Portal:Current events/2005 December 22
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December 22, 2005 (Thursday)
- Judge Richard Fred Suhrheinrich of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, arguing that the US Constitution does not include "a wall of separation between church and state," denies a claim by the ACLU, thereby approving the continued display of the Ten Commandments in a Kentucky courthouse. (Cincinnati Enquirer) (AP) (Catholic World News)
- The 2005 New York City transit strike is halted as strikers agree to return to work when negotiations resumed. (BBC)
- India's most advanced INSAT-4A telecommunication satellite is successfully launched by the EADS SPACE Transportation generic rocket, Ariane 5, from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana. (BBC)
- Acetylene and hydrogen cyanide, precursors to life's basic ingredients (DNA and proteins), are found around a star in the constellation Ophiuchus. (NASA JPL) (MSNBC)
- Tony Blair makes a surprise visit to Basra in Iraq, to address 4,000 British soldiers and discuss withdrawal. He states that "we can eventually draw down our own capability" once the Iraqi forces "build up their own strength". (BBC)