It is always interesting to look back over the past year. And come the New Year, it seems as though this tradition is widely performed by news reporters, sports commentators, television stations, magazines and even the general public. Top ten lists are plastered on the covers of magazines found on newsstands and television spots are filled with lists of the top ten news headlines, the top moments in sports, the people of 2011 and the list goes on-and-on.
Looking back on 2011, it is obvious that the year was definitely one full of headlines. No one can call the year uneventful with a riot, a nuclear crisis, a natural disaster, a massive arson, a Canadian election that saw historic results, the death of Osama bin Laden and Japan's horrific earthquake.
While there are plenty to name, there are certainly ones that stick out.
The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan made headlines in March. With a magnitude of 9.0, it is known as one of the five most powerful earthquakes in the world since modern record-keeping. More than 25,000 people were dead or missing as a result of the tragic event.
In April, the world watched as Prince William married Catherine Middleton in the Royal Wedding. The wedding in itself was no small family affair with an estimated 300 million to two billion people around the world watching the event unfold.
News rocked the world on May 2 when the head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, was killed in Pakistan by a United States Special Forces military unit. Within minutes of the news, large crowds spontaneously gathered outside the White House, Ground Zero, the Pentagon and in New York's Times Square to celebrate the end of the decade-long search.
May also brought historic results during Canada's federal election, when the Conservative Party secured a majority government and the NDP swept the province of Quebec becoming the Official Opposition for the first time in history.
May and June brought the flooding of the Souris River. The record-setting hundred-year flood impacted the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, in addition to North Dakota. The event caused the evacuation of about 11,000 residents, a wide-spread inability to farm the land and action from government bodies.
On June 15, Vancouver became known as the city that rioted. With a loss to the Boston Bruins in game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, the rioters became an embarrassment to a country that holds the sport of hockey near to its heart.
In September, the world paid tribute to the tenth anniversary of what will always be known as September 11. The world watched as the heroes of the day were commemorated and those who lost their lives were remembered.
Additionally, the protest movement, Occupy Wall Street, took to financial districts throughout the world in September. The protests focused on drawing attention to social and economic inequality, high unemployment, greed and corruption.
And that's not all for 2011, the co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, passed away on Oct. 6, not to mention the fact that NDP Leader Jack Layton stepped down as Leader of the NDP before passing away in August. The Slave Lake fire caused more than $700 million in damage during the May fire, igniting the country's second most costly disaster following the 1998 ice storm.
Hurricane Irene took over in late August causing 56 deaths and more than US$10 billion dollars in damage. The final flight of Atlantis, which took place in July, meant the end of a 30-year-old space shuttle program. And for all of those Oprah lovers out there, May 25 brought the show's finale after 25 years of history-making television.
It's obvious. 2011 was a year full of headlines that rocked the world.
It makes a person wonder what is to come in 2012?
