July 16, 2005 (Saturday)
- 60 people are believed to have died following an Equatair Antonov plane crash in Equatorial Guinea. (BBC) (MSN)
- A suicide bomber detonates explosives near an LPG (propane) fuel tanker parked near a gas station south of Baghdad, sparking a massive explosion that kills more than 60 people and wounds as many as 100 in one of the worst insurgent attacks to hit the area since the US occupation of Iraq. (CNN)
- The English version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released at midnight local time across the UK, Ireland and North America (CNN)(Wikinews)
- KMT chairmanship election, 2005: Ma Ying-jeou defeats Wang Jin-pyng in a vote for the chairmanship of the Kuomintang (KMT) by 72% to 28% in the first direct election for the post in the party's history. (BBC)