chromosome sequence, in Nature. May 18–20 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 takes place in Athens, Greece, and is won by Finnish band entrant Lordi with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah". May 27 – The 6.4 Yogyakarta earthquake shakes central Java in Indonesia with an MSK intensity of IX (Destructive), leaving more than 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured. June June 3 – Montenegro declares its independence from Serbia and Montenegro after a May 21 referendum and becomes a sovereign state. Two days later, the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro officially disbands after Serbia declares its independence as well, ending an 88-year union between the two countries and leaving Serbia as the successor country to the union. June 9 – July 9 – The 2006 FIFA World Cup takes place in Germany; Italy defeats France in the final. June 28 Israel launches an offensive in the Gaza Strip in response to rocketfire by Hamas into Israeli territory. The United States Armed Forces withdraws its forces in Iceland, thereby disbanding the Iceland Defense Force. July July 1 – The Qinghai–Tibet railway begins operation, making Tibet the final province-level entity of China to establish a conventional railway. July 6 – The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years. July 11 – A series of seven bomb blasts hits the city of Mumbai, India, killing more than 200 people. July 12 – Israeli troops invade Lebanon in response to Hezbollah kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and killing three others. Hezbollah declares open war against Israel two days later. August August 10 - News was revealed of a thwarted terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives disguised as soft drinks, aboard multiple transatlantic air flights. August 14 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sixty-one female students are killed by Sri Lankan Air Force in an air strike. August 22 – Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 612 crashes near the Russian border in Ukraine, killing all 170 people on board. August 24 – The International Astronomical Union defines 'planet' at its 26th General Assembly, removing Pluto's status as a planet and reclassifying it as a dwarf planet 76 years after its discovery. Ironically, this was in the same year when NASA sent its first probe to the celestial body. September September – The MP4 Watch is available to consumers in America. September 7 – In the face of