Portal:Current events/2012 November 24
November 24, 2012 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Royal Thai Police use tear gas against thousands of protesters calling for the overthrow of the Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, in Bangkok, Thailand. At least 61 people are injured. (BBC) (RIA Novosti)
Arts and culture
- 23-year-old Czech beauty queen Tereza Fajksová wins Miss Earth 2012, the 12th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, Philippines. (RIA Novosti)
- The music video for South Korean pop singer Psy's "Gangnam Style" surpasses 808 million views, making it the most viewed video in the history of YouTube. (BBC)
Business and economy
- Around 10,000 people demonstrate against austerity in Dublin amid calls for a general strike to shut the country down. (BBC)
- Retail analysis says more Americans went out to shop (as opposed to shopping online) on Black Friday, 23 November. However, total sales decreased 1.8% from the previous Black Friday. (CNN)
Disasters and accidents
- A natural gas explosion in Springfield, Massachusetts levels two buildings and damages others, injuring at least 18 people. (Sky News)
- A coal mine accident in Guizhou province, China's southwest, kills eighteen workers and traps five more. (AP via Yahoo)
Law and crime
- Egypt's top judges accuse President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi of staging an "unprecedented attack" on the judiciary, after he passes a decree granting himself extensive new powers. Critics and supporters have staged rallies. Crowds gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square, vowing to stage a sit-in protest. (BBC)
- Palestinian officials announce the body of former leader Yasser Arafat will be exhumed to investigate whether his death in Paris in 2004 was caused by poisoning. (BBC)
Media
- Irish Daily Star editor Michael O'Kane resigns over his role in the publication of topless photographs of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. (BBC)
Politics and elections
- Ernest Bai Koroma is re-elected President of Sierra Leone in the general election, held on 17 November. (The Guardian) (AFP via Google)
- The UK's Education Secretary, Michael Gove, and Rotherham Council announce separate investigations into the case of three children who were removed from their foster parents because the couple belongs to the UK Independence Party. (BBC)
- DUP leader and Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson dismisses calls from Sinn Féin for a Scotland-style referendum on independence for Northern Ireland, telling his party's annual conference that a majority of Catholics want Northern Ireland to stay part of the United Kingdom. (BBC)
Sport
- Puerto Rican professional boxer and former world champion Héctor Camacho dies four days after being shot in his hometown of Bayamón, Puerto Rico. (AP via WVEC)
- In athletics, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and American sprinter Allyson Felix are named 2012 IAAF World Athletes of the Year. (AP via Washington Post)
- The NHL cancels all games through 14 December, plus the 2013 NHL All-Star Game scheduled for 27 January in Columbus, Ohio, due to the 2012 NHL lockout. (The Guardian)