December 1, 2006
(
2006-12-01
)
(Friday)
- The
2006 Asian Games
are officially opened by
Qatari
emir
Sheikh
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
at the 50,000 seater
Khalifa Sports Stadium
in
Doha
,
Qatar
.
(AFP via Yahoo! News)
- The
Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
settles 45 lawsuits alleging
sexual abuse
by
priests
for $60 million.
(AP via Minneapolis-St Paul Star Tribune)
- Hezbollah
members demonstrate their opposition to the
Siniora administration
in
Beirut
,
Lebanon
.
(The Guardian)
(BBC)
- As
Bahrain
prepares for tomorrow's second round of its
parliamentary elections
, a
Member of Parliament
from the Kingdom's largest party calls for legislation to restrict women's employment.
(Gulf Daily News)
- Felipe Calderon
becomes the
President of Mexico
.
(Reuters)
- Typhoon Durian
has killed at least 388 people in
Albay
province on the island of
Luzon
in the
Philippines
with the death toll expected to climb as rescuers get to affected villages.
(Bloomberg)
(CNN)
- Kim Beazley
calls a vote for the leadership of the Federal
Australian Labor Party
for Monday. He will face a challenge from
Kevin Rudd
, the Opposition spokesman on foreign affairs.
Jenny Macklin
faces a challenge from
Julia Gillard
for the Deputy Leadership.
(Melbourne Herald Sun)
(AAP via News Limited)
- Fijian military commander
Frank Bainimarama
says he intends to begin a "clean up" campaign of Government now that his deadline has passed.
Laisenia Qarase
, the
Prime Minister of Fiji
, has advised that he has been given a new deadline of noon on Monday.
(NZ Herald)
(ABC News Australia)
- The
United States
warns of a possible
al-Qaeda
attack to disrupt the
stock market
and other financial institutions with a
cyber attack
.
(BBC)
- Billionaire
Kirk Kerkorian
sold off the last of his shares in
General Motors
, the
Wall Street Journal
reported. It was clear that Kerkorian had sold 14 million shares for $28.75 per share, or about $400 million, slicing his stake to 4.95%.
(MSN Money)
December 2, 2006
(
2006-12-02
)
(Saturday)
December 3, 2006
(
2006-12-03
)
(Sunday)
December 4, 2006
(
2006-12-04
)
(Monday)
- Baidu
, the leading
search engine
in
Chinese language
, announces its plan to provide service in
Japanese
. (
Reuters via The Washington Post
Archived
2012-10-25 at the
Wayback Machine
)
- NASA
announces plans to build a base on either the
north pole
or
south pole
of the
Moon
.
(Reuters)
(Money Times)
[
permanent dead link
]
- John R. Bolton
will resign as U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations
when his
recess appointment
expires in January 2007.
(The Times)
- It is now widely expected that
Kazakhstan
will head the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
in 2009 despite strong opposition from the United States. Kazakh President
Nazarbayev
is visiting
Brussels
, Belgium, which supports Kazakhstan's bid, and he recently visited
London
, meeting with Prime Minister
Tony Blair
, whose government also supports Kazakhstan.
(RFE/RL)
- President of the Philippines
Gloria Arroyo
declares a "state of national calamity" following the death and destruction caused by
Typhoon Durian
.
(The Australian)
[
permanent dead link
]
- A
US Marine
is jailed for raping a woman at
Subic Bay
after joint exercises with the
Philippines
. Three other Marines were acquitted in a case which caused
anti-American
protests.
(INQ7 Philippines)
- Kevin Rudd
is elected as the new
leader
of the Federal
Australian Labor Party
with the
caucus
electing him by 49 votes to 39 votes for
Kim Beazley
.
Julia Gillard
is the new deputy leader.
(
The Age
)
- Fijian troops
take over the headquarters of the armed
police
division, occupy the main
police station
in
Suva
, and surround a
police academy
in an escalation of the
2006 Fijian coup d'etat plot
.
(
The NZ Herald
)
- The
Government of Iran
blocks
Wikipedia
,
IMDb
and
nytimes.com
, among many sites both
commercial
and informative.
(
The Guardian
)
December 5, 2006
(
2006-12-05
)
(Tuesday)
December 6, 2006
(
2006-12-06
)
(Wednesday)
- Joseph Kabila
, the first
freely elected
leader of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
in 40 years, is inaugurated as
President
.
(BBC)
- The
Iraq Study Group Report
calls the situation in
Iraq
"grave and deteriorating" and calls for a change in strategy including the removal of most
United States
troops by early 2008.
(CNN)
- The
Australian House of Representatives
passes private members legislation allowing
therapeutic cloning
after a
conscience vote
. The
Australian Senate
had already approved the bill prepared by Senator
Kay Patterson
meaning that it will become law.
(News Limited)
- The
United States Senate
confirms
Robert Gates
as the next
United States Secretary of Defense
by 95?2. Gates will be sworn in on December 18.
(CNN)
- Philippe Douste-Blazy
, the
Foreign Minister of France
, says that the
United Nations Security Council
will impose sanctions on
Iran
for its nuclear program. However, the five permanent members of the Security Council as well as
Germany
have failed to agree on what the sanctions should be.
(AFP via Khaleej Times)
- 2006 Fijian coup d'etat
:
- NASA
presents "compelling" evidence that liquid
water
flowed recently on the surface of
Mars
.
(NASA)
,
(BBC)
- A large
explosion
occurs near downtown
Milwaukee
, killing 3, injuring 37 others and leveling a factory compound.
(AP)
- Officials of the
Islamic Courts Union
in power in
Buloburde
,
Somalia
, declare that, under their interpretation of
Sharia
, all people in the city must pray five times a day, or they will be
beheaded
on sight.
(Fox News)
- Hundreds of thousands of
Dalits
stage a mass rally in
Mumbai
to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of their leader,
B. R. Ambedkar
.
(BBC)
- James Kim
is found dead in
Oregon
after spending 11 days in the wilderness.
(CNN)
(CNET)
December 7, 2006
(
2006-12-07
)
(Thursday)
- NASA
delays the launch of the
Space Shuttle
Discovery
on
STS-116
until Saturday.
(CNN)
- George W. Bush
, the
President of the United States
says that
Syria
and
Iran
might be included in regional talks on the future of
Iraq
if they meet certain conditions.
(CNN)
- Hewlett-Packard
pays a fine of $14.5 million to settle an investigation by the
Attorney General of California
related to leaks from its boardroom.
(Bloomberg)
- Police in
Phoenix, Arizona
believe that they have captured the
Baseline Killer
who has nine killings attributed to him. They had Mark Godeau in custody since September in relation to two alleged
sexual assaults
in 2005.
(CNN)
- A
tornado
has ripped through
Kensal Green
in northwest
London
, injuring 6.
(The Times)
- The
Doha Asian Games
suffered a tragedy when
South Korean
rider
Kim Hyung-chil
died after falling from his horse during the equestrian competition.
(Aljazeera)
- Nigerian
gun men attack an
Agip
oil terminal in the
Niger River
delta and take three
Italians
hostage.
(Reuters)
- Nearly 100 people are dead or unaccounted for in
Vietnam
as a result of
Typhoon Durian
. It had earlier killed over 550 people in the
Philippines
and left a similar number missing.
(Reuters)
[
permanent dead link
]
- Seven towns are under immediate threat from
bushfires
in
Gippsland
in the
Australian
state of
Victoria
.
(Reuters)
- A motion brought by the
Conservative
government to reopen debate on
same-sex marriage in Canada
is defeated by the
Canadian House of Commons
.
(CBC)
- 2006 Fijian coup d'etat
:
- Grand Ayatollah
Fazel Lankarani
of
Iran
issues a
fatwa
calling for the deaths of
Azeris
Rafiq Ta?ı
, a writer, and Samir Sadagatoglu, his editor, who were charged in November 2006 with "inciting national, racial and religious enmity" after they criticized
Islam
.
(EurasiaNet)
- The
Hard Rock Cafe
chain of cafes, hotels and casinos, as well as its extensive collection of
rock and roll
memorabilia
, is purchased from the
The Rank Group
by the
Seminole
Tribe of Florida for
US$
965 million.
(Fox News)
- Nintendo
's next generation gaming console, the
Wii
, is released in
Australia
.
(The Sydney Morning Herald)
December 8, 2006
(
2006-12-08
)
(Friday)
December 9, 2006
(
2006-12-09
)
(Saturday)
December 10, 2006
(
2006-12-10
)
(Sunday)
December 11, 2006
(
2006-12-11
)
(Monday)
- In
Nagorno-Karabakh
98.6 percent of voters vote in favor of a
constitution
favoring
independence
from
Azerbaijan
.
(RadioFreeEurope/RadioLibery)
- Former
GAM
rebel leader
Irwandi Yusuf
is
elected
governor of the
Indonesian
province of
Aceh
in elections that are part of a peace deal ending the
civil war
.
(Bernama)
- Former
Prime Minister of Fiji
Sitiveni Rabuka
is cleared of two charges of mutiny in relation to the
mutinies of the 2000 Fijian coup d'etat
.
(ABC News Australia)
- Archaeologists working for the
Vatican
have found the tomb of
Paul of Tarsus
.
(USA Today)
- United Nations Secretary-General
Kofi Annan
strongly criticizes the
United States
, in particular the
Bush administration
, claiming it has strayed from
multilateralism
and
human rights
, in his final speech.
(BBC)
- The
International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust
gets underway in
Iran
to examine whether
the Holocaust
took place
or not
.
(BBC)
- Traces of
polonium-210
are found in a flat in
Hamburg
, Germany, on objects touched by former Russian spy
Dmitri Kovtun
a day before he met poisoned ex-spy
Alexander Litvinenko
in London.
(The Times)
- Unidentified gunmen try to assassinate
Baha Balousheh
, a security chief associated with
Fatah
, but instead shoot and kill his three children in the
Gaza Strip
. The assassination attempt may have been a revenge attack for the attempted assassination of
Interior Minister
Sayid Seyam
of Hamas.
(BBC)
(JTA)
- The
Space Shuttle
Discovery
successfully docks with the
International Space Station
with the crew to spend a week rewiring the space station.
(CNN)
- In an interview with Jeff Stein, a national security editor for
Congressional Quarterly
,
Silvestre Reyes
, the incoming Chairman of the
U.S. House
Intelligence Committee incorrectly claims that
Al Qaeda
is a "predominantly
Shiite
" organization. When asked if
Hezbollah
is a Sunni or a Shiite organization, Reyes said "It's hard to keep things in perspective and in the categories."
(Fox News)
- A devastating
bushfire
rips through the town of
Scamander, Tasmania
in
Australia
, destroying 23 homes.
(News.com.au)
- American supercentenarian and oldest living person
Elizabeth Bolden
dies and leaves
Emiliano Mercado del Toro
as the titleholder.
December 12, 2006
(
2006-12-12
)
(Tuesday)
December 13, 2006
(
2006-12-13
)
(Wednesday)
December 14, 2006
(
2006-12-14
)
(Thursday)
- The
head
of UK security service
MI5
,
Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller
, has announced she will step down from her post after four years.
(The Times)
- A research expedition concludes that the
Chinese River Dolphin
is now likely
extinct
, directly due to human action.
(Globe & Mail)
- Ban Ki-moon
is officially sworn in as the next
United Nations Secretary-General
.
(BBC)
- The
Supreme Court of Israel
decides that the targeted assassination of Palestinian militants by the
Israeli
military can be legal under
international law
.
(AP via Houston Chronicle)
- U.S. Senator
Tim Johnson
(
D
-
SD
) undergoes surgery after suffering a
brain hemorrhage
due to an
arteriovenous malformation
. If he is incapacitated, the
Republican Party
Governor of South Dakota
,
Mike Rounds
, will be able to appoint his replacement, potentially changing the balance of the Senate.
(CNN)
- Gunmen dressed in military uniforms
kidnap
between 20 and 30 people in the Sanak area of central
Baghdad
.
(BBC)
- Operation Paget
, the inquiry into the death in
1997
of
Diana, Princess of Wales
, headed by
Lord Stevens
, a former chief of
London
's
Metropolitan Police
, concludes that there were no suspicious circumstances and that the
fatal car crash in which she died
was a 'tragic accident'.
(BBC)
- UK Prime Minister
Tony Blair
is interviewed by police investigating
cash for honours
allegations.
(BBC)
- The
European Union
announces it will introduce a common EU-wide driving licence in
2013
.
(BBC News)
- The
Nintendo
Wii
breaks record sales in
Australia
and is the fastest selling gaming console in
Australian
history.
(Sydney Morning Herald)
December 15, 2006
(
2006-12-15
)
(Friday)
- Muqtada al-Sadr
withdraws his support for
Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki
.
(RFE/RL)
- The
Government of Saudi Arabia
announces plans to build a
separation barrier
between
Saudi Arabia
and
Iraq
. The barrier will cost $12 billion to build.
(RFE/RL)
- The king of
Bhutan
,
Jigme Singye Wangchuck
, abdicates in favor of his son, two years before he had initially planned to do so.
(BBC)
- A severe
windstorm
hits the
Pacific Northwest
overnight, with wind gusts reported as high as 97 miles per hour. Three people were killed in
Washington
, and at the peak of the storm about one million homes in western Washington and over 400,000 in the
Greater Portland area
were without electricity. In British Columbia,
Stanley Park
sustains more than $9 million damage.
(Bellingham Herald)
[
permanent dead link
]
(Oregonlive)
- United States district court
judge
Jeremy Fogel
imposes a
moratorium
on
lethal injections
in
California
stating that they are unconstitutional. In an unrelated incident, the
Governor of Florida
Jeb Bush
has suspended lethal injections in
Florida
pending an investigation into the system after the recent execution of
Angel Nieves Diaz
took 34 minutes after it was botched.
(CNN #1)
,
(CNN #2)
- The
2006 Asian Games
is officially
closed
at the 50,000 seater
Khalifa International Stadium
in
Doha
,
Qatar
marking the end of 15 days of competition.
(Doha 2006 Asian Games website)
- Retired
Formula One
driver
Clay Regazzoni
dies in a car accident when the
Chrysler Voyager
he was driving hit a
lorry
head on, outside
Parma
,
Italy
.
(BBC)
- Assistant Secretary of State
Jendayi Frazer
announces that the United States has no plans to commit troops to intervene in the
Somali Civil War
to root out
al Qaeda
cells operating in the country.
(U.S. State Department)
- Newt Gingrich
, former
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
, says the six men involved in the
Flying Imams controversy
should have been "arrested and prosecuted for pretending to be terrorists."
(UPI)
- Alex Ovechkin
of the
Washington Capitals
scores the fastest overtime goal in the history of the
NHL
in 6 seconds against the
Atlanta Thrashers
.
- The Financial Report of the United States Government for 2006 was released late Friday evening. The combined federal deficits now total more than 400% of GDP.
[5]
December 16, 2006
(
2006-12-16
)
(Saturday)
December 17, 2006
(
2006-12-17
)
(Sunday)
December 18, 2006
(
2006-12-18
)
(Monday)
December 19, 2006
(
2006-12-19
)
(Tuesday)
December 20, 2006
(
2006-12-20
)
(Wednesday)
- The
Home Office
department of the
United Kingdom Government
announces plan to require foreign nationals living in Britain to have biometric ID cards.
(Guardian Unlimited)
- Albania
,
Bulgaria
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
,
Croatia
,
Moldova
,
Montenegro
,
Romania
,
Serbia
,
Republic of Macedonia
, and
Kosovo
sign the
Central European Free Trade Agreement
extending the
free trade zone
to southeastern Europe.
(RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty)
- The
Government of Kazakhstan
is considering giving
Kyrgyzstan
USD
$100 million in aid.
(ITAR-TASS)
- The
2006 Malaysian floods
caused by heavy
monsoon
rain force the evacuation of 26,000 people in the southern
Malaysian
state of
Johor
. Flooding is also reported in the southern states of
Malacca
and
Negeri Sembilan
but the situation there is not as serious.
(AP via Houston Chronicle)
- Somalia War
: Heavy fighting breaks out on at least two fronts near the
Somali interim government
's base in
Baidoa
. Somalia's interim government and the
Islamic Courts Union
pledge to begin peace negotiations.
(BBC)
(Reuters)
- "Jack" Thomas
will face a retrial under the
Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005
based on media interviews. He had earlier been jailed under the act before an
Appeals Court
freed him on the grounds that an interview with Thomas in
Pakistan
had been involuntary.
(AAP via SBS News Australia)
[
permanent dead link
]
- The
United States military
claims to have captured a senior leader of
Al-Qaeda in Iraq
.
(AP via ABC News)
- The
€
752 million, 5-kilometre
Dublin Port Tunnel
opens almost 2 years (23 months) after its originally planned date.
(RTE)
December 21, 2006
(
2006-12-21
)
(Thursday)
December 22, 2006
(
2006-12-22
)
(Friday)
December 23, 2006
(
2006-12-23
)
(Saturday)
December 24, 2006
(
2006-12-24
)
(Sunday)
December 25, 2006
(
2006-12-25
)
(Monday)
December 26, 2006
(
2006-12-26
)
(Tuesday)
- Gerald Ford
, former
President of the United States
, dies at 93.
(MSNBC)
(BBC News)
- Almaz Atambayev
, Chairman of the
Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan
, warns that if
Prime Minister
Felix Kulov
's proposed amendments to the
constitution
are passed, giving greater power to the
executive branch
,
Kyrgyzstan
will descend into
civil war
.
(RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty)
- Trial of Saddam Hussein
: An appeal court in
Baghdad
has rejected former
Iraqi
leader
Saddam Hussein
's appeal against the
death sentence
handed down on
November 5
for the 1982 killings of
Shias
in
Dujail
. By Iraqi law, the execution by
hanging
has to be carried out within 30 days after the announcement of the rejection.
(BBC News)
- Between 200 and 500 people have been killed in
an oil pipeline explosion
in
Nigeria
's commercial capital,
Lagos
, according to the
Red Cross
. The blast is believed to have been caused by thieves puncturing the pipeline in an attempt to
siphon
off fuel into a tanker.
(BBC)
- War in Somalia
: Somalia's
Islamist
militia are reported to have withdrawn from frontlines after a sustained assault by government forces backed by
Ethiopian
troops.
(BBC)
- Southwestern
Taiwan
is shaken by a
7.2 earthquake
at 20:28 (GMT+8). A second aftershock, estimated at 7.1 and centered in
Pingtung County
, is felt 5 minutes later. According to the
Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre
, no
Pacific
-wide
tsunami
is expected.
(TVBS)
(CNN)
December 27, 2006
(
2006-12-27
)
(Wednesday)
December 28, 2006
(
2006-12-28
)
(Thursday)
December 29, 2006
(
2006-12-29
)
(Friday)
- Police
discover
skulls, bodies of 15 missing children in
Noida
, India.
- AT&T, Inc.
acquires
BellSouth Corporation
to create one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world.
[7]
- The
United Kingdom
pays off the last of its debts from
World War II
by paying the last $100 million to the
United States
and
Canada
. The country still has debts outstanding from the
Napoleonic Wars
, which are cheaper to pay interest on than to redeem.
(International Herald Tribune)
(BBC)
- Kazakh
Foreign Minister
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
says that in the event of a
war in Turkmenistan
over succession to
Turkmenbashi
Saparmurat Niyazov
, "Kazakhstan is not going to get involved."
(Interfax)
- Kyrgyz President
Kurmanbek Bakiyev
will address the
Supreme Council
on 30 December 2006 in an effort to compromise on proposed amendments to
the constitution
. Several Parliamentarians warn that Kyrgyzstan is on the verge of
civil war
.
(RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty)
- A 25 square mile (66 km²) chunk of the
Ayles Ice Shelf
was discovered to have broken off of
Ellesmere Island
,
Nunavat
,
Canada
.
(NatlGeog)
,
(BBC)
,
(Scotsman)
,
(Reuters)
,
(CBC)
December 30, 2006
(
2006-12-30
)
(Saturday)
- Saddam Hussein
is
executed
, by hanging, at approximately 06:00 local time (03:00
UTC
).
(BBC News)
- A
bomb exploding
in the parking lot of Terminal 4 of
Barajas Airport
,
Madrid
,
Spain
, kills two people, damages cars and buildings.
(CNN)
- The
Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan
votes 50 to 1 in favor of amendments to
the Constitution
giving greater power to the
executive branch
after
President
Kurmanbek Bakiyev
accuses Parliamentarians of "sabotaging" the political process. The President will now have the power to appoint and dismiss the
Prime Minister
and his cabinet and regional governors. The SNB, the domestic intelligence organization, will report to the President, not the legislature.
(Al Jazeera)
- At least 500 people are feared to have drowned after the
ferry
Senopati Nusantara
travelling between the port of
Kumai
on the
Indonesian
island of
Borneo
to Semarang on
Java
sank during a storm.
(BBC)
- Former
U.S. President
Gerald Ford
's
funeral
is held at the
United States Capitol
.
(CBS)
- The
coat of arms of Nepal
is changed as a gesture of reconciliation after the
Nepalese Civil War
.
(People's Daily)
- A 67-year-old Spanish woman, whose name has not been revealed, is reported to have given birth to twins in
Barcelona
, becoming the
oldest birth mother
.
(BBC)
- Tiki Barber
rushes for 234 yards in his final game in the
NFL
. This is a record for the most rushing yards in a running backs last game, and a
New York Giants
team record for the most rushing yards in a game.
December 31, 2006
(
2006-12-31
)
(Sunday)
|
|