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The 2000 al-Qaeda Summit of several high-level al-Qaeda members (including 2 9/11 American Airlines hijackers) is held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 11,722.98
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The PlayStation 2 is released in Japan. Several months later, it becomes the best-selling game console of all time.
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Pope John Paul II begins the first official visit by a Roman Catholic pontiff to Israel.
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The 2000 United States Census begins. 281,421,906 residents are living in the United States.
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South Korean President Kim Dae-jung visits North Korea to participate in the first North-South presidential summit.
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The Russian submarine Kursk sinks in the Barents Sea during one of the largest Russian naval exercises since the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, resulting in the deaths of all 118 men on board.
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The Nintendo GameCube is revealed.
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The 2000 Summer Olympics are held in Sydney, Australia.
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Republican Governor of Texas George W. Bush defeats Democratic Vice President Al Gore in the U.S. presidential election but there is a miscount in Florida resulting in a recount of the votes.
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A catastrophic landslide in Log pod Mangartom, Slovenia, kills 7, and causes millions of SIT of damage. It is one of the worst catastrophes in Slovenia in the past 100 years.
Alberto Fujimori is removed from office as president of Peru. -
The Millennium Dome closes its doors one year to the day of its opening.
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George W. Bush is sworn into office, succeeding Bill Clinton as President of the United States, over candidate contender Al Gore in the disputed U.S. presidential election, 2000.
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Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal kills his father, the king, his mother and other members of the royal family with an assault rifle and then shoots himself in the Nepalese royal massacre. Dipendra dies June 4, as King of Nepal. His uncle Gyanendra accedes to the throne.
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George W. Bush signs the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, the first tax cut of a series now known as the Bush tax cuts.
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Windows XP is launched by Microsoft.
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Rare 9/11 WTC Attack Footage Insane Sound!2,977 victims are killed in the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City, The Pentagon in Arlington Virginia, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 are hijacked and crash into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, American Airlines Flight 77 is hijacked and crashes into the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93 is hijacked and crashes into grassland. The attacks remain the deadliest act of Terrorism upon the U.S
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The 2001 anthrax attacks commence as letters containing anthrax spores are mailed from Princeton, New Jersey to ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post, and the National Enquirer. 22 in total are exposed; 5 of them die.
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U.S. President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security.
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The United States invades Afghanistan, with participation from other nations.
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The iPod is first introduced by Apple.
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U.S. President George W. Bush signs the Patriot Act into law.
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U.S. President George W. Bush announces the US withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
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The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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Anti-communist UNITA guerilla leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in a clash against government troops led by socialist Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos in Moxico Province, Angola. The incident gradually ends the fighting that had lasted since 1975. The civil war ends on April 4.
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In eastern Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda begins.
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Pope John Paul II holds an extraordinary meeting of American cardinals at the Vatican to discuss the sexual abuse of children, calling it "an appalling sin" and declaring that "there is no place in the priesthood for those who would harm the young".
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U.S. President George W. Bush signs the Homeland Security Act into law, establishing the Department of Homeland Security, in the largest U.S. government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947.
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The Iraq War begins with the invasion of Iraq by the U.S. and allied forces.
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U.S. forces seize control of Saddam International Airport, changing the airport's name to Baghdad International Airport.
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The Concorde makes its last commercial flight, bringing the era of airliner supersonic travel to a close.
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Saddam Hussein, former President of Iraq, is captured in Tikrit by the U.S. 4th Infantry Division.
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Two trains carrying explosives and fuel collide in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing 161 people, injuring 1,300 and destroying thousands of homes.
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Preliminary hearings begin in Iraq in the trial of former president Saddam Hussein, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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Republican incumbent President George W. Bush is declared the winner over his Democratic challenger, U.S. Senator John F. Kerry, in a close election.
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One of the worst natural disasters in recorded history hits Southeast Asia, when the strongest earthquake in 40 years, measuring 9.3 on the Richter scale, hits the entire Indian Ocean region, which generates an enormous tsunami that crashes into the coastal areas of a number of nations including Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. The official death toll in the affected countries stands at 186,983 while more than 40,000 people are still missing
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YouTube, the most popular video sharing website, is founded.
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Over 4 million people travel to the Vatican to mourn him. He was the youngest pope elected at 58 years of age, and one of the longest reining pontifs at 25 years of service.
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Pope Benedict XVI succeeds Pope John Paul II, becoming the 265th Successor of Peter.
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Hurricane Katrina makes landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast, causing severe damage. At least 1,836 die in the aftermath.
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Another second is added, 23:59:60, called a leap second, to end the year 2005. The last time this occurred was on June 30, 1998.
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Pope Benedict XVI issues his first encycylical, Deus caritas est.
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The United Nations General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to establish the United Nations Human Rights Council
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The world's biggest mud volcano is created by the blowout of a natural gas well being drilled in the subdistrict of Porong, Sidoarjo in East Java, Indonesia. This results in displacement of more than 11,000 persons from 8 villages, as well as damage to road and power infrastructures. Several (Twenty-five) factories are also abandoned
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Twitter is launched.
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Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein is sentenced to death by hanging by the Iraqi Special Tribunal
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Saddam Hussein, 5th President of Iraq (executed by hanging) (b. 1937)
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Apple Inc.'s CEO and founder, Steve Jobs, announces the first generation iPhone
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North Korea agrees to shut down its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon by April 14 as a first step towards complete denuclearization, receiving in return energy aid equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil
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The 35W Bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses, resulting in 13 deaths.
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The Nepalese government announces that the country's 240-year-old monarchy will be abolished in 2008 and a new republic will be declared.
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The price of petroleum hits $100 per barrel for the first time.
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Stock markets around the world plunge amid growing fears of a U.S. recession, fueled by the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis.
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Fidel Castro announces his resignation as President of Cuba, effective February 24
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United States presidential election, 2008: Democratic U. S. Senator Barack Obama is elected the 44th President of the United States, and becomes the first African-American President-elect
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Barack Obama succeeds George W. Bush as the 44th President of the United States, and becomes the first African-American Presiden
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The deadliest bushfires in Australian history begin; they kill 173, injure 500 more, and leave 7,500 homeless. The fires come after Melbourne records the highest-ever temperature (46.4 °C, 115 °F) of any capital city in Australia. The majority of the fires are ignited by either fallen or clashing power lines or deliberately lit.
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The death of American entertainer Michael Jackson triggers an outpouring of worldwide grief. Online, reactions to the event cripple several major websites and services, as the abundance of people accessing the web addresses pushes internet traffic to potentially unprecedented and historic levels
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A 7.0-magnitude earthquake occurs in Haiti, devastating the nation's capital, Port-au-Prince. With a confirmed death toll over 316,000,[6][7][8] it is the seventh deadliest on record
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An 8.8-magnitude earthquake occurs in Chile, triggering a tsunami over the Pacific and killing at least 525. The earthquake is one of the largest in recorded history
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North Korea shells Yeonpyeong Island, prompting a military response by South Korea. The incident causes an escalation of tension on the Korean Peninsula and prompts widespread international condemnation. The United Nations declares it to be one of the most serious incidents since the end of the Korean War
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The Arab Spring begins
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A 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the east of Japan, killing 15,840 and leaving another 3,926 missing. Tsunami warnings are issued in 50 countries and territories. Emergencies are declared at four nuclear power plants affected by the quake.
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U.S. President Barack Obama announces that Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant group Al-Qaeda, has been killed on May 2, 2011 during an American military operation in Pakistan
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The United States formally declares an end to the Iraq War. While this ends the insurgency, it begins another.
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The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II marks the 60th anniversary of her accession to the thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the 60th anniversary of her becoming Head of the Commonwealth
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The 2012 Summer Olympics are opened in London, England, United Kingdom
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A series of terrorist attacks are directed against United States diplomatic missions worldwide, as well as diplomatic missions of Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the US, opinions are divided over whether the attacks are a reaction to a YouTube trailer for the film Innocence of Muslims. In Libya, among the dead is US ambassador J. Christopher Stevens
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Israel launches Operation Pillar of Defense against the Palestinian-governed Gaza Strip, killing Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari. In the following week 140 Palestinians and five Israelis are killed in an ensuing cycle of violence. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is announced by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after the week-long escalation in hostilities in Southern Israel and the Gaza Strip
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Jorge Burgolio of Argentina is Elected Supreme Pontiff on the 5th Ballot, He chose the Name Francis
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Benedict XVI resigns as pope, becoming the first to do so since Gregory XII in 1415, and the first to do so voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294
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American Edward Snowden discloses operations engaged in by a U.S. government mass surveillance program to news publications and flees the country, later being granted temporary asylum in Russia
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Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777 airliner en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, disappears over the Gulf of Thailand with 239 people on board. The aircraft is presumed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean
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The Catholic Church simultaneously canonizes Popes John XXIII and John Paul II
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Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777, crashes in eastern Ukraine after being shot down by a missile. All 298 people on board are killed
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U.S. President Barack Obama announces the resumption of normal relations between the U.S. and Cuba
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Leaders from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France reach an agreement on the conflict in eastern Ukraine that includes a ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons. However, several days later, the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian rebels claim that, within its first day, the ceasefire was broken 139 times, as both sides failed to withdraw their heavy weapons and fighting had continued
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An Airbus A320-211 operated by Germanwings crashes in the French Alps, killing all 150 on board
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The Republican Governor from Wisconsin is elected President in a landslide victory not seen since Ronald Reagan's Victory's in 1980, and 1984.
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Francis, Dies after complications suffered from a heart attack suffered the day prior.
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On the 5th ballot of the conclave, Raymond Leo Burke of Richland Center Wisconsin is Elected Supreme Pontiff, he chooses the name PiusXIII
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After a 6 month long rocket ride, the first astronaut's have finally reached the planet Mars
