Major News Events of 2011(International)

January

Jan. 2

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake shakes southern Chile, sending tens of thousands of people fearing a tsunami to higher ground.

Jan. 6

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announces he will cut $78 billion from the Defense Department budget over the next five years, an effort to trim fat in light of the nation's ballooning deficit.

Jan. 14

In an unprecedented popular uprising, Tunisian protesters enraged over soaring unemployment and corruption drive President Zine El Abdine Ben Ali from power after 23 years of iron-fisted rule.

Jan. 22

The collapse of another attempt at international outreach to Iran leaves world powers with few options except to hope that sanctions will persuade Tehran to reconsider its refusal to stop activities that could be harnessed to make nuclear weapons.

Jan. 25

In Egypt, thousands of anti-government protesters clash with police during a Tunisia-inspired demonstration to demand the end of President Hosni Mubarak's rule.

Jan. 27

Tens of thousands of Yemenis demand that their president step down. Taking inspiration from Tunisians' revolt, they vow to continue until their U.S.-backed government falls.

Jan. 28

Chaos engulfs Egypt as protesters seize the streets of Cairo, battling police, burning down the ruling party's headquarters and defying a military curfew.

Jan. 29

Obama issues a plea for restraint in Egypt after meeting with national security aides to assess the Cairo government's response to protests.

February

Feb. 3

In Yemen, demonstrators march in cities and towns against its autocratic president.

Feb. 7

Southern Sudan is slated to become the world's newest country. Final referendum results show 98.8 percent of ballots cast were for secession from Sudan's north.

Feb. 8

A Google executive who helped ignite Egypt's uprising energizes protesters after being released from detention. "We won't give up," he promises in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

Feb. 11

Egypt explodes with joy after pro-democracy protesters bring down Mubarak with a momentous march on his palaces and state TV. Resigning, Mubarak hands over power to the military.

Feb. 13

Egypt's military leaders dissolve parliament, suspend the constitution and promise elections in moves cautiously welcomed by protesters.

Feb. 16

Huge crowds call for a political overhaul in Bahrain, and leaders appear to shift tactics after attempts to crush the uprising stoke rage. In Yemen and Libya, security forces lash back at rallies.

Feb. 20

In Libya, Moammar Gadhafi's military unleashes heavy gunfire as thousands march in a rebelious eastern city, shooting mourners trying to bury victims in a cycle of violence that has killed more than 200.

Feb. 22

A defiant Gadhafi vows to fight to his "last drop of blood" and roars at supporters to strike back against protesters.

Feb. 23

Following an earthquake in New Zealand, troops, police and emergency workers search for signs of life in the rubble of Christchurch. At least 75 are dead and 300 missing.

March

March 4

Arrests, killings and disappearances terrorize Tripoli, Libya, in a crackdown by Gadhafi; rebel fighters have wrested the eastern half of Libya from his control.

March 9

Shuttle Discovery ends its career as the most flown U.S. spaceship, returning from orbit for the last time.

March 11

Magnitude-9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami strike Japan's northeastern coast, a combined disaster that will kill nearly 20,000 people and cause grave damage to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station, world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

March 12

Arab League asks the U.N. Security Council to impose a no-fly zone to protect Libyan rebels as Gadhafi's troops advance on the poorly equipped and loosely organized forces.

March 14

Radiation leaks from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant after a third reactor is rocked by an explosion and a fourth catches fire. The government warns anyone nearby to stay indoors to avoid exposure.

March 21

Syrians chanting "No more fear!" hold a defiant march after a deadly government crackdown failed to quash three days of mass protests in the southern city of Deraa.

March 23

Oscar-winning actress and AIDS research activist Elizabeth Taylor dies at 79.

March 25

A possible breach at Japan's Fukushima complex escalates the crisis anew, with indications that nuclear contamination may be worse than first thought.

March 26

More than 250,000 people take to London's streets to protest the toughest spending cuts since World War II; riot police clash with demonstrators and more than 200 people are arrested.

March 28

Obama insists the U.S. was driven to intervene in Libya by the moral imperative to prevent a massacre of civilians, but as uprisings flare elsewhere, he calls the Libyan action "unique."

April

April 1

In politically gridlocked Washington, an 11th hour agreement on the federal budget, including tens of billions of dollars in spending cuts, averts a government shutdown.

April 2

Highly radioactive water leaks into the sea from a crack at Japan's stricken nuclear power plant; earthquake-tsunami survivors complain government is not paying enough heed to victims.

April 13

Mubarak, the ousted Egyptian president, and his two sons are detained for investigation of corruption, abuse of power and killing of protesters.

April 15

NASA releases a trove of data from its skymapping mission, allowing anyone with Internet access to peruse millions of galaxies, stars, asteroids.

April 22

Syrian security forces fire at protesters, killing at least 75 people around the country in the bloodiest day of a month-long uprising.

April 23

Yemen's president agrees to step down and hand power to his deputy in exchange for immunity from prosecution, an about-face for the autocrat who has ruled for 32 years.

April 29

Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton marry at London's Westminster Abbey amid pomp, circumstance and elaborate hats.

May

May 2

Osama bin Laden, the face of global terrorism and architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, is killed in a firefight with elite American forces at his Pakistan compound, and then is quickly buried at sea in a stunning finale to a furtive decade on the run.

May 5

Pakistan breaks its silence over the U.S. commando raid that killed bin Laden, acknowledging its own "shortcomings" in finding him but threatening to review cooperation with Washington if there is another similar violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.

May 14

At New York's JFK airport, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund and potential candidate for president of France, is pulled from a plane and charged with sexually assaulting a Manhattan hotel maid. He resigns. Charges are later dropped.

May 17

Queen Elizabeth II becomes first British monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland.

May 22

Joplin, Mo., tornado causes more than 160 deaths; the monstrous storm, with winds up to 250 mph, damages or destroys about 8,000 homes and businesses.

May 27

Rich countries and international lenders aim to provide $40 billion in funding for Arab nations trying to establish democracy, starting with Egypt and Tunisia where uprisings overthrew longtime autocrats but scared away investors and tourists.

June

June 7

Libya's Gadhafi stands defiant in the face of the most punishing NATO air strikes yet — at least 40 daylight attacks that include hits to his central Tripoli compound.

June 21

Amid street protests, the Greek prime minister survives a confidence vote, keeping alive a government dedicated to austerity measures; aim is to avert a debt default that could lead to a financial maelstrom around the world.

June 22

Obama announces he is bringing home 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by next summer, withdrawing the "surge" of forces he had sent to rescue a flailing effort.

June 24

New York becomes the largest state to legalize same-sex marriage.

June 27

International judge's order the arrest of Libya's Gadhafi for murdering civilians.

June 29

Greece fends off a bankruptcy that would have threatened the future of the euro when lawmakers back austerity measures in the face of riots that leave more than 100 injured.

July

July 1

Six weeks after ex-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed he fathered a child with a member of his household staff, Maria Shriver files divorce papers seeking to end their 25-year marriage.

July 7

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," the final movie based on the wizard fantasy books, debuts in London on way to becoming year's top-grossing movie."

July 21

Eurozone leaders agree to a sweeping deal that will grant Greece a massive new bailout and radically reshape the currency union's rescue fund.

July 30

NATO jets bomb three Libyan state TV satellite transmitters in Tripoli, targeting a propaganda tool in Gadhafi's fight against rebels.

July 31

Syrian security forces backed by tanks launch an assault on defiant cities and towns, killing at least 70 as the regime races to crush dissent ahead of Ramadan.

August

Aug. 5

Citing a "gulf between the political parties," credit rating agency Standard & Poor's downgrades U.S. debt for the first time since assigning the nation's AAA rating in 1917.

Aug. 6

Afghan insurgents down a U.S. military helicopter, killing 30 Americans and eight Afghan commandos, the deadliest single loss for U.S. forces in the decade-old war.

Aug. 8

Violence flares across London and beyond as shops are looted and authorities struggle to contain a third night of unrest in Britain's capital, which will host next summer's Olympic Games. It's the worst rioting in London in decades.

Aug. 21

Euphoric Libyan rebels race into Tripoli and take control of the center with little resistance as Gadhafi's defenses collapse and his four-decade regime appears crumbling.

Aug. 23

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake in Virginia, the strongest on the East Coast since 1944, causes cracks in the Washington Monument and damages the National Cathedral.

Aug. 23

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is freed in New York after prosecutors question the credibility of the hotel maid who accused the ex-IMF leader of attempting to assault her in May.

Aug. 27

Hurricane Irene, after striking Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, pushes up the U.S east coast, prompting evacuations in New York City and leaving major flood damage in Vermont.

Aug. 30

Libyan rebels say they are closing in on Gadhafi and issue an ultimatum to loyalists in his hometown of Sirte, his main remaining bastion: Surrender or face an attack.

September

Sept. 1

Leaders and envoys from 60 countries and the U.N. meet in Paris for talks with Libya's rebel-led National Transitional Council to map the country's future. They vow to free billions of dollars in frozen assets and to help Libya rebuild.

Sept. 17

A demonstration calling itself Occupy Wall Street begins in New York, within weeks prompting similar protests around the U.S. and the world. Perceived economic unfairness is behind the frequent chant, "We are the 99 percent."

Sept. 18

An earthquake shakes northeastern India and Nepal, killing at least 16 people.

Sept. 23

Abbas takes the quest for independence to the Security Council, seeking U.N. recognition of Palestine and sidestepping negotiations that have been inconclusive for nearly two decades.

Sept 24

Vladimir Putin's decision to reclaim the Russian presidency next year foreshadows a continuation of the strongman rule that many in the West call a retreat from democracy.

Sept. 25

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah decrees that women will for the first time have the right to vote and run in local elections due in 2015.

Sept. 30

U.S. drone airstrike in Yemen kills two American members of al-Qaida, cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and recruiting magazine editor Samir Khan.

October

Oct. 5

Apple Inc. cofounder Steve Jobs — entrepreneur, inventor, self-made billionaire — dies of cancer at 56.

Oct. 7

The Nobel Peace Prize goes to three women: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakkul Karman, who has long pushed for change in Yemen.

Oct. 20

Gaddafi, Libya's dictator for 42 years, is killed as revolutionary fighters overwhelm his hometown of Sirte and capture the last major bastion of resistance two months after his regime fell.

Oct. 23

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake strikes eastern Turkey, killing more than 400 people.

Oct. 31

Palestine wins its greatest international endorsement yet, full membership in UNESCO; but the move prompts the U.S. to cut off payments to the Paris-based cultural agency.

Oct. 31

United Nations marks world population surpassing 7 billion.

November

Nov. 12

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi resigns, ending a political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing the country back from the brink of economic crisis.

Nov. 15

Following arrests of Occupy Wall Street protesters during a police sweep of New York's Zuccotti Park, a judge says the city may enforce a rule against overnight camping. In other cities, authorities move to dismantle encampments, some moving to college campuses.

Nov. 23

Yemeni president Saleh agrees to step down amid a fierce uprising to oust him after 33 years in power.

Nov. 27

In an unprecedented move, the Arab League approves economic sanctions on Syria, to pressure Damascus to end its deadly suppression of an 8-month-old uprising against Assad.

Nov. 28

Egyptians, despite a recent wave of unrest, wait peacefully in long lines to vote in the first parliamentary elections since Mubarak's ouster. Islamist parties win big.

December

Dec. 1

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on a ground-breaking visit to Myanmar challenges the nation's leaders to expand upon recent reforms.

Dec. 10

Tens of thousands hold the largest anti-government protests that post-Soviet Russia has seen, criticizing electoral fraud and demanding an end to Putin's rule.

Dec. 15

The flag used by U.S. forces in Iraq was lowered in a Baghdad airport ceremony marking the end of a war that left 4,500 Americans and 110,000 Iraqis dead and cost more than $800 billion.

Dec. 17

Egypt's military takes a heavier hand to crush protests against its rule in nearly 48 hours of continuous fighting in Cairo that leaves nine dead and more than 300 injured, including women dragged across the ground by their hair.

Dec. 20

Iraq's Sunni vice president denies Shiite accusations that he organized death squads; he describes the charges as trumped-up dealing with assassinations allegedly committed five years ago, and brought only after the departure of U.S. troops.