Portal:Current events/2015 November 18

November 18, 2015 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro conflict
- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak condemns the Philippine-based Abu Sayyaf's beheading of a Malaysian man. Businessman Bernard Then and a woman were kidnapped in May from the Malaysia-island Sabah; the woman was released last week. Philippine Colonel Restituto Padilla said the killing followed a "failure of the negotiations about money." (ABC), (BBC), (AFP via Yahoo), (The International Business Times)
November 2015 Paris attacks
- A raid by French police in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis kills at least two terror suspects, including a female suicide bomber, with eight others arrested. (CNN), (France 24)^{[permanent dead link]}, (AP), (NBC News)
- Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the ringleader of the Paris terrorist attacks, is killed during the raid. (The Independent), (CNN)
- Three ISIS supporters stab a 56-year-old French Jew and history teacher in Marseille, France. The attackers are interrupted and flee. The teacher's wounds are not life-threatening. (The International Business Times), (Time)
Boko Haram insurgency
- A twin-suicide bombing of a mobile phone market in the northern Nigerian city of Kano kills at least fifteen people. (BBC)
- Boko Haram was the world's deadliest terrorist organisation in 2014, being responsible for 6,664 deaths as compared to 6,073 for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
  - The Russian Air Force destroys around 500 fuel tanker vehicles used by ISIS and other extremist groups for transporting illegal oil from Syria to Iraq. (RT)
- A local 15-day ceasefire between Syrian rebels and government forces in the Eastern Ghouta area near Damascus will be announced shortly. (Reuters)
- A gunman inside a betting shop near army barracks in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, shoots dead two Bosnian Army soldiers. The gunman, identified as Salafi extremist Enes Omeragić, later commits suicide after police surround his house. (Reuters)
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant says that it has killed a Chinese hostage and a Norwegian hostage. (AP via ABC News)
- Both the FBI and New York City police say they are aware of a newly released Islamic State video suggesting America's most populous city is a potential target of attacks. The agencies say that there are no specific threats, they will investigate, and they will remain at a heightened state of vigilance. (Reuters)
- The United States warns travelers in Italy that St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the La Scala opera house in Milan, and the Milan Cathedral, as well as "general venues" like churches, synagogues, restaurants, theaters and hotels, have been identified as "potential targets" for terrorist attacks. The message added the Italian authorities are aware of these threats. (AP)

Art and culture

Ta-Nehisi Coates wins the National Book Award’s top prize for nonfiction for his bestselling depiction of America’s race problem, Between the World and Me. Adam Johnson’s Fortune Smiles took home the National Book Award for fiction. (The Guardian)

Business and economy

An auction for the acquisition of chipmaker PMC-Sierra continues, with a new bid by Microsemi Corp., topping the previous bid from Skyworks Solutions. The latest bid values PMC at $2.3 billion. (Reuters)
The Obama Administration through the U.S. Treasury Department will clamp down further on corporate income tax-avoiding inversion deals by U.S. companies with foreign rivals. There is a pending inversion deal between U.S. drug maker Pfizer Inc. and smaller Irish competitor Allergan, Plc. (Reuters)
Airport workers at seven of the busiest U.S. hubs plan to strike tonight and Thursday over wages and what they allege are threats against unionizing. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) says some 2,000 plane cleaners, baggage handlers, and other workers will strike at New York City's Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, as well as Newark Liberty, Chicago O'Hare, Boston, Philadelphia, and Fort Lauderdale. (Reuters), (The Philly Voice)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season
- Some 25,000 households in Ireland lose power as a result of Storm Barney. (The Independent Ireland)
2015–16 Australian bushfire season
- Authorities confirm that bushfires have killed four people, including three German backpackers, in southern Western Australia near the town of Esperance. (ABC News Australia)
An explosion at a steelworks plant in Cardiff, South Wales, leaves two people dead and five injured. (BBC)

International relations

APEC Philippines 2015, Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- U.S. President Barack Obama calls on China to stop constructing artificial islands in the South China Sea. Obama’s comments to reporters come after a meeting with Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III. The U.S. president is in Manila for the latest Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit where the Trans-Pacific Partnership is the central topic of conversation. China attempts to keep the topic of the islands off the agenda. (The New York Times), (The Diplomat)
U.S. and Cuban officials sign an environmental accord in Havana, the first such agreement since the countries renewed diplomatic relations this summer. (UPI)

Law and crime

Sweden's terror threat level is raised to 'high' for the first time in history, as national security service Säpo says that police are hunting a suspected terrorist. (The Local)
Washington College, on the U.S. Delmarva Peninsula, closes until Sunday, November 30, as police search for an upset, potentially armed student who just returned to campus. His Pennsylvania high school is on alert. (WBAL), (The Washington Post), (NBC 10)

Politics and elections

Police in the Democratic Republic of the Congo fire teargas at students protesting increases in school fees in the capital Kinshasa. The students had started throwing stones. (ENCA)
Glen Casada, a top Republican Tennessee lawmaker who is the chair of the state’s House Republican Caucus, suggests activating the Tennessee National Guard to 'round up' Syrian refugees and remove them from the southeastern state, saying “Tennessee is a sovereign state, if the federal government is forsaking the obligation to protect our citizens, we need to act". (The Tennessean)

Sports

2015 FIFA corruption case
- Sergio Jadue resigns as the head of the Football Federation of Chile and travels to the United States to speak with the Federal Bureau of Investigation about corruption at FIFA. (AAP via Yahoo! News)