istoryworld
All Events
Daniel Ortega wins the Nicaraguan presidential election, returning to the office after 16 years
Patriarch Christodoulos has talks with Pope Benedict XVI, in the first official visit to the Vatican by the head of the Greek Orthodox church
Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon suffers a massive stroke which leaves him in a coma
Hamas, defined in many countries as a terrorist organization, wins the majority of seats in elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council
More than £53 million is stolen in a raid on the Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent – the UK's largest robbery
British actress Helen Mirren plays Elizabeth II in the film The Queen (for which she later wins an Oscar)
Slobodan Milosevic dies of a heart attack in gaol in the Hague, with his trial for war crimes in Yugoslavia still incomplete
The terrorist organization ETA declares what it says will be a permanent ceasefire in its campaign for Basque independence
Kadima, the party founded by Ariel Sharon, wins the most seats in the Israeli elections
The Scottish National Party lays a charge that peerages are being 'sold' in Britain, provoking a police enquiry and a 'cash for honours' crisis
Romano Prodi becomes Italy's prime minister after narrowly defeating Silvio Berlusconi in a general election
Ehud Olmert, Sharon's successor as leader of Kadima, becomes Israel's prime minister at the head of a coalition government
Structural work is completed on China's Three Gorges Dam, by far the largest hydroelectric dam in the world
As the result of a referendum, Montegro declares its indpependence from Serbia
Hamas militants take hostage an Israeli corporal, provoking a new Israeli military campaign against Gaza
The US Supreme Court rules that the military courts set up to try detainees in Guantanamo Bay are illegal
North Korea test-fires seven missiles, of varying ranges and with varying success
A series of coordinated terrorist bombs explode on trains during the crowded evening rush hour in Mumbai (Bombay)
Hezbollah takes two Israeli soldiers hostage, provoking the renewal of air and rocket warfare on the Israel-Lebanon border
The Pagoda in Kew Gardens is reopened to the public, providing a wonderful view for those willing to pay extra and climb the 253 steps to the top.
After extensive restoration, what is now called Kew Palace (previously the Dutch House) is opened again to the public.
A UN-sponsored cease-fire comes into effect in the conflict between Israeli and Hezbollah forces in south Lebanon
The International Astronomical Union demotes Pluto to the new category of 'dwarf planet'
Martin Scorsese directs Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson in a crime thriller, The Departed
A team from the University of Tübingen find a tiny figurine of a mammoth, at that time the earliest known piece of European figurative sculpture
