February 1 – UAL Corporation, United Airlines' parent company, emerges
from bankruptcy after being in that position since December 9,
2002, the longest such filing in history.
February 3 – An
Egyptian passenger ferry carrying more than 1,400 people,
sinks in the Red
Sea off the Saudi coast.
April 20 – Iran announces
a deal with Russia, involving a
joint uranium enrichment firm on
Russian soil; 9 days later Iran announces that it will not move all
activity to Russia, thus leading to a de-facto termination of the
deal.
April 22 – Four
Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb (the worst one-day combat loss
for the Canadian army since the Korean
War).
April 24 – Three
explosions in a tourist section of Dahab, Egypt kill 30 and
injure over 115.
May 24 – East Timor's Foreign Minister José Ramos-Horta officially requests
military assistance from the governments of Australia, New Zealand,
Malaysia and Portugal.
July 5 – North Koreatest
fires missiles, timed with the liftoff of Discovery, preceding
the fireworks celebrations that night in America. The long range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails shortly after
takeoff.
August 23 – In
Austria, Natascha Kampusch
manages to escape after being kidnapped 8 years ago by Wolfgang Priklopil, who locked her up in
his cellar. Priklopil commits suicide by throwing himself in
front of a train.
October 6 – A
hazardous waste plant near Apex, North Carolina explodes, releasing chlorine gas, and resulting in
the evacuation of thousands and the hospitalization of over 100
residents.
November 5 – Former President of IraqSaddam Hussein and 2 of his senior allies are
sentenced to death by hanging, after an Iraqi court finds them
guilty of crimes against humanity.
December 26 –
The Hengchun
earthquake in Taiwan kills 2 people, and damages about 15
historical buildings and several undersea
cables, disrupting Internet and IDD telecommunication services
in Asia.