A look at the top national and international news events of 2009:

January

1 - Fire in Bangkok nightclub kills 66 people.

3 - Israeli troops launch ground offensive in Gaza with tanks and helicopter gun ships.

7 - Trooper Brian Good of CFB Petawawa is killed by roadside bomb north of Kandahar City in Afghanistan. Russia halts natural gas shipments through Ukraine in dispute over prices, leaving thousands of Europeans without heat.

14 - Former telecom giant Nortel Networks files for bankruptcy protection from creditors.

15 - US Airways jet crash lands in Hudson River in New York City; all 155 people on board survive and pilot Chesley Sullenberger is hailed as hero.

19 - Two men who admitted to helping James Roszko kill four RCMP officers near Mayerthorpe, Alta., in 2005 plead guilty to manslaughter.

20 - Barack Obama is sworn in as U.S. president.

22 - Obama orders closure of Guantanamo detention centre within a year.

26 - Bulldozer-maker Caterpillar announces 20,000 job cuts. U.S.-based Home Depot, Sprint, Pfizer, Texas Instruments and General Motors also announce mass layoffs. California woman gives birth to eight babies.

27 - Minority Conservative government delivers budget promising $40 billion in economic stimulus over two years.

29 - Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is removed from office for trying to sell President Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat.

31 - Sapper Sean Greenfield of CFB Petawawa is killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

February

2 - Calgary woman aged 60 becomes oldest Canadian to give birth.

4 - Hudson's Bay Co. says it will cut 1,000 jobs.

5 - Bombardier Aerospace announces 1,360 workers will be laid off. Ontario Provincial Police free two children and arrest 31 people in what they say is the province's largest ever child pornography bust.

9 - Syncrude Canada is charged with breaking environmental laws in the deaths of hundreds of waterfowl at tailing pond near Fort McMurray, Alta. Major league baseball star Alex Rodriguez admits to steroid use.

10 - U.S. commercial satellite and derelict Russian satellite collide in space over Siberia.

11 - Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu each claim victory in inconclusive election. Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is sworn in as country's prime minister after months of squabbling with President Robert Mugabe over terms of coalition government.

12 - Bombardier Dash 8 commuter plane crashes into a home near Buffalo, N.Y., killing all 49 people on board and one man on the ground.

14 - Somalian legislators approve appointment of Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, Canadian son of a former leader, as country's new prime minister.

16 - Nuclear-armed submarines from Britain and France collide deep in Atlantic Ocean, causing damage but releasing no radioactivity.

17 - Obama signs into law US$787-billion stimulus package to revive economy.

19 - Thousands welcome Obama to Ottawa on his first foreign trip as U.S. president.

22 - Gas explosion at coal mine in northern China kills at least 74 miners, traps dozens. "Slumdog Millionaire" wins eight Academy Awards, including best picture. Canadian Coast Guard vessel rescues all 22 fishermen from Spanish trawler southeast of St. John's, N.L., after it catches fire and sinks.

23 - Former aboriginal leader David Ahenakew is acquitted in his second trial on charges of wilfully promoting hatred against Jews.

25 - Barenaked Ladies say co-founder Steven Page will leave the group to pursue solo career. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec reveals $39.8-billion loss, the biggest in its history.

27 - U.S. President Obama announces American combat mission in Iraq will end August 2010, with full withdrawal by 2011.

March

3 - Report into Newfoundland and Labrador's breast-cancer-testing scandal finds patients were failed by health system at every level. United States Steel Corp. announces it is halting Canadian steel production, putting about 1,500 people out of work in Hamilton and Nanticoke, Ont. Warrant Officer Dennis Raymond Brown, Cpl. Dany Olivier Fortin and Cpl. Kenneth Chad O'Quinn killed in Afghanistan.

4 - International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur.

5 - Ontario Court of Appeal overturns murder conviction of Romeo Phillion, who spent 31 years in prison for 1967 stabbing death of an Ottawa firefighter. Vincent Li is found not criminally responsible for stabbing and beheading passenger on Greyhound bus in August 2008 in Manitoba.

8 - Trooper Marc Diab of Royal Canadian Dragoons is killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan. GM Canada and CAW union strike cost-cutting deal to freeze wages and pensions.

12 - Ottawa software developer Momin Khawaja is sentenced to 10 1/2 years in prison on top of time served in the first sentence under Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act. Seventeen people die, one survives when helicopter ferrying workers to offshore oil-production facilities crashes southeast of St. John's, N.L. Bernard Madoff of New York pleads guilty to cheating nearly 5,000 investors out of billions.

13 - Curtis Dagenais is found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in the July 2006 fatal shootings of two Saskatchewan RCMP officers.

18 - British actress Natasha Richardson dies in New York one day after suffering head injury in skiing accident at Mont Tremblant, Que.

19 - Josef Fritzl of Austria, who locked his daughter in a dungeon for 24 years and fathered her seven children, is sentenced to life in a psychiatric ward.

20 - Roadside bombings in Afghanistan kill Master-Cpl. Scott Vernelli, Cpl. Tyler Crooks, Trooper Jack Bouthillier and Trooper Corey Joseph Hayes, all based in Petawawa, Ont.

22 - Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano begins erupting for the first time in nearly 20 years, resulting in cancellation of more than 150 Alaska Airlines flights.

23 - Suncor Energy and Petro-Canada announce plans to merge.

24 - Dominion City becomes the first of many communities in Manitoba to declare a state of emergency due to rising of the Red River.

25 - Theatre impresarios Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb are found guilty in Toronto of fraud and forgery for misstating financial statements of now-defunct Livent production company.

29 - Alberta rockers Nickelback win three Juno Awards, including group of the year. Stampede at a World Cup qualifying soccer match in Ivory Coast kills at least 22 people.

31 - Benjamin Netanyahu sworn in as Israeli prime minister.

April

2 - G20 countries pledge more than US$1 trillion to assist developing countries affected by economic crisis.

3 - Gunman kills 13 people at immigrant centre in Binghamton, N.Y., before committing suicide.

4 - Johnson Aziga of Hamilton, Ont., is convicted of first-degree murder for having unprotected sex with women without telling them he carried HIV.

5 - North Korea fires rocket over Japan in a suspected test of its long-range missile technology.

6 - Earthquake devastates Abruzzo region of central Italy, killing nearly 300 people and injuring thousands.

7 - Alberta's Conservative government introduces budget with a $4.7-billion deficit, the province's first in 16 years. Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in prison for death squad killings and kidnappings.

9 - Man charged in the 2008 fatal stabbing of 14-year-old Stefanie Rengel in Toronto pleads guilty to first-degree murder. The plea came one month after his former girlfriend was convicted in the murder plot.

11 - Susan Boyle of Scotland becomes overnight sensation after performing on TV show "Britain's Got Talent."

13 - Trooper Karine Blais of Les Mechins, Que., is killed by roadside bomb north of Kandahar. President Obama eases restrictions on travel and transferring money to Cuba.

14 - Flood waters reach their second-highest levels on record in the Morris area of southern Manitoba.

15 - Massive police operation targets 156 people in raids aimed at disrupting suspected Hells Angels drug and gang activity in Quebec and New Brunswick.

16 - Forestry giant AbitibiBowater files for bankruptcy protection in Canada and U.S.

19 - Canadian warship HMCS Winnipeg helps thwart Somali pirate attack on Norwegian tanker in the Gulf of Aden.

20 - Tens of thousands of civilians flee Sri Lanka's northern war zone ahead of the government's deadline for Tamil militants to surrender.

22 - Canadian diplomats Robert Fowler and Louis Guay, kidnapped in Niger, are freed after four months in captivity.

25 - WHO declares swine flu outbreak in Mexico and U.S. an international "public health emergency."

26 - Canada reports first confirmed cases of H1N1. Canadian Auto Workers approves deal with Chrysler to pave the way for the company to receive government bailout funds.

29 - Pope Benedict expresses "sorrow" to delegation from Canada's Assembly of First Nations over abuse suffered by aboriginal students at residential schools run by Roman Catholic Church.

30 - About 1,200 Halifax-area residents flee their homes after brush fire breaks out. Seven bystanders are killed by a speeding car driven by a man targeting Dutch royal family in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.

May

2 - Michael Ignatieff formally claims the Liberal leadership at convention in Vancouver.

4 - China, other countries ban pork imports from Alberta after 220 hogs catch H1N1 virus from a worker who had been in Mexico. First adult from so-called Toronto 18 pleads guilty to aiding a terrorist plot to build bombs to explode downtown.

5 - EU votes to ban most imported seal products from Canada.

6 - Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla steps down as Liberal party's youth and multiculturalism critic over allegations she mistreated foreign caregivers.

7 - Kiefer Sutherland charged with assault after a fashion designer is head-butted at a Manhattan nightclub.

8 - Health authorities confirm Canada's first H1N1 death, a woman in northern Alberta who had pre-existing medical conditions. Pakistan's army announces offensive against Taliban stronghold in Swat valley.

9 - Sri Lanka intensifies efforts to capture the last rebel stronghold of Tamil Tigers; artillery barrage is reported to have killed at least 430 civilians.

10 - Thousands of Tamil protesters shut down Toronto's Gardiner Expressway for hours, demanding Canadian government do more to help end the war in Sri Lanka.

12 - B.C. Liberals led by Gordon Campbell win majority and third straight term in office. Former PM Brian Mulroney tells Oliphant inquiry he regrets accepting $225,000 in cash from German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber.

14 - Final vehicle rolls off assembly line at GM truck plant in Oshawa, Ont., marking end of 44 years of production and elimination of 2,600 jobs. Inquest says 15-passenger vans, like the one in N.B. accident that claimed the lives of seven high school basketball players and the wife of their coach, should be banned for student travel across Canada.

15 - President Obama says he will reinstate controversial military tribunal system for some Guantanamo Bay detainees.

18 - U.S. Supreme Court agrees to review cases against Conrad Black and two former colleagues. But on June 11, the court turns down Black's request to be released from Florida prison on bail pending the outcome of that review. Sri Lanka declares it has crushed final resistance of Tamil Tigers, killing rebel chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.

19 - Michael Martin resigns as Speaker of British House of Commons over his handling of scandal over lawmakers' expense claims, the first person in 300 years to quit the post.

20 - Two Woodstock, Ont., residents are charged in the death of Tori Stafford, 8; her body was found near Guelph on July 19. GM begins notifying 245 of its 709 Canadian dealers that their sales agreements will not be renewed. A group of 13 employees at the Alberta Treasury Branches Edmonton wins almost $50 million in Lotto 6-49 draw.

21 - Finance Minister Jim Flaherty unveils regulations for credit card industry, including minimum 21-day interest-free period on new transactions.

22 - Montreal judge finds Desire Munyaneza guilty of war crimes committed in 1994 Rwandan genocide. He is the first person convicted under Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. On Oct. 29 he is sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole for 25 years. A youth belonging to so-called Toronto 18 homegrown terror cell is sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. With time already served factored in, the youth was allowed to walk free.

24 - GM Canada workers ratify third round of concessions to help keep the automaker alive.

25 - Gov.-Gen. Michaelle Jean eats a piece of raw seal heart in Arctic. CN Rail is fined $1.8 million after pleading guilty in two 2005 derailments resulting in hazardous spills in Alberta and B.C. North Korea reports it successfully conducted an underground nuclear test.

26 - Canadian author Alice Munro wins Man Booker International Prize.

28 - Ontario teenage rugby player is convicted of manslaughter in death of an opposing player.

31 - Air France Airbus crashes into Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, killing all 228 people on board.

June

1 - New U.S. border rules take effect requiring all travellers entering the country to show a passport. GM Corp. files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S.

3 - Former Quebec federal Liberal organizer Benoit Corbeil pleads guilty to one count each of fraud and influence peddling.

8 - Private Alexandre Peloquin, based at CFB Valcartier, Que., is killed in Afghanistan.

9 - N.S. voters elect first NDP government in Atlantic Canada.

10 - Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt apologizes for describing the shortage of medical isotopes used in cancer tests as a "sexy"' issue.

11 - WHO declares swine-flu outbreak a pandemic, first since Hong Kong flu of 1968.

12 - Supreme Court of Canada restores guilty verdict against Kelly Ellard in the 1997 murder of 14-year-old Reena Virk. Iranians vote in presidential election that sparks massive protests.

18 - Hockey star Guy Lafleur gets one-year suspended sentence for giving contradictory evidence at his son's bail hearing in 2007

19 - Nortel Networks announces it will sell itself piece by piece rather than try to restructure under bankruptcy protection, winding down a company with a 127-old-history in Canada.

20 - George Gillett confirms he has agreement in principal to sell Montreal Canadiens to the Molson brewing family.

22 - About 24,000 municipal workers in Toronto go on strike.

24 - Former N.S. premier Rodney MacDonald announces his resignation as Progressive Conservative leader. After disappearing for five days, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford confesses to an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina.

25 - Death of music superstar Michael Jackson sets off global mourning.

27 - Abousfian Abdelrazik of Montreal returns home after an almost six-year exile in Sudan in which he was arrested, detained and allegedly tortured.

29 - Bernard Madoff is sentenced in New York to the maximum 150 years behind bars for fleecing investors out of billions of dollars in Ponzi scheme.

30 - U.S. forces hand responsibility for securing cities to Iraqi forces. Yemenia Airways plane crashes into Indian Ocean near Comoros Islands; 12-year-old girl found clinging to debris is only survivor of 153 people aboard.

July

3 - Former Republican U.S. vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin says she is resigning as Alaska's governor. Cpl. Nicholas Bulger, based in Edmonton, is killed by bomb in Afghanistan.

4 - Master Cpl. Charles-Philippe Michaud of CFB Valcartier dies after being wounded June 23 in Afghanistan.

6 - Two Canadian soldiers - Master Cpl. Patrice Audet of Montreal and Cpl. Martin Joannette from St-Calixte, Que. - and a British soldier die in helicopter crash in Zabul province in Afghanistan.

8 - Chinese troops swarm central square of the capital of western Xinjiang after ethnic riots leave at least 156 dead.

10 - B.C. Supreme Court rules it does not have the authority to force the International Olympic Committee to include female ski jumping in 2010 Games.

11 - Former world boxing champion Arturo Gatti is found dead at resort in Brazil.

14 - Canada slaps visa requirements on citizens of Mexico and Czech Republic, citing surge in refugee claims by visitors from those countries.

15 - Passenger plane crashes in northwestern Iran, killing all 168 people aboard.

16 - Pte. Sebastien Courcy, based in Quebec City, is killed during military operations southwest of Kandahar city.

17 - Suicide blasts at Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Indonesian capital of Jakarta kill seven people and wound more than 50. More than 100 small planes take off from airports around Vancouver at start of cross-Canada journey to celebrate centennial of first powered flight in Canada. Two Canadian astronauts meet in space for first time when space shuttle Endeavour carrying Julie Payette docks with the International Space Station, where Robert Thirsk is stationed.

19 - About 11,000 people are ordered out of their homes in Kelowna, B.C., because of forest fires.

23 - Bank of Canada declares recession essentially over in Canada. Shawn Atleo becomes new national chief of Assembly of First Nations.

27 - Financial adviser Earl Jones turns himself in to Quebec provincial police to face charges of fraud and theft.

28 - Courts in Ontario and U.S. approve sale of Nortel Network's wireless technology division to Sweden's LM Ericsson.

29 - Microsoft says it has reached a deal with Yahoo on an Internet search partnership.

30 - Cpl. Matthew Wilcox is found guilty of criminal negligence causing death in the shooting of a fellow soldier, Cpl. Kevin Megeney of Stellarton, N.S., in Afghanistan.

31 - U.S. jury orders Boston University student who admitted illegally downloading music to pay US$675,000 to record labels.

August

1 - Sapper Matthieu Allard and Cpl. Christian Bobbitt, both based in Valcartier, Que., are killed by roadside bombs in Afghanistan. One woman is killed, about 75 people injured when storm hits Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta.

2 - About 2,300 people are ordered out of their homes as wildfire threatens Lillooet, B.C. German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber is flown to Germany after losing last-ditch battle to avoid extradition.

4 - Two American journalists are freed by North Korea five months after being arrested on charges of illegally entering the country.

5 - U.S. air strike kills Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, considered Pakistan's most-wanted man. Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien is found not guilty of influence peddling.

7 - Settlement announced in class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of people alleged and known to have been abused by priests in Nova Scotia since 1950.

8 - Typhoon Morakot leaves an estimated 670 people dead in Thailand. Sonia Sotomayor sworn in as U.S. Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is re-elected to lead Fatah movement at its first convention in two decades.

14 - Federal Court of Appeal upholds lower court decision ordering Ottawa to seek the return of Toronto-born terror suspect Omar Khadr from U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.

15 - Suaad Hagi Mohamud, a Toronto woman detained in Kenya over an identity dispute for almost three months, arrives home after DNA test proves her identity.

17 - Vancouver's new rapid transit line - the first to link a major Canadian city to its airport - opens with a day of free riding.

19 - Attacks targeting government and commercial buildings in Baghdad leave at least 95 people dead.

20 - Millions vote in Afghanistan's first democratic presidential election run by Afghans in more than three decades; the results remain in dispute for months amid allegations of vote-rigging. Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, gets hero's welcome when he arrives home in Libya after being freed by Scotland.

22 - Cpl. Darby Morin of Big River First Nation in northern Saskatchewan, serving with U.S. army, is killed in Afghanistan.

25 - U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, last surviving brother of Kennedy political dynasty, dies after battling a brain tumour.

27 - Gary Doer announces he'll step down as Manitoba premier; the following day he is appointed Canada's next ambassador to U.S. Prime Minister Harper names nine new senators.

28 - L.A. coroner's office determines pop superstar Michael Jackson's death was a homicide caused primarily by propofol and another sedative.

30 - Israeli legal authorities indict former prime minister Ehud Olmert on corruption charges. Left-of-centre Democratic Party defeats Japan's long-dominant conservative Liberal Democrat Party in election.

September

1 - Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says his party will no longer support the minority Harper government in confidence votes in Commons. Former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant is charged with criminal negligence causing death following altercation with cyclist in Toronto.

2 - Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, agrees to pay a $2.3-billion penalty over unlawful prescription drug promotions.

6 - Major Yannick Pepin and Cpl. Jean-Francois Drouin, both based in Valcartier, Que., are killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

7 - Three British Muslim extremists are convicted of 2006 conspiracy to blow up airliners bound for U.S. and Canada using liquid explosives disguised as soft drinks.

8 - Black-focused Afrocentric alternative school opens in Toronto.

9 - Quebec judge sentences drunk driver to life in prison for his 19th conviction - the longest sentence handed down for impaired driving in Canada.

10 - Graydon Nicholas is named New Brunswick's first aboriginal lieutenant-governor.

11 - Former NHL player Mike Danton is granted full parole after his 2004 conviction of conspiracy to commit murder.

13 - Two Alberta man, Gary Sorenson and Milowe Brost, are charged in alleged Ponzi scheme that police said bilked investors out of up to $400 million. Pte. Patrick Lormand, based in Quebec City, is killed in roadside bomb near Kandahar City; he is the 130th Canadian soldier to be killed in Afghanistan. Johnny Reid wins five trophies at Canadian Country Music Association awards.

14 - Upstart right-wing Wildrose Alliance Party wins Alberta byelection in Calgary-Glenmore.

15 - UN investigation into Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza says it found evidence that both sides committed war crimes.

16 - Rahim Jaffer, former Conservative MP featured in anti-drug campaign ads, faces cocaine possession and drunk driving charges.

17 - Pte. Jonathan Couturier, based in Valcartier, Que., is killed in Afghanistan by improvised explosive device.

20 - "30 Rock" wins best comedy, "Mad Men" best TV drama at Emmy Awards.

21 - Saskatchewan New Democrats win two provincial byelections; party's new leader, Dwain Lingenfelter, takes seat in Regina. Quebec money manager Vincent Lacroix pleads guilty to 200 fraud-related criminal charges.

23 - B.C. Supreme Court throws out polygamy charges against leaders of two rival factions in Bountiful.

24 - Repsol and Irving Oil open liquefied natural gas terminal in Saint John, N.B.

26 - Director Roman Polanski is taken into custody in Switzerland on a 1978 U.S. arrest warrant for having sex with 13-year-old girl. First of three deadly typhoons hits Philippines.

27 - Angela Merkel wins second term as German chancellor

30 - Cirque du soleil founder Guy Laliberte becomes Canada's first space tourist when he blasts off for International Space Station aboard Russian Soyuz capsule. Earthquake kills more than 1,000 people on Sumatra.

October

1-Raymond Lahey, Catholic bishop from Nova Scotia, turns himself in to Ottawa police on child pornography charges. David Letterman says on his "Late Night" talk show he was the victim of a blackmail attempt because of his sexual relationships with women.

6 - Canwest Global Communications files for creditor protection in a deal with lenders. N.S.-born scientist Willard S. Boyle shares Nobel Prize in physics for work in developing digital camera technology.

7 - Jonathan Roy, son of former Montreal Canadiens goalie Patrick Roy, receives absolute discharge after pleading guilty to assault on fellow goalie during junior hockey match.

8 - Security Council votes to extend UN authorization for war in Afghanistan by one year. A fifth member of the "Toronto 18" is convicted of plotting to blow up Canadian sites.

9 - President Obama is awarded Nobel Peace Prize.

14 - Federal Court judge quashes security certificate against Adil Charkaoui of Montreal, who spent more than six years under suspicion of being a terrorist operative but denied any links to terrorists.

15 - Authorities chase runaway balloon for 80 kilometres after parents of six-year-old boy said he was inside the device; the drama later turns out to be a hoax.

17 - Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari is released from Tehran prison where he had been held since June. RCMP seize freighter off B.C. coast carrying 76 Sri Lankan migrants. Greg Salinger is elected to replace Gary Doer as NDP leader and premier of Manitoba.

20 - Former prime minister Jean Chretien receives Order of Merit from Queen at Buckingham Palace.

21 - Health Canada approves H1N1 vaccine for public use.

22 - Quebec government announces police investigation into allegations of collusion and corruption in province's construction industry.

23 - Kyle Unger, who spent 14 years in prison after being convicted in the 1990 killing of a teenage girl near Winnipeg, is formally acquitted of first-degree murder.

26 - A 13-year-old Toronto hockey player dies suddenly of H1N1 flu. Biggest vaccination program in Canadian history begins as most provinces and territories start offering flu shots.

28 - Lt. Justin Boyes, based in Edmonton, is killed by IED in Afghanistan.

29 - Quebec and New Brunswick reach deal for Hydro-Quebec to buy majority of N.B. Power's assets for $4.8 billion. Six members of Bandidos biker gang are found guilty of multiple counts of first-degree murder in 2006 slaying of eight rivals.

30 - Sapper Steven Marshall, based in Edmonton, is killed by IED in Afghanistan. Victims of Newfoundland and Labrador's worst public health scandal reach $17.5-million settlement in class-action lawsuit over botched tests for breast cancer.

November

2 - Afghan President Hamid Karzai is declared the victor of country's disputed election. Prince Charles and Camilla arrive in Newfoundland and Labrador to begin 11-day tour of Canada.

3 - GM says it has decided not to sell its European divisions, Opel and Vauxhall, to Canada's Magna and Russian lender Sberbank.

5 - Thirteen people are killed in shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, military base.

7 - U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passes landmark health-care reform bill. Kirby and Marie Fontaine of Sagkeeng First Nation, east of Winnipeg, win $50 million in Lotto Max draw.

9 - In federal byelections, Conservatives win surprise victory in Quebec and regain Nova Scotia riding, Bloc retains Montreal riding and NDP keep Vancouver-area riding.

10 - Linden MacIntyre wins Giller Prize for his book "The Bishop's Man."

14 - "Flashpoint" wins three prizes, including best drama, at Gemini Awards.

18 - Former Canadian diplomat Richard Colvin tells Commons committee that prisoners were likely tortured after being handed by Canada to Afghan authorities in 2006-07.

19 - Emrah Bulatci is convicted of first-degree murder in the 2007 shooting death of RCMP Const. Chris Worden in Hay River, N.W.T.

20 - Oprah Winfrey says her daytime TV show will end in 2011 after 25 seasons. Gilles-Andre Gosselin, key player in the federal sponsorship scandal, pleads guilty to charges related to fraud committed between 1997 and 2000.

23 - More than two million baby cribs manufactured by B.C.-based Stork Craft are recalled in Canada and U.S. after the dropsides are linked to the suffocation of at least four children in U.S.

25 - Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout and an Australian colleague are freed 15 months after they were abducted in Somalia. Dubai's main development conglomerate, Dubai World, says it will seek six-month reprieve from paying creditors a nearly $60-billion debt, sparking fears of more global financial instability.

26 - Sketch by Group of Seven member Lawren Harris sells at auction for $3.5 million, second-highest amount ever paid for a painting in Canada. Five Toronto Humane Society officials are arrested and charged with cruelty to animals. Al-Jazeera English, the English-language service of the Qatar-based broadcaster, is approved by CRTC for distribution in Canada.

27 - Golf superstar Tiger Woods is treated in hospital and released after early-morning car accident outside his Florida home.

29 - Six people die when float plane crashes in B.C.'s Gulf Islands.

December

1 - Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk returns to Earth after spending six months aboard International Space Station. President Obama orders 30,000 more U.S. troops to be deployed in Afghanistan.

2 - Stephen Harper arrives in Beijing for his first visit to China since becoming prime minister four years earlier.

4 - NATO members and some countries outside the alliance agree to send another 7,000 soldiers to Afghanistan to join the 30,000 being sent by U.S.

7 - UN conference on climate change gets underway in Copenhagen; aim is to reach agreement on controlling greenhouse gas emissions to replace Kyoto Protocol.

8 - Report by RCMP's independent watchdog is highly critical of actions of four Mounties who fatally confronted Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver airport.

9 - MPs vote in favour of harmonized sales tax for Ontario and B.C.

11 - Globalive Wireless Management Corp. is allowed to enter Canada's cellphone market, creating a fourth wireless company. After reports of multiple infidelities surface, Tiger Woods says he's taking an indefinite break from pro golf to work on his marriage.

13 - Temperatures in Edmonton dip to record -46 degrees.

14 - Federal judge strikes down national security certificate against a Syrian-born Hassan Almrei, arrested eight years ago on terror suspicions.

19 - UN climate conference in Copenhagen closes; countries agree in principle to rein in greenhouse-gas emissions and keep global temperatures from increasing by more than two degrees Celsius.

23 - Lt. Andrew Richard Nuttall, 30, based in Edmonton, killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

24 - U.S. Senate passes $1-trillion health care bill pledging to extend coverage to 30 million Americans.

25 - Nigerian man claiming to be al-Qaida supporter tries to blow up plane with 289 people on board as it approaches Detroit; passengers and crew subdue him. Woman knocks down Pope Benedict in St. Peter's Basilica.

28 - Nick Rizzuto, son of Canada's most powerful mobster Vito Rizzuto, gunned down in Montreal.

29 - Const. Eric Czapnik of Ottawa police stabbed to death in city's first officer death in line of duty since 1983.

30 - In the worst such incident in 2 1/2 years, four Canadian soldiers - Sgt. George Miok and Cpl. Zachery McCormack of Edmonton, Sgt. Kirk Taylor of Yarmouth, N.S., and Pte. Garrett Chidley of Cambridge, Ont. - along with journalist Michelle Lang of Calgary are killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan.