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The 2010s (pronounced "twenty-tens" or "two thousand [and] tens"), variously nicknamed "the '10s" ["the Tens"], "the Tenties", or more rarely "the Teens"), was a decade that began on January 1, 2010, and ended on December 31, 2019.
The decade began with an economic recovery from the Great Recession. Inflation and interest rates stayed low and steady throughout the decade, gross world product grew from 2010 to 2019. Global economic recovery accelerated during the latter half of the decade, fueled by strong economic growth in many countries, robust consumer spending, increased investment in infrastructure, and the emergence of new technologies. However, the recovery developed unevenly. Socioeconomic crises in some countries—particularly in the Arab world—triggered political revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and Bahrain as well as civil wars in Libya, Syria, and Yemen in a regional phenomenon that was commonly referred to as the Arab Spring. Meanwhile, Europe had to grapple with a debt crisis that was pronounced early in the decade. Shifting social attitudes saw LGBT rights make substantial progress throughout the decade, particularly in developed countries.
The decade saw the musical and cultural dominance of dance-pop, electronic dance music, hipster culture and electropop. Globalization and an increased demand for variety and personalisation in the face of music streaming services such as Spotify, SoundCloud and Apple Music created many musical subgenres. As the decade progressed, diversity was also seen with the mainstream success of K-pop, Latin music and trap. Superhero films became box office leaders, with Avengers: Endgame becoming the highest-grossing film of all time.[note 1] Cable providers saw a decline in subscribers as cord cutters switched to lower cost online streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and Disney+. The video game industry continued to be dominated by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft; while indie games became more popular, with Minecraft becoming the best-selling game of all time. Handheld console gaming revenue was overtaken by mobile gaming revenue in 2011. The best-selling book of this decade was Fifty Shades of Grey. Drake was named the top music artist of the decade in the U.S. by Billboard.[note 2]
The United States continued to retain its superpower status while China sought to expand its influence in the South China Sea and in Africa through its economic initiatives and military reforms. It solidified its position as an emerging superpower, despite causing a series of conflicts around its frontiers. Within its border, China enhanced its suppression and control of Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet. These developments led the United States to implement a containment policy and initiate a trade war against China. Elsewhere in Asia, the Koreas improved their relations after a prolonged crisis between the two countries, and the War on Terror continued as a part of the U.S.'s continued military involvement in many parts of the world. The rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant extremist organization in 2014 erased the Syria-Iraq border, resulting in a multinational intervention against it. In Africa, South Sudan broke away from Sudan, and mass protests and various coups d'état saw longtime strongmen deposed. In the U.S., celebrity businessman Donald Trump was elected president amid an international wave of populism and neo-nationalism. The European Union experienced a migrant crisis in the middle of the decade and withdrawal of the United Kingdom as a member state following the historic United Kingdom EU membership referendum. Russia attempted to assert itself in international affairs, annexing Crimea in 2014. In the last months of the decade, the first cases of the Coronavirus pandemic of Sars-Cov2 emerged in Wuhan, China, before affecting the rest of the world.
Information technology progressed, with smartphones becoming widespread and increasingly displacing desktop computers for many users. Internet coverage grew from 29% to 54% of the world population, and also saw advancements in wireless networking devices, mobile telephony, and cloud computing. Advancements in data processing and the rollout of 4G broadband allowed data, metadata, and information to be collected and dispersed among domains at paces never before seen while online resources such as social media facilitated phenomena such as the Me Too movement, the rise of slacktivism, and online cancel culture. WikiLeaks gained international attention for publishing classified information on topics related to Guantánamo Bay, Syria, the Afghan and Iraq wars, and United States diplomacy. Edward Snowden blew the whistle on global surveillance, raising awareness on the role governments and private entities play in global surveillance and information privacy. Baidu (4th), Twitter (6th) and Instagram (8th) emerged to become among the top 10 most visited websites, while Wikipedia went from the 9th to the 5th most popular website, almost sextupling its monthly visits. Yahoo significantly declined in popularity, descending from being the 1st to the 9th most popular site, with monthly visits declining by two-thirds. Google, Facebook, YouTube and Yandex maintained relatively consistent popularity and remained within the top 10 throughout the decade.
Global warming became increasingly noticeable through new record temperatures in different occurrences and extreme weather events on all continents. The CO2 concentration rose from 390 to 410 PPM over the decade. At the same time, combating pollution and climate change continued to be areas of major concern, as protests, initiatives, and legislation garnered substantial media attention. The Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015, and the global climate youth movement was formed. Major natural disasters included the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the Nepal earthquake of 2015, the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami, the devastating tropical cyclones Bopha (Pablo), Haiyan (Yolanda), and Maria, as well as the 2019 European heat waves.
During the decade, the world population grew from 6.9 to 7.7 billion people. There were approximately 1.4 billion births during the decade (140 million per year), and about 560 million deaths (56 million per year).[3]
Nicknames
[edit]The decade has been variously termed "the '10s" ("The Tens"), occasionally "The Teens",[citation needed] and (especially in the UK) "the Tenties".[4][5][6]
Politics and wars
[edit]Major conflicts
[edit]The prominent wars of the decade include:
International wars
[edit]Name | Start date | End date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Israeli–Palestinian conflict | 14 May 1948
| Ongoing
| Conflict between Jewish and Arab communities in Israel and the West Bank has been ongoing since 1948.[7] After Israel occupied the West Bank, it began making settlements there, which has been an obstacle to the peace process.[8] Tensions also remained high as Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has been launching rockets and cross-border raids into Israeli territory, which Israel has responded with force.[9] |
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict | February 1988
| Ongoing
| The region of Karabakh has been disputed over the Republic of Artsakh, which is supported by the Armenian government. A ceasefire was held in 1994. From April 1–5, 2016, clashes began along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact with the Artsakh Defence Army, backed by the Armenian Armed Forces on one side and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the other. A ceasefire was reached on 5 April between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Moscow. From May 20–27, 2018, clashes in former no man's land[10] in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, an exclave of Azerbaijan, led to Azerbaijan reoccupying Günnüt and several other strategic villages and positions.[11][12] |
War on terror | 11 September 2001
| Ongoing
| Motivated by the September 11 attacks, the United States and other governments started a large scale effort to eliminate terrorism.[13] With support from NATO, the United States invaded Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and overthrew the government.[14] Two years later, on the pretext that the government of Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction,[15] the United States and a coalition of partners invaded Iraq and overthrew Hussein,[16] after which the U.S. occupied the country.[17] However, insurgencies remained active in both countries, long after the invasions.[18] |
2011 military intervention in Libya | 19 March 2011 | 31 October 2011 | Following United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, a NATO-led coalition launched an air campaign backing anti-Gaddafi rebels against Muammar Gaddafi's government in the Libyan Civil War. |
Russo-Ukrainian War | 20 February 2014
| Ongoing
| After the fall of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, Russian soldiers took control of strategic positions in the Ukrainian territory of Crimea and subsequently annexed the region after a controversial referendum.[19] In the months that followed, demonstrations in Donbas escalated into an armed conflict between the government of Ukraine and Russian-backed separatist forces. On 24 February 2022, it concluded with the Russian invasion of Ukraine |
War against the Islamic State | 13 June 2014 | Ongoing | In late 2013, a terrorist organisation called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant began making rapid advances and territorial gains in Iraq and Syria. It captured Mosul in June[20] and made Raqqa its capital.[21] Various international coalitions led by the United States, France, Russia, and Muslim states and with aid from dozens of countries were formed to help fight the militants.[22][23] By December 2017, ISIL had lost all of its territory in Iraq and 95% of its territory in Syria,[24] and was militarily and territorially defeated on 23 March 2019.[25] |
Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war | 26 March 2015 | During the Yemeni Civil War, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and other countries invaded parts of Yemen in order to depose the Houthi-controlled government. | |
Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War | 5 December 2011
| Ongoing
| During the Syrian Civil War, Turkey invaded parts of northern Syria in order to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the Syrian Democratic Forces, fostering and funding the Syrian National Army of the Syrian Interim Government, culminating in its 2019 offensive into northeastern Syria in which over 300,000 civilians were displaced[26] and dozens more killed,[27][28][29] prompting a controversial reaction worldwide in response to reported human rights violations[30][31][32] and resettlement of Kurds which has been viewed as possible ethnic cleansing.[33][34][35] |
2019 India–Pakistan border skirmishes | 14 February 2019 | 22 March 2019 | After a suicide car bombing on 14 February 2019 where 40 Indian security personnel are killed,[36] the Indian Air Force launches airstrikes on purported terrorist camps in Muzaffarabad and Chakothi areas of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and Balakot in mainland Pakistan, leading to said standoff.[37] Also involved was Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistani militant group that took responsibility for the bombing and the purported target of Indian attacks. |
Civil wars
[edit]Name | Start date | End date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Colombian Armed Conflict | 27 May 1964 | Ongoing | Low-intensity conflict between the Colombian government, left-wing guerrillas, and paramilitary factions has been ongoing since 1964. However, at the start of the decade, only two major groups remained, FARC and ELN.[38] Since 2012, both have been in peace talks with the government, with FARC and the government signing a historic ceasefire in June 2016.[39] Though the deal was initially rejected by voters in October,[40] a revised deal was unanimously passed by the Congress in November 2016, bringing an end to much of the fighting.[41][42] |
Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 16 March 2004 | Since 2004, Pakistan has been fighting an insurgency by armed militant groups aligned with the Taliban or Islamic State along its border with Afghanistan.[43] The violence has killed at least 60,000 since[44] and over 6 million displaced.[45][46][47] By 2014, however, casualties from terrorist and militant attacks had dropped by around 40%.[48][49] | |
Insurgency in Paraguay | 27 August 2005 | Since 2005, Paraguay has been fighting a low-level insurgency by Marxist–Leninist[50] armed militant groups.[51] The conflict is estimated to have caused a cumulative 111 deaths by 2020, most of which have been insurgents, local ranchers, and police officers.[51] | |
Mexican drug war | 11 December 2006 | Following a rise in criminal violence as a result of influential drug trafficking in the country, President Felipe Calderón declared a war on drugs in 2006.[52] Since then, violence has sharply increased,[53] with a death toll of nearly 300,000[54] over 60,000 missing, and 39,000 unidentified bodies in morgues.[55] Arrests of cartel leaders led to increasing violence as cartels,[56][57] fought for control of trafficking routes into the United States.[58][59][60] The conflict has emphasised corruption and human rights abuses, with bribery, drug smuggling, kidnapping, and protection of cartels being widely reported among government officials.[56][61] | |
Somali civil war | 31 January 2009 | In 2009, Al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant group, began waging an insurgency against the newly formed Transitional Federal Government. In 2011, the federal government captured Mogadishu[62] and subsequently retook towns across the country.[63] Since then, the government has attempted to clean out the remaining Al-Shabaab strongholds with help from AMISOM soldiers[64] and military intervention on the part of the United States. Al-Shabaab made a resurgence in 2016, when AMISOM and Kenyan forces were subject to attacks and raids,[65] to which American and Somali forces responded with airstrikes,[66][67] weakening Al Shabaab's territorial prominence. The conflict has cost 300,000 to 500,000 lives and devastated Somalia's infrastructure and humanitarian resources.[68][69] | |
Boko Haram insurgency | 26 July 2009 | Sparked by long-standing conflict between Nigeria's Christian and Muslim communities, the Boko Haram insurgency began when the jihadist rebel group started a rebellion against the government.[70] In 2015, the group pledged alliance to ISIL,[71] becoming the world's deadliest terrorist group by 2015.[72][73] The conflict has killed over 37,500 people and displaced 2.5 million, driving 244,000 Nigerian refugees into neighbouring states.[74] Insurgents were weakened in 2015 when Nigerian forces drove them into Sambisa Forest,[75] causing bitter infighting.[76] However, they made a resurgence in 2018–19, with human rights violations; massacres; and mass child kidnappings, exploitation, and torture posing a threat to civilians.[77][78][79][80] | |
Mali War | 16 January 2012 | In 2012, a rebellion by Tuaregs in Northern Mali began. After Malian president Amadou Toumani Touré was ousted in a coup, Tuaregs captured Northern Mali,[81] and declared it to be the independent state of Azawad.[82] However, Islamists groups took over Northern Mali from the Tuaregs and imposed sharia law.[83] | |
South Sudanese Civil War | 15 December 2013 | 22 February 2020 | A multi-sided civil war between government and opposition forces including SPLM-IO and other groups. Ugandan troops were deployed to fight alongside the South Sudanese government.[84] The UN deployed peacekeepers as part of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.[85] |
War in Iraq | 1 January 2014 | 9 December 2017 | The civil war began with the conquest of Fallujah, Mosul, Tikrit and areas of northern Iraq by Islamic State. Nations provided aid in the form of airstrikes, troops and intelligence.[86][87] In December 2017, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced victory over ISIL,[88] though others warned to expect ISIL to continue the fight by other means.[89] |
Libyan civil war | 16 May 2014 | 24 October 2020 | Following the factional violence that engulfed Libya after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, a second civil war broke out among factions seeking control of the territory and oil of Libya. The conflict was mostly between the House of Representatives (HoR) government that was controversially elected in 2014, also known as the "Tobruk government"; and the rival General National Congress (GNC) government, also called the "National Salvation Government". A permanent ceasefire agreement in all areas became effective from October 2020, ending the war.[90][91] |
Yemeni Civil War | 16 September 2014 | Ongoing | Preceded by a decade-long Houthi insurgency,[92] the Yemeni Civil War began between two factions: the then-incumbent Yemeni government and the Houthi militia, along with their supporters and allies. Both claim to constitute the Yemeni government.[93] |
Philippine drug war | 30 June 2016 | There was a rise in criminal violence as a result of drug trafficking, after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was inaugurated in 2016.[94] As of 2020, it has caused about 6000 deaths.[95] | |
Siege of Marawi | 23 May 2017 | 23 October 2017 | The battle of Marawi was a five-month-long armed conflict in Marawi, Philippines, that started on May 23, 2017, between Philippine government security forces against militants affiliated with the Islamic State, including the Maute and Abu Sayyaf Salafi jihadist groups. The battle became the longest urban battle in the modern history of the Philippines. |
Anglophone Crisis | 9 September 2017 | Ongoing | Following the suppression of 2016–17 protests by Cameroonian authorities, Ambazonian separatists in the Anglophone regions launched a guerrilla campaign against the Cameroon Armed Forces, and unilaterally proclaimed independence. In November 2017, the government of Cameroon declared war on the separatists and sent its army into the Anglophone regions. |
Insurgency in Cabo Delgado | 5 October 2017 | The insurgency in Cabo Delgado is an ongoing Islamist insurgency in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique, fought between militant Islamists and jihadists attempting to establish an Islamic state, and Mozambican security forces. Civilians have been the main targets of terrorist attacks by Islamist militants. The main insurgent faction is Ansar al-Sunna, a native extremist faction with connections to ISIS. | |
Islamic State insurgency in Iraq | 9 December 2017 | The insurgency in Iraq is an ongoing low-intensity insurgency that began in 2017 after ISIS lost its territorial control in the War in Iraq, during which ISIS and allied White Flags fought the Iraqi military (largely backed by the United States, United Kingdom and other countries conducting airstrikes against ISIS) and allied paramilitary forces (largely backed by Iran). | |
Catatumbo campaign | January 2018 | The Catatumbo campaign has been an ongoing period of violence between militia faction groups in the Catatumbo region of Colombia and Venezuela since January 2018. It is an extension of the War on drugs and developed after the Colombian peace process of 2016. |
Revolutions and major protests
[edit]Successful revolutions and otherwise major protests of the decade include, but are not limited to:
Event | Date | Country | Events | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 Kyrgyz Revolution | 6 April – 14 December 2010 | Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev fled Bishkek amid fierce anti-government riots as the opposition seized control. | [96] |
Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy movement | September 17, 2011 – c. 2013 | United States | Hundreds of protesters marched into the financial district of Wall Street in New York City, beginning the Occupy Wall Street movement. | [97] |
Rojava revolution | 19 July 2012 – present | Rojava | A sub-conflict of the Syrian Civil War. | |
Gezi Park protests | 28 May 2013 – 30 August 2013 | Turkey | A wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Turkey began on 28 May 2013, initially to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul's Taksim Gezi Park. | |
Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity | 21 November 2013 – 23 February 2014 | Ukraine | Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country following violent protests in the capital, Kyiv. The opposition-controlled Verkhovna Rada voted to remove Yanukovych as president. | [98] |
Abkhazian Revolution | 27 May – 1 June 2014 | Abkhazia | In a quick turn of events, the president of the breakway republic, Alexander Ankvab, was ousted from power after the government building was stormed.[99] | |
2014 Burkina Faso uprising | 28 October – 3 November 2014 | Burkina Faso | A series of demonstrations and riots in Burkina Faso in October 2014. Demonstrations began in response to controversial attempts to introduce a constitutional amendment that would lift term limits and allow President Blaise Compaoré to run for additional terms as president and extend his years in office. On October 30, Compaoré dissolved the government and fled to Côte d'Ivoire and was succeeded by Yacouba Isaac Zida. | |
2015–2016 protests in Brazil | 15 March 2015 – 31 July 2016 | Brazil | In 2015 and 2016, a series of protests in Brazil denounced government corruption and the presidency of Dilma Rousseff, being the largest popular mobilisations in the country since the beginning of the "New Republic". | [100] |
Burundian unrest | 26 April 2015 – 17 May 2018 | Burundi | Burundi faces unrest as President Pierre Nkurunziza seeks a third term in office, resulting in hundreds killed and thousands more fleeing the country. | [101] |
2018–2019 Gaza border protests | 30 March 2018 – 27 December 2019 | Israel Palestine | Protests against the Blockade of the Gaza Strip, with 183 protesters killed.[102] | |
2018 Armenian Revolution | 31 March – 8 May 2018 | Armenia | Various political and civil groups led by member of parliament Nikol Pashinyan staged anti-government protests in Armenia. Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan resigned on 23 April 2018. Nikol Pashinyan was elected Prime Minister on 8 May 2018. | [103][104] |
2018 Bangladesh road-safety protests | 29 July – 1 September 2018 | Bangladesh | Nation-wide protests mainly by students after reckless driving caused deaths of two high school students. | [105][106] |
Yellow vests protests | 17 November 2018 – present | France | France experiences its worst civil unrest since the protests of 1968 due to the yellow vests movement. Protests in Paris morph into riots, with hundreds of people injured and thousands arrested. Over 100 cars are burned and numerous tourist sites are closed. | [107] |
Sudanese revolution | 19 December 2018 – 12 September 2019 | Sudan | Amid mass protests, Omar al-Bashir is deposed as President of Sudan in a coup d'état, after nearly 30 years in office. | [108] |
2019–2020 Hong Kong protests | 9 June 2019 – 2020 | Hong Kong | Mass protests take place in Hong Kong against an extradition bill that many observed would subject Hong Kong residents and those passing through the city to de facto jurisdiction of Chinese courts. Despite Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announcing the bill to be "dead" after weeks of mass protests, waves of localised demonstrations continued, some resulting in violent clashes between police, pro-democracy activists, local residents, and Triad members. | [109][110] |
2019 Ecuadorian protests | 3 – 14 October 2019 | Ecuador | On 3 October 2019, taxi, bus and truck drivers came out in protest against the planned fuel subsidy abolition and austerity measures announced by President Lenín Moreno. The government seat was relocated from Quito to Guayaquil and a state of emergency was declared following violent protests. | [111] |
2019–2022 Chilean protests | 7 October 2019 – 21 December 2021 | Chile | On 18 October 2019, a period of mass protests and violent unrest began in Chile. The protests were initially in response to a fare hike on the Santiago Metro, but the scope of the protestors' demands has since expanded. | [112] |
2019 Bolivian protests | 21 October – 21 November 2019 | Bolivia | Following a disputed election, protests forced Evo Morales, the president since 2006, to resign and flee to Mexico.[113] The new president, Jeanine Áñez, continued to face opposition from pro-Morales protestors.[114] |
Arab Spring
[edit]The Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Islamic world in the early 2010s. It began in response to oppressive regimes and a low standard of living, starting with protests in Tunisia.[115][116] Social media was heralded as the driving force behind the swift spread of revolution throughout the world, as new protests appeared in response to success stories shared from those taking place in other countries. Many governments began recognising the importance of social media for citizens to organise and began shutting down certain websites or blocking Internet service entirely, especially prior to major rallies.[117] Governments also scrutinised or suppressed discussion in online forums through accusing content creators of unrelated crimes or shutting down communication on specific sites or groups, such as through Facebook.[118]
Event | Date | Country | Description | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tunisian Revolution | 18 December 2010 – 14 January 2011 | Tunisia | Amidst anti-government protests, Tunisia's president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali dissolved the government, declared a state of emergency and resigned from office. | [119] |
2011 Egyptian revolution | 25 January – 11 February 2011 | Egypt | On 11 February 2011, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced that Mubarak resigned as president, turning power over to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). | |
2011 Bahraini uprising | 14 February – 18 March 2011 | Bahrain | Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, declared a three-month state of emergency as troops from the Gulf Co-operation Council were sent to quell the civil unrest. | [120] |
Libyan civil war | 15 February – 13 October 2011 | Libya | Facing protests against his 42-year rule, Muammar Gaddafi refused to step down and sent in the military to brutally quell protests.[121][122] As a result, many army units defected to the opposition and protests soon turned into an armed rebellion.[123] With international help, the rebels captured Tripoli,[124] and eventually Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown and last outpost, where he was killed.[125] | |
Syrian civil war | 15 March 2011 – present | Syria | Protests erupted in Syria against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, with police and the army sent in to crack down on protesters.[126][127] They later morphed into war after army officers defected to the opposition, forming the Free Syrian Army (FSA).[128] It led to the Kurdish parties called the SDF to secede from Northeastern Syria, forming Rojava. The war also allowed for Islamic extremist groups like Al-Nusra Front and ISIL to temporarily take control of vast amounts of territory. |
Nuclear proliferation
[edit]- On 8 April 2010, the United States and Russia signed a treaty in Prague, Czech Republic agreed to reduce the stockpiles of their nuclear weapons by half. It is meant to replace the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), which was set to expire.[129] The treaty went into force on 5 February 2011 after it was ratified by both nations.[130]
- In 2015, Iran and other world powers agreed to trade sanctions relief for explicit constraints on Iran's contentious nuclear program, including allowing the inspections of nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).[131] On 16 January 2016 the IAEA confirmed that Iran had complied with the agreement (the JCPOA), allowing the United Nations to lift sanctions immediately.[132][133] However, on 8 May 2018, United States President Donald Trump announced the United States was withdrawing from the deal.[134]
- On 7 July 2017, the United Nations passed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons, with the goal of leading towards their total elimination.[135][136] It has been signed by 58 nations.[137]
- Throughout the decade, North Korea expanded its nuclear capabilities, performing alleged nuclear tests in 2013[138] and 2016,[139] which governments responded by placing international sanctions on the country.[140][141] In response North Korea has threatened the United States, South Korea and Japan with pre-emptive nuclear strikes.[142] However, in 2018, North Korea suggested that they may disarm their nuclear arsenal after negotiations with the United States.
- On 1 February 2019, The US formally suspended the Russo-American Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF),[143] and Russia did the same on the following day in response. The US formally withdrew from the treaty on 2 August 2019.[144]
- The United States initiated a renovation of its nuclear weapon arsenal.
Terrorist attacks
[edit]The most prominent terrorist attacks committed against civilian populations during the decade include, but are not limited to:
Event | Date | Country | Deaths | Injuries | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 Lakki Marwat suicide bombing | 1 January 2010 | Pakistan | 105 | 100+ | [145] |
2010 Moscow Metro bombings | 29 March 2010 | Russia | 40 | 102 | [146] |
2011 Mumbai bombings | 13 July 2011 | India | 26 | 130+ | [147] |
2011 Norway attacks | 22 July 2011 | Norway | 77 | 319+ | [148] |
2011 Mogadishu bombing | 4 October 2011 | Somalia | 100 | 110+ | [149] |
Boston Marathon bombing | 15 April 2013 | United States | 3 | 264 | [150] |
Zamboanga City siege | 9 September 2013 | Philippines | 220 | 70 | [151] |
Westgate shopping mall attack | 21 September 2013 | Kenya | 67 | 175 | [152] |
2014 Kunming attack | 1 March 2014 | China | 35 | 143 | |
April 2014 Ürümqi attack | 30 April 2014 | China | 1 | 79 | |
May 2014 Ürümqi attack | 22 May 2014 | China | 43 | 90 | |
Camp Speicher massacre | 12 June 2014 | Iraq | 1,566 | – | [153] |
Lindt Cafe siege | 15 December 2014 | Australia | 3 | 18 | [154] |
2014 Peshawar school massacre | 16 December 2014 | Pakistan | 148 | 114 | [155] |
2015 Baga massacre | 3–7 January 2015 | Nigeria | 150+ | – | [156] |
January 2015 Île-de-France attacks | 7–9 January 2015 | France | 20 | 22 | [157] |
2015 Sana'a mosque bombings | 20 March 2015 | Yemen | 142 | 351 | [158] |
Garissa University College attack | 2 April 2015 | Kenya | 152 | 79 | [159] |
2015 Ramadan attacks | 26 June 2015 | Various | 403 | 336+ | [160] |
2015 Ankara bombings | 10 October 2015 | Turkey | 109 | 400+ | [161] |
2015 Metrojet crash | 31 October 2015 | Russia | 224 | – | [162] |
2015 Beirut bombings | 12 November 2015 | Lebanon | 43 | 240 | [163] |
November 2015 Paris attacks | 13 November 2015 | France | 131 | 413 | [164] |
2015 San Bernardino attack | 2 December 2015 | United States | 14 | 22 | [165] |
2016 Brussels bombings | 22 March 2016 | Belgium | 35 | 300+ | [166] |
Orlando nightclub shooting | 12 June 2016 | United States | 49 | 58 | [167] |
2016 Atatürk Airport attack | 28 June 2016 | Turkey | 45 | 236 | [168] |
July 2016 Baghdad bombings | 3 July 2016 | Iraq | 340 | 246 | [169] |
2016 Nice truck attack | 14 July 2016 | France | 87 | 434 | [170] |
2016 Berlin truck attack | 19 December 2016 | Germany | 13 | 55 | [171] |
Istanbul nightclub shooting | 1 January 2017 | Turkey | 39 | 70 | [172] |
2017 Westminster attack | 22 March 2017 | United Kingdom | 6 | 49 | [173] |
2017 St. Petersburg Metro bombing | 3 April 2017 | Russia | 15 | 64 | [174] |
2017 Stockholm truck attack | 7 April 2017 | Sweden | 5 | 14 | [175] |
2017 Camp Shaheen attack | 21 April 2017 | Afghanistan | 140+ | 160+ | [176] |
Manchester Arena bombing | 22 May 2017 | United Kingdom | 22 | 59 | [177] |
2017 London Bridge attack | 3 June 2017 | UK | 11 | 48 | [178] |
2017 Barcelona attacks | 17–18 August 2017 | Spain | 16 | 152 | [179] |
2017 Turku attack | 18 August 2017 | Finland | 2 | 8 (+1 attacker) | [180] |
14 October 2017 Mogadishu bombings | 14 October 2017 | Somalia | 587 | 316 | [180] |
2017 New York City truck attack | 31 October 2017 | United States | 8 | 12 | [181] |
2017 Sinai mosque attack | 24 November 2017 | Egypt | 311 | 122 | [182] |
2018 Strasbourg attack | 11 December 2018 | France | 5 | 11 | [183] |
Christchurch mosque shootings | 15 March 2019 | New Zealand | 51 | 40 | [184] |
2019 Pulwama attack | 14 February 2019 | India | 40 | 35 | [185] |
2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings | 21 April 2019 | Sri Lanka | 269 | 500+ | [186] |
2019 El Paso shooting | 3 August 2019 | United States | 23 | 23 | [187] |
December 2019 Mogadishu bombing | 28 December 2019 | Somalia | 85 | 140+ | [188] |
Political trends
[edit]International relations
[edit]China was increasingly called a superpower in the early 2010s, including at the 2011 meeting between President Hu Jintao and United States President Barack Obama. By the end of the decade, China overtook the U.S. as the world's largest trading nation and the country filing the most patents, dramatically expanded its military and landed its lunar rover Yutu on the moon, ending a four-decade hiatus of lunar exploration. In 2018, global military spending reached its highest level since 1988, late Cold War levels, largely fuelled by increased defence spending by the United States (4.6% increase to $649 billion) and China (5% increase to $250 billion). Together, their budgets accounted for half of the world's total military spending.[189] In 2019, the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index, which measures the projections of power across eight indexes in the Indo-Pacific, ranked the United States at #1 with a score of 84.5 and China #2 with a score of 75.9.[190]
Along with the United States and China, Russia under President Vladimir Putin steadily increased its defence spending and continued to modernise its military throughout the decade. This included the development of the T-14 Armata main battle tank and the fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 jet fighter. Russia also exercised its power projection capabilities in its 2014 annexation of Crimea and interventions in eastern Ukraine and the Syrian Civil War. Russia also waged information warfare campaigns against its geopolitical foes, interfering in the 2016 U.S. elections via hacking and leaking emails of U.S. political party leadership and by spreading disinformation via the Internet Research Agency. Other alleged Russian intelligence operations included the Skripal poisonings and the Montenegrin coup plot, both of which were attributed by some to the GRU's Unit 29155. Collectively, these activities—and the Western-led efforts to combat them—have been referred to as marking the beginning of the Second Cold War.
The European Union went through several crises. The European debt crisis caused severe economic problems to several eurozone member states, most notably Greece. The 2015 migration crisis led to several million people entering the EU illegally in a short period of time. There was a significant rise in the vote shares of several eurosceptic parties, including the League in Italy, Alternative for Germany, and the Finns Party in Finland. As a result of a referendum, the United Kingdom became the first member state in the EU's history to leave the Union.
Western polarisation
[edit]Socio-political polarisation increased as conservatives and social liberals clashed over the role and size of government and other social, economic and environmental issues in the West. In the United States, polls showed a divided electorate regarding healthcare reform, immigration, gun rights, taxation, job creation, and debt reduction.[191] In Europe, movements protesting increasing numbers of refugees and migrants from Islamic countries developed, such as the English Defence League and Pegida.[192][193] The trend of polarisation in the West was partially influenced by the prevalence of identity politics, both left-wing and right-wing, among activist movements.[194] Beginning around 2011, far-left and progressive concepts such as combating social inequality and economic inequality, often via progressive stack tactics, proliferated in the Western world and elsewhere.[195][196][197] Around the middle of the decade, phenomenon such as white nationalism, identitarianism and emboldened feelings of nativism saw a marked reemergence in the West due to drastically increased migration and corresponding crime and amongst both the right and left general dissatisfaction with Western government and Media responses to certain issues.[198] There were also increased calls for egalitarianism, including between the sexes,[199] and some scholars assert that a fourth wave of feminism began around 2012, with a primary focus on intersectionality.[200][201]
Anti-establishment politics
[edit]Populism in politics saw a widespread surge throughout the decade, with many politicians and various political movements expressing populist sentiments and utilising populist rhetoric.[202][203] This included conservative wave phenomenon in Latin America and neo-nationalist fervor in Europe and North America. The 2019 European Parliament election saw the highest voter turnout in two decades and saw relatively moderate centre-right and centre-left parties suffer significant losses to less moderate far-right, environmentalist, and both pro-EU and eurosceptic parties, who made gains.[204] Examples of 2010s populist movements included the Tea Party movement,[205] Occupy Wall Street,[206] Brexit,[207] Black Lives Matter,[208] and the alt-right.[209][210] Examples of populist country leaders were just as extensive, with Donald Trump,[211] Narendra Modi,[212] Andrés Manuel López Obrador,[213] Hugo Chávez,[214] Matteo Salvini,[215] Jair Bolsonaro,[216] Rodrigo Duterte,[217] Boris Johnson, and Alexis Tsipras left and right-wing, described as such.
Related to the rise of populism and protests movements was the decline of traditional political parties. In Europe, pasokification described the loss of vote share experienced by traditional centre-left or social democratic parties. In France, specifically, Emmanuel Macron's La République En Marche! party won a majority in its first election in 2017.
Centre-left, neoliberal and traditional social democratic parties often lost their vote share to more socialist or democratic socialist alternatives, especially in Europe. This happened most completely in Greece, where PASOK was replaced by Syriza as the main left-wing party. Other far-left parties which rose in prominence included Podemos in Spain and La France Insoumise in France. In the two-party systems of the English-speaking world, these challenges mainly came from within the established parties of the left, with Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Party and Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour Party pushing for more left-wing policies.
The political establishment was also challenged in many countries by protest movements, often organised through new social media platforms. These included the various Arab Spring protests, the Occupy movement, and the yellow vests movement.
Democractisation and authoritarianism
[edit]Countries which democratised fully or partially during the decade included Angola, which reformed under João Lourenço;[218] Armenia, which went through a revolution;[218][219] Ecuador, which reformed under Lenín Moreno;[218] Ethiopia;[218][219] and Malaysia, where the ruling party lost the first election since independence.[218][220]
Long-term dictators ousted from power included Muammar Gaddafi of Libya (after 42 years),[221] Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe (37 years),[222] Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen (33 years),[223] Omar al-Bashir of Sudan (30 years),[224] Hosni Mubarak of Egypt (29 years),[225] and Ben Ali of Tunisia (23 years).[226]
The Arab Winter refers to the resurgence of authoritarianism, absolute monarchies and Islamic extremism[227] evolving in the aftermath of the Arab Spring protests in Arab countries.[228] The term "Arab Winter" refers to the events across Arab League countries in the Mid-East and North Africa, including the Syrian Civil War,[229][230] the Iraqi insurgency and the following civil war,[231] the Egyptian Crisis,[232] the Libyan Crisis and the Crisis in Yemen.[233] Events referred to as the Arab Winter include those in Egypt that led to the removal of Mohamed Morsi and the seizure of power by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in an anti-Muslim Brotherhood campaign.[234]
Democratic backsliding also occurred in countries such as Hungary,[235] Venezuela,[236] and Turkey.[237]
In 2018, China's National People's Congress approved a constitutional change that removed term limits for its leaders, granting Xi Jinping the status of "leader for life". Xi is the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (de facto leader).
Deaths
[edit]Sitting world leaders such as Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Kim Jong-il of North Korea, Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Lech Kaczyński of Poland, Zillur Rahman of Bangladesh, Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and Beji Caid Essebsi of Tunisia, all died in office, as did former leaders Fidel Castro, Lee Kuan Yew, Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, Robert Mugabe, Giulio Andreotti, Francesco Cossiga, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Jacques Chirac, Helmut Schmidt, Helmut Kohl, Hussain Mohammad Ershad, Mohamed Morsi, Ariel Sharon, Shimon Peres, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Václav Havel, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke, B. J. Habibie, Yasuhiro Nakasone, Alan García, Jorge Rafael Videla, Néstor Kirchner, Fernando de la Rúa, Patricio Aylwin, Itamar Franco, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and George H. W. Bush.
Prominent political events
[edit]Coups
[edit]Coups d'état against ruling governments during the decade include:
Event | Date | Country | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Nigerien coup d'état | 18 February 2010 | Niger | [238] |
Malian coup d'état | 21 March 2012 | Mali | [239] |
Guinea-Bissau coup d'état | 12 April 2012 | Guinea-Bissau | [240] |
Egyptian coup d'état | 3 July 2013 | Egypt | [241] |
Thai coup d'état | 22 May 2014 | Thailand | [242] |
Yemeni coup d'état | 21 September 2014 | Yemen | [243] |
Turkish coup d'état attempt | 15 July 2016 | Turkey | [244] |
Zimbabwean coup d'état | 14 November 2017 | Zimbabwe | [245] |
Gabon coup d'état attempt | 7 January 2019 | Gabon | [246] |
Sudanese coup d'état | 11 April 2019 | Sudan | [247] |
Amhara coup d'état attempt | 22 June 2019 | Ethiopia | [248] |
The following tables of events is listed by the region and by chronological order. The prominent political events include, but are not limited to:
Africa
[edit]Event | Country | Date | Description | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
2011 South Sudanese independence referendum | South Sudan | 9 July 2011 | A referendum was held in Southern Sudan on whether the region should remain part of Sudan. An overwhelming majority voted in favour of separation and formed the new country of South Sudan. | [249] |
Death of Nelson Mandela | South Africa | 5 December 2013 | Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid activist and President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, died at the age of 95. | [250] |
2014 Tunisian presidential election | Tunisia | 21 November 2014 | Beji Caid Essebsi won the first regular presidential election following the Tunisian Revolution against outgoing president Moncef Marzouki. He became Tunisia's fifth president and first freely elected head of state in the Arab world. | [251] |
2015 Nigerian general election | Nigeria | 29 March 2015 | Muhammadu Buhari was elected President of Nigeria, the first time the opposition ever won an election against an incumbent and the first ever peaceful transfer of power in the country. | [252] |
2016 Gambian presidential election | Gambia | 1 December 2016 | Adama Barrow was elected President of The Gambia, defeating long-time President Yahya Jammeh and ending more than 22 years of authoritarian rule. | [253] |
Resignation of Jacob Zuma | South Africa | 14 February 2018 | Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa, after nine years in power. | [254] |
Resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika | Algeria | 2 April 2019 | Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigns as President of Algeria amid widespread protests, after nearly two decades in office. | [108] |
Khartoum massacre | Sudan | 3 June 2019 | Security forces of the Transitional Military Council, the military junta ruling Sudan following the ousting of Omar al-Bashir, massacre over 100 people at a sit-in protest amid mass protests in Khartoum. The massacre prompts the African Union to suspend Sudan's participation until civilian rule is reestablished in the country. | [255][256] |
2019 Tunisian presidential election | Tunisia | 13 October 2019 | Conservative academic Kais Saied wins more than 70% of the votes, defeating businessman Nabil Karoui. He became Tunisia's sixth president and second freely elected head of state in the Arab world. | [257] |
Americas
[edit]Event | Country | Date | Description | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act | United States | 23 March 2010 | President Barack Obama signs the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, marking a major reform of the U.S. health insurance and health care systems. | [258] |
2010 Brazilian presidential election | Brazil | 31 October 2010 | Dilma Rousseff was elected as the first female President of Brazil. | [259] |
2010 Midterm elections and Tea Party movement | United States | 2 November 2010 | The Republicans become the dominant party with a majority of the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and gain seats in the U.S. Senate. This was seen as due to a tide of Libertarian support amongst the U.S. populace exemplified in the Tea Party. | [260] |
2011 Canadian federal election | Canada | 2 May 2011 | Stephen Harper, leader of the Conservative Party, is re-elected in Canada's federal election, with a majority government. | [261] |
2011 Argentine general election | Argentina | 23 October 2011 | Front for Victory candidate and President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner wins a second term as President of Argentina, defeating Socialist candidate Hermes Binner by 54% of votes. | [262] |
Impeachment of Fernando Lugo | Paraguay | 22 June 2012 | On 21 June the Chamber of Deputies voted 76 to 1 to impeach Lugo, and the Senate removed him from office the following day, by 39 votes to 4, resulting in Vice President Federico Franco, who had broken with Lugo, becoming president. | [263] |
2012 Mexican general election | Mexico | 1 July 2012 | Enrique Peña Nieto won the Mexican general election, bringing the Institutional Revolutionary Party back to prominence for the first time since 2000. | [264] |
2012 United States presidential election | United States | 6 November 2012 | Barack Obama was re-elected President of the United States, defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney. | [265] |
Death of Hugo Chávez | Venezuela | 5 March 2013 | Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez died at the age of 58 after governing the country for 14 years. | [266] |
Obergefell v. Hodges | United States | 26 June 2015 | Same-sex marriage was legalised in all 50 U.S. states due to a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. | [267] |
2015 Canadian federal election | Canada | 19 October 2015 | The Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, won Canada's federal election, defeating the Conservative Party in the country's longest election in a century. | [268] |
2015 Argentine general election | Argentina | 22 November 2015 | Cambiemos candidate and Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri became the President of Argentina, defeating Front for Victory candidate Daniel Scioli via ballotage by 51% of votes | |
2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election | Venezuela | 6 December 2015 | The Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) won majority seats of the Venezuelan National Assembly, defeating the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and its wider alliance, the Great Patriotic Pole (GPP) for the first time since 1999. | [269] |
Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff | Brazil | 12 May 2016 | The Brazilian Senate votes to open the impeachment process against President Dilma Rousseff and suspend her from office while the trial takes place, as the Vice President, Michel Temer, assumes the presidential powers and duties as Acting President of Brazil. | [270] |
2016 United States presidential election | United States | 8 November 2016 | Republican nominee Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States, defeating former U.S. Secretary of State and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. He became the first President without prior diplomatic or military experience. | [271][272] |
Death of Fidel Castro | Cuba | 25 November 2016 | Former First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and revolutionary leader Fidel Castro died at the age of 90. | [273] |
2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis | Venezuela | 29 March 2017 | The Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela took over legislative powers of the National Assembly and removed its members' immunity, most of whom belonged to the opposition. The decision was reversed a few days later following domestic and international condemnation of the court's actions. | [274] |
2017–present Peruvian political crisis | Peru | 15 September 2017–present | Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was impeached and later resigned. His successor Martín Vizcarra was removed by congress and appointed Vice President Mercedes Aráoz as interim president, moves that were largely seen as illegitimate. | [275] |
Inauguration of Miguel Díaz-Canel | Cuba | 19 April 2018 | Miguel Díaz-Canel is sworn in as President of the State Council of Cuba, marking the first time since 1959 that Cuba has had a prime minister or a president other than Fidel or Raúl Castro. | |
2018 Mexican general election | Mexico | 1 July 2018 | Andrés Manuel López Obrador won the historic Mexican general election, bringing the National Regeneration Movement for new prominence for the first time without any political rule like Institutional Revolutionary Party and National Action Party. | |
2018 Brazilian general election | Brazil | 28 October 2018 | Jair Bolsonaro was elected President of Brazil, marking the first time that the country is ruled by the right since the start of the New Republic in 1985. The election also interrupted 4 victories of the Workers' Party in a row. | [276] |
Death of George H. W. Bush | United States | 30 November 2018 | George H. W. Bush, former president of United States from 1989 to 1993 and former vice president, from 1981 to 1989, dies at the age of 94. | |
Venezuelan presidential crisis | Venezuela | 10 January 2019 | On 10 January 2019, the opposition-majority National Assembly declared that incumbent Nicolás Maduro's 2018 reelection was invalid and declared its president, Juan Guaidó, to be acting president of the nation. Maduro's government states that the crisis is a "coup d'état led by the United States to topple him and control the country's oil reserves." | [citation needed] |
2019 Canadian federal election | Canada | 21 October 2019 | Justin Trudeau, leader of the Liberal Party, is re-elected in Canada's federal election, albeit with a minority government. | [277] |
2019 Argentine general election | Argentina | 27 October 2019 | Peronist candidate Alberto Fernández of Frente de Todos is elected President of Argentina, defeating President Mauricio Macri of Juntos por el Cambio by 48% of votes. | |
2019 Bolivian political crisis | Bolivia | 10 November 2019 | Bolivian president Evo Morales resigns following 19 days of protests after the disputed 2019 Bolivian general election and following calls for his resignation by the military. | [278] |
First Impeachment of Donald Trump | United States | 18 December 2019 | United States president Donald Trump is impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. | [279] |
Asia
[edit]Event | Country | Date | Description | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 Myanmar general election | Myanmar | 7 November 2010 | Thein Sein was elected President of Myanmar, the first civilian President of the country since 1962. | [280] |
Death of Kim Jong-il | North Korea | 17 December 2011 | Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il of North Korea died after governing the country for 17 years. His son, Kim Jong-un, succeeded him. | [281] |
2012 Japanese general election | Japan | 26 December 2012 | The Liberal Democratic Party, led by Shinzō Abe, won a landslide victory in Japan's general election. | [282] |
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction | North Korea | 11 March 2013 | The Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un of North Korea broke all peace pacts with South Korea and started a new nuclear weapons plan, inflaming tensions on the Korean Peninsula. | [283] |
2014 Indian general election | India | 12 May 2014 | The Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Narendra Modi, won a landslide victory in India's general election, the first time a single party gained a majority on its own since 1984. | [284] |
2014 Indonesian presidential election | Indonesia | 9 July 2014 | Joko Widodo won Indonesia's presidential election, becoming the first president not to be from the country's political elite or military. | [285] |
Pastoral and state visit by Pope Francis to the Philippines | Philippines | 15–19 January 2015 | An estimated 6 to 7 million attended the Concluding Eucharistic Celebration in Manila on the Feast Day of Santo Niño de Cebú, ending the 5-day apostolic and state visit of Pope Francis in the Philippines, the largest papal crowd in history. | [286] |
Death of King Abdullah | Saudi Arabia | 23 January 2015 | Abdullah, the King of Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2015, died and was succeeded by King Salman. | [287] |
Death of Lee Kuan Yew | Singapore | 23 March 2015 | Founding Prime Minister of Singapore who ruled from 1959 to 1990, highly regarded as the founding father of the nation, died from pneumonia at the age of 91. | [288] |
India–Bangladesh enclaves exchange | India Bangladesh | 6 June 2015 | India and Bangladesh officially ratified their 1974 agreement to exchange enclaves along their border. | [289] |
2016 Taiwanese general election | Taiwan | 16 January 2016 | Tsai Ing-wen was elected President of Taiwan, the first woman to hold the position. | [290] |
2016 Philippine presidential election | Philippines | 9 May 2016 | Rodrigo Duterte was elected President of the Philippines. | [291] |
Death of Bhumibol Adulyadej | Thailand | 13 October 2016 | Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand from 1946 to 2016, died and was succeeded by his son, Vajiralongkorn. | [292] |
Impeachment of Park Geun-hye | South Korea | 10 March 2017 | South Korean President Park Geun-hye is impeached by the Constitutional Court of Korea in a unanimous decision, terminating Park's presidency. South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn assumes power following the ruling. | [293] |
2017 South Korean presidential election | South Korea | 9 May 2017 | Moon Jae-in was elected the 12th President of South Korea, originally scheduled to take place later in the year, the election was moved to early May following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. | [294] |
2018 Malaysian general election | Malaysia | 9 May 2018 | The opposition-led Pakatan Harapan coalition, led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, secures a parliamentary majority in the Malaysian Parliament, ending the 61-year rule of the Barisan Nasional coalition and leading to the pardon of Anwar Ibrahim. | [295][296] |
2018–2019 Korean Peace Process | South Korea North Korea United States | February 2018 – October 2019 | A series of peace summits between the Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un, the President of South Korea Moon Jae-in, and the President of the United States Donald Trump. Three inter-Korean summits occurred at the Korean Demilitarized Zone in April 2018, May 2018, and September 2018 between Kim and Moon. Additionally, two meetings between Kim and Trump occurred in Singapore in June 2018 and Hanoi in February 2019. All three leaders met and crossed the DMZ in June 2019. | [297][298] |
Abdication of Muhammad V of Kelantan | Malaysia | 6 January 2019 | Muhammad V of Kelantan abdicates the federal throne as the 15th monarch of Malaysia, making him the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong to do so. | [299] |
2019 Kim–Putin meeting | North Korea Russia | 25 April 2019 | North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un meets with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Russky Island after being invited to hold talks. | [300] |
Abdication of Akihito | Japan | 30 April 2019 | Akihito, the Emperor of Japan from 1989 to 2019, abdicated and was succeeded by his son, Naruhito. | [301] |
2019–20 Persian Gulf crisis | Iran United States | 5 May 2019 | The Persian Gulf region saw tensions between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran escalate in mid-2019. The crisis saw oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz sabotaged and seized, drone shootdowns, and efforts by the U.S. and United Kingdom to pursue military patrols to protect shipping in the gulf. | [302] |
Europe
[edit]Event | Country | Date | Description | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
Resignation of Silvio Berlusconi | Italy | 16 November 2011 | The longest-serving Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, resigned in November 2011, after a sexual allegation scandal, a financial crisis and public protests. The economist Mario Monti was appointed new Prime Minister, at the head of a technocratic cabinet. | [303] |
2012 Finnish presidential election | Finland | 22 January 2012 | Sauli Niinistö was elected the President of Finland for a term from 1 March 2012 until 2018.[304][305] | |
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II | United Kingdom | 6 February 2012 | Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, which marked the 60th anniversary of her accession. | [306] |
2012 French presidential election | France | 22 April 2012 | François Hollande was elected as the new President of France, becoming the first socialist president of the country in 17 years. | [307] |
Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and papal inauguration of Pope Francis | Vatican City | 28 February – 19 March 2013 | Benedict XVI resigned as pope, the first to do so since Gregory XII in 1415, and the first to do so voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294. On 13 March, after a papal conclave, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is inaugurated as Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pope, the first pope from the Americas, and the first non-European Pope in over 500 years. | [308][309] |
Death of Margaret Thatcher | United Kingdom | 8 April 2013 | Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, died. | [310] |
2013 Italian presidential election | Italy | 20 April 2013 | Amid growing financial tensions, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano was re-elected, the first ever Italian president to be re-elected. Napolitano appointed Enrico Letta Prime Minister, at the head of a grand coalition. | [311] |
Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation | Ukraine | 18 March 2014 | Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine following an internationally unrecognised referendum on the status of the region. | [312] |
2014 Scottish independence referendum | Scotland | 18 September 2014 | In a referendum called by the governing Scottish National Party, Scotland voted to remain in the United Kingdom, with 55.3% of votes against independence while 44.7% voted in favour. | [313][314] |
Abdication of Juan Carlos I of Spain | Spain | 19 June 2014 | King Juan Carlos I of Spain abdicated in favour of his son, Felipe VI. | [315] |
2015 Irish constitutional referendums | Ireland | 23 May 2015 | The Republic of Ireland voted to legalise same-sex marriage, becoming the first country to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote. | [316] |
Adoption of the Paris Agreement | United Nations | 12 December 2015 | A historic agreement aimed at keeping global warming below 2 °C compared to pre-industrial levels and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is adopted by all 195 UNFCCC member states. | [317] |
2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum | United Kingdom | 23 June 2016 | In a referendum held in the United Kingdom on whether or not to continue being a member of the European Union, 52% of voters chose to leave it. Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation afterwards, being succeeded by Theresa May. | [318][319] |
2016 Austrian presidential election | Austria | 4 December 2016 | Independent green Alexander Van der Bellen narrowly beat the far-right Freedom Party of Austria candidate Norbert Hofer in a repeat of the 2016 Austrian presidential election after the first election was annulled. | [320] |
2017 French presidential election | France | 7 May 2017 | En Marche! candidate Emmanuel Macron was elected the President of France, replacing incumbent Hollande and defeating National Front candidate Marine Le Pen in the second round of voting. Macron is the youngest president in the history of the French Fifth Republic. | [321] |
Death of Helmut Kohl | Germany | 16 June 2017 | Helmut Kohl, former Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 (of West Germany 1982–1990 and of the reunited Germany 1990–1998), dies at the age of 87. | [322] |
2017 Spanish constitutional crisis | Spain | 6 September 2017 | Political conflict sparks between the Spanish and the Catalan governments over the 2017 Catalan independence referendum. It still went ahead, with 91% of voters supporting independence within Catalonia, with unionists and Spain opposing the vote. On 27 October, Catalonia declares independence from Spain but it is not recognised by any sovereign nation, while Madrid imposes direct rule for 6 months.[323] | [324] |
2018 Finnish presidential election | Finland | 28 January 2018 | Finnish Presidential elections were held in Finland on 28 January 2018. Incumbent Sauli Niinistö won reelection for his second consecutive term in office with 62,6 % of the vote. for a term from 1 March 2018 until 2024. | |
2018 Italian general election | Italy | 4 March 2018 | The centre-right alliance, in which the right-wing populist League emerged as the main political force, won a plurality of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and in the Senate, while the anti-establishment Five Star Movement became the party with the largest number of votes. After months of negotiations, the two populist parties, M5S and League, formed a government. | [325][326] |
2018 Russian presidential election | Russia | 18 March 2018 | Presidential elections were held in Russia on 18 March 2018. Incumbent Vladimir Putin won reelection for his second consecutive (fourth overall) term in office with 77% of the vote. | [327] |
2019 European Parliament election | European Union | 23–26 May 2019 | The first European Parliamentary election following the European migrant crisis and the vote for Brexit saw large anti-establishment gains by the Greens-European Free Alliance and by Right-Wing Eurosceptic Parties within Identity and Democracy and European Conservatives and Reformists, such as League in Italy, Alternative for Germany, and National Rally in France. Other populist gains were seen in the success of the Brexit Party in the United Kingdom and the Five Star Movement in Italy. | [328] |
2019 Conservative Party leadership election | United Kingdom | 7 June – 22 July 2019 | The Conservative Party of the United Kingdom voted for Boris Johnson to be the party's new leader and prime minister following the resignation of Theresa May on 24 May 2019, the party's first contested leadership election since 2005. | [329] |
2019 United Kingdom general election | United Kingdom | 12 December 2019 | After an extended period of political deadlock over how to proceed with leaving the European Union an early general election took place in the United Kingdom in which the pro-withdrawal Conservative party won a sizeable majority of seats effectively guaranteeing Brexit would take place in January the following year. | [330] |
World leaders
[edit]Assassinations and attempts
[edit]Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:
Event | Country | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
2011 Tucson shooting | United States | 8 January 2011 | United States Federal judge John Roll and 5 others were killed and 13 more were injured in a shooting near Tucson, Arizona. The apparent target, U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords, was critically injured in the head.[331] |
Killing of Osama bin Laden | Pakistan | 2 May 2011 | Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant Islamist group Al-Qaeda, was killed in a targeted killing in Abbottabad, Pakistan in an operation conducted by a team of United States Navy SEAL commandos.[332] |
Afghanistan | 20 September 2011 | Burhanuddin Rabbani, Afghan politician and teacher who served as president of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996, and again from November to December 2001. He was assassinated in his 71st birthday by a suicide bomber entering his home in Kabul. [333][334] | |
Yemen | 30 September 2011 | Anwar al-Awlaki, a senior talent recruiter, planner and spiritual leader of al-Qaeda, was killed in a targeted killing in the northern al-Jawf province of Yemen, in a drone strike.[335] | |
Killing of Muammar Gaddafi | Libya | 20 October 2011 | Muammar Gaddafi, leader of Libya, was shot to death in Sirte.[336] |
2012 Montreal shooting | Canada | 4 September 2012 | Pauline Marois, Premier-designate of Quebec, escaped death during her victory speech after Richard Henry Bain opened fire at the Metropolis in Montreal, killing one person and critically injuring another.[337] |
Pakistan | 9 October 2012 | Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani women's rights activist, was the survivor of an assassination attempt by the Pakistani Taliban in Pakistan.[338] | |
Assassination of Mohamad Chatah | Lebanon | 27 December 2013 | Mohamad Chatah, Lebanese economist and diplomat, was assassinated by a car bomb struck Chatah's convoy[339][340] in the Central District of Beirut, Lebanon.[341] The bombing killed a total of eight people, among them Chatah, and injured seventy others.[342] |
Assassination of Boris Nemtsov | Russia | 27 February 2015 | Boris Nemtsov, Russian physicist, statesman and opposition politician, was assassinated on the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge, Central Moscow, Russia, within sight of the Kremlin.[343] |
Murder of Jo Cox | United Kingdom | 16 June 2016 | Jo Cox, British MP, was shot and stabbed to death by a Neo-Nazi white supremacist[344] in Birstall, England. She was the first British MP assassinated in over a quarter of a century and the first female politician in Britain to be assassinated.[345] |
Assassination of Andrei Karlov | Turkey | 19 December 2016 | Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, was shot to death by an off duty police officer at an art gallery in Ankara.[346] |
Assassination of Kim Jong-nam | Malaysia | 13 February 2017 | Kim Jong-nam, eldest son of the late Kim Jong-il, was assassinated by two women in Malaysia with a VX nerve agent.[347] |
Congressional baseball shooting | United States | 14 June 2017 | Steve Scalise, an American Congressman, is shot and injured during practice ahead of the annual Congressional Baseball Game in Alexandria, Virginia by a man who held grievances against the Republican party. Three others are also injured.[348] |
Battle of Sanaa (2017) | Yemen | 4 December 2017 | Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemeni politician who served as the first President of the Republic of Yemen, he was killed on his way to Marib while trying to flee into Saudi-controlled territories after a rocket-propelled grenade struck and disabled his vehicle in an ambush and he was subsequently shot in the head by a Houthi sniper, something his party denied.[349] |
Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal | United Kingdom | 4 March 2018 | Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, was poisoned alongside his daughter Yulia in the city of Salisbury with a Novichok agent.[350] |
Assassination of Antonio Halili | Philippines | 2 July 2018 | Antonio Halili, Mayor of Tanauan, Batangas, was assassinated by an unidentified gunman while attending a flag raising ceremony together with around 300 government employees and newly elected barangay officials.[351] |
Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi | Turkey | 2 October 2018 | Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabian dissident and journalist for The Washington Post, was assassinated in the Saudi Arabian consulate by the Saudi Government in Istanbul, Turkey in what is widely believed to have been ordered directly by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.[352][353][354] |
Assassination of Paweł Adamowicz | Poland | 13 January 2019 | Paweł Adamowicz, Mayor of the city of Gdańsk, was stabbed during a live charity event in Gdańsk by a former inmate. He died the following day.[355] |
Death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi | Syria | 27 October 2019 | Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIL, was killed during a raid by U.S. special forces in northwestern Syria.[356] |
Disasters
[edit]Non-natural disasters
[edit]Aviation
[edit]Event | Date | Country | Description | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 | 25 January 2010 | Ethiopia | Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after take-off from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, killing all 90 people on board. | [357] |
2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash | 10 April 2010 | Russia | Polish President Lech Kaczyński and dozens of Polish government and military officials were among 96 people killed when their plane crashed near Smolensk, Russia. | [358] |
Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 | 12 May 2010 | Libya | Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashed on a runway at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, killing all but one of the 104 passengers and crew. | [359] |
Air India Express Flight 812 | 22 May 2010 | India | Air India Express Flight 812 overshot the runway at Mangalore International Airport in India, killing 158 people, with eight surviving. | [360] |
Airblue Flight 202 | 28 July 2010 | Pakistan | Airblue Flight 202 en route from Karachi to Islamabad crashed in the Margalla Hills near Islamabad, killing all 152 aboard, becoming the deadliest air crash in Pakistan's history. | [361] |
Dana Air Flight 992 | 3 June 2012 | Nigeria | Dana Air Flight 992 crashed in the Nigerian city of Lagos, killing all 153 people aboard. 10 people on the ground also perished. | [362] |
Asiana Airlines Flight 214 | 6 July 2013 | United States | Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed at San Francisco airport killing 3 and injuring 181 people. | [363] |
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 | 8 March 2014 | Malaysia | Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The bulk of the plane is still missing, with all 239 people on board presumed dead. The first remains of the aircraft were found on 29 July 2015, after they washed ashore on Réunion Island. | [364][365] |
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 | 17 July 2014 | Malaysia | Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine and crashed near the Ukrainian-Russian border, killing all 298 people on board, making it the deadliest airliner shoot down in history. | [366] |
Air Algérie Flight 5017 | 24 July 2014 | Mali | Air Algérie Flight 5017 crashed in southern Mali, killing all 116 passengers and crew. | [367] |
Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 | 28 December 2014 | Indonesia | Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed in the Java sea after an attempt to avoid heavy thunderstorms, leaving all 162 people dead. | [368] |
Germanwings Flight 9525 | 24 March 2015 | France | Germanwings Flight 9525 crashed in the French Alps, killing all 150 on board. | [369] |
2015 Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crash | 30 June 2015 | Indonesia | A Lockheed C-130 Hercules operated by the Indonesian Air Force crashed into a crowded residential neighbourhood in Medan shortly after take-off from Soewondo Air Force Base, killing 143 people including 22 on the ground, making it the deadliest crash in Indonesian Air Force peacetime history. | [370] |
Metrojet Flight 9268 | 31 October 2015 | Egypt | Metrojet Flight 9268, an Airbus A321 airliner en route to Saint Petersburg from Sharm el-Sheikh, crashes near Al-Hasana in Sinai, killing all 224 passengers and crew on board. | [371] |
LaMia Flight 2933 | 29 November 2016 | Colombia | A chartered Avro RJ85 plane carrying 77 people, including the Chapecoense football team, crashes near Medellín, Colombia. Six of the passengers survived. The 2016 Copa Sudamericana Finals were suspended, and Atlético Nacional, Chapecoense's to-be opponents, gave them the trophy out of respect. | [372] |
2016 Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 crash | 25 December 2016 | Russia | A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes near Sochi, Russia, killing all 92 people on board, including 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble. | [373] |
Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704 | 18 February 2018 | Iran | Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704 crashes in the Zagros Mountains, en route from Tehran to Yasuj. All 65 passengers and crew members perish. | [374] |
Cubana de Aviación Flight 972 | 18 May 2018 | Cuba | Cubana de Aviación Flight 972 crashes shortly after take-off near José Martí International Airport in Havana, killing 112 and leaving only one survivor. | [375] |
Lion Air Flight 610 | 29 October 2018 | Indonesia | Lion Air Flight 610 crashes off the coast of Java, with 189 passengers on board. | [376] |
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 | 10 March 2019 | Ethiopia | Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 bound for Nairobi, crashes shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa killing all 157 people on board. | [377] |
Aeroflot Flight 1492 | 5 May 2019 | Russia | Aeroflot Flight 1492 makes a hard landing, causing fire and partial destruction at Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, killing 41 of the 78 people on board. | [378] |
- On 10 April 2010 a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft of the Polish Air Force crashed in Russia with the Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 95 other passengers including many senior officials
- For over 15 months it was unclear what exactly happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 until at the end of July 2015 a few remnants of the plane swept to the shores of the island of Réunion
General
[edit]Event | Date | Country | Description | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 Copiapó mining accident | 13 October 2010 | Chile | Thirty-three miners near Copiapó, Chile, were trapped 700 metres (2,300 feet) underground in a mining accident in San José Mine, before being rescued after surviving for a record 69 days. | [379] |
2013 Savar building collapse | 24 April 2013 | Bangladesh | An eight-story factory building collapsed in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1,129 people and injuring over 2,000 more, becoming the deadliest structural failure in history. | [380] |
2015 Tianjin explosions | 12 August 2015 | China | Two explosions occurred within 30 seconds of each other at a container storage station at the Port of Tianjin in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin, China, killing at least 173. | [381] |
Mecca crane collapse | 11 September 2015 | Saudi Arabia | A crane toppled over at Mecca, killing 111 people, weeks before the official Hajj pilgrimage. | [382] |
2015 Mina stampede | 24 September 2015 | Saudi Arabia | A stampede during the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, killed at least 2,236 people, making it the deadliest Hajj disaster in history. | [383] |
Bento Rodrigues dam disaster | 5 November 2015 | Brazil | An iron ore tailings dam in Bento Rodrigues, a subdistrict of Mariana, Brazil, suffered a catastrophic failure, causing flooding and at least 17 deaths. At least 16 people have been injured. This incident has been described as the worst environmental disaster in Brazil's history. | [384][385][386] |
Tham Luang cave rescue | 23 June – 10 July 2018 | Thailand | Twelve boys and their football coach are rescued from the flooded Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand, following a 17-day ordeal that gained worldwide attention. | [387][388] |
Ponte Morandi Collapse | 14 August 2018 | Italy | Part of the Morandi Bridge collapses after a violent storm in Genoa, Italy, causing 43 fatalities. Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio and transport minister Danilo Toninelli blame private company Autostrade per l'Italia. | [389][390] |
Tlahuelilpan pipeline explosion | 18 January 2019 | Mexico | A gasoline pipeline exploded in the town of Tlahuelilpan, in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. The blast killed at least 135 people and injured dozens more. Mexican authorities blamed fuel thieves, who had illegally tapped the pipeline. | [391] |
2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion | 21 March 2019 | China | A major explosion at a chemical plant in Xiangshui, Jiangsu, China, kills at least 64 people and injures more than 600 others. Its powerful impact registered as an artificial earthquake. | [392] |
Fires
[edit]Event | Date | Country | Description | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
Comayagua prison fire | 14–15 February 2012 | Honduras | A fire at the National Penitentiary in Comayagua, Honduras killed 361 people. | [393][394] |
2012 Dhaka garment factory fire | 24 November 2012 | Bangladesh | 117 people were confirmed dead in a garment factory fire, and over 200 were injured, making it the deadliest factory fire in the nation's history. | |
Kiss nightclub fire | 27 January 2013 | Brazil | 242 people were killed in a fire at a nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil. | [395] |
Colectiv nightclub fire | 30 October 2015 | Romania | 64 people were killed in a fire at a nightclub in Bucharest, Romania. | |
Ghost Ship warehouse fire | 2 December 2016 | United States | 36 were killed in an artists' live-and-work collective in an Oakland, CA accident due to substandard wiring. | |
Grenfell Tower fire | 14 June 2017 | United Kingdom | A fire ignited by a faulty refrigerator in a London council estate tower block spread to almost the entirety of the building causing 72 deaths and over 70 injuries. | [396][397] |
2018 Kemerovo fire | 25 March 2018 | Russia | 60 people die in a fire at a shopping and entertainment complex in the Russian city of Kemerovo. | [398] |
2018 Valencia, Venezuela fire | 28 March 2018 | Venezuela | At least 78 people die in a fire in the police headquarters of Valencia, Venezuela. | [399] |
National Museum of Brazil fire | 2 September 2018 | Brazil | A fire destroys the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. No one was injured, but 90 percent of the collection was destroyed. | [400][401] |
February 2019 Dhaka fire | 20 February 2019 | Bangladesh | A major fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh kills at least 78 people. | [402] |
Notre-Dame fire | 15 April 2019 | France | A major fire at the Notre-Dame Cathedral destroyed most of its roof, and its upper walls were severely damaged; extensive damage to the interior was prevented by its stone vaulted ceiling, which largely contained the burning roof as it collapsed. 3 injuries were reported, but there were no confirmed deaths. | [403] |
Marine
[edit]Event | Date | Country | Description | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
Costa Concordia disaster | 13 January 2012 | Italy | The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia hit a reef and partially capsized off the coast of Isola del Giglio, Italy, killing 32 people. | [404] |
Sinking of MV Sewol | 16 April 2014 | South Korea | South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsized while en route to Jeju, killing 295 people, mostly secondary school students from Danwon High School. | [405] |
Sinking of Dongfang zhi Xing | 1 June 2015 | China | The river cruise ship Dongfang zhi Xing capsized in the Yangtze River after being hit by a waterspout, killing 442 people, making it the deadliest maritime disaster in China's peacetime history. | [406] |
Sinking of MV Nyerere | 20 September 2018 | Tanzania | The MV Nyerere capsizes on Lake Victoria, killing at least 227 passengers. | [407] |
Pollution
[edit]Event | Date | Country | Description | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
Deepwater Horizon oil spill | 20 April 2010 | United States | An explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, operating in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, left eleven crewmen dead and resulted in a fire that sank the rig and caused a massive oil spill, becoming the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. | [408][409] |
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster | 11 March 2011 | Japan | A magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Sendai caused a tsunami that severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear power plants. The damage resulted in the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl disaster, contaminating the entire area. | [410][411] |
Flint water crisis | 25 April 2014 | United States | The U.S. city of Flint, Michigan's water source was changed from the treated Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River, where officials had failed to apply corrosion inhibitors. This decision led to the water being contaminated by lead and eventual nationwide outrage about an alleged coverup. | [412][413] |
Natural disasters
[edit]Earthquakes and tsunamis
[edit]Event | Date | Country | Description | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 Haiti earthquake | 12 January 2010 | Haiti | A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, causing widespread destruction in Port-au-Prince. Haitian authorities believe that the disaster killed between 200,000 and 250,000 people and over three million more were affected by the quake. The earthquake was the deadliest disaster in the decade. | [414][415] |
2010 Chile earthquake | 27 February 2010 | Chile | An 8.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Chile, triggering a tsunami across the Pacific and killing 497. One of the largest earthquakes in recorded history, this rare megathrust earthquake likely shifted Earth's axis and slightly shortened its days. | [416][417][418] |
2010 Baja California earthquake | 4 April 2010 | Mexico | A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Mexicali and Baja, killing three and injuring more than two hundred. US border towns in Imperial Valley, California were affected. | [419] |
2010 Yushu earthquake | 13 April 2010 | China | A 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurred in western China, killing at least 2,200 and injuring more than 12,000. | [420][421] |
February 2011 Christchurch earthquake | 22 February 2011 | New Zealand | A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 185 people. | [422] |
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami | 11 March 2011 | Japan | A 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit near Sendai, Japan. It created a 30 feet (9.1 m) high tsunami, leaving 15,893 dead, 2,565 missing and over 150,000 displaced. It was the largest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years. | [423][424][425] |
2011 Van earthquake | 23 October 2011 | Turkey | A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Turkish city of Van, leaving over 604 dead and thousands more injured. | [426] |
April 2015 Nepal earthquake | 25 April 2015 | Nepal | A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal killed at least 8,857 people and injured tens of thousands more. It is the worst disaster to hit Nepal in decades. | [427][428][429] |
May 2015 Nepal earthquake | 12 May 2015 | Nepal | A second major earthquake hit Nepal, measuring 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale, killing 218 more people. | [430] |
2016 Ecuador earthquake | 16 April 2016 | Ecuador | A 7.8 earthquake struck near Muisne, Ecuador, killing over 673 people and displacing at least 25,000 more. | [431] |
August 2016 Central Italy earthquake | 24 August 2016 | Italy | A 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Central Italy near Norcia, 75 km (47 mi) southeast of Perugia and 45 km (28 mi) north of L'Aquila, in an area near the tripoint of the Umbria, Lazio, and Marche regions. At least 299 people were left dead. | [432] |
2017 Central Mexico earthquake | 19 September 2017 | Mexico | A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Puebla. Coincidentally, it was also the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, which was commemorated with a national seismic alert drill, just two hours before the real earthquake struck, which left 360 dead and over 6,000 injured. | [433] |
2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami | 28 September 2018 | Indonesia | A magnitude 7.5 earthquake hits Sulawesi, Indonesia, causing a tsunami that kills at least 2,256 people and injures more than 540 others. | [434] |
2018 Sunda Strait tsunami | 22 December 2018 | Indonesia | A tsunami hits the Sunda Strait, Indonesia after a volcanic eruption of Anak Krakatoa killing at least 430 people and injuring nearly 1,500. | [435] |
2019 Peru earthquake | 26 May 2019 | Peru | An 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck in Loreto Region, Peru, killing 2 people and injures more than 30 others. | [436] |
2019 Albania earthquake | 26 November 2019 | Albania | A 6.4 magnitude earthquake hits Albania near the cities of Durrës and Tirana, killing 51 people and injuring over 3,000 others. | [437] |
Tropical cyclones
[edit]Event | Date | Country | Description | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
Typhoon Megi | 18 October 2010 | Philippines | Typhoon Megi, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Juan, hit the Philippines, killing at least 69 and causing US$709 million in damage. | [438] |
Hurricane Irene | 22 August 2011 | United States Bahamas Turks and Caicos | Hurricane Irene, the first hurricane and major hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, caused devastation on various islands in the Caribbean and the East Coast of the United States, killing 49 and causing almost $14.2 billion in damages. | |
Tropical Storm Washi | 16 December 2011 | Philippines | Tropical Storm Washi, known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Sendong, caused catastrophic damage on the Philippine island of Mindanao. More than 1,000 died and thousands were injured or missing. | [439] |
Hurricane Sandy | 25 October 2012 | Various | Hurricane Sandy caused immense destruction in Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the United States, leaving at least 233 dead. It became the largest Atlantic tropical storm ever. | [440] |
Typhoon Bopha | 2 December 2012 | Philippines | Typhoon Bopha, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Pablo, struck the Philippines, killing at least 650 people and leaving millions more homeless. | [442] |
Typhoon Haiyan | 7 November 2013 | Philippines | Typhoon Haiyan, known as Super Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, hits the Philippines, killing at least 6,000 people, with a thousand more still missing, making it the deadliest typhoon to ever hit the Philippines. | [443] |
Hurricane Joaquin | 28 September 2015 – 7 October 2015 | United States Cuba Bahamas Bermuda Turks and Caicos Islands | Hurricane Joaquin was a powerful tropical cyclone that devastated several districts of the Bahamas and caused damage in the Turks and Caicos Islands, parts of the Greater Antilles, and Bermuda. | [444] |
Typhoon Melor | 13 December 2015 | Philippines | Typhoon Melor, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Nona, hits the Philippines, killing 42 and causing $136 million in damages. | [445][446] |
Cyclone Winston | 20 February 2016 | Fiji | Cyclone Winston struck Fiji, killing 44 people and causing $1.4 billion in damages, making it the costliest tropical cyclone in South Pacific history. | [447] |
Hurricane Matthew | 28 September 2016 – 9 October 2016 | United States Cuba Haiti Jamaica Dominican Republic Bahamas | Hurricane Matthew caused catastrophic damage and a |