December 1, 2014 Edition

Hundreds of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters clashed with police early Monday, December 1, in a fresh escalation of tensions in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. Officers fired pepper spray and used batons to beat back umbrella-wielding students trying to surround the government headquarters. Police said they made 40 arrests overnight. The protests have been ongoing in Hong Kong for more than two months, with demonstrators demanding free leadership elections for the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

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Ferguson Mayor James Knowles vowed to rebuild the city, following mass riots sparked by a grand jury decision on the shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer. Businesses were set ablaze in the St Louis suburb after a grand jury on November 24 said white police officer Darren Wilson would face no criminal case in the August 9 shooting of black teenager Michael Brown. The decision sparked days of sporadic violence in Ferguson, and prompted Wilson to resign from the police department. Knowles also unveiled plans to increase the racial mix of the police department, which is overwhelmingly white, even though Ferguson has a predominantly black population.

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Egypt’s jailed ex-president Hosni Mubarak could be released early after serving two-thirds of a corruption sentence and seeing murder charges dropped. His lawyer said on Sunday that Mubarak “has already served two-thirds of his sentence” when time held in preliminary detention since his 2011 arrest is taken into account. On Saturday, an Egyptian court dismissed the murder charge against Mubarak over the deaths of protesters during the country’s 2011 uprising. He was also acquitted of a corruption charge but was expected to stay in jail on a three-year sentence in a separate graft case. About 1,000 people took to a central Cairo square to denounce the court ruling.

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Pope Francis stood alongside a top Islamic cleric at Istanbul’s Blue Mosque on Saturday, November 29, as he visited the former capital of the Christian Byzantine world for the first time. His visit is seen as a crucial test of Francis’s ability to build bridges between faiths amid the rampage by Islamic extremists and concerns over the persecution of Christian minorities in the Middle East. Visiting the Blue Mosque, Francis paused for two minutes and clasped his hands in reflection. A Vatican official described the gesture as a “beautiful moment of inter-religious dialogue.” On Friday, the Pope met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and called for dialogue between faiths to end the Islamist extremism plaguing the Middle East.

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Swiss voters on Sunday, November 30, flatly rejected a call for dramatic immigration cuts in the name of saving the environment, along with bids to scrap tax breaks for rich foreigners and hike the country’s gold reserves. Initial results nationwide showed 73% of voters rejecting the Ecopop initiative, which called for slashing immigration to reduce urban pressure on the country. According to Ecopop, immigration is adding 1.1-1.4% annually to the Swiss population. The campaign wanted to cap immigration’s contribution to population growth at 0.2%. But critics slammed the initiative as xenophobic and a threat to Switzerland’s economy which depends heavily on immigrant labor.

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A US lawmaker’s communications director drew social media ire following her Facebook rant about President Barack Obama’s daughters. Elizabeth Lauten, spokeswoman for Republican Congressman Stephen Fincher of Tennessee, wrote a scathing post scolding Malia and Sasha Obama, 16 and 13, for looking bored while attending a public event with their father on Wednesday. In the now-deleted post, Lauten tells the girls to “try showing a little class. At least respect the part you play.” She also criticized the girls’ skirts, writing: “Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar.” The Obama daughters stood beside their father – looking vaguely bored –  as he issued the annual Thanksgiving turkey “pardon.” While the sisters’ expressions sparked amused comment, Lauten’s remarks drew netizens’ calls for her to be fired.

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Colleges across the United States are confronting the problem of how to stem the rising tide of campus sexual assaults. The issue again made headlines earlier this month when Rolling Stone magazine detailed graphic allegations of assault and gang rape at fraternity parties – and the administration’s troubling lack of action – at the prestigious University of Virginia. At American University, students are taking action, starting workshops and groups to educate fellow students about consent and sexual violence prevention. In September, the White House launched a national campaign calling on each student to “be part of the solution.” Across the United States, an estimated one college student in five is raped, and only 12% of these attacks are reported.

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The top US shopping “holiday” – Black Friday – saw a surge this year in online sales with smaller crowds in stores. Businesses usually offer deep discounts starting early Friday morning, prompting massive crowds that have led to numerous injuries and a number of deaths in the past. But many major retailers, including discount store Walmart, also emphasized online shopping as a way to get consumers buying faster. An early report from commercial analyst ChannelAdvisor Corp showed up to a 22% increase in Black Friday online shopping compared to last year. An IBM report said majority of online sales came from mobile devices. While there were shorter lines and fewer shoppers in US malls this year, several people were injured and three arrested after a shopping fight at a department store in southern California.

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Coins featuring the face of Alexander the Great were found at the largest tomb ever unearthed in Greece. The enormous tomb at Amphipolis in northern Greece dates back to the fourth century BC and contains near-intact sculptures and intricate mosaics. Earlier this month, archaeologists discovered a skeleton inside the structure, widely believed to be that of a high-ranking individual, possibly a general. The tomb was repeatedly plundered before being sealed off but archaeologists still found several coins around the tomb, including some showing the face of Alexander the Great and some dating back to the third and second century BC.

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The Manila leg of the 2014 Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League tournament closed with a victory for the Manila Mavericks, who outlasted the Singapore Slammers, 27-19, on Sunday evening, November 30. Serena Williams made her debut for the Slammers on the final day of the Manila leg and split the two matches she played in. Her women’s singles set win over Kirsten Flipkens was the only win in day three for the Slammers, while the Mavericks are 1-2 after three games. The Mavericks will have to go on with the rest of the competition without Andy Murray, who says he won’t play in the rest of the remaining legs. Williams, meanwhile, will be in action for the Singapore leg matches.

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