| 2009-11-01
The inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is held at the Yas Marina Circuit.
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| 2009-10-10
After having closed borders for about two hundred years, Armenia and Turkey sign protocols in Zurich, Switzerland to open their borders.
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| 2009-10-01
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, which acquired the judicial functions of the House of Lords, begins work.
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| 2009-09-12
The 9-12 Project organized multiple marches and demonstrations across the USA to protest government spending.
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| 2009-10-02
Rio de Janeiro is elected the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
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| 2009-10-09
First lunar impact of the Centaur and LCROSS spacecrafts as part of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program.
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| 2009-11-05
US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly killed 13 and wounded 30 at Fort Hood, Texas in the largest mass shooting ever at a US military installation.
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| 2009-12-25
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab unsuccessfully attempts a terrorist attack against the US while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253
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| 2009-06-22
June 22, 2009 Washington Metro train collision: Two Metro trains collide in Washington, D.C., USA, killing 9 and injuring over 80.
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| 2009-09-18
The 72 year run of the soap opera The Guiding Light ends as its final episode is broadcast.
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| 2009-06-22
Eastman Kodak Company announces that it will discontinue sales of the Kodachrome Color Film, concluding its 74-year run as a photography icon.
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| 2009-04-06
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila, Italy, killing 307.
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| 2009-10-02
The Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland is approved at the second attempt, permitting the state to ratify the European Union's Treaty of Lisbon.
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| 2009-08-19
A series of bombings in Baghdad, Iraq, kills 101 and injures 565 others.
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| 2009-07-30
A bomb explodes in Palma Nova, Mallorca, killing 2 police officers. Basque separatist group ETA is believed to be responsible.
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| 2009-10-28
The 28 October 2009 Peshawar bombing kills 117 and wounds 213.
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| 2009-04-30
Chrysler automobile company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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| 2009-02-20
Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en-route to the national airforce headquarters were shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack.
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| 2009-02-12
Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes into a house in Clarence Center, New York while on approach to Buffalo-Niagara International Airport, killing all on board and one on the ground.
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| 2009-04-30
Seven people are killed and 17 injured at a Queen's Day parade in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
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| 2009-04-23
The gamma ray burst GRB 090423 is observed for 10 seconds. The event signals the most distant object of any kind and also the oldest known object in the universe.
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| 2009-04-01
Croatia and Albania join NATO
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| 2009-01-20
Barack Obama inaugurated as the 44th and first African-American President of the United States.
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| 2009-10-24
First International Day of Climate Action, organized with 350.org, a global campaign to address a claimed global warming crisis.
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| 2009-02-05
The United States Navy guided missile cruiser USS Port Royal runs aground off Oahu, Hawaii, damaging the ship as well as a coral reef.
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| 2009-09-26
Typhoon Ketsana (2009) hit the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, causing 700 fatalities.
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| 2009-04-07
Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces.
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| 2009-11-25
Powerful storm brings 3 years worth of rain in 4 hours to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, sparking terrible floods known as the 2009 Jeddah Floods, which kill over 150 people and sweep thousands of cars away right in the middle of Hajj in the second largest city of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah.
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| 2009-06-01
General Motors files for chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is the fourth largest United States bankruptcy in history.
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| 2009-05-18
Sri Lankan Civil War: The LTTE are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides.
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| 2009-02-01
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is elected as the first female Prime Minister of Iceland, becoming the first openly gay head of state in the modern world.
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| 2009-02-25
BDR massacre in Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 74 people are killed, including more than 50 army officials, by Bangladeshi Border Guards inside its headquarters.
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| 2009-06-30
Yemenia Flight 626 crashes off the coast of Moroni, Comoros killing 152 people and leaving 1 survivor
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| 2009-05-25
North Korea allegedly tests its second nuclear device. Following the nuclear test, Pyongyang also conducted several missile tests building tensions in the international community.
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| 2009-10-25
The 25 October 2009 Baghdad bombings kills 155 and wounds at least 721.
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| 2009-04-13
Citi Field opens to almost 44,000 people in a game lost by the New York Mets 6-5 to the San Diego Padres.
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| 2009-08-01
gay centre shooting in Tel Aviv, worst single act of anti-gay violence in history of Israel.
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| 2009-03-03
The Sri Lankan cricket team is attacked by gunmen while on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore for a Test match against Pakistan.
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| 2009-09-28
The military junta leading Guinea, headed by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, sexually assaulted, killed and wounded protesters during a protest rally in a stadium called Stade du 28 Septembre.
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| 2009-02-07
Bushfires in Victoria left 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history.
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| 2009-12-28
43 people die in a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, where Shia Muslims were observing the Day of Ashura.
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| 2009-03-27
Situ Gintung, an artificial lake in Indonesia, fails, killing at least 99 people.
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| 2009-12-15
Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner makes its maiden flight from Seattle, Washington.
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| 2009-07-05
The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered, consisting of more than 1,500 items, is found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England.
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| 2009-06-12
A disputed presidential election in Iran leads to wide ranging protests in Iran and around the world.
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| 2009-12-08
Bombings in Baghdad, Iraq kill 127 and injure 448.
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| 2009-09-29
An 8.0 magnitude earthquake near the Samoan Islands causes a tsunami .
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| 2009-07-01
Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader resigns giving no specific reason. Jadranka Kosor is announced as the next Prime Minister, the first woman ever to hold the post.
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| 2009-12-11
Tiger Woods announced an indefinite leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage.
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| 2009-01-01
66 die in nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.
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| 2009-01-15
US Airways Flight 1549 makes an emergency landing in the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. All passengers and crew members survive.
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| 2009-07-04
The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after 8 years, due to security reasons following the World Trade Center attacks.
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| 2009-11-23
The Maguindanao massacre occurs in Ampatuan, Maguindanao, Mindanao, Philippines
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| 2009-05-01
Same-sex marriage is legalized in Sweden.
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| 2009-07-05
Roger Federer wins a record 15th Grand Slam title in tennis, winning a five set match against Andy Roddick at Wimbledon.
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| 2009-10-04
George Papandreou's Panhellenic Socialist Movement defeats Greece's governing New Democracy party in an electoral landslide.
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| 2009-01-23
Dendermonde nursery attack occurred in Dendermonde, Belgium.
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| 2009-10-23
The United Nations "Rotterdam Rules" convention regulating international maritime carriage of goods is ratified with its twentieth signature.
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| 2009-01-31
In Kenya, at least 113 people are killed and over 200 injured following an oil spillage ignition in Molo, days after a massive fire at a Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi killed at least 25 people.
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| 2009-06-18
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a NASA robotic spacecraft is launched.
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| 2009-03-22
Mount Redoubt, a volcano in Alaska begins erupting after a prolonged period of unrest.
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| 2009-07-17
Jakarta double bombings at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels killed 9 people including 4 foreigners.
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| 2009-04-05
North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks.
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| 2009-03-11
Winnenden school shooting – 17 people are killed at a school in Germany.
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| 2009-06-01
Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 passengers and crew are killed.
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| 2009-03-04
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002.
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| 2009-03-03
The building of the Historisches Archiv der Stadt Köln (Historical Archives) in Cologne, Germany, collapses.
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| 2009-10-28
NASA successfully launches the Ares I-X mission, the only rocket launch for its later-cancelled Constellation program.
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| 2009-05-17
Dalia Grybauskaitė is elected the first female President of Lithuania.
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