- July 3
- World Health Organization head Margaret Chan says that the spread of the Influenza A H1N1 virus pandemic worldwide is now unstoppable. [57]
- July 4
- The Organization of American States suspends Honduras due to the country's recent political crisis after its refusal to reinstate President Zelaya. [398]
- July 5
- General election in Bulgaria: 39.7 percent for Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, led by Boyko Borisov, who will form coalition government. [531.52]
- Over 150 are killed when a few thousand ethnic Uyghurs target local Han Chinese during major rioting in Ürümqi, Xinjiang. [35] [398]
- July 10
- General Motors emerges from bankruptcy protection after 40 days, with 60 percent ownership in the hands of the U.S. government. [35]
- July 14
- The European Parliament elects former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek as the chamber's president. Buzek received 555 votes in a first ballot of 736 members. [57]
- July 15
- A Caspian Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft on its way from Tehran to Armenia after catching fire in mid-air and crashes into farmland in Iran, killing all 168 people on board. [35] [398]
- July 16
- Iceland's national parliament, the Althingi, votes to pursue joining the EU. [398]
vvv advertisement vvv
^^^ advertisement ^^^
- July 22
- The longest (6.5 minutes) total solar eclipse of the 21st century sweeps across a narrow (250km wide) swathe from India through to China. [35] [398] [562.171]
- July 31
- Six bombs explode outside mosques in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, killing at least 29 people, injuring more than 130 people. [57]
- August 2
- In South Sudan, at least 185 members of the Lou Nuer community are killed in an ambush by ethnic Murle fighters. [57]
- August 3
- Bolivia becomes the first South American country to declare the right of indigenous people to govern themselves. [398]
- A 6.9-magnitude earthquake strikes off Baja California in Mexico, 49 miles from Santa Isabel, 9.3 miles deep. [35]
- August 4
- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pardons two American journalists, who had been arrested and imprisoned for illegal entry earlier in the year, after former U.S. President Bill Clinton meets with Kim in North Korea. [398]
- August 5
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is sworn in for a second term as Iran's president. [57]
- Death of Baitullah Mehsud, by missile fired by US drone in South Waziristan, leader of Tehrik-Taliban in Pakistan. [532.36]
- August 6
- Great Britain's second biggest robbery in history: a pair of robbers steal nearly 40 million pounds of items from the Graff jewellery store in London. [57]
- August 7
- Typhoon Morakot hits Taiwan, killing 500 and stranding more than 1,000 via the worst flooding on the island in half a century. [398]
- August 11
- (to August 13) The Perseid meteor showers peak at 200 observations per hour. [562.9]
- August 17
- Reader's Digest Association of New York announces it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for its U.S. businesses as part of a plan to cut debt by 75 percent. [35]
- August 19
- At least six bomb blasts strike near government ministries and other targets in Baghdad, Iraq, killing 95 people and wounding 536. [35]
- August 20
- Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, imprisoned for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, is released by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds as he has terminal prostate cancer. He returns to his native Libya. [398] [532.48]
- August 22
- The Italian state lottery draw, Superenalotto, is won on a single ticket worth 146.9 million euros (US$211.8 million). The draw of 10, 11, 27, 45, 79, 88 broke the losing streak of 87 consecutive draws. [57]
- August 24
- The publisher of Reader's Digest in the US files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, carrying out its plan to cut debt and transfer ownership to a group of lenders. [35]
- August 25
- U.S. President Barack Obama nominates Ben Bernanke to a second term as Federal Reserve chairman. [35]
- South Korea launches its first space rocket, though a scientific satellite it was carrying failed to enter into its proper orbit. [57]
- Afghanistan bomb kills 43 in Kandahar. [532.6]
- August 29
- NASA launches the US shuttle Discovery from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a mission to the International Space Station (ISS), with seven astronauts on board. [57]
- August 30
- Japan's Democratic Party of Japan win a landslide general election over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, 308 seats to 119, throwing out the party after almost 50 years of rule. New prime minister will be Yukio Hatoyama. [35] [361.13]
- August 31
- China's Shanghai Composite Index drops by 6.7 percent, leaving it down 20 percent since a high on August 4. [361.10]
- State-owned Chinese oil firm PetroChina agrees to pay CDN$1.9 billion (US$1.7 billion) to acquire a majority stake in two tar sands projects in Alberta, Canada. [361.70]
- The Walt Disney Company agrees to buy Marvel Entertainment for US$4 billion. [35] [361.71]
- September 1
- The British Commonwealth of Nations fully suspends Fiji after refusing to bow to demands to call elections by next year. [57]
- September 2
- US drugmaker Pfizer agrees to pay US$2.3 billion in the largest healthcare fraud settlement in the history of the Department of Justice. The firm was found to have illegally promoted four drugs for uses which had not been approved by medical regulators. [57]
- A powerful 7.0 earthquake strikes off the Indonesian island of Java, killing 57 people, injuring over 300. [57]
- September 6
- In Beverly Hills, California, Ira & Larry Goldberg, Auctioneers, conduct the auction of part one of the Dan Holmes collection of US large cents. Some highlights:
- 1793 Flowing Hair, Chain cent, "AMERI.", AU-58 PCGS: US$368,000;
- 1793 Flowing Hair, Chain cent, "AMERICA", MS-63 brown PCGS: US$402,500;
- 1793 Flowing Hair, Chain cent, "AMERICA", MS-63 brown / AU-50+ PCGS: US$253,000;
- 1793 Flowing Hair, Wreath cent, Strawberry Leaf, "ONE CENT" centered, Fair-2 PCGS: US$264,500;
- 1793 Flowing Hair, Wreath cent, Large Date and "LIBERTY", MS-65 brown / MS-63 prooflike PCGS: US$264,500;
- 1793 Liberty Cap, Wreath cent, bisected obverse, AU-55 / EF-45 PCGS: US$506,000;
- 1795 Liberty Cap, Reeded Edge cent, VG-10 PCGS, finest of seven known: US$1,265,000; first US large cent to sell for over $1 million;
- 1799/8 Draped Bust cent, EF-45 PCGS: US$368,000;
- 1799 Draped Bust cent, MS-61 PCGS: US$977,500;
- 1804 Draped Bust cent, MS-63 brown PCGS: US$661,250.
[548.79] [549.14] [551.1,72]
- September 7
- Busch Gardens in Florida closes The Big Bad Wolf roller coaster. 29 million fans rode the attraction, which was the world's first suspended roller coaster. [469.50]
- September 11
- Japan successfully launches its new space freighter, 16.5-tonne unmanned H-II Transfer Vehicle, from the Tanegashima base in the south of the country, on a mission to re-supply the International Space Station. [57]
- The space shuttle Discovery lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California at the end of a two-week mission to the International Space Station. [35]
- September 12
- A 6.4 magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of Venezuela, 110km west of Caracas, knocking out power in the capital, causing minor damage and injuries. [57]
- September 15
- Consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal begins construction on third locks of the Panama Canal, with an estimated 1883 days to completion. The company's bid for the project was US$3.12 billion. [489.16]
- September 21
- A 6.1-magnitude earthquake strikes Bhutan and neighboring Himalayan regions, killing ten people and damaging houses, monasteries, and roads. [57]
- September 23
- India successfully launches an Oceansat-2 Indian remote-sensing satellite and six smaller foreign satellites in a single mission. [57]
- September 25
- At the G-20 Pittsburgh summit, world leaders announce that the G-20 will assume greater leverage over the world economy, replacing the role of the G-8, in an effort to prevent another financial crisis like that in 2008. [398]
- September 26
- Typhoon Ketsana hits the Philippines, causing 246 deaths and nearly US$100 million in damage. More than 3,000 houses are either damaged or destroyed. Worst flooding in 40 years, 300,000 people are left homeless. [35] [398] [533.54]
- September 27
- General election in Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel forms new coalition of Christian Democrats with Free Democrats. [533.14]
- General elections in Portugal: José Sócrates returns for another term, 37 percent for Socialists, 29 percent for Social Democrats, 10.5 percent for Popular Party, 10 percent for Left Block. [533.65]
- September 28
- At least 157 demonstrators are killed in a clash with the Guinean military. [398]
- September 29
- An 8.3-magnitude earthquake strikes due south of Samoa, causing a tsunami with waves of up to 4.5m which kills more than 190 people in several islands. Whole villages in Samoa are destroyed. [57] [398] [533.52]
- September 30
- A powerful Typhoon Ketsana sweeps through Vietnam, killing 40 people. [35]
- Ex-Peruvian President (1990-2000) Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to six years in jail for corruption by a court in Lima, Peru. [57]
- A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes Padang, Indonesia, a city of 900,000, killing over 1000, toppling buildings and trapping thousands under debris. [35] [57] [398] [533.52]
- July-September
- United Kingdom gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 0.4 percent for the sixth consecutive quarter, the longest stretch of recession since quarterly figures were first recorded in 1955. The total GDP contraction since the start of the recession is 5.9 percent. [57]
- Bank of America, the largest bank in the USA, posts a US$1 billion quarterly loss. [35]
- October 1
- The new Supreme Court begins operation in Great Britain. [533.70]
- October 2
- A 6.3-magnitude earthquake strikes south of Tonga in the Pacific Islands. [35]
- Ireland votes for a second time in a referendum on accepting the Lisbon Treaty, voting 67 percent in favor. [57] [398]
- October 4
- Greece's opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) wins a general election victory over the New Democracy party, 44 to 33.5 percent. [57]
- October 8
- A 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurs about 300km north-northwest of Vanuatu, followed by a 7.1 earthquake an hour later. [57]
- October 9
- In Pakistani city of Peshawar, a vehicle loaded with explosives is detonated in a crowded bazaar, killing st least 49 people, injuring over 100. [57]
- NASA intentionally crashes two unmanned spacecraft into the Moon in an attempt to detect water-ice. [57]
- October 10
- Polish President Lech Kaczynski signs the European Union's Lisbon Treaty. [57]
- Turkey and Armenia sign an accord normalising relations, after nearly 100 years of hostility following the deportation from the Ottoman Empire and deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in 1915. [57]
- October 14
- The Iraqi government reports that over 85,000 Iraqis were killed violently in Iraq between 2004 and 2008. The number does not include deaths in the first months of war in 2003, nor deaths due to causes other than war. [57]
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average breaks through the 10,000 level for the first time in a year. The index has risen 52.9 percent since a 12-year low in March. [35]
- October 18
- In Iran's province of Sistan-Baluchestan bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, a suicide bomber kills 42 people including 15 members of the Revolutionary Guards, including six senior commanders. This is the deadliest such attack in iran since the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Sunni rebel group Jundollah claimed responsibility, and Iran accused the USA and UK of terrorism for their support of the group. [35]
- October 19
- European astronomers announce they have found 32 new planets orbiting stars outside our solar system bringing the total of known exoplanets to about 400. [35] [398]
- October 20
- A national election is held in Niger, won by President Mamadou Tandja's party with 76 of 113 seats. The election was boycotted by the opposition in protest against changes to the constitution allowing the president to stand for a third term. [57]
- October 22
- The former military ruler (1981-85) of Uruguay, Gregorio Alvarez, is sentenced to 25 years in prison for 37 murder and human rights violations. [57]
- Microsoft launches Windows 7 operating system. Price is US$199.99 for the Home Premium version, or US$119.99 for an upgrade from older versions. [35]
- In Barcelona, Spain, auction firm Aureo and Calico sells a Spain 1609 100-escudo (11 troy ounces) gold coin, only one known, for 944,000 euros (US$1.4 million), a record for a Spanish coin, and third-highest non-US coin. A 1633 Spanish gold 100-escudo coin sells for 590,000 euros (US$882,000). An undated Spanish (Seville) gold 20-excelente coin sells for 566,400 euros (US$847,000). [560.5,34]
- October 24
- A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits deep under the sea off Indonesia's coast. [57]
- The number of US bank failures this year has topped more than 100 after US federal regulators shut down three small Florida banks. More US banks have now failed this year than in any year since 1992. [57]
- October 25
- A double suicide carbomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, kills at least 155 people, injuring more than 520. The blasts hit the ministry of justice and a provincial government office near the heavily fortified Green Zone. [35] [57]
- October 28
- In Peshawar, Islamabad, Pakistan, a car bomb rips through a crowded market killing 120 people, injuring at least 200. [35] [57]
- NASA launches a prototype Ares I-X rocket from Florida to test technology for the development of a future manned launch vehicle. The US$450 million launcher is the first NASA has built in more than 30 years. [57]
- STX Europe in Turku, Finland, delivers the world's largest cruise ship, the Oasis of the Seas to Royal Caribbean International. The ship is 361 metres long, 66 metres wide and rises 72 metres above sea level. The gross tonnage is 225,000, and can accomodate 6,360 passengers and 2,100 crew members. [339] [379.9] [489.14]
- October 30
- The American Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation seizes nine failed banks, including Los Angeles-based California National Bank, the fourth-largest U.S. bank failure this year. [35]
- November 1
- US lender CIT Group files for bankruptcy protection, arranging with bondholders to reduce debt by US$10 billion. In its filing it showed US$71 billion in finance and leasing assets against total debt of US$64.9 billion, making this the fifth biggest in US corporate history. [57]
- November 3
- The president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, signs the European Union's Lisbon Treaty, the final step in the charter's ratification. The treaty creates new post of President of European Council, and allows more decisions to be made by majority vote rather than unanimity. [57] [398]
- The Prime Minister of Belgium, Herman Van Rompuy, is designated the first permanent President of the European Council, a position he takes up on 2009 December 1. [398]
- November 6
- A US Army major opens fire on fellow soldiers at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, killing 13 people and injuring 30. [57]
- November 10
- Navies from North and South Korea exchange gunfire for the first time in seven years, damaging vessels on both sides. A North Korean patrol vessel ventures into South Korean territorial waters in the Yellow Sea, sparking a brief firefight. [35]
- November 11
- At the Greensville Correctional Center in In Jarratt, Virginia, USA, John Allen Muhammad is executed by lethal injection. Muhannad was convicted of sniper shootings that killed 10 people and terrified the Washington, D.C., region in 2002. [35]
- November 13
- NASA scientists announce that last month's experiment to find water on the Moon was a major success, revealing ice and water vapor in the debris field of smashing a rocket into a crater. [57] [398]
- November 19
- Hamid Karzai is sworn in for a second term as president of Afghanistan. [57]
- European Union leaders choose Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy as first permanent European Council President, and select Baroness Catherine Ashton from the UK as High Representative. [57]
- November 20
- CERN restarts the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator in Geneva, Switzerland; they had shut it down on September 19, 2008. [398]
- November 23
- In the Philippines, at least 57 are abducted and killed in an election-related massacre in the province of Maguindanao. [398]
- November 24
- A rare first-edition copy of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species book sells at Christie's auction house in England for 103,250 pounds (US$171,000). [105]
- November 25
- Dubai World asks for a six-month in delay of interest payments to creditors, on $59 billion of liabilities. [35]
- A logging vessel sinks in bad weather on Lake Mai-Ndombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 73. [57]
- November 27
- A suspected bomb blast causes the Russian Nevsky Express train to derail near the town of Bologoye, between Moscow and St. Petersburg, killing at least 26, injuring 90. [57]
- Bangladeshi ferry MV Coco-4 capsizes in the Tetulia river, killing at least 72. [57]
- Dubai requests a debt deferment following its massive renovation and development projects, as well as the late 2000s economic crisis. The announcement causes global stock markets to drop. [398]
- November 29
- The Commonwealth of Nations admits Rwanda as its 54th member. [57]
- Somali pirates capture the Greek-owned Maran Centaurus supertanker carrying oil from Saudi Arabia to the US. [57]
- December 1
- US President Barack Obama announces an additional 30,000 U.S. troops will be sent to Afghanistan, over the coming summer and fall. [35]
- The Treaty of Lisbon comes into force. [398]
- December 3
- Comcast announces a deal to buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric, for US$6.5 billion in cash, its own cable TV networks (E!, Versus, the Golf Channel and 10 regional sports networks) and other assets. [57]
- December 4
- At least four attackers open fire and throw grenades on worshippers at a mosque near the Pakistani army's headquarters in Rawalpindi, killing at least 35 people. After an hour-long gun battle with security forces, two or three attackers blow themselves up. [57]
- December 5
- In the Russian city of Perm, an explosion caused by fireworks in a nightclub kills 112 people and injures another 130. [105]
- December 6
- Peru and China ratify their Free Trade Agreement, to come into effect March 1, 2010. [681.107]
- December 7
- President Evo Morales wins a second five-year term in Bolivia's presidential election. [57]
- (to December 19) In Copenhagen, Denmark, the United Nations holds "COP15", a summit of world leaders and other delegates from 192 countries to reach a climate agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol in 2012. [105] [398]
- December 8
- A series of five car bombings kills at least 127 people and wounds 448 in the centre of Baghdad, Iraq. [57]
- December 11
- The Queen Charlotte Islands are renamed Haida Gwaii in an historic deal between the British Columbia government and the Haida Nation. [105]
- December 14
- Exxon Mobil announces it will acquire natural gas supplier XTO Energy Inc in an all-stock transaction valued at about US$30 billion. [35]
- December 18
- The UN climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, ends with a only compromise climate deal, and a vow to work out the details later. Leaders of the following countries sign on to the deal: Canada, USA, China, India, Brazil and South Africa. The agreement offers money to developing nations to help them fight global warming. The agreement is not binding and does not set new greenhouse-gas reduction targets. [105]
- Fox releases the film Avatar to theaters. (Total world gross ticket sales: $2.8 billion (1st for 2009).) [926]
- December 19
- Death of Iran's most senior dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, at age 87. [35] [398]
- December 25
- A Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, tries to ignite powder and liquid explosives on Northwest Airlines plane Flight 253 from Nigeria via Amsterdam as it is preparing to land in Detroit. The man is subdued and the plane lands safely with no injuries. [105] [381.6] [636.56]
- Japan approves a record budget for next year of 92.3 trillion yen (US$484 billion). [35]
- December 30
- Humam Jhalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi blows himself up in CIA base in Afghanistan, killing seven Americans and a Jordanian intelligence officer. [636.69]
- Year
- Deaths in Mexico related to drug trafficking violence: 9616. [693.6]
- Total number of email messages sent on the Internet: 90 trillion. [1292.14]
|