Portal:Current events/2006 December 18

December 18, 2006 (Monday)

Uzbekistan nearly doubles the price of natural gas it sells to Kyrgyzstan from USD $55 to $100 (£51) per 1,000 cubic meters of gas amid growing tension between the two nations over alleged spying. (BBC News)
Six-party talks resume on North Korea's nuclear weapons program with North Korea and the United States being "poles apart" in their opening positions. (CNN)
2006 Ipswich murder investigation: Police arrest a 37-year-old man in Trimley St. Martin near Felixstowe, England on suspicion of the murders of five prostitutes. (BBC) (Guardian)
Palestinian Civil Skirmishes increase after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas calls early elections and a truce between his forces and the Hamas government appeared close to collapse in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters)^{[permanent dead link]}