By Libby Ryan
Hamas leader, Khaled Meshal, returned to the Gaza Strip after more than thirty years in exile on Friday.
Meshal left the West Bank in 1967 and returned only once in 1975, according to the Washington Post.
Meshal survived an assassination attempt by Israel in 1997, said NPR.
The Hamas leader kissed the ground when he crossed the border from Egypt into his former home.
By Libby Ryan
The United Nations voted Thursday to recognize Palestine as a 'non-member observer state'.
The 193-member U.N. body voted 138 to 9, with 41 abstentions, according to the Washington Post.
The vote was met with condemnations from the United States and Israel.
The New York Times said that the new status will give Palestine more freedom to oppose Israel in international legal forums.
The leader of the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas was killed Wednesday in an air strike over the Gaza Strip.
Ahmed Said Khalil al-Jabari died in his car in Gaza City when it was hit by fire from an Israeli air strike, said the BBC.
Al-Jabari was the most senior Hamas official to be killed by Israeli fire since the invasion of Gaza four years ago, according to the New York Times.
By Libby Ryan
In India, experts say millions of people in India are infected by the mosquito-borne plague and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated a travel advisory against India because of the epidemic on Nov. 2.
Government officials in India report close to 30,000 people with dengue fever but experts say there are closer to 37 million cases per year, said the New York Times.
Sri Lanka, a country with a populations 60 times smaller than India's, reported three times as many cases of dengue fever in 2011, according to the World Health Organization.
The disease in only life threatening for close to 1 percent of those infected but symptoms of fatigue and depression can last for months in even mild cases.
Seven people were killed and more than 100 were injured in a suicide bombing in Nigerian church.
An SUV filled with explosives was driven into St. Rita's Catholic church at 9 a.m. during mass, killing at least seven people and injuring many more, said the BBC.
The bombing sparked retaliation from youth in the area and young people armed with machetes killed two people, according to USA Today.
The church is located in Northern Nigeria and Nigeria is predominantly Christian in the south and Muslim in the north.
Hurricane Sandy is on course to hit much of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast coast, said authorities Friday.
The hurricane is a Category 1 hurricane with 80 mph winds, according to the Washington Post.
The National Hurricane Center predicts the storm will move towards the Delaware Bay with the possibility of hitting areas from Cape Hatteras to eastern Long Island.
There is a possibility of Metropolitan Transportation Authority shutting down public transportation in New York City,the New York Times said Friday afternoon.
Hurricane Sandy has killed 21 people in Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba as well as caused severe mudslides and flooding.
Taliban gunmen shot 14-year-old Pakistani feminist blogger Tuesday for her campaign for children's rights.
Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck by masked Taliban gunmen on her way home from school in response to her campaign for education rights in Pakistan, said the New York Times.
Two other girls were injured in the attack and doctors said Yousafzai was in critical condition after surgery.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, a Taliban spokesperson called the shooting an example for others in the future who speak out against the Taliban, said the BBC.
The militant group said they targeted Yousafzai because she "promoted secularism" and it is an "obscenity".
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was reelected Sunday for another six-year term.
Chavez won with a 54 percent majority, defeating Henrique Capriles in the election and continuing his time in office with a fourth term.
Chavez won more than 7.4 million votes while Capriles won 6.1 million, according to the Washington Post. The president of the Venezuelan electoral college, Tibisay Lucena, said 80 percent of registered voters in the country voted in the election.
The socialist leader said he would focus on lowering crime and fixing government bureaucracy, while continuing his work on housing, education and health initiatives, said CNN.
By Libby Ryan
Turkey fired across Syrian border Wednesday in response to shelling from Syria struck a Turkish border town.
Turkish artillery fired on Syria in retaliation to the death of five civilians in a Turkish border town. The conflict increased tension between the two countries and Turkey called for an emergency NATO meeting.
NATO's National Council met in Brussels Wednesday to discuss the incident. The council strongly condemned Syria's actions, calling the cross border firing a violation of international law, according to the Washington Post.
The artillery that was fired is the first time Turkey has fired into Syria during the turmoil in the past 18 months, said the BBC.
A powerful tropical storm hit Japan Monday, injuring dozens.
Authorities urged residents in southern and western Japan to stay indoors as a tycoon hit the area Monday, said USA Today.
Evacuations were issued for more than 50,000 people due to torrential rain and strong winds. Winds up to 78 miles per hour were reported in central Japan.
One fatality was reported, according to the Washington Post.
