Portal:Current events/2005 December 18
December 18, 2005 (Sunday)
- Air Nauru's only passenger jet is seized by creditors in Melbourne, leaving the island nations of Nauru and Kiribati without air transport to the rest of the world. (ABC)
- Extinct mammoth mitochondrial DNA decoded. (BBC)
- The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) holds its first national democratic poll in 40 years. (BBC) (Reuters) (Link dead as of 22:48, 14 January 2007 (UTC))
- The Bolivian presidential election, 2005 takes place in Bolivia, with Evo Morales and Jorge Quiroga as front-runners. Morales is expected to win a plurality of votes but not an absolute majority. If no candidate wins a majority, the election of the President will be by vote in the National Congress, also elected today. (BBC)
- 42 people die following a stampede in the Indian city of Chennai. (BBC)
- Bono, Melinda Gates and Bill Gates are named Time's Persons of the Year. (CNN)
- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney is on a trip to various countries including Oman, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. He made a surprise stop to Iraq today. (Yahoo! News) (Link dead as of 22:48, 14 January 2007 (UTC)), (Reuters) (Link dead as of 22:48, 14 January 2007 (UTC))
- Philippines finish in 5th place in the medal tally for the 2005 ASEAN Para Games in the Philippines. Thailand finishes with 84 golds, followed by Malaysia. (The Nation, Bangkok)
- The prime minister of Israel Ariel Sharon is transferred to the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem after suffering a minor stroke. Meanwhile, some Palestinians have taken to the streets in Gaza to celebrate Sharon's health condition and the Kahane organisation has urged Jews to pray for his death. (Ynetnews) (Wikinews)
- São Paulo win the FIFA Club World Championship in Yokohama, Japan, defeating Liverpool F.C. 1-0. (BBC)
- President George W. Bush defends the Iraq War in a rare primetime Oval Office address. He said, "Not only can we win the war in Iraq — we are winning the war in Iraq." (USAToday) (The Guardian)