- July 10
- A Luxembourg referendum on the European Constitution votes to accept it. [26]
- July 12
- Terrorists kill five people and wound 90 in a crowded mall in Netanya, Israel. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for attack. [26]
- July 13
- Three trains collide in Ghotki, Pakistan, killing over 150 people. [26]
- July 20
- Canada's Civil Marriage Act, legalizing same-sex marriage, receives Royal Assent. [26]
- July 21
- A terrorist attack on London, similar to the July 7 attacks, includes four attempted bomb attacks on three underground trains and a London bus. The bombs fail to explode properly, and only one injury is reported, later found to be unconnected. [26]
- July 22
- A Brazilian electrician, Jean Charles de Menezes, is shot dead at a London underground station by police who allegedly mistake him for a suicide bomber. [26]
- July 23
- A series of blasts hits a resort town in Egypt. [26]
- July 26
- Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on its "Return To Flight" mission. This is the first space shuttle flight in nearly 2 1/2 years since the breakup of Space Shuttle Columbia on its return from mission STS-107. [26] [129]
- Mumbai and the Mumbai Conurbation area are submerged in 5-7 feet of water due to heavy rains, making nearby dams release water causing a massive flood, which virtually stops the financial capital of India for 4-5 days. [26]
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- July 28
- The Provisional Irish Republican Army issues a statement formally ordering an end to the armed campaign it has pursued since 1969 and ordering all its units to dump their arms. [26]
- In a surprise move, Jürgen Schrempp, who had been head of DaimlerChrysler for ten years, resigns his position. His successor was designated as Dieter Zetsche, who had been the very successful head of DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division in the U.S.A. [37]
- July 30
- A helicopter carrying John Garang, vice-president of Sudan, crashes in poor weather into a mountain, killing Garang. [105]
- August 1
- King Fahd of Saudi Arabia dies, succeeded by his half-brother Abdullah. [26]
- August 2
- Air France Flight 358 bursts into flames after overshooting the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport; all aboard survive. [26]
- The Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is signed into law in the United States. [26]
- August 6
- An ATR-72 heading from Italy to Tunisia crashes into the Mediterranean Sea, killing 16 of 39 on board. [26]
- August 10
- Lee Seung Seop dies from exhaustion in South Korea after playing the computer game StarCraft continuously for 49 hours. [5]
- August 12
- The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is launched. [26]
- Death of Lakshman Kadirgamar, foreign minister of Sri Lanka (assassinated) (born 1932). [26]
- August 14
- Helios Airways Flight 522 crashes into a mountain in Greece, killing 121. [26]
- August 16
- West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes into a mountain in Venezuela, killing 152 passengers. [26]
- The XX World Youth Day begins in Cologne, Germany. [26]
- August 17
- The first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of the Israel unilateral disengagement plan, begins. [26]
- Bangladesh is hit by bomb explosions. [26]
- Sellapan Ramanathan gains victory in the Singapore Presidential elections. [26]
- August 18
- In the USA, BTK killer Dennis Rader receives ten consecutive life sentences. [26]
- Peace Mission 2005, the first joint China-Russia military exercise, begins its eight-day training on the Shandong peninsula. [26]
- August 22
- A 4.1-kg (9-pound) meteorite crashes into the Dotito area of Zambezi Escarpment in Zimbabwe, leaving a 15-cm (6-inch) crater. [26]
- August 23
- Israel's unilateral disengagement from 25 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank ends. [26]
- August 26
- Jean Michel Jarre's "Space of Freedom" concert is held in Gdansk, Poland, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the creation of Solidarnosc ("Solidarity" trade union). [26]
- August 29
- At least 1,836 are killed, and severe damage is caused along the U.S. Gulf Coast, as Hurricane Katrina strikes coastal areas from Louisiana to Alabama, and travels up the entire state of Mississippi (flooding coast 31 feet/10 m), affecting most of eastern North America. [26] [68.29]
- August 31
- A crowd crush on the Al-Aaimmah bridge in Baghdad Iraq kills several hundred civilians. [26]
- September 1
- Oil prices rise sharply following the economic effects of Hurricane Katrina. [26]
- September 2
- Protesters and Israeli forces clash in Bil'in. [26]
- September 5
- Mandala Airlines Flight 091 737 crashes in Indonesia, killing at least 117. [26]
- September 7
- Incumbent Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak wins the first multi-party presidential election. [26]
- September 11
- Japan general election: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the Liberal Democratic Party are returned to power. [26]
- September 12
- The Norwegian parliamentary election results in a victory for the red-green-coalition. The new prime-minister is Jens Stoltenberg from the Labour Party. [26]
- In Hong Kong, China, Hong Kong Disneyland park opens. [5] [6]
- September 14
- (to September 16) The largest United Nations World Summit in history is held in New York City. [26]
- September 17
- Helen Clark, leader of the Labour Party, is re-elected for a third term in the New Zealand general election. [26]
- September 18
- Federal elections in Germany. Leading Chancellor candidates are Gerhard Schröder (Social Democratic Party, 34.3 percent) and Angela Merkel (Christian Democratic Union, 27.8 percent). [26] [37]
- September 19
- North Korea agrees to stop building nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and cooperation. [26]
- September 23
- Convicted bank robber and Boricua Popular Army leader, Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, is killed in his home in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico when members of the FBI attempt to serve an arrest warrant. [26]
- September 24
- Worldwide protests occur against the Iraq War, with over 150,000 protestors in Washington DC. [26]
- Polish parliamentary election: Two center-right parties win the required majority of seats. [26]
- September 26
- U.S. Army Reservist Lynndie England is convicted by a military jury on six of seven counts in connection with the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. [26]
- September 27
- Michaëlle Jean, born in Haiti, becomes the 27th Governor General of Canada. [26]
- September 30
- The Parliament of Catalonia passes, with 120 plus votes and 15 against, the Project of New Catalan Statute of Autonomy, proclaiming in Article 1, "Catalonia is a nation". [26]
- Controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. [26]
- Michael Eisner resigns from The Walt Disney Company board of directors, also his last day as CEO of the company. The value of the company during Eisner's term (1984-2005) rose from US$3 billion to US$60 billion. New company CEO is Robert Iger. [6]
- October 1
- The 2005 Bali bombings kill 26 people and injure more than 100. [26]
- The world's largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, is formed by the merger of two Japanese banking conglomerates. [26]
- October 4
- Hurricane Stan hits Mexico and Central America, killing over 1,620 people. [26]
- October 7
- United Nations nuclear agency director Mohamed ElBaradei is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. [26]
- October 8
- In Pakistan, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurs. At least 86,000 people killed, more than 69,000 injured and extensive damage in northern Pakistan. An estimated 4 million people in the area were left homeless. [26] [53]
- October 9
- Polish presidential election: the first round results in a runoff between top candidates Donald Tusk and Lech Kaczynski. [26]
- Clemens August Graf von Galen (1878-1946) is beatified by Pope Benedict XVI. Von Galen was the Bishop of Münster during the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler. He openly opposed policies of the Germans as an affront to human dignity. [37]
- October 12
- The second Chinese spacecraft, Shenzhou 6, is launched, carrying Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng for five days in orbit. [5] [26]
- October 13
- Veselin Topalov wins the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. [26]
- October 15
- Birth of Prince Christian of Denmark, son of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark and his wife Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark. [26]
- The referendum on the new Proposed Iraqi constitution is held. [26]
- The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is completed. [26]
- October 16
- U.S. helicopters and warplanes bomb two villages near Ramadi in western Iraq, killing about 70 people. [26]
- October 17
- Jens Stoltenberg becomes Prime Minister of Norway for the second time. [26]
- October 18
- The United Nations tightens the rules for its staff, following several claims of financial impropriety and sexual abuse. [26]
- October 19
- Hurricane Wilma swells into a Category 5 storm. [26]
- In New York City, USA, Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries sells at auction a plate block of four US 1918 24-cent Jenny invert stamps for US$2,970,000, a record for a US philatelic item at auction. [798.3]
- October 20
- Hurricane Wilma enters the Mexican Caribbean, passing through Cozumel and then the Yucatán Peninsula, staying over Cancún for over 60 hours. [26]
- October 21
- Lyn Knight auction of Series 1890 $1000 US Treasury "Grand Watermelon" note sells for record US$1,092,500. [555.30]
- October 22
- Tropical Storm Alpha forms, making the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season the most active on record. [26]
- Bellview Airlines Flight 210, a Boeing 737 airliner, crashes in Nigeria. [26]
- October 23
- Polish presidential election, second round: Lech Kaczynski is elected. [26]
- October 25
- A violent attack by communist forces at a crowded train station in Yoskar, Kosamanu kills 15. [26]
- October 26
- At the "World Without Zionism" conference in Tehran, Iran, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls for Israel to be "wiped off the map", and condemns the peace process. [26]
- The American death toll in the Iraq war reaches 2,000. [26]
- October 27
- Two teenagers accidentally electrocute themselves in Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris, France, leading to widespread rioting. [26]
- October 29
- A train in Andhra Pradesh, India derails, killing at least 77 people. [26]
- At least 61 people are dead and many others wounded in three powerful blasts in the Indian capital, Delhi. [26]
- October 30
- Hurricane Beta hits the coast of Nicaragua. It is the 13th hurricane of 2005, breaking the 1969 record of 12 hurricanes. [26]
- November 2
- The Spanish Congress of Deputies approves the admission to formality of the new Catalan Statute of Autonomy with the support of all the groups except the People's Party (PP), which the same day files an objection of unconstitutionality. [26]
- November
- Heritage Auction Galleries auctions the Philip Morse collection of Saint-Gaudens double eagles. A 1907 Saint-Gaudens gold $20 coin, Ultra High Relief, Lettered Edge, Roman Numerals, graded PR-69 by NGC and PCGS, sells for US$2,990,000. [768.78] [908.4]
- November 3
- (to November 4) A severe aftershock measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale hits affected areas of Northern Pakistan. [26]
- November 4
- The U.S. and Uruguay governments sign a Bilateral Investment Treaty. [26]
- November 6
- Azerbaijan parliamentary election: Results are disputed between the New Azerbaijan Party and the Azadliq Party opposition. [26]
- November 8
- French President Jacques Chirac declares a state of emergency on the 12th day of the French civil unrest. [26]
- November 9
- The Venus Express mission of the European Space Agency is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. [5]
- At least 50 people are killed and more than 120 injured in a series of coordinated suicide bombings in Amman, Jordan. [26]
- November 12
- United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan makes his first visit to Iraq since the Iraq War began, and urges Iraqis to embrace a process aiming to reconcile all the country's ethnic and religious groups. [26]
- November 13
- Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year old British man, is reported as the first person proven to have been 'cured' of HIV. [26]
- November 15
- In Australia, workers stage a massive protest against the Coalition government's planned Industrial Reform legislation. [26]
- An earthquake hits near Sanriku in Japan, prompting a tsunami warning to be issued. [26]
- November
- The American government administration lifts its arms embargo on Indonesia, resuming full relations with the Indonesian military. [240.52]
- November 18
- Warner Bros. releases the film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to theaters. (Total world gross ticket sales: $897 million (1st for 2005).) [930]
- November 19
- Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa takes office as President of Sri Lanka after the presidential election. [26]
- November 20
- The Washington Post rebukes journalist Bob Woodward over his conduct in the US Central Intelligence Agency leak probe. [26]
- November 21
- SBC Communications Inc. changes its company name to AT&T Incorporated. [228]
- The Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, announces his resignation from Likud and his intention to form a new party devoted to peace in the region, Kadima, and asks the President of Israel to call a general election. [26]
- November 22
- Microsoft launches the Xbox 360 video game system in North America. The system features IBM PowerPC with three cores, 3.2 GHz each with simultaneous multi-threading, 500 MHz ATI graphics with 10 MB cache, and 512 MB RAM. The Xbox 360 Core System costs US$299.99. The full Xbox 360 costs US$399.99, and includes 20 GB hard drive. [9]
- Activision releases the Call of Duty 2 video game for the Xbox 360 in the USA. [9]
- November 24
- The Licensing Act 2003 comes into force in England and Wales, introducing flexibility in the hours during which alcoholic beverages may be sold. [26]
- November 26
- The Safeway brand in the United Kingdom retail disappears after 43 years of operation due to its takeover by Wm Morrison Supermarkets. [26]
- November 27
- Manuel Zelaya is elected the new President of Honduras. [26]
- November 28
- The Liberal Party minority government in Canada is toppled by a non-confidence vote in the House of Commons, tabled by the Conservatives and backed by the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party, paving the way for a federal election on January 23, 2006. [26]
- (to December 9) The United Nations Climate Change Conference is held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. [26]
- November 30
- Surgeons in France carry out the first partial human face transplant. [26] (November 27 [5])
- December 1
- South Africa becomes the fifth country in the world where same-sex marriages are recognized. [26]
- December 2
- In Wentworth, North Carolina, Kenneth Boyd becomes the 1,000th person to be executed in the United States since the re-introduction of capital punishment in 1976. [26]
- The £140 million (US$240 million) extension of the Docklands Light Railway in London opens, linking Canning Town to North Woolwich and London City Airport. [26]
- Death of Nguyen Tuong Van, executed in Singapore for drug trafficking. [26]
- December 3
- Birth of Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway, grandson of King Harald V of Norway. [26]
- December 4
- A protest for democracy in Hong Kong draws 250,000 people. [26]
- December 6
- An Iranian C-130 Hercules airplane crashes into a ten-story building in a civilian area of Tehran, the capital of Iran, killing all 94 people aboard and 34 residents of the building. [26]
- December 7
- The Internet's European Union top-level domain .eu is launched, and replaces .eu.int. Initially this will be only for business purposes. From 7 April 2006 onwards, EU citizens can also register .eu domains. [26]
- December 8
- Hurricane Epsilon dies in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It becomes the longest-lived December hurricane on record and ties for second-place strongest December hurricane. [26]
- At Japanese trading company Mizuho Securities, a new employee mistakenly sells 610,000 shares for 1 yan each, instead of 1 share for 610,000 yen. It costs the company about 40 billion yen (US$340 million). [249.55]
- December 11
- The 2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire north of London causes widespread damage, and is the largest explosion ever to occur in peacetime Europe. [26]
- The Cronulla riots occur in Sydney, Australia, involving up to 5,000 youths. [26]
- December 12
- Scientists announce that they have created mice with small amounts of human brain cells in an effort to make realistic models of neurological disorders. [26]
- December 13
- A 6.7 magnitude earthquake rocks South Asia. [26]
- Birth of twins Prince Nicolas and Prince Aymeric of Belgium, grandsons of King Albert II of Belgium. [26]
- December 14
- Shakidor Dam fails in Pakistan due to heavy rain. [26]
- December 15
- The first parliamentary elections take place under Iraq's new federal constitution. [26]
- December 16
- The 43rd Mersenne prime is found, 230,402,457 - 1. It was discovered with the GIMPS project by Dr. Curtis Cooper and Dr. Steven Boone, professors at Central Missouri State University. [26]
- December 18
- Evo Morales wins the Bolivian Presidential Elections. [26]
- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is hospitalized after suffering a minor stroke. (He is released from the hospital two days later.) [26]
- The World Trade Organization's 6th ministerial conference concludes in Hong Kong with a limited trade deal being ratified. [26]
- December 22
- An industrial action by bus drivers in Tehran, Iran, leads to the arrest of Mansour Osanlou and several other union activists. [26]
- December 23
- Lech Kaczynski is sworn in as the President of Poland in Warsaw. [26]
- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announces the first in an expected series of troop drawdowns following the Iraqi elections. [26]
- Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217 from Baku, Azerbaijan to Aktau, Kazakhstan crashes shortly after takeoff, killing 23 people. [26]
- Chad declares a state of war against Sudan following a December 18 attack on Adre, which left about 100 people dead. [26]
- IBM discontinues all OS/2 operating system products. [4]
- December 24
- Pope Benedict XVI leads his first Christmas Midnight Mass as Pope, praying for peace in the Middle East. [26]
- December 31
- Another second is added, 23:59:60, called a leap second, to end the year 2005. The last time this occurred was on June 30, 1998. [26]
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