Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy was elected the very first permanent president of the European Union. He will assume the post on December 1, 2009 as mandated by the European Union Treaty of Lisbon.

One of Iraq’s Vice Presidents, Tariq Hashimi, vetoes a recently approved elections law putting a possible problem for the national elections to push through early next year. This will also put on hold the plans of the United States to withdraw its troops from the middle east country.

Democratic West Virginia Senator Robert C. Byrd became the longest serving member of the congress. He served uninterruptedly for 20, 744 days or 56 years and 320 days as of November 18, 2009.

Kosovo held its first elections since declaring itself as an independent nation. Kosovo broke away from Serbia last February 2008. Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo as independent. The polls were generally peaceful.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and four other Guantanamo detainees accused in the conspiracy will be tried in a civilian federal court in New York, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Friday.

Hewlett Packard (HPQ) announced its acquisition of networking gear outfit 3Com (COMS) for $2.7 billion or $7.90 per share.

German national football team goalkeeper and probable World Cup 2010 starter Robert Enke was found dead. He was struck and killed by a train in Neustadt am Rubenburge close to a level crossing near his home on Tuesday. Initial investigation results show that it was a suicide.

Heavy rains in El Salvador triggered flooding and mudslides that left more than 100 people dead and dozens missing across the Central American nation.

After a long and awful debate, the US House of Representatives on Saturday night passed a sweeping healthcare bill by a vote of 220-215.

Marissa Mayer, Google’s Vice President of Search Product and User Experience has been named as one of Glamour Magazine’s Woman of the Year for 2009.

Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao was lined up with other boxing greats like Joe Louis, Max Schmeling, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Frazier, and Muhammad Ali as he appears on the cover of Time Magazine Asia.