A global recap of the events from the past year
By Patrick Vaillancourt, News Editor
As we approach the end of 2013, the Other Press gives you a summary of some of the events that have taken place to date. In next week’s issue of the Other Press, the last one of 2013, we will look ahead to what people can expect in 2014.
January
(US): President Barack Obama is inaugurated for a second term.
(Mali): French troops begin military operations in Mali against anti-government Islamic extremists.
February
(North Korea): Detonation of a nuclear device in North Korea’s third recorded nuclear test.
(Vatican City): Pope Benedict XVI resigns, becoming the first pontiff in almost 600 years to abdicate.
(South Korea): Inauguration of President Park Geun-hye, the first woman to become head of state in Korea’s history.
(Russia): About 1,500 people are injured and thousands of buildings destroyed in eastern Russia as a meteor explodes entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
March
(Vatican City): Catholic conclave elects Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina as the Church’s 266th pontiff, replacing the retired Pope Benedict XVI. This marks the first time the Catholic Church has elected a leader from outside of Europe in more than a millennium.
(Canada): Nigel Wright, then-chief-of-staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, sends a cheque for just over $90,000 to Senator Mike Duffy, which would begin what is now referred to as the Senate Expenses Scandal.
April
(US): Three people are killed and hundreds are wounded as bombs explode near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
(Bangladesh): A garment factory used by many mainstream clothing brands collapses in Dhaka, killing over 1,100 people.
May
(Canada): Details of the Senate Expenses Scandal start to become public after Nigel Wright announces his resignation as Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s chief-of-staff.
(UK): British solider, Lee Rigby, is slaughtered in the middle of the day by two men with knives and a meat cleaver. The killers then speak to onlookers in the area before being shot and apprehended by police.
(Syria): The Syrian civil war spills over its borders, as Israel launches two airstrikes aimed at military targets in Syria and as Hezbollah fighters based in Lebanon ramp up their involvement in the struggle.
June
(US): Former CIA contractor Edward Snowden becomes America’s “public enemy #1” as he releases documents to the media regarding a US foreign surveillance program.
July
(Egypt): Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is deposed in a military-led coup d’état and is arrested. This prompts the continuation of demonstrations and violent protests throughout Egypt.
(UK): The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcome their firstborn, Prince George, who is now third in the line of succession to the British throne.
(Canada): A train derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec causes a massive explosion which destroys the town’s downtown core, killing 47 people in the worst rail disaster in Canada since Confederation.
August
(Syria): Reports surface that chemical weapons have been used in the Syrian conflict, prompting worldwide condemnation against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
September
(Kenya): Shoppers at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi are evacuated as militants from al-Shabaab target non-Muslim shoppers, resulting in 72 deaths. The standoff with police continues inside the mall for four days.
October
(US): The government of the United States shuts down as Congress fails to pass a budget. Eight-hundred thousand federal workers are told to go home until the shutdown comes to an end. The shutdown lasts for 16 days before Congress approves a debt limit deal, ending the government shutdown.
November
(Philippines): Typhoon Haiyan devastates the Philippine islands in one of the worst natural disasters recorded in the country. There are reports of more than 5,000 people dead and more than 1,000 remain unaccounted for.
