Guatemalan election: Large numbers of voters turn out for the general election, despite fears of violence. In the presidential race, former Guatemala City mayor Óscar Berger receives 34% of the vote, and center-left candidate Álvaro Colom gets 26%; former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt comes in third in with 19%. A run-off vote between Berger and Colom is to take place on December 28. [1][2]
Japan general election: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi wins the election in Japan but with a reduced majority. The opposition Democratic Party is projected to win almost 180 seats which for the first time will take them into the position of forming a credible opposition. Other small parties like Japan Communist Party loses seats significantly, making two-party system realistic in politics of Japan. [4][5]
Seventeen people are killed and more than 120 are injured, many of them children, in a midnight car bomb attack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. [6] Suspicions immediately fall on the terrorist movement al-Qaeda. The victims included Saudis as well as Sudanese, Lebanese, and Egyptian residents of the compound, which was less rigorously protected than similar facilities inhabited by westerners. [7][8][9]
British special forces commanders criticise the quality of the intelligence given to them before and during the conflict with Iraq. [11]
The UK Secretary of Defence Geoff Hoon is accused of providing misleading figures about the true cost of conflict in Iraq. [12]
U.S. troops shoot and kill Mohannad Ghazi al Kaabi, the appointed interim mayor of Sadr City (formerly Saddam City), Baghdad. [13][14] The incident reportedly occurs from a confrontation following Mohannad's refusal to follow instructions from the on-site security official. The security official was enforcing security procedures stemming from recent car bombing incidents in accordance with standard rules of engagement. [15]
Peruvian armed forces capture a leader of the Shining Path rebel group after a clash in the Andes in which four guerrillas were killed and an officer wounded. [16]
