While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Nov 16 edition

90 arrested amid 'Black Pete' protests during annual Dutch fete

Dutch police on Saturday arrested 90 people protesting for and against the controversial "Black Pete" figure at the start of the traditional gift-giving festival of Saint Nicholas in the central city of Gouda, officials said.

"Sixty people were arrested for demonstrating in unauthorised areas, and 30 for disturbing the peace," during the children-oriented procession attended by thousands and broadcast live on national television, police spokeswoman Yvette Verboon told AFP.

"Arrests were made on both sides," Verboon said amid an increasingly acrimonious and racially-charged debate in the Netherlands.

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Accused war criminal Vojislav Seselj draws thousands at Serbia rally

Some 10,000 supporters of the Serb ultranationalist Vojislav Seselj, released by a UN war crimes court for cancer therapy, joined him Saturday at a rally in protest at his country's shift towards Europe.

The gathering was seen as a test of Seselj's influence at home, where he returned this week after almost 12 years in detention at the court in The Hague, yet to issue a verdict in his trial for crimes during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

"Serbia has to decide should it go towards the East (Russia) or towards the West, where all its enemies are," the 60-year-old firebrand told a euphoric crowd in downtown Belgrade.

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Six dead in French storms

Storms in southern France have left six dead, authorities said Saturday, including a mother and her two small sons after their car was swept away in flooding.

The car, carrying a couple and their two sons aged four and one, lodged on a bridge submerged by torrential rains during the night in the Gard department of southern France.

Witnesses and rescue workers managed to help the father out but they could only watch as the car was swept away.

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Tennis: Djokovic unhappy with taunts during semi win

Novak Djokovic took a swipe at fans at the ATP Tour Finals after claiming he was distracted by comments from the crowd during his semi-final win against Kei Nishikori on Saturday.

Asked why he had sarcastically clapped his racquet when the crowd at London's O2 Arena cheered after he was broken by Nishikori early in the second set of his 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 victory, Djokovic claimed he had been taunted by some individuals in the sold-out 17,500 stadium.

The world No. 1 gave only a cursory wave to the fans at the end of the match and broke the tennis custom of signing his name on a television camera, instead marking the screen with only a dot.

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Football: Rooney scores on 100th appearance to spark England win

Wayne Rooney won his 100th England cap and scored a penalty to lead his team to a 3-1 win over Slovenia in a Euro 2016 Group E qualifier at Wembley on Saturday that only came to life after halftime.

The England skipper scored with a thunderous spot kick after 59 minutes having been fouled by Slovenia captain Bostjan Cesar as he moved level with Jimmy Greaves as his country's joint-third highest scorer on 44 goals.

Rooney's equaliser came two minutes after Slovenia took the lead when Milivoje Novakovic whipped in a free-kick and Jordan Henderson sent a header flying past Joe Hart for an own goal.

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