2006

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2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. It corresponds to the years 5766-5767 in the Hebrew Calendar, 5107-5108 in the Hindu Calendar, 1426-1427 in the Islamic Calendar, 1384-1385 in the Iranian calendar, and 2759 a.U.c. It is also the current year.

It has been designated:

• The International Year of Deserts and Desertification
• The Rembrandt Year, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the birth of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Netherlands' greatest 17th-century painter.
• The Mozart Year, celebrating the 250th birthday of the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• The Tesla Year, celebrating the 150th birthday of the world known electrotechnician Nikola Tesla.
• The International Asperger's Year, marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Hans Asperger, discoverer of Asperger's Syndrome.
• The year of the dog in Chinese Astrology.

Events

January

• January 1:
  • Royal Mail loses its 350-year monopoly in the UK.
  • Redenomination of the Azerbaijani manat.
  • Tropical Storm Zeta becomes the second Atlantic tropical cyclone to span two calendar years.
  • Russia cuts natural gas to Ukraine over a price dispute.
  • Spain bans smoking in public places.
  • Viacom and CBS Corporation complete their corporate split.
• January 2: Fifteen are killed when a German ice rink collapses after heavy snowfall in the Bavarian Alps.
• January 3: Twelve coal miners are discovered dead in the Sago Mine Disaster near Buckhannon, West Virginia in the United States. A single survivor was rescued early the following morning in critical condition.
• 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.
  • Texas defeats USC in the Rose Bowl 41-38 to win NCAA Division I-A national football championship.
• January 5:
  • Around 130 Iraqis and 7 U.S. soldiers are killed in a series of explosions throughout Iraq.
  • A hotel in Mecca, Saudi Arabia collapses killing 76 pilgrims.
• January 6: The record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season officially draws to a close as Tropical Storm Zeta, which formed on December 30, dissipates.
• January 7:
  • Embroiled in multiple scandals, former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay announced he would not seek to reassume his former post.
  • U.K. Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy resigns under intense pressure.
• Today is the Russian Orthodox Christmas.
• January 8:
  • English magician Alex Elmsley dies at age 76 from a heart attack (believed to be). He was well known for creating many powerful magic effects within the magic community.
• January 9
  • Radio shock-jock Howard Stern officially begins his new radio show on U.S. based satellite radio service Sirius.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 52.59 points to close at 11,011.91, the Dow's first close above 11,000 since June 2001.
• January 10: Muslims throughout the world celebrate the first day of Eid ul-Adha.
  • Vaikunta Edakasi is observed by Indians. This is the day when the Gates of Heaven open and remain open for the next ten days.

Predicted and scheduled events

January

• January 15:
  • First round of the Finnish presidential election
  • Second round of the Chile presidential elections
  • NASA's Stardust spacecraft mission ends.
• January 16 - Mordechai Vanunu to appear in Israeli court, charged with meeting foreigners.
• January 17 - NASA will launch the New Horizons spacecraft on its first mission to Pluto.
• January 21 - baptism of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark's baby boy (expected to be named Prince Christian of Denmark).
• January 22 - Evo Morales inaugurated as president of Bolivia.
• January 23 - 39th Canadian federal election
• January 25 - Palestinians vote in the Parliamentary Elections.
• January 27:
  • Manuel Zelaya will become the next President of Honduras.
  • Major celebrations worldwide for the 250th Anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Mozart.
• January 29 - Chinese New Year
  • Second round (if needed) of the Finnish presidential election.
• January 31 - Anticipated retirement date of Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve of the United States.

February

• February 5 - NFL Super Bowl XL is held at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.
• February 10 to 26 - Torino 2006 Winter Olympics
• February 12 International Day of Prayer for Autism and Asperger's Syndrome.
• February 16 - Kobe Airport, a controversial offshore airport in Kobe, Japan, is scheduled to open for airline service.
• February 19 - NASCAR, 48th running of the Daytona 500.
• February 20 to 21 - Solidarity conference in Bil'in in Palestine.

March

• Local government elections in South Africa.
• Al Jazeera will launch its new satellite service, Al Jazeera International, in Europe, Asia, and North America.
• March 5 - 78th Academy Awards, hosted by Jon Stewart.
• March 7 - Census in New Zealand
• March 18 - South Australia to hold legislative elections.
• March 26 - The ban on smoking in public places such as bars and restaurants comes into effect in Scotland.
• March 28 - Israeli Parliamentary elections.
• March 29 -
  • Total solar eclipse (Brazil, Mid Atlantic ocean, Sahara, Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia).
  • Attack Submarines USS Groton to start to be deactivated. Los Angeles class submarines USS Indianapolis, USS-Birmingham, USS-New York City and USS-Atlanta also begin to be deactivated.
• March 31 - The BBC World Service is to end broadcasts in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Kazakh, Polish, Slovak, Slovenian and Thai by this date.

April

• April 2 - Former Connecticut governor John Rowland is scheduled to be released from the federal prison in Loretto, Pennsylvania.
• April 2 - WrestleMania 22 in Chicago, Illinois.
• April 7 - EU citizens are now able to register .eu domain names, which replaced the old eu.int TLD on December 7 2005.
• April 9 - Peruvians will elect the successor of Alejandro Toledo in the Peruvian national election, 2006
• April 9 - Italians will vote for new Parliament and elect the successor of Silvio Berlusconi in the Italian general elections, 2006
• April 14 - Tamil New Year
• April 23 - Census in Ireland.

May

• May 3 - Unofficial launch date for Space Shuttle STS-121 Discovery (ISS-18) Pad B, (ISS-18-ULF1.1: Return-To-Flight Test, MPLM, Logistics)
• May 4 - UK local elections, 2006 - Local elections to be held across England.
• May 13 - The 125th FA Cup Final is due to be the first competitive match at the new Wembley Stadium. However, due to concerns that it may not be ready on time, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff has also been booked.
• May 20 - Eurovision Song Contest to take place in Athens, Greece.
• May 26 - The exhibit "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" opens in the Field Museum of Chicago.

June

• June 1 Hurricane season will officialy begin.
• June 9 - Football World Cup 2006 in Germany starts with opening ceremony and the first game (Germany v Costa Rica)

July

• July 1 -
  • Electronic equipment imported to or sold in the European Union will have to be lead free soldered, to comply with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive.
• July 2 - Presidential election of Mexico.
• July 9 - Football World Cup 2006 Final Game.
• July 29 to August 5 - World Congress of Esperanto in Florence, Italy.

August

• August 8 - Census in Australia.
• August 13 to August 18 - The XVI International AIDS Conference will be held in Toronto, Canada.
• August 14 to August 25 - The 26th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Prague, Czech Republic.

September

• September 17 - Sweden general election, 2006: Sweden holds elections for the Riksdag.

October

• October 2 - Brazilian General Elections, 2006: Presidential election, Legislative: full renewal of the Chamber of Deputies and renewal of one third of the Federal Senate (one of each state's three seats); State sphere: Gubernatorial elections, renewal of the State Legislative body (State Assembly) in all states.
• October 24 - NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft to Mercury makes the first of two Venus flybys.

November

• November 7 - US Mid-term Election which includes:
  • all 435 seats of the US House of Representatives (outlook)
  • 33 of the 100 seats in the US Senate (outlook)
  • Gubernatorial elections in 36 of the 50 states (outlook)
  • Many other state-wide offices in those states such as attorneys general and state auditors
• November 8 - Transit of Mercury.
• November 30- Hurricane season will officialy end.

December

• December 19 - On this date, the USA is calculated to reach a population of 300 million.

Major Religious Holidays

• January 10 - Islamic festival of Eid ul-Adha begins (ends on January 13)
• January 14 - Mahayana Buddhist New Year.
• February 9 - Day of Ashurah.
• March 14 - Sikh New Year.
• March 21 - Bahai New Year.
• March 30 - Hindu New Year.
• April 12 - Pesach or Passover begins at sunset, continues for a week.
• April 13 - Theravada Buddhist New Year.
• April 14 - Good Friday in the Western Church Calendar.
• April 16 - Easter in the Western Church Calendar.
• April 21 - Good Friday in the Eastern Church Calendar.
• April 23 - Easter in the Eastern Church Calendar.
• September 22 - Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown. Continues until nightfall of the 24th.
• September 23 - First day of Ramadan.
• October 1 - Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur begins at sundown. Ends at nightfall of the 2nd.
• October 24 - Islamic festival of Eid ul-Fitr.
• October 26 - Hindu festival of Diwali.
• December 25 - Christmas in the Western Church Calendar.
• December 31 - Islamic festival of Eid ul-Adha begins (ends on January 3, 2007)

Unknown/undecided dates

• NATO Summit 2006 will take place in Latvia.
• White House proposed Plebiscite to decide whether Puerto Rico will mantain its territorial status or change to another status (to be decided then in other referenda)
• The third Chinese manned space mission Shenzhou 7 is scheduled with the first Chinese space walk ever to be performed.
• Airbus plans to release into service Airbus A380, the biggest commercial airliner in the world.
• The European Space Agency plans to launch the KEO space time capsule
• Irish referendum on the European Constitution: The Republic of Ireland is expected to hold a referendum on the European Constitution.
• Manuel Noriega becomes eligible for parole.
• The new Wembley Stadium is expected to open.
• A bridge linking Savannakhet, Laos, over the Mekong, to Mukdahan, Thailand is expected to be completed late in the year.
• Windows Vista to be released in late 2006.
• The Stardust Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada will officially close in late 2006 after 55 years of continuous operation to make way for the $4 billion dollar Echelon Place a new mega resort scheduled to officially open in 2010.

Deaths in 2006

Main article: Deaths in 2006

January

• January 1 - Henry Magdoff, American political commentator (b. 1913)
• January 2 - Steve Rogers, Australian rugby player (b. 1954)
• January 3 - Bill Skate, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b. 1954)
• January 4 - Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (b. 1946)
• January 4 - Irving Layton, Canadian poet (b. 1912)
• January 5 - Rod Dedeaux, college baseball coach (b. 1914)
• January 6 - Lou Rawls, American singer (b. 1933)
• January 7 - Heinrich Harrer, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1912)
• January 8 - Tony Banks, British politician (b. 1943)

2006 in Fiction

• March 28 to March 29 - The events of the Doctor Who episodes Aliens of London and World War Three take place.
• September - The events of Doctor Who episode Boom Town take place.
• December 24 to December 25 - The events of Doctor Who episode The Christmas Invasion take place.
• The events of the third season of the Transformers cartoon take place.
• The central character in the BBC series Life On Mars came from 2006 before he travelled through time to 1973.