2005: Encyclopedia II - 2005 - Events

2005 - Events

2005 - January

• January 4 - Death of the Governor of Baghdad, Ali Al-Haidri, assassinated by gunmen.
• January 9 - The same storm which pounded the US earlier in the month hits England and Scandinavia, leaving 13 dead with widespread flooding and power cuts. ^{Confirmation needed}
• January 9 - Mahmoud Abbas is elected to succeed Yasser Arafat as Palestinian Authority president in the Palestinian election.
• January 12 - Deep Impact is launched from Kennedy Space Center by a Delta 2 rocket.
• January 13 - Terrorists enter into Israel from Gaza and open fire on civilians near border, killing 6 and wounding 5 others. Hamas and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claim joint responsibility for attack.^{Confirmation needed}
• January 14 - The Huygens probe lands on Titan, largest moon of Saturn.
• January 16 - Adriana Iliescu gives birth at 66, the oldest woman in the world to do so.

• January 18 - Terrorists murder 1 person and wound 8 people in Gush Katif, Israel. Hamas claims responsibility.^{Confirmation needed}
• January 20 - George W. Bush is inaugurated in Washington, D.C. for his second term as 43rd President of the United States.
• January 20 - Ireland completes metrication.
• 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 at Mandher Devi temple in Mandhradevi during a religious pilgrimage in India kills at least 215, mostly women and small children.
• January 30 - The first free Parliamentary elections in Iraq since 1958 take place.
• January 30 - 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.^{Confirmation needed}

2005 - February

• February 6 - The New England Patriots defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 to win their third Super Bowl in four years.
• February 8 - Danish parliamentary elections continue the center-right coalition led by Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and his Liberal Party.
• February 9 - An ETA car bomb injures 31 people at a conference centre in Madrid.
• February 10 - North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it feels from the United States.
• February 10 - Saudi Arabia holds its first ever elections for municipal authorities, in which only men are allowed to vote.
• February 12 - Fire devastates the Windsor Building, a 32 story office block, in Madrid.
• February 14 - A massive suicide bomb blast in central Beirut kills Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik Hariri and at least 15 other people. At least 135 other people were also hurt.
• February 14 - Around 59 people are killed and 200 injured in a fire at a mosque in Tehran, Iran.

• February 16 - The Kyoto Protocol comes into effect, without the support of the United States and Australia.
• February 16 - The National Hockey League cancels its 2004-2005 season becoming the first North American professional league to cancel a season due to a labour dispute.
• February 19 - Suicide bombers kill more than 30 people in Iraq as Shia Muslims mark Ashura, their holiest day.
• February 20 - Spanish referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout.
• February 20 - Early Legislative elections in Portugal result in a landslide victory for José Sócrates and the Socialist Party.
• February 22 - More than 500 people are killed and over 1,000 injured after entire villages are flattened in an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale in Zarand region of Kerman province in southern Iran.
• February 25 - American police apprehend the so-called BTK serial killer Dennis Rader 31 years after his first murder
• February 25 - Terrorists murder 5 people and wound 50 people in Tel Aviv, Israel. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for attack.
• February 26 - Hosni Mubarak the president of Egypt asks parliament to amend the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections before September 2005.

2005 - March

• March 1 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules the death penalty unconstitutional for juveniles who committed their crimes under age 18.
• March 3 - The freighter M/V Karen Danielsen crashes into the Great Belt Bridge of Denmark. All traffic across the bridge is closed, effectively separating Denmark in two.
• March 3 - Millionaire Steve Fossett breaks a world record by completing the first non-stop, non-refueled, solo flight around the world in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.
• March 10 - Tung Chee Hwa's resignation: Tung Chee Hwa, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, resigns.
• March 11 - In the UK, the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 was finally given Royal Assent after one of the longest ever sittings by the House of Lords.
• March 11 - Three people, including a judge, are murdered in the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia; the main suspect, Brian Nichols, surrenders to police the next day.
• March 13 - First round of Central African Republic elections.
• March 14 - The People's Republic of China ratifies an anti-secession law aimed at preventing Taiwan from declaring independence.
• March 14 - Nearly one million people gathered for an opposition rally in Beirut, a month after the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri — the largest rally in Lebanon history.

• March 16 - Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, accused of the bombing of the Air India Flight 182 in 1985, are found not guilty on all counts.
• March 19 - A suspected suicide bomber in Doha, Qatar, kills one person and injures about 12 others.
• March 19 - A time bomb explodes in a Muslim shrine in Quetta, southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 29 people and wounding 40.
• March 19 - A mine blast occurs at the Xishui coal mine in Shuozhou, China, and rocks nearby Kangjiayao coal mine, killing up to 59.
• March 20 - At least 250 people in Japan are injured and at least one killed by when a magnitude 7 earthquake struck west of Kyushu Island, just 9km (5.5 miles) below the ocean floor.
• March 21 - 10 killed in the Red Lake High School massacre in Minnesota, the worst school shooting since the Columbine High School massacre.
• March 23 - The United States' 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' 2-1 decision refuses to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.
• March 24 - The Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan reaches its climax with the overthrow of president Askar Akayev.
• March 26 - The Taiwanese government called on 1 million Taiwanese to demonstrate in Taipei in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of Mainland China. Around 200,000 to 300,000 attended the walk.
• March 28 - The 2005 Sumatran earthquake struck off Sumatra, 3 months after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. At a magnitude of 8.7 it is the second largest earthquake since 1965.

2005 - April

• Anti-Japanese demonstrations in China
• April 2 - Pope John Paul II dies; over 4 million people travel to the Vatican to mourn him.
• April 6 - First 13th root calculation of a 200-digit number, computed by the Frenchman Alexis Lemaire
• April 6 - Rainier III of Monaco dies, succeeded by his son Albert II
• April 7 - MG Rover, the UK's sole remaining volume producer goes into receivership after a planned alliance with Chinese manufacturer, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation collapses.
• April 7 - A suicide bomber blows himself up in Cairo's Khan al Khalili market, killing two foreign tourists and wounding seventeen others. A group called "Islamic Pride Brigades" claims responsibility.
• April 8 - Referendum in Curaçao on independence vs. integration with the Netherlands.

• April 9 - Tens of thousands of demonstrators, many of them supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, marched through Baghdad denouncing the U.S. occupation of Iraq, two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and rallied in the square where his statue was toppled in 2003.
• April 9 - The marriage of The Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles takes place, after being briefly postponed after the Pope's death. Camilla assumes the titles Her Royal Highness and The Duchess of Cornwall.
• April 15 - At least twenty one people die and around fifty people are injured in a devastating fire at a hotel in central Paris.
• April 16 - President Lucio Gutierrez of Ecuador declares a state of emergency in the capital city and dissolves the Supreme Court.
• April 17 - Twelve holidaymakers are killed in southern Switzerland when a bus carrying twenty seven people plunges 200 metres into a ravine.
• April 18 - Five people die in ethnic clashes in Iran's south-west Khuzestan province.
• April 19 - Joseph Ratzinger elected Pope Benedict XVI on the second day of the Papal conclave.
• April 20 - Fifty six hurt as earthquake hits Fukuoka and Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The earthquake measured a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale.
• April 20 - President Lucio Gutiérrez of Ecuador is said to have fled after Congress voted to sack him amid growing protests.
• April 21 - A bus crash in Vietnam's Central Highlands kills thirty Vietnamese war veterans.
• April 21 - A gunfight on the edge of the Saudi city of Mecca kills two militants and two members of the security forces.
• April 23 - Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister of Italy, re-forms government after its dissolution three days earlier.
• April 25 - A passenger train derails in Amagasaki Hyogo Prefecture Japan killing 107 people and injuring another 456. (see Amagasaki rail crash)
• April 26 - Facing international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon ending its twenty nine year military domination of that country.
• April 27 - The Superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse.
• April 30 - Attacks on tourists in the Egyptian capital Cairo leave three militants dead and at least ten people injured.

2005 - May

• May 1 - A suicide attack targets a Kurdish funeral in the northern Iraqi town of Talafar, near Mosul, and leaves at least 25 people dead and more than 30 others injured. Earlier, at least five policemen and four civilians were killed in two separate attacks in Baghdad.
• May 2 - A blast at an illegal munitions store in northern Afghanistan kills 28 people and injures at least 13 others.
• May 3 - At least 32 people are killed and nine others injured when three two-storey buildings in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore collapsed after gas cylinders stored in one of them exploded.
• May 4 - In one of the largest insurgent attacks in Iraq to date, at least 60 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suicide bombing at a Kurdish police recruitment center in Irbil, northern Iraq.
• May 5
  • The United Kingdom votes in the 2005 general election. The Labour Party is re-elected with a substantially reduced majority.
  • Two homemade bombs explode outside the British consulate in New York, USA.
• May 10 - A live hand grenade lands about 100 feet (30 m) from United States President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but malfunctions and does not detonate.
• May 11 - Serial killer Michael Ross became first person executed in New England in 45 years.
• May 12 - An election was held in the Cayman Islands 7 months later than originally scheduled due to Hurricane Ivan. It resulted in a change of government, with the United Democratic Party giving four seats to the then-opposition People's Progressive Movement in the 15 member Legislative Assembly.
• May 13
  • Uzbek troops kill up to 700 during protests in eastern Uzbekistan over the trials of 23 accused Islamic extremists. President Islam Karimov defends the act.
  • The United States Department of Defense issues a list of bases to be closed as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process (BRAC 2005).
  • The final episode of the TV series Star Trek: Enterprise is broadcast in the United States. This episode marks the first time since 1987 that a Star Trek series is not in production.
• May 15 - A passenger ferry capsizes and sinks in strong winds in the Bura Gauranga River in Bangladesh, leaving over 100 people missing.
• May 16 - George Galloway appears before a U.S. Senate committee, to answer allegations of making money from the Iraqi Oil-for-Food Programme.
• May 17 - Kuwaiti women granted right to vote.
• May 19
  • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith released, effectively completing the Star Wars movie saga begun by George Lucas in 1977 and shattering the opening day box-office record with $50,013,859.
  • The Canadian House of Commons members narrowly pass two budget bills at second reading allowing the minority Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin to stay in power.
• May 21
  • Arsenal win the FA Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, beating holders Manchester United 5-4 on penalties.
  • Greece wins the Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev, Ukraine.
• May 25
  • Liverpool F.C. win the UEFA Champions League by defeating AC Milan 3-2 in a penalty shootout in Istanbul.
  • The Acting Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Donald Tsang, resigned for participating in the Chief Executive Election in July. As a result, Henry Tang and Michael Suen had become the Acting Chief Executive and Acting Chief Secretary for Administration respectively.
• May 29 - French referendum on the European Constitution votes resoundingly to reject.
• May 31 - W. Mark Felt is confirmed to be Deep Throat.

2005 - June

• June 1 - Dutch referendum on the European Constitution votes to reject, the second country to do so.
• June 5 - Switzerland votes to join the Schengen area and to allow same-sex partnerships.
• June 6 - Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam resigns.
• June 13 - Singer Michael Jackson acquitted of all charges of harming children (see 2005 trial of Michael Jackson).
• June 17 - A 6.7 aftershock,which followed a 5.3 earthquake the previous day, hits California making it the fourth earthquake since June 12 in California. (California earthquakes of June 2005)
• June 17 - Because of "quadruple-witching" options and futures expiration, the New York Stock Exchange sees the heaviest first-hour trading on record. 704 million shares were traded between 9:30-10:30 A.M. 1.92 billion shares were traded for the day.
• June 19 - Election in the Autonomous Community of Galicia, Spain — preliminary results show that Manuel Fraga and the Partido Popular lose control of the autonomous parliament.
• June 21 - Volna booster rocket carrying the first light sail spacecraft (a joint Russian-United States project) failed 83 seconds after its launch, destroying the spacecraft.
• June 23 - The San Antonio Spurs win the NBA Championship title.
• June 28 - Queen Elizabeth II conducts the International Fleet Review of 167 international warships in the Solent, as part of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations.
• June 30 - Spain joins Belgium and the Netherlands in permitting same-sex marriage.

2005 - July

• July 2 - Live 8, a series of 10 simultaneous concerts take place throughout the world, raising interest in the Make Poverty History campaign.
• July 4
  • NASA's "Copper bullet" from Deep Impact spacecraft hits Comet Tempel 1, creating a crater for scientific studies.
  • Violent G8 demonstrations occur in Gleneagles, Scotland.
• July 6
  • The European Parliament rejects the Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions in its second reading in the codecision procedure.
  • The International Olympic Committee awards the 2012 Summer Olympics to London.

• July 7
  • Four explosions rock the transport network in London, three on the London Underground and one on a bus. Over 50 deaths were reported, and over 200 injured. See 7 July 2005 London bombings.
  • Al-Qaeda admits to the killing of Egypt's Ambassador, Ihab al-Sherif.
• July 10
  • Luxembourgish referendum on the European Constitution votes to accept.
  • Hurricane Dennis strikes near Navarre Beach, Florida as a Category 3 storm killing 10 people, after killing over 50 people in the Caribbean.
• July 12 - Terrorists kill 5 people and wound 90 people in a crowded mall in Netanya, Israel. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for attack.
• July 13 - Three trains collide in the Ghotki rail crash in Ghotki, Pakistan, killing over 150 people.
• July 16 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book of the Harry Potter saga by the British writer J. K. Rowling, is released.
• July 19 - President Bush nominates Appeals Court Judge John G. Roberts, Jr. to the United States Supreme Court, following the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor.
• July 20 - Canada's Civil Marriage Act, legalizing same-sex marriage, receives Royal Assent.
• July 21 - A terrorist attack on London, similar to the July 7 attacks, includes 4 attempted bomb attacks on 3 Underground trains and a London bus. The bombs failed to explode properly, and only one injury was reported.
• July 22 - A Brazilian electrician, Jean Charles de Menezes, is shot dead at a London underground station by police who mistake him for a suicide bomber.
• July 23 - A series of blasts in a resort town in Egypt. See July 23, 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks.
• July 24 - Lance Armstrong wins a record seventh straight Tours de France before his scheduled retirement.
• July 26 - Launch for Space Shuttle Discovery "Return To Flight" mission STS-114. This is the first Space Shuttle flight in nearly two and a half years since the breakup of Columbia on its return from mission STS-107.
• July 28 - The Provisional IRA issues a statement formally ordering an end to the armed campaign it has pursued since 1969 and ordering all its units to dump their arms.

2005 - August

• August 2 - Air France Flight 358 bursts into flames after overshooting the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport; all aboard survive.
• August 6 - An ATR-72 heading from Italy to Tunisia crashes into the Mediterranean Sea, killing 16 of 39 on board.
• August 9 - Space Shuttle Discovery returns to Edwards Air Force Base at 0814 EDT, completing STS-114, "Return to Flight."
• August 12 - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launched.
• August 14 - Helios Airways Flight 522 crashes into a mountain in Greece, killing 121.
• August 16 - West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes into a mountain in Venezuela, killing 152 passengers.
• August 17
  • The first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of the Israel unilateral disengagement plan, starts.
  • Bangladesh is hit by bomb explosions. [1]
  • Sellapan Ramanathan gains victory in the Singapore Presidental elections, 2005.
• August 18
  • BTK killer Dennis Rader is sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences.
  • Peace Mission 2005, the first joint China-Russia military exercise, begins its 8-day training on the Shandong peninsula.
• August 22 - A 4.1-kg (9-pound) meteorite crashes into the Dotito area of Zambezi Escarpment in Zimbabwe, leaving a 15-cm (6-inch) crater.
• August 23 - Israel's unilateral disengagement from 25 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank ends.
• August 24 - Hong Kong High Court Judge Michael Hartmann rules that sodomy laws were unconstitutional.

• August 28 - Terrorist wounds 52 at bus station in Beersheba, Israel. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for attack.
• August 29 - At least 1,383 are killed, and severe damage is caused along the U.S. Gulf Coast, as Hurricane Katrina strikes the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coastal areas. Within hours, levees give way and New Orleans is flooded.
• August 31 - A crowd crush on the Al-Aaimmah bridge in Baghdad kills several hundred civilians (see Baghdad bridge stampede).

2005 - September

• September 1
  • Oil prices rise sharply following economic effects of Hurricane Katrina.
  • Sellapan Ramanathan is sworn-in for a second term of office as the President of Singapore.
• September 5 - Mandala Airlines Flight 091 737 crashes in Indonesia killing at least 117. (See airplane accidents in 2005).
• September 7 - Incumbent Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak wins its first multi-party presidential election.
• September 11 - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the Liberal Democratic Party are returned to power following the Japanese general elections.
• September 12
  • Norwegian parliamentary election
  • The Hong Kong Disneyland Resort officially opens.
  • English cricket team draw the final match to win The 2005 Ashes.
• September 14 - September 16 - Largest UN World Summit in history, held in New York City.
• September 17 - Helen Clark leader of the Labour Party is re-elected for a third term in the New Zealand general election
• September 18
  • Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union and Gerhard Schröder of the Social Democratic Party both claim victory in the German federal election.
  • Afghan parliamentary election
• September 19 - North Korea agrees to stop building nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and cooperation.
• September 24 - Hurricane Rita hits the U.S. Gulf Coast. The 9th Ward section of New Orleans floods for the 2nd time in a month and a half. Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama are also affected.
• September 25 - Polish parliamentary election.
• September 26 - U.S. army reservist Lynndie England is convicted by a military jury on six of seven counts in connection with the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.
• September 27 - Michaëlle Jean, born in Haiti, becomes the 27th Governor General of Canada, and the first black person to hold that position.
• September 28 - American politician Tom DeLay is indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy by a Texas grand jury.
• September 29 - John G. Roberts, Jr. is confirmed and sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.
• September 30 - The Parliament of Catalonia passes with 120 plus votes and 15 against, the Project of New Catalan Statute of Autonomy, proclaiming in its article 1, "Catalonia is a nation".

2005 - October

• October 1
  • 26 people are killed and more than 100 are injured in the 2005 Bali bombings.
  • The world's largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, is formed by the merger of two Japanese banking conglomerates.
  • An Australian photojournalist in Afghanistan, Stephen Dupont, films US soldiers burning two dead Taliban militias' bodies.
• October 2 - 20 people are killed in a shipwreck in Lake George, NY.
• October 4 - Hurricane Stan hits Mexico and Central America killing over 1,153 people.
• October 5 - Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith charged with refusing to serve in the Iraq war.
• October 7 - UN nuclear agency director Mohamed ElBaradei is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• October 8 - An earthquake in Kashmir kills about 80,000 people.
• October 9 - Polish presidential election, 1st round.
• October 12 - The second Chinese human spaceflight Shenzhou 6 launched, carrying Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng for five days in orbit.
• October 13 - Veselin Topalov wins the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
• October 15
  • The referendum on the new Proposed Iraqi constitution is held.
  • Riot in Toledo, Ohio during a Neo-Nazi rally surrounding racial issues; 114 arrested
  • Qinghai-Tibet Railway completed.
• October 16 - US Helicopters and warplanes bomb two villages near Ramadi in western Iraq, killing about 70 people.
• October 18 - The UN tightens the rules for its staff, following several claims of financial impropriety and sexual abuse.
• October 19
  • The Trials of Saddam Hussein begin.
  • Hurricane Wilma swells into a Category 5 storm.
• October 20 - Hurricane Wilma enters the Mexican Caribbean, passing through Cozumel and then the Yucatan Peninsula, staying over Cancún for over 60 hours
• October 21 - 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, celebrations held around the United Kingdom.
• October 22
  • Tropical Storm Alpha forms making the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season the most active on record.
  • Bellview Airlines Flight 210, a Boeing 737 airliner crashes in Nigeria.
• October 23
  • Polish presidential election, 2nd round.
  • Referendum on the merger of the Kamchatka Oblast and the Autonomous District of Koryakia.
  • Guns and Amno Ban Referendum in Brazil
• October 24 - Hurricane Wilma makes landfall in southwestern Florida as a category 3 hurricane.
• October 26
  • The Chicago White Sox win the 2005 World Series.
  • Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls for Israel to be "wiped off the map" at "World Without Zionism" conference in Tehran, Iran, and condemns peace process.
  • The U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 2,000.
• October 27 - Two teenagers accidentally electrocute themselves in Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris, France, leading to widespread rioting.
• October 28 - Vice presidential adviser Lewis "Scooter" Libby resigns after being charged with obstruction of justice, perjury and making a false statement in the CIA leak investigation.
• October 29
  • A train in Andhra Pradesh, India derails, killing at least 77 people.
  • At least 61 people are dead and many others wounded in three powerful blasts in the Indian capital, Delhi. See 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings for full details.
• October 30 - Hurricane Beta hits the coast of Nicaragua. It is the thirteenth hurricane of 2005, breaking the 1969 record of 12 hurricanes.

2005 - November

• November 1
  • The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall arrive in the United States for a state visit, their first overseas tour since their marriage.
  • Justice John Gomery releases the first part of the Gomery Commission report on corruption in the Liberal Party of Canada and the sponsorship scandal.
  • U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and his fellow Democrats force a closed session of the Senate over the Lewis Libby indictment.
• November 2 - Madrid: the Spanish Congress of Deputies approves the admission to formality of the new Catalan Statute of Autonomy with the support of all the groups except the People's Party (PP) that the same day filed an objection of unconstitutionality.

• November 3 & 4 - Another severe aftershock measuring 6.3 on the richter scale hits affected areas of Northern Pakistan.
• November 6
  • Evansville Tornado of November 2005: A tornado hits western Kentucky and southwestern Indiana, killing at least 22.
  • Azerbaijan parliamentary election.
• November 7 - Microsoft launched Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and Microsoft BizTalk 2006 worldwide.
• November 8 - French President Jacques Chirac declares a state of emergency on the 12th day of the French civil unrest, see 2005 civil unrest in France.
• November 9 - At least fifty people are killed and more than 120 are injured in a series of coordinated suicide bombings in Amman, Jordan. See 2005 Amman bombings.
• November 12 - United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan makes his first visit to Iraq since Gulf War II began and urges Iraqis to embrace a process aiming to reconcile all the country's ethnic and religious groups.
• November 13 - Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year old British man is reported as the first person proven to have been 'cured' of HIV.
• November 15
  • Australia: Large workers' protest against the Coalition government's planned Industrial Reform legislation in Australia.
  • An earthquake near Sanriku in Japan occurs, prompting a tsunami warning to be issued.
• November 18 - The film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is released in the UK and USA.
• November 20 - The Washington Post rebukes journalist Bob Woodward over his conduct in the CIA leak probe.
• November 21 - The Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon announces his resignation from Likud and his intention to form a new party devoted to peace in the region, Kadima, and asks the President of Israel to call a general election.
• November 22
  • Microsoft releases the Xbox 360 gaming console in North America.
  • Ted Koppel steps down as host of Nightline after 25 years with the program.
• November 24 - The Licensing Act 2003 comes into force in England and Wales, introducing flexibility in the hours during which alcoholic beverages may be sold.
• November 27
  • Manuel Zelaya is elected the new President of Honduras.
  • The Edmonton Eskimos defeat the Montreal Alouettes 38-35 to win the 93rd Grey Cup.
• November 28
  • The Liberal Party minority government in Canada is toppled by a non-confidence vote in the House of Commons tabled by the Conservatives and backed by the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party, paving the way for a federal election on January 23, 2006.
  • The United Nations Climate Change Conference opens in Montreal, Quebec. The conference lasted until December 9, and featured a speech by former President Bill Clinton that the George W. Bush Administration objected to.
• November 29 - Leo O'Connor and David Keogh appear in court (see O'Connor - Keogh official secrets trial).
• November 30 - Surgeons in France carry out the first human face transplant.

2005 - December

• December 1 - South Africa becomes the fifth country in the world where same-sex marriages are recognized.
• December 2
  • Kenneth Boyd becomes the 1,000th person to be executed in the USA since the re-introduction of capital punishment in 1976.
  • The £140m (US$240m) extension of the Docklands Light Railway in London, linking Canning Town to North Woolwich and London City Airport opens.

• December 4 - 250,000 people in Hong Kong protest for democracy.
• December 6 - An Iranian C-130 Hercules airplane crashes into a ten-story building in a civilian area of Tehran, the capital of Iran, killing all 94 people aboard and 34 residents of the building - a total of 128 people.
• December 7
  • A U.S. Federal Air Marshal fatally shoots Rigoberto Alpizar on American Airlines Flight 924 in a jetway at Miami International Airport in Florida. Alpizar, a U.S. citizen who had disembarked from an American Airlines flight from Medellín, Colombia, claimed to have a bomb. No explosive was found.
  • European Union TLD .eu is launched, and replaced .eu.int. Initially this will be only for business purposes. From 7 April 2006 onwards, EU citizens can also register .eu domains.

• December 8 - Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 overshoots the runway at Chicago Midway Airport, killing a 6-year-old boy and injuring 11 other people.
• December 9 - Hurricane Epsilon dies in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It becomes the longest-lived December hurricane on record and ties for second-place being the 2nd strongest December hurricane.
• December 11 - 2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire north of London causes widespread damage.
• December 12 - Scientists announced that they had created mice with small amounts of human brain cells in an effort to make realistic models of neurological disorders.
• December 13
  • A 6.7 magnitude earthquake rocks South Asia.
  • Mass race riots in Sydney, Australia, involving up to 6,000 youths.
• December 15
  • The first parliamentary elections under Iraq's new constitution.
  • 43rd Mersenne prime found, 2^30,402,457 − 1. Discovered with the GIMPS project by Dr. Curtis Cooper and Dr. Steven Boone, professors at Central Missouri State University.
• December 18
  • Evo Morales wins the Bolivian Presidential Elections.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is hospitalized after suffering a minor stroke. He was released from the hospital two days later.
  • The World Trade Organization 6th ministerial conference concludes in Hong Kong with a limited trade deal being ratified.
• December 20 - 2005 New York City transit strike: New York City's Transport Workers Union Local 100 goes on strike for three days, shutting down all New York City Subway and Bus services.
• December 22 - The U.S. Census Bureau releases its population estimates for 2005.
• December 23
  • Lech Kaczyński is sworn in as the President of Poland in Warsaw, Poland.
  • U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announces the first in an expected series of troop drawdowns following Iraqi elections.
  • Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217 from Baku, Azerbaijan to Aktau, Kazakhstan crashed shortly after takeoff killing 23 people.
  • Chad declares a state of war against Sudan following a December 18th attack on Adre, which left about 100 people dead.
  • Trial of Tali Fahima ends in a plea bargain.
• December 24 - Pope Benedict XVI leads his first Christmas Midnight Mass as Pope, praying for peace in the Middle East.
• December 26 - Indonesians mark the first moments of the tsunami wave that came ashore exactly a year earlier, with thousands of people commemorating victims and relatives in many ceremonies.

• December 31 - The first leap second since 1998.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Events", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki