November 2012 (1) infographic
Graphic shows world news and current affairs events scheduled during November 2012.
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WORLD AGENDA

November 2012 (1)

By Jordi Bou

November 1, 2012 - November 30, 2012 - Events include the U.S. presidential election, China’s leadership change, and snap elections in the Spanish autonomous region of Catalonia. Yasser Arafat’s body will be exhumed as part of an investigation into his death, a U.S. soldier appears in court over the killing of 16 Afghans in a shooting rampage, and Britain’s Leveson inquiry into media ethics reports its findings. Sierra Leone goes to the polls, and the premiere of Peter Jackson’s movie The Hobbit takes place in New Zealand.

November 5, Seattle: A preliminary court hearing for a U.S. soldier charged with killing 16 Afghans in a shooting rampage which became known as the Kandahar Massacre takes place. Robert Bales is accused of opening fire in two villages on March 11.

November 6, United States: Americans go to the polls with Democrat President Barack Obama holding a wafer-thin lead over main challenger Mitt Romney. Swing states include the strongly Republican Colorado, which Obama won in the 2008 election, and the notorious battleground of Florida.

November 8, Beijing: China’s once-in-a-decade leadership change takes place amid economic malaise and deepening unrest. Vice President Xi Jinping takes over from Hu Jintao as president and Li Keqiang replaces Wen Jiabao as premier.

November 9-10, Beverly Hills: Judy Garland’s blue and white pinafore dress from the classic film The Wizard of Oz is forecast to fetch more than $500,000 at Julien’s Auctions. Other similarly iconic Hollywood costumes have fetched many times the pre-sale expectations in recent years.

November 16, Brisbane: Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson begins a series of motivational talks around Australia. The tour was to have included New Zealand but the 46-year-old’s visa was revoked because of his 1992 conviction for rape.

November 17, Freetown: Sierra Leone goes to the polls in an election seen as a barometer of progress a decade after its civil war ended. The campaign has been mostly peaceful in a country which remains one of the poorest in the world.

November 25, Barcelona: Catalonia holds an election that could potentially open the way for Spain’s most economically important region to declare independence. Catalan president Artur Mas, whose party looks set to increase its seats in the regional parliament, has pledged to call a referendum despite Madrid’s threat to declare it illegal.

November 26, West Bank: Prosecutors investigating the 2004 death of Yasser Arafat arrive in Ramallah to exhume his body. A murder inquiry was launched in August after the radioactive material polonium-210 was found on the former Palestinian leader’s personal effects.

November 28, Wellington: The premiere of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit sees the New Zealand capital renamed Middle Earth after the film’s fictional setting. The adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s novel is to be released in December, the first in a trilogy.

November 30, London: Police investigating the alleged widespread sexual abuse of girls over four decades, including two rapes, by the late Sir Jimmy Savile are expected to report their findings. The media personality, knighted for his charity work, died a year ago.

Early November, London: The 16-month Leveson inquiry into media ethics reports its findings following the phone hacking scandal which led to the closure of Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World newspaper. JK Rowling and Hugh Grant were among celebrities at public hearings.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 25/10/2012; STORY: Kate Edgley; PICTURES: Getty Images
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