Template:In the news

• Rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard (pictured right) draws thousands of mourners at his funeral in the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, New York City. Investigation continues into the cause of his death.
• The U.S Senate begins investigations into corruption charges of the United Nations Oil for Food program. Among the charges is that money from the program was diverted and used to fund suicide bomber attacks in Israel.
• The European Parliament approves the new make-up of the European Commission, headed by José Durão Barroso.
• The New Zealand Parliament passes a controversial bill on the foreshore and seabed ownership dispute, which has caused considerable tension between Maori and non-Maori.
• Kmart and Sears announce their intention to merge, creating Sears Holdings, the third-largest retailer in the United States.
• Margaret Hassan, head of the Iraq division of the humanitarian relief organisation CARE International is believed to have been killed by her captors after being kidnapped in Iraq on October 19.