My New Year Wish

2011  left  us  with  a lot  of things  to remember  by.    That  year  was  marred  by  political  unrest  and  changes,   natural calamities,  celebrity  deaths and  other  events  that  had   great  international  impact  either  because  of  their  magnitude or  because  of their   importance  in the global  scenario.    I would  like  to  make  mention of  some  events  that  I  think  had  registered  deeper  significance in the  lives  of the  people  and  the  whole  world  at  large.

The most  significant  I think  are  the following:

 January 2011

11 – flooding and  mudslides  killed  903  in the Rio de  Janeiro  in Brazil.  

14 –  The  president  of  Tunis,  a  north  African  Arab  country,  was  overthrown after  23  years  in power.  This  event  paved  the  way for  other Arab  countries  population  to  look into  their  own  country  as  popular protests  against  their  president  began  to  surface. 

February

11 – Arab world: Egyptian 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.

February 22 – March 14 – Uncertainty over Libyan oil output causes crude oil prices to rise 20% causing the 2011 energy crisis.

March

11 – A 9.1-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the east ofJapan, killing 15,840 and leaving another 3,926 missing. Warnings  of  tsunami  were  issued  to 50 countries and territories.   Watch  videos  of  tsunami and damages in Japan.  Click on the link:   http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tsunami+and+earthquake++in+Japan&qpvt=tsunami+and+earthquake++in+Japan&FORM=VDRE#

17 –The  United  Nations  votes 10-0 to create a no-fly zone overLibya in response to allegations of government aggression against civilians.

April

29 – The wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London  was  watched  by over  two  billion  people  around the world. Watch  video  of the wedding,  click on the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=schQZY3QjCw

May

1 – U.S. President Barack Obama announces that Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant group Al-Qaeda, has been killed during an American military operation in Pakistan.

June

5 – Arab world: Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh travels to Saudi Arabia for treatment of an injury sustained during an attack on the presidential palace. Protesters celebrate his transfer of power to his Vice-President Abd al-Rab Mansur al-Hadi.

12 – Arab world : Thousands of Syrians flee to Turkey as Syrian troops lay siege to Jisr ash-Shugur.

July

21 – Space Shuttle Atlantis lands successfully at Kennedy Space Center after completing STS-135  to conclude  NASA’s space shuttle program.

26 – 76 people are killed in twin terrorist attacks in Norway after a bombing in the Regjeringskvartalet government center in Oslo and a shooting at a political youth camp on the island of Utøya.

Over  12.8 million people in  Thailandwere affected by severe flooding. The World Bank estimates damages at 1,440 billion baht (US$45 billion). Some areas are still six – feet underwater, and many factory areas remained closed, at the end of the year. 790 people were killed, with 58 of the country’s 77 provinces affected.

August

20–28 – Arab world  and the Libyan civil war: In the Battle of Tripoli, Libyan rebels took control the nation’s capital effectively overthrowing the government of Muammar Gaddafi.

September  

5 – India and Bangladesh sign a pact to end their 40-year border demarcation dispute.

19 – United Nations launches a $357 million appeal for victims of the 2011 Sindh floods in Pakistan,  after  over  400 people  died.  

October

4 –  The death toll from the flooding of Cambodia‘s Mekong River and attendant flash floods reaches 207.

18 – Israel and the Palestinian militant organization Hamas begin a major prisoner swap, in which the captured Israeli Army soldier Gilad Shalit is released by Hamas in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian and Israeli-Arab prisoners held in Israel.

20 – Arab world and the Libyan civil war: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is killed in Sirte, with National Transitional Council forces taking control of the city, and ending the war.

In Spain: – Basque separatist militant organisation ETA declares an end to its 43-year campaign of political violence, which has killed over 800 people since 1968.

23 – A magnitude 7.2  earthquake jolted eastern Turkey near the city of Van, killing 604 people, and damaging about 2,200 buildings.

27 – After an emergency meeting in Brussels, the European Union announced an agreement to tackle the European sovereign debt 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.

31 – UN has  selected this as the symbolic date when global population reaches seven billion.

December

15 – The United States formally declares an end to the Iraq War.

16 – Tropical Storm Washi causes 1,257 flash flood fatalities in the Philippines with 85 people are officially listed as missing. The  floods  Cagayan de Oro city  in the Philippines  where  almost  1000 people  either  died  or  missing. 

29 – Samoa and Tokelau moves from east to west of the International Date Line in order to align its time zone better with its main trading partners, meaning that it will not mark December 30 this year.

Other highlights  were the  death of:

Elizabeth Taylor, British-American actress (b. 1932) on March 23

Osama bin Laden, Saudi-born leader of Al-Qaeda (b. 1957) on May 2

Muammar Gaddafi, Libyan leader (b. 1942) on October 20

Kim Jong-il, Supreme Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (b. 1941)  on  December 17.

My  2012  wish?,  that  the  Almighty  blesses  us with  PEACE, LOVE,  HARMONY and  UNDERSTANDING.    I  couldn’t  wish  for  anything  else, except  perhaps  for  good  health  and  that  happiness  abound   specially to those  poor  children  in  the Philippines,  in Africa  in  the other  countries  in the world.  Too much to ask  for?  Yes,  because  I  really  have  a  little  to  give,  materially  speaking  but,  I  can  spare   a  lot   of   prayers  to  help  others  who are  praying  for  the  same  wish  as I  have  wished for.   Happy  New Year  to all…..Eric

Please   click  on the link   https://filipinosaround.wordpress.com/quiz-to-madrid/   for the  5th and  6th  questions  to the  QUIZ  TO MADRID CONTEST.  

Please  visit  International  Job Opportunities section to find  jobs in Canada.

Please visit  Events/Eventos  section  to  view  photos of visit to  Fatima, Portugal.

Please visit  the  Philippines  Latest  News  section and  watch  the floods in  Dumagueste City  on 17  December 2011