December 8, 2004

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[edit] December 8, 2004

• Delegates from twelve South American countries meeting in Cuzco, Peru, sign a deal creating the South American Community of Nations, a bloc modelled on the European Union. (BBC)
• The Israeli government indicates that it will recognize same-sex partnerships for certain benefits, and will introduce legislation formalizing this status. (365gay.com)
• Civil unions in New Zealand: Parliament passes civil union legislation by 65 votes to 55. The new law provides a way for de facto couples, including same-sex couples, to gain legal recognition of their relationships, but stops short of same-sex marriage. (Scoop) (TVNZ)
• The White House affirms that, despite reports to the contrary, John Snow will remain Treasury Secretary during President George W. Bush's second term of office. Meanwhile, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi announces his expected resignation. (CNN)
• The United States Senate follows the U.S. House of Representatives in approving a complete overhaul of government intelligence services, creating the post of United States Director of National Intelligence. (BBC)
• The European Union says it is not ready to lift its 15-year-old arms embargo on the People's Republic of China, set after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. (BBC)
• Malaysian Deputy Home Affairs Minister Tan Chai Ho announces that once an extended amnesty sought by Indonesia comes to an end later this year, illegal immigrants will face up to 5 years in prison and a whipping; their employers will also be punished. More than 18,000 undocumented migrants have already been whipped since the 2002 amendment to the Malaysian Immigration Act. (China View) (Channel News Asia)
• IBM announces that it will sell its PC hardware business to Lenovo, a Chinese computer company. (BBC)
• Seer Jayendra Saraswathi, a senior Hindu cleric, has been denied bail over his murder charge in India's southern Tamil Nadu state. (BBC)
• The Times reports that Dr. Nikolai Korpan, who treated Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko in Vienna, announced Yushchenko had been poisoned, and that the specific poison would be identified within days, but later denied the report, saying he had been cited wrongly and that it would be hard to gain hard evidence for a poisoning. (Times Online) (Yahoo News) (Link dead as of 00:47, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
• While performing with post-Pantera band Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott was shot and killed onstage by Nathan Gale. Abbott was shot a total of five times. He was 38 years old. Three others were killed in the shooting: concert attendee Nathan Bray, 23, of Columbus; club employee Erin Halk, 29, of northwest Columbus; and Damageplan security guard Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, 40, of Texas. The band's drum technician, John Brooks, and tour manager, Chris Paluska, were injured.