Portal:Current events/2005 December 12
December 12, 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: The 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, Malaysia. (Channel News Asia)