Contemporary
Orange Revolution (2004): Ukraine's Protests Over a Disputed Vote
Ukraine's Supreme Court annulled the fraudulent runoff, and Viktor Yushchenko won the repeat vote and became president in January 2005.
Era · 1945 – present
Contemporary
From the Cold War and the Space Race to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the world we live in today.
Contemporary
EU Enlargement of 2004: Ten New Members Join the European Union
The European Union grew from 15 to 25 member states, reuniting much of the continent divided by the Cold War.
Contemporary
2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami: The Boxing Day Disaster Explained
About 230,000 people were killed and some 1.7 million displaced; an Indian Ocean tsunami warning system was created.
Contemporary
2005 Kashmir Earthquake: Catastrophe in Pakistan and India
More than 80,000 people were killed and about 3 million left homeless, prompting one of the largest relief operations in South Asian history.
Contemporary
Hurricane Katrina (2005): New Orleans, the Levees and Aftermath
Between about 1,400 and 1,800 people died, New Orleans was flooded for weeks, and damage reached about 125 billion dollars, among the costliest US disasters.
Contemporary
Launch of the iPhone (2007): The Smartphone That Changed It All
The iPhone popularised the touchscreen smartphone and, with the App Store from 2008, helped make mobile devices the main way people use the internet.
Contemporary
Treaty of Lisbon (2007): Reforming the European Union
The EU's founding treaties were amended, creating a permanent President of the European Council, a stronger foreign policy chief and a binding Charter of Fundamental Rights; the treaty entered into force on 1 December 2009.
Contemporary
2008 Financial Crisis: Subprime Mortgages, Lehman and Recession
A near-collapse of the global banking system, massive government rescues and the deepest worldwide recession since the 1930s, followed by sweeping financial regulation.
Contemporary
2008 Mumbai Attacks: The 26/11 Siege of India's Financial Capital
166 people, including police officers and foreign nationals, were killed along with nine of the ten attackers; India–Pakistan relations were badly damaged and India reformed its counterterrorism system.
Contemporary
2008 Sichuan Earthquake: The Wenchuan Disaster in Western China
About 69,000 people were killed, around 18,000 went missing and nearly 5 million were left homeless; China launched a vast three-year reconstruction programme.
Contemporary
Cyclone Nargis (2008): Myanmar's Deadliest Natural Disaster
About 138,000 people were killed or went missing and some 2.4 million were severely affected, making Nargis the deadliest natural disaster in Myanmar's recorded history.
Contemporary
Copenhagen Climate Summit (2009): COP15 and Its Accord
No binding treaty was agreed; the conference merely 'took note' of the Copenhagen Accord, which set a 2 °C goal and promised climate finance for developing countries.