December 21, 2005. Copyright 2005, Graphic News. All rights reserved Review 2005 By Julie Mullins LONDON, December 21, Graphic News: Captions accompany graphic GN18xxx January 1. As the new year dawned massive relief efforts continued to assist survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami 9. Mahmoud Abbas won a commanding election victory to succeed Yasser Arafat as Palestinian president 27. The 60th anniversary of liberation at Auschwitz marked the first of many events commemorating the end of WWII 30. Despite insurgent attacks, millions of Iraqis voted in the first democratic elections for over 50 years February 8. British sailor Ellen MacArthur completed her solo round world voyage in 71 days and 14 hours, over 30 hours faster than the previous record 14. Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in a massive bombing in Beirut 28. A suicide car bomber killed 127 in the Iraqi city of Hilla in the deadliest single attack since the U.S.-led invasion March 11. Health experts geared up to prevent a global outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu as deaths in SE Asia passed 50 28. An 8.7 earthquake off Sumatra killed at least 1,200 people. Its epicentre was close to that of the 9.1 quake that triggered DecemberÕs tsunami 31. Severely brain-damaged Florida woman Terri Schiavo died 14 days after her feeding tube was removed following a high-profile legal battle April 2. Pope John Paul II died after years of debilitating illness. The ensuing conclave elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who took the name Benedict XVI 6. Prince Rainier III of Monaco died after a 56-year reign 9. BritainÕs Prince Charles married his long-term companion, Camilla Parker Bowles 27. The world's largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, made its maiden flight from Toulouse May 5. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair won an unprecedented third consecutive election victory 17. U.S. tycoon Malcolm Glazer took full control of Manchester United, delisting the club from the stock exchange 29. The European Union was pitched into crisis when French voters rejected the proposed constitution, swiftly followed by the Dutch June 4. Rising star Rafael Nadal won his first Grand Slam tennis title at Roland Garros 13. Michael Jackson was cleared of 10 charges of child molestation. The juryÕs verdict was broadcast live 19. Michael Schumacher won his only race of the season after all but six cars pulled out of the U.S. GP over tyre safety concerns. Fans were not amused 24. Hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a landslide victory in IranÕs presidential election July 7. Four suicide bomb attacks decimated London's transport network, killing 56 people, as the city celebrated winning the 2012 Olympics the previous day 24. Lance Armstrong retired on a high as he won a record seventh Tour de France 26: The space shuttle Discovery blasted off on its first flight since the Columbia disaster in 2003 31. Monsoon rains in Mumbai and IndiaÕs Maharashtra state killed over 1,000 people August 3. Millions faced starvation in Niger after locust swarms and drought decimated the grain harvest 17. Israel removed some 9.000 settlers from all 21 settlements in Gaza and four in the northern West Bank 29. Hurricane Katrina devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast. Over 1,200 died, mainly in New Orleans, which flooded after protective levees were breeched 31. A stampede in Baghdad killed over 960 Shia pilgrims, panicked by rumours of a suicide attack September 12. EnglandÕs cricketers regained the Ashes from Australia for the first time in 18 years 18. Angela Merkel won a narrow election victory in Germany and, after a Grand Coalition was agreed, became the countryÕs first female chancellor 26. Northern IrelandÕs arms decommissioning chief announced that the IRA had put all weapons beyond use, two months after formally ending its armed campaign 30. As bird migration spread avian flu into Europe, the UN warned that a global pandemic could kill up to 160 million people October 8. A powerful 7.6 earthquake in northern Pakistan and Kashmir killed 73,000 people and left three million homeless 19. The trial of deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and seven others, charged with crimes against humanity, began in Baghdad 21. The record-breaking hurricane season continued as Wilma became the most powerful Atlantic storm on record, devastating resorts in Mexico before pounding Florida 27. Riots erupted in the suburban ethnic ghettos of Paris, spreading nationwide over three weeks November 1. Makybe Diva won a third consecutive Melbourne Cup 9. Three suicide bomb attacks on hotels in Amman, Jordan, killed at least 57 people. Al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility 11. LiberiaÕs President-elect, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, became AfricaÕs first female head of state December 1. World Aids Day. More than 40 million people worldwide were estimated to be living with HIV/Aids; over 20m had died since Aids was first recognised 2. Singapore hanged a Vietnamese-born Australian for drug trafficking and the U.S. executed its 1,000th prison inmate since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 11. Smoke blanketed much of southern England after explosions at a fuel depot caused the largest fire in peacetime Europe 26. Countries around the Indian Ocean marked the first anniversary of the tsunami which claimed over 230,000 lives