Adam Air Flight 574 crashed into the sea off Polewali, Indonesia, killing all 102 people on board, when the pilots inadvertently disconnected the autopilot.
Argentinian physicist Juan Maldacena published a landmark paper initiating the study of AdS/CFT correspondence, which links string theory and quantum gravity.
The World Trade Organization, the international organization designed to supervise and liberalize international trade, came into being, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.