March 5, 2006 (Sunday)
- 78th Academy Awards: Crash wins Best Picture, Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) wins Best Director, Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line) wins Best Actress, and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) wins Best Actor. (CNN)
- The 2006 National People's Congress opens in Beijing, beginning a 10-day session of China's parliament. Premier Wen Jiabao makes a Working Report and vows for support for the poor. (CNN) (People's Daily)
- Benin presidential election, 2006: Voters in Benin go to the polls to decide who will succeed Mathieu Kérékou as President. Results are expected to be announced by Wednesday. If no single candidate of the 26 wins an outright majority, a runoff election will take place in two weeks. (Scotsman), (VOA), (Reuters)
- Tens of thousands of protesters in Bangkok demand the resignation of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand. (BBC), (Reuters)[permanent dead link], (CNN)