Portal:Current events/2009 November 20
November 20, 2009 (Friday)
- The Large Hadron Collider, the largest atom collider in the world, is restarted after a fourteen-month delay for repairs. (The Daily Telegraph) (BBC) (Reuters)
- Three political parties file a motion of no confidence against French Polynesian President Oscar Temaru. (Tahitipresse)
- The United States Senate clears Senator Roland Burris of legal wrongdoing in relation to his appointment to the Senate. (WLS Chicago)
- At least 100 people are killed and around 50,000 displaced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with some fleeing to the Republic of the Congo, in an ethnic conflict over fishing rights. (BBC) (Times LIVE) (People's Daily)
- Officials from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, China and the United States express "regret" at Iran's refusal to accept nuclear proposals. (Reuters)
- 200 European football matches are under investigation in a match-fixing inquiry, at least three from the UEFA Champions League and 12 from the UEFA Europa League as Europe's biggest ever match-fixing scandal is revealed. (BBC) (IOL) (Bangkok Post)
- FIFA turns down the Football Association of Ireland's request for a rematch between France and Republic of Ireland, after a controversial handball decided the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification playoff between the two countries. (RTÉ) (Sky News) (CNN)
- The Iraq Football Association is suspended by FIFA following government interference. (FIFA)
- 35 people are injured and fire bombs are thrown after Egyptian riot police clash with protesters at a demonstration outside the Algerian embassy in Cairo, following Egypt's defeat in a World Cup qualifying playoff match. (BBC) (Ennahar)
- Floods in Great Britain and Ireland:
- The Irish Defence Forces are deployed to assist civil authorities after widespread flooding hits the west and south of Ireland after the heaviest rainfall in over thirty years falls in one night. The worst affected areas are Cork and Galway, where there is widespread disruption to public transport and services and several major roads are closed. Lectures at University College Cork are cancelled as the university is submerged. (RTÉ) (The Irish Times) (Ireland Online)
- Cumbria, England: A high volume of people, including one policeman, are declared missing, more than 200 people are rescued in Cockermouth and a bridge collapses in Workington during floods. The body of a policeman is later recovered. (BBC)
- Somalia announces it is to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, leaving the United States the only country not to ratify it. (BBC)
- Colombia accuses Venezuelan troops of blowing up two border bridges between the two countries. (Colombia Reports) (El Universal) (Al Jazeera)
- At least five people are killed, including the gunman, and a further eight injured in a spree shooting in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. (Saipan Tribune) (BBC) (AP)
- MS Oasis of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship, is officially unveiled at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, live on an American morning television show. (The Independent)
- Brenda, a transsexual named in a sex scandal involving former Lazio governor Piero Marrazzo, is found burned alive following a fire at her Rome flat. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph) (Reuters)
- Two fingers and a tooth belonging to astronomer Galileo Galilei are located more than 100 years after their disappearance. (BBC)