7- Ingrid Betancourd freed
3 years held hostage in the Colombian jungle, ex-political candidate half-French Ingrid Betancourt was freed from the FARC guerilla along with other kidnapped foreigners by the military. The freeing mission, which was a great blow to the FARC, was superbly executed by the military who convinced leaders of the guerilla that they in fact were an independent aid organization simply offering their helicopters to assists in transferring Betancourt and other prisoners from on hide-out to the next. When Betancourt were lifted into the helicopter, men from the military dressed as the guerilla delivered the good news – “You are free!”
6- The Fall of the Last Remaining Communist
For decades he has ruled the Caribbean island in true communism decadence. Claimed to be the last true leader of the political old times, Fidel Castro in 2008 suddenly retreated his position as Cuban President to younger brother Raul Castro.
5- Sep11 strikes back, this time in India
Terrorism has gone global. In North America, Europe and now Asia. As India suffered one of the worst terrorism attacks, hitting the financial metropolis Mumbai during three horrific days, 26-29 November, the world was once more reminded that terrorism still is a major threat to national as international security. What was described by official sources to be a band of 10 armed men, targeted the city’s finest hotels, as if to take a blow at the growing tourism industry in India, together with a large number of killed civilians. Shortly after the attack Indian Prime Minister went out to suggest the direct involvement of neighboring country Pakistan.
4- Captain Jack Sparrow really exists...in Somalia
Outside the coast of Somalia, piracy has for long been a common occurrence. Being a popular shipping route, bands of pirates have made it a custom to regularly hijack large shippings on African waters. Then came the biggest hijacking of Saudi-owned supertank SiriusStar, with a booty worth over $100 million in crude oil. Pirates were no longer something in the movies. For the first time, the world turned their eyes to discover that piracy had been terrorizing East Africa for years.
3- President Bush’s Term comes to an end…in Style
AFP- “A journalist hurled two shoes at President George W. Bush on his farewell visit to Iraq, highlighting hostility still felt toward the outgoing US leader who acknowledged that the war is still not won.
Muntazer al-Zaidi jumped up as Bush held a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, shouted "It is the farewell kiss, you dog" and threw his footwear. ”
The funny thing is that bids started over buying the shoe for sums ranging between $2 and $4M. Customers in Iraq ordered 120,000 pairs of "Model 271" the week after the incident from the Turkish company that manufactures it and some Iraqis offered to set up distribution companies for the shoe.
1-Readers Choice
As for number one I didn’t know which of the below two moments deserved to be number 1 so it’s up to you to decide which of those two moments deserves the top spot
Another September hits the world….
We all remember the events of Sep 11, 2001, When the US was hit by the world’s worst terrorist attack, and subsequently these events changed the whole world, everyone was affected by the results of this day. Exactly 7 years and 2 days later, the US was hit another time by the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Quoting the New York Times: “In one of the most dramatic days in Wall Street’s history, Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself on Sunday to Bank of America for roughly $50 billion to avert a deepening financial crisis, while another prominent securities firm, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy protection and hurtled toward liquidation after it failed to find a buyer.” Again this event didn’t hit only Wall street, but its reach was so huge that companies were liquidated around the worlds and jobs were cut from Iceland to India, Detroit to Dubai. The two primary industries affected were Real Estate and Banking. 2009 is a challenging year for all corporate who will be struggling to survive the financial downtimes.
Kennedy for president? Even better….
After an intense race for president candidacy, Hawaii born, Chicago native and African-American senator Barack Obama, with his family, spoke to the nation in Chicago central park as the new President of United States of America. The journey had been long, the whole world watching, and for the first time in a long time the American people could exhale in relief, looking to a future filled with hope and, as promised, change. Yes he could, yes he did and yes he will.
In 2009, we will all be watching how the Obama administration will deal with two very important issues: 1-The War against terrorism and 2- The Financial Crisis.
