January 4 Ehud Olmert becomes Prime Minister of Israel after Ariel Sharon suffers a stroke January 11 Alaska's Augustine volcano erupts January 15 Stardust space mission returns dust from a comet to earth January 23 Stephen Harper, wins the election in Canada and is the first conservative Prime Minister in 12 years January 31 Samuel Alito sworn in as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court February 1 United Airlines emerges from bankruptcy February 5 Super Bowl XL: Steelers defeat the Seahawks 21-10 February 7 Egyptian ferry, Al Salam Boccaccio, sinks killing over 1200 people in the Red Sea February 10 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Turin, Italy February 11 Dick Cheney accidentally shoots friend in a hunting accident February 22 Al-Askari Mosque is bombed, setting off protests and violence across Iraq February 22 Apple's iTunes store sells it's 1 billionth song March 10 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter enters Mars orbit March 11 Slobodan Milosevic found dead in cell in the Hague March 22 ETA terrorist group declares ceasefire against Spain March 26 Smoking is banned in restaurants and bars in Scotland April 19 Han Myung-sook elected Prime Minister of South Korea May 27 Java, Indonesia suffers a 6.3 magnitue earthquake, killing more than 6,000 June 3 17 Islamic men are arrested in a plot to bomb targets in Toronto June 6 Union of Islamic Courts takes over Mogadishu, Somalia June 7 Terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is killed by U.S. forces in Iraq June 25 Warren Buffett donates $30 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation July 9 Italy wins the World Cup 5-3 vs. France July 12 Israel invades Lebanon in response to Hezbollah's kidnapping of Israeli soldiers August 14 U.N. cease fire takes effect in Lebanon August 24 Pluto is demoted to a 'dwarf planet' September 3 Andre Agassi retires after winning 60 career titles September 12 Pope Benedict XVI quotes a criticism of the Islamic faith leading to mass protests September 26 Japan elects Shinzo Abe as new Prime Minister of Japan October 4 Dow closes above 11,800 for the first time October 9 North Korea conducts first atomic weapons test October 10 Google buys YouTube.com for $1.6 billion October 13 Ban Ki-moon is elected to be U.N. Secretary-General October 17 United States population reaches 300 million people October 19 Dow closes above 12,000 for the first time October 31 Bob Barker, from The Price is Right, retires after 35 years as host November 5 Saddam Hussein sentenced to death by hanging by an Iraqi court November 8 Donald Rumsfeld resigns as U.S. Secretary of Defense November 15 Al Jazeera launches Al Jazeera English December 3 Hugo Chavez, leftist dictator, is re-elected President of Venezuela December 29 Ethiopian troops eject the Islamic forces from Mogadishu, Somalia December 30 Saddam Hussein is hanged in Baghdad
