Special Report: Major World Events in 2011
BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- The following were the top 10 news events around the world in 2011 as selected by Xinhua (in chronological order):
1. STRONG TURBULENCE IN WESTERN ASIA, NORTHERN AFRICA
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Egyptian Supporters of Egypt's ex-President Hosni Mubarak hold banners of his picture outside the Cairo Police Academy where Mubarak's trial is being held, Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 28, 2011. (Xinhua/Ayman mose)
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On Jan. 14, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia's president for more than 23 years, fled to Saudi Arabia after massive protests erupted across the country.
Ben Ali's fall was followed by unrest in some countries in the region, including Libya, Egypt, Bahrain, Morocco, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan and Algeria.
On Feb. 11, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, ending his 30-year rule.
On March 14, troops of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and some other countries sent troops to Bahrain to help stabilize the situation there.
On March 19, NATO launched airstrikes on Libya to impose a no-fly zone under a UN Security Council resolution. And on Oct. 20, Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed as his hometown of Sirte fell to the former rebels.
On Nov. 23, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed a power transfer deal under which he agreed to step down after 33 years in power.
And currently, political uncertainties remain in the unrest-hit Syria.
For the countries in the region that encountered turbulence in 2011, there was a tough road ahead for political transition.
2. CHINA BECOMES WORLD'S NO.2 ECONOMY
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Photo taken on Dec. 12, 2011, shows the Haitian Container Port in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Guojun)
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China has surpassed Japan in annual gross domestic product (GDP) for 2010 and become the world's No. 2 economy, while the United States remains the world's No. 1.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the past 10 years, China has continued efforts to seek a win-win situation with the rest of the world, where economic patterns have changed profoundly in recent years as developing countries, especially some emerging economies, have raised their international status and are making increasingly important contributions to global economic growth.
On April 14, the 3rd summit of the BRICS, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, opened in Sanya, Hainan province in China. South Africa attended the summit as a new member, marking the first expansion of the group and demonstrating the general trend of the rise of emerging economies.
3. DEBT CRISES IN EUROPE, U.S. HIT WORLD ECONOMY
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The Standard and Poor's building in New York, August 2, 2011. The U.S. Treasury hit back against a Standard and Poor's downgrade of U.S. top-notch credit rating, saying that the agency's judgment was flawed. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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On March 7, the American credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service downgraded the credit rating of Greek sovereign debt to B1, marking the start of the European sovereign debt crisis and worsening the economic situation in the eurozone. The crisis sparked changes of government in the worst-hit countries, including Ireland, Portugal, Greece, Italy and Spain.
In August, the U.S.-based financial services company Standard & Poor's downgraded the credit rating of American long-term sovereign debt to AA+. It was the first time the United States lost its AAA credit rating.
With the world economy staggering under the European and U.S. debt crises, the Occupy Wall Street movement was launched on Sept. 17 protesting corruption and greed in the financial sector. The movement later spread to many cities and towns in the United States and other Western countries, and has triggered social crises in these countries.
4. TSUNAMI, NUCLEAR LEAK AFTER POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE IN JAPAN
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A local resident searches for belongings among ruined houses in the quake-hit Oshikacho of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, March 23, 2011. (Xinhua/Song Zhenping)
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On March 11, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck Japan's northeastern coast and triggered a huge tsunami, killing 15,645 people and leaving 4,984 others missing.
The crisis also caused radioactive leaks from several reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The accident was rated by the Japanese authorities as level seven, the most serious on an international scale, the same as the 1986 Chernobyl accident.
Experts estimate the radiation contamination from the Fukushima accident will not be eliminated for the next 70 years.
The accident also caused strong concern internationally over nuclear safety.
5. OSAMA BIN LADEN KILLED BY U.S.
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A man holds a placard reading "Ding Dong Bin Laden's Dead!!" during a rally near the World Trade Center site celebrating the announcement of the death of Osama bin Laden in New York, the United States, May 2, 2011.(Xinhua/Wu Jingdan)
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On May 1, the U.S. Navy commandos killed al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden in a cross-border helicopter-borne raid at Abbotabad, a mountainous town located some 60 km north of Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, in what was seen as a heavy blow to the terrorist group.
The United States believed that Bin Laden, widely seen as the kingpin of global terrorism, was the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which killed more than 3,000 people in the United States.
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6. SOUTH SUDAN DECLARES INDEPENDENCE
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The national flag (C) of South Sudan is hoisted after South Sudan is admitted to membership in the United Nations at the UN headquarters compound in New York, the United States, July 14, 2011. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) |
On July 9, South Sudan declared independence, splitting Sudan, Africa's largest country, in two.
On July 14, the 65th UN General Assembly accepted South Sudan as the 193rd member of the United Nations. |
7. DROUGHT IN HORN OF AFRICA LEADS TO HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE
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The "Horn of Africa" in eastern Africa is afflicted by the worst drought in 60 years. Large swaths of areas in Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia face a crisis. (Xinhua Photo)
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Serious drought -- rarely seen over the past several decades -- hit the Horn of Africa and countries in its neighboring region, such as Kenya and Uganda. The drought affected more than 12 million people.
Among the drought-stricken countries, Somalia is suffering the worst humanitarian disaster in nearly a decade. Years of war, soaring food prices and global climate change are all causes of the tragedy.
Jacques Diouf, director-general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), described the hunger and famine in the region as "one of the most serious disasters" confronting the human-beings.
8. GLOBAL POPULATION EXCEEDS 7 BILLION
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The Philippines' symbolic 7 billionth baby, named Danica Camacho, is held by her mother Camille, in the Fabella Maternity Hospital in Manila, the Philippines, on Oct. 31, 2011. (Xinhua/Stringer)
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A report published by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) showed the world's population reached 7 billion on Oct. 31, 2011. On one hand, the population growth is due to better living conditions backed by economic and science advances. But on the other, it puts huge pressure on natural resources and ecological environment.
Problems concerning an aging society, food security, education, health care and employment will continue to test policymakers in the coming centuries. And controlling population growth reasonably will be on the agenda of nations seeking sustainable development.
9. IRANIAN NUCLEAR CRISIS WORSENS AMID ESCALATING TENSIONS BETWEEN WEST, TEHRAN
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Soldiers attend Iranian naval maneuvers dubbed Velayat 90 on the Sea of Oman, Iran, Dec. 28, 2011. The naval drills, dubbed Velayat 90, cover an area of 2,000 km stretching from the east of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aden. (Xinhua/Stringer/Ali Mohammadi)
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On Nov. 8, the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA published a report, claiming that Iran had made plans to develop nuclear explosive devices and had been carrying out related experiments at least before 2003.
Although Teheran categorically rejected the allegation, Western countries such as the United States, Britain and France took the lead in imposing tougher sanctions on Iran, sparking anger among Iranian people. Protesters broke into the British embassy compound in Tehran on Nov. 29.
The latest confrontation between the West and Iran had added fuel to the thorny Iranian nuclear issue.
10. DPRK TOP LEADER KIM JONG IL PASSES AWAY
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In this photo released by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s official KCNA news agency, the body of DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Il lies in the bier at the Kumsusan Memorial in Pyongyang, DPRK, Dec. 20, 2011. (Xinhua/KCNA)
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Kim Jong Il, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), died on Dec. 17, 2011 from "a great mental and physical strain."
On Dec. 19, the DPRK set up a National Funeral Committee, led by Kim Jong Un, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and the youngest son of Kim Jong Il.
The WPK Central Committee and Central Military Commission, DPRK National Defense Commission, Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and Cabinet also issued a "Notice to All Party Members, Servicepersons and People," saying Kim Jong Il's demise was "the greatest loss to the WPK and the Korean revolution and the bitterest grief to all the Koreans at home and abroad."
It called on all WPK members, servicepersons and people "to remain loyal to the leadership of Kim Jong Un and firmly protect and further cement the single-minded unity of the party, the army and the people."
