2006(MMVI) was acommon year starting on Sundayof theGregorian calendar,the 2006th year of theCommon Era(CE) andAnno Domini(AD) designations, the 6th year of the3rd millenniumand the21st century,and the 7th year of the2000sdecade.
| Millennium: | 3rd millennium |
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2006 was designated as theInternational Year of Deserts and Desertification.[1]
Events
editJanuary
edit- January 1–4– Russia temporarily cuts shipment ofnatural gastoUkraineduring aprice dispute.[2]
- January 12–A stampededuring theStoning of the Devilritual on the last day at theHajjinMina, Saudi Arabia,kills at least 362pilgrims.[3][4]
- January 15–NASA'sStardustmission successfully ends, the first to return dust from acomet.[5]
- January 19–NASAlaunches the first interplanetary space probe toPluto,theNew Horizons.[6]
- January 22–Evo Moralesis inaugurated aspresident of Bolivia.
- January 25–Hamaswins the2006 Palestinian legislative election.[7]
- January 29– The roof of one of the buildings at theKatowice International FaircollapsedinKatowice,Poland,killing 65 and injuring 170.[8]
- January 30– Jennifer San Marco goes ona killing spreeinGoleta, Californiathat leaves seven people dead before she takes her own life.[9]
February
edit- February 4–Egyptianpassenger ferry,MSal-Salam Boccaccio 98,sinks in theRed Seaoff the coast ofSaudi Arabia,killing over 1,000 people.[10]
- February 6–Stephen Harperis sworn in as thePrime Minister of Canada.
- February 10–26– The2006 Winter Olympicsare held inTurin, Italy.[11]
- February 17– Amassive mudslideoccurs inSouthern Leyte,Philippineskilling an estimated 1,126 people.[12]
- February 22–2006 al-Askari mosque bombing:Explosions occur at theal-Askari ShrineinSamarra,Iraq.The attack on the shrine, one of the holiest sites inShia Islam,causes the escalation ofsectarian violence in Iraqinto a full-scale war (theIraqi Civil War of 2006–2008).[13]
March
edit- March 9–NASA'sCassini–Huygensspacecraft announces a geyser-like emission of vapor, dust, and small ice crystals onSaturn's moonEnceladus,possibly indicating the presence of water.[14][15]
- March 10– NASA'sMars Reconnaissance Orbiterenters orbit aroundMars.[16]
- March 10–Michelle Bacheletbecomes the first femalepresident of Chile.
- March 15– TheUnited Nations General Assemblyvotes overwhelmingly to establish theUnited Nations Human Rights Council.[17]
- March 21–Microbloggingandsocial networking servicewebsiteTwitter(later rebranded to X) was launched.
April
edit- April 4– TheFaddoul Brothers,kidnapped on 23 February 2006 inCaracas,Venezuela, are found dead, causing outrage and mass protests against insecurity in the country.[18][19][20]
- April 11
- TheEuropean Space Agency'sVenus Expressspaceprobe entersVenus' orbit.[21]
- PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejadconfirms thatIranhassuccessfully produceda few grams of low-gradeenriched uranium.[22][23]
- April 20–Iranannounces a deal with Russia, involving a jointuranium enrichmentfirm on Russian soil;[24]nine days later Iran announces that it will not move all activity to Russia, thus leading to ade factotermination of the deal.
May
edit- May 17– TheHuman Genome Projectpublishes the finalchromosomesequence, inNature.[25]
- May 18–20– TheEurovision Song Contest 2006takes place inAthens,Greece,and is won byFinnishband entrantLordiwith the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah".
- May 27– The 6.4 Mw Yogyakarta earthquakeshakes centralJavainIndonesiawith anMSKintensity of IX (Destructive), leaving more than 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured.[26][27]
June
edit- June 3–Montenegrodeclares its independence fromSerbia and Montenegroafter aMay 21referendumand becomes asovereign state.Two days later, the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro officially disbands afterSerbiadeclares its independence as well, ending an 88-year union between the two countries[28]and leavingSerbiaas the successor country to the union.[29][30]
- June 9-July 9– The2006 FIFA World Cuptakes place in Germany; Italy defeats France in the final.[31][32]
- June 28
- Israellaunches an offensivein theGaza Stripin response to rocketfire byHamasinto Israeli territory.[33]
- The United States Armed Forces withdraws its forces inIceland,thereby disbanding theIceland Defense Force.[34]
July
edit- July 1– TheQinghai–Tibet railwaybegins operation, makingTibetthe finalprovince-level entityof China to establish a conventional railway.[35]
- July 6– TheNathu Lapass between India and China, sealed during theSino-Indian War,re-opens for trade after 44 years.[36]
- July 11–A series of seven bomb blastshits the city ofMumbai,India,killing more than 200 people.[37]
- July 12–Israelitroopsinvade Lebanonin response toHezbollahkidnapping two Israeli soldiers and killing three others. Hezbollah declares open war against Israel two days later.[38]
August
edit- August 10– News was revealed of a thwartedterrorist plot to detonate liquid explosivesdisguised as soft drinks, aboard multiple transatlantic air flights.
- August 14–Sri Lankan Civil War,Chencholai bombing:61 female students inMullaitivuare killed by theSri Lankan Air Forcein an air strike.[39]
- August 16– Russian government patrol boatshoots at a Japanese fishing boat,killing one crew member.[40][41]
- August 22–Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 612crashes near the Russian border inUkraine,killing all 170 people on board.[42]
- August 24– TheInternational Astronomical Uniondefines'planet' at its 26th General Assembly, removingPluto's status as a planet and reclassifying it as adwarf planet76 years after its discovery.Ironically,this was in the same year whenNASAsent itsfirst probeto thecelestial body.[43][6]
September
edit- September 7–British Prime MinisterTony Blairannounces his intention to resign by the end of 2007.[44]
- September 7–Partial lunar eclipse,visible over most of Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia.
- September 11-Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogyfirst releases.
- September 19– TheRoyal Thai Armyoverthrows the government ofPrime MinisterThaksin Shinawatrain acoup.[45]
- September 22–Annular solar eclipse,visible in Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, parts of Brazil, and the southern Atlantic.
- September 28–Typhoon XangsanepassedManilaon its way to causing more than 300 deaths, mostly in the Philippines and Vietnam.[46]
- September 29–Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907collides with a business jet over theAmazon rainforest,killing all 154 on board the former.[47]
October
edit- October 2–A large-scale firedestroys a great amount of the UShopsproduction.
- October 6–Fredrik ReinfeldtreplacesGöran PerssonasPrime Minister of Sweden.
- October 9
- North Koreaclaims to have conducted its first-evernuclear test.[48]
- GooglepurchasedYouTubefor US$1.65 billion.[49]
- October 11–13–St Andrews Agreementis held in Scotland between the British and Irish governments on devolution in Northern Ireland.
- October 13– South KoreanBan Ki-moonis elected as the new Secretary-General of the United Nations, succeedingKofi Annan.[50]
- October 22–Fernando Alonsowins his secondWorld Drivers Championship
- October(date unknown) –The Offshore MPAproject is initiated.[51]
November
edit- November 2–No. 5, 1948byJackson Pollockbecomes themost expensive paintingafter it is sold privately for$140 million.[52]
- November 3–MicrosoftreleasesOffice 2007for manufacturing.
- November 5– FormerPresident of IraqSaddam Husseinissentenced to deathby hanging by theIraqi Special Tribunal.He is later executed by hanging for crimes against humanity onDecember 30.[53]
- November 8– Microsoft releasesWindows Vistafor manufacturing.
- November 11– Sony releases thePlayStation 3.
- November 19–Nintendoreleases theWii.
- November 12– The breakaway state ofSouth Ossetiaholds areferendumon independence fromGeorgia.[54]
- November 22–A toxic waste dumping incident occurs in Côte d'Ivoirebya Panama ship sent by Singaporean oil company,causing 3 deaths and the poison treatment of 1500 people.[55][56]
- November 23– A series ofcar bombs and mortar attacksinSadr City,Baghdad,kills at least 215 people and injure 257 other people.[57]
December
edit- December 1–WikiLeaksleaksHassan Dahir Aweys'conspiracytoassassinateSomali governmentofficials.[58]
- December 5– The military seizes power inFiji,in acoup d'étatled by CommodoreFrank Bainimarama.[59]
- December 11–Felipe Calderónsends the Mexican military to combat the drug cartels and put down the violence in the state of Michoacán, initiating theMexican Drug War.[60]
- December 24–Ethiopiaadmits its troops haveintervened in Somalia.[61]
- December 29– UK settles itsAnglo-American loan,post-WWII loan debt.
- December 30– Former Iraqi presidentSaddam Hussein,wasexecuted by hanging.
Births and deaths
editNobel Prizes
edit
New English words and terms
editReferences
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