What happened in 2011

64 events　World 5, Japan 2, North America 12, Europe 14, USSR / Russia 2, Asia 7, Middle East 9, Latin America 1, Africa 11, Oceania 1

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Highlights of 2011

World5

  • Apr 17The 2011 PlayStation Network outage begins, becoming one of the largest data breaches ever recorded, and exposing personal data from 77 million accounts on the platform. The outage lasted 23 days.
  • Sep 16Snapchat was launched.
  • Oct 23A magnitude 7.2 Mw earthquake jolts eastern Turkey near the city of Van, killing over 600 people and damaging about 2,200 buildings.
  • Oct 31Date selected by the UN as the symbolic date when global population reached seven billion.
  • Nov 30The United Kingdom severs diplomatic relations with Iran and expels diplomats, less than 24 hours after protesters attacked the British embassy in Tehran.

Japan2

  • Feb 26The Nintendo 3DS has its first release in Japan, following later releases in Europe on March 25, North America on March 27, and Australia on March 31.
  • MarGreat East Japan EarthquakeOn March 11, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and a huge tsunami struck the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan. Reactors melted down at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, and many people had to leave their homes for years.

North America12

  • Apr 25The 2011 Super Outbreak occurs in the Southern, Midwest and Eastern United States with a tornado count of 362; killing 324 and injuring over 2,200.
  • May 1U.S. President Barack Obama announces that Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant group Al-Qaeda, was killed on May 2, 2011 (PKT, UTC+05) during an American military operation in Pakistan.
  • May 22The 2011 Joplin tornado, an EF5 tornado, strikes Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 people and injuring 1,150.
  • May 24The 2011 El Reno–Piedmont tornado, an EF5 tornado, strikes El Reno and Piedmont, Oklahoma, killing 9 people and injuring 181.
  • Jun 6Twitch.tv, a video game-focused live streaming service, is launched as a spinoff from Justin.tv.
  • Jul 20The United Nations declares a famine in southern Somalia, the first in over 30 years.
  • Jul 21Space Shuttle Atlantis lands successfully at Kennedy Space Center after completing STS-135, concluding NASA's Space Shuttle program.
  • Aug 5Juno, the first solar-powered spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter, is launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
  • Aug 20First Air Flight 6560, a Boeing 737-210C, crashed on approach to Resolute Bay Airport, Nunavut, Canada, killing 12 out of the 15 occupants onboard.
  • Sep 162011 Reno Air Races Crash: The Galloping Ghost, a North American P-51D Mustang racing aircraft, crashed into spectators while competing at the Reno Air Races in Reno, Nevada.
  • Sep 17Occupy Wall Street protests begin in the United States. This develops into the Occupy movement which spreads to 82 countries by October.
  • Nov 26The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center. It lands on Mars on August 6, 2012.

Europe14

  • Feb 10Manx2 Flight 7100, a Fairchild Metro III, crashes on its third attempt at landing at Cork airport, Ireland from Belfast. Six of the twelve passengers and crew are killed.
  • Apr 29An estimated two billion people watch the wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London.
  • May 10The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 takes place in Düsseldorf, Germany, and is won by Azeri entrants Ell & Nikki with the song "Running Scared".
  • May 11A 5.1 earthquake strikes southern Spain, killing 9 people and injuring over 400.
  • May 16The European Union agrees to a €78 billion rescue deal for Portugal. The bailout loan will be equally split between the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism, the European Financial Stability Facility, and the International Monetary Fund.
  • May 18Porto beats Braga 1–0 in the 2011 UEFA Europa League final at the Aviva Stadium.
  • May 21Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano, erupts and causes disruption to air travel in Northwestern Europe.
  • May 28Barcelona beats Manchester United 3–1 in the 2011 UEFA Champions League final at the Wembley Stadium.
  • Jun 26The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup takes place in Germany, and is won by Japan.
  • Jul 22In Norway, Anders Behring Breivik kills 8 people in a bomb blast which targeted government buildings in central Oslo, then kills 69 at a massacre at a Workers' Youth League camp on the island of Utøya.
  • AugStock exchanges worldwide suffer heavy losses due to the fears of contagion of the Euro area crisis and the credit rating downgraded as a result of the debt-ceiling crisis of the United States.
  • Oct 27After an emergency meeting in Brussels, the European Union announces an agreement to deal with the Euro area crisis which includes a writedown of 50% of Greek bonds, a recapitalisation of European banks and an increase of the bailout fund of the European Financial Stability Facility totaling to €1 trillion.
  • Oct 29Michael D. Higgins is elected President of Ireland.
  • Nov 18Mojang Studios of Sweden officially release the video game Minecraft, which becomes the best-selling video game of all time.

USSR / Russia2

  • Jan 1Flight 348 with 134 occupants, operated by Metrojet, catches fire while taxiing out for take-off. Three people are killed and 43 are injured, four critically, from smoke inhalation or burns.
  • Jan 2437 people are killed and more than 180 others are wounded in a bombing at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia.

Asia7

  • Jan 5Internet vigilante group Anonymous launches DoS attacks on government websites of Syria, Tunisia, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, and Jordan in response to the Arab Spring protests.
  • Jan 7A Bangladeshi teenage girl Felani Khatun, was shot dead by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on the Anantapur border area under Phulbari upazila in Kurigram. Her body was hanging from the fence for four and half hours. Global human rights organizations, including the media, became protesters.
  • Jul 23Wenzhou train collision; 2 high speed trains in Wenzhou, China collided on a viaduct, sending multiple cars off the viaduct and crushing some. 40 people are killed and 192 people are injured.
  • Jul 31In Thailand over 12.8 million people are affected by severe flooding. The World Bank estimates damages at 1,440 billion baht (US$45 billion). Some areas are still six feet under water, and many factory areas remain closed at the end of the year. 815 people are killed, with 58 of the country's 77 provinces affected.
  • Sep 19With 436 people dead, the United Nations launches a $357 million appeal for victims of the 2011 Sindh floods in Pakistan.
  • Dec 16Tropical Storm Washi causes 1,268 flash flood fatalities in the Philippines, with 85 people officially listed as missing.
  • Dec 17In North Korea, following the death of the country's leader, Kim Jong-il, the official reaction is grief and support for the succession of his son, Kim Jong Un.

Middle East9

  • Jan 1A bomb explodes as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt leave a new year service, killing 23 people.
  • Jan 9Iran Air Flight 277 crashes near Orumiyeh in the northeast of the country, killing 78 people.
  • Jan 25The 2011 Egyptian revolution begins.
  • Feb 11Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns after widespread protests calling for his departure, leaving control of Egypt in the hands of the military, until a general election can be held.
  • Feb 14The Day of Rage in Bahrain begins, which marks the first day of the 2011 Bahraini uprising.
  • Mar 6Civil uprising phase of the Syrian Civil War is triggered when 15 youths in Daraa are arrested for scrawling graffiti on their school wall denouncing the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
  • Mar 15Protests breakout across Syria demanding democratic reforms, resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, and release of those imprisoned for the March 6 Daraa protest. The government responds by killing hundreds of protesters and laying siege to various cities, beginning the Syrian Civil War, which lasts until Assad’s overthrow in 2024.
  • Mar 15Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, declares a three-month state of emergency as troops from the Gulf Co-operation Council are sent to quell the civil unrest.
  • Dec 18The United States withdraws the last forces which effectively ends the Iraq War. While this ends the insurgency, it begins another.

Latin America1

  • Sep 22011 Chilean Air Force C-212 crash. A CASA C-212 Aviocar military transport of the Chilean Air Force on a flight from Santiago to Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile, crashed into the sea while manoeuvring to land. All 21 passengers and crew on board were killed.

Africa11

  • Jan 4Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi dies after setting himself on fire a month earlier, sparking anti-government protests in Tunisia and later other Arab nations. These protests become known collectively as the Arab Spring.
  • Jan 15The result of the South Sudanese independence referendum, 2011 is in favour of independence, paving the way for the creation of the new state in July.
  • Feb 15The First Libyan Civil War starts.
  • Mar 17The United Nations Security Council votes 10–0 to create a no-fly zone over Libya in response to allegations of government aggression against civilians.
  • Mar 19In light of continuing attacks on Libyan rebels by forces in support of leader Muammar Gaddafi, military intervention authorized under UNSCR 1973 begins as French fighter jets make reconnaissance flights over Libya.
  • Apr 11Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo is arrested in his home in Abidjan by supporters of elected President Alassane Ouattara, with support from French forces; this effectively ends the 2010–11 Ivorian crisis and civil war.
  • Jul 9South Sudan secedes from Sudan, per the result of the independence referendum held in January.
  • Jul 14South Sudan joins the United Nations as the 193rd member.
  • Aug 20Libyan rebels take control of the capital Tripoli, effectively overthrowing the government of Muammar Gaddafi.
  • Sep 10The MV Spice Islander I, carrying at least 800 people, sinks off the coast of Zanzibar, killing 240 people.
  • Oct 20Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is killed in Sirte, with National Transitional Council forces taking control of the city and ending the war.

Oceania1

  • Feb 22A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes Christchurch, in what becomes New Zealand's third-deadliest natural disaster. 185 people are killed, many ESL students within the CTV Building, and the city centre and 10,000 homes are destroyed. Many foreign search and rescue workers respond to the event.