Portal:Current events/2005 December 1
December 1, 2005 (Thursday)
- South Africa's Constitutional Court declares that current marriage laws restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples are unconstitutional and must be changed within a year. Once the change is made, South Africa will be the fifth country in the world where same-sex marriages are recognized, after Canada, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium. (AP via Yahoo)
- The European Central Bank raises interest rates for the first time in five years, from 2.0% to 2.25%. This will affect the cost of money in the twelve Eurozone countries. (BBC)
- A Buddhist manuscript written on birch bark in the 1st century or 2nd century passes from a private collection to the University of Washington library, becoming part of the Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project. (uwnews.org)
- Muriel Degauque is identified as the Belgian suicide bomber who killed herself in Iraq on November 9, 2005. (BBC)
- Ray Hanna, who died on this day in Switzerland, was an air-display pilot, regarded by many as the best of the best, and was well known for flying Spitfire Mk IX MH-434. He was with the Red Arrows from 1965 to 1971, and in that time was their longest serving - and some say their most influential - leader. He and his son, Mark Hanna, started the Old Flying Machine Company The Red Arrows paid tribute to him with a flypast at his funeral.