2009: A year in review!
Overview:2009 has been an exciting year for most, bad for some, and horrific for the very few. We've seen the death's of the King of Pop, Stephen Gately, Millvina Dean, Jade Goody and many others. We have also seen the uprising of new stars, such as JLS, Alexandra Burke and Susan Boyle through tv reality shows. We've had the full blast of the economic downturn, add in a few earthquakes, a few floods, over 100 British deaths in Afghanistan and a few good (Harry Potter) and bad (Twilight) movies on the screen, I think we've had a pretty packed year.
Detailed; January:Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th, and first African American, President of the United States. Watched by millions around the world.
Slovakia adopts the Euro as its national currency, replacing the Slovak koruna. Another country assigned the Euro *roll*
Detailed; February:Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is appointed as the new Prime Minister of Iceland, becoming the world's first openly ****** head of government.
The deadliest bushfires in Australian history begin; they kill 173, injure 500 more, and leave 7,500 homeless. The fires come after Melbourne records the highest-ever temperature (46.4°C, 115°F) of any capital city in Australia. The majority of the fires are ignited by either fallen or clashing power lines or deliberately lit.
The Taliban releases a video of Polish geologist Piotr Sta?czak, whom they had abducted a few months earlier, being beheaded. It is the first killing of a Western hostage in Pakistan since American journalist Daniel Pearl was executed in 2002.
Detailed; March:The President of Guinea-Bissau, João Bernardo Vieira, is assassinated during an armed attack on his residence in Bissau
Gunmen attack a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, Pakistan, killing eight people and injuring several others.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002.
Jade Goody (The Queen of reality tv) dies.
Detailed; April:Albania and Croatia join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The second G-20 summit, involving state leaders rather than the usual finance ministers, meets in London. Its main focus is an ongoing global financial crisis.
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila, Italy, killing nearly 300 and injuring more than 1,500. R.I.P
Susan Boyle's Britain's Got Talent audition of her singing "I Dreamed a Dream" is screened on ITV1. The youtube video became an instant hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Making it the most viewed video on YT of 2009. And second of all time, with over 80 million views!
The World Health Organization expresses concern at the spread of Swine Flu from Mexico and the United States to other countries. International cases and resulting deaths are confirmed.
Detailed; May:Following more than a quarter-century of fighting, the Sri Lankan Civil War ends with the total military defeat of the LTTE.
North Korea announces that it has conducted a second successful nuclear test in the province of North Hamgyong. The United Nations Security Council condemns the reported test.
Detailed; June:The Animation Source project is launched. With the addition of new site; Talespin Source.
Air France Flight 447, en route from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris, crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 228 on board.
The WHO announces that Swine Flu is now a global pandemic.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is reelected as the president of Iran. During the following weeks, supporters of defeated candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi protest the results. The resultant violence is said to be the worst seen in Iran since the Iranian revolution of 1979.
The death of American entertainer, singer and legend Michael Jackson triggers an outpouring of worldwide grief. Online, reactions to the event cripple several major websites and services, as the abundance of people accessing the web addresses pushes internet traffic to potentially unprecedented and historic levels. We even had a small out pour on Animation Source!
Yemenia Flight 626 crashes off the coast of Moroni, Comoros, killing all but one of the 153 passengers and crew.
Detailed; July:Sweden assumes the presidency of the European Union.
Over 150 are killed when a few thousand ethnic Uyghurs target local Han Chinese during major rioting in Ürümqi, Xinjiang.
A public memorial service is held for musician Michael Jackson. It is regarded as one of the most prominent funerals of all time.
Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 crashes near Qazvin, Iran, killing all 168 on board.
Iceland's national parliament, the Althingi, votes to pursue joining the EU.[63]
The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting up to 6 minutes and 38.8 seconds, occurs over parts of Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
Detailed; August:Bolivia becomes the first South American country to declare the right of indigenous people to govern themselves.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pardons two American journalists, who had been arrested and imprisoned for illegal entry earlier in the year, after former U.S. President Bill Clinton meets with Kim in North Korea.
Typhoon Morakot hits Taiwan, killing 500 and stranding more than 1,000 via the worst flooding on the island in half a century.
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, imprisoned for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, is released by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds as he has terminal prostate cancer. He returns to his native Libya.
The 2009 edition of X Factor started in the UK.
Detailed; September:At the G-20 Pittsburgh summit, world leaders announce that the G-20 will assume greater leverage over the global economy, replacing the role of the G-8, in an effort to prevent another financial crisis like that in 2008.
Typhoon Ketsana begins to cause record amounts of rainfall in Manila, Philippines, leading to the declaration of a "state of calamity" in 25 provinces.
At least 157 demonstrators are killed in a clash with the Guinean military.
A 8.3-magnitude earthquake triggers a tsunami near the Samoan Islands. Many communities and harbors in Samoa and American Samoa are destroyed, and at least 189 are killed.
A 7.6-magnitude earthquake strikes just off the coast of Sumatra, killing around 1,000 in Indonesia.
Detailed; October:The International Olympic Committee awards the 2016 Summer Olympics to Rio de Janeiro.
Ireland holds a second referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty. The amendment is approved by the Irish electorate, having been rejected in the Lisbon I referendum held in June 2008.
Irish pop star Stephen Gately dies.
Detailed; November:The Czech Republic becomes the final member-state of the European Union to sign the Treaty of Lisbon, thereby permitting that document's initiation into European law.
The Prime Minister of Belgium, Herman Van Rompuy, is designated the first permanent President of the European Council, a position he takes up on 1 December 2009.
Having analyzed the data from the LCROSS lunar impact, NASA announces that it has found a "significant" quantity of water in the Moon's Cabeus crater. Yeah right.
In the Philippines, at least 57 are abducted and killed in an election-related massacre in the province of Maguindanao. This appears to be the deadliest attack on journalists in recent history.
Dubai requests a debt deferment following its massive renovation and development projects, as well as the late 2000s economic crisis. The announcement causes global stock markets to drop.
Detailed; December:The Treaty of Lisbon comes into force.
December 18 – The UNFCCC's United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 conference is held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Which, in reality ended up a total waste of time.
Joe McElderry wins the sixth series of The X Factor.
Astronomers discover GJ1214b, the first-known exoplanet on which water could exist.
Conay posts this topic on Animation Source.
Well... What a year we've had... So, tell me your thoughts on 2009, your reviews, memories, highlights, and of course; lowlights.
All I can say is: Thank God that's over.
All we know about 2010 is that Simon Cowell will get richer, Big Brother will screen for the last time, and Nick Clegg won't be elected as Prime Minister.
Thank you for reading, have a happy new year!
