Events 2005
January
January 4 - Death of the Governor of Baghdad, Ali Al-Haidri, assassinated by gunmen.
January 9 - The same storm which pounded the US earlier in the month hit England and Scandinavia, leaving 13 dead with widespread flooding and power cuts.
January 9 - Mahmoud Abbas is elected to succeed Yasser Arafat as Palestinian Authority president in the Palestinian election.
January 12 - Deep Impact is launched from Kennedy Space Center by a Delta 2 rocket.
January 13 - Armed militants enter into Israel from Gaza and open fire near the border, killing 6 people and wounding 5 others. Hamas and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claim joint responsibility for attack.[1]
January 14 - The Huygens probe lands on Titan, largest moon of Saturn.
January 16 - Adriana Iliescu gives birth at 66, the oldest woman in the world to do so.
Iraqi police officers hold up their index fingers marked with purple indelible ink, a security measure to prevent double voting.January 16 - Armed militants kill 1 person and wound 8 people in the Gush Katif settlement, Gaza Strip. Hamas claims responsibility.Confirmation needed
January 20 - George W. Bush is inaugurated in Washington, D.C. for his second term as 43rd President of the United States.
January 20 - Ireland completes metrication.
January 21 - In Belize's capital city Belmopan, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.
January 25 - A stampede at Mandher Devi temple in Mandhradevi during a religious pilgrimage in India kills at least 215, mostly women and small children.
January 30 - The first free Parliamentary elections in Iraq since 1958 take place.
January 30 - A Royal Air Force C-130 Hercules transport plane crashes in Iraq, killing 10 British servicemen. Iraqi insurgents release a video claiming to have shot the aircraft down using a missile.Confirmation needed
[edit]
February
February 6 - The New England Patriots win their third Super Bowl title in four years by winning 24-21 over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.
February 8 - Danish parliamentary elections continue the center-right coalition led by Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and his Liberal Party.
February 9 - An ETA car bomb injures 31 people at a conference centre in Madrid.
February 10 - North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it feels from the United States.
February 10 - Saudi Arabia holds its first ever elections for municipal authorities, in which only men are allowed to vote.
February 11 - The Computer game World of Warcraft is launched in Europe.
February 12 - Fire devastates the Windsor Building, a 32 story office block, in Madrid.
February 13 - Lúcia Santos, the last surviving of the three shepherd children to whom Our Lady of Fatima appeared in 1917, dies.[1]
February 14 - A massive suicide bomb blast in central Beirut kills Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik Hariri and at least 15 other people. At least 135 other people were also hurt.
February 14 - Around 59 people are killed and 200 injured in a fire at a mosque in Tehran, Iran.
The Kyoto Protocol is intended to cut global emissions of greenhouse gases.February 16 - The Kyoto Protocol comes into effect, without the support of the United States and Australia.
February 16 - The National Hockey League cancels its 2004-2005 season becoming the first North American professional league to cancel a season due to a labour dispute.
February 19 - Suicide bombers kill more than 30 people in Iraq as Shia Muslims mark Ashura, their holiest day.
February 20 - Spanish referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout.
February 20 - Early Legislative elections in Portugal result in a landslide victory for José Sócrates and the Socialist Party.
February 22 - More than 500 people are killed and over 1,000 injured after entire villages are flattened in an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale in Zarand region of Kerman province in southern Iran.
February 25 - American police apprehend the so-called BTK serial killer Dennis Rader 31 years after his first murder
February 25 - Terrorists kill 5 people and wound 50 people in Tel Aviv, Israel. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for attack.
February 25 - 60th anniversary of Radio Canada International
February 26 - Hosni Mubarak the president of Egypt asks parliament to amend the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections before September 2005.
[edit]
March
March 1 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules the death penalty unconstitutional for juveniles who committed their crimes under age 18.
March 3 - The freighter M/V Karen Danielsen crashes into the Great Belt Bridge of Denmark. All traffic across the bridge is closed, effectively separating Denmark in two.
March 3 - Millionaire Steve Fossett breaks a world record by completing the first non-stop, non-refueled, solo flight around the world in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.
March 4 - The car of released Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena is fired on by US soldiers in Iraq, causing the death of one passenger and injuring two more.
March 4 - United Nations warns that about 90 million Africans could be infected by the HIV virus in the future without further action against the spread of the disease.
March 5 - The 27th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is held in Australia.
March 10 - Tung Chee Hwa's resignation: Tung Chee Hwa, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, resigns.
March 10 - Garry Kasparov announces his retirement from professional chess.
March 11 - In the UK, the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 was finally given Royal Assent after one of the longest ever sittings by the House of Lords.
March 11 - Three people, including a judge, are murdered in the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia; the main suspect, Brian Nichols, surrenders to police the next day.
March 13 - First round of Central African Republic elections.
March 14 - The People's Republic of China ratifies an anti-secession law aimed at preventing Taiwan from declaring independence.
March 14 - Nearly one million people gathered for an opposition rally in Beirut, a month after the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri — the largest rally in Lebanon history.
Protesters in front of Terri Schiavo's Pinellas Park, Florida hospice, March 27, 2005.March 16 - Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, accused of the bombing of the Air India Flight 182 in 1985, are found not guilty on all counts.
March 19 - A suspected suicide bomber in Doha, Qatar, kills one person and injures about 12 others.
March 19 - A time bomb explodes in a Muslim shrine in Quetta, southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 29 people and wounding 40.
March 19 - A mine blast occurs at the Xishui coal mine in Shuozhou, China, and rocks nearby Kangjiayao coal mine, killing up to 59.
March 20 - At least 250 people in Japan are injured and at least one killed by when a magnitude 7 earthquake struck west of Kyushu Island, just 9km (5.5 miles) below the ocean floor.
March 21 - 10 killed in the Red Lake High School massacre in Minnesota, the worst school shooting since the Columbine High School massacre.
March 23 - The United States' 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' 2-1 decision refuses to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.
March 24 - The Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan reaches its climax with the overthrow of president Askar Akayev.
March 26 - The Taiwanese government called on 1 million Taiwanese to demonstrate in Taipei in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of Mainland China. Around 200,000 to 300,000 attended the walk.
March 28 - The 2005 Sumatran earthquake struck off Sumatra, 3 months after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. At a magnitude of 8.7 it is the second largest earthquake since 1965.
[edit]
April
Anti-Japanese demonstrations in China
April 2 - Pope John Paul II dies; over 4 million people travel to the Vatican to mourn him.
April 6 - First 13th root calculation of a 200-digit number, computed by the Frenchman Alexis Lemaire
April 6 - Rainier III of Monaco dies, succeeded by his son Albert II
April 7 - MG Rover, the UK's sole remaining volume producer goes into receivership after a planned alliance with Chinese manufacturer, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation collapses.
April 7 - A suicide bomber blows himself up in Cairo's Khan al Khalili market, killing two foreign tourists and wounding seventeen others. A group called "Islamic Pride Brigades" claims responsibility.
April 8 - Referendum in Curaçao on independence vs. integration with the Netherlands.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall following their civil wedding in Windsor, England.
April 9 - Tens of thousands of demonstrators, many of them supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, marched through Baghdad denouncing the U.S. occupation of Iraq, two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and rallied in the square where his statue was toppled in 2003.
April 9 - The marriage of The Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles takes place, after being briefly postponed after the Pope's death. Camilla assumes the titles Her Royal Highness and The Duchess of Cornwall.
April 15 - At least twenty one people die and around fifty people are injured in a devastating fire at a hotel in central Paris.
April 16 - President Lucio Gutierrez of Ecuador declares a state of emergency in the capital city and dissolves the Supreme Court.
April 17 - Twelve holidaymakers are killed in southern Switzerland when a bus carrying twenty seven people plunges 656 feet into a ravine.
April 18 - Five people die in ethnic clashes in Iran's south-west Khuzestan province.
April 19 - Joseph Ratzinger elected Pope Benedict XVI on the second day of the Papal conclave.
April 20 - Fifty six hurt as earthquake hits Fukuoka and Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The earthquake measured a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale.
April 20 - President Lucio Gutiérrez of Ecuador is said to have fled after Congress voted to sack him amid growing protests.
April 21 - A bus crash in Vietnam's Central Highlands kills thirty Vietnamese war veterans.
April 21 - A gunfight on the edge of the Saudi city of Mecca kills two militants and two members of the security forces.
April 23 - Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister of Italy, re-forms government after its dissolution three days earlier.
April 25 - A passenger train derails in Amagasaki Hyogo Prefecture Japan killing 107 people and injuring another 456. (see Amagasaki rail crash)
April 26 - Facing international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon ending its twenty nine year military domination of that country.
April 27 - The Superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse.
April 29 - Apple Computer releases Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger."
April 30 - Attacks on tourists in the Egyptian capital Cairo leave three militants dead and at least ten people injured.
[edit]
May
May 1 - A suicide attack targets a Kurdish funeral in the northern Iraqi town of Talafar, near Mosul, and leaves at least 25 people dead and more than 30 others injured. Earlier, at least five policemen and four civilians were killed in two separate attacks in Baghdad.
May 2 - A blast at an illegal munitions store in northern Afghanistan kills 28 people and injures at least 13 others.
May 3 - At least 32 people are killed and nine others injured when three two-story buildings in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore collapsed after gas cylinders stored in one of them exploded.
May 4 - In one of the largest insurgent attacks in Iraq to date, at least 60 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suicide bombing at a Kurdish police recruitment center in Irbil, northern Iraq.
May 5 - The United Kingdom votes in the 2005 general election. The Labour Party is re-elected with a substantially reduced majority.
May 5 - Two homemade bombs explode outside the British consulate in New York, USA.
May 7 - Plane Crash in Lockhart River, Australia kills 15 people.
May 9 - A town in Brazil declares Orgasm Day.
May 10 - A hand grenade ostensibly thrown by Vladimir Arutinian lands about 100 feet (30 m) from United States President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but malfunctions and does not detonate.
May 11 - Serial killer Michael Ross became first person executed in New England in 45 years.
May 12 - An election was held in the Cayman Islands 7 months later than originally scheduled due to Hurricane Ivan. It resulted in a change of government, with the United Democratic Party giving four seats to the then-opposition People's Progressive Movement in the 15 member Legislative Assembly.
May 13 - Uzbek troops kill up to 700 during protests in eastern Uzbekistan over the trials of 23 accused Islamic extremists. President Islam Karimov defends the act.
May 13 - The United States Department of Defense issues a list of bases to be closed as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process (BRAC 2005).
May 13 - The final episode of the TV series Star Trek: Enterprise is broadcast in the United States. This episode marks the first time since 1987 that a Star Trek series is not in production.
May 15 - A passenger ferry capsizes and sinks in strong winds in the Bura Gauranga River in Bangladesh, leaving over 100 people missing.
May 16 - Sony officially unveiled its PlayStation 3 game console at an E3 conference.
May 16 - George Galloway appears before a U.S. Senate committee, to answer allegations of making money from the Iraqi Oil-for-Food Programme.
May 17 - Kuwaiti women granted right to vote.
May 19 - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith released, effectively completing the Star Wars movie saga begun by George Lucas in 1977 and shattering the opening day box-office record with $50,013,859.
Star Wars Episode III as seen in theaters.May 19 - The Canadian House of Commons members narrowly pass two budget bills at second reading allowing the minority Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin to stay in power.
May 21 Greece wins the Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev, Ukraine.
May 25 - Liverpool F.C. win the UEFA Champions League by defeating AC Milan 3-2 in a penalty shootout in Istanbul.
May 25 - The Acting Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Donald Tsang, resigned for participating in the Chief Executive Election in July. As a result, Henry Tang and Michael Suen had become the Acting Chief Executive and Acting Chief Secretary for Administration respectively.
May 29 - French referendum on the European Constitution votes resoundingly to reject.
May 31 - W. Mark Felt is confirmed to be Deep Throat.
[edit]
June
June 1 - Dutch referendum on the European Constitution votes to reject, the second country to do so.
June 2 - The construction of Northrop Grumman X-47B, the world's first unmanned surveillance attack aircraft that can operate from both land bases and aircraft carriers, was launched.
June 5 - Switzerland votes to join the Schengen area and to allow same-sex partnerships.
June 6 - Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam resigns.
June 13 - Singer Michael Jackson acquitted of all charges of harming children (see 2005 trial of Michael Jackson).
June 17 - A 6.7 aftershock, which followed a 5.3 earthquake the previous day, hits California making it the fourth earthquake since June 12 in California. (California earthquakes of June 2005)
June 17 - Because of "quadruple-witching" options and futures expiration, the New York Stock Exchange sees the heaviest first-hour trading on record. 704 million shares were traded between 9:30-10:30 A.M. 1.92 billion shares were traded for the day.
June 19 - Election in the Autonomous Community of Galicia, Spain — preliminary results show that Manuel Fraga and the Partido Popular lose control of the autonomous parliament.
June 21 - Volna booster rocket carrying the first light sail spacecraft (a joint Russian-United States project) failed 83 seconds after its launch, destroying the spacecraft.
June 27 - New York State Assemblyman Will Stephens inadvertently sends an email to his constituents referring to them as 'idiots'.
June 28 - Queen Elizabeth II conducts the International Fleet Review of 167 international warships in the Solent, as part of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations.
June 30 - Spain joins Belgium and the Netherlands in permitting same-sex marriage.
[edit]
July
July 2 - Live 8, a series of 10 simultaneous concerts take place throughout the world, raising interest in the Make Poverty History campaign.
July 4 - NASA's "Copper bullet" from Deep Impact spacecraft hits Comet Tempel 1, creating a crater for scientific studies.
July 4 - Violent G8 demonstrations occur in Gleneagles, Scotland.
July 6 - The European Parliament rejects the Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions in its second reading in the codecision procedure.
July 6 - The International Olympic Committee awards the 2012 Summer Olympics to London.
The wreckage of the No. 30 bus in Tavistock Square after the 7 July 2005 London bombings.July 7 - Four explosions rock the transport network in London, three on the London Underground and one on a bus. 56 people died and over 700 were injured. See 7 July 2005 London bombings.
July 7 - Al-Qaeda admits to the killing of Egypt's Ambassador, Ihab al-Sherif.
July 10 - Luxembourgish referendum on the European Constitution votes to accept.
July 10 - Hurricane Dennis strikes near Navarre Beach, Florida as a Category 3 storm killing 10 people, after killing over 50 people in the Caribbean.
July 12 - Terrorists kill 5 people and wound 90 people in a crowded mall in Netanya, Israel. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for attack.
July 13 - Three trains collide in the Ghotki rail crash in Ghotki, Pakistan, killing over 150 people.
July 14 - A mortar fired from the Gaza strip kills Dana Galkowicz, in the Netiv Haasara Moshav.
July 16 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book of the Harry Potter saga by the British writer J. K. Rowling, is released.
July 17 - The Disneyland Resort celebrates its 50th birthday.
July 19 - President Bush nominates Appeals Court Judge John G. Roberts, Jr. to the United States Supreme Court, following the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor.
July 20 - Canada's Civil Marriage Act, legalizing same-sex marriage, receives Royal Assent.
July 21 - A terrorist attack on London, similar to the July 7 attacks, includes 4 attempted bomb attacks on 3 Underground trains and a London bus. The bombs failed to explode properly, and only one injury was reported.
July 22 - A Brazilian electrician, Jean Charles de Menezes, is shot dead at a London underground station by police who mistake him for a suicide bomber.
July 23 - A series of blasts in a resort town in Egypt. See July 23, 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks.
July 24 - Lance Armstrong wins a record seventh straight Tours de France before his scheduled retirement.
July 26 - Launch for Space Shuttle Discovery "Return To Flight" mission STS-114. This is the first Space Shuttle flight in nearly two and a half years since the breakup of Columbia on its return from mission STS-107.
July 26 - Mumbai and Mumbai Conurbation area was submerged in 5-7 ft water due to heavy rains and making nearby dams release water causing massive flood, which virtually stopped the financial capital of India for 4-5 days.
July 28 - The Provisional IRA issues a statement formally ordering an end to the armed campaign it has pursued since 1969 and ordering all its units to dump their arms.
[edit]
August
August 2 - Air France Flight 358 bursts into flames after overshooting the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport; all aboard survive.
August 6 - An ATR-72 heading from Italy to Tunisia crashes into the Mediterranean Sea, killing 16 of 39 on board.
August 9 - Space Shuttle Discovery returns to Edwards Air Force Base at 0814 EDT, completing STS-114, "Return to Flight."
August 12 - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launched.
August 14 - Helios Airways Flight 522 crashes into a mountain in Greece, killing 121.
August 16 - West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes into a mountain in Venezuela, killing 152 passengers.
August 16 - The XX World Youth Day begins in Cologne, Germany.
August 17 - The first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of the Israel unilateral disengagement plan, starts.
August 17 - Bangladesh is hit by bomb explosions. [2]
August 17 - Sellapan Ramanathan gains victory in the Singapore Presidential elections, 2005.
August 18 - BTK killer Dennis Rader is sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences.
August 18 - Peace Mission 2005, the first joint China-Russia military exercise, begins its 8-day training on the Shandong peninsula.
August 22 - A 4.1-kg (9-pound) meteorite crashes into the Dotito area of Zambezi Escarpment in Zimbabwe, leaving a 15-cm (6-inch) crater.
An aerial view of the flooding near downtown New Orleans, following the devastation of the city by Hurricane Katrina.August 23 - Israel's unilateral disengagement from 25 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank ends.
August 24 - Hong Kong High Court Judge Michael Hartmann rules that sodomy laws were unconstitutional.
August 26 - Jean Michel Jarre's "Space of Freedom" concert in Gdańsk, Poland commemorating the 25th anniversary of the creation of Solidarność ("Solidarity" trade union)
August 28 - Terrorist wounds 52 at bus station in Beersheba, Israel. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for attack.
August 29 - At least 1,604 are killed, and severe damage is caused along the U.S. Gulf Coast, as Hurricane Katrina strikes the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coastal areas.
August 31 - A crowd crush on the Al-Aaimmah bridge in Baghdad kills several hundred civilians (see Baghdad bridge stampede).
[edit]
September
Gas price hike shown at a Shell station.September 1 - Oil prices rise sharply following economic effects of Hurricane Katrina.
September 1 - Sellapan Ramanathan is sworn-in for a second term of office as the President of Singapore.
September 2 - Clashes between protesters and Israeli forces in Bil'in.
September 3 - William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States, dies.
September 5 - Mandala Airlines Flight 091 737 crashes in Indonesia killing at least 117. (See airplane accidents in 2005).
September 5 - John G. Roberts nominated by President George W. Bush, for Chief Justice of the United States.
September 7 - Incumbent Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak wins its first multi-party presidential 'election'.
September 11 - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the Liberal Democratic Party are returned to power following the Japanese general elections.
September 12 - Norwegian parliamentary election, resulting in a victory for the red-green-coalition. New prime-minister is Jens Stoltenberg from Labour Party.
September 12 - The Hong Kong Disneyland Resort officially opens.
September 12 - English cricket team draw the final match to win The 2005 Ashes.
September 14 - September 16 - Largest UN World Summit in history, held in New York City.
September 17 - Helen Clark, leader of the Labour Party is re-elected for a third term in the New Zealand general election
September 18 - Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union and Gerhard Schröder of the Social Democratic Party both claim victory in the German federal election.
September 18 - Afghan parliamentary election
September 19 - North Korea agrees to stop building nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and cooperation.
September 21 - Popular P2P client WinMX is confirmed to be offline.
September 23 - Convicted bank thief and Boricua Popular Army leader, Filiberto Ojeda Ríos is killed in his home in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico when members of the FBI attempt to serve an arrest warrant.
September 24 - Hurricane Rita hits the U.S. Gulf Coast. The 9th Ward section of New Orleans floods for the 2nd time in a month and a half. Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama are also affected.
September 25 - Polish parliamentary election.
September 26 - U.S. army reservist Lynndie England is convicted by a military jury on six of seven counts in connection with the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.
September 27 - Michaëlle Jean, born in Haiti, becomes the 27th Governor General of Canada, and the first black person to hold that position.
September 28 - American politician Tom DeLay is indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy by a Texas grand jury.
September 29 - John G. Roberts, Jr. is confirmed and sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.
September 30 - The Parliament of Catalonia passes with 120 plus votes and 15 against, the Project of New Catalan Statute of Autonomy, proclaiming in its article 1, "Catalonia is a nation".
September 30 - The controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
[edit]
October
Visible image of Hurricane Wilma near record intensity with a central pressure of 882 millibars.October 1 - 26 people are killed and more than 100 are injured in the 2005 Bali bombings.
October 1 - The world's largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, is formed by the merger of two Japanese banking conglomerates.
October 1 - An Australian photojournalist in Afghanistan, Stephen Dupont, films US soldiers burning two dead Taliban militias' bodies.
October 2 - 20 people are killed in a shipwreck in Lake George, NY.
October 3 - St. Tammany Parish Schools reopen in Louisiana just over a month after Hurricane Katrina closed them.
October 4 - Hurricane Stan hits Mexico and Central America killing over 1,620 people.
October 5 - Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith charged with refusing to serve in the Iraq war.
October 7 - UN nuclear agency director Mohamed ElBaradei is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
October 8 - An earthquake in Kashmir kills about 80,000 people.
October 9 - Polish presidential election, 1st round.
October 12 - The second Chinese human spaceflight Shenzhou 6 launched, carrying Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng for five days in orbit.
October 13 - Veselin Topalov wins the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005.
October 13 - The Franco-Indian Lawyers Association is founded in Paris.
October 15 - The referendum on the new Proposed Iraqi constitution is held.
October 15 - Riot in Toledo, Ohio during a Neo-Nazi rally surrounding racial issues; 114 arrested
October 15 - Qinghai-Tibet Railway completed.
October 16 - U.S. Helicopters and warplanes bomb two villages near Ramadi in western Iraq, killing about 70 people.
Jens StoltenbergOctober 17 - Jens Stoltenberg becomes the Prime Minister of Norway for the second time.
October 18 - The UN tightens the rules for its staff, following several claims of financial impropriety and sexual abuse.
October 19 - The Trials of Saddam Hussein begin.
October 19 - Hurricane Wilma swells into a Category 5 storm.
October 19 - The Houston Astros won their first National League Championship to advance to their first ever World Series in franchise history.
October 20 Hurricane Wilma enters the Mexican Caribbean, passing through Cozumel and then the Yucatán Peninsula, staying over Cancún for over 60 hours
October 21 - 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, celebrations held around the United Kingdom.
October 22 - Tropical Storm Alpha forms making the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season the most active on record.
October 22 - Bellview Airlines Flight 210, a Boeing 737 airliner crashes in Nigeria.
October 23 - Polish presidential election, 2nd round.
October 23 - Referendum on the merger of the Kamchatka Oblast and the Autonomous District of Koryakia.
October 23 - Referendo Sobre a Proibição_do_Comércio_de_Armas_e_Munição_no_Brasil Guns and Ammo Ban Referendum in Brazil
October 24 - Hurricane Wilma makes landfall in southwestern Florida as a category 3 hurricane.
October 26 - Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls for Israel to be "wiped off the map" at "World Without Zionism" conference in Tehran, Iran, and condemns peace process.
October 26 - The U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 2,000.
October 26- The Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros in 4 games to win their first World Series since 1917.
October 27 - Two teenagers accidentally electrocute themselves in Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris, France, leading to widespread rioting.
October 28 - Vice presidential adviser Lewis "Scooter" Libby resigns after being charged with obstruction of justice, perjury and making a false statement in the CIA leak investigation.
October 29 - A train in Andhra Pradesh, India derails, killing at least 77 people.
October 29 - At least 61 people are dead and many others wounded in three powerful blasts in the Indian capital, Delhi. See 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings for full details.
October 30 - Hurricane Beta hits the coast of Nicaragua. It is the thirteenth hurricane of 2005, breaking the 1969 record of 12 hurricanes.
[edit]
November
November 1 - The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall arrive in the United States for a state visit, their first overseas tour since their marriage.
November 1 - Justice John Gomery releases the first part of the Gomery Commission report on corruption in the Liberal Party of Canada and the sponsorship scandal.
November 1 - U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and his fellow Democrats force a closed session of the Senate over the Lewis Libby indictment.
November 2 - Madrid: the Spanish Congress of Deputies approves the admission to formality of the new Catalan Statute of Autonomy with the support of all the groups except the People's Party (PP) that the same day filed an objection of unconstitutionality.
Part of the devastation caused by an F3 tornado near Evansville, Indiana.November 3 & 4 - Another severe aftershock measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale hits affected areas of Northern Pakistan.
November 6 - Evansville Tornado of November 2005: A tornado hits western Kentucky and southwestern Indiana, killing at least 22.
November 6 - Azerbaijan parliamentary election.
November 7 - Microsoft launched Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and Microsoft BizTalk 2006 worldwide.
November 8 - French President Jacques Chirac declares a state of emergency on the 12th day of the French civil unrest, see 2005 civil unrest in France.
November 9 - At least fifty people are killed and more than 120 are injured in a series of coordinated suicide bombings in Amman, Jordan. See 2005 Amman bombings.
November 12 - United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan makes his first visit to Iraq since Gulf War II began and urges Iraqis to embrace a process aiming to reconcile all the country's ethnic and religious groups.
November 13 - Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year old British man is reported as the first person proven to have been 'cured' of HIV.
November 13- Current WWE Wrestler, Eddie Guerrero, sadly passes away at the age of 38.
November 15 - Australia: Large workers' protest against the Coalition government's planned Industrial Reform legislation in Australia.
November 15 - An earthquake near Sanriku in Japan occurs, prompting a tsunami warning to be issued.
November 18 - The film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is released in the UK and USA.
November 20 - The Washington Post rebukes journalist Bob Woodward over his conduct in the CIA leak probe.
November 21 - The Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon announces his resignation from Likud and his intention to form a new party devoted to peace in the region, Kadima, and asks the President of Israel to call a general election.
November 22 - Microsoft releases the Xbox 360 gaming console in North America.
November 22 - Ted Koppel steps down as host of Nightline after 25 years with the program.
November 24 - The Licensing Act 2003 comes into force in England and Wales, introducing flexibility in the hours during which alcoholic beverages may be sold.
November 27 - Manuel Zelaya is elected the new President of Honduras.
Edmonton EskimosNovember 27 - The Edmonton Eskimos defeat the Montreal Alouettes 38-35 to win the 93rd Grey Cup.
November 28 - The Liberal Party minority government in Canada is toppled by a non-confidence vote in the House of Commons tabled by the Conservatives and backed by the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party, paving the way for a federal election on January 23, 2006.
November 28 - The United Nations Climate Change Conference opens in Montreal, Quebec. The conference lasted until December 9, and featured a speech by former President Bill Clinton that the George W. Bush Administration objected to.
November 29 - Leo O'Connor and David Keogh appear in court (see O'Connor - Keogh official secrets trial).
November 30 - Surgeons in France carry out the first human face transplant.
[edit]
December
December 1 - South Africa becomes the fifth country in the world where same-sex marriages are recognized.
December 2 - Kenneth Boyd becomes the 1,000th person to be executed in the USA since the re-introduction of capital punishment in 1976.
December 2 - The £140m (US$240m) extension of the Docklands Light Railway in London, linking Canning Town to North Woolwich and London City Airport opens.
The building, in Tehran, into which the C-130 plane crashed.December 4 - 250,000 people in Hong Kong protest for democracy.
December 6 - An Iranian C-130 Hercules airplane crashes into a ten-story building in a civilian area of Tehran, the capital of Iran, killing all 94 people aboard and 34 residents of the building - a total of 128 people.
December 7 - A U.S. Federal Air Marshal fatally shoots Rigoberto Alpizar on a jetway at Miami International Airport in Florida.
December 7 - European Union TLD .eu is launched, and replaced .eu.int. Initially this will be only for business purposes. From 7 April 2006 onwards, EU citizens can also register .eu domains.
December 8 - Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 overshoots the runway at Chicago Midway Airport, killing a 6-year-old boy and injuring 11 other people.
December 9 was the last day of service for London's Routemaster buses.December 9 - Hurricane Epsilon dies in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It becomes the longest-lived December hurricane on record and ties for second-place being the 2nd strongest December hurricane.
December 11 - 2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire north of London causes widespread damage.
December 12 - Scientists announced that they had created mice with small amounts of human brain cells in an effort to make realistic models of neurological disorders.
December 13 - A 6.7 magnitude earthquake rocks South Asia.
December 13 - Mass race riots in Sydney, Australia, involving up to 5,000 youths.
December 15 - The first parliamentary elections under Iraq's new constitution.
December 16 - 43rd Mersenne prime found, 230,402,457 − 1. Discovered with the GIMPS project by Dr. Curtis Cooper and Dr. Steven Boone, professors at Central Missouri State University.
The Hertfordshire explosions seen from nearby on December 11.December 16 - The West Wing Actor John Spencer dies at 58.
December 18 - Evo Morales wins the Bolivian Presidential Elections.
December 18 - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is hospitalized after suffering a minor stroke. He was released from the hospital two days later.
December 18 - The World Trade Organization 6th ministerial conference concludes in Hong Kong with a limited trade deal being ratified.
December 20 - 2005 New York City transit strike: New York City's Transport Workers Union Local 100 goes on strike for three days, shutting down all New York City Subway and Bus services.
December 22 - The U.S. Census Bureau releases its population estimates for 2005.
December 22 - Industrial action by bus drivers in Tehran leads to the arrest of Mansour Osanlou and several other union activists.
December 23 - Lech Kaczyński is sworn in as the President of Poland in Warsaw, Poland.
December 23 - U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announces the first in an expected series of troop drawdowns following Iraqi elections.
December 23 - Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217 from Baku, Azerbaijan to Aktau, Kazakhstan crashed shortly after takeoff killing 23 people.
December 23 - Chad declares a state of war against Sudan following a December 18th attack on Adre, which left about 100 people dead.
December 23 - Trial of Tali Fahima ends in a plea bargain.
December 24 - Pope Benedict XVI leads his first Christmas Midnight Mass as Pope, praying for peace in the Middle East.
December 26 - Indonesians mark the first moments of the tsunami wave that came ashore exactly a year earlier, with thousands of people commemorating victims and relatives in many ceremonies.
December 31 - Another second was added, 23:59:60, called a leap second,to end the year 2005.The last time this occured was on June 30, 1998.
2006
January
January 1 - Russia cuts natural gas to Ukraine over a price dispute.
January 2 - Fifteen are killed when the Bad Reichenhall ice rink roof in Germany collapses after heavy snowfall in the Bavarian Alps.
January 3 - Twelve deceased coal miners and one survivor are discovered in the Sago Mine Disaster near Buckhannon, West Virginia in the United States.
January 4 - Powers are transferred from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to his deputy, Vice Premier Ehud Olmert, after Sharon suffers a massive hemorrhagic stroke.
January 5 - A hotel in Makkah, Saudi Arabia collapses killing 76 pilgrims visiting to perform hajj.
New Horizons, the world's first probe to Pluto, is launched on January 19January 6 - The record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season officially draws to a close as Tropical Storm Zeta dissipates.
January 7 - Embroiled in multiple scandals, former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay announces he will not seek to reassume his former post. U.K. Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy resigns after revelations that he has a drinking problem.
January 8 - A powerful, magnitude 6.9 earthquake epicentered off the coast of the Greek island of Kythera shakes much of Greece and is felt throughout the eastern Mediterranean basin. No injuries or significant damage are reported.
January 9 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 11,000 for the first time since June 7, 2001 closing at 11,011.90.
January 10 - At the Macworld Conference & Expo, Apple Computer introduces the first Macs with Intel processors: the iMac (Core Duo) and the MacBook Pro.
January 11 - Augustine Volcano in Alaska erupts twice, marking its first major eruption since 1986.
January 12 - A stampede during the Stoning of the devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills 362 Muslim pilgrims.
January 14 - A natural gas explosion in a coal mine kills eight in Romania.
January 15 - NASA's Stardust mission successfully ends with the return of the first comet
January 19 - Terrorist commits suicide in Tel Aviv, killing only himself but injuring 19 people.
January 23 - Stephen Harper wins the election in Canada forming a minority government.
January 27 - Worldwide celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Mozart.
January 28 - A trade hall roof collapses in Katowice, Poland, killing 65 people.
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February
February 5 - The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL by a score of 21-10.
February 6 - Stephen Harper is sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada.
The logo of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, ItalyFebruary 10 - The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Torino, Italy. The closing ceremony occurs on February 26. The next 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Whistler, Vancouver, Canada.
February 16 - Kobe Airport, a controversial offshore airport in Kobe, Japan, opens for airline service.
February 17 - As many as eighteen hundred people die when a mudslide occurs on the island of Leyte in the Philippines.
February 19 - Sixty-five miners become trapped underground after an explosion in Nueva Rosita, Mexico during the Pasta de Conchos mine disaster. There are no survivors.
February 20-February 21 - Solidarity conference in Bil'in in the Palestinian West Bank.
February 22 - A blast heavily damages the Al Askari Mosque, a Shiite holy site in Samarra, Iraq, causing a wave of protests and counterattacks across Iraq.
February 22 - Over £53.1 million is stolen during the Securitas depot robbery, the largest ever cash robbery in the United Kingdom.
February 22 - The one billionth song is purchased from Apple iTunes.
February 23 - A roof collapses on a Moscow Market, killing 56 people.
February 24 - A state of emergency is declared in the Philippines after an alleged coup d'etat against President Gloria Arroyo is foiled.
February 25 - Six police officers, seven protesters, and a journalist receive head wounds when a protest prior to the Love Ulster parade turns into a major riot.
February 25 - Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni wins 2nd re-election, sparking riots in Kampala by opposition supporters.
February 26 - Khojaly Massacre remembrance day in Azerbaijan, were more then 600 Azeris were killed by Armenian forces.
February 26 - The world population reaches 6.5 billion at 0016 UTC according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
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March
March 2 - The U.S. Federal Reserve releases the redesigned $10 bill into circulation.
March 3 - The first World Baseball Classic opens in Tokyo, Japan.
March 4 - The central Papeete power station is damaged by a fire, resulting in limited power for some areas of Tahiti for a couple of weeks.
March 4 - A new species of shark is discovered in Mexico's Sea of Cortez, bringing the types of Mustelus shark found in the eastern North Pacific to five.
March 4 - The Deep Space Network tries one final contact attempt to Pioneer 10.
March 4 - The 28th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is held in Australia.
March 5 - Crash wins Best Picture, Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) wins Best Director, Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line) wins Best Actress, and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) wins Best Actor during the 78th Academy Awards.
March 7 - Fifteen people die and many others are injured in three blasts throughout Varanasi, India.
March 9 - Microsoft unveils the Ultra-Mobile PC, formerly code-named "Origami Project".
March 9 - NASA's Cassini-Huygens spacecraft discovers geysers of water shooting from Saturn's moon Enceladus, signaling a possible presence of water.
Tropical Cyclone Larry, considered the worst tropical cyclone to hit Queensland, off the Australian coast on March 18March 10 - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter enters Mars orbit.
March 11 - Slobodan Milošević, former Yugoslav president, dies of a heart attack in his prison cell in The Hague, Netherlands.
March 11 - Michelle Bachelet is sworn in as the first female President of Chile.
March 12 - Springfield, Illinois is hit with its biggest storm in over fifty years as a tornado outbreak sequence causes dozens of tornadoes to occur in Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois over a five-day period.
March 15-March 26 - The 2006 Commonwealth Games take place in Melbourne, Australia.
March 16 - The New Kitakyushu Airport opens in Japan.
March 20 - Tropical Cyclone Larry makes landfall in Queensland, Australia as what is considered to be the worst cyclone to hit the region since 1931.
March 22 - Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) declares a permanent ceasefire in their campaign for Basque independence from Spain.
March 23 - The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ceases publication of the M3 monetary aggregate.
March 25 - An estimated 500,000 people take to the streets in downtown Los Angeles in protest of a proposed federal crackdown on illegal immigration.
March 25 - A revolutionary scramjet jet engine Hyshot III designed to fly at seven times the speed of sound is successfully tested at Woomera, South Australia.
March 26 - The ban on smoking in public places such as bars and restaurants comes into effect in Scotland.
March 28 - Andrew Card, chief of staff to President George W. Bush resigns; President Bush nominates Josh Bolten as his replacement.
March 29 - Total solar eclipse (Brazil, Greece, Mid Atlantic ocean, Sahara, Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia).
March 30 - The first Brazilian astronaut, Marcos Pontes, goes to space in a Russian spaceship, Soyuz TMA-8, at 2:29:00 CET.
March 30 - The al-Dana capsizes off the coast of Bahrain killing at least forty-eight people.
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April
April 5 - A swan with Avian Flu is discovered in Cellardyke in Fife, Scotland the first case in the United Kingdom.
April 8 - The bodies of eight murdered men are found in Shedden, Ontario (see Shedden massacre).
A jury in April deliberated over the sentence of convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui and later recommended life in prison without parole on May 3April 8 - Bristol, United Kingdom celebrates the 200th birthday of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (actually April 9) by relighting the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
April 9 - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is taken out of office after four months in a coma.
April 10 - The St. Louis Cardinals' new Busch Stadium officially opens.
April 10 - Romano Prodi narrowly defeats Silvio Berlusconi in Italian parlimentary elections.
April 11 - ESA's Venus Express spaceprobe enters Venus's orbit.
April 11 - President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirms that Iran had successfully produced low-grade enriched uranium.
April 12 - Jurors in the trial of terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui hear cockpit recordings of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in a Pennsylvania field during the September 11, 2001 attacks.
April 16 - HSH Albert II, Prince of Monaco, reaches the North Pole, becoming the first reigning monarch ever to do so.
April 17 - Suicide bombing by Islamic Jihad in Tel Aviv kills nine people, injures dozens.
April 17 - Raloxifene is found to be as effective as Tamoxifen in preventing breast cancer, but with fewer side effects.
April 18 - A record seven Venezuelan pitchers started games in Major League Baseball.
April 19 - Han Myung-sook became South Korea's first female Prime Minister.
April 20 - Russia and Iran reach a uranium enrichment deal, setting up a joint uranium enrichment firm on Russian soil.
April 22 - Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants, the worst one-day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War.
April 22-June 1 - 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs.
April 24 - Three explosions in a touristy section of Dahab, Egypt kill 30 and injure over 115.
April 24 - Co-founder Scott McNealy steps down as chairman of Sun Microsystems.
April 29 - Massive anti-war demonstrations and a march down Broadway in New York City mark the third year of war in Iraq. Also, the Global Night Commute takes place in over 130 cities around the world to promote the visibility of the Invisible Children in Uganda.
[edit]
May
May 1 - Bolivian President Evo Morales nationalizes his nation's gas fields.
May 1 - The Great American Boycott takes place across the US nation as marchers protest for immigration rights.
May 4 - A new coalition government takes office in Israel, with four political parties, which together hold 67 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.
May 5 - After dissapointing results in the English local elections, British Prime Minister Tony Blair holds major reshuffle of his cabinet, due also to political crises of some high ranking members.
May 5 - NASA astronomers announce the discovery of a similar storm system in the Jovian atmosphere dubbed the Red Spot Junior, which has a striking similar appearance to the famous Great Red Spot.
May 8 - Palestinian factions clash in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of two men of Fatah and one man of Hamas.
May 8 - Judgement is given in London for Apple Computer in Apple Corps v. Apple Computer, a trademark lawsuit brought by The Beatles' company, Apple Corps.
May 9 - After 14 days trapped underground after the Beaconsfield mine collapse, miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb are resuced in Beaconsfield, Tasmania, Australia.
May 12 - Justin Gatlin of the USA runs the fastest ever 100 metres race in Doha, Qatar. He sets a time of 9.76 seconds, shaving a hundredth of a second from the previous world record of 9.77 set by Asafa Powell in 2005 but according to the IAAF, there was a timing error and his time was 9.766. Which means, by rule, it should be rounded to 9.77 meaning he is sharing the lead.
May 15 - The 2006 Pacific hurricane season officially begins in the eastern basin. The hurricane season for the central basin will officially begin on June 1.
May 17 - Captain Nichola Goddard of the 1st RCHA becomes Canada's first female casualty since World War II, and Canada's first female combat arms casualty.
May 20 - Finland's Lordi earns the most points ever given in the fifty-one times the Eurovision Song Contest has been held.
May 21 - Montenegro approves independence from its union with Serbia.
May 22 - Belfast City Airport is officially renamed the George Best Airport in memory of the football legend on what would have been his 60th birthday.
May 22 - Cedar Fair, L.P. buys the Paramount Parks chain of theme parks from CBS.
May 23 - Martin and Ben successfully managed to connect a SIP softphone to a Asterisk server.
[edit]
Predicted and scheduled events
This article or section contains information about scheduled or expected future events.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the event approaches and more information becomes available.
[edit]
May
May 25-May 28 - Pope Benedict XVI's pilgrimage to Poland
Parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic
May 26-May 28 - Bingham Cup New York. Gay Rugby World Cup held by the International Gay Rugby Association and Board
May 26 - National Sorry Day National Day in Australia to remember the Stolen Generation, Indigenous children forcibily removed from their family.
May 27 - Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest, opens its fifth runway.
Census in Canada - for the first time, the Canadian census will provide an online internet (web-based) service as an alternative to the usual mail-in forms.
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June
June 1 - 2006 Atlantic hurricane season begins.
June 6 - Criterion Collection DVD release of Dazed and Confused
June 8-June 22 - 2006 NBA Finals.
June 9 - Football World Cup 2006 Begins in Germany.
June 11 - Nintendo DS Lite is set to release in North America.
June 17 - Local government elections in Slovakia.
June 19 - Movie "Over The Hedge" hits the theaters America#REDIRECT Over The Hedge
June 21-June 22 - Aboriginals and the Canadian Military Conference, Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario, Canada http://www.cda-acd.forces.gc.ca/aborig_conference_autoch/default.asp
June 23 - Nintendo DS Lite is set to release in Europe