Italian dairy company Parmalat declared a 3.96 billion euro hole in its accounts when the amount held by Cayman Islands-based unit, Bonlat Financing Corporation, was declared false by Bank of America. [1]
Prime Minister of JapanJunichiro Koizumi orders the deployment of Japanese forces for non-combat duties in Southern Iraq; polls show that most Japanese voters are opposed to the mission. [6]
Flights from Vancouver International Airport bound for the U.S. are delayed following the discovery of an envelope containing suspicious white powder and a threatening note at one of the terminals. [7]
SARS quarantine orders are lifted on up to 75 people in Singapore but concerns remain that the deadly virus could yet make a comeback across Asia. [8]
Australia sends AU$1.2m to Nauru so that the Pacific island-state can pay its public servants before Christmas in a move that Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says illustrates the need for long-term solutions to the island's deep-seated problems. [9]
The British spacecraft Beagle 2 successfully separates from the ESA's Mars Express orbiter and is now less than 10 days away from its scheduled landing on the surface of Mars; it will attempt to parachute onto the surface on Christmas morning. [11][12][13]
Police seal off the printing plant and offices of Zimbabwe's last remaining independent daily newspaper, Daily News. [14]
Jason Cooper, a cousin of Alonzo Mourning (a player of the NBA Team the Miami Heat), donated him his kidney because he Mourning had suffered from a career ending kidney disease.
Juan Rozon and Angelica Ruiz, meet at an Outback Steakhouse in Queens NY and instantly fall in love!
