December 2005

South Africa's Constitutional Court declares that current marriage laws restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples are unconstitutional and must be changed within a year. Once the change is made, South Africa will be the fifth country in the world where same-sex marriages are recognized, after Canada, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium. (AP via Yahoo) The European Central Bank raises interest rates for the first time in five years, from 2.0% to 2.25%. This will affect the cost of money in the twelve Eurozone countries. (BBC) A Buddhist manuscript written on birch bark in the 1st century or 2nd century passes from a private collection to the University of Washington library, becoming part of the Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project. (uwnews.org) Muriel Degauque is identified as the Belgian suicide bomber who killed herself in Iraq on November 9, 2005. (BBC) Ray Hanna, who died on this day in Switzerland, was an air-display pilot, regarded by many as the best of the best, and was well known for flying Spitfire Mk IX MH-434. He was with the Red Arrows from 1965 to 1971, and in that time was their longest serving - and some say their most influential - leader. He and his son, Mark Hanna, started the Old Flying Machine Company The Red Arrows paid tribute to him with a flypast at his funeral.

[edit] 2 December 2005 (Friday)

About 4,000 military history enthusiasts from 23 countries gathered at Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic to re-enact the Battle of Austerlitz on the 200th anniversary of the epic battle between the First French Empire, the Austrian Empire and Imperial Russia. (BBC) (BBC) (AP via CBS) (AP via ABC) (Austerlitz2005.com) Proposed internet domain .xxx for pornography has been dropped shortly before the domain was set to receive approval. (techtree) Conflict in Iraq: 10 U.S. Marines are killed following an insurgent roadside bomb attack in Falluja. (BBC) Scientists in Gabon and the Republic of Congo discover that three species of fruit bat serve as animal reservoirs for the Ebola virus. The virus probably first spread from animal to human in 1976 by local hunters eating the bats. (Nature) (LA Times) Hurricane Epsilon strengthens from a tropical storm to become the record breaking fourteenth hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. (CNN) (Reuters via Yahoo) Kenneth Boyd becomes the 1000th person to be executed in the United States since the re-introduction of capital punishment in 1976. (BBC) Australian Van Tuong Nguyen is executed by hanging in Singapore for drug trafficking. (AP via Yahoo) An independent commission to investigate the Malaysian prisoner abuse scandal is established by Prime Minister of Malaysia Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. (The Sun Malaysia) The "Thermopolis" specimen, recently donated to the Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis, Wyoming and described in the Science article "A well-preserved Archaeopteryx specimen with theropod features", shows that the Archaeopteryx lacked a reversed toeâ€”a universal feature of birdsâ€”limiting its ability to perch in trees and implying a terrestrial lifestyle. This has been interpreted as evidence of theropod ancestry. The specimen also has a hyperextendible second toe. "Until now, the feature was thought to belong only to the species' close relatives, the deinonychosaurs." The European release of the Xbox 360.

[edit] 3 December 2005 (Saturday)

Talks on the new EU budget may not be completed under the United Kingdom's presidency, the UK's minister for Europe warns. (BBC) ROC local elections, 2005: Republic of China (Taiwan) opposition party Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) makes major gains in municipal elections, taking 14 of 23 mayor or county magistrate seats. Ruling Democratic Progressive Party takes six seats. People First Party and New Party each takes one seat, and an independent wins one seat. DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang resigns to take responsibility for his party's defeat. (AP via San Francisco Chronicle) Pakistan's information minister claims Pakistani forces have killed al-Qaeda operational commander Abu Hamza Rabia in fighting along the Afghanistan border. (BBC) An attack about 60 miles from Baghdad, involving a roadside bomb, kills 19 Iraqi soldiers. (Yahoo) Some 40,000 protest inaction on global warming in Montreal. The demonstration, held as part of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, is one of the largest environmental protests ever and is accompanied by marches worldwide, including one in hurricane-devastated New Orleans. (CTV) (Independent) Marilyn Manson marries Dita Von Teese in a lavish ceremony. The That's Life panel, by Mike Twohy, ends.

[edit] 4 December 2005 (Sunday)

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Israel launches a series of air strikes as reprisals after the Palestinians fired Qassam rockets, hitting what local officials called an Islamic Jihad charity in the Gaza Strip. (BBC) Hong Kong people marched today to oppose the political reform set out by Chief Executive Donald Tsang in favour of a timetable on the full implementation of universal suffrage in the territory. Organisers claimed 250,000 attended the march, while police put the figure at 63,000. (AP via Yahoo!News) (Link dead as of 22:46, 14 January 2007 (UTC)), (NYTimes) (registration required), (Xinhua) Exit polls indicate that Kazakhstan's incumbent leader Nursultan Nazarbayev wins the presidential election by a landslide. (Forbes) (Financial Times) (Guardian) (Xinhua) Conflict in Iraq:

Former chief of the RUC police force will head a British investigation into possible infiltration of Iraq's police force by insurgents. (BBC) Former prime minister Iyad Allawi says he survived an assassination attempt at the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf. Police say his group fled from the Shi'ite Muslim shrine under a hail of debris by a mob. (ReutersUK)(Link dead as of 22:46, 14 January 2007 (UTC)), (NYTimes) (registration required)

Former Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Fraser calls for a worldwide ban on capital punishment. (The Australian) The people of Venezuela vote in Parliamentary Elections. (BBC) A London tabloid claims that the CIA's use of Scotland's airports was part of an alleged CIA operation to catch and transfer terrorist suspects to secret prison camps in Europe. The three airports allegedly involved were Glasgow International, Glasgow Prestwick, and Edinburgh Airport. (BBC News) (Hindustan Times) (Photo of aircraft (Airliners.net))

[edit] 5 December 2005 (Monday)

The 23rd Southeast Asian Games officially closes with Philippines gaining the top medal ranking for the first time. (Manila Bulletin) An earthquake strikes the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). Many people are feared dead after an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale struck Lake Tanganyika near the town of Kalemie. (TimesOnLine) (News24) (The Independent) (BBC) Civil Partnership Act 2004: The United Kingdom begins registration of civil unions for same-sex couples. (BBC) 2005 Kashmir earthquake: Pakistan renews SOS Children's Villages role as custodian of all orphans and unaccompanied children following the earthquake. (SOS) Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A suicide bomb attack kills at least five people in Netanya, north-western Israel. The attack follows confirmation from Shaul Mofaz that Israel will resume its policy of "targeted killings". (Ynetnews) (BBC) Venezuelan parliamentary elections apparently result in Hugo ChÃ¡vez's party and allies winning all 167 seats, as opposition parties boycott the election claiming election fraud. (BBC)

[edit] 6 December 2005 (Tuesday)

The BBC World Service reports that the U.S. are moving into four new bases in Romania, one of the bases is where the CIA has been accused of carrying out extraordinary rendition. (BBC) An Iranian C-130 Hercules airplane crashes into a ten-story building in a civilian area of the Iranian capital Tehran, killing all 94 people aboard and 34 residents of the building - a total of 128+ people. (BBC) (BBC) David Cameron wins the leadership election for the United Kingdom Conservative Party. (BBC) The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) photographs what appears to be a new species in Borneo. The lemur-like carnivorous mammal is apparently a member of the viverrid family, related to the mongoose and civet. (BBC) Conflict in Iraq: Two suicide bombers kill 27 Iraqi Police at a police academy in Baghdad. (BBC) The Red Cross mulls adding a new Red Crystal symbol to ensure continuing acceptance of its work. (BBC) Deposed Iraq president Saddam Hussein has refused to attend his trial for crimes against humanity, throwing the sometimes chaotic Iraqi proceedings into further confusion. (ABC) At least 123 miners are missing following an explosion at a coal mine in China's Hebei province, the official Xinhua news agency says. (ABC) South Africa's axed deputy president Jacob Zuma, who lost his job in post-apartheid South Africa's most sensational corruption scandal, has been charged with rape. (ABC)

[edit] 7 December 2005 (Wednesday)

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin addresses the Montreal conference on climate change, and is critical of the United States's stance on the issue. Martin's allegedly "undiplomatic" commentsâ€”"there is such a thing as a global conscience, and now is the time to listen to it"â€”reportedly anger Vice President Dick Cheney. (CBC) The third President of Singapore, Chengara Veetil Devan Nair, passes away in Canada at the age of 82. (CNA) Two people are wounded in Malawi, which is facing serious food shortages, following clashes between police and people trying to buy cornmeal. (BBC) Microsoft loses a South Korean antitrust case, and is fined â‚©n32 billion (USD 32m). (Reuters) (BBC) A U.S. Federal Air Marshal fatally shoots Rigoberto Alpizar on American Airlines Flight 924 in a jetway at Miami International Airport in Florida. Alpizar, a U.S. citizen who had disembarked from an American Airlines flight from MedellÃn, Colombia, claimed to have a bomb. No explosive was found. (BBC) (CNN) Nobel Prize in Literature winner Harold Pinter accuses Britain and the United States of engaging in state terrorism in Iraq and demands the prosecution of George W. Bush and Tony Blair. (Reuters) (BBC) An Italian court rules that calling someone a "dirty negro" while committing a crime is not necessarily a hate crime. (Reuters)

[edit] 8 December 2005 (Thursday)

A six-year-old boy is killed after Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 skids off a runway at Chicago Midway International Airport. (CNN) Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:

Hamas leader Khaled Mashal declares at a rally in Damascus, Syria that its informal ceasefire with Israel, which expires at the end of the year, will not be renewed. (BBC) Two Palestinians, believed to be militants, are killed following an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip. (BBC) An Israeli soldier dies after being stabbed by a Palestinian at a Checkpoint in the West Bank. (BBC)

President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remarks that Israel should be moved to Europe and the "issue will be resolved." His remarks were widely condemned as Holocaust denial by Israeli, European and American politicians, The Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, issued a statement indicating that he "was shocked", while Saudi, Turkish and Iranian officials criticized his speech because it undermined a Mecca summit dedicated to showing Islam's moderate face.(DailyStar)(UN) (AP) (KUNA)(BBC) (Reuters) Conflict in Iraq: At least 32 people have died following an attack on a bus in Baghdad. (BBC) (Fox News) Croatian general Ante Gotovina, rated the third-most-wanted war criminal from the Yugoslav wars by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, is arrested by Spanish police in Tenerife and extradited to face the tribunal in The Hague. (BBC) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher has left hospital after being given a clean bill of health by doctors after feeling faint yesterday. (BBC) The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement adopt a Red Crystal design, allowing Israel to join as a fully-participating member. (BBC) UK Law Lords rule in A v. Secretary of State for the Home Department that evidence which may have been obtained by torture cannot be used against suspects in terrorism cases. (BBC) Lawyers for convicted murderer and Crips co-founder Stanley "Tookie" Williams meet with Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger in a final plea for clemency. (MTV) In Australia, the voluntary student unionism (VSU) legislation has passed the Senate. (ABC)

[edit] 9 December 2005 (Friday)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe comes out to theatres. Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media Viacom's Paramount Pictures agrees to buy the Dreamworks SKG company founded by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen for $1.6 billion. (NY Times) The Groups for the 2006 FIFA World Cup to be held in Germany are finalized. (BBC) Both Group C and Group E have been dubbed "groups of death". (SI), (Globe&Mail), (ChicagoTribune) The Bush administration summons Canadian ambassador Frank McKenna, and is expected to formally lodge a complaint after Prime Minister Paul Martin's criticism on December 7 of the United States at the Montreal conference on climate change. U.S.-Canada relations are already a major issue in the upcoming Canadian federal election. (CBC) Reports emerge of an alleged massacre of protesting farmers and fishermen in Dongzhou, Guangdong, China by police forces. The protesters are believed to be upset with government plans to build a new power plant in the area and infill part of the bay. The death toll, pegged at 20, is the worst act of violence by Chinese security forces since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The town is reportedly still sealed off by government forces. (IHT) (BBC) The wedding day of Lorna Ramiso Cantre and Cliff Simonne Rivero Velasco at the Transfiguration Chapel Caleruega, Philippines.

[edit] 10 December 2005 (Saturday)

The International Atomic Energy Agency and its Director General Mohamed ElBaradei receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. (BBC) The other 2005 Nobel Prizes are handed out in Stockholm to Barry J. Marshall and Robin Warren (Physiology or Medicine), Roy J. Glauber and John L. Hall and Theodor W. HÃ¤nsch (Physics), Robert H. Grubbs, Richard R. Schrock and Yves Chauvin (Chemistry), Robert J. Aumann and Thomas C. Schelling (Economics), and Harold Pinter (Literature). (CNN) At least 103 people are killed and 7 injured when Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 crashes en route to Port Harcourt from the Nigerian capital Abuja. (CNN) American comedian and actor Richard Pryor dies of cardiac arrest at the age of 65 at 7:58 AM (Pacific Time).

[edit] 11 December 2005 (Sunday)

According to some reports, Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister of Israel, put the Israeli Defense Force on high alert for possible airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. Sharon's office, however, denied this or that they had any plans to do so. (Times Online) (Y-Net) (Y-Net) Chief minister of the Indian state of Karnataka, Dharam Singh announced that the state government had accepted Jnanpith awardee U R Ananthamurthy's suggestion to rename Bangalore to its colloquial name, Bengaluru. The new name will be effective from November 1, 2006. (The Times of India) Brian Chase of Nashville, Tennessee admits putting false information about John Seigenthaler Sr. into a Wikipedia article, leading to widespread debate. (NYT via Seattle Times) (CNN) (BBC) A suicide bombing in Kandahar, Afghanistan, injures 3 people while killing the bomber. (Reuters) (Guardian) 2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire: Explosions are reported at the Buncefield oil depot north of London ten miles from the Luton airport. (BBC) (Sky News) Ethnically motivated violence erupts in the suburbs of Sydney, leading authorities to condemn the incidents as "shameful". (ABC) Korean Air, both national and international has been shut down due to the strike going on in Korea. The national airplane circulation has been stopped already and the Korean Airline planes that were in a foreign country are returning to Korea. Vengeance of Rain of Hong Kong, was crowned the World Racing Championship winner after winning the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse [1]

[edit] 12 December 2005 (Monday)

At an inquest into the death of UN worker Iain Hook, Paul Wolstenholme, a United Nations worker in Jenin claims that moments after Iain Hook was shot by a mysterious sniper rifle-shot to the pelvis, an Israeli sniper rifle laser was pointed at his head. He also supplied documentary evidence which stated that the Israeli army had delayed an ambulance which was sent to take the wounded Mr Hook to hospital. (BBC) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe grossed $65.6 million in the United States and Canada ($107 million worldwide) on its opening weekend, making it the #2 December opening weekend film of all time (behind The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and in front of the first two The Lord of the Rings films). With this news, Disney has officially given the greenlight to cinema production of the second book in the series, Prince Caspian, by 2007. Stanley Williams is denied clemency by the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The US Supreme Court also refuses to stay his execution. Williams is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 0:01 PST on December 13. There are some concerns of potential rioting and violence tonight across the state. (SF Chronicle) (Governor's statement (PDF)) Gebran Tueni, a prominent Lebanese anti-Syrian member of parliament and managing editor of the leading liberal An-Nahar newspaper, has been killed in a car bomb attack in Beirut. He had spent months in Paris because of security concerns, reportedly only returning to Lebanon on Sunday. Another An-Nahar journalist, the anti-Syrian writer Samir Kassir, was killed in a car bomb in June. (BBC) ASEAN Summit begins in Kuala Lumpur,