• published: 25 Jan 2014
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A look back at the world's top news stories from September to December in 2013. Full Story: SEPTEMBER: Salvage teams began hauling the capsized Costa Concordia cruise ship upright on the Italian island of Giglio September 16. Domnica Cemortan who was on the bridge of the Costa Concordia with captain Francesco Schettino when the cruiseliner hit a reef and capsized, admitted she had had an affair with him. Gunmen stormed a shopping mall in Nairobi September 21, killing at least 20 people in what Kenya says could be a terrorist attack, sending scores fleeing in search of safety. Somalia's al Shabaab Islamist group said on September 24 its militants were still holed up in a Kenyan shopping mall they attacked, raising fears the death toll could be higher than 62. Kenyan security forces searched for the al Qaeda-linked attackers, believed to include Americans and a British woman who may be the widow of a suicide bomber attack in London in 2005. Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, blasted international sanctions against Iran on September 24. Speaking just hours after President Barack Obama addressed the annual gathering of world leaders, Rouhani said he was prepared to engage in nuclear talks with the United States. Rouhani met with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on September 26 at the headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the General Assembly. Syria and other regional issues were discussed, including chemical and nuclear weapons, humanitarian efforts, human rights and climate change. OCTOBER: The leader of Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party, Nikolaos Michaloliakos, appeared before an investigating magistrate on October 2. He faced charges of founding and belonging to a criminal organization, after being arrested following the killing of an anti-fascist rapper. President Barack Obama on October 1 blamed Republicans for an "ideological crusade" aimed at his healthcare program. New York's iconic Statue of Liberty was closed on October 1 after the government partially shut down for the first time in 17 years. A standoff between Obama and congressional Republicans over healthcare reforms closed many government offices, museums and national parks. Choppy seas prevented divers on October 5 from recovering more bodies of migrants who died in a shipwreck off Sicily that has killed an estimated 300. Italy's coast guard on October 7 said officers had intercepted yet another migrant vessel off Sicily. NOVEMBER: The strongest typhoon in the world this year and possibly the most powerful ever to hit land smashed into the Philippines on November 8, forcing more than a million people to flee. A category-5 super typhoon, Haiyan, scoured the northern tip of Cebu Province and headed northwest towards Boracay Island, after lashing the central islands of Leyte and Samar. Survivors have begun rebuilding destroyed homes and emergency supplies started flowing in on November 16, as the United Nations estimated the number of homeless as nearly two million. A handful of forensic experts raced against time to identify bodies at a mass grave in Tacloban on November 18. The search for bodies was almost complete on November 24 after the collapse of a supermarket in Latvian capital Riga. Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis explained that he had a "moral and political responsibility" to resign after the collapse of the roof that killed 54 people. Iran and six world powers reached a breakthrough deal early on November 24 to curb Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for limited sanctions relief. The agreement between Iran and the , France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia was signed after more than four days of negotiations in Geneva. New clashes broke out in Kiev on November 25 between pro-EU demonstrators and Ukrainian riot police, hours after President Viktor Yanukovich acted to defuse the street protests. Jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko declared an "unlimited hunger strike". Yanukovich said on national television that a decision to suspend moves towards a trade pact with the European Union had been difficult and vowed to bring "European standards" to the country. The Italian senate on November 27 expelled Berlusconi from parliament following his conviction for tax fraud, in what Berlusconi called a day of mourning for Italian democracy. DECEMBER: Thailand's anti-government protesters marched from various parts of the capital to the Government House on December 9 to bring down Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her administration. South African President Jacob Zuma said Nelson Mandela passed away peacefully on December 5 at his Johannesburg home, and he will be accorded a state funeral. ... For more news and videos visit ☛ Follow us on Twitter ☛   Add us on Facebook ☛