Three Real, One Fake - World History 2011-2021

Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali flees the country as the first dictator to fall in a series of democratic protests called the Arab Spring ✓

A massive 9.1 earthquake strikes east of Japan. The resulting tsunami batters Japan, killing up to 20,000 and damaging four nuclear reactors. ✓

Venezuela’s “March for Women” ends with brutal government repression. Hundreds are arrested and dozens receive prison sentences. ✓

The eruption of Icelandic volcano Grímsvötn spews an ash cloud 20 km into the sky. Iceland and parts of Europe suffer limited delays. ✓

The cruise ship Costa Concordia strikes a rock and partially sinks. Hundreds are injured and 32 people die. ✓

Britain’s “Year of Majesty” sees Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee and Prince William’s marriage to Kate Middleton ✓

CERN’s Large Hadron Collider provides evidence for a particle that meets the criteria of the Higgs boson. ✓

Terrorists attack various American diplomatic missions in September, the most notorious in Benghazi, Libya. ✓

Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, is caught on video using crack cocaine. ✓

After space debris damages the International Space Station, Japan’s JAXA mission, with help from NASA, delivers crucial supplies in just 13 days. ✓

Edward Snowden leaks classified documents showing National Security Agency surveillance programs on American citizens. ✓

The United Nations accuses the Syrian government of using chemical agent sarin. The Security Council threatens repercussions if the chemical weapons are not turned over. ✓

The Ebola virus spreads across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Over 11,000 die by the end of the epidemic. ✓

Indonesian president B.J. Habibe becomes the country’s shortest serving president after announcing plans to develop nuclear weapons, leading to his party’s collapse and his impeachment. ✓

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanishes with all 289 of the people on board. Extensive searches failed to produce any sign of the plane. ✓

The European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission sees a successful landing on a comet for the first time. ✓

A devastating earthquake in Nepal hits 7.3 on the Richter scale. Over 8,000 people die and tens of thousands are affected. ✓

On November 13, a horrific terrorist attack in Paris leaves 130 people dead. ✓

Floyd Mayweather defeats Manny Pacquiao in a boxing match billed as the “Fight of the Century”. The fight lived up to the bill commercially, earning almost $400 million. ✓

India wins the World Cup of Cricket, defeating the West Indies by 7 wickets (2 balls left). Celebrations/riots in Mumbai leave $17 million worth of damage. ✓

Donald Trump wins a hotly contested election in the USA, marred by losing the popular vote and the accusation by American intelligence organizations that Russia interfered in the election. ✓

Britain votes to leave the EU in an event nicknamed Brexit, and economic panic ensues. ✓

The evacuation of Nauru’s island of Denigomodu (population 1,800) begins, as rising ocean levels begin to submerge parts of the island. ✓

Brazil is the epicentre of the mosquito-borne Zika Virus, which can cause birth defects and other complications. ✓

Commander-in-Chief of the Thai Army, Chiserm Saitthert, announces a campaign of destruction against Muslims in the Nan region, but he is executed after a failed coup. ✓

Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, becomes the Saudi crown prince. Previously, he pushed for the embargo of Qatar, which started a regional crisis. ✓

Iraqi and Kurdish soldiers liberate Mosul, Iraq’s second biggest city, from ISIS after three years of occupation. ✓

Thousands of women give accounts of abuse and sexual violence under the #MeToo movement. Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is notably accused. ✓

American President Donald Trump starts trade wars with several major trading partners, including the European Union and China. American tariffs see retaliatory tariffs, mostly hurting the economies of all countries involved. ✓

Dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Turkish intelligence had bugged the consulate, however, and released their evidence in a bid to embarrass the Saudis. ✓

Heavy rain traps a Thai soccer team and their assistant coach in an underground cave for 18 days. ✓

In a bid to reduce her own carbon emissions, teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg hikes across Europe to attend a climate summit in Bern, Switzerland. ✓

Hong Kong pro-democracy protestors take to the streets against a bill that’d allow extradition to the Chinese mainland. China responds with widespread crackdowns. ✓

American president Donald Trump is impeached for allegedly pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s son for corruption. ✓

Narendra Modi wins a major election victory. Part of his policy of Hindu Nationalism rescinds Kashmir’s autonomy, and 5,000 are arrested in the Muslim-majority region. ✓

Wales announces plans to hold a separation referendum in response to the Brexit vote. The government of the United Kingdom responds with threats to close Welsh parliament. ✓

During an arrest, a Minneapolis police officer kills George Floyd, an African American man, leading to worldwide anti-racism protests. ✓

President Lukashenko is accused of stealing the Belorussian national election. 15,000 protestors are arrested while the EU, USA, and UK unsuccessfully push for new elections. ✓

Nigerian clashes with Biafra separatists escalate, with the sinking of a civilian ferry killing 61 causing international outcry. ✓

A large amount of ammonium nitrate explodes and kills over 200 people at the port of Beirut. ✓

Border clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces over Nagarno-Karabakh leads to a Russian “peace operation” and the Russian annexation of the region. ✓

The Ever Given shipping vessel is blown sideways in the Suez Canal for a week, blocking the vitally important shipping route. ✓

Joe Biden becomes the American president, and some of his first major actions are to reinvigorate America’s relationships with its allies and to unilaterally withdraw from Afghanistan. ✓

The AUKUS Deal sees the US, the UK, and Australia join in military partnership, and Australia is promised 8 nuclear-powered submarines. ✓

Russia unleashes a major invasion against Ukraine, but is surprisingly pushed back by the steadfast defenders. ✓

Seven people die following an outbreak of antibiotic resistant Legionnaire’s disease at an advertising convention in Bruges. The WHO issues an emergency warning about the proliferation of drug-resistant bacteria and misuse of antibiotics. ✓

Canadian truckers protest vaccine mandates among other Covid restrictions, gridlocking Ottawa for a month. ✓

Iran sees mass protests after several young women die in morality police custody. ✓