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Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
The year 2006 was designated:
Events of 2006
January
- January 1 - Sydney, Australia, has its hottest day on record, when the city reaches 45°C (113°F).
- 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 dead coal miners and one survivor are discovered in the Sago Mine Disaster near Buckhannon, West Virginia, U.S.
- January 4 - Powers are transferred from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to his deputy, Vice Prime Minister 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 - UK Liberal Democratic leader Charles Kennedy resigns after revelations that he has a drinking problem.
- January 8 - A magnitude 6.9 earthquake centered off the coast of the Greek island of Kythera shakes much of Greece and is felt throughout the eastern Mediterranean basin.
- January 9 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 11,000 (11,011.90) for the first time since June 7, 2001.
- 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.
- January 14 - A natural gas explosion in a coal mine kills eight in Romania.
- January 15 - NASA's Stardust mission successfully ends, the first to return dust from a comet.
- January 19 - A suicide bomber in Tel Aviv, Israel injures 20, one of them seriously.
- 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.
February
- February 8 - 2006 East Timor crisis: 404 soldiers desert their barracks in East Timor.
- February 10 - The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin, Italy. The closing ceremony occurred on February 26.
- February 16 - Kobe Airport, a controversial offshore airport in Kobe, Japan, opens for airline service.
- February 17 - A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
- 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 bomb heavily damages the Al Askari Mosque, a Shiite holy site in Samarra, Iraq.
- February 22 - Over £53.1 million is stolen during the Securitas depot robbery, the largest ever cash robbery in the United Kingdom.
- 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'état against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is foiled.
- February 25 - Police officers and protesters in Dublin, Ireland are injured 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.
March
- 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 - The 78th Academy Awards, hosted by Jon Stewart are held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California, with Crash winning Best Picture.
- 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.
- 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 11 - Slobodan Milošević is found dead in his cell in the UN war crimes tribunal's detention centre, located in the Scheveningen section of The Hague.
- March 12 - Records are broken at Johannesburg, as first Australia, then South Africa set world record totals in one-day internationals. South Africa's total of 438 for 9 sees them win by one wicket, taking the one-day international series 3–2. This was considered as the greatest One Day International ever, it was the highest run chase.
- March 15-March 26 - The 2006 Commonwealth Games take place in Melbourne, Australia.
- March 17 - The United States strikes its two 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.
- March 21 - Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Laila Freivalds resigns after over a year of criticism.
- March 22 - ETA declares a permanent ceasefire in their campaign for Basque independence from Spain.
- March 22 - The Federal Reserve stops the publishing of M3 money supply data.
- 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 scramjet jet engine, Hyshot III, designed to fly at seven times the speed of sound, is successfully tested at Woomera, South Australia.
- March 25 - Seven die in the Capitol Hill Massacre in Seattle, Washington.
- 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 Soyuz spacecraft, Soyuz TMA-8, at 2:29:00 CET.
- March 30 - The al-Dana capsizes off the coast of Bahrain, killing at least 48 people.
- March 30 - The first World Baseball Classic ends in San Diego, California with Japan beating Cuba in the Championship.
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 8 murdered men are found in Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario.
- 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 8 - Bloc 8406 publishes their Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for Viet Nam in Viet Nam; their name comes from this date.
- April 9 - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is removed from office after four months in a coma.
- April 9 - Hungarian parliamentary election, 2006
- April 10 - Romano Prodi narrowly defeats Silvio Berlusconi in the Italian parliamentary elections.
- April 10 - Brand India Fair at Meerut Victoria Park fire at Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India, killing 100.
- April 11 - The European Space Agency's Venus Express spaceprobe enters Venus' orbit.
- April 11 - President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirms that Iran has successfully produced a few grams of 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 16 - Ireland commemorates the 90th anniversary of the 1916 Rising for the first time since 1971.
- April 17 - A suicide bombing by Islamic Jihad in Tel Aviv kills nine people and injures dozens.
- April 18 - Festivities and memorials across the Bay Area mark the 100th anniversary of the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.
- April 19 - Han Myeong 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; nine 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 - Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb – the worst one-day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War.
- April 22 - Jalal Talabani re-elected for a second term as President of Iraq.
- April 24 - Three explosions in a tourist section of Dahab, Egypt kill 30 and injure over 115.
- April 25 - The Beaconsfield mine collapse occurs in Tasmania, Australia.
- 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.
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 four political parties hold 67 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.
- 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.
- 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 FC defeated West Ham United FC in the FA Cup Final, 3-2 on penalties after a 3-3 draw aet.
- May 20 - Finland's Lordi wins the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest held in Athens.
- May 24 - East Timor's Foreign Minister Ramos-Horta officially requests military assistance from the governments of Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal.
- May 27 - A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes central Java in Indonesia, killing more than 6,000, injuring at least 36,000 and leaving some 1.5 million people homeless.
- May 27 - The first demonstration for gay rights in Moscow is broken up by the police.
- May 28 - President Alvaro Uribe Velez is re-elected in Colombia for a second term. He becomes the first president in over a century to serve consecutive terms.
June
July
- July 1 - The Qinghai-Tibet Railway launches a trial operation, connecting China proper and Tibet for the first time.
- July 2 - A presidential election is held in Mexico. Felipe Calderón is confirmed as the winner on September 5.
- July 4 - Space Shuttle Mission STS-121 : Discovery is launched to the International Space Station. It returns safely on July 17.
- July 5 - North Korea test fires missiles, timed with the liftoff of Discovery, preceding the fireworks celebrations that night in America. The long range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails shortly after takeoff.
- July 6 - The Nathula Pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years.
- July 9 - S7 Airlines Flight 778 crashes into a concrete barrier shortly after landing, killing at least 122 people and leaving many injured.
- July 9 - Italy wins the 2006 FIFA World Cup by beating France 5-3 on penalties. The score after extra time is 1-1.
- July 10 - Pakistan International Airlines Flight 688 crashes in Multan, Pakistan shortly after takeoff.
- July 11 - A series of coordinated bomb attacks strikes several commuter trains in Mumbai, India during the evening rush hour.
- July 12 - 2006 Lebanon War: Israeli troops invade Lebanon in response to Hezbollah kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and killing 3. Hezbollah declares open war against Israel 2 days later.
- July 17 - Space Shuttle Discovery returns to Earth from the International Space Station, thirteen days after its launch.
- July 18 - The SS Nomadic, the last floating link to Titanic, returns home to a large reception in Belfast.
- July 19 - U.S. President George W. Bush uses veto power for the first time in his presidency.
- July 21 - St Louis is hit by two major derechos (violent windstorms) in a span of three days.
- July 22 - Canada defeats USA 15-11 in the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship. This marked only the second time the USA had not won the gold medal, and only the second time Canada had won the gold. Geoff Snider was announced as MVP.
- July 23 - Phonak team rider, American cyclist Floyd Landis, wins the Tour de France.
- July 28 - Alejandro Toledo concludes his term as President of Peru, and Alan Garcia becomes president.
- July 28 - Actor Mel Gibson is arrested for drunk driving in California and launches an anti-semitic tirade.
- July 30 - The world's longest running music show, Top of the Pops, broadcasts for the last time on BBC Two.
- July 31 - Cuban president Fidel Castro temporarily relinquishes power to his brother Raúl before surgery.
August
- August 10 - London Metropolitan Police make 21 arrests in connection to an apparent terrorist plot that involved aircraft traveling from the United Kingdom to the United States. Liquids and gels are banned from checked and carryon baggage.
- August 11 - A resolution to end the 2006 Lebanon War is unanimously accepted by the United Nations Security Council.
- August 14 - A UN cease fire takes effect in the 2006 Lebanon War.
- August 22 - Pulkovo Airlines Flight 612 crashes near the Russian border in Ukraine, killing 171 people, including 45 children.
- August 22 - The ICM awards Grigori Perelman the Fields Medal for proving the Poincare conjecture, one of seven Millennium Prize Problems. Perelman refuses the medal.
- August 23 - In Austria Natascha Kampusch manages to escape after being kidnapped eight years ago by Wolfgang Priklopil who locked her up in his cellar. Priklopil commits suicide by throwing himself in front of a train.
- August 24 - The International Astronomical Union defines 'planet' at its 26th General Assembly, demoting Pluto to the status of 'dwarf planet' more than 70 years after its discovery.
- August 27 - Comair Flight 5191, carrying 50 people, crashes shortly after take off from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky.
- August 28 - A Greyhound Lines bus from New York City to Montreal, carrying 52 people, crashes at mile 115 on Interstate 87 near Elizabethtown killing 5 people including the driver and several are seriously injured.
- August 31 - Edvard Munch paintings The Scream and Madonna are recovered in a police raid in Oslo, Norway.
September
- September 1 - A fire kills 29 of 148 aboard an Iran Air Tours Tu-154M aircraft after the plane lands in Mashhad, Iran.
- September 2 - A Nimrod MR2 based at RAF Kinloss, Scotland, crashes in the Southern Province of Kandahar, Afghanistan, due to a technical fault. All 14 crew onboard are killed.
- September 3 - Spain wins the 2006 FIBA World Championship.
- September 9 - Space Shuttle Mission STS-115: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on a mission to build up the International Space Station. It returns on September 21.
- September 10 - Seven time Formula 1 World champion Michael Schumacher announces his retirement.
- September 12 - A stampede at a rally in Yemen leaves 41 dead.
- September 12 - Pope Benedict XVI gives a lecture in Germany; he quotes a criticism of the Islamic faith, sparking mass protest.
- September 13 - The Dawson College Shooting occurs in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, leaving one student dead and 19 others injured.
- September 13 - The solar system's largest dwarf planet, designated until now as 2003 UB313, is officially named "Eris"; its satellite is now known as "Dysnomia".
- September 15 - Spinach contaminated with E. coli kills one and poisons over 100 others in 20 states of the United States.
- September 16 - Five churches are attacked in Palestinian areas following the Pope's comments on Islam.
- September 17 - The Alliance for Sweden wins the Swedish general election, 2006 after ousting the Social Democratic government which have ruled Sweden since 1994 .
- September 17 - Protests start near the Hungarian Parliament.
- September 19 - Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand declares a state of emergency in Bangkok as members of the Royal Thai Army stage a coup d'état. The army announces the removal of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from power.
- September 22 - A Transrapid Maglev train crashes into a maintenance vehicle on a test track in Germany, killing 23 and injuring 10; it is the first recorded fatal accident involving a Maglev.
- September 23 - Toomas Hendrik Ilves is elected President of Estonia.
- September 24 - Europe wins the Ryder Cup in Ireland.
- September 24 - Communist Party of China Central Political Bureau committee member, Shanghai Municipal Party Committee Secretary Chen Liangyu is dismissed for alleged corruption charges.
- September 25 - The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans re-opens 13 months after Hurricane Katrina with extensive repairs, including the largest re-roofing project in the United States.
- September 26 - Diet of Japan elects Shinzo Abe as new Prime Minister of Japan succeeding Junichiro Koizumi.
- September 27 - An armed suspect holds six female students as hostages in Platte Canyon High School located in Bailey, Colorado. One hostage is killed as the gunman kills himself.
- September 28 - After 40 years of development, Suvarnabhumi Airport, opens in Bangkok, Thailand replacing Don Mueang International Airport as Bangkok's primary airport for commercial flights.
- September 29 - Gol Flight 1907, a Boeing 737-800, collides with a business jet over the Amazon Rainforest, killing all 154 onboard.
October
- October 1 - Vodafone Japan, owned by SoftBank, officially changes its name to Softbank Mobile Corporation.
- October 1 - The Brisbane Broncos become the National Rugby League premiers after defeating the Melbourne Storm 15 - 8 in the grand final.
- October 2 - Charles Carl Roberts IV, a 32-yr-old milk-truck driver, kills five girls at an Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania before shooting himself.
- October 2 - Per Westerberg takes office as Speaker of the Riksdag in Sweden.
- October 4 - The Dow Industrial Average closes above 11,800 for the first time rising 123.27 points, or 1.05%, finishing at 11,850.61.
- October 6 - Hazardous waste plant near Apex, North Carolina explodes releasing chlorine gas, resulting in the evacuation of thousands and the hospitalization of over 100 residents.
North Korean nuclear test
- October 9 - North Korea claims to have conducted its first-ever nuclear test.
- October 10 - Google buys YouTube for USD $1.65 billion.
- October 11 - New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle is killed, along with his flight instructor, when his plane crashes into a building in New York City's Upper East Side.
- October 13 - South Korean Ban Ki-moon is elected as the new Secretary-General of the United Nations.
- October 15 - The UN agrees to sanction North Korea over nuclear testing claims.
- October 15 - Chief Justice of Japan Akira Machida retires.
- October 15 - Declaration of the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq.
- October 16 - The last MASH was decommissioned.
- October 17 - The United States population reaches 300 million based on a United States Census Bureau projection.
- October 18 - Microsoft publicly releases Windows Internet Explorer 7.
- October 19 - On the 19th anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 12,000 for the first time gaining 19.05 points, or 0.16%, to 12,011.73.
- October 23 - Jeffrey Skilling is sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in federal prison on charges relating to the financial collapse of Enron.
- October 24 - NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft makes its first flyby of Venus (will be captured into Mercury's orbit on March 18, 2011).
- October 25 - While denying the right to marry, the New Jersey Supreme Court otherwise grants equal social and financial benefits to same-sex couples.[2]
- October 27 - Last Ford Taurus rolls off Atlanta Assembly line.
- October 27 - The St. Louis Cardinals win the 2006 World Series.
- October 29 - Aviation Development Company Flight 53 crashes shortly after take off in Nigeria.
- October 29 - Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is re-elected President of Brazil.
- October 30 - Former President of Chile Augusto Pinochet is placed under house arrest for crimes committed at the Villa Grimaldi detention centre.
- October 30 - An airstrike on a madrasah in Bajaur kills dozens of suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.
- October 30 - The Esperanza Fire burns over 61 square miles (160 km²) of Cabazon, California mountain territory.
November
