The year marked the start of a series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen, and in some cases sparking civil wars such as the Syrian civil war and the first Libyan civil war, the former still ongoing while the latter gave way to the second Libyan civil war.
U.S. Navy SEALs killed al-Qaeda leader and terrorist Osama bin Laden in his compound in Pakistan on May 2. The Curiosity rover, which was to land on Mars in August of the following year, launched from Cape Canaveral on November 26. In December, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who had been the supreme leader of North Korea since the death of his father Kim Il Sung in 1994, died while traveling by train to a place outside Pyongyang. He was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Un.
In 2011, the nation of Samoa only had 364 days as it moved across the International Date Line skipping December 30, 2011; it is now 24 hours ahead of American Samoa.[2][3]
Flight 348 with 134 occupants, operated by Kolavia, catches fire while taxiing out for take-off. Three people are killed and 43 were injured, four critically, from smoke inhalation or burns.
January 28 – Friday of anger (Egyptian revolution of 2011). Protestors clash with security forces which resulted in over 600 protestors estimated dead and several police stations were raided.
February 22–March 14– Uncertainty over Libyan oil output causes crude oil prices to rise 20% over a two-week period following the Arab Spring,[18] causing the 2011 energy crisis.
March 11– A 9.1-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the east of Japan, killing 19,759 and leaving another 2,553 missing. Tsunami warnings are issued in 50 countries and territories. Emergencies are declared at four nuclear power plants affected by the quake.[19] As a result of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, multiple plants at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were damaged, several workers injured, and contaminants were released into the environment.
Protests breakout across Syria demanding democratic reforms, resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, and release of those imprisoned for the March 6 Daraa protest.[22] The government responds by killing hundreds of protesters and laying siege to various cities, beginning the Syrian Civil War.[23]
March 19– In light of continuing attacks on Libyan rebels by forces in support of leader Muammar Gaddafi,[25] military intervention authorized under UNSCR 1973 begins as French fighter jets make reconnaissance flights over Libya.[26]
April 15– The Mexican town of Cherán is taken over by vigilantes in response to abuses from the local drug cartel. The new government is strongly focused on crime reduction and preserving the local environment.
April 17–The 2011 PlayStation Network outage begins, becoming one of the largest data breaches ever recorded, and exposing personal data from 77 million accounts on the platform. The outage lasted 23 days.[29]
June 4– Chile's Puyehue volcanoerupts, causing air traffic cancellations across South America, New Zealand and Australia, and forcing over 3,000 people to evacuate.
July 31– In Thailand over 12.8 million people are affected by severe flooding. The World Bank estimates damages at 1,440 billion baht (US$45 billion).[53] Some areas are still six feet under water, and many factory areas remain closed at the end of the year. 815[54] people are killed, with 58 of the country's 77 provinces affected.[55]
Dozens of exotic animals were released from their enclosures at the Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, Ohio resulting in the need of local law enforcement to hunt and kill 48 animals including 18 tigers, 6 black bears, 2 grizzly bears, 2 wolves, 1 macaque monkey, 1 baboon, 3 mountain lions and 17 African lions.
Basqueseparatist militant organisation ETA declares an end to its 43-year campaign of political violence, which has killed over 800 people since 1968.[83]
October 23– A magnitude 7.2 Mwearthquake jolts eastern Turkey near the city of Van, killing over 600 people and damaging about 2,200 buildings.[84]
A large snowstorm produced unusual amounts of early snowfall across the northeastern United States and the Canadian Maritimes, leaving 1.7 million people without power and disrupting travel.[87]
Easley, Jonathan (December 15, 2011). "Panetta marks Iraq war's end in Baghdad". DEFCON Hill – The HILL'S Defense Blog. Archived from the original on January 13, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
