WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO MAY 2006
Find out what all happened January to May 2006

Witnesses report seeing a bottlenose whale swimming in the River Thames, the first time the species had been seen in the Thames since records began in 1913. (20. January 2006)

The Republic of Montenegro holds a referendum proposing independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. The Montenegrin people choose independence with a majority of 55%. (21. May 2006)

India's Irfan Pathan became the first bowler to take a Test cricket hat-trick in the opening over of a match. (29. January 2006)

A stampede occurs in the ULTRA Stadium near Manila killing 71. (4. February 2006)

At least one million union members, students, and unemployed take to the streets in France in protest at the government's proposed First Employment Contract law. (28. March 2006)

Mexican professional wrestler Juana Barraza is arrested in connection with the serial killing of at least 10 elderly women. (25. January 2006)

An explosion in a coal mine in Sago, West Virginia traps and kills 12 miners, while leaving one miner in critical condition. (2. January 2006)

ETA, the armed Basque separatist group, declares a permanent ceasefire. (22. March 2006)

The New Horizons probe is launched by NASA on the first mission to Pluto. (19. January 2006)

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia's new president. She becomes Africa's first female elected head of state. (16. January 2006)

Western Union discontinues its Telegram and Commercial Messaging services. (27. January 2006)

Three Christian Peacemaker Team hostages are freed by British forces in Baghdad after 118 days of captivity and the murder of their colleague, American Tom Fox. (22. March 2006)

The last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army. (16. February 2006)

The French warship Clemenceau reaches Egypt and is barred access to the Suez Canal. Greenpeace activists board the ship. (12. January 2006)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces that Iran has successfully enriched uranium. (11. April 2006)

Construction begins on the Freedom Tower for the new World Trade Center in New York City. (27. April 2006)

2006 São Paulo violence: a major rebellion occurs in several prisons in Brazil. (13. May 2006)

Iranian Azeris interpret a cartoon published in an Iranian magazine as insulting, resulting in massive riots throughout the country. (12. May 2006)

The terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba coordinates a series of bombings in Varanasi, India. (7. March 2006)

A stampede during the Stoning of the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 Muslim pilgrims. (12. January 2006)