Israeli forces detained six Palestinians and stormed one village across the West Bank before daybreak Nov. 14. Israeli sources said that the troops arrested six "wanted" Palestinians from al-Ubeidieh in the Bethlehem governorate, from Hizma and Abu Dis in the central region and the village of Beit Ur near Ramallah. The village of Tuqu south of Bethlehem was also raided, with no detentions reported. The detainees were taken to an unknown location for questioning. (Ma'an News Agency, Nov. 14)

Israel went back on a pledge to ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip Nov. 13, turning away critical UN deliveries of fuel and food at the borders for the seventh consecutive day. Gaza was plunged into darkness as the territory's only power plant shut down for lack of fuel. Just before dark, Palestinans went into the streets in a frantic search for candles and bread. As night fell, sirens sounded across the Gaza Strip in protest of the closure.

Between Nov. 13 and 14, more than 30 offices of bogus financial companies were attacked by protesters across Colombia in continuing unrest over pyramid scams. One town official was killed as protesters clashed with police in Buesaco, Nariño department. The official was apparently mistaken for an employee of the pseudo-firm Easy Money, Fast Cash (DRFE). (Cronica de Hoy, Mexico, Nov. 14)

British naval forces killed two Somali pirates in a dhow who they said were attempting to hijack a Danish cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, the Defense Ministry in London said on Nov. 12. British sailors found a third man, thought to be a Yemeni, dead on the vessel. The Royal Navy was joined by the frigate Neustrashimy (Fearless) from Russia's Baltic Sea Fleet. British and Russian helicopters were also involved in the brief battle. (Reuters, Nov. 13)

Riot police beat back some 15,000 protesters attempting to block a train carrying nuclear waste from western France to a disposal center at Gorleben in Germany Nov. 9. In Germany's largest and most violent anti-nuclear protest since 2001, activists set fire to barricades across the tracks, which police extinguished with water cannon. A caravan of some 300 tractors also blocked the tracks. Several protesters and police were injured in the confrontation. "This is a strong sign of the renaissance of the anti-nuclear movement," said Jochen Stay of the anti-nuclear group X-tausendmal quer, which organized the protests. (AFP, Nov. 10)

Miriam Makeba, the South African singer who became a world symbol of the anti-apartheid struggle, died Nov. 10 after performing at an anti-Mafia concert in southern Italy. The 76-year-old singer died after being brought to the hospital at Castelvolturno at the end of a concert in support of Roberto Saviano, an Italian journalist threatened with death by the Naples crime machine following of his exposure of the mob in his bestselling book.

Russia has asked the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for an inquiry into the findings of military observers stationed in Tskhinvali on the night of August 7-8, when South Ossetia's separatist capital was shelled by Georgian military forces. A Nov. 7 article in the New York Times described newly available accounts by three observers stationed in Tskhinvali for the OSCE, which has monitored the Georgia conflict since the 1990s.

Thousands of Colombians rioted around the country Nov. 12, demanding their money back after being defrauded in a series of pyramid schemes. In some of the nine cities where the protests erupted, police used batons and tear gas. In recent months, several phony loan companies have vanished along with millions of dollars in deposits after promising interest rates of up to 150 percent.