November 5, 2008 (Wednesday)
- California Proposition 8, a referendum that amended the State Constitution, passes and defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, thus ending same-sex marriage in California. (Los Angeles Times)
- In a continuation of the Kivu conflict, General Nkunda's forces capture Kiwanja, near Rutshuru in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after a two-day battle with the pro-government militias. (BBC News)
- India's Gagan Narang wins a gold medal in the men's 10 metre air rifle event at the 2008 ISSF World Cup Final, breaking the world record. (IBNLive.com)
- In his State of the Nation address, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announces a proposal to extend the presidential term from four years to six. (The New York Times)
- President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev announces that his country will place short-range conventional warhead missiles in Kaliningrad in order to counter United States missile defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic, however, he expressed hope that Russia–United States relations would be mended with the presidency of Barack Obama. (CBC)