Vladimir Putin announces that
Belarus will be fully integrated into Russia, with each of Belarus's six provinces to become a separate
republic within the Russian
Federation.
The United States
Food and Drug Administration orders a recall of all soft tissues processed since October 3 by
CryoLife, the largest supplier of
implant tissue in the United States, after 27 cases of serious infection, including one death in November.
Extreme weather: The peak of a
100-year flood of the
Vltava River surges through the
Czech Republic into the
Elbe in Germany. In
Plzeň the city center is flooded, and breweries shut down. In
České Budějovice, most of the old town is under more than a foot of water, and the Czech
Budweiser breweries are shut down. More than 200,000 Czechs are forced to leave their homes. Damages are estimated at over $600 million. In
Dresden, the
Zwinger Palace courtyard and basement are flooded, damaging paintings. The
Semper Opera basement is flooded, closing it for weeks. More than 3,000 hospital patients are evacuated. Europe-wide death toll is now 99.