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==Popular culture==
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2012}}
<imagemap>File:2000s decade montage3.png|From left, clockwise: The [[World Trade Center]], and the [[Statue of Liberty]] during the [[9/11 attacks]]; the Euro enters into European currency in 2002; a statue of [[Saddam Hussein]] being toppled during the [[Iraq War]]; U.S. troops heading toward an army helicopter during the [[War on Terror]]; [[social media]] through the Internet spreads across the world; a Chinese soldier gazes at the [[2008 Summer Olympics]] commencing; an [[Financial crisis of 2007–2010|economic crisis]], the largest since the [[Great Depression]], hits the world in 2008; [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake|a tsunami from the Indian Ocean]] following an earthquake kills over 250,000 on [[Boxing Day]], 2004.|420px|thumb
rect 1 1 234 178 [[9/11]]
rect 236 1 371 178 [[Euro]]
rect 374 1 495 181 [[Iraq War]]
rect 244 181 495 326 [[War on Terror]]
rect 327 330 494 486 [[Social media]]
rect 165 330 324 487 [[2008 Summer Olympics]]
rect 1 331 163 487 [[Financial crisis of 2007–2010]]
rect 3 181 241 327 [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami]]
desc bottom-left
</imagemap>
{{Decadebox|200}}


===Year Entertainment===
The '''2000s''' was a decade that began on <!--Please note that the names of decades have a different meaning than the names of centuries and millennia. Although the 3rd millennium, 21st century, and 201st decade all began in 2001, the "2000s" decade was already a year underway by then; it spans from 2000 to 2009, encompassing the first ten years that may be read as "two-thousand(and)_____". See [[WP:RY]] for further information. Thanks.--> January 1, 2000 and ended on December 31, 2009.
[[Dragon Lil Brad]] 2003

[[Lil Crock]] 2009
[[Globalization]], which had intensified in the post-[[Cold War]] 1990s, continued to influence the world in the 2000s. The growth of the Internet was one of the prime contributors to globalization during the decade, making it possible for people to interact with other people, express ideas, introduce others to different cultures and backgrounds, use goods and services, sell and buy online, research and learn about anything, along with experiencing the whole world without having to leave home.<ref>Ludden D (1998). [http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~dludden/global2.htm ''The newness of globalization: A schematic view of the historical zones of territoriality''] [[University of Pennsylvania]]. Unfinished draft. Retrieved December 30, 2009.</ref><ref>Gordon PH; Meunier S (2001). ''The French challenge: Adapting to globalization.'' Washington, D.C.: Brookings.</ref><ref>Heizo T; Ryokichi C (1998). [http://www.jcie.org/researchpdfs/DomAdjst/takenaka-chida.pdf "Japan"]. ''Domestic Adjustments to Globalization'' (CE Morrison & H Soesastro, Eds.). Tokyo: [[Japan Center for International Exchange]], pp. 76–102. Retrieved December 30, 2009.</ref><ref>Fry EH (2003). [http://www.nlc.org/ASSETS/41DD6934C7C441F79C2281B9B61E696F/ipadaptingfrykit.pdf ''Local governments adapting to globalization'']. [[National League of Cities]]. Retrieved Dec. 30, 2009.</ref><ref>Haarstad H; Fløysand A (2007). "Globalization and the power of rescaled narratives: A case of opposition to mining in Tambogrande, Peru". ''Political Geography 26''(3), pp. 289–308. [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VG2-4MKV2JT-1&_user=10&_coverDate=03%2F31%2F2007&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=browse&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=aeaab8c799d47594e272492d14b94e88 Abstract]. Retrieved December 30, 2009. {{dead link|date=July 2011}}</ref>

The institutions, linkages and technologies that emerged or were redefined earlier would subsequently in this decade benefit many countries, in particular China and India. However, in other parts of the world such progress failed to address ongoing struggles with [[modernity]], most notably characterized by the rise of [[al-Qaeda]] and other [[Islamism|Islamist]] groups.<ref>[[Adam Curtis|Curtis A]]; [[Stephen Lambert (media executive)|Lambert S]] (Producers). 2005. ''[[The Power of Nightmares|The power of nightmares: The rise of the politics of fear]]'' (film). [[BBC Two]].</ref>

The [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001 ultimately led to the United States, United Kingdom and other nations invading [[War in Afghanistan (2001-present)|Afghanistan]], as well as implementing various anti-terrorist measures at home and abroad in what was known as the [[War on Terrorism|War on Terror]]. The [[European Union]] saw further [[Economic integration|integration]] and expansion throughout much of Europe.

The economic growth of the 2000s had considerable [[Natural environment|environmental]] consequences, raised demand for diminishing [[Energy and society|energy resources]],<ref>{{cite news| url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703720504575376712353150310.html | work=The Wall Street Journal | first=Spencer | last=Swartz | title=China Tops U.S. in Energy Use | date=July 18, 2010| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/is-peak-oil-behind-us/ | work=The New York Times | title=Is ‘Peak Oil' Behind Us? | date=November 14, 2010| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref> and was still shown to be vulnerable as demonstrated during the [[Financial crisis of 2007–2010|Global Financial Crisis]] of the late 2000s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/27/recession-depression-global-economy-growth-opinions-columnists-nouriel-roubini.html |last=Roubini |first=Nouriel |title=10 Risks to Global Growth |work=Forbes |date=May 28, 2009 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref>

People born in the [[2000s]] are part of [[Generation Z]], which began somewhere between 1995 and 2000.

==Names for the decade==
In the English-speaking world, a name for the decade was never universally accepted in the same manner as for decades such as the '90s, the '80s, etc.<ref name="news.yahoo.com">{{cite web|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews_deca/ynews_deca_ts1010 |first=Leah |last=Hitchings |title=Even with 10 years to decide, still no name for the decade |publisher=News.yahoo.com |date=December 8, 2000 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theweek.com/article/index/103534/Why_cant_we_name_this_decade |title=Why can't we name this decade? |publisher=Theweek.com |date=November 30, 2009 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8436194.stm |work=BBC News | title=Decade dilemma | date=December 31, 2009 | accessdate=April 21, 2010 | first=Finlo | last=Rohrer}}</ref>

Orthographically, the decade can be written as the "2000s" or the "'00s". Some people read "2000s" as "two-thousands", and thus simply refer to the decade as the "two-thousands". Some read it as the "00s" (pronounced "Ohs", "Oh Ohs", "Double Ohs" or "Ooze"), while others referred to it as the "Twenty-ohs". The single years within the decade are usually referred to as starting with an "Oh", such as "Oh-Seven" to refer to the year 2007. On January 1, 2000, the [[BBC]] listed the '''noughties''' (derived from "nought"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allwords.com/details-noughties-2837407.html |title=Complete Definition of "noughties" |publisher=Allwords.com |date=August 14, 2007 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref> a word used for zero in many English-speaking countries), as a potential moniker for the new decade.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1999/02/99/e-cyclopedia/585224.stm |work=BBC News | title=The noughties: So where are we now? | date=January 1, 2000 | accessdate=April 21, 2010}}</ref> This has become a common name for the decade in the UK.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/davehillblog/2011/mar/29/leyton-orient-olympic-hockey-astroturf-connection |location=London |work=The Guardian | first=Dave | last=Hill | title=Olympic hockey and Leyton Orient: the astroturf connection | date=March 29, 2011| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/6198897/100-songs-that-defined-the-Noughties.html |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Neil | last=McCormick | title=100 songs that defined the Noughties | date=September 18, 2009| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6881549.ece |location=London |work=The Times | title=The Noughties year by year | date=October 20, 2009 | first=Sophie | last=Tedmanson| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/28/spain-at-glance-guide |location=London |work=The Guardian | first=Giles | last=Tremlett | title=At-a-glance guide to Spain | date=March 28, 2011| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/mar/23/budget-2011-chancellor-to-close-online-vat-loophole |location=London |work=The Guardian | first=Simon | last=Bowers | title=Budget 2011: Chancellor moves to close online VAT loophole | date=March 23, 2011| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref>

Others have advocated the term "the aughts", a term widely used at the beginning of the twentieth century for its first decade.<ref>{{cite web|last=Noah |first=Timothy |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2111435/ |title=Name That Decade |publisher=Slate.com |date=December 27, 2004 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/01/AR2010010101196.html | work=The Washington Post | title=Aughts were a lost decade for U.S. economy, workers | first=Neil | last=Irwin | date=January 2, 2010| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref> The [[American Dialect Society]] holds a lighthearted annual poll for [[word of the year]] and related subcategories. For 2009, the winner in the "least likely to succeed" category was "Any name of the decade 2000–2009, such as: Naughties, Aughties, Oughties, Pot stickers, etc."<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.americandialect.org/2009-Word-of-the-Year-PRESS-RELEASE.pdf |title="Tweet" 2009 Word of the Year, "Google" Word of the Decade, as voted by American Dialect Society |last=Barrett |first=Grant |coauthors=Ben Zimmer, David K. Barnhart |date=January 8, 2010 |publisher=American Dialect Society |accessdate=January 18, 2010 }}</ref>

==Politics and wars==
The [[War on Terrorism]] and [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|War in Afghanistan]] began after the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001.<ref name="SecCounc">{{cite web|title=Security Council Condemns, 'In Strongest Terms', Terrorist Attacks on the United States|publisher=United Nations|date=September 12, 2001|url=http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2001/SC7143.doc.htm|accessdate=September 11, 2006|quote=The Security Council today, following what it called yesterday's "horrifying terrorist attacks" in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, unequivocally condemned those acts, and expressed its deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families and to the people and Government of the United States.| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20060909162055/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2001/SC7143.doc.htm| archivedate= 9 September 2006| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref name="cbc-2004">{{cite news | title = Bin Laden claims responsibility for 9/11 | publisher = CBC News | date= October 29, 2004 | url = http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2004/10/29/binladen_message041029.html | accessdate =January 11, 2009 |quote=al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden appeared in a new message aired on an Arabic TV station Friday night, for the first time claiming direct responsibility for the 2001 attacks against the United States.| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20090124061749/http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2004/10/29/binladen_message041029.html| archivedate= 24 January 2009| deadurl= no}}</ref> The [[International Criminal Court]] was formed a year later. A United States-led coalition invaded Iraq, and the Iraq war led to the end of [[Saddam Hussein]]'s rule as Iraqi President and the [[Ba'ath Party]] regime in Iraq. [[Al-Qaeda]] and affiliated [[Islamism|Islamist]] militant groups performed terrorist acts throughout the decade. These acts included the [[Madrid Train Bombings]] in 2004, 7/7 [[Timeline of the 2005 London bombings|London Bombings]] in 2005, and the [[Mumbai attacks]] related to al-Qaeda in 2008. The [[European Union]] expanded in [[2004 enlargement of the European Union|2004]] and in [[2007 enlargement of the European Union|2007]] incorporating some former Eastern block nations. North Korea and Iran were seen as strong nuclear threats, following two North Korea nuclear tests, and Iran's failure to comply with its transparency obligations under the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty and UN resolutions.

The War on Terrorism generated [[Criticism of the War on Terrorism|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.<ref name="NPR">{{cite news | title = U.S. Losing War on Terror | publisher=NPR | date=August 21, 2007| url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13818670|accessdate =Jun 1, 2010}}</ref> Additional armed conflict occurred in the Middle East, including between Israel and Hezbollah, then with Israel and the Hamas. The greatest loss of life due to [[natural disaster]] came from the 2004 [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake|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 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 [[George W. Bush]] administration because of its perceived failure to act promptly and effectively. In 2008, [[Barack Obama]] was elected President of the United States, and became the first African-American U.S. president when he succeeded Bush in 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/obama_inauguration/7839229.stm |title=Historic moment as Obama sworn in |publisher=BBC News |date=January 20, 2009 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref>

===Terrorist attacks===
{{Main|List of terrorist incidents#1970–present}}
[[File:National Park Service 9-11 Statue of Liberty and WTC fire.jpg|thumb|The [[World Trade Center]] in New York City as seen on [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001]].]]
The most prominent [[terror attack|terrorist attacks]] committed against civilian population during the decade include:
* [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001 attacks]] in [[New York City]], [[Washington, D.C.]] and [[Shanksville, Pennsylvania]] (2,996 killed)
* [[2002 Bali bombings]] in Bali, Indonesia (202 killed)
* [[2003 Istanbul bombings]] in Istanbul, Turkey (57 killed)
* [[2004 Madrid train bombings]] (192 killed)
* [[Beslan school hostage crisis]] (334 killed)
* [[2005 London bombings]] (56 killed)
* [[2008 Mumbai attacks]] (175 killed)

===Wars===
{{Main|List of wars 1990–2002|List of wars 2003–current}}

The most prominent [[armed conflict]]s of the decade include:

====International wars====
[[File:Iraq header 2.jpg|thumb|The [[Iraq War]]]]
[[File:Gazamontage.png|right|thumb|[[2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict]]]]

* [[War on Terrorism]] (2001–present) – refers to several [[Ideology|ideological]], military, and diplomatic campaigns aimed at putting an end to [[international terrorism]] by preventing groups defined by the U.S. and its allies as [[terrorist groups|terrorist]] (largely [[Islamism|Islamist]] groups such as [[al-Qaeda]], [[Hezbollah]] and [[Hamas]]) from posing a threat to the U.S. and its allies, and by putting an end to [[state-sponsored terrorism|state sponsorship of terrorism]]. The campaigns were launched by the United States, with support from [[NATO]] and other allies, following the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] that were carried out by al-Qaeda. Today the term has become mostly associated with Bush administration-led wars in [[Afghanistan]] and [[Iraq]].
** [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)]] – In 2001, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia invaded [[Afghanistan]] seeking to oust the [[Taliban]] and find al-Qaeda mastermind [[Osama bin Laden]]. In 2011, [[Navy Seals]] killed Bin Laden and buried his body at sea.
** [[Iraq War]] (2003–2011) – In 2003, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded and occupied Iraq. Claims that Iraq had [[WMDs in Iraq|weapons of mass destruction]] at its disposal were later found to be unproven.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/13/alqaeda.saddam/ | work=CNN | title=Hussein's Iraq and al Qaeda not linked, Pentagon says | accessdate=April 21, 2010 | date=March 13, 2008| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100429034736/http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/13/alqaeda.saddam/| archivedate= 29 April 2010| deadurl= no}}</ref> The war, which ended the rule of [[Saddam Hussein]]'s [[Ba'ath Party]], also led to violence against the coalition forces and between many [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] and [[Shia Islam|Shia]] Iraqi groups, and to al-Qaeda [[Al-Qaeda in Iraq|operations in Iraq]].

* [[Arab–Israeli conflict]] (Early 20th century–present)
** [[2006 Lebanon War]] (summer 2006) – took place in southern [[Lebanon]] and northern [[Israel]]. The principal parties were [[Hezbollah]] paramilitary forces and the [[Israel Defense Forces|Israeli military]]. The war that began as military operation in response to the abduction of two Israeli reserve soldiers by the Hezbollah, gradually strengthened and became a wider confrontation.
** [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]] (Early 20th century–present)
*** [[Second Intifada]] (2000–2005) – After the signing of the [[Oslo Accords]] failed to bring about a [[Palestinian state]], in September 2000 the [[Second Intifada]] (uprising) broke out, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which has been taking place until the present day. As a result of the significant increase of suicide bombing attacks within Israeli population centers during the first years of the [[Al-Aqsa Intifada]],<ref name = "ISF">{{cite web
| url = http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/questions.htm
| title = Questions and Answers
| accessdate =April 17, 2007
| date = February 22, 2004
| work = Israel's Security Fence
| publisher = [[Israel|The State of Israel]]
| quote = The Security Fence is being built with the sole purpose of saving the lives of the Israeli citizens who continue to be targeted by the terrorist campaign that began in 2000. The fact that over 800 men, women and children have been killed in horrific suicide bombings and other terror attacks clearly justifies the attempt to place a physical barrier in the path of terrorists. It should be noted that terrorism has been defined throughout the international community as a crime against humanity. As such, the State of Israel not only has the right but also the obligation to do everything in its power to lessen the impact and scope of terrorism on the citizens of Israel.
}}

</ref> in June 2002 [[Israel]] began the construction of the [[Israeli West Bank barrier|West Bank Fence]] along the [[Green Line (Israel)|Green Line]] border arguing that the barrier is necessary to protect Israeli civilians from [[Palestinian political violence|Palestinian terrorism]]. The significantly reduced number of incidents of suicide bombings from 2002 to 2005 has been partly attributed to the barrier.<ref name = "McClatchy">{{cite web
| url = http://www.mcclatchydc.com/staff/dion_nissenbaum/story/15469.html
| title = Death toll of Israeli civilians killed by Palestinians hit a low in 2006
| accessdate =April 16, 2007
| last = Nissenbaum
| first = Dion
| date = January 10, 2007
| work = Washington Bureau
| publisher = [[The McClatchy Company|McClatchy Newspapers]]
| quote = Fewer Israeli civilians died in Palestinian attacks in 2006 than in any year since the Palestinian uprising began in 2000. Palestinian militants killed 23 Israelis and foreign visitors in 2006, down from a high of 289 in 2002 during the height of the uprising. Most significant, successful suicide bombings in Israel nearly came to a halt. Last year, only two Palestinian suicide bombers managed to sneak into Israel for attacks that killed 11 people and wounded 30 others. Israel has gone nearly nine months without a suicide bombing inside its borders, the longest period without such an attack since 2000[...] An Israeli military spokeswoman said one major factor in that success had been Israel's controversial separation barrier, a still-growing {{Convert|250|mi|km|sing=on}} network of concrete walls, high-tech fencing and other obstacles that cuts through parts of the West Bank. ‘The security fence was put up to stop terror, and that's what it's doing,’ said Capt. Noa Meir, a spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces. [...] Opponents of the wall grudgingly acknowledge that it has been effective in stopping bombers, though they complain that its route should have followed the border between Israel and the Palestinian territories known as the Green Line. [...] IDF spokeswoman Meir said Israeli military operations that disrupted militants planning attacks from the West Bank also deserved credit for the drop in Israeli fatalities.

}}

</ref> The barrier's construction, which has been highly controversial, became a major issue of contention between the two sides. The Second Intifada has caused thousands of victims on both sides, both among combatants and among civilians – The death toll, including both military and civilian, is estimated to be 5,500 Palestinians and over 1,000 Israelis, as well as 64 foreign citizens.<ref>[http://www.btselem.org/English/Statistics/Casualties.asp ''B'Tselem – Statistics – Fatalities''], [[B'Tselem]].</ref> Many Palestinians consider the Second Intifada to be a legitimate war of national liberation against foreign occupation, whereas many Israelis consider it to be a terrorist campaign.<ref>[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2003/11/Israel-+the+Conflict+and+Peace-+Answers+to+Frequen+-+2003.htm#cause "Israel, the Conflict and Peace: Answers to FAQ."] ''[[Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]''. November 3, 2003. April 20, 2009.</ref>
*** [[Gaza War|2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict]] – the frequent [[Hamas]] [[Qassam rocket]] and [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] fire launched from within civilian population centers in [[Gaza]] towards the Israeli southern civilian communities led to an Israeli [[military operation]] in Gaza, which had the stated aim of reducing the Hamas rocket attacks and stopping the arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip. Throughout the conflict Hamas further intensified its rocket and mortar attacks against Israel, hitting civilian targets and reaching major Israeli cities [[Beersheba]] and [[Ashdod]] for the first time. The intense [[urban warfare]] in densely populated [[Gaza]] combined with the use of heavy firepower by the Israeli side<ref name="BBC 2010-01-29">{{cite news|title=Goldstone report: Israel and Palestinians respond to UN|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8487301.stm|accessdate=January 27, 2011|publisher=BBC|date=January 29, 2010}}</ref> and the intensified Hamas rocket attacks towards populated Israeli civilian targets led to a high toll on the Palestinian side and among civilians.<ref name="PCHRCASFIG">{{cite press release
|title = Confirmed figures reveal the true extent of the destruction inflicted upon the Gaza Strip; Israel’s offensive resulted in 1,417 dead, including 926 civilians, 255 police officers, and 236 fighters.
|publisher = Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
|date = March 19, 2009
|url = http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/36-2009.html
|accessdate =March 19, 2009
}}</ref></small>

* The [[Second Congo War]] (1998–2003) – took place largely in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]. The widest interstate war in modern [[History of Africa|African history]], it directly involved nine African nations, as well as about twenty armed groups, and earned the [[epithet]] of "Africa's World War" and the "Great War of Africa." An estimated 3.8 million people died, mostly from starvation and disease brought about by the deadliest conflict since World War II. Millions more were [[displaced person|displaced]] from their homes or sought [[refugee|asylum]] in neighboring countries.

* [[2008 South Ossetia war]] – Russia invaded [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] in response to Georgian aggression towards civilians and attack on South Ossetia. Both Russia and Georgia were condemned internationally for their actions.

* The [[Second Chechen War]] (1999–2000) – the war was launched by the [[Russian Federation]] on August 26, 1999 in response to the [[Invasion of Dagestan (1999)|Invasion of Dagestan]] and the [[Russian apartment bombings]], which were blamed on the [[Chechen Republic of Ichkeria|Chechens]]. During the war Russian forces largely recaptured the separatist region of [[Chechnya]].<ref>GlobalSecurity.org, [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/chechnya2.htm Second Chechnya War – 1999–???]</ref> The campaign largely reversed the outcome of the [[First Chechen War]], in which the region gained ''de facto'' independence as the [[Chechen Republic of Ichkeria]].

* The [[Eritrean–Ethiopian War]] came to a close in 2000.

* [[Kivu conflict]] (2004–2009) – an armed conflict between the [[military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo]] (FARDC) and the [[Hutu Power]] group [[Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda]] (FDLR).
* [[2009 Nigerian sectarian violence]] – an armed conflict between [[Boko Haram]], a militant [[Islamist]] group and [[Nigeria]]n security forces.

====Civil wars and guerrilla wars====
[[File:Darfur Jeep.jpg|right|thumb|Irregular combatants in North Darfur. The Arabic text on the bumper reads "The [[Sudan Liberation Army]]" (SLA).]]
[[File:Darfur refugee camp in Chad.jpg|thumb|left|Darfur refugee camp in [[Chad]]]]
* [[War in Darfur]] (2003–2009) – an armed conflict in the [[Darfur]] region of western [[Sudan]]. The conflict began when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in Darfur took up arms, accusing the government of oppressing black Africans in favor of Arabs. One side was composed mainly of the [[military of Sudan|Sudanese military]] and the Sudanese [[militia]] group [[Janjaweed]], recruited mostly from the [[Afro-Arab]] Abbala tribes of the northern [[Rizeigat]] region in Sudan. The other side was made up of rebel groups, notably the [[Sudan Liberation Movement/Army]] and the [[Justice and Equality Movement]], recruited primarily from the non-Arab Muslim [[Fur people|Fur]], [[Zaghawa people|Zaghawa]], and [[Masalit people|Masalit]] ethnic groups. Millions of people were displaced from their homes during the conflict.<ref>{{cite news |title=African Union Force Ineffective, Complain Refugees in Darfur |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/15/AR2006101500655.html|date=October 16, 2006 |work=Washington Post | first=Alfred | last=de Montesquiou| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref> There are various estimates on [[Darfur Genocide#Mortality figures|the number of human casualties]] – Sudanese authorities claim a death toll of roughly 19,500 civilians<ref>{{cite web|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/822/re72.htm |first=Gamal |last=Nkrumah |title=Old dogs, new tricks |publisher=Weekly.ahram.org.eg |date=December 6, 2006 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref> while certain non-governmental organizations, such as the [[Coalition for International Justice]], controversially claim that over 400,000 people have been killed during the conflict.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lacey|first=Marc|title=Tallying Darfur Terror: Guesswork with a Cause|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/10/news/journal.php|work=International Herald Tribune|date=May 11, 2005|accessdate=April 7, 2008| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080501105055/http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/10/news/journal.php| archivedate= 1 May 2008| deadurl= no}}</ref>

* [[Mexican Drug War]] (2006 – present) – an armed conflict fought between rival [[drug cartels]] and [[Military of Mexico|government forces]] in Mexico. Although Mexican drug cartels, or drug trafficking organizations, have existed for quite some time, they have become more powerful since the demise of Colombia's [[Cali Cartel|Cali]] and [[Medellín cartel|Medellín]] cartels in the 1990s. Mexican drug cartels now dominate the wholesale [[War on Drugs|illicit drug market]] in the United States.<ref name=Cook7 >{{Citation| contribution=Mexico's Drug Cartels| title=CRS Report for Congress| editor-first=Colleen W.| editor-last=Cook| coeditors=| publisher=Congressional Research Service| place=| page=7| date=October 16, 2007| id= | contribution-url=http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34215.pdf| format=PDF| accessdate=August 9, 2009 }}</ref> Arrests of key cartel leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, have led to increasing drug violence as cartels fight for control of the trafficking routes into the United States.<ref>{{cite news | first=TRACI CARL | title=Progress in Mexico drug war is drenched in blood | date=March 10, 2009 | agency=Associated Press | url =http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2009/mar/10/lt-mexico-struggling-cartels-031009/| accessdate =March 8, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |authorlink= | title=High U.S. cocaine cost shows drug war working: Mexico | date=September 14, 2007 | publisher=Reuters | url =http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1422771920070914 | accessdate =April 1, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation| contribution=CRS Report for Congress| title=Mexico – U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress| editor-first=Mark P.| editor-last=Sullivan| coeditors=Junew S. Beittel| publisher=Congressional Research Service| place=| pages=2, 13, 14| date=December 18, 2008| id= | contribution-url=http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32724.pdf| format=PDF| accessdate=April 1, 2009 }}</ref> Roughly more than 16,851 people in total were killed between December 2006 until November 2009.<ref>The attorney general's office says that 9 of 10 victims are members of organized-crime groups.{{cite news | first=Sara Miller Llana | title=Briefing: How Mexico is waging war on drug cartels. | date=August 16, 2009 | url =http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0819/p10s01-woam.html | work =The Christian Science Monitor | accessdate =August 20, 2009 }}</ref>
[[File:The Red Corridor ver 1.PNG|thumb|Map showing the districts where the [[Naxalite-Maoist insurgency|Naxalite]] movement is active (2007)]]
* In India, [[Naxalite-Maoist insurgency]] (1967– present) has grown alarmingly with attacks such as [[April 2010 Maoist attack in Dantewada]], [[Jnaneswari Express train derailment]], and [[Rafiganj train disaster]]. Naxalites are a group of far-left radical communists, supportive of Maoist political sentiment and ideology. It is presently the [[List of ongoing military conflicts|longest continuously active conflict]] worldwide. In 2006 Prime Minister [[Manmohan Singh]] called the Naxalites "The single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country."<ref name="autogenerated2"/> In 2009, he said the country was "losing the battle against Maoist rebels".<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8256692.stm |work=BBC News | title=India is 'losing Maoist battle' | date=September 15, 2009 | accessdate=May 20, 2010}}</ref> According to standard definitions the [[Naxalite]]–[[Communist Party of India (Maoist)|Maoist]] insurgency is an ongoing conflict<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7799247 |title=India's Naxalites: A spectre haunting India |work=The Economist |date=April 12, 2006 |accessdate=July 13, 2009}}</ref> between Maoist groups, known as Naxalites or Naxals, and the Indian government.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://www.ploughshares.ca/libraries/ACRText/ACR-IndiaAP.html |title=Armed Conflicts Report – India-Andhra Pradesh |publisher=Ploughshares.ca |accessdate=July 13, 2009|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20090603175725/http://www.ploughshares.ca/libraries/ACRText/ACR-IndiaAP.html |archivedate = June 3, 2009|deadurl=yes}}</ref> On April 6, 2010, Maoist rebels killed 75 security forces [[April 2010 Maoist attack in Dantewada|in a jungle ambush]] in central India in the worst-ever massacre of security forces by the insurgents. On the same day, Gopal, a top Maoist leader, said the attack was a "direct consequence" of the government's [[Operation Green Hunt]] offensive. This raised some voices of use of Indian Air Force against Naxalites, which were however declined citing "We can't use oppressive force against our own people".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/newdelhi/Chhatisgarh-attack-consequence-of-Green-Hunt-Maoist-leader/Article1-528028.aspx |title=Chhatisgarh attack 'consequence' of Green Hunt: Maoist leader |work=Hindustan Times |location=India |date=April 6, 2010 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref>
* The [[Colombian Armed Conflict]] continues causing deaths and terror in [[Colombia]]. Beginning in 1964, the [[FARC]] and [[National Liberation Army (Colombia)|ELN]] narcoterrorist groups were taking control of rural areas of the country by the beginning of the decade, while terrorist paramilitaries grew in other places as businesspeople and politicians thought the State would lose the war against guerrillas. However, after the failure of the peace process and the activation of [[Plan Colombia]], [[Álvaro Uribe Vélez]] was elected President in 2002, starting a massive attack on terrorist groups, with cooperation from civil population, foreign aid and legal armed forces. The [[United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia|AUC]] paramilitary organization disbanded in 2006, while ELN guerrillas have been weakened. The [[Popular Liberation Army]] demobilized while the country's biggest terrorist group, [[FARC]] has been weakened and most of their top commanders have been killed or died during the decade. During the second half of the decade, a new criminal band has been formed by former members of AUC who did not demobilize, calling themselves [[Aguilas Negras]]. Although the Colombian State has taken back control over most of the country, narcoterrorism still causes pain in the country. Since 2008, the Internet has become a new field of battle. Facebook has gained nationwide popularity and has become the birthplace of many civil movements against narcoterrorism such as "Colombia Soy Yo" (I am Colombia) or "Fundación Un Millón de Voces" (One Million Voices Foundation), responsible for the international protests against illegal groups during the last years.

* The [[Sierra Leone Civil War]] (1991–2002) came to an end when the [[Revolutionary United Front]] (RUF) finally laid down their arms. More than two million people were displaced from their homes because of the conflict (well over one-third of the population) many of whom became refugees in neighboring countries. Tens of thousands were killed during the conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat4.htm |first=Matthew |last=White |title=Mid-Range Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth Century |publisher=Users.erols.com |month=October |year=2010 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref>

* The [[Sri Lankan Civil War]] (1983–2009) came to an end after the government defeated the [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]]. Over 80,000 people were killed during the course of the conflict.<ref>[http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-32243020080301 Sri Lanka military, rebels trade death toll claims] Reuters India – March 1, 2008.</ref>

* [[War in North-West Pakistan]] (2004–present) – an armed conflict between the [[Pakistani Armed Forces]] and [[Islamic militants]] made up of local tribesmen, the [[Taliban]], and foreign [[Mujahideen]] (Holy Warriors). It began in 2004 when tensions rooted in the Pakistani Army's search for [[al-Qaeda]] members in Pakistan's mountainous [[Waziristan]] area (in the [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan|Federally Administered Tribal Areas]]) escalated into armed resistance by local tribesmen. The violence has displaced 3.44 million civilians<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/31/pakistan.red.cross/index.html |title=Red Cross 'gravely concerned' about conditions in Swat Valley |publisher=CNN |date=May 31, 2009 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref> and led to more than 7,000 civilians being killed.<ref name="satp.org">{{cite web|url=http://satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/index.htm |title=Pakistan Assessment 2011 |publisher=SATP.org |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref>

* The [[Angolan Civil War]] (1975–2002), once a major proxy conflict of the [[Cold War]], the conflict ended after the anti-Communist organization [[UNITA]] disbanded to become a political party. By the time the 27-year conflict was formally brought to an end, an estimated 500,000 people had been killed.<ref name=angolagate>{{cite web|author=Madsen, Wayne|date=May 17, 2002|url=http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=2576|title=Report Alleges U.S. Role in Angola Arms-for-Oil Scandal|publisher=CorpWatch|accessdate=February 10, 2008| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080105182138/http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=2576| archivedate= 5 January 2008}}</ref>

* [[Sa'dah insurgency]] (2004 – present) – a civil war in the [[Sa'dah Governorate]] of [[Yemen]]. It began after the [[Shia Islam|Shī‘a]] [[Zaidiyyah]] sect launched an uprising against the Yemeni government. The Yemeni government has accused [[Iran]] of directing and financing the insurgency.<ref>[http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/uploads/tf_004_002.pdf Yemen Accuses Iran of Meddling in its Internal Affairs] {{dead link|date=July 2011}}</ref> Thousands of rebels and civilians have been killed during the conflict.<ref>[http://www.ploughshares.ca/libraries/ACRText/ACR-Yemen.htm#Status Ploughshares.com] {{dead link|date=July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Yemeni-military-battles-Shiite-rebels/2007/03/20/1174153010354.html | location=Melbourne |work=The Age |location=Australia | title=Yemeni military battles Shi'ite rebels | date=March 20, 2007| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref>

* [[Somali Civil War]] (1991–present)
** [[War in Somalia (2006–2009)]] – involved largely [[Ethiopia]]n and [[Somalia|Somali]] [[Transitional Federal Parliament|Transitional Federal Government]] (TFG) forces whom fought against the Somali [[Islamist]] [[Umbrella organization|umbrella group]], the [[Islamic Court Union]] (ICU), and other affiliated militias for control of the country. The war spawned pirates who hijacked hundreds of ships off the coast of Somalia, holding ships and crew for ransom often for months (see also [[Piracy in Somalia]]). 1.9 million people were displaced from their homes during the conflict<ref name=autogenerated4>{{cite web|url=http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/AMMF-7JJCSY?OpenDocument |first=Abdi |last=Sheikh |title=Nearly 9,500 Somalis die in insurgency-group |publisher=Reliefweb.int |date=September 16, 2008 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref> and the number of civilian casualties during the conflict is estimated at 16,724.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wallis |first=Daniel |editor-first=Louise |editor-last=Ireland |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4B943G20081211?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews |title=Sharif back in Mogadishu as death toll hits 16,210 |publisher=Reuters |date= December 11, 2008|accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref>
** [[War in Somalia (2009–)|War in Somalia (2009 – present)]] – involved largely the forces of the Somali [[Somalia|Somali]] [[Transitional Federal Parliament|Transitional Federal Government]] (TFG) assisted by [[African Union]] peacekeeping troops, whom fought against various militant Islamist factions for control of the country. The violence has displaced thousands of people residing in [[Mogadishu]], the nation's capital. 1,739 people in total were killed between January 1, 2009 until January 1, 2010.<ref name=casualties>[[allafrica]] [http://allafrica.com/stories/201001010001.html More Than 1,700 Killed in Clashes in 2009], January 1, 2010</ref>

* [[Conflict in the Niger Delta]] (2004 – present) – an ongoing conflict in the [[Niger Delta]] region of [[Nigeria]]. The conflict was caused due to the tensions between the [[multinational corporation|foreign]] [[oil industry|oil corporations]] and a number of the [[Niger Delta]]'s minority ethnic groups who felt they were being exploited, particularly the [[Ogoni people|Ogoni]] and the [[Ijaw people|Ijaw]]. The competition for oil wealth has led to an endless violence cycle between innumerable [[ethnic groups]], causing the [[militarization]] of nearly the entire region that was occupied by militia groups as well as [[Military of Nigeria|Nigerian military]] and the forces of the Nigerian Police.

* [[Algerian Civil War]] (1991–2002) – the conflict effectively ended with a government victory, following the surrender of the [[Islamic Salvation Army]] and the 2002 defeat of the [[Armed Islamic Group]]. It is estimated that more than 100,000 people were killed during the course of the conflict.

* Civil war in [[Chad]] (1998–present)
** [[Civil war in Chad (1998–2002)]] – involved the [[Movement for Justice and Democracy in Chad]] (MDJT) rebels that skirmished periodically with government troops in the [[Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region|Tibesti region]], resulting in hundreds of civilian, government, and rebel casualties.
** [[Civil war in Chad (2005–present)]] – involved [[Chad]]ian government forces and several Chadian rebel groups. The Government of Chad estimated in January 2006 that 614 Chadian citizens had been killed in cross-border raids.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Al Jazeera|title=Chad wants Sudan to disarm rebels|date=January 12, 2006|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=17880| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref> The fighting still continues despite several attempts to reach agreements.

* [[Nepalese Civil War]] (1996–2006) – the conflict ended with a [[Comprehensive Peace Accord|peace agreement]] was reached between the government and the Maoist party in which it was set that the Maoists would take part in the new government in return for surrendering their weapons to the UN. It is estimated that more than 12,700 people were killed during the course of the conflict.<ref name="Douglas">Ed Douglas. "Inside Nepal's Revolution..... (just to check..!!!)". ''[[National Geographic Magazine]]'', p. 54, November 2005. Douglas lists the following figures: "Nepalis killed by Maoists from 1996 to 2005: 4,500. Nepalis killed by government in same period: 8,200."</ref>

* [[Second Liberian Civil War]] (1999–2003) – The conflict began in 1999 when a rebel group [[Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy]] (LURD), with support from the Government of [[Guinea]], took over northern [[Liberia]] through a coup. In early 2003, a different rebel group, the [[Movement for Democracy in Liberia]], emerged in the south. As a result, by June–July 2003, [[President of Liberia|president]] [[Charles Taylor (Liberia)|Charles Taylor]]'s government controlled only a third of the country. The capital [[Monrovia]] [[Siege of Monrovia|was besieged]] by LURD, and that group's shelling of the city resulted in the deaths of many civilians. Thousands of people were displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict.

* [[Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)]] – [[Algeria]] has been the subject of an Islamic insurgency since 2002 waged by the Sunni Islamic [[Jihad]]ist militant group [[Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat]] (GSPC). GSPC allied itself with the [[Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb]] against the [[Algeria|Algerian government]]. The conflict has since spread to other neighboring countries.

* [[Ituri conflict]] (1999–2007) – a conflict fought between the [[Lendu]] and [[Hema (ethnicity)|Hema]] ethnic groups in the [[Ituri Province|Ituri]] region of northeastern [[Democratic Republic of Congo]] (DRC). While there have been many phases to the conflict, the most recent armed clashes ran from 1999 to 2003, with a low-level conflict continuing until 2007. More than 50,000 people have been killed in the conflict and hundreds of thousands forced from their homes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6158331.stm |first=Karen |last=Allen |title=Eastern DR Congo rebels to disarm |publisher=BBC |date=November 30, 2006 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref>

* [[Central African Republic Bush War]] (2004–2007) – began with the rebellion by the [[Union of Democratic Forces for Unity]] (UFDR) rebels, after the current president of the [[Central African Republic]], [[François Bozizé]], seized power in a 2003 coup. The violence has displaced around 10,000 civilians and has led to hundreds of civilians being killed.

* [[Civil war in Afghanistan (1996–2001)]] – an armed conflict that continued after the capture of [[Kabul]] by the [[Taliban]], in which the formation of the [[Afghan Northern Alliance]] attempted to oust the Taliban. It proved largely unsuccessful, as the Taliban continued to make gains and eliminated much of the Alliance's leadership.

===Coups===
{{Main|List of coups d'état and coup attempts#2000 - 2009}}
[[Image:Otpor.png|thumb|Otpor! symbol.]]
[[File:Coup-d'etat-2-web-cnni.jpg|thumb|[[2006 Thai coup d'état]]]]
The most prominent [[coups d'état]] of the decade include:

* [[Overthrow of Slobodan Milošević|2000 overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] - after [[Slobodan Milošević]] was accused by opposition figures of winning the 2000 election through electoral fraud, mass protests led by the opposition movement [[Otpor]] pressure [[Slobodan Milošević]] to resign. Milošević was later arrested in 2001 and sent to the Hague to face war crimes charges for his alleged involvement in war crimes of the [[Yugoslav Wars]].

* [[2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt]] – a failed military coup d'état on April 11, 2002, which aimed to overthrow the president of Venezuela [[Hugo Chávez]]. During the coup Hugo Chávez was arrested and [[Pedro Carmona]] became the interim President for 47 hours. The coup led to a pro-Chávez uprising that the Metropolitan Police attempted to suppress. The pro-Chávez Presidential Guard eventually retook the [[Miraflores presidential palace]] without firing a shot, leading to the collapse of the Carmona government.

* [[2004 Haitian coup d'état]] – a conflict fought for several weeks in [[Haiti]] during February 2004 that resulted in the premature end of President [[Jean-Bertrand Aristide]]'s second term, and the installment of an interim government led by [[Gerard Latortue]].

* [[2006 Thai coup d'état]] – on September 19, 2006, while the elected Thai Prime Minister [[Thaksin Shinawatra]] was in New York for a meeting of the UN, Army Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General [[Sonthi Boonyaratglin]] launched a bloodless [[September 2006 Thailand military coup d'état|coup d'état]].

* [[Fatah–Hamas conflict]] (2006–2009) – an armed conflict fought between the two main Palestinian factions, [[Fatah]] and [[Hamas]] with each vying to assume political control of the [[Palestinian territories]]. In June 2007, [[Battle for Gaza (2007)|Hamas took control of the entire Gaza Strip]], and established a separate government while Fatah remained in control of the West Bank. This in practice divided the [[Palestinian Authority]] into two. Various forces affiliated with Fatah engaged in combat with Hamas, in numerous gun battles. Most Fatah leaders eventually escaped to Egypt and the West Bank, while some were captured and killed.

* [[2009 Honduras coup d'état]] – The armed forces of the country entered the president's residence and threw president [[Manuel Zelaya]]

===Nuclear threats===
[[File:Natanz nuclear.jpg|thumb|Anti-aircraft guns guarding [[Natanz#Nuclear facility|Natanz Nuclear Facility]] in Iran]]
* Since 2005, [[Nuclear program of Iran|Iran's nuclear program]] has become the subject of contention with the Western world due to suspicions that Iran could divert the civilian nuclear technology to a weapons program. This has led the [[UN Security Council]] to impose [[sanctions against Iran]] on select companies linked to this program, thus furthering its economic isolation on the international scene. The [[U.S. Director of National Intelligence]] said in February 2009 that Iran would not realistically be able to a get a nuclear weapon until 2013, if it chose to develop one.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN25158068 | title=RPT-EXCLUSIVE-Iran would need 18 months for atom bomb-diplomats | first=Louis | last=Charbonneau | date=October 26, 2009 | agency=Reuters| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref>
* 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 U.S. ended the regime of Saddam Hussein. However a lot of controversy rages around the fact that no evidence of any nuclear programs has been found in Iraq, leading some to believe that the Bush administration declared war simply to gain influence over Middle-Eastern oil supplies.
* [[North Korea]] successfully performed two nuclear tests in [[2006 North Korean nuclear test|2006]] and [[2009 North Korean nuclear test|2009]].
* [[Operation Orchard]] – during the operation, Israel bombed what was believed to be a Syrian nuclear reactor on September 6, 2007 which was thought to be built with the aid of [[North Korea]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/23/AR2008042302906_pf.html | work=The Washington Post | title=N. Koreans Taped At Syrian Reactor | first=Robin | last=Wright | accessdate=April 21, 2010}}</ref> The [[White House]] and [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) later declared that American intelligence indicated the site was a nuclear facility with a military purpose, though Syria denies this.<ref>[http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jWIBgbzyBkHnJzQeMi80gXfjX0-Q NKorea-Syria nuclear work had military aims: White House], Associated French Press, April 24, 2008. Retrieved on April 24, 2008.</ref>
* 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&nbsp;minutes to midnight.

===National sovereignty===
* [[East Timor]] regains independence from [[Indonesia]] in 2002. Portugal granted independence to East Timor in 1975, but it was soon after invaded by Indonesia, which only recognized East Timorese independence in 2002.
* [[Montenegro]] gains independence from [[State union]] with Serbia in 2006
* [[Kosovo]] gains independence from [[Serbia]] in 2008, though its independence [[International recognition of Kosovo|remains unrecognized]] by many countries even today.
* On August 23, 2005, [[Israel unilateral disengagement plan|Israel's unilateral disengagement]] from 25 [[Israeli settlement|Jewish settlements]] in the [[Gaza Strip]] and [[West Bank]] ends.
* On August 26, 2008 Russia formally [[International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia|recognises]] the disputed [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] regions of [[Abkhazia]] and [[South Ossetia]] as independent states.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2008/08/26/1543_type82912_205752.shtml|title=Statement by President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev|publisher=Russia's President web site|date=August 26, 2008|accessdate=August 26, 2008| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080902001442/http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2008/08/26/1543_type82912_205752.shtml| archivedate= 2 September 2008| deadurl= no}}</ref> The [[International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia#States which currently do not recognise Abkhazia or South Ossetia as independent|vast majority]] of United Nations [[List of United Nations member states|member states]] maintain that the areas belong to Georgia.

===Democracy===

During this decade, the peaceful transfer of power through elections first occurred in [[Mexico]], Indonesia, [[Taiwan]], Colombia, and several other countries. (See below.)

===Political events===
[[File:Bush delivers his second Inaugural address.jpg|thumb|[[George W. Bush]], the 43rd president of the United States, 2001–2009]]
[[File:US President Barack Obama taking his Oath of Office - 2009Jan20.jpg|thumb|[[Barack Obama]], the first African-American president of the United States, was [[Inauguration of Barack Obama|inaugurated]] in 2009]]
The prominent political events of the decade include:

'''Americas'''
* [[Vicente Fox]] was elected President of Mexico in the 2000 presidential election, making him the first president elected from an opposition party in 71 years, defeating the then-dominant [[Institutional Revolutionary Party]] (PRI).
* [[George W. Bush]] was sworn in as the 43rd President of the United States on January 20, 2001 following a [[2000 United States Presidential Election|sharply contested election]].
* On October 26, 2001 U.S. President George W. Bush signs the [[USA PATRIOT Act]] into law.
* On February 15, 2003 anti-war protests break out around the world in opposition to the U.S. Invasion of Iraq, in what the [[Guinness Book of World Records]] called the largest anti-war rally in human history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elmundo.es/quiosco/pdf/febrero2003/16portada.pdf |title=El Mundo contra la guerra (In Spanish) |format=PDF |date=February 16, 2003 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref>
* [[Barack Obama]] is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States in 2009, becoming the nation's first African American president.
* [[Álvaro Uribe]] is elected President of Colombia in 2002, the first political independent to do so in more than a century and a half. creating the centre-right political movement known as [[uribism]]. Uribe was re-elected in 2006.
* In 2006, [[Michele Bachelet]] is elected as the first female [[President of Chile]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4613864.stm |title=Chile gets first woman president |publisher=BBC News |date=January 16, 2006 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref>
* Left-wing governments emerge in South American countries. These governments include those of [[Hugo Chávez]] in Venezuela since 1999, [[Fernando Lugo]] in Paraguay, [[Rafael Correa]] in Ecuador, and [[Evo Morales]] in Bolivia. With the creation of the [[Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas|ALBA]], Fidel Castro—leader of [[Cuba]] since 1959—and Hugo Chávez reaffirmed their opposition to the perceived [[imperialism]] of the United States.
* [[Fidel Castro]] resigns in 2011 on health reasons. Castro's brother [[Raúl Castro|Raúl]] is elected to succeed him.
* [[Paul Martin]] replaces [[Jean Chrétien]] as [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] of Canada in 2003 by becoming the new leader of the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]]. [[Stephen Harper]] was [[Canadian Federal Election, 2006|elected Prime Minister]] in 2006 following the defeat of Paul Martin's government in a [[motion of no confidence]].
* [[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva]] was elected (2002) and reelected (2006) [[President of Brazil]].
* May 23, 2008 – The [[Union of South American Nations]], a [[supranational union]], is made from joining together the [[Andean Community of Nations|Andean Community]] and [[Mercosur]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.towardsunity.org/usan.phtml |title=The Union of South American Nations |publisher=Towardsunity.org |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref>

'''Asia'''<br />
[[File:Tehran protests (26).jpg|thumb|Protesters in [[Tehran]] during the [[2009 Iranian election protests]]]]
[[File:Arafat&Barak.jpg|thumb|left|Israel's prime minister [[Ehud Barak]] and PLO head [[Yasser Arafat]] with the president of the United States [[Bill Clinton]] at [[2000 Camp David Summit|Camp David Summit]], 2000]]
* On May 18, 2000, [[Chen Shui-bian]] was [[Republic of China presidential election, 2000|elected]] to be the president of [[Republic of China|Taiwan]], ending the half-century rule of the [[Kuomintang|KMT]] on the island, and became the first president of the [[Democratic Progressive Party|DPP]].
* [[Israeli Security Zone#Withdrawal|Israeli withdrawal from the Israeli security zone in southern Lebanon]] – on May 25, 2000 Israel withdrew [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]] forces from the [[Israeli Security Zone]] in southern [[Lebanon]] after 22 years.
* In July 2000 the [[Camp David 2000 Summit]] was held which was aimed at reaching a "final status" agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The summit collapsed after Yasser Arafat would not accept a proposal drafted by American and Israeli negotiators. Barak was prepared to offer the entire Gaza Strip, a Palestinian capital in a part of East Jerusalem, 73% of the West Bank (excluding eastern Jerusalem) raising to 90–94% after 10–25 years, and financial reparations for Palestinian refugees for peace. Arafat turned down the offer without making a counter-offer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mideastweb.org/campdavid2.htm |title=Camp David Proposals for Final Palestine-Israel Peace Settlement |publisher=Mideastweb.org |month=July |year=2000 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref>
* January 4, 2006 – Powers are transferred from Israeli Prime Minister [[Ariel Sharon]] to his deputy, Vice Prime Minister [[Ehud Olmert]], after Sharon suffers a massive [[hemorrhagic stroke]].
* 2007 &ndash; [[Nepal]] transforms into the newest democratic state in the world after centuries old monarch is overthrown on 15 January 2007.
* In 2003 the 12 year self-government in [[Iraq]]i [[Kurdistan]] ends, developed under the protection of the UN "No-fly zone" during the now-ousted [[Saddam Hussein]] regime.
* CPC General Secretary, President [[Hu Jintao]] and Premier [[Wen Jiabao]], replaced former People's Republic of China leaders [[Jiang Zemin]] and [[Zhu Rongji]].
* [[Manmohan Singh]] was elected (2004) and reelected (2009) Prime Minister in India. He is the only Prime Minister since [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] to return to power after completing a full five-year term. Singh previously carried out [[Economic liberalisation in India|economic reforms in India]] in 1991, during his tenure as the [[Finance Minister of India|Finance Minister]].<ref name=BBC1>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3725357.stm |title= India's architect of reforms |accessdate=December 11, 2008 |last= Biswas |first= Soutik |date= October 14, 2005 |publisher=BBC News | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20090104021622/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3725357.stm| archivedate= 4 January 2009}}</ref>
* [[Recep Tayyip Erdogan]] was elected as Prime Minister of Turkey in 2002. [[Abdullah Gul]] was elected as President of Turkey.
* [[Pakistani state of emergency, 2007|2007 political crisis in Pakistan]], [[Pervez Musharraf]] retired after the [[assassination of Benazir Bhutto]]
* January 9, 2005 – [[Mahmoud Abbas]] is elected to succeed [[Yasser Arafat]] as [[Palestinian Authority]] President.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1933453.stm|title=Profile: Mahmoud Abbas|publisher=BBC|accessdate=October 14, 2009|date=January 10, 2005| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20091015032648/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1933453.stm| archivedate= 15 October 2009}}</ref>
* 2008 &ndash; [[Nepal]] becomes the youngest republic of the world by transforming from a constitutional monarchy to a socialist republic on May 28. 2008.
* [[2008–2009 Thai political crisis]]
* [[2009 Iranian election protests]] – The [[Iranian presidential election, 2009|2009 Iranian presidential election]] sparked massive protests in Iran and around the world against alleged electoral fraud and in support of defeated candidate [[Mir-Hossein Mousavi]]. During the protests the Iranian authorities closed universities in Tehran, blocked web sites, blocked cell phone transmissions and text messaging,<ref name="opposition1">{{cite news|author=Robert F. Worth and Nazila Fathi|title=Protests Flare in Tehran as Opposition Disputes Vote | date=June 13, 2009 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/world/middleeast/14iran.html |work=New York Times|accessdate=June 19, 2009| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20090616145501/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/world/middleeast/14iran.html?| archivedate= 16 June 2009| deadurl= no}}</ref> and banned rallies.<ref name="JohnsonMurphy">{{cite news|author=Ben Knight |title=Iranian protester killed after opposition rally|date=June 15, 2009|agency=ABC News. ''abc.net.au''|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-06-16/iran-protester-killed-after-anti-government-rally/1715122|accessdate=March 8, 2012}}</ref> Several demonstrators in Iran were killed or imprisoned during the protests. Dozens of human casualties were reported or confirmed.<ref name="Iran official says 36 killed in post-vote unrest">{{cite news|title=Iran official says 36 killed in post-vote unrest|date=September 10, 2009|agency=AFP|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j8GPoWmrf2qerPWQNHb8Z9eGjT3Q| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iaWYtGitSBRRBJkDanoZ1gwP4DBA |title=Google.com |publisher=Google |date=September 3, 2009 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>Lake, Eli. "[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/25/opposition-alters-tactics-to-avoid-protest-deaths/ Iran protesters alter tactics to avoid death]". ''[[Washington Times]]''. (June 25, 2009)</ref>

'''Europe'''<br />
[[File:Tratado de Lisboa 13 12 2007 (081).jpg|thumb|[[Treaty of Lisbon]]]]
* [[European integration]] makes progress with the definitive circulation of the euro in twelve countries in 2002 and the widening of [[European Union]] to 27 countries in 2007. A [[European Constitution|European Constitution bill]] is rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005, but a similar text, the [[Treaty of Lisbon]], is drafted in 2007 and [[Signing of the Treaty of Lisbon|finally adopted]] by the 27 members countries.
* [[Gordon Brown]] succeeds [[Tony Blair]] as [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] in 2007.
* [[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero]] replaced [[José María Aznar]] as President of the Government of Spain in 2004.
* [[Dmitry Medvedev]] succeeded [[Vladimir Putin]] as the [[President of Russia]] in 2008.
* [[Angela Merkel]] becomes the first female [[Chancellor of Germany]] in 2005.
* [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] is elected President of France in 2007 succeeding [[Jacques Chirac]], who had held the position for 12 years.
* [[Silvio Berlusconi]] becomes [[President of the Council of Ministers of Italy]] in 2001 and again in 2008, after two years of a government held by [[Romano Prodi]].
* Parties broadly characterised by political scientists as being [[Right-wing populism|right-wing populist]] soar throughout the 2000s, in the wake of increasing anti-Islam and anti-immigration sentiment in most Western European countries.<ref name=spie/> By 2010, such parties (albeit often significant differences between them) were present in the national parliaments of Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Greece.<ref name=spie/> In Austria, Italy and Switzerland, the [[Freedom Party of Austria]], [[Lega Nord]] and [[Swiss People's Party]], respectively, were at times also part of the national governments, and in Denmark, the [[Danish People's Party]] tolerated a right-liberal minority government from 2001 throughout the decade.<ref name=spie>{{Cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,719842,00.html|work=Der Spiegel|title=Continent of Fear: The Rise of Europe's Right-Wing Populists|date=September 28, 2010|accessdate=December 18, 2010}}, [http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,719842-2,00.html Part 2], [http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,719842-3,00.html Part 3]</ref> While not being present in the national parliaments of France and the United Kingdom, [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]] of the [[National Front (France)|National Front]] came second in the first round of the [[French presidential election, 2002|2002 French presidential elections]], and in the [[European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)|2009 European Parliament election]], the [[UK Independence Party]] came second, beating even the Labour Party, while the [[British National Party]] managed to win two seats for the first time.

==Assassinations==
[[File:Benazir Bhutto.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Benazir Bhutto]]]]
The prominent assassinations of the decade included:
* [[Israel]]i Minister of Tourism [[Rehavam Ze'evi]] was [[Assassination of Rehavam Ze'evi|assassinated]] by three Palestinian assailants, members of the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine]], on October 17, 2001.
* Dutch politician [[Pim Fortuyn]] was assassinated by [[Environmentalism|environmentalist activist]] [[Volkert van der Graaf]], on May 6, 2002.
* [[Serbia]]n Prime Minister [[Zoran Đinđić]] was assassinated on March 12, 2003.
* Swedish foreign minister [[Anna Lindh]] was assassinated on September 10, 2003, after being [[stabbing|stabbed]] in the chest, stomach, and arms by Serbian national [[Mijailo Mijailović]] while shopping in a [[Stockholm]] department store.
* [[Ahmed Yassin]], the founder and spiritual leader of the militant [[Islamist]] group [[Hamas]], was [[Ahmed Yassin#Assassination|killed in a targeted killing]] in the [[Gaza Strip]] in an operation conducted by the [[Israeli Air Force]] on March 22, 2004.
* Dutch film maker [[Theo van Gogh (film director)|Theo van Gogh]], a critic of [[Islamic culture]], was assassinated in [[Amsterdam]] by [[Mohammed Bouyeri]] on November 2, 2004.
* Former [[Prime Minister of Lebanon]] [[Rafik Hariri]] was [[Assassination of Rafic Hariri|assassinated]] on February 14, 2005, when explosives equivalent to around 1,000&nbsp;kg of [[trinitrotoluene|TNT]] were detonated as his [[motorcade]] drove past the St. George Hotel in [[Beirut]]. The assassination attempt killed also at least 16 other people and injured 120 others.
* Former Pakistani prime minister [[Benazir Bhutto]] was assassinated at an election rally in [[Rawalpindi]] on December 27, 2007, by [[Assassination of Benazir Bhutto|a bomb blast]]. The assassination attempt killed also at least 20 other people.
* The [[List of heads of state of Guinea-Bissau|President]] of [[Guinea-Bissau]], [[João Bernardo Vieira]], was assassinated on March 2, 2009, during an armed attack on his residence in [[Bissau]].
* [[Anti-abortion]] [[Extremism|extremist]]<ref name = "Gibbs">Gibbs N (2009). [http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1902120,00.html "Tiller's murder: The logic of extremism on abortion"]. ''[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]''. Retrieved February 9, 2010.</ref> Scott Roeder [[Murder of George Tiller|assassinates]] [[George Tiller]], a [[pro-choice]] advocate and [[late-term abortion]] provider, on May 31, 2009, at Tiller's church in [[Wichita, Kansas]].

==Disasters==

===Natural disasters===
{{See also|Category:2000 natural disasters|Countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake|Humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake|Economic effects of Hurricane Katrina}}
[[File:2004-tsunami.jpg|thumb|right|[[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake]]. The [[tsunami]] caused by the December 26, 2004 earthquake strikes [[Ao Nang]], Thailand.]]
The 2000s experienced some of the worst and most destructive [[natural disasters]] in history.

====Earthquakes (including tsunamis)====
* On January 13, 2001, a 7.6 earthquake strikes El Salvador, killing 944 people.
* On January 26, 2001, an [[2001 Gujarat earthquake|earthquake]] hits [[Gujarat]], India, killing more than 12,000.
* On February 28, 2001, the Nisqually Earthquake hits the Seattle metro area. It caused major damage to the old highway standing in the urban center of Seattle.
* On February 13, 2001, a [[2001 El Salvador earthquakes|6.6 magnitude earthquake]] hits [[El Salvador]], killing at least 400.
* On May 21, 2003, an earthquake in the [[Boumerdès]] region of northern [[Algeria]] kills 2,200.
* On December 26, 2003, the massive [[2003 Bam earthquake]] devastates southeastern [[Iran]]; over 40,000 people are reported killed in the city of [[Bam, Iran|Bam]].
* On December 26, 2004, one of the worst [[natural disaster]]s in recorded history hits Southeast Asia, when [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake|the strongest earthquake in 40 years]] hits the entire Indian Ocean region. The massive 9.3 magnitude earthquake, epicentered just off the west coast of the [[Indonesia]]n island of [[Sumatra]], generates enormous [[tsunami]] waves that crash 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 from the [[Boxing Day Tsunami]] in the affected countries stands at approximately 230,000 people dead or still missing.
* On October 8, 2005, the [[2005 Kashmir earthquake]] kills about 80,000 people.
* On May 12, 2008, over 69,000 are killed in central south-west China by the [[2008 Sichuan earthquake|Wenchuan quake]], an earthquake measuring 7.9 [[Moment magnitude scale]]. The epicenter was {{convert|90|km|mi|sp=us}} west-northwest of the provincial capital [[Chengdu]], Sichuan province.

====Tropical cyclones, other weather, and bushfires====
* On May 3, 2008, Over 146,000 in [[Burma]]/Myanmar are killed by [[Cyclone Nargis]].
* Several typhoons and hurricanes resulted in extreme destruction in this decade, especially in [[2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season|2005]] (the most active in recorded history) with [[Hurricane Katrina]] nearly destroying New Orleans, followed by [[Hurricane Rita]], which wreaked destruction along the [[U.S. Gulf Coast]]. In 2008 the massive [[Hurricane Ike]] became the third most destructive hurricane to ever make landfall in the United States.
* 2003 produced one of the worst heatwaves in recorded human history, as Europe was hit by a {{Convert|40|°C|°F}} [[2003 European heat wave|heatwave]] killing thousands.
* The [[Black Saturday bushfires]] – the deadliest [[bushfire]]s in Australian history took place across the [[Australian state]] of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] on and around Saturday February 7, 2009 during extreme bushfire-weather conditions, resulting in 173 people killed and, more than 500 injured and around 7,500 homeless. The fires came after [[Melbourne, Australia|Melbourne]] recorded the [[Early 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave|highest-ever temperature]] (46.4&nbsp;°C, 115&nbsp;°F) of any capital city in Australia. The majority of the fires were ignited by either fallen or clashing power lines or deliberately lit.

====Epidemics====
[[File:Swine Flu Masked Train Passengers in Mexico City.jpg|thumb|right|People in Mexico City wear masks on a train due to the [[2009 H1N1 flu outbreak|swine flu outbreak]], April 2009]]
The 2009 [[H1N1]] (swine flu) [[2009 flu pandemic|flu pandemic]] is also considered a natural disaster. On October 25, 2009 U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] officially declared H1N1 a [[national emergency]]<ref>{{cite web | title=Obama declares swine flu a national emergency | url=http://heraldextra.com/news/national/article_a4de47bf-1dd4-52ea-9f2d-db535ba581b4.html | publisher=The Daily Herald | year=2009 | accessdate=October 26, 2009| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20091029080742/http://www.heraldextra.com/news/national/article_a4de47bf-1dd4-52ea-9f2d-db535ba581b4.html| archivedate= 29 October 2009}}</ref> Despite President Obama's concern, a [[Fairleigh Dickinson University]] PublicMind poll found in October 2009 that an overwhelming majority of New Jerseyans (74%) were not very worried or not at all worried about contracting the H1N1 flu virus.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://publicmind.fdu.edu/h1n1/release.pdf |title=New Jersewans not worried about H1N1 |publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University |date=October 8, 2009 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref>

A study conducted in coordination with the University of Michigan Health Service is scheduled for publication in the December 2009 ''American Journal of [[Roentgenology]]'' warning that H1N1 flu can cause [[pulmonary embolism]], surmised as a leading cause of death in this current pandemic. The study authors suggest physician evaluation via contrast enhanced CT scans for the presence of pulmonary emboli when caring for patients diagnosed with respiratory complications from a "severe" case of the H1N1 flu.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Mollura DJ, Asnis DS, Crupi RS, ''et al.'' |title=Imaging findings in a fatal case of pandemic swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) |journal=AJR Am J Roentgenol |volume=193 |issue=6 |pages=1500–3 |year=2009 |month=December |pmid=19933640 |pmc=2788497 |doi=10.2214/AJR.09.3365 |url=http://www.ajronline.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=19933640| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref>

March 21, 2010 worldwide update by the U.N.'s World Health Organization (WHO) states that "213 countries and overseas territories/communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 16,931 deaths."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/updates/en |title=WHO &#124; Situation updates – Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 |publisher=Who.int |accessdate=October 16, 2010}}</ref>

As of May 30, 2010 worldwide update by World Health Organization(WHO) more than 214 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including over 18,138 deaths.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.who.int/csr/don/2010_06_04/en/index.html |title=WHO &#124; Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 – update 103 |publisher=Who.int |accessdate=October 16, 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20101119161116/http://www.who.int/csr/don/2010_06_04/en/index.html| archivedate= 19 November 2010}}</ref>

===Non-natural disasters===

==== Vehicular wrecks ====

* On July 25, 2000, [[Air France Flight 4590]], a [[Concorde]] aircraft, crashes into a hotel in [[Gonesse]] just after takeoff from Paris, killing all 109 aboard and 4 in the hotel.
* On August 12, 2000, the ''[[Russian submarine K-141 Kursk]]'' sinks in the [[Barents Sea]], killing all 118 men on board.
* On July 27, 2002, a [[Sukhoi Su-27]] fighter [[Sknyliv airshow disaster|crashes]] at an [[air show]] in Ukraine, killing 85 and injuring more than 100, making it the worst air show disaster in history.
* On February 1, 2003, at the conclusion of the ''[[STS-107]]'' mission, the [[Space Shuttle]] ''[[Space Shuttle Columbia|Columbia]]'' [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|disintegrates during reentry]] over Texas, killing all seven astronauts on board.
* On June 1, 2009, [[Air France Flight 447]] crashes into the Atlantic Ocean following instrument failure, making it the deadliest crash in Air France history.

==Economics==
{{Main|2000s in economics}}

The most significant evolution of the early 2000s in the economic landscape was the long-time predicted breakthrough of economic giant [[Economy of the People's Republic of China|China]], which had double-digit growth during nearly the whole decade. To a lesser extent, India also benefited from an economic boom<ref>{{cite news|title=India Reaps Benefits of Economic Boom |date= November 2, 2006 | publisher=CNN | url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/11/01/india.economy/index.html | accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref> which saw the two most populous countries becoming an increasingly dominant economic force.<ref>{{cite web|title=A New World Economy |work=Bloomberg Business Week | date=August 22, 2005 | accessdate=June 1, 2011 | url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_34/b3948401.htm | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110522173400/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_34/b3948401.htm| archivedate= 22 May 2011}}</ref> The rapid catching-up of emerging economies with developed countries sparked some protectionist tensions during the period and was partly responsible for an increase in energy and food prices at the end of the decade. The economic developments in the latter third of the decade were dominated by a worldwide economic downturn, which started with the [[subprime mortgage crisis|crisis in housing and credit]] in the United States in late 2007, and led to the bankruptcy of major banks and other financial institutions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Iceland goes bankrupt |author=BusinessWeek |url=http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/economicsunbound/archives/2008/10/iceland_goes_ba.html| archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/5iStJVnPf|archivedate=July 22, 2009 |deadurl=no|accessdate=July 19, 2009}}</ref> The outbreak of this [[Financial crisis of 2007–2010|global financial crisis]] sparked a global recession, beginning in the United States and affecting most of the industrialized world.

===Economic growth in the world===
{{See also|List of countries by GDP (nominal)|List of countries by past GDP (nominal)|List of countries by GDP (PPP)}}
[[File:Lujiazui Skyline from Bund.jpg|thumb|Shanghai becomes a symbol of the recent [[economic boom]] of China.]]

Between 1999 to 2009, according to the [[World Bank]] statistics for GDP:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GDP.pdf |title=The World Bank: World Development Indicators database, 1 July 2009. Gross domestic product (2008). |date=January 7, 2009 |publisher=World Bank |accessdate=October 7, 2009| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20090912122439/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GDP.pdf| archivedate= 12 September 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://malchish.org/lib/economics/vvp.pdf|title=The World Bank: World Development Indicators database, 8 February 2000. Gross domestic product (2008). |date=January 7, 2009 |publisher=World Bank |accessdate=December 27, 2009}}</ref>
* The [[world economy]] by [[nominal GDP]] almost doubled in size from U.S. $30.21 trillion in 1999 to U.S. $58.23 trillion in 2009. This figure is not adjusted for inflation. By [[Purchasing power parity|PPP]], world GDP rose 78%, according to the IMF. But inflation adjusted nominal GDP rose only 42%, according to IMF constant price growth rates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2010/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=58&pr.y=7&sy=1999&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=001,110,163,119,203,123,998,200,904,901,505,511,406,603,205&s=NGDP_RPCH,PPPGDP&grp=1&a=1 |title=IMF WEO Database: Report for Selected Country Groups and Subjects, April 2010. |date=April 2010 |publisher=International Monetary Fund |accessdate=October 2, 2010}}</ref> The following figures are not inflation adjusted nominal GDP and should be interpreted with extreme caution:
* The United States (U.S. $14.26 trillion) retained its position of possessing the world's largest economy. However, the size of its contribution to the total global economy dropped from 28.8% to 24.5% by nominal price or a fall from 23.8% to 20.4% adjusted for purchasing power.
* Japan (U.S. $5.07 trillion) retained its position of possessing the second largest economy in the world, but its contribution to the world economy also shrank significantly from 14.5% to 8.7% by nominal price or a fall from 7.8% to 6.0% adjusted for purchasing power.
* China (U.S. $4.98 trillion) went from being the sixth largest to the third largest economy, and in 2009 contributed to 8.6% of the world's economy, up from 3.3% in 1999 by nominal price or a rise from 6.9% to 12.6% adjusted for purchasing power.
* Germany (U.S. $3.35 trillion), France (U.S. $2.65 trillion), United Kingdom (U.S. $2.17 trillion) and Italy (U.S. $2.11 trillion) followed as the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th largest economies, respectively in 2009.
* Brazil (U.S. $1.57 trillion) retained its position as the 8th largest economy, followed by Spain (U.S. $1.46 trillion), which remained at 10th.
* Other major economies included Canada (U.S. $1.34 trillion; 10th, down from 9th), India (U.S. $1.31 trillion; remaining at 11th from 12th), Russia (U.S. $1.23 trillion; from 16th to 12th) Mexico (U.S. $875 billion; 14th, down from 11th), Australia (U.S. $925 billion; from 14th to 13th) and South Korea (U.S. $832 billion; 15th, down from 13th).
* In terms of [[purchasing power parity]] in 2009, the ten largest economies were the United States (U.S. $14.26 trillion), China (U.S. $9.10 trillion), Japan (U.S. $4.14 trillion), India (U.S. $3.75 trillion), Germany (U.S. $2.98 trillion), Russia (U.S. $2.69 trillion), United Kingdom (U.S. $2.26 trillion), France (U.S. $2.17 trillion), Brazil (U.S. $2.02 trillion), and Italy (U.S. $1.92 trillion).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GDP_PPP.pdf |title=Gross domestic product 2009, PPP |format=PDF |date=June 1, 2011 |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2010/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=33&pr.y=7&sy=1999&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=924,158,111&s=PPPSH&grp=0&a= |title=5. Report for Selected Countries and Subjects |publisher=IMF.org |accessdate=February 13, 2012}}</ref>

===Globalization and its discontents===
{{See also|Globalization#Effects of globalization|Offshore outsourcing#Source of conflict|Business process outsourcing in India}}
[[File:An Indian call center.jpg|thumb|[[Offshore outsourcing]] of jobs, such as this [[call centre]] in India, significantly increased during the decade as many [[multinational corporation]]s moved their [[manufacturing]] and [[Service (economics)|services]] from [[western countries]] to [[developing countries]].]]
The removal of [[Trade barrier|trade and investment barriers]], the growth of [[domestic market]]s, [[Purchasing power parity|artificially low currencies]], the [[History of education#Recent world-wide trends|proliferation of education]], the rapid development of [[high tech]] and [[information systems]] industries and the growth of the [[world economy]] lead to a significant growth of [[offshore outsourcing]] during the decade as many [[multinational corporation]]s significantly increased [[subcontractor|subcontracting]] of [[manufacturing]] (and increasingly, [[Service (economics)|services]]) across national boundaries in [[developing countries]] and particularly in China and India, due to [[Outsourcing#Reasons|many benefits]] and mainly because the two countries which are the two most populous countries in the world provide huge pools from which to find talent and as because both countries are low cost sourcing countries. As a result of this growth, many of these developing countries accumulated [[capital (economics)|capital]] and started investing abroad. Other countries, including the [[United Arab Emirates]], Australia, Brazil and Russia, benefited from increased demand for their mineral and energy resources that global growth generated. The hollowing out of manufacturing was felt in Japan and parts of the United States and Europe which had not been able to develop successful innovative industries. Opponents point out that the practice of offshore outsourcing by countries with higher wages leads to the reduction of their own domestic employment and domestic investment. As a result, many customer service jobs as well as jobs in the information technology sectors ([[data processing]], [[computer programming]], and [[technical support]]) in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have been or are potentially affected.

While [[global trade]] rose in the decade (partially driven by China's entry into the [[WTO]] in 2001), there was little progress in the multilateral trading system. [[International trade]] continued to expand during the decade as emerging economies and developing countries, in particular China and South-Asian countries, benefited low wages costs and most often undervalued currencies. However, global negotiations to reduce tariffs did not make any progress, as member countries of the [[World Trade Organization]] did not succeed in finding agreements to stretch the extent of [[free trade]].<ref>[[EFE]] [http://www.abc.es/20080729/economia-economia/fracasan-negociaciones-ronda-doha-200807291828.html Fracasan las negociaciones de la Ronda de Doha para liberalizar el comercio] July 28, 2008, [[ABC (Spain)]]</ref> The [[Doha Round]] of negotiations, launched in 2001 by the WTO to promote development, failed to be completed because of growing tensions between regional areas. Nor did the [[World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 2003|Cancún Conference]] in 2003 find a consensus on [[services trade]]<ref name=Cancún>''[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]]'', [http://www.elmundo.es/papel/2003/09/16/economia/1474737.html "El fracaso de la Cumbre de la OMC muestra la fortaleza negociadora de los países pobres"] September 16, 2003</ref> and [[agricultural subsidies]].<ref>[[Food and Agricultural Organization]] [http://www.fao.org/newsroom/es/news/2006/1000375/index.html "La Ronda de Doha necesita un cambio de orientación"] August 8, 2006 «El fracaso de la Ronda de Doha de negociaciones para liberalizar el comercio internacional se debe sobre todo a la lucha para obtener ventajas en los mercados agrícolas por parte de las grandes potencias, empresas y lobbies» {{Es icon}}</ref>

The comparative rise of China, India, and other developing countries also contributed to their growing clout in [[International marketing|international fora]]. In 2009, it was determined that the [[G20]], originally a forum of finance ministers and central bank governors, would replace the [[G8]] as the main economic council.

===The age of turbulence===
[[File:Birmingham Northern Rock bank run 2007.jpg|thumb|right|People queuing outside a [[Northern Rock]] bank branch in [[Birmingham]], United Kingdom on September 15, 2007, to [[bank run|withdraw their savings]] because of the [[Subprime mortgage crisis]].]]
The decade was marked by two financial and economic crises. In 2000, the [[Dot-com bubble]] burst, causing turmoil in financial markets and a [[early 2000s recession|decline in economic activity]] in the developed economies, in particular in the United States.<ref>BBC Mundo, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/business/newsid_1666000/1666319.stm Se contrae la economía mundial] November 21, 2001</ref> However, the impact of the crisis on the activity was limited thanks to the intervention of the central banks, notably the U.S. [[Federal Reserve System]]. Indeed, [[Alan Greenspan]], leader of the Federal Reserve until 2006, cut the interest rates several times to avoid a severe recession,<ref>BBC Mundo, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/business/newsid_1685000/1685410.stm ¿Recesión global?], September 8, 2001</ref> allowing an economic revival in the U.S.<ref>[[Agence France Presse]] [http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=680131 Greenspan dijo que las tasas se mantienen bajas], [[La Nación]], February 16, 2005</ref>

As the Federal Reserve maintained low interest rates to favor economic growth, [[United States housing bubble|a housing bubble]] began to appear in the United States. In 2007, the rise in interest rates and the collapse of the housing market caused a wave of [[loan payment failures]] in the U.S. The subsequent [[subprime mortgage crisis|mortgage crisis]] caused a [[Financial crisis of 2007–2010|global financial crisis]], because the subprime mortgages had been [[securitize]]d and sold to international banks and investment funds. Despite the extensive intervention of central banks, including partial and total nationalization of major European banks,<ref>"European banking collapse including nationalisation of three banks", ''Credit Writedown'', Ed Harrison, September 29, 2008, retrieved January 11, 2011, [http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2008/09/european-banking-collapse-including.html Creditwritedowns.com]</ref><ref>"Anglo Irish Bank Shares Suspended after Nationalization", ''NY Times'', January 16, 2009, retrieved January 11, 2011, [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/business/worldbusiness/16iht-15punt.19424614.html NYtimes.com]</ref> the crisis of sovereign debt became particularly acute, first in [[2008–2012 Icelandic financial crisis|Iceland]], though as events of the early 2010s would show, it was not an isolated European example. Economic activity was [[Late-2000s recession|severely affected]] around the world in 2008 and 2009,<ref>[[ABC (Spain)|ABC Noticias]], [http://especiales.abc.es/crisis-economica/ The economic crisis]</ref> with [[Automotive industry crisis|disastrous consequences for carmakers]].<ref>[[Reuters]] [http://www.eluniverso.com/2008/11/15/0001/14/127CB76112CC4112B844BB6966CA769E.html Se extiende crisis de la industria automotriz], November 15, 2008, [[El Universo]]</ref>

Reactions of governments in all developed and developing countries against the economic slowdown were largely inspired by [[keynesian economics]]. The end of the decade was characterized by a [[2008–2009 Keynesian resurgence|Keynesian resurgence]],<ref>[[ABC (Spain)|ABC Noticias]] [http://www.abc.es/hemeroteca/historico-22-02-2009/abc/Economia/la-fascinacion-del-keynesianismo-esperemos-que-sin-resaca_913291632123.html La fascinación del keynesianismo, esperemos que sin resaca] February 22, 2009</ref> while the influence and media popularity of left-wing economists<ref>[[El País]], [http://www.elpais.com/articulo/economia/Stiglitz/Krugman/reclaman/globalizacion/gobernada/reducir/desigualdades/elpepieco/20040925elpepieco_12/Tes Stiglitz y Krugman reclaman una globalización 'gobernada' para reducir las desigualdades] September 25, 2004</ref> [[Joseph Stiglitz]] and [[Paul Krugman]] (Nobel Prize recipients in 2001 and 2008, respectively) did not stop growing during the decade.<ref>[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]] [http://www.elmundo.es/mundodinero/2004/06/23/Noti20040623115744.html Paul Krugman, un polémico economista que marca tendencia]</ref> Several international summits were organized to find solutions against the economic crisis and to impose greater control on the financial markets. The [[G-20 major economies|G-20]] became in 2008 and 2009 a major organization, as leaders of the member countries held two major summits in [[2008 G-20 Washington summit|Washington in November 2008]] and in [[2009 G-20 London Summit|London in April 2009]] to regulate the banking and financial sectors,<ref>[[La Vanguardia]] [http://www.lavanguardia.es/premium/publica/publica?COMPID=53791830695&ID_PAGINA=22088&ID_FORMATO=9 El G-20 acuerda erigirse en el árbitro de la economía internacional] September 25, 2009 {{dead link|date=July 2011}}</ref> and also succeeding in coordinating their economic action and in avoiding protectionist reactions.

===Energy crisis===
{{Main|2000s energy crisis}}
[[File:US oil price in dollars from 1999 to 2008-10-17.svg|thumb|Increase in oil prices]]
[[File:May2008gasolineCA.jpg|thumb|[[Gasoline and diesel usage and pricing|Gas prices]] in late May 2008.]]

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tfc-charts.com/chart/QM/W |title=Weekly Commodity Futures Price Chart: Crude Oil EmiNY |publisher=TFC-charts.com |accessdate=February 14, 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,556519,00.html |first=Moira |last=Herbst |title=Speculation – But Not Manipulation |work=Der Spiegel |date=May 30, 2008 |accessdate=February 14, 2012}}</ref>

For a time, geopolitical events and natural disasters indirectly related to the global oil market had strong short-term effects on oil prices. These events and disasters included [[North Korea]]n missile tests, the 2006 conflict between Israel and Lebanon, worries over [[Iran]]ian nuclear plants in 2006 and [[Hurricane Katrina]]. By 2008, such pressures appeared to have an 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.<ref>[http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oil-prices-jump-to-new-high-apf-15149868.html?.v=10 Yahoo Finance] {{WebCite|url=http://www.webcitation.org/5glwc7hoY|date =May 14, 2009| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref>

Many fast-growing economies throughout the world, especially in Asia, also were 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 [[Environmental technology|environmentally friendly technology]] (known informally as "green" technology). However, a side-effect of the push by some industrial nations to "go green" and utilize [[biofuels]] was a decrease in the supply of food and a subsequent increase in the price of the same. It partially caused the [[2007 food price crisis]], which seriously affected the world's poorer nations with an even more severe shortage of food.<ref>Global Policy [http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/hunger/general/2008/0303foodcrisis.htm Global Policy Forum, Are We Approaching a Global Food Crisis?]</ref>

===The rise of the Euro===
{{See also|Euro|Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union}}

[[File:Euro banknotes.png|thumb||The euro became the currency of members of the [[Eurozone]].]]
A common currency for most E.U.member states, the euro, was established electronically in 1999, officially tying all the currencies of each participating nation to each other. The new currency was put into circulation in 2002 and the old currencies were phased out. Only three countries of the then 15 member states decided not to join the euro (The United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden). In 2004 the E.U.undertook a major eastward enlargement, admitting 10 new member states (eight of which were former communist states). Two more, [[Bulgaria]] and [[Romania]], joined in 2007, establishing a union of 27 nations.

The euro has since become the second largest [[reserve currency]] and the second most traded currency in the world after the US$.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bis.org/publ/rpfxf07t.pdf |title=Triennial Central Bank Survey 2007&nbsp;– BIS&nbsp;– December 2007 |publisher=BIS |date=December 19, 2007 |accessdate=July 25, 2009}}</ref>
{{As of|2009|10}}, with more than €790&nbsp;billion in circulation, the euro was the currency with the highest combined value of banknotes and coins in [[circulation (currency)|circulation]] in the world, having surpassed the US$.<ref group="note">{{As of|2009|10|30|df=US}}:<br />
Total EUR currency (coins and banknotes) in circulation 771.5 (banknotes) + 21.032 (coins) =792.53&nbsp;billion EUR * 1.48 (exchange rate) = 1,080&nbsp;billion USD <br />
Total USD currency (coins and banknotes) in circulation 859&nbsp;billion USD
* {{cite web| url = https://stats.ecb.europa.eu/stats/download/bkn_notes_val/bkn_notes_val/bkn_notes_val.pdf| title = Table 2: Euro banknotes, values (EUR billions, unless otherwise indicated, not seasonally adjusted)| accessdate =December 13, 2009| publisher = [[European Central Bank|ECB]]|format=PDF| quote = 2009, October: Total banknotes: 771.5 (billion EUR)}}
* {{cite web| url = https://stats.ecb.europa.eu/stats/download/bkn_coins_val/bkn_coins_val/bkn_coins_val.pdf| title = Table 4: Euro coins, values (EUR millions, unless otherwise indicated, not seasonally adjusted)| accessdate =December 13, 2009| publisher = [[European Central Bank|ECB]] |format=PDF| quote = 2009, October: Total coins: 21,032 (million EUR)}}
* {{cite web| url = http://federalreserve.gov/releases/h6/current/h6.htm| title = Money Stock Measures| accessdate =December 13, 2009| work = Federal Reserve Statistical Release| publisher = Board of Governors of the [[Federal Reserve System]]| quote = Table 5: Not Seasonally Adjusted Components of M1 (Billions of dollars), not seasonally adjusted, October 2009: Currency: 859.3 (billion USD)| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20091209203956/http://federalreserve.gov/releases/h6/Current/h6.htm| archivedate= 9 December 2009}}
* {{cite web| url = http://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-hist-90d.xml| title = Euro foreign exchange reference rates | accessdate =December 13, 2009| publisher = [[European Central Bank|ECB]] | quote = Exchange rate October 30, 2009: 1 EUR = 1.48 USD}}
</ref>

==Science and technology==
{{Main|2000s in science and technology}}

===Science===

====Space exploration====
[[File:NASA Mars Rover.jpg|thumb|right|Artist Concept of a [[NASA]] [[Mars Exploration Rover]] on [[Mars]]]]
[[File:Water Around Fresh Moon Crater.jpg|left|thumb|These images show water in a very young lunar crater on the side of the moon that faces away from Earth.]]
* The [[Mars Exploration Rover|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. ''[[Opportunity (rover)|Opportunity]]'' discovers evidence that an area of [[Mars]] was once covered in water. Both rovers were each expected to last only 90 days, however both completely exceeded expectations and continued to explore through the end of the decade and beyond.
* [[Space tourism]]/[[Private spaceflight]] begins with American [[Dennis Tito]], paying Russia US$20 million for a week long stay to the [[International Space Station]].
* The [[Voyager I]] spacecraft entered the [[heliosheath]], marking its departure from our [[solar system]].<ref>{{cite web|title=SPACE.com – It's Official: Water Found on the Moon|url=http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090923-moon-water-discovery.html|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5kNGKZzjB|archivedate=October 8, 2009|deadurl=no|accessdate=October 5, 2009}}</ref>
* After having analyzed the data from the [[LCROSS]] lunar impact, in 2009 [[NASA]] announced that the discovery of a "significant" quantity of [[Lunar water|water]] in the [[Moon]]'s [[Cabeus (crater)|Cabeus]] crater.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/nov/HQ_09-265_LCROSS_Confirms_Water.html|title=NASA's LCROSS Impacts Confirm Water in Lunar Crater|publisher=NASA|date=November 13, 2009|accessdate=November 21, 2009|quote=Preliminary data from NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, indicates the mission successfully uncovered water in a permanently shadowed lunar crater.|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Fhome%2Fhqnews%2F2009%2Fnov%2FHQ_09-265_LCROSS_Confirms_Water.html&date=November 21, 2009|archivedate=November 21, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/11/13/water.moon.nasa/index.html|publisher=CNN|title=NASA finds 'significant' water on moon|date=November 13, 2009|accessdate=November 21, 2009| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20091116064753/http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/11/13/water.moon.nasa/index.html?| archivedate= 16 November 2009}}</ref>
* [[Physical cosmology|Astrophysicists]] studying the [[universe]] confirm [[Age of the universe|its age]] at 13.7 billion years,<ref>{{cite web|author=WMAP mission | title = The Age of the Universe with New Accuracy | url = http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm/mr_age.html|date=March 16, 2006|publisher=NASA| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref> discover that it will most likely [[cosmic inflation|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]]).
* Beginning on November 2, 2000, the [[International Space Station]] has remained continuously inhabited. The [[Space Shuttle program|Space Shuttles]] helped make it the largest [[space station]] ever, despite one of the Shuttles [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|disintegrating upon re-entry]] in 2003. By the end of 2009 the station was supporting [[Expedition 22|5 long-duration crew members]].

====Biology====
* The [[Human Genome Project]] was completed in 2003, with 99% of the human [[genome]] sequenced to 99.99% accuracy.
* [[National Geographic Society]] and [[IBM]] established [[The Genographic Project]] in 2005, which aims to trace the ancestry of every living human down to a single male ancestor.
* The world's first self-contained [[artificial heart]] was implanted in [[Robert Tools]] in 2001.
[[File:CERN LHC Tunnel1.jpg|thumb|[[CERN]]'s [[Large Hadron Collider]]]]
* In 2005 surgeons in France carried out the first successful partial human [[face transplant]].
* In 2006, Australian scientist [[Ian Frazer]] developed a [[vaccine]] for the [[Human Papillomavirus]], a common cause of [[cervical cancer]].

====Other====
* In 2003, an old dwarf human species, ''[[Homo floresiensis]]'' was discovered (report published initially October 2004).
* As a result of the discovery of [[Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris]], a [[Kuiper Belt]] object larger than [[Pluto]], in August 2006, Pluto is demoted to a "[[dwarf planet]]" after being considered a planet for 76 years, redefining the solar system to have eight planets and three dwarf planets.
* [[CERN]]'s [[Large Hadron Collider]], the [[List of accelerators in particle physics#Hadron colliders|world's largest and highest-energy]] [[particle accelerator]] ever made, was completed in 2008.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/11/13/water.moon.nasa/index.html | work=CNN | title=NASA finds 'significant' water on moon | accessdate=April 21, 2010 | date=November 14, 2009| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100406133228/http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/11/13/water.moon.nasa/index.html| archivedate= 6 April 2010}}</ref>

===Technology===

====Computing and Internet====
In the 2000s, the Internet became a mainstay, strengthening its grip on Western society while becoming increasingly available in the developing world.
{{main|Timeline of computing 2000–2009}}
[[File:Googlelogo.png|thumb|left|thumb|[[Google]] becomes the Internet's most visited website.]]
* A huge jump in [[Broadband internet access|broadband internet usage]] globally – for example, from 6% of U.S. internet users in June 2000<ref>{{cite web|author=Bethea, Neil, Jacob Williams and Yiwen Yu|title=Broadband services in the United States|quote=Growth of Broadband Users:June 2000:total:4,367,434|publisher=Ohio State University|month=June|year=2003|page=9|url=http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:evSCwGCD1m0J:www.nrri.ohio-state.edu/dspace/bitstream/2068/814/3/Article%2B1-Bethea%2B_Broadband_.pdf|format=PDF| accessdate= 30 November 2011}} {{dead link|date=July 2011}}</ref> to what one mid-decade study predicted would be 62% by 2010.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sharma|first=Dinesh|title=Study: Broadband penetration to surge by 2010|date=August 2, 2005|publisher=CNET News.com|url=http://news.com.com/Study+Broadband+penetration+to+surge+by+2010/2100-1034_3-5815756.html| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref> By February 2007, over 80% of U.S. Internet users were connected via broadband and broadband internet has been almost a required standard for quality internet browsing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0703/|title=US Broadband Penetration Breaks 80% Among Active Internet Users|publisher=WebSiteOptimization.com|month=May|year=2007| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref>
* [[Wireless internet]] became prominent by the end of the decade, as well as internet access in devices besides computers, such as mobile phones and gaming consoles.
* Email became a standard form of interpersonal written communication, with popular addresses available to the public on [[Hotmail]], [[Gmail]] and [[Yahoo! Mail]].
* [[Text normalization|Normalisation]] became increasingly important as massive standardized [[corpus linguistics|corpora]] and [[lexicon]]s of spoken and written language became widely available to [[Layman|laypeople]], just as documents from the paperless office were archived and retrieved with increasing efficiency using [[XML]]-based markup.
* [[Folksonomy]] was promoted as an alternative to pyramidal [[taxonomy]].
[[File:Various iPods.jpg|thumb|right|thumb|Various [[iPod]] digital audio players]]
* [[Peer-to-peer]] technology gained massive popularity with [[file sharing]] systems enabling users to share any audio, video and data files or anything in digital format, as well as with applications which share real-time data, such as [[Voice over IP|telephony]] traffic.
* [[VPN]]s (virtual private networks) became likewise accessible to the general public, and data encryption remained a major issue for the stability of web commerce.
* Boom in music downloading and the use of [[data compression]] to quickly transfer music over the Internet, with a corresponding rise of portable digital audio players. As a result, the [[entertainment industry]] struggled through the decade to find digital delivery systems for music, movies, and other media that reduce [[Copyright infringement|piracy]] and preserve profit.
* The [[USB flash drive]] replaces the [[Floppy disk]] as the preferred form of low-capacity mobile data storage.
* During the decade, [[Windows 2000]] And [[Windows XP]] and [[Microsoft Office 2003]] And [[Windows vista]] And [[Microsoft Office 2008]] And Then [[Windows 7]] become the ubiquitous industry standards in personal computer software until the end of the decade, when Apple began to slowly gain market share.
* With the advent of the [[Web 2.0]], dynamic technology became widely accessible, and by the mid-1990s, [[PHP]] and [[MySQL]] became (with [[Apache HTTP Server|Apache]]) the backbone of many sites, making programming knowledge unnecessary to publish to the web. Blogs, [[web portal|portals]], and [[wiki]]s become common electronic dissemination methods for professionals, amateurs, and businesses to conduct [[knowledge management]] typified by success of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia which launched on January 15, 2001, grew rapidly and became the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet<ref name=Woodson>{{cite news |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0819429120070708 |title=Wikipedia remains go-to site for online news |date=July 8, 2007|author=Alex Woodson |agency=Reuters |accessdate=December 16, 2007|quote=Online encyclopedia Wikipedia has added about 20 million unique monthly visitors in the past year, making it the top online news and information destination, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071121104746/http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0819429120070708| archivedate= 21 November 2007}}</ref><ref name="AlexaTop500">{{cite web |url=http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?ts_mode=global&lang=none |title=Top 500 |publisher=[[Alexa Internet|Alexa]] |accessdate=October 13, 2009 }}</ref> as well as the best known [[wiki]] in the world and the largest encyclopedia in the world.
[[File:Facebook.svg|left|thumb|In the late 2000s Facebook became the most popular [[Social networking service|social networking site]] in the world.]]
* [[Open Source]] software, such as the [[Linux]] operating system and the [[Mozilla Firefox]] web browser, gain ground.
* [[Electronic commerce|Internet commerce]] became standard for reservations; stock trading; promotion of music, arts, pornography, 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 sites or search engines of the 2000s included [[Google]], [[Yahoo!]], Wikipedia, [[Amazon.com|Amazon]], [[eBay]], MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
* More and more businesses began providing [[paperless office|paperless]] services, clients accessing bills and bank statements directly through a [[web interface]].

====Video====
[[File:Home cinema 01.jpg|thumb|[[Flat panel display]]s begin to displace [[cathode-ray tubes]]]]
* [[Digital camera]]s become widely popular due to rapid decreases in size and cost while photo resolution steadily increases. As a result, the digital cameras largely supplanted the [[analog camera]]s and the integration into [[camera phone|mobile phones]] increase greatly. Since 2007, digital cameras started being manufactured with the [[face recognition]] feature built in.
* [[Graphic card]]s become powerful enough to render ultra-high-resolution (e.g. 2560x1600) scenes in real time with substantial detail and texture.
* [[Flat panel display]]s started becoming widely popular in the second half of the decade displacing [[cathode ray tube]]s.<ref>{{cite news|last=Miller |first=Michael J. |url=http://blogs.pcmag.com/miller/2009/12/top_technologies_of_the_decade.php |title=Top Technologies of The Decade |publisher=Blogs.pcmag.com |date=December 14, 2009 |accessdate=February 14, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews_deca/ynews_deca_ts1012 |title=Yahoo News |publisher=News.yahoo.com | accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref>{{Dead link|date=February 2012}}
* [[Handheld projector]]s enter the market and are then integrated into cellphones. {{Citation needed|date=June 2010}}
* [[Digital video recorder|DVR]] devices such as [[TiVo]] became popular, making it possible to record television broadcasts to a [[hard drive]]-based digital storage medium and allowing many additional features including the option to fast-forward through commercials or to use an automatic [[Commercial skipping]] feature. This feature created controversy, with major television networks and movie studios claiming it violates copyright and should be banned. With the commercial skipping feature, many television channels place advertisements on the bottom on the TV screen.
* [[Video on demand|VOD]] technology became widely available among cable users worldwide, enabling the users to select and watch video content from a large variety of available content stored on a central server, as well as gaining the possibility to freeze the image, as well as fast-forward and rewind the VOD content.
* DVDs, and subsequently [[Blu-ray Disc]]s, replace [[VCR]] technology as the common standard in homes and at video stores.
* Free Internet video portals like YouTube, [[Hulu]], and Internet TV software solutions like [[Joost]] became new popular alternatives to [[Television broadcasting|TV broadcasts]].
* TV becomes available on the networks run by some mobile phone providers, such as [[Verizon Wireless]]'s [[Vcast]]. {{Citation needed|date=December 2009}}
* [[High-definition television]] becomes very popular towards the second half of the decade, with the increase of HD television channels and the conversion from analog to digital signals.<ref>{{cite web|last=Evenson |first=Kelly |url=http://www.examiner.net/news/x967382688/Gadgets-that-defined-the-last-decade |title=Gadgets that defined the last decade |publisher=Examiner.net |date=December 19, 2009 |accessdate=February 14, 2012}}</ref>

====Communications====
[[File:Texting.jpg|thumb|right|The popularity of mobile phones and [[text messaging]] surged in the 2000s in the Western world.]]

* The popularity of mobile phones and [[text messaging]] surged in the 2000s in the Western world. The advent of text messaging made possible new forms of interaction that were not possible before, leading to positive implications such as having the ability to receive information on the move. Nevertheless, it also led to negative social implications such as "[[cyberbullying]]" and the rise of traffic collisions caused by drivers who were distracted as they were [[texting while driving]].
* E-mail continued to be popular throughout the decade, and began to replace "[[snail mail]]" as the primary way of sending letters and other messages to people in faraway locations, though it has been available since 1971. Also, [[social networking site]]s arose as a new way for people to stay in touch no matter where they are, as long as they have an [[internet connection]].
* [[Smartphone]]s, which combine mobile phones with the features of [[personal digital assistant]]s and [[portable media player]]s, first emerged in the 1990s but did not become very popular until late in the 2000s. Smartphones are rich in features and often have high resolution [[touchscreen]]s and [[web browser]]s.
* Due to the major success of broadband Internet connections, [[Voice over IP]] begins to gain popularity as a replacement for [[Plain old telephone service|traditional telephone]] lines.

====Robotics====
* The [[U.S. Army]] used increasingly effective [[unmanned aerial vehicles]] in war zones, such as [[Afghanistan]].
* Emerging use of [[robotics]], especially [[telerobotics]] in medicine, particularly for [[Robotic surgery|surgery]].
* [[Home automation]] and home robotics advance in North America; [[iRobot]]'s "[[Roomba]]" is the most successful domestic robot and has sold 1.5 million units.

====Automobiles====
[[File:KyotoTaxiRide.jpg|right|thumb|[[Automotive navigation system]] in a [[taxicab]].]]
[[File:Collision Warning Brake Support.jpg|thumb|left|[[Precrash system|Collision Warning with Brake Support]] on the 2009 [[Lincoln MKS]]]]
* [[Automotive navigation system]]s become widely popular making it possible to direct vehicles to any destination in real-time as well as detect traffic and suggest alternate routes with the use of [[GPS navigation device]]s.
* Greater interest in [[future energy development]] due to [[global warming]] and the potential exhaustion of [[crude oil]]. [[Photovoltaic]]s increase in popularity as a result.
* The [[Hybrid vehicle]]s market, which became somewhat popular towards the middle of the decade, underwent major advances notably typified by such cars as the [[Toyota Prius]], [[Ford Escape]], and the [[Honda Insight]] though by December 2010 they accounted for less than 0.5% of the world cars.
* Many more computers and other technologies were implemented in vehicles throughout the decade such as: [[Xenon HID headlamp|Xenon HID headlights]], [[GPS]], [[DVD player]]s, self-diagnosing systems, memory systems for car settings, back-up sensors and cameras, in-car media systems, MP3 player compatibility, [[USB]] drive compatibility, [[Remote keyless system|keyless start and entry]], [[satellite radio]], [[Voice command device|voice-activation]], cellphone connectivity, [[Head-Up Display|HUD]] (Head-Up-Display) and [[infrared camera]]s. In addition, more safety features were implemented in vehicles throughout the decade such as: [[Precrash system|advanced pre-collision safety systems]], [[Backup camera]]s, [[Blind spot monitor]], [[Adaptive cruise control]], [[Adaptive headlamp]]s, [[Automatic parking]], [[Lane departure warning system]]s and the [[Advanced Automatic Collision Notification]] system [[Onstar]] (on all GM models).
* Car styling in the 2000s differed throughout the decade. Many automakers strayed from the round and ovoid designs of the 1990s in favor of more boxy, angular designs – the [[Dodge Charger]] and [[Chrysler 300]] being notable examples. Many vehicles, especially crossovers, were abstract and futuristic, a trend started by the successful [[Nissan Murano]] and [[Infiniti FX]] crossovers.

====Other====
* [[Global Positioning System|GPS]] (Global Positioning System) becomes very popular especially in the tracking of items or people, and the use in cars (see [[Automotive navigation system]]s). Games that utilize the system, such as [[geocaching]], emerge and become popular.

==Population and social issues==

The decade saw further expansion of [[LGBT rights]], with many European, Oceanic, and American countries recognizing civil unions and partnerships and a number of countries extending civil marriage to same-sex couples. The [[Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands|Netherlands]] was the first country in the world to legalize [[same-sex marriage]] in 2001. By 2010, [[same-sex marriage]] was legal and performed in 10 countries worldwide, although only in some jurisdictions in [[Same-sex marriage in Mexico|Mexico]] and the [[Same-sex marriage in the United States|United States]].

Population continued to grow in most countries, in particular in developing countries, though overall the rate slowed. According to United Nations estimates, world population reached six billion in late 1999,<ref>United Nations [http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/sixbillion/sixbillion.htm The World at Six Billion] U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs (Population Division)</ref> and continued to climb to 6.8 billion in late 2009.<ref>[[U.S. Census Bureau]] [http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/popclockworld.html World POPClock Projection] {{WebCite|url=http://www.webcitation.org/5VGxaVo5k|date =January 31, 2008| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref> In 2007 the population of the United States reached 300 million inhabitants, and Japan's population peaked at 127 million before going into decline.<ref>[http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c02cont.htm Statistical Handbook of Japan] {{WebCite|url=http://www.webcitation.org/5W4cM8SLe|date =March 4, 2008| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref>

[[AIDS]] continued to expand during the decade, mainly in [[Sub-Saharan Africa]]. New diseases of animal origin appeared for a short time, the [[mad cow disease]] in 2003 and the [[Avian influenza|bird flu]] in 2007, but they appeared not to be dangerous for man. On the contrary, the [[swine flu]] was declared a pandemic by the [[World Health Organization]] in 2009.

==Environment and climate change==
[[Climate change]] and [[global warming]] became household words in the 2000s. Predictions tools made significant progress during the decade, UN-sponsored organisations such as the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|IPCC]] gained influence, and studies such as the [[Stern report]] influenced public support for paying the political and economic costs of countering climate change.

The global temperature kept growing during the decade. In December 2009, the [[World Meteorological Organization]] (WMO) announced that the 2000s may have been the warmest decade since records began in 1850, with four of the five warmest years since 1850 having occurred in this decade.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.webcitation.org/5m7FhrAlX|title=UN: 2000–2009 likely warmest decade on record|publisher=[[Google News]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=December 8, 2009|accessdate=December 20, 2009|author=Hanley, Charles J.|quote=This decade is on track to become the warmest since records began in 1850, and 2009 could rank among the top-five warmest years, the U.N. weather agency reported Tuesday on the second day of a pivotal 192-nation climate conference.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/temperature-records-released-to-debunk-climate-change-claims-1836391.html|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5mAN6SEtB|archivedate=December 20, 2009|title=Temperature records released to debunk climate change claims|agency=[[Press Association]]|work=The Independent |location=London |author=Beament, Emily|date=December 8, 2009|accessdate=December 20, 2009 }}</ref> The WMO's findings were later echoed by the [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]] and the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/science/earth/22warming.html?hpw|title= Past Decade Warmest on Record, NASA Data Shows|last=Broder|first=John M.|date=January 21, 2010|accessdate=January 23, 2010 | work=The New York Times| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100125154903/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/science/earth/22warming.html?hpw| archivedate= 25 January 2010}}</ref>

[[File:Global Warming Predictions Map.jpg|thumb|Scientific studies on [[climate]] helped establish a consensus.]] Major natural disasters became more frequent and helped change public opinion. One of the deadliest heat waves in human history happened during the 2000s, mostly in Europe, with the [[2003 European heat wave]] killing 37,451 people over the summer months.<ref>[http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/plan_b_updates/2003/update29 Earth-policy.org], Janet Larsen, ''Record Heat Wave in Europe Takes 35,000 Lives: Far Greater Losses May Lie Ahead''. Retrieved December 10, 2009.</ref> In February 2009, [[Black Saturday bushfires|a series of highly destructive bushfires]] started in Victoria, Australia, lasting into the next month. While the fires are believed to have been caused by arson, they were widely reported as having been fueled by an excessive [[Early 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave|heatwave]] that was due in part to climate change. It has also been alleged that climate change was a cause of increased storms intensity, notably in the case of [[Hurricane Katrina]].

===International actions===
Climate change became a major issue for governments, populations and scientists. [[Climate change controversy|Debates on global warming]] and its causes made significant progress, as [[climate change denial]]s were refuted by [[Scientific opinion on climate change|most scientific studies]]. Decisive reports such as the [[Stern Review]] and the [[IPCC Fourth Assessment Report|2007 IPCC Report]] almost established a climate change consensus. NGOs' actions and the commitment of political personalities (such as former U.S. Vice President [[Al Gore]]) also urged to international reactions against climate change. Documentary films ''[[An Inconvenient Truth]]'' and ''[[Home (2009 film)|Home]]'' may have had a decisive impact.

Under the auspices of The [[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change|UN Convention on Climate Change]] the [[Kyoto Protocol]] (aimed at combating global warming) entered into force on February 16, 2005. As of November 2009, [[List of Kyoto Protocol signatories|187 states have signed and ratified]] the protocol.<ref name = "Kyoto-PDF-unfccc">{{cite web | title=Kyoto Protocol: Status of Ratification | url=http://unfccc.int/files/kyoto_protocol/status_of_ratification/application/pdf/kp_ratification.pdf | date=January 14, 2009 | accessdate=May 6, 2009 | publisher=[[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change]] |format=PDF| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20090325015751/http://unfccc.int/files/kyoto_protocol/status_of_ratification/application/pdf/kp_ratification.pdf| archivedate= 25 March 2009}}</ref> In addition The [[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change|UN Convention on Climate Change]] helped coordinate the efforts of the international community to fight potentially disastrous effects of human activity on the planet and launched negotiations to set an ambitious program of carbon emission reduction that began in 2007 with the [[Bali Road Map]]. However, the representatives of the then 192 member countries of the United Nations gathered in December 2009 for the [[2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference|Copenhagen Conference]] failed to reach a binding agreement to reduce carbon emissions because of divisions between regional areas.

However, as [[environmental technologies]] were to make up a potential market, some countries made large investments in [[renewable energies]], [[energy conservation]] and [[sustainable transport]]. Many governments launched national plans to promote sustainable energy. In 2003, the European Union members created an [[European Union Emission Trading Scheme|emission trading scheme]], and in 2007 they assembled a [[European Union climate and energy package|climate and energy package]] to reduce further their carbon emission and improve their energy-efficiency. In 2009, the United States Obama administration set up the [[Green New Deal]], an ambitious plan to create millions of jobs in sectors related to [[environmentalism|greenery]].

==Additional notable world-wide events==
[[File:Plane crash into Hudson River (crop).jpg|thumb|right|[[US Airways Flight 1549]], January 15, 2009]]
* June 28, 2000 – [[Elian Gonzalez]] returns to [[Cuba]] with his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, ending a protracted custody battle.
* March 30, 2005 – [[Steve Fossett]] breaks a world record by completing the first non-stop, non-refueled, solo [[flight]] around the world in the [[Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2005/s1315740.htm|title=Steve Fossett sets solo aviation record|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|accessdate=October 16, 2009|date=March 4, 2005|first=Tony|last=Eastley}}</ref>
* August 2, 2005 – [[Air France Flight 358]] crashes on landing at [[Toronto Pearson International Airport]] and engulfs in flames. All 309 people on board survive.
* September 30, 2005 – [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|Controversial drawings of Muhammad]] are printed in the Danish newspaper [[Jyllands-Posten]].
* April 16, 2007 – The [[Virginia Tech Massacre]] killed 32 people and maimed many others before the gunman, [[Seung-Hui Cho]], committed suicide. It became the deadliest shooting on a school campus as well as the deadliest shooting carried out by a single gunman in United States history.
* August 22, 2008 – [[Piracy in Somalia|Somali Pirates]] hijack German, [[Iran]]ian, and Japanese cargo ships off the coast of [[Somalia]], in seven such attacks since June 20.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.micportal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=859:official-says-pirates-have-seized-a-german-ship-off-somalia-the-third-in-a-day&catid=25:security-measures&Itemid=38|title=Official says pirates have seized a German ship off Somalia, the third in a day| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref>
* January 15, 2009 – [[US Airways Flight 1549]], an [[Airbus A320|Airbus A320-214]] N106US ditches in the [[Hudson River]], New York City after both engines are disabled by a [[birdstrike]]. All passengers and crew are rescued.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.theage.com.au/world/passenger-jet-plunges-into-hudson-river-20090116-7ie3.html?page=-1 | location=Melbourne |work=The Age |location=Australia | title=Passenger jet plunges into Hudson River | first1=Ian | last1=Munro | first2=New | last2=York | date=January 16, 2009| accessdate= 30 November 2011}}</ref>

==Popular culture==


===Year Entertainment===
===Year Entertainment===
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* News blogs grew 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 such as [[Amazon Kindle]] threatened the popularity of printed books.<ref>[http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2007/12/24/071224crat_atlarge_crain The New Yorker] Caleb Crain, ''Twilight of the Books''. Retrieved December 4, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article6236384.ece Times Online], ''The decline and fall of books''. Retrieved December 4, 2009.</ref>
* News blogs grew 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 such as [[Amazon Kindle]] threatened the popularity of printed books.<ref>[http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2007/12/24/071224crat_atlarge_crain The New Yorker] Caleb Crain, ''Twilight of the Books''. Retrieved December 4, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article6236384.ece Times Online], ''The decline and fall of books''. Retrieved December 4, 2009.</ref>
* According to the [[National Endowment for the Arts]] (NEA), the decade showed a continuous increase in reading, although circulation of newspapers has declined in conjunction with the Economic Recession.<ref>{{cite press release|author=National Endowment for the Arts |url=http://www.nea.gov/news/news09/readingonrise.html |title=More American Adults Read Literature According to New NEA Study |publisher=NEA.gov |date=January 12, 2009 |accessdate=February 14, 2012}}</ref>
* According to the [[National Endowment for the Arts]] (NEA), the decade showed a continuous increase in reading, although circulation of newspapers has declined in conjunction with the Economic Recession.<ref>{{cite press release|author=National Endowment for the Arts |url=http://www.nea.gov/news/news09/readingonrise.html |title=More American Adults Read Literature According to New NEA Study |publisher=NEA.gov |date=January 12, 2009 |accessdate=February 14, 2012}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|2000s}}
{{Commons category|2000s}}
* [[2000s in books]]
* [[2000s in economics]]
* [[2000s in fashion]]
* [[2000s in film]]
* [[Music in the 2000s|2000s in music]]
* [[2000s in music industry]]
* [[2000s in science and technology]]
* [[2000s in sports]]
* [[2000s in television]]
* [[2000s in video gaming]]

===Timeline===
The following articles contain brief timelines which list the most prominent events of the decade:

[[2000]] • [[2001]] • [[2002]] • [[2003]] • [[2004]] • [[2005]] • [[2006]] • [[2007]] • [[2008]] • [[2009]]

==References==
{{Cleanup-link rot|date=June 2012}}
;Notes
{{Reflist|group="note"}}

;Footnotes
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Decades and years}}

==External links==
* [http://www.vogue.co.uk/celebrity-photos/101206-the-noughties-.aspx The fashions, trends and people that defined the decade, VOGUE.COM UK]
* [http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTXRYG2#a=1 100 Top Pictures of the Decade] – slideshow by [[Reuters]]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8409040.stm "A portrait of the decade"], BBC, December 14, 2009

{{DEFAULTSORT:2000s (Decade)}}
[[Category:2000s| ]]
[[Category:20th century]]
[[Category:21st century]]

[[ar:ملحق:عقد 2000]]
[[an:Anyos 2000]]
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[[eu:2000ko hamarkada]]
[[fa:دهه ۲۰۰۰ (میلادی)]]
[[hif:2000–2009]]
[[fo:2000-árini]]
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[[is:2001-2010]]
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[[he:העשור הראשון של המאה ה-21]]
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[[pl:Lata 2000-2009]]
[[pt:Década de 2000]]
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Revision as of 01:08, 24 October 2012

Popular culture

Year Entertainment

Dragon Lil Brad 2003 Lil Crock 2009

Year Entertainment

Dragon Lil Brad 2003 Lil Crock 2009

Film

See also: 2000s in film

Usage of computer-generated imagery became more widespread in films during the 2000s. Documentary and mockumentary films, such as March of the Penguins and Super Size Me, were popular in the 2000s. Online films become popular, and conversion to digital cinema started, but was not finished. This conversion is still continuing into the 2010s.

The highest-grossing film of the decade was Avatar (2009)

Music

See also: 2000s in music and 2000s in the music industry
The best-selling artist of the decade was Eminem

By the 2000s, Rap and Hip Hop had reached their commercial peaks, and the genre continued to dominate the music scene of the decade[2][3] The best-selling artist of the decade was the American rapper Eminem, who sold 32 million albums, followed by The Beatles (who split in 1970 but have stayed extremely popular since). The best-selling female artist of the decade was Britney Spears.[4][5]

Billboard magazine named Eminem as the artist with the best performance on the Billboard charts and named Beyoncé as the female artist of the decade.[6][7] In the UK, the biggest selling artist of the decade is Robbie Williams and the biggest selling band of the decade is Westlife. The American performer and recording artist Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, creating the largest public mourning since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997.[8][9][10] Jackson became the best selling artist of 2009 following post-humous sales of his catalog topping 35 million units worldwide.[11][12] Oasis was named "most successful act of the last decade" in the Guinness book of world records, between 1995 and 2005. Innovator, inventor, performer and guitar virtuoso Les Paul also died on August 12, 2009 at the age of 94.

The late 2000s displayed a new trend in music, Auto-Tune. Autotune technology has been around since the 1980s, but hasn't been used prominently since the late 1990s with artists such as Cher, which is known as the "Cher effect." In the early 2000s, autotune has been common with artists such as *NSYNC and Eiffel 65.[13] This pitch-correction software became the norm on practically all mainstream music since 2007. The decade also brought in more dance and electronic music toward the end of the decade and even less rock music in the mainstream.[14][15] Hip hop music also saw a decline in the mainstream during the late 2000s because of electronic music's rising popularity.[16] According to The Guardian, music styles during the 2000s changed very little from how they were at last half of the 1990s.[17] The 2000s had a profound impact on the condition of music distribution. Recent advents in digital technology have fundamentally altered industry and marketing practices as well as players in unusual rapidity.[18][19][20] According to Nielsen Soundscan, by 2009 CDs accounted for 79 percent of album sales, with 20 percent coming from digital, representing both a 10 percent drop and gain for both formats in 2 years.[21]

Music Genre

Sanga Rap 2001 Gracie Rap 2005 Hiss Rap 2007 Union Pop 2003 Jawga Pop 2006 Hiss Rock 2009 Hiss Pop 2008 Hiss Country 2009

Television

See also: 2000s in television

American television in the 2000s saw the sharp increase in popularity of reality television, with numerous competition shows such as American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Survivor and The Apprentice attracting large audiences, as well as documentary or narrative style shows such as Big Brother, The Hills, The Real Housewives, Cheaters, among many others. The decade has since seen a steady decline in the number of sitcoms and an increase in reality shows, crime and medical dramas, such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, House M.D., and Grey's Anatomy, paranormal/crime shows like Medium (2005–2011) and Ghost Whisperer (2005–2010), and action/drama shows, including 24 and Lost. Comedy-dramas have became more serious, dealing with such hot button issues, such as drugs, teenage pregnancy, and gay rights. Popular comedy-drama programs include Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, and Glee. Adult-oriented animated programming also continued a sharp upturn in popularity with shows like South Park (1997-today) and Family Guy (1999–2002, 2005-today) along with the longtime running cartoon The Simpsons (1989-today).

Although there were less in this decade than there were in the 1990s, the 2000s still saw many popular and notable sitcoms, including Will and Grace, Malcolm in the Middle, The King of Queens, Arrested Development, How I Met Your Mother, Scrubs, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and 30 Rock, among many others. A trend seen in several sitcoms of the late 2000s was the absence of a laugh track.

The decade also saw the rise of premium cable dramas such as The Sopranos, Deadwood, The Wire, Battlestar Galactica, Breaking Bad and Mad Men, all of which received critical accolades and attention from academe. The nuanced scripts, character depth, and allusiveness of these shows helped set new standards for quality on television. The critic Daniel Mendelsohn wrote a critique of Mad Men in which he also claimed this last decade was a golden age for episodic television, citing Battlestar Galactica, The Wire, and the network series Friday Night Lights as especially deserving of critical and popular attention.

Radio

The 2000s saw a decrease in the popularity of radio as more listeners starting using MP3 players in their cars to customize driving music. Satellite radio receivers started selling at a much higher rate, which allowed listeners to pay a subscription fee for thousands of ad-free stations. Clear Channel Communications was the largest provider of radio entertainment in the United States with over 900 stations nation-wide. Many radio stations began streaming their content over the Internet, allowing a market expansion far beyond the reaches of a radio transmitter.

During the 2000s, FM radio faced its toughest competition ever for in-car entertainment. iPod, satellite radio, and HD radio were all new options for commuters. CD players had a steady decline in popularity throughout the 2000s but stayed prevalent in most vehicles, while cassette tapes became virtually extinct.

Video games

See also: 2000s in video gaming
PlayStation 2 was released in 2000 and became the best-selling gaming console of all time

The world of video games reached the 7th Generation in the form of consoles like the Wii, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 by the mid 2000s. The number-one-selling game console as of the decade, the PlayStation 2, was released in 2000 and remained popular up to the end of the decade, even after the PlayStation 3 was released. MMORPGs, originating in the mid-to-late 1990s, become a popular PC trend and virtual online worlds become a reality as games such as RuneScape (2001), Final Fantasy XI (2002), Eve Online (2003), Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (2003), World of Warcraft (2004), and Everquest II (2004), The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (2007) and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (2008) are released. These worlds come complete with their own economies and social organization as directed by the players as a whole. The persistent online worlds allow the games to remain popular for many years. World of Warcraft, premiered in 2004, remains one of the most popular games in PC gaming and is still being developed into the 2010s.

The Grand Theft Auto series sparked a fad of Mature-rated video games based on including gang warfare, drug use, and perceived "senseless violence" into gameplay. Though violent video games date back to the early 1990s, they became much more common after 2000.

The 7th generation sparked a rise in first person shooting games led by Halo: Combat Evolved, which changed the formula of the first person shooter. Halo 2 started online console gaming and was on top of the Xbox live charts until its successor, Halo 3, took over. Some other popular first-person shooters during the 2000s include the Medal of Honor series, with Medal of Honor: Frontline's release in 2002 bringing the first game in the series to 7th generation consoles.

In the late 2000s, motion controlled video games grew in popularity, from the PlayStation 2's EyeToy to Nintendo's successful Wii console. During the decade 3D video games become the staple of the video-game industry, with 2D games nearly fading from the market. Partially 3D and fully 2D games were still common in the industry early in the decade, but these have now become rare as developers look almost exclusively for fully 3D games to satisfy the increasing demand for them in the market. An exception to this trend is the indie gaming community, which often produces games featuring 'old-school' or retro gaming elements, such as Minecraft and Shadow Complex. These games, which are not developed by the industry giants, are often available in the form of downloadable content from services such as Microsoft's Xbox Live or Apple's App Store and usually cost much less than more major releases.

Dance Dance Revolution was released in Japan and later the United States, where it became immensely popular among teenagers. Another music game, Guitar Hero, was released in North America in 2005 and had a huge cultural impact on both the music and video games industries. It became a worldwide billion-dollar franchise within three years, spawning several sequels and leading to the creation of a competing franchise, Rock Band.

Japanese media giant Nintendo released 9 out of the 10 top selling games of the 2000s, further establishing the company's dominance over the market.[22]

Sports

Main article: 2000s in sports
The opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, China.

The Sydney Games, held in 2000, followed the hundredth anniversary of the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996. The Athens Games, in 2004, were also a strong symbol, for modern Olympic Games were inspired by the competitions organized in Ancient Greece. Finally, the Beijing Games saw the emergence of China as a major sports power, with the highest number of titles for the first time. The 2002 Salt Lake City and the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games were also major events, though less popular. One of the highlights of the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing was the achievement of Michael Phelps the American swimmer, frequently cited as the greatest swimmer and one of the greatest Olympians of all time.[23][24][25] He has won 14 career Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympian. As of August 2, 2009, Phelps has broken thirty-seven world records in swimming. Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympics, his eight at the 2008 Beijing Games surpassed American swimmer Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at Munich in 1972.

Usain Bolt of Jamaica dominated the male sprinting events at the Beijing Olympics, in which he broke three world records, allowing him to be the first man to ever accomplish this at a single Olympic game. He holds the world record for the 100 metres, the 200 metres and, along with his teammates, the 4x100 metres relay.

Association football's important events included two World Cups, one organized in South Korea, Japan, which saw Brazil win a record fifth title, and the other in Germany, which saw Italy's fourth title. The regional competitions Copa América and Euro Cup saw 5 nations rising the cup, Colombia (2001) and Brazil (2004, 2007) won the Copa América, and France (2000), Greece (2004) and Spain (2008) won the Euro Cup.

Rugby increased in size and audience, as the Rugby World Cup became the third most watched sporting event in the world with the 2007 Rugby World Cup organized in France.

The Boston Red Sox won the World Series of Major League Baseball in 2004, their first since 1918.

Michael Schumacher, the most titled F1 driver, won five F1 World Championships during the decade and finally retired in 2006, yet eventually confirming his come-back to F1 for 2010. Lance Armstrong won all the Tour de France between 1999 and 2005, also an all-time record. Swiss tennis player Roger Federer won 16 Grand Slam titles to become the most titled player.

Steroids also spread the sports world throughout the decade, mainly used in Major League Baseball. Players such as Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, and Alex Rodriguez.

In 2001, after the 9/11 attacks, both the National Football League and Major League Baseball canceled their upcoming games for a week. As a result, the World Series would be played in November for the first time and the Super Bowl would be played in February for the first time.

Architecture

See also: Category:2000s architecture

Commercialization and globalization resulted in mass migration of people from rural areas to urban areas resulting in high profile skyscrapers in Asia and Europe.In Asia skyscrapers were constructed in India, China, Thailand, South Korea and Japan.

Literature

See also: 2000s in literature

Fashion

Main article: 2000s in fashion
Slim-fitting jeans remained popular through the decade, especially on women
Crocs
Ugg boots

Fashion trends varied from 1930s to 1960s 1980s and 1990s styles. Fashion trends of the 2000s include Crocs and Ugg boots for feet. Hair styles included the wings haircut for boys, which slowly but surely increased to a very high level by 2009 and semi-long and straight hair for girls continued, amongst many other hairstyles from the 1990s. Many films followed the fashion trends of the time, and for head gear, the Chullo became a very popular winter wear in the late 2000s. In the first part of the 2000s Nike was the dominant sneaker brand for adults and Sketchers were popular for children. Starting in 2004, trends for sneakers started to shift toward brands like Converse and Vans high tops.

By 2004, shirts that exposed the belly button and low rise baggy cargo pants which debuted in the late 1990s, became mainstream. Tube tops were extremely popular in the mid-2000s. Spaghetti straps were popular until about 2007.

The 2000s saw a huge revival of 1980s fashion trends such as off the shoulder tops and neon colors came back in style. Skinny jeans became a staple clothing for young women and men by 2009, with mass brands Gap and Levi launching their own lines.[26] High top Converse and basketball shoes such as Nike and Reebok became very popular. Studded belts and tucked in shirts became popular once again. A dramatic shift in fashion from tightly fitted clothing on top and baggy clothing on the bottom shifted to loose clothing on top and extremely tight clothing on the bottom.

Print media

  • The decade saw the steady decline of books, magazines and newspapers as the main conveyors of information and advertisements in favor of the Internet and other digital forms of information.[27][28][29]
  • News blogs grew 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 such as Amazon Kindle threatened the popularity of printed books.[30][31]
  • According to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the decade showed a continuous increase in reading, although circulation of newspapers has declined in conjunction with the Economic Recession.[32]
  1. ^ a b IMDb.com
  2. ^ Boyd, Todd (August 19, 2004). "They're playing bas-ket-ball". ESPN. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  3. ^ Caramanica, Jon (November 9, 2009). "MYTH No. 4: Biggie & Tupac Are Hip-Hop's Pillars". SPIN. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  4. ^ MTV. Eminem Is The Best-Selling Artist Of The Decade
  5. ^ Rolling Stone. Eminem and the Beatles: The top-selling artists of the 2000s.'.' Retrieved December 22, 2009.
  6. ^ "Nickelback: 'Band of the decade', according to Billboard". National Post. Canada. December 11, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  7. ^ "Beyoncé And Eminem Top Billboard Artists Of Decade". RTTnews.com. December 15, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  8. ^ Allen, Nick. "Michael Jackson memorial service: the biggest celebrity send-off of all time". The Daily Telegraph, July 7, 2009.
  9. ^ Scott, Jeffry. "Jackson memorial second most-watched in TV history". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 8, 2009.
  10. ^ Hinckley, David and Richard Huff. "Michael Jackson's memorial 2nd most-watched funeral ever, after Princess Di, say Nielsen ratings". New York Daily News, July 8, 2009.
  11. ^ "How Michael Jackson Made $1 Billion Since His Death". Billboard. June 21, 2010. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  12. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/news/taylor-swift-edges-susan-boyle-for-2009-1004057203.story
  13. ^ Reyonolds, Simon (July 15, 2011). "The Songs of Now Sound a Lot Like Then". New York Times. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
  14. ^ "'Nevermind,' never again?". CNN. September 23, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
  15. ^ McCormick, Neil (August 5, 2009). "La Roux, Lady Gaga, Mika, Little Boots: the 80s are back". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  16. ^ Reynolds, Simon (November 26, 2009). "Simon Reynolds's Notes on the noughties: When will hip-hop hurry up and die?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  17. ^ "Review of the decade: Alexis Petridis on pop". The Guardian. London. December 7, 2009. Archived from the original on 23 April 2010. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  18. ^ "TIME.com – TECH TIME: Sound Advice – Too Legit". Time. July 4, 2003. Retrieved April 21, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) [dead link]
  19. ^ Leeds, Jeff (March 4, 2008). "Nine Inch Nails Fashions Innovative Web Pricing Plan". The New York Times. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  20. ^ "Nine Inch Nails". Billboard. May 17, 1965. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  21. ^ France, Lisa (July 20, 2010). "Is the death of the CD looming?". CNN. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  22. ^ Blogspot.com The kids' channel, Cartoon Network, also released its 'biggest game ever' on January 19, 2009, known as Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall. The game is an MMO and was originally set to be released in fall 2008.
  23. ^ Pamela Barone (August 17, 2008). "5 things we learned about Michael Phelps". Retrieved July 30, 2009.
  24. ^ Mike Celizic (August 16, 2008). "Phelps officially world's greatest athlete ever". msnbc. Retrieved July 30, 2009.
  25. ^ Pat Forde (August 13, 2008). "It's over, there are no arguments … Phelps is the best ever". ESPN. Retrieved July 30, 2009.
  26. ^ Smith, Ray A. (July 6, 2009). "Tight Squeeze: Making Room For a New Men's Fashion". The Wall Street Journal. New York. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  27. ^ NY TimesSteady Decline of Newspaper Circulation. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  28. ^ USA Today, Rachel Metz, Newspaper circulation decline picks up speed. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  29. ^ Newspaperdeathwatch.com, The Death of Newspapers. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  30. ^ The New Yorker Caleb Crain, Twilight of the Books. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  31. ^ Times Online, The decline and fall of books. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  32. ^ National Endowment for the Arts (January 12, 2009). "More American Adults Read Literature According to New NEA Study" (Press release). NEA.gov. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
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