Extraordinary renditions. The Bundesnachrichtendienst (German intelligence agency) declares that it had known of Khalid El-Masri's seizure 16 months before Germany was officially informed of his mistaken arrest in the name of the War on Terror. Germany had previously claimed that it did not know of el-Masri's abduction by the CIA and his stay in the Salt Pit in Afghanistan until his return to the country in May 2004
The Government of Spain overturns the conviction of Imad Yarkas on charges of conspiracy in the September 11, 2001 attacks after the prosecutor admits that evidence of involvement in the conspiracy was "inconsistent, almost nonexistent." The Spanish government says it will provide further explanation in the coming days. (AP)
Iran refuses to negotiate with the U.S. over its nuclear program.(CNN)
The UK Independent newspaper reports that a great-grandson of Apache leader Geronimo has appealed to US President Bush to help recover the remains of his famous relative. The remains were purportedly stolen over 90 years ago by a group of students including the President's grandfather, and employed in ceremonies by Skull and Bones, a secret society at Yale University. (Independent)(Yale Alumni Magazine)(Newwest.net)
British police shoot a suspect in an anti-terrorism raid, although his injuries are non-life threatening. The 23 year old was shot in front of his family as 250 police raided his home in Forest Gate, London. (BBC)(ABC)
The United States military finds its soldiers innocent of any wrongdoing in the Ishaqi incident involving the deaths of 11 Iraqi civilians. (The Age)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, while continuing to maintain that his country has the right to continue development on their nuclear technology, says that he "will not pass judgment on the proposals hastily," referring to the incentives package being offered by the US, Russia, United Kingdom, Germany, France and China in order to dissuade Iran from further nuclear development. (Reuters)
The opening date of the ironically Doomsday-related film, The Omen, done so to collaborate to the date's religious significance (June 6th, 2006 - 06/06/06, or 666 which is known as the number of the beast in Chrisitian biblical literature). It is a remake of another film by the same name from the late 70s.
The house of Jason Grimsley, was searched as part of the ongoing BALCO steroids probe. Grimsley, a relief pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks, asked for and received an unconditional release from the team the next day. (USA Today)
The only day in 1000 years that has the number of the beast 666. Thought to be the end of the world by some.
A constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage is killed when it fails to gain the three-fifths majority required for cloture in the United States Senate. 49 Senators voted for the motion, and 48 voted against. This also fell far short of the two-thirds majority that would have been required for passage. (ABC News)
Swiss investigator Dick Marty concludes that there are "serious indications" that the CIA operated secret prisons for suspected al-Qaeda leaders in Poland and Romania, adding that "authorities in several European countries actively participated with the CIA in these unlawful activities. Other countries ignored them knowingly, or did not want to know." (Washington Post)
According to an aide to Iraq's prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq and one of the world's most wanted men, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed by a U.S. air raid. Al-Zarqawi's body was retrieved and visually identified by known scars, tattoos and fingerprints. (CNN)(BBC)
The militant Hamas group calls off its truce with Israel after seven civilians are killed in the Gaza Strip. More than seventy Qassam rockets were launched at Israeli towns by Hamas militants since Friday morning, wounding Palestenian and Israeli civilians alike. (Globe and Mail), (Haaretz)
Fatah activists reportedly attack the Palestinian parliament building, setting fire to the fourth floor and riddling the building with gunfire. (AP), (VoA)
A Palestinian sniper opens fire on highway 443 near Jerusalem, killing one person and wounding four. All victims are Palestinians living in Jerusalem. (Haaretz)
The cancellation of end-of-the-year exams and a nationwide strike by teachers protesting low pay sparks a large scale riot in the Guinean capital of Conakry. 16 people are killed. (CNN)
