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21st century

The 21st century is the current century of the Christian Era or Common Era in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It began on January 1, 2001 and will end on December 31, 2100.http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/millennium.php

Turn of the 21st century (2001–present)

In contemporary history, the 21st century began with the United States as the sole superpower in the absence of the Soviet Union, with five other entities, China, India, the European Union, Brazil and the Russian Federation as potential superpowers in the coming decades. As the Cold War was over and terrorism on the rise exemplified by the September 11, 2001 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City; the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia; followed by the 2001 anthrax attacks that commenced as letters containing anthrax spores were mailed from Princeton, New Jersey to ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post, and the National Enquirer; the United States and its allies turned their attention to the Middle East. Digital technology, in its early stages of mainstream use in the 1980s and 1990s, became widely accepted by most of the world, though concerns about stress and antisociality from the overuse of mobile phones, the Internet and related technologies remains controversial. In 2009, 4.6 billion people globally, or nearly half the world's population used cell phones, and in 2005, over a billion people worldwide used the Internet.

Pronunciation

Regarding pronunciation of 21st-century years, academics suggest that since former years such as 1805 and 1905 were commonly pronounced as "eighteen oh" or "nineteen oh" five, the year 2005 should naturally have been pronounced as "twenty oh-five". Experts clash over millennium bugbear— The Times A less common variation would have been "twenty nought-five". The year 2010 "twenty ten" is suggested by many, with the "two thousand x" pronunciation reserved only for the "two thousands" decade of 2000shttp://maxspeak.org/mt/archives/002457.html The Naughty Noughties, or something and the Vancouver Olympics, taking place in 2010, is being officially referred to by Vancouver 2010 as "the twenty-ten olympics", while 2011 and 2013 are popular as well. The latest timeframes for change are usually placed at 2020. According to The Stanley Kubrick archives, in the press release for his film , film director Stanley Kubrick included specific instructions for journalists to refer to the movie as "two thousand and one" instead of the commonplace pronunciation of "twenty-oh-one". Kubrick said he did this in the hope that if the film became popular, it would influence the pronunciation of that year, which some have theorized is partially the case. The Stanley Kubrick Archives

Significant events

Politics, war, and genocide

Politics in this century have so far been divisive, in the United States and to a lesser degree the whole Western World between the ideologies of liberalism and conservatism; more precisely, the Democratic Party vs the Republican Party. Genocide still remains a problem in the century with the concern of the situation in Darfur and the growing concern in Sri Lanka. Low estimates on the deaths in Darfur stand around 200,000 deaths with 2.5 million in displacement, there has been much outcry against the perpetrators, the Sudanese government, and the very weak international response. Also controversies from past genocides remain commonplace in the minds of victims and average people alike.
  • 1998–2002 – The Second Congo War continued into the early 21st century. A 1999 ceasefire quickly broke down and a UN peacekeeping mission, MONUC, was unable to control the fighting. Troops from Rwanda and Uganda continued to support rebel groups against the Democratic Republic of the Congo and rifts also grew between Rwanda and Uganda as they accused each other of supporting rival rebel groups as well. Laurent Kabila, president of the DRC, was assassinated in January 2002 and his son, Joseph Kabila, took power. Throughout 2002 steps were made towards peace and Rwanda and Uganda both removed their troops from the country. On December 17, 2002, a massive treaty officially ended the war. However, the DRC only holds power in less than half of the country, with most of the eastern and northern portions still controlled by rebel groups, where there is still significant infighting. In addition, Rwanda still supports anti-DRC rebels and anti-Rwandan rebels continue to operate from the DRC. The war killed an estimated 3.9 million people, displaced nearly 5.5 million, and led to a widespread and ongoing famine that continues to result in deaths. Severe human rights violations continue to be reported.
  • 2001 – Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked 4 commercial airliners and crashed 3 of them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the United States on September 11, killing nearly 3,000 people. The United States subsequently declared a War on Terrorism.
  • 2001–present – The U.S. and NATO invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 and overthrew the Al-Qaeda-supportive Taliban government. Troops remained to install a democratic government, fight a slowly escalating insurgency, and to hunt for Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
  • 2002 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established on July 1.
  • 2002 – A series of bombings carried out by Islamic militants killed 202 people at the resort of Kuta, Bali, Indonesia on October 12.
  • 2003–present – In February 2003, a conflict in Darfur, Sudan began and soon escalated into full-scale war. It is soon considered the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. By 2008 it is believed that up to 400,000 people have been killed and over 2.5 million displaced. In 2005, the ICC decided that Darfur war criminals would be tried, and on July 14, 2008, Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir was charged with 5 accounts of crimes against humaninty and 2 accounts of war crimes, although the ICC currently has no power to enforce these charges.
  • 2003–2010 – The U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003 and overthrew the government of Saddam Hussein (who was executed by the Iraqi government on December 30, 2006). Coalition troops remain in the country to install a democratic government and fight an escalating insurgency. In addition to an insurgency against the American presence, Iraq also suffered from a civil war for several years. The war was soon seen as the central front of the War on Terror by many governments, despite growing international dissatisfaction with the war. The total death toll has been estimated at near 150,000 but these estimations are highly disputed, some guessing even over 1 million. After the U.S.-led coalition initiated a troop surge in 2007, casualty numbers have decreased significantly. Combat ended, at least officially, in August 2010.
  • 2003–2005 – A series of nonviolent revolutions known as the colour revolutions overthrew governments in Georgia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Lebanon.
  • 2004 – The European Union expanded by 10 countries, including 8 former communist countries, plus Malta and Cyprus.
  • 2004 – On March 11, bombings carried out by Islamic militants killed 191 people on the commuter rail system of Madrid, Spain.
  • 2005 – A series of bombings carried out by Islamic militants killed 56 people in London on July 7.
  • 2005 – Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip on September 11.
  • 2006–2008 – The dismantling of former Yugoslavia continues after Montenegro gained independence on June 3, 2006 and Kosovo declared independence on February 17, 2008. However, Kosovo's independence is disputed by Russia and many of its allies and is currently only partially recognized.
  • 2006 – On July 12, Hezbollah militants crossed the border of Lebanon and captured two Israeli troops. Israel responded by sending troops across the border and bombing Hezbollah strongholds, while Hezbollah fired missiles on towns in northern Israel, approximately 6 each day. At the end of the war 300–450 Lebanese civilians, 600 Hezbolla troops, 44 Israeli civilians and 121 Israeli soldiers died. A ceasefire was signed on August 14, after which Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon. Many military sources in Israel have warned about the danger of a new Israeli-Lebanese conflict back in the year 2000, when Israel has withdrawn from Lebanon.
  • 2006 – On July 11, bombs planted on the train system in Mumbai exploded, killing 209 people.
  • 2006 – North Korea conducted its first nuclear test on October 9. This was preceded by years of political wrangling with the U.S. over the status of their nuclear program.
  • 2007 – A civil war escalated in the Gaza Strip throughout June, which resulted in Hamas eventually driving most Fatah-loyal forces from the Strip. In reaction, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh and dissolved the Hamas-ruled parliament. Scattered conflict continues.
  • 2008 – Armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and the Russian Federation together with Ossetians and Abkhazians on the other. Russia officially recognized independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
  • 2008–2009 – Israel launches a military campaign on the Gaza Strip, due to continuous rocket launching on south Israeli cities by radical elements of the Hamas.
  • 2009 – Barack Obama becomes the first African-American president of the United States
  • 2009 – North Korea tests a second nuclear device.
  • 2010 – Polish president Lech Kaczynski and 95 others died in an air disaster in western Russia. Investigations into the accident are still ongoing.

Science and technology

Space exploration

Medicine

Personal technology

"green air" © 2007 - Ingo Malchow, Webdesign Neustrelitz
This article based upon the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_century, the free encyclopaedia Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Further informations available on the list of authors and history: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=21st_century&action=history
presented by: Ingo Malchow, Mirower Bogen 22, 17235 Neustrelitz, Germany