o The same storm which pounded the United States earlier in the month hits England and Scandinavia. At least 13 are dead among hurricane force winds and the worst flooding in northwest England in 40 years.

o Mahmoud Abbas is elected to succeed Yasser Arafat as Palestinian Authority president in the Palestinian election.

· January 12 – Deep Impact (space mission) is launched from Cape Canaveral by a Delta 2 rocket.

· January 14 – The Huygens probe lands on Titan, largest moon of planet 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 ink, a security measure to prevent double voting.

· January 20 – George W. Bush is inaugurated in Washington D.C. for his second term as the 43rd President of the United States.

· January 21 – In Belize's capital city Belmopan, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.

· January 23 – Viktor Yushchenko is sworn in as the third President of Ukraine in Kiev, Ukraine.

· January 25 – A stampede during a religious pilgrimage in India kills at least 215, mostly women and small children.

· January 26 – A helicopter crash in eastern Iraq kills 31 United States soldiers.

· January 30 -

o The first Parliamentary elections in Iraq since the overthrow of the Ba'ath Party government led by Saddam Hussein take place.

o 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.

March[change | change source]

· March 28 – A strong Earthquake strikes off the coast of Sumatra.

April[change | change source]

· April 2 – Pope John Paul II dies.

· April 6 – Prince Rainier III of Monaco dies aged 81. He is succeeded by his son, Albert II of Monaco.

· April 8 – Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles.

· April 19 – Cardinal Joseph Alois Ratzinger becomes Pope Benedict XVI.

May[change | change source]

· May 8 – The 60th anniversary of VE Day is marked.

· May 29 – French voters reject the proposed European Constitution.

June[change | change source]

· June 1 – Dutch voters reject the proposed European Constitution.

July[change | change source]

· July 1 – German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder loses a vote of confidence.

· July 6 – July 9 – The G8 Summit takes place in Gleneagles, Scotland.

· July 6 – London is awarded the 2012 Olympic Games.

· July 7 – Four suicide bombers kill 56 people (including the bombers) on London's public transport system – three Tube trains and one bus. The attacks were carried out by Al Qaeda.

· July 21 – Four attempted suicide bombers fail to detonate their bombs on London's public transport system. All four bombers escape, but are later captured.

· July 22 – An innocent Brazilian, Jean Charles de Menezes is shot dead by officers of the London Metropolitan Police.

· July 23 – Terrorist attacks occur at Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt.

August[change | change source]

· August 1 – King Fahd of Saudi Arabia dies. He is succeeded by his half-brother, Abdullah.

· August 29 – Hurricane Katrina devastates the southeastern United States.

September[change | change source]

· September 30 – The controversial drawings of the Prophet Muhammad first appear in the Danish newspaper, Jyllands Posten.

October[change | change source]

· October 1 – Terrorist bombings occur on the island of Bali.

· October 8 – A devastating earthquake hits Kashmir.

· October 27 – Widespread rioting erupts across France.

· October 30 - Having been destroyed in the Firebombing of Dresden in World War II, the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), is reconsecrated.