20092009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Johannes Kepler. It was also declared as the International Year of Natural Fibres by the United Nations General Assembly, as well as the International Year of Reconciliation and the Year of the Gorilla (UNEP and UNESCO). January 1 Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda assume their seats on the United Nations Security Council.
2011The most notable event of the year was the Arab Spring that involved the killing of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya as part of a series of protests and government overthrows that swept through the Middle East. 2011 was designated as: International Year of Forests International Year of Chemistry International Year for People of African Descent 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.
20152015 was designated by the United Nations as: International Year of Light International Year of Soil TOC January 1 Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes the nineteenth Eurozone country. January 3–7 – A series of massacres in Baga, Nigeria and surrounding villages by Boko Haram kills more than 2,000 people. January 7 – Two gunmen belonging to Al-Qaeda's Yemen branch kill 12 people and injure 11 more at the Paris headquarters of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, prompting an anti-terrorism demonstration attended by over a million people and more than 40 world leaders.
20122012 was designated as: International Year of Cooperatives International Year of Sustainable Energy for All January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. January 12 – Violent protests occur in Bucharest, Romania, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President Traian Băsescu's economic austerity measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement officers. January 13 – The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off the coast of Italy, causing 32 deaths.
20062006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. January 1–January 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. January 12 – A stampede during the Stoning of the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 pilgrims. January 15 – NASA's Stardust mission successfully ends, the first to return dust from a comet. January 19 – NASA launches the first interplanetary space probe to Pluto, the New Horizons.
20072007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. January 1 Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eurozone. Adam Air Flight 574, en route to Manado, Indonesia, from Surabaya, Indonesia, crashes into the Makassar Strait; killing all 102 on board. January 4 - Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female speaker of the United States House of Representatives. January 8 – Russian oil supplies to Poland, Germany, and Ukraine are cut as the Russia–Belarus energy dispute escalates; they are restored three days later.
20142014 was designated as: International Year of Crystallography International Year of Family Farming International Year of Small Island Developing States International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People TOC January 1 Latvia officially adopts the euro as its currency and becomes the 18th member of the Eurozone. January 5 – A launch of the communication satellite GSAT-14 aboard the GSLV Mk.II D5 marks the first successful flight of an Indian cryogenic rocket engine.
