2006

2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

It has been designated:

• The Year of the Dog in the Chinese calendar. The next year of the dog will be in the year 2018.
• International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
• The International Asperger's Year, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr Hans Asperger, discoverer of Asperger's Syndrome.
• The Year of Mozart, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

[edit] Climate

The first half of 2006 has been tied with 1998 as the warmest for any year since the 1890s, indicating it may top 2005 as the warmest year on record.

[edit] Events

[edit] January

• January 1 - Russia cuts natural gas to Ukraine over a price dispute.
• January 2 - The Bad Reichenhall ice rink roof in Germany collapses after heavy snowfall in the Bavarian Alps, killing 15.
• January 3 - Twelve deceased coal miners and 1 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 Mecca, Saudi Arabia collapses, killing 76 pilgrims visiting to perform hajj.
• January 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.
• January 7 - 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. Only a few minor injuries and no 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 11 - The 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 pilgrims.

New Horizons, the world's first probe to Pluto, is launched on January 19.

• January 14 - A natural gas explosion in a coal mine kills 8 in Romania.
• January 15 - NASA's Stardust mission successfully ends, the first to return dust from a comet.
• January 23 - Stephen Harper wins the federal election in Canada, forming a minority government.
• January 25 - Hamas wins the majority of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections.
• January 25 - Deus Caritas Est, the first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, is promulgated.
• January 27 - Celebrations are held in Salzburg and around the world for the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• January 28 - A trade hall roof collapses in Katowice, Poland, killing 65 people.
• January 31 - Samuel Alito is sworn in as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

[edit] February

• February 1 - UAL Corp, United Airlines' parent company, emerges from bankruptcy after being in that position since December 9, 2002, the longest such filing in history.
• February 5 - The Pittsburgh Steelers win Super Bowl XL, defeating the Seattle Seahawks 21-10.
• February 7 - An aging Egyptian passenger ferry carrying more than 1,400 people sinks in the Red Sea off the Saudi coast.

The logo of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy

• February 8 - 2006 East Timor crisis: 404 soldiers desert their barracks in East Timor.
• February 8 - The 48th Annual Grammy Awards are held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The big winners of the night are U2 who sweep all 5 nominations, beating Mariah Carey for Album and Song of the Year Awards. Mariah Carey, Kanye West, John Legend, Alison Krauss and her band Union Station each win 3; Kelly Clarkson wins 2.
• February 10 - The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin, Italy. The closing ceremony occurs on February 26.
• February 11 - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shoots his friend and lawyer, Harry Whittington, in the face with a shotgun on a south Texas ranch.
• February 16 - Kobe Airport, a controversial offshore airport in Kobe, Japan, opens for airline service.
• February 17 - As many as 1,800 people die when a mudslide occurs on Leyte Island in the Philippines.
• February 19 - Pasta de Conchos mine disaster: Sixty-five miners become trapped underground after an explosion in Nueva Rosita, Mexico; all 65 die.
• 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 1 billionth song is purchased from the Apple iTunes Store.
• 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 Macapagal Arroyo is foiled.
• February 25 - Six police officers, 7 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 his second re-election, sparking riots in Kampala by opposition supporters.

[edit] March

• March 3 - The first World Baseball Classic opens in Tokyo, Japan.
• March 4 - A new species of shark, Mustelus hacat, is discovered in Mexico's Sea of Cortez, bringing the number of Mustelus species found in the eastern North Pacific to 5.
• March 4 - The final contact attempt with Pioneer 10 receives no response.
• March 4 - Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway was christened by Bishop Ole Christian Kvarme at the chapel inside The Royal Palace in Oslo.
• 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. Three 6 Mafia makes history as they become the first African-American hip-hop group to win an Academy Award for Best Song and also become the first hip-hop artists to ever perform at the ceremony.
• March 7 - Fifteen people die and many others are injured in three blasts throughout Varanasi, India.
• March 9 - NASA's Cassini-Huygens spacecraft discovers geysers of a liquid substance 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 18

• March 10 - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter enters Mars orbit.
• March 11 - Michelle Bachelet is sworn in as the first female President of Chile.
• March 15-March 26 - The 2006 Commonwealth Games take place in Melbourne, Australia.
• March 17 - The United States, the last nation in the world to have battleships in a reserve fleet, strikes its 2 remaining Iowa-class battleships from the Naval Vessel Register, ending the age of the battleship.
• 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 25 - An estimated 500,000 people take to the streets in downtown Los Angeles to protest a proposed federal crackdown on illegal immigration.
• March 25 - A revolutionary scramjet jet engine, Hyshot III, designed to fly at 7 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 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 48 people.

[edit] April

• April 5 - A swan with Avian Flu is discovered in Cellardyke in Fife, Scotland (the first cases in the United Kingdom).
• April 8 - Shedden massacre: The bodies of 8 murdered men are found in Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario.

A jury in April deliberates over the sentence of convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui and later recommends life in prison without parole on May 3

• April 8 - Bristol, United Kingdom celebrates the 200th birthday of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (actually April 9) by relighting the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
• April 8 - Numbersixvalverde, ridden by Niall Madden, wins the Grand National at Aintree.
• April 9 - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is removed from office after 4 months in a coma.
• April 10 - Romano Prodi narrowly defeats Silvio Berlusconi in the Italian parliamentary elections.
• April 11 - The ESA's Venus Express spaceprobe enters Venus' orbit.
• April 11 - President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirms that Iran has successfully produced a few grams of 3.5% low-grade enriched uranium.
• April 16 - Albert II, Prince of Monaco, reaches the North Pole, becoming the first reigning monarch ever to do so.
• April 17 - A suicide bombing by Islamic Jihad in Tel Aviv kills 9 people and injures dozens.
• April 18 - The Centennial of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake is observed.
• April 19 - Han Myung-sook becomes the first female Prime Minister of South Korea.
• April 20 - Iran announces a uranium enrichment deal with Russia, involving a joint uranium enrichment firm on Russian soil; 9 days later Iran announces that it will not move all activity to Russia, thus leading to a de-facto termination of the deal.
• April 22 - War on Terror: Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants (the worst 1-day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War).
• April 24 - Three explosions in a tourist section of Dahab, Egypt kill 30 and injure over 115.
• April 29 - Massive anti-war demonstrations and a march down Broadway in New York City mark the third year of war in Iraq.
• April 29 - 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 United States as marchers protest for immigration rights.
• May 4 - A new coalition government takes office in Israel; its 4 political parties hold 67 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.

The location of the epicenter of the earthquake that struck Indonesia on May 27

• May 5 - NASA astronomers announce the discovery of a storm system in the Jovian atmosphere, dubbed the Red Spot Junior on the planet Jupiter, which has a striking similar appearance to the famous Great Red Spot.
• May 5 - Fiat chairman Sergio Marchionne announces that the Alfa Romeo automobile brand will return to the United States in 2008, after a 13-year hiatus. Alfa Romeo sales were to be initially handled by Maserati dealerships.
• May 9 - Beaconsfield mine collapse: After 14 days trapped underground, miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb are rescued in Beaconsfield, Tasmania, Australia.
• May 13 - Liverpool defeats West Ham to win the FA Cup on penalties after a 3-3 draw. [1]
• May 18 - FC Barcelona defeats Arsenal in the final of the UEFA Champions League played in Paris
• May 20 - Finland's Lordi wins the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest held in Athens. The monster-like band earns the most points ever given in the 51-year-old contest.
• May 24 - East Timor's Foreign Minister