Oxford, Great Britain
“Binge-watch,” “twerk” and “schmeat” — three of the seven runner-ups for Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year. Announced on Mon, Nov. 18, the 2013 word of the year is: “selfie.” Popularized by contributions from Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian and Pope Francis (credited with the first “papal selfie”), “selfie” rocketed by 17,000 percent in usage over the past 12 months, The Guardian reports.
Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
State Sen. Creigh Deeds’s condition has improved to “fair,” hours after Deeds was stabbed in the head and upper torso. The stabbing occurred on Nov. 19 in Deeds’s home, where authorities found his 24-year-old son, Gus, lying dead with a gunshot wound. According to Virginia State Police, the injured senator walked from his home to Route 42, where he was spotted by a cousin and airlifted to the University of Virginia Hospital shortly thereafter. Fox News reports that national Democratic sources have made allegations that, “Gus Deeds stabbed his father before shooting himself.” As of Nov. 19, police are not searching for a suspect.
Port-au-Prince, Haiti — Emerging from the nation’s capital, protests demanding President Michel Martelly’s resignation have swept Haiti. “We are taking the streets to demand Martelly’s departure,” said Volcy Assad, spokesman for the leftist Fanmi Lavalas party. According to the BBC, the brunt of public anger stems from the rising cost of living and high levels of government corruption. Martelly has refused to step down, appealing for national unity instead.
Beirut, Lebanon
After a double suicide bomb outside the Iranian embassy in Lebanon, 23 lay dead and at least 147 have been injured, according to CNN. Sunni jihadist group Abdullah Azzam Brigades has claimed responsibility for the attack, motivated in part by Iran’s continued support for Lebanese Hezbollah, a Shia militant group. The blasts have been tied to the Syrian civil war, during which Hezbollah has allegedly sent fighters to support Syrian government forces.
