2006

This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

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.

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.

Events

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 homosexual 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

• June 3 - Montenegro declares independence after a May 21 referendum. The state union of Serbia and Montenegro is dissolved on June 5 leaving Serbia as the successor state.
• June 3 - Seventeen men are arrested in the Greater Toronto Area for alleged ties to a terrorist plot to blow up targets in the region. (see also: 2006 Toronto terrorism case)
• June 6 - The Union of Islamic Courts gains control of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, ending warlord rule of the city.
• June 7 - Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and 7 of his aides are killed in a U.S. air raid just north of the town of Baqouba, Iraq.
• June 9 - An explosion kills 8 Palestinian civilians on a Gaza beach. After an investigation, Israel denies responsibility for the blast.
• June 9 - Thailand begins celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the accession of Bhumibol Adulyadej to the throne.
• June 9 - The 2006 FIFA World Cup begins in Germany.
• June 10 - President Mahmoud Abbas sets July 26 as the date for a national referendum in Palestine.
• June 18 - The first Kazakh space satellite "KazSat" is launched.
• June 20 - The Miami Heat win the NBA Finals 4-2. Dwyane Wade is named MVP
• June 22 - The Magen David Adom and Palestine Red Crescent Society are officially recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
• June 23 - In Miami, the FBI arrests 7 men, accusing them of planning to bomb the Sears Tower and other attacks in Miami.
• June 25 - Warren Buffett donates over $30 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• June 28 - Israel launches Operation Summer Rains, an offensive against militants in Gaza.
• June 29 - The Dutch cabinet Balkenende II resigns after the political party of D'66 drops its support.
• June 29 - Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: The United States Supreme Court rules that the military commissions to be used to try some detainees in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp are illegal.
• June 29 - Women vote for the first time in elections for the National Assembly of Kuwait.

July

Space Shuttle Discovery lands safely after the STS-121 mission.

• 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 - STS-121: Space Shuttle Discovery is launched to the International Space Station. It returns safely on July 17.
• July 5 - North Korea test fires at least 7 missiles including a long-range Taepodong-2.
• 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, killing all 45 people on board.
• July 11 - A series of coordinated bomb attacks strikes several commuter trains in Mumbai, India during the evening rush hour.
• July 12 - 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict: Israeli troops invade Lebanon in response to Hezbollah kidnapping 2 Israeli soldiers and killing 3. Hezbollah declares open war against Israel 2 days later.
• July 14 - Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the Law and Justice party, is sworn in as Prime Minister of Poland by his identical twin, President Lech Kaczyński.
• July 18 - The SS Nomadic, the last floating link to Titanic, returns home to a great reception in Belfast..
• July 19-21 - A Derecho slamed the Upper Mississppi river St. Louis area, Causing one of the worst blackouts Amren UE has seen in its 100 year history.

Busch Stadium was also afected with the tarp and stands damaged and 30 injured.

• July 23 - American Floyd Landis wins the Tour de France; however, tour officials soon announce that he has failed a doping test.
• July 23 - Zuleyka Rivera becomes Puerto Rico's 5th Miss Universe, beating 85 other contestants from around the globe to claim the title.
• July 28 - Alejandro Toledo concludes his term as President of Peru. Alan Garcia becomes president.
• July 30 - The world's longest running music show, Top of the Pops, broadcasts for the last time on BBC Two, after 42 years.
• July 31 - Fidel Castro, President of Cuba, 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. New TSA regulations are put into effect, permanently banning all liquids and gels, including but not limited to deodorants, colognes, toothpaste, and gel implants, in both checked and carryon baggage.
• August 11 - A resolution to end the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict is unanimously accepted by the United Nations Security Council.
• August 14 - A UN cease fire takes effect in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.
• August 20 - Miss New York's Outstanding Teen Maria DeSantis wins the title of the second Miss America's Outstanding Teen in the Linda Chapin Theatre at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
• 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 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. Only the first officer survives.
• 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 people aboard an Iran Air Tours Tu-154M aircraft after the plane lands in Mashhad, Iran.
• September 2 - A Nimrod MR4 based at RAF Kinloss, Scotland, crashes in the Southern Province of Kandahar, Afghanistan, due to a technical fault. All 14 crew on board were killed.
• September 3 - Andre Agassi retires after his final match (against Benjamin Becker in the U.S. Open).
• September 7 - Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taipei is renamed to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
• September 9 - Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on mission STS-115 to build up the International Space Station. It returns safe and sucessfull on September 21.
• September 10 - Seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher announces his retirement from the sport of Formula 1 for the end of the year.
• 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 Islam faith, sparking mass protest.
• September 13 - The Dawson College Shooting takes place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, leaving 1 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 1 person 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 18 - The Alliance for Sweden claims victory in the Swedish general election, 2006.
• 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 maintenence vehicle on a test track in Germany, killing 23 and injuring 10, the first recorded fatal accident involving a Maglev.
• September 24 - CPC Central Political Bureau committee member, Shanghai Municipal Party Committee Secretay Chen Liangyu was 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 Shinzō Abe as new Prime Minister of Japan succeeding Junichiro Koizumi.
• September 26 - An armed suspect holds 6 female students as hostages in Platte Canyon High School located in Baily, Colorado. One hostage is fatally wounded as the gunman kills himself. [2]
• 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.
• September 29 - U.S. Representative Mark Foley (R-FL) resigns after it is revealed that he sent explicit e-mails for several years to underage male pages.
• September 30 - West Coast Eagles win the AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Fox Footy Channel in Australia ceases transmission.

October

• October 1 - Australian National Rugby League Grand Final at Telstra Stadium. (Brisbane Broncos versus Melbourne Storm.) This is the first time in the 98 year history of the ARL/NRL that a New South Wales team has not made the Final. Brisbane Broncos win 15-8, their 6th NRL Grand Final Victory.
• October 1 - Vodafone Japan, which was already purchased from Vodafone by SoftBank, officially changes its name to Softbank Mobile Corporation.
• October 2 - The Amish school shooting takes place, when Charles Carl Roberts IV, a 32-yr-old milk-truck driver, kills 5 female students at an Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania before shooting himself. Several others are wounded. [3]
• October 2 - Per Westerberg takes office as Speaker of the Riksdag (Speaker of the Parliament) in Sweden.
• October 3 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) Index reaches its all-time high (as of 2006) of 11,727.34 and an all-time intra-day high of 11,758.95.
• 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.

Position of earthquake caused by North Korea's 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 15 - The UN agrees to sanction North Korea over nuclear testing issue.
• October 15 - Chief Justice of Japan Akira Machida retires upon reaching the age of 70.
• 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 22 - Michael Schumacher, the most successful driver in the history of Formula One, retires from the sport.
• 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 25 - The New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously rules in favor of marriage equality; 4-3 say decision whether to rewrite marriage law or write civil union law for gays (separate but equal debate) is left to the legislature in the next six months. The three dissenting justices dissented because they believed same-sex couples should have the full right to marry [4].
• October 27 - Restorative Justice pioneer Howard Zehr receives the Community of Christ International Peace Award.
• 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 - Luis Inácio Lula da Silva is re-elected President of Brazil.
• October 30 - Former Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet is placed under house arrest for crimes committed at the Villa Grimaldi detention centre where thousands were tortured between 1974 and 1977.
• 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 of Cabazon, California moutain territory.
• October 31 - Veteran Game Show host Bob Barker announces his retirement from The Price is Right in June 2007 after 35 years as host and after 50 years on television.

November

Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer meeting with President George W. Bush on November 9, 2006.

• November 1 - Telltale Games releases the first video game episode of Sam & Max.
• November 2 - Competing software manufacturers Microsoft and Novell hold a press conference to announce a collaboration on technologies for inter operation between Microsoft's Windows and Novell's SUSE Linux operating systems.
• November 3 - Iran successfully test-fires 3 new models of sea missiles in a show of force to assert its military capacities in the Gulf.
• November 3 - Science predicts 90% of maritime life forms will be extinct by 2048.
• November 5 - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and 2 of his senior allies are sentenced to death by hanging after an Iraqi court finds them guilty of crimes against humanity.
• November 7 - U.S. Midterm elections: Democrats win control of both houses of Congress for the first time since 1994.
• November 7 - In the U.S. congressional elections, Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison becomes the first Muslim elected to the House of Representatives.
• November 7 - The Japanese town of Saroma, Hokkaido is struck by a tornado, killing nine. It is the deadliest tornado in Japan since 1941.
• November 8 - U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigns; President Bush nominates Robert Gates, a former CIA director, as the new Defense Secretary.
• November 8 - A transit of Mercury occurs.
• November 12 - Gerald Ford surpasses Ronald Reagan as the longest lived President of the United States.
• November 12 - The former Soviet republic of South Ossetia holds a referendum on independence from Georgia.
• November 15 - Al Jazeera launches its new English language news channel, Al Jazeera English.
• November 15 - Start of the Sales and Use Tax in Puerto Rico, a response to the Puerto Rico budget crisis of May 2006.
• November 20 - Iran and Syria recognize government of Iraq, restore diplomatic relations, send high-level envoys to Bagdad, and call for peace conference.
• November 17 - The Playstation 3 is released.
• November 19 - The Nintendo Wii is released in North America.
• November 21 - Pierre Amine Gemayel, Lebanon's Minister of Industry is assassinated in Beirut. [5]
• November 21 - Israel's Supreme Court finds that Israel must recognize and register same-gender marriages celebrated in other countries.
• November 22 - The CDA won a pluralty of seats in the 2006 Elections in The Netherlands.
• November 22 - A General Election was held for the House of Keys in the Isle of Man.
• November 22 - Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian KGB agent, is assassinated in a London sushi bar, possibly by the Russian Security Service, the FSB.
• November 23 - A series of car bombs and mortar attacks strike in Sadr City, Baghdad that killed at least 215 people and injured 257 others.
• November 24 - Michael Stone is arrested for breaking into the parliament buildings at Stormont armed with an imitation Colt .45 pistol, a knife and a "viable" bomb. Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair's deadline on Northern Ireland power sharing.
• November 25 - Steve Bracks wins the Victorian state election.
• November 26- US Judge James Robertson orders the US Treasury to change the dollar bill.
• November 28-November 29 - The NATO Summit 2006 takes place in Latvia.
• November 30 - South Africa becomes the fifth nation to legalize gay marriage.
• November 30 - Typhoon Durian triggers a massive mudslide and kills hundreds of people in the Philippines.
• November 30 - The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season and the 2006 Pacific hurricane season officially end.
• November 30 - Windows Vista, the newest verion of Windows for Microsoft, released for volume license customers.

December

• December 1 - Felipe Calderón sworn in as the President of Mexico by the Congress in Mexico.
• December 1 - The 15th Asian Games start in Doha, Qatar, the closing ceremony occurs on December 15
• December 1 - Typhoon Durian has killed at least 388 people in Albay province on the island of Luzon in the Philippines with the death toll expected to climb as rescuers get to affected villages.
• December 1 - Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian sold off the last of his shares in General Motors, the Wall Street Journal reported. It was clear that Kerkorian had sold 14 million shares for $28.75 per share, or about $400 million, slicing his stake to 4.95%. (MSN Money)
• December 2 - In Rome, about 2 million people, led by center-right opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi demonstrate against Romano Prodi's center-left government.
• December 2 - Stephane Dion is elected the new Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, on the fourth ballot.

Predictions and scheduled events

This article or section contains information about scheduled or expected future events. It may contain information of a tentative nature and the content may change dramatically as the event approaches and more information becomes available.

• December 3 - 2006 presidential elections expected to take place in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
• December 5 - Release of next ASIMO.
• December 7 - Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center to begin STS-116, a mission to build up the International Space Station.
• December 22 - The Crystal City Doubletree resort will release footage of American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into The Pentagon.

Major religious holidays

• January 6 - Feast of Epiphany or Día de los Reyes Magos (Day of the Magic Kings).
• January 7 - Christmas in the Russian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic and other Eastern Christian church calendars.
• January 10 - Islamic festival of Eid ul-Adha begins (ends on January 12).
• January 11 - Vaikunta Ekadashi is observed by Hindus. This is the day when the Gates of Heaven open and remain open for the next ten days.
• January 14 - Mahayana Buddhist New Year.
• January 14 - Pongal Harvest Festival in Tamil Nadu.
• January 15 - Maatu Pongal, Festival of Cows in Tamil Nadu.
• January 16 - Uzhavar Tirunaal, Farmer's Day in Tamil Nadu.
• January 29 - Year of the Dog, 4703, begins. Chinese/Asian New Year.
• January 31 - Muslim New Year.
• February 1 - Imbolc Cross-quarter day (Celebrated on February 2 in some places).
• February 9 - Day of Ashurah.
• February 13 - Tu Bishvat.
• February 28 - Mardi Gras.
• March 13 - Jewish holiday of Purim begins at sunset.
• March 14 - Sikh New Year.
• March 21 - Iranian New Year's Day (Norouz).
• March 30 - Hindu New Year.
• April 5 - Qingming Festival.
• Apri