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2011 (MMXI) is the current year, which is a common year that started on a Saturday. In the Gregorian calendar, it is the 2011th year of the Common Era and the Anno Domini designation; the 11th year of the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century; and the 2nd of the 2010s decade.

The United Nations has designated 2011 the International Year of Forests and the International Year of Chemistry.

Events

January

• January 9 – Southern Sudan holds a referendum on independence.
• January 11 – Flooding and mudslides in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro kill more than 800.
• January 14 – 2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests: The Tunisian government falls after a month of increasingly violent protests; President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali flees to Saudi Arabia after 23 years in power.
• January 24 – At least 36 people are killed and more than 100 others wounded in a bombing at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia.

February

• February 11 – 2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns after widespread protests calling for his resignation, leaving control of Egypt in the hands of the military until a general election can be held.
• February 22 - March 14 – The uncertainty of continued Libyan oil output causes crude oil prices to rise 20% over a two week period following the 2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests.

March

• March 11 – A 9.1-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the east of Japan, killing over 15,000 and leaving another 8,000 missing. Tsunami warnings are issued in 50 countries and territories. Emergencies are declared at four nuclear power plants affected by the quake.
• March 17 – The United Nations Security Council votes 10-0 to create a no-fly zone over Libya in response to allegations of government aggression against civilians.
• March 19 – In light of continuing attacks on Libyan rebels by forces in support of leader Muammar Gaddafi, military intervention authorized under UNSCR 1973 begins as French fighter jets make reconnaissance flights over Libya.

April

• April 11 – Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo is arrested in his home in Abidjan by supporters of elected President Alassane Ouattara with support from French forces thereby ending the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis and civil war.
• April 29 – An estimated two billion people watch the wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London.

May

• May 1 – U.S. President Barack Obama announces that Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant group Al-Qaeda, has been killed during an American military operation in Pakistan.
• May 16 – The European Union agree to an €78 billion rescue deal for Portugal from the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism, the European Financial Stability Facility and the International Monetary Fund.

Predicted and scheduled events

July

• July 9 – The Republic of South Sudan is scheduled to secede from Sudan.

October

• October 31 – The global population will reach 7 billion.

Date unknown

• Blue Waters, a petascale supercomputer being designed and built as a joint effort between the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and IBM is expected to be completed in this year.
• A new definition of the kilogram, based on universal constants, is likely to be announced at the 24th General Conference on Weights and Measures.

Deaths

January

• January 2
  • Anne Francis, American actress (b. 1930)
  • Pete Postlethwaite, British actor (b. 1946)
  • Richard Winters, American paratrooper (b. 1918)
• January 4
  • Ali-Reza Pahlavi, titular prince of Iran (b. 1966)
  • Gerry Rafferty, Scottish musician (b. 1947)
• January 15
  • Nat Lofthouse, English footballer (b. 1925)
  • Susannah York, British actress (b. 1939)
• January 18 – Sargent Shriver, American politician and diplomat (b. 1915)
• January 21 – Dennis Oppenheim, American artist (b. 1938)
• January 24 – Bernd Eichinger, German film producer and director (b. 1949)
• January 29 – Milton Babbitt, American composer (b. 1916)
• January 30 – John Barry, British film score composer (b. 1933)

February

• February 3 – Maria Schneider, French actress (b. 1952)
• February 5 – Brian Jacques, English author (b. 1939)
• February 6
  • Josefa Iloilo, 3rd President of Fiji (b. 1920)
  • Gary Moore, Irish musician (b. 1952)
• February 8 – Cesare Rubini, Italian basketball player and coach (b. 1923)
• February 14 – George Shearing, Anglo-American jazz pianist (b. 1919)
• February 27 – Necmettin Erbakan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1926)
• February 28 – Jane Russell, American actress (b. 1921)

March

• March 4
  • Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, 30th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1924)
  • Simon van der Meer, Dutch physicist (b. 1925)
• March 5 – Alberto Granado, Cuban writer and scientist (b. 1922)
• March 6 – Ján Popluhár, Slovak footballer (b. 1935)
• March 15 – Nate Dogg, American rapper (b. 1969)
• March 17 – Michael Gough, British actor (b. 1916)
• March 18 – Warren Christopher, American diplomat (b. 1925)
• March 21 – Nikolai Andrianov, Soviet-Russian gymnast (b. 1952)
• March 23 – Elizabeth Taylor, British-American actress (b. 1932)
• March 26
  • Paul Baran, American internet pioneer (b. 1926)
  • Geraldine Ferraro, American politician (b. 1935)
  • Diana Wynne Jones, British writer (b. 1934)
• March 27 – Farley Granger, American actor (b. 1925)
• March 29 – José Alencar, Brazilian politician (b. 1931)

April

• April 5
  • Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician (b. 1925)
  • Ange-Félix Patassé, 5th President of the Central African Republic (b. 1937)
• April 9 – Sidney Lumet, American film director (b. 1924)
• April 14 – William Lipscomb, American chemist (b. 1919)
• April 19 – Grete Waitz, Norwegian athlete (b. 1953)
• April 24 – Sathya Sai Baba, Indian spiritual leader (b. 1926)
• April 30 – Ernesto Sabato, Argentine writer (b. 1911)

May

• May 2 – Osama bin Laden, Saudi-born terrorist (b. 1957)
• May 3 – Jackie Cooper, American actor (b. 1922)
• May 7
  • Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer (b. 1957)
  • Willard Boyle, Canadian physicist (b. 1924)
• May 9 – Lidia Gueiler Tejada, 67th President of Bolivia (b. 1921)
• May 16 – Samuel Wanjiru, Kenyan athlete (b. 1986)
• May 19 – Garret FitzGerald, 7th Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland (b. 1926)
• May 20 – Randy Savage, American professional wrestler (b. 1952)

Major religious holidays

• January 7 (6 in Armenia) – Orthodox Christmas
• February 1 – Imbolc, a Cross-quarter day
• March 8 – Shrove Tuesday / Mardi Gras, end of Mardi Gras / Carnival season
• March 9 – Ash Wednesday (first day of Lent)
• March 20 – Holi
• March 21 – (Northern hemisphere) Vernal equinox, also known as Ostara & Persian New Year
• April 18 – Passover begins at sundown
• April 24 – Easter (Western and Orthodox)
• May 1 – Beltane, a Cross-quarter day
• June 7 – Shavuot begins
• August 1
  • Ramadan begins (Islam)
  • Lammas, a Cross-quarter day
• August 31 – Eid al-Fitr
• September 23 – (Northern hemisphere) Autumnal equinox, also known as Mabon
• September 28 – Rosh Hashana begins at sundown
• October 7 – Yom Kippur begins at sundown
• October 26 – Diwali, a religious holiday in Hinduism
• November 6 – Eid al-Adha
• November 26 – Islamic New Year
• December 20 – Chanukah
• December 25 – Christmas

In fiction

References

1. "United Nations Observances". United Nations. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
2. "Equipe aeropolicial improvisa e arrisca para resgatar vítimas das chuvas no RJ". UOL (in Portuguese). Folha. January 20, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
3. Wyre Davies (December 15, 2010). "BBC News – Tunisia: President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali forced out". BBC News. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
4. "Uprising in Tunisia: People Power topples Ben Ali regime". Indybay. January 16, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
5. Amie Ferris-Rotman (January 24, 2011). "Suicide bomber kills 31 at Russia's biggest airport". Reuters. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
6. "Hosni Mubarak resigns as president". AlJazeera. February 11, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
7. Dicolo, Jerry A.; Baskin, Brian (February 22, 2011). "The Stealth Return of $100 Oil". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
8. "Tsunami warning center raises magnitude of Japan quake to 9.1". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. March 11, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
9. "Japan earthquake live blog: Death toll rises amid widespread destruction". CNN blog. TimeWarner. March 12, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
10. http://www.libyafeb17.com/
11. "World leaders launch military action in Libya". MSNBC.com. March 19, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
12. Kirkpatrick, David D.; Bumiller, Elisabeth (March 19, 2011). "France Sends Military Flights Over Libya". The New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
13. "Gbagbo, wife in Ouattara's custody in I.Coast: UN | Top News | Reuters". Af.reuters.com. April 11, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
14. Grimley, Naomi (April 29, 2011). "Royal wedding: The world watches William and Kate". BBC News. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
15. Goldman, Adam; Brummitt, Chris (May 2, 2011). "Bin Laden's demise: Long pursuit, burst of gunfire". Associated Press. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
16. "Portugal's 78bn euro bail-out is formally approved". BBC News. BBC. November 29, 2010. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
17. "World population to reach 10.1 billion by 2100". Associated Press. May 3, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
18. Lublinski, Jan (March 28, 2010). "Das Ende des Urkilos: Warum das Maß aller Massen ausgedient hat". Deutschlandfunk. Template:De icon.

• 2011