in html there is no element <x>...</x>.
Firefox may be able to recognize this, but not IE.
Instead, try using <span class="x"></span>:
for the css:
.date {
float: left;
width: 70px;
padding: 1px;
background: #990000;
border: 1px solid #990000;
text-align: center;
font-size: 12px;
color: #fff;
line-height: 16px;
font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;
margin: 0 15px 15px 0;
padding: 0 0 0 0;
}
.date .x {
display: block;
padding: 1px;
background-color: #fff;
font-size: 14px;
font-weight: bold;
color: #CC0000;
}
.date b {
display: block;
padding: 5px;
background: #fff;
font-size: 20px;
font-weight: bold;
color: #000;
}
to show the date:
<p class="date">2009<br>
<span class="x">Nov</span><b>12</b></p>
<h2>Sausages and Bacon Declared New Health Foods</h2>
<p></p><p>Research butchers in Denmark have found that processed pork products have excellent health... <a href="newsdetail.php?news_id=7">More</a>
</p>
<br>