Democratic Republic of Congo

The army, with support from UN peacekeeping forces, carried out a series of operations against the Ugandan-backed Patriotic Resistance Front militia in Ituri province. The UN estimated that the number of militia in Ituri was around 1,000, down from 5,000 six months before (AP, Reuters).

Kenya

Late in the month a new constitution was defeated in a referendum. Shortly thereafter, President Mwai Kibaki dismissed his entire Cabinet.

Iraq

Early in the month, about 3,000 US and 550 Iraqi troops launched Operation Steel Curtain against insurgent-held towns near the Syrian border in Anbar province (CNN.com).

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2005

Egypt, politics

Parliamentary elections were held in three rounds from early November to early December. Election dates were 9, 15, 20 and 26 November and 1 and 7 December. The ruling National Democratic Party won 311 of 432 allocated seats in the 454-seat People's Assembly (12 seats were unallocated due to irregularities and 10 seats were appointed by the President). The banned Muslim Brotherhood fielded its candidates as independents and managed to win 88 seats. There were numerous instances of police and government supporters hindering opposition supporters from voting, and of violent clashes between the opposing sides. Turnout was 26.2% (AP, www.rulers.org, IFES).

1-2 NOVEMBER 2005

Tanzania

There were clashes in Zanzibar between police and supporters of the political opposition after a local election in which the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi defeated the Civic United Front. The CUF claimed that electoral fraud had denied them victory (AP).

2 NOVEMBER 2005

Iraq

At least 20 people were killed by a suicide vehicle bombing in Musayyib (CNN.com).

6 NOVEMBER 2005

Azerbaijan

In parliamentary elections, the ruling New Azerbaijan Party won 58 of 119 contested seats, the Azadlig opposition bloc won six, and independents won 42. Turnout was 42.2% (www.rulers.org).

Somalia

There was an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi in Mogadishu (AP).

7 NOVEMBER 2005

Chile

Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori was arrested in Santiago upon his arrival from Japan. He is wanted in Peru on charges related to his presidency (AP).

9 NOVEMBER 2005

Indonesia

Azahari Husin, believed to be the bomb expert for the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network, was killed after being cornered by security forces at a hideout in eastern Java (CNN.com).

Jordan

There were three suicide bomb attacks in Amman at three hotels. At least 57 people were killed at the Radisson SAS and the Grand Hyatt. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s terrorist group took responsibility for the attacks. In the following days there were anti-Zarqawi demonstrations in Amman (CNN.com).

On 21 September 2006 Sajida al-Rishawi and six others were sentenced to death for their involvement in the attacks (Reuters).

11 NOVEMBER 2005

Diplomatic affairs

The UN Security Council gave peacekeepers in Liberia the authority to arrest former Liberian president Charles Taylor and send him to Sierra Leone for trial should he return to Liberia. Taylor, in exile in Nigeria, is wanted for war crimes in connection with his support for rebels who committed atrocities in Sierra Leone (CNN.com).

14 NOVEMBER 2005

Uganda

Opposition politician Kizza Besigye was arrested in Kampala, accused by the government of treason, of “plotting to overthrow the government of Uganda by force of arms”. His arrest was accompanied by some rioting in Kampala by his supporters (AP).

Western Hemisphere, diplomatic affairs

Venezuela and Mexico withdrew their ambassadors from each other’s countries after a verbal dispute concerning free trade in the region (AP).

15 NOVEMBER 2005

Pakistan

A car bomb in central Karachi killed at least three people (CNN.com).

16 NOVEMBER 2005

Italy

The Senate approved a major overhaul of the constitution, giving the Prime Minister more power but also devolving authority over health, education and policing to the country’s 20 regions (Reuters).

17 NOVEMBER 2005

Sri Lanka, politics

In a presidential election, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse defeated former prime minister Ranil Wickremesigne. Rajapakse received 50.3% of the vote versus 48.4% for Wickremesigne; turnout was 73.7% (www.rulers.org). Rajapakse has taken a relatively hard line with the LTTE rebels.

United States, military affairs

There was a successful sea-based ABM test near Hawaii. The cruiser Lake Erie fired an interceptor missile and destroyed a warhead as it separated from its booster rocket about 160 kilometers above the Pacific. Significant was the fact that this was the first sea-based test against a multiple-stage ballistic missile (AP).

18 NOVEMBER 2005

Iraq

Scores of people were killed when suicide bombers attacked two Shiite Muslim mosques in Khanaqin (CNN.com).

19 NOVEMBER 2005

Iraq

There were three suicide bombings in or near Baghdad, killing around 40 people (CNN.com).

20-21 NOVEMBER 2005

Israel, politics

On the 20th, Labor withdrew from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government. On the 21st Sharon announced he was leaving the Likud party and forming a new party. He said he wanted to "lay the foundations for a peace settlement in which the state's permanent borders will be set with the terrorist organizations being dismantled. This is not a new plan. I'm talking about the road map." In the following days the new party, named Kadima ("forward") said it sought to give up some of the "land of Israel" in order to maintain Israel as a democratic and Jewish state. It favored the creation of a peaceful Palestinian state alongside Israel, but that Israel would keep control of all Jerusalem and "major settlement blocks" in the West Bank.

Both Likud and Labor had said they were in favor of early elections (CNN.com).

21 NOVEMBER 2005

Mexico

The government announced it had arrested Ricardo Garcia Urquiza in Mexico City earlier in the month and said this was a major blow to the Juarez drug cartel (Reuters).

24 NOVEMBER 2005

Iraq

A suicide car bomb attack on a hospital in Mahmoudiya killed 30 people. Another car bomb attack in Hillah killed 11 people (CNN.com).

25 NOVEMBER 2005

Italy

Italy's three main labor unions called a general strike to protest the government's 2006 budget, causing some disruption of government activities (Reuters).

26 NOVEMBER 2005

Zimbabwe, politics

Elections were held for the new 66-seat Senate. President Robert Mugabe had abolished the Senate in 1990 but recreated it earlier this year. Mugabe's ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) won 43 of the 50 elected seats, while the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) won seven. The MDC was divided over whether to participate in the election. On 12 October MDC leaders voted by a slim majority to participate, but MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai called for a boycott. The pro-election faction ignored Tsvangirai and fielded 26 candidates. However, most MDC supporters appear to have heeded the boycott as turnout was between 15 and 20% (AP, IFES, www.rulers.org).

Azerbaijan

A protest in Baku by about 15,000 opposition supporters was dispersed by police. The protest was over allegations of fraud in the parliamentary elections held on the 6th (Reuters).

27 NOVEMBER 2005

Gabon, politics

A presidential election was held. President Omar Bongo won 79.2% of the vote, Pierre Mamboundou won 13.6%, and Zacharie Myboto won 6.6%. Mamboundou and Myboto said the vote was rigged, but international observers did not report any fraud (Reuters).

Honduras, politics

Elections were held. In the presidential race, Manuel Zelaya of the Liberal Party defeated the National Party's Porfirio Lobo Sosa by about 50% to 46% of the vote. In parliament, the Liberal Party won 62 of 128 seats, up from 55. The National Party won 55 seats, down from 61 (www.rulers.org, IFES).

28 NOVEMBER 2005

Canada, politics

Opposition parties united to bring down Prime Minister Paul Martin's government. The no-confidence vote was 171-133 (CNN.com).

29 NOVEMBER 2005

Bangladesh

Suicide bomb attacks in Chittagong and Gazipur killed 13 people. Authorities believed the attacks were linked to the banned Islamic militant group Jamaatul Mujahedin Bangladesh (Reuters, CNN.com).

30 NOVEMBER 2005

Pakistan

Abu Hamza Rabia, operations chief of the al Qaeda terrorist network, was killed by an explosion at a home in North Waziristan. Eyewitnesses said they saw a UAV fire a missile at the house, but the government said Rabia died while working with explosives. Officials said that he was number 3 in al Qaeda, that his responsibilities included planning of terrorist acts, and that he replaced Abu Faraj al-Libbi, who was captured earlier in the year (CNN.com).

Israel, politics

Simon Peres resigned from the Labor party (CNN.com).