2000s: Difference between revisions

The 2000s is the decade that started on January 1, 2000 and ends on December 31, 2009. It is the current decade, and the decade in which the 21st century and 3rd millennium began.

By the end of the 1990s, many nations had adapted to the globalised and unipolar world, wherein the United States remained the sole superpower following the end of the Cold War. The institutions, linkages and technologies that emerged or were redefined in this decade subsequently benefited many countries in the 2000s: China and India saw sustained economic growth continue through productivity gains, increased investment and trade opportunities, while the increasingly integrated (but economically stagnant) European Union expanded its membership to most of Eastern Europe. Continued economic growth, while responsible for lifting millions out of poverty, nevertheless had environmental consequences, and raised demand for diminishing energy resources.

The 9/11 attacks by al-Qaeda in 2001 led the United States under President George W. Bush to adopt a more assertive and unilateral foreign policy, ultimately leading to the invasion and protracted occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq. Militant Islamist groups emerged in many countries, leading to terrorism and civil strife, prompting a clandestine response from the United States in what was coined the War on Terror. Meanwhile, the repercussions of the Bush Doctrine arguably put an end to the United States' role as "superpower".^[1] Russia's decade in the wilderness changed after Vladimir Putin took charge and steered the country towards a more aggressive foreign policy while rolling back human rights; similarly anti-Western governments continued in Iran, North Korea and Zimbabwe, and emerged in Venezuela.

Poor regulatory mechanisms, and an imbalance in global capital flows, led to the Global Financial Crisis in 2008–2009, which was partially ameliorated through interventionist approaches. The economic crisis, and the perceived failure by the Bush administration to manage America's overseas military commitments, led to the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States in 2008. The decade was also marked by ecological, energy, and other crises. It had a string of natural disasters, including the Asian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, and saw growing concerns about global warming, which was likely accelerated by the continued burning of fossil fuels.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Unlike previous decades such as "The Fifties", "The Seventies", "The Nineties", etc, the 2000s never attained a universally accepted name.^[7][8]

On January 1, 2000 The BBC listed "The Noughties" (derived from "nought", a word used for zero in many English speaking countries) as potential moniker for the new decade ^[9]. Since then the term "The Noughties" has achieved common usage throughout the population and media in Ireland ^{[10][11] [12] [13] [14]} , Australia ^[15][16], and the United Kingdom ^[17][18]. While "The Noughties" is nearly universal in those countries, in other countries, there is no one accepted name of the decade. "The Aughts", used for 1900-1909, never caught on in the 2000s, perhaps because it sounded too archaic in such a technologically driven decade.^[vague] Some pundits have attempted to personalize the decade by using a play on the Me Decade, (a common nickname used for the 1970s), and have present the 2000s as the "You Decade" ^{[19] [20] [21]}. They cite the use of personal media such as YouTube and the perceived narcissism of the decade ("You" was the Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006). As a statement intended to show personal ownership, "the iDecade" has been suggested ^{[22] [23][24] [25]}, as an analogue to "the iLife", and its various (iMovie, iPhoto, iMac, iPod, and iPhone) services and devices. Numerically, the decade can be written as "2000s" or "'00s". Some people read "2000s" as "two-thousands" and thus simply refer to the decade as "the two-thousands".

Presenting a summary of events of the decade in late 2009, an essay writer for TIME Magazine also used names such as "The Decade from Hell" and "The Worst Decade Ever", implying the decade has had more dramatic and fatal events than usual^[26].

The United Nations General Assembly has declared the decade of 2001–2010 the "Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World".^[27]

Economic developments in the first half of the 2000s focused on the explosion of Asia and South America's economic and political potential, and its impact on the world market.

China experienced immense economic growth and has now been identified as an emerging superpower by academics and other experts.^[28][29][30] India’s economy has become technologically integrated with those of the world’s more developed nations. Many fast-growing economies throughout the world, especially in Asia, have been a major factor in the rapidly increasing demand for fossil fuels, which—along with fewer new petroleum finds, greater extraction costs, and political turmoil—forced two other trends: a soar in the price of petroleum products and a push by governments and businesses to promote the development of environmentally friendly technology (known informally as "Green" technology). However, a side-effect to the push by some industrial nations to "go green" and utilize biofuels has been a decrease in the supply of food and a subsequent increase in the price of the same. This, in turn, may threaten the world's poorer nations with an even more severe shortage of food.^[31] The economic developments in the latter third of the decade were dominated by a worldwide economic downturn, which appears to have started with the crisis in housing and credit in the United States in late 2007, and led to the bankruptcies of entities as large as Iceland ^[32].

Beginning in December 2007 in the United States according to the National Bureau of Economic Research—and with much greater intensity since September 2008—most of the industrialized world has been undergoing a recession. This global recession has been taking place was sparked by the outbreak of the financial crisis of 2007–2009. Some economists^[who?] have also referred to it as a full blown depression ^{[citation needed]}, as unlike the recessions of the early 1980s, early 1990s and early 2000s, this recession has required direct intervention.

The United States continued to have the largest economy of any individual country in the world, comprising approximately one quarter of the world's GDP. The European Union continued to have an economy similarly sized to the United States with Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy its largest economies. Japan remained the second largest economy throughout the decade, being approximately one third the size of the United States' economy. Other countries such as China and India experienced high economic growth during this time.

Technological advancements have been as revolutionary and diversified as previous decades. In the field of digital electronics, advancements have been considerable. Mobile phones, digital cameras, and digital audio players^[33] became household items over the course of a few years. Email and broadband Internet connections have become nearly ubiquitous in the industrialized world. The entertainment industry has struggled to find digital delivery systems for music, movies, and other media that reduce piracy and preserve profit. Internet commerce has become standard for reservations, stock trading, promotion of music, arts, literature, and film, shopping, and other activities. During this decade certain websites and search engines became prominent worldwide as transmitters of goods, services and information. Some of the most popular and successful online internet sites or search engines of the 00s include: Wikipedia, Google, Yahoo, Amazon, Ebay, Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist, and YouTube. Email has become the dominant form of interpersonal written communication with popular addresses available to the public on Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo! Mail.

By the end of the decade, the first bionic fingers were invented. ^[34]

• The Digital Audio Player began a steady climb in popularity, including the iPod which cemented itself as a cultural and technological icon of the 2000s.
• Touchscreen and flip-phone mobiles become extremely popular and useful, as well as mobiles as a whole which nears usage of 100% in Europe and America.
• High Definition TV becomes popular in the western world.
• Digital Cameras become useful and well used in the developed world.
• Digital Video Recorders replaced VCRs as the preferred medium for TV recording.

There were extraordinary robotic advancements made throughout the decade:

• The U.S. Army used increasingly effective unmanned robotic aircraft missions in war zones such as Afghanistan.
• Space exploration robotics have become highly advanced, the best known of this decade is Spirit and Opportunity send to explore Mars by NASA.
• Deep sea exploration robotics have also become highly advanced, helping to locate shipwrecks and new life-forms under the oceans. Ocean explorer Robert Ballard and other scientists and oceanographers have made important technological breakthroughs in explorations of the deep with the assistance of robot technology.^[35][36]

• Microsoft Windows ME, XP, Vista and 7 are released.
• Mac OS X is released.
• The Year 2000 Problem (commonly known as Y2K) computer glitch disaster does not happen, at least not as feared.
• Computer Generated Imagery software is widely used to create top quality films, and is highly successful as seen in films such as Transformers and Avatar
• Open Source software such as the Linux Operating System and the Mozilla Firefox Web Browser begin to gain ground.

Astrophysicists studying the universe confirm its age at 13.7 billion years; they determine that it will most likely expand forever without limit; and conclude that only 4% of the universe's contents are ordinary matter (the other 96% being still-mysterious dark matter, dark energy, and dark flow). Astronomers also identify the average colour of the universe as a pale beige, which they term "cosmic latte".

The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission successfully reached the surface of Mars in 2004, and sent detailed data and images of the landscape there back to Earth. While NASA's original mission timeline of three months was strikingly underestimated, the mission was tremendously successful overall in the long term, as the MER mission continues to this day, lasting more than twenty times the projected length. The Human Genome Project was completed in 2000. The National Geographic Society and IBM funded the Genographic Project, which aims to trace the ancestry of every living human down to a single male ancestor.

In 2005 the discovery of Eris, a Kuiper Belt object larger than Pluto, is announced. In August 2006 Pluto is demoted to a "dwarf planet" after being considered a planet for 76 years. Other "dwarf planets" in our solar system now include Ceres and Eris. Space tourism and private spaceflight begins with American Dennis Tito, paying Russia $20 million USD for a week long stay to the International Space Station in 2001. On average, one person went into space as a space tourist every year in the 2000s. The Voyager I spacecraft entered the heliosheath, marking its departure from our solar system. Having analyzed the data from the LCROSS lunar impact, NASA announced that it had found a "significant" quantity of water in the Moon's Cabeus crater, in 2009. Meanwhile CERN's Large Hadron Collider made news as the largest particle accelerator ever built, yet the project was marred by delays and tests are still ongoing into the 2010s. ^[37]

Just like the decades of the 1990s and 1980s and 1970s thousands of full-length films were produced during the 2000s. Building on developments in the 1990s, computers are used to create effects that would have previously been more expensive. Mainstream, modern music declined in sales in the decade, along with music in general, with classic rock groups outselling current acts both in concert and in album sales. Pop legend Michael Jackson died in June of 2009, reviving long-waning interest in his music, and creating the largest public mourning since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales 12 years earlier in 1997.^[38][39][40]

• Usage of computer generated images CGI became more widespread in films during the 2000s.
• Documentary and Mockumentary films were popular in the 2000s e.g. March of the Penguins.
• Online films become popular.

• Flat-screen TVs become popular
• TV becomes available on the net of some mobile phones.
• HD TV becomes very popular towards the last quarter of the decade.
• Reality TV Becomes popular in the first half of the decade, but loses viewership towards the 2nd half.

The decade was marked by the dominance of both hip hop music (especially crunk, electro-hop, and gangsta rap) and alternative rock, (especially emo and post-grunge). Few revolutions were made during this decade in music, and styles of the 1990s and early 2000s were still popular up to 2009, including Britpop. ^[41]

The late 2000s were also the beginning of the Synthpop revival.

The most popular artist of the 2000s was rapper Eminem and the most popular group was rock band Nickelback. ^[42]

• The number one selling game console of all time, the PlayStation 2, released in 2000, was popular up to the end of the decade, even after PlayStation 3 was released.
• The Wii was the best selling video game platform despite being released late (2006) in the decade.
• Popular video games include Gran Turismo, FIFA, the Pokemon series, The Sims, the Halo series, Wii Sports, Nintendogs, Grand Theft Auto, the Call of Duty series and World of Warcraft.
• Online gaming became very popular, especially seen in games such as World of Warcraft, released in 2004 and with many expansion packs in the years following.

• The decade has seen the steady decline of books, magazines and newspapers as the main conveyors of information and advertisements.^[43][44][45]
• Online internet news blogs have grown in readership and popularity; cable news and other online media outlets became competitive in attracting advertising revenues and capable journalists and writers are joining online organizations. Books became available online and electronic devices like Amazon Kindle are threatening to replace printed books.^[46][47]
• According to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the decade has shown a continuous increase in reading, although circulation of newspapers has declined in conjunction with the Economic Recession.^[48]

The "War on Terrorism" and War in Afghanistan began after the September 11 attacks in 2001.^[49][50] The International Criminal Court was formed a year later. A US-led coalition invaded Iraq, and the Iraq war led to the end of Saddam Hussein's reign as Iraqi President. Al-Qaeda and affiliated Islamist militant groups performed terrorist acts throughout the decade. These acts included the Madrid Train Bombings in 2004, 7/7 London Bombings in 2005, and the Mumbai attacks related to Al-Qaeda in 2008. The EU expanded, incorporating some former communist nations. North Korea and Iran were seen as strong nuclear threats, following two North Korea nuclear tests, as well as some Iranian threats.

A key political event occurred in 2008 with the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States, as he would become the first African-American US President.^[51]

• The War on Terrorism generated extreme controversy around the world, with questions regarding the justification for U.S. actions leading to a loss of support for the American government, both in and outside the United States.
• Additional armed conflict occurred in the Middle East, including Israel's wars with Hezbollah in south Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
• The greatest loss of life due to natural disaster came from the 2004 tsunami killing around a quarter-million people and displacing well over a million others. Cooperative international rescue missions by many countries from around the world including the United States helped in efforts by the most affected nations to rebuild and recover from the devastation. An enormous loss of life and property value came in 2005, when Hurricane Katrina flooded nearly the entire city of New Orleans. The resulting political fallout was severely damaging to the Bush administration because of its failure to act promptly and effectively.
• The Iranian presidential election of 2009 sparked protest demonstrations in Iran and around the world. Demonstrators in Iran were killed, beaten and imprisoned.

• George W. Bush was elected in 2000 after a statewide election deadlock in Florida and a controversial 5 to 4 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States, succeeding Bill Clinton as the 43rd President of the United States.
• Gordon Brown replaced Tony Blair as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• Dmitry Medvedev took over as Russian President from the current Prime Minister of Russia Vladmir Putin.
• Premier Wen Jibao and President Hu Jintao, replaced former Peoples Republic of China Premier Zhu Rongji and former Peoples Republic of China President Jiang Zemin.
• In Uruguay, Jorge Batlle Ibanez is replaced as president by Tabare Vazquez.
• Ange Felix Patasse was overthrown in the Central African Republic in 2003 by Francois Bozize.
• Norodom Sihanouk abdicates as King of Cambodia and is replaced by Norodom Sihamoni.
• Omar Bongo President of Gabon dies and is replaced by Rose Francine Rogombé and then Ali Bongo Ondimba.
• Seretse Khama Ian Khama replaces Festus Gontebanye Mogae as President.
• Nicanor Duarte replaces Luis Ángel González Macchi as President of Paraguay in 2003.
• Fidel Castro, leader of Cuba since 1959, and President since 1976, transferred his duties to his brother Raúl. After Fidel's term expired in 2008, Raúl was elected by the National Assembly as his successor.
• Nicolas Sarkozy is elected President of the French Republic in 2007.
• Kevin Rudd replaces John Howard in 2007 as Prime Minister of Australia after an 11 year term making him the second longest serving Prime Minister of Australian history.
• Ma Ying-jeou is elected President of the Republic of China in 2008.
• In 2008 Barack Obama was elected as the 44th U.S. President. In 2009, he succeeded George W. Bush, becoming the first African-American president.
• Fernando Armindo Lugo Mendez becomes President of Paraguay in 2008, succeeding Nicanor Duarte.
• In 2008, Mohamed Nasheed was elected President of Maldives defeating Maumoon Gayoom in the presidental election.
• Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj is elected President of Mongolia in 2009.

• The September 11 attacks led to the War in Afghanistan, and War in Iraq under the larger heading The War on Terrorism.
• War in Iraq (2003-present), led to the fall of Saddam Hussein. This war was originally presented as part of the War on Terror, which proved to be based on a false claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction at its disposal.^[52]
• War in Darfur (2003-2009)
• 2008 South Ossetia War between Russia and Georgia.
• Increased tension between Israel and Palestine led to the Gaza War in 2008-09.
• The War in Somalia spawns pirates who invade ships off the coast of Somalia.

• September 11 attacks in Washington, DC, New York City and Pennsylvania (nearly 3,000 killed)
• 2004 Madrid train bombings (more than 100 killed)
• 7 July 2005 London bombings (56 killed)
• November 9 2005 Amman bombings (59 killed)
• 2008 Mumbai attacks (nearly 300 killed)

• In 2003 the United States invaded Iraq, over concerns leader Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction including chemical and biological weapons. The Iraq Inquiry (still ongoing) may explain more on this situation, but in the meantime, the US ended the regime of Suddam Hussein and did not find any nuclear bombs in Iraq.
• On October 9, 2006, North Korea successfully performed its first Nuclear Test
• On November 30th 2009, The Iranian Government announced plans to build 10 more uranium nuclear plants.
• The Doomsday Clock, the symbolic representation of the threat of nuclear annihilation, moved four minutes closer to midnight: Two minutes in 2002 and two minutes in 2007 to 5 minutes to midnight.

Climate change and global warming became household words ^[53]in the 2000s. ^[54] Scientists report temperature rose by nearly 0.3 degrees during the 00s. One of the deadliest heat waves in human history happened during the 00s, mostly in Europe, e.g. the 2003 European heat wave killing 37,451 people over the summer months. ^[55]In December 2009, 192 world leaders met for discussions on climate change at the 2009 Copenhagen Conference, nicknamed 14 days to save the world.

Social issues which became more pronounced included issues pertaining to gay rights, in particular the issue of homosexual unions. Same-sex marriage was legalized by some major developed nations, and in others, varying degrees of civil recognition were granted to gay relationships. However, such unions continued to meet resistance in many countries and in most U.S. states. Other social issues of worldwide concern during the 2000s have been gender equality and human rights. In the United States, health care, civil liberties, and abortion have also been prominent issues. Islamophobia increased in many countries after the September 11th attacks.

From the mid-1980s to September 2003, the inflation-adjusted price of a barrel of crude oil on NYMEX was generally under $25/barrel. During 2003, the price rose above $30, reached $60 by August 11, 2005, and peaked at $147.30 in July 2008.^[56] Commentators attributed these price increases to many factors, including reports from the United States Department of Energy and others showing a decline in petroleum reserves,worries over peak oil, Middle East tension, and oil price speculation.^[57]

For a time, geo-political events and natural disasters indirectly related to the global oil market had strong short-term effects on oil prices, such as North Korean missile tests, the 2006 conflict between Israel and Lebanon, worries over Iranian nuclear plants in 2006, Hurricane Katrina, and various other factors. By 2008, such pressures appeared to have a insignificant impact on oil prices given the onset of the global recession. The recession caused demand for energy to shrink in late 2008 and early 2009 and the price plunged as well. However, it surged back in May 2009, bringing it back to November 2008 levels.^[58]

The 2000s have seen some of the worst and most destructive natural disasters in history. 2003 produced one of the worst heatwaves in recorded human history, as Europe was hit by a 40 degrees celsius heatwave. The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake which caused a massive tsunami, was the most destructive tsunami, and the second most destructive earthquake and fifth most destructive natural disaster of all time. Several other earthquakes were hugely destructive including the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, and the 2003 Bam earthquake.

Several typhoons and hurricanes resulted in extreme destruction in this decade, with Hurricane Katrina nearly destroying New Orleans, and was followed by Hurricane Rita that wreaked destruction along the U.S. Gulf Coast; and in 2008 the massive Hurricane Ike (that was the size of the Gulf of Mexico) becoming the third most destructive hurricane to ever make landfall in the United States. the 2009 H1N1 (swine flu) flu pandemic which is progressing into 2010 which is essentially swine flu is considered also a natural disaster, and is the worst epidemic/pandemic of the decade with nearly 10,000 deaths so far.

Cyclone Nargis was a strong tropical cyclone that caused the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanmar.^[59] The cyclone made landfall in the country on May 2, 2008, causing catastrophic destruction and at least 146,000 fatalities, leaving thousands more people still missing.^[60]

According to the Global Language Monitor, the rise of China as a potential superpower was the most-read news story of the decade.^[61][62]

1. Rise of China – The biggest story of the decade, outdistancing the No. 2 Internet story by 400%.
2. Iraq War — The buildup, the invasion, the hunt for the WMDs, and the Surge were top in print and electronic media outlets.
3. 9/11 Terrorist Attacks – The 9/11 Terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, DC seemed to set the tone for the new decade.
4. War on Terror – President George W. Bush’s response to 9/11.
5. Death of Michael Jackson – A remarkably high ranking considering that MJ’s death occurred in the final year of the decade.
6. Election of Obama to US presidency – The rallying cries of ‘hope’ and ‘Yes, we can!’ resulting in the historic election of an African-American to the US presidency.
7. Global Recession of 2008/9 – The on-going world economic restructuring as opposed to the initial ‘economic meltdown’ or ‘financial tsunami’.
8. Hurricane Katrina — New Orleans was devastated when the levies collapsed; scenes of death and destruction shocked millions the world over.
9. War in Afghanistan – Now in its eighth year with an expansion into neighboring Pakistan.
10. Economic Meltdown/Financial Tsunami – The initial shock of witnessing some 25% of the world’s wealth melting away seemingly overnight.
11. Beijing Olympics – The formal launch of China onto the world stage.
12. South Asian Tsunami – The horror of 230,000 dead or missing, washed away in a matter of minutes was seared into the consciousness of the global community.
13. War against the Taliban – Lands controlled by the Taliban served as a safe haven from which al Qaeda would launch its terrorist attacks.
14. Death of Pope John Paul II – The largest funeral in recent memory with some 2,000,000 pilgrims in attendance.
15. Osama bin-Laden eludes capture – Hesitation to attack Tora Bora in 2002 has led to the continuing manhunt.

^[63]

• January 1, 2002 - The euro replaces the currencies of 12 of the EU's 15 members.
• May 1, 2004 - The largest expansion to date of the European Union takes place, extending the Union by 10 member-states: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Malta and Cyprus.
• December 7, 2005 - The European Union TLD .eu is launched, and replaces .eu.int. Initially this will be only for business purposes. From 7 April 2006 onwards, EU citizens can also register .eu domains.
• January 1, 2007 - Bulgaria and Romania join the EU.
• June 12, 2008 - Ireland votes to reject the Treaty of Lisbon, in the only referendum to be held by a European Union member state on the treaty.
• November 3, 2009 - The Czech Republic becomes the final member-state of the European Union to sign the Treaty of Lisbon, thereby permitting that document's initiation into European law.
• November 3, 2009 - The Prime Minister of Belgium, Herman Van Rompuy, is designated the first permanent President of the European Council, a position he assumed on 1 December 2009.^[64]

• November 7, 2000 - George W. Bush is elected the 43rd President of the United States.
• September 11, 2001 - Islamist hijackers associated with al-Qaeda seized and crashed four aircraft. Two of them hit the World Trade Center, one hit The Pentagon, and another missed its target (crashing in Shanksville, Pennsylvania), most likely The Capitol Building. In all, nearly 3,000 people died.
• November 12, 2001 - In New York City, American Airlines Flight 587, headed to the Dominican Republic, crashes in Queens minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 on board.
• April 9, 2003 - U.S. forces seize control of Baghdad, ending the regime of Saddam Hussein, during the Iraq War
• January 4, 2004 - NASA of the U.S. land the rover spirit on Mars.
• August 29, 2005 - At least 1,836 are killed, and severe damage is caused along the U.S. Gulf Coast, as Hurricane Katrina strikes coastal areas from Louisiana to Alabama, and travels up the entire state of Mississippi (flooding coast 31 feet (9.4 m)), affecting most of eastern North America.^[65]
• November 4, 2008 - United States presidential election, 2008: Barack Obama is elected the 44th President of the United States and Joe Biden is elected the 47th Vice President. Barack Obama becomes the first African-American President-elect.
• April 29, 2009 - First Swine Flu death confirmed.^[66]

• December 25, 2000 - A shopping center fire at Luoyang, Henan, China kills 309.
• April 1, 2001 - Hainan Island incident: A Chinese fighter jet bumps into a U.S. EP-3E surveillance aircraft, which is forced to make an emergency landing in Hainan, China. The U.S. crew is detained for 10 days and the F-8 Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, goes missing and is presumed dead.
• May 7, 2002 - China Northern Airlines Flight 6136 crashes into the bay near Dalian, killing all 103 passengers and 9 crew members.
• March 15, 2003 - Hu Jintao becomes President of the People's Republic of China, replacing Jiang Zemin.
• May 12, 2008 - Over 69,000 are killed in central south-west China by the Wenchuan quake, an earthquake measuring 7.9 Moment magnitude scale. The epicenter is 90 kilometers (55 miles) west-northwest of the provincial capital Chengdu, Sichuan province.
• August 8 - August 24, 2008 - The 2008 Summer Olympics is held in Beijing in which China won the most gold medals.^[67]

• March 26, 2000 - Vladimir Putin is elected President of Russia.
• June 5, 2003 - A female suicide bomber detonates a bomb near a bus carrying soldiers and civilians to a military airfield in Mozdok, a major staging point for Russian troops in Chechnya, killing at least 16.
• March 14, 2004 - Russian presidential election, 2004: Vladimir Putin easily wins a second term.
• April 20, 2006 - Iran announces a deal with Russia, involving a joint uranium enrichment firm on Russian soil; 9 days later Iran announces that it will not move all activity to Russia, thus leading to a de-facto termination of the deal.^[68]
• May 7, 2008 - Dmitry Medvedev takes office as President of Russia, replacing Vladimir Putin.
• August 7 - August 16, 2008 - 2008 South Ossetia War takes place as Georgia attempts to oust Russian troops from South Ossetia leading to Russia's invasion of Georgia, followed by de-facto independence of South Ossetia.^[69]
• November 27, 2009 - A Russian train traveling from Moscow to St.Petersburg is bombed, dozens are killed.

• DR Congo - 2004-2009 - The Kivu Conflict occurs.
• Spain - March 11,2004 - Madrid Train Bombings lead to the deaths of 191 people.
• South Asia - December 26,2004 - An Earthquake in the Indian Ocean sees a tsunami crash into the coast of southeast Asia killing up 229,866 People.^[70]
• Vatican City - 2nd April 2005 - Pope John Paul II dies. Pope Benedict XVI is elected Pope.
• United Kingdom - July 7, 2005 - Suicide Bombers, Bomb Buses and Underground trains throughout London Killing nearly 50 People.
• North Korea - October 9, 2006 - North Korea performs its first successful nuclear test.
• India - November 26 - November 29, 2008 - Gunmen attack Mumbai killing up to 175 people.
• Australia - February 7, 2009 - The deadliest bush fires in Australian history begin; they kill 173, injure 500 more, and leave 7,500 homeless. The fires come after Melbourne records the highest-ever temperature (46.4°C, 115°F) of any capital city in Australia. The majority of the fires are ignited by either fallen or clashing power lines or deliberately lit.
• Mexico - April, 2009 - the 2009 flu pandemic began spreading in Mexico, in April 2009.

• 
  2000 Olympic Games
• 
  First inauguration of George W. Bush
• 
  September 11th 2001 Attacks, view of the World Trade Center after both towers fell
• 
  War in Afghanistan
• Introduction of the euro
  Introduction of the euro
• 
  War in Iraq
• 2004 Madrid train bombings
  2004 Madrid train bombings
• 
  2004 Olympic Games
• 
  2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
• 
  Second inauguration of George W. Bush
• 
  Death of Pope John Paul II
• 
  7th July 2005 London bombings
• 
  2006 Lebanon War
• 
  Financial crisis of 2007–2009
• Cyclone Nargis
  Cyclone Nargis
• 
  2008 Olympic Games
• 
  2008 South Ossetia War
• 
  Gaza War
• 
  Inauguration of Barack Obama
• 
  2009 flu pandemic

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