December 6, 2011 (Tuesday)
Armed conflict and attacks
- Afghanistan terror attacks
- A suicide attack attacks a Shiite shrine in the Afghan capital Kabul during the festival of Ashura, resulting in at least 50 people killed and hundreds injured. Hours later another attack takes place at Mazar-i-Sharif, killing at least 4. (Reuters), (The Guardian), (AP via NineMSN)
- The President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai cancels a trip to the United Kingdom following the attacks. (AP via The Australian)
Business and economy
- The Reserve Bank of Australia cuts interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.25 per cent due to continuing global economic concern. (ABC News Australia)
Disasters
- The US Mine Safety and Health Administration releases the final report into the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster in Raleigh County, West Virginia, that killed twenty-nine miners last year. (MSHA)
International relations
- Australia announces more sanctions against Iran amidst growing concerns about its nuclear and missile programs. (AAP via Sydney Morning Herald)
Law and crime
- Randy Babbitt, the former head of the Federal Aviation Administration, resigns three days after he was arrested for driving under the influence in Fairfax, Virginia. (CNN)
- A journalist, Luz Marina Paz Villalobos, is killed in Honduras becoming the 17th journalist shot in the past two years. (AFP via the Tico Times)
Politics and elections
- After 541 days of negotiations, the longest in history, the new federal government of Belgium is sworn in, with Elio Di Rupo as Prime Minister, making him the first Walloon to reach this position in 38 years and the second openly gay head of government in the world. (RTBF)
- Thousands of people take to the streets of Moscow in protests against the conduct and outcome of the Russian legislative election with dozens of opposition supporters being arrested as the demonstrations turn violent. (The Guardian)
- The Parliament of Greece approves an austerity budget. (Dow Jones via Wall Street Journal)