighbouring towns are engulfed and more than a dozen people are feared to be dead. The BBC confirmed that the area affected is home to 500 people. Authorities have warned that the flooded water could be toxic. A spokesman for the company which owns the dam said the cause of incident was not yet known.
Nov 5: Protests in Romania
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta has resigned over a nightclub fire which killed 32 people. The fire sparked a protest of around 20,000 people who marched in the capital Bucharest demanding early elections and further political reform; the protests have spread to other cities with people saying safety is compromised because of corruption. Public anger is directed at the political elite, including Mr Ponta, who faces corruption charges.
Nov 3: Merkel Meets Activists
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on a trip to China, met nine human rights activists and political dissidents in Beijing. She met the human rights lawyers, writers and bloggers at the German Embassy in a private meeting. They told Merkel that the human rights situation in China had worsened since President Xi Jinping came to power.
Nov 2: Plane Crash
A Russian airliner has crashed in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, killing all 224 people on board. Jihadists allied to so-called Islamic State in Sinai, had made a claim on social media that they had brought down flight KGL9268. The head of Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee said it was too early to conclude what caused the crash but a Russian official has said the aircraft “disintegrated in the air at a high altitude".
Oct 30: One-Child Policy Scrapped
China has ended its one-child policy. A statement from the Communist Party said that couples will now be allowed to have two children. The policy was introduced in 1979 to slow the population growth rate and is estimated to have prevented about 400 million births, while leading to a gender and age imbalance in the population. Couples who violated the policy faced punishments and/or forced abortions.
Oct 26: Tories Win Poland
The conservative Law and Justice party has won Poland’s parliamentary elections making Beata Szydlo the new Prime Minister. She has defeated Ewa Kopacz, the outgoing Prime Minister and her centrist Civic Platform party. Law and Justice has strong support in Poland's rural areas. It is the first time since democracy was restored in Poland in 1989 that a single party has won enough seats to govern alone.
Oct 23: Student Violence
The biggest student protests in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994 have left 29 people charged with public violence. The students were protesting against an increase in tuition fees. Police used stun grenades after the protesters stormed parliament. The protests, which began in Johannesburg, are now affecting at least ten universities.
Oct 22: Walking to Court
Acharya Kirti Yashurishwarji Maharaj, 60, an Indian Jain monk living in Kolkata has been summoned to court in Ahmedabad which is 2,200km away (1,400 miles). He has said he needs eight months to answer the summons as he will have to walk, in accordance with his faith. His request was refused. He is charged with forging a government document to say recruitment of children into Jain monastic orders was legal.
Oct 21: Liberal Victory
Canada’s election has returned Justin Trudeau and his Liberal party to power after nearly a decade of Conservative rule. Mr Trudeau's party won 184 of the 338 seats. He has promised to cut taxes for middle-class Canadians while increasing them for the rich, address environmental concerns, take in Syrian refugees and legalise marijuana. HH the Dalai Lama has sent him a message of congratulations.
Oct 20: Chinese President in UK
Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in the United Kingdom for his four-day state visit. UK Prime Minister David Cameron talks of a "golden era" in ties between the two countries. Large red flags of the People's Republic of China lined the Mall in central London, as well as the UK flag, the union jack. Protests are expected from human rights groups, and a pro-China demonstration is also anticipated.
Oct 19: Typhoon
The northern Philippines has been hit by Typhoon Koppu which has killed at least one person and forced over 15,000 thousand to flee their homes. Winds of up to 200 km/hr (124mph) have toppled trees and power lines and triggered floods and landslides, and the authorities fear further flooding as more heavy rain falls in the area.
Oct 17: Xi Jinping’s Visit to UK
As Xi Jinping prepares for five-day visit to UK, China’s ambassador told that Chinese president would feel offended if his visit is used to raise the subject of Beijing’s human rights record. It is also reported that the Prince Charles, a friend of Dalai Lama would boycott the state banquet organised for the Chinese President and his wife.
Oct 16: US in Afghanistan
The United States will extend its military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2016. President Obama says the mission in Afghanistan is "vital to US national security interests" and the troops are needed to help Afghan forces counter a growing Taliban threat. 5,500 troops will remain – more than the small embassy-based force which was all that was due to remain at the end of next year.
Oct 15: 80,000-year-old teeth
Scientists in southern China have discovered 47 human teeth dating from at least 80,000 years ago, but belonging to modern humans – 20,000 years earlier than is currently accepted as the origin of modern mankind. The teeth were found in Fuyan Cave in Daoxian and researchers say they could date from as early 125,000 years ago.