January 18, 2006 (Wednesday)
- Human Rights Watch in its annual report strongly condemns the United States, saying "it became disturbingly clear that the abuse of detainees had become a deliberate, central part of the Bush administration's strategy of interrogating terrorist suspects". (CBC) (BBC News) (Human Rights Watch press info)
- The Tokyo Stock Exchange closes 20 minutes early due to a flood of sell orders overwhelming the capacity of its trading system. (AP/Yahoo!News)
- Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers are attacked by Laurent Gbagbo's "Young Patriots" in Côte d'Ivoire. At least three people have been killed, and the UN has warned that the country is sliding towards war. (BBC)
- China has recorded its sixth death from the avian flu virus, according to a report on the Chinese Health Ministry's Web site. (CNN)
- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il says he is committed to a peaceful resolution of the standoff over his country's nuclear ambitions. (CBS)
- A building collapses on the outskirts of New Delhi on Wednesday, trapping at least 15 people in the rubble. (CNN)
- Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels have ambushed a navy bus in Sri Lanka's northeast, injuring six sailors and a civilian. (CBC)
- Two people who conspired to extort money from Wendy's by planting a severed finger in a bowl of chili and then suing the restaurant are sentenced to about ten years each in prison. (CTV) Archived 2006-02-19 at archive.today