The Highs and Lows of 2009
Well, what a year it has been. Just like the rest of the decade, the last year of noughties has seen its share of global drama and international intrigue.
A superstar was mourned and a president celebrated; we watched a country erupt in revolution, a pilot safely land a plane on water and a fabulous magazine launch online. But these were just the tip of the iceberg. Running in Heels looks at some of what has been hitting the headlines over the last twelve months.
Obama is sworn in as President of the United States
January
● Time for “an era of responsibility”. With the eyes of the world watching on January 20th, Barack Hussein Obama took the oath to become the 44th President of the United States. Some 1.8 million people gathered in Washington to see the historic inauguration of America’s first black president. Despite a hiccup with the oath itself, it was a celebration not likely to be forgotten, as Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé and endless other luminaries helped mark the day. And in a Jason Wu dress for the ten balls the First couple made appearances at, Michelle Obama proved herself the rightful successor to Jackie Kennedy.
● Geir Haarde became the first national leader to resign because of the economic crisis. The Icelandic Prime Minister bowed out after a four year leadership, following the implosion of the country’s banking system and currency in October 2008. Chosen as his replacement was Johanna Sigurdardottir, making Iceland the first country with an openly gay leader.
Also in the news
● Captain Chesley Sullenberger successfully landed a plane on the Hudson River in New York, averting catastrophe.
● French politician Rachida Dati gives birth to a daughter Zohra, amidst speculation about the identity of the father. She returns to work just five days later.
February
● British film Slumdog Millionaire sweeps the Oscars on February 22nd. Other European winners at the 81st Academy Awards include Kate Winslet as Best Actress for The Reader and Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Kate Winslet in The Reader
Also in the news
● Bushfires ravish Australia on February 7th and cause 173 people to lose their lives.
● President Obama signs into law the biggest stimulus bill in American history, pumping $787 billion into the economy.
● The Royal Bank of Scotland announces the biggest loss in British corporate history, at £24.1 billion.
● Singer Chris Brown assaults his then girlfriend Rhianna.
March
● Fraudster Bernie Madoff, who had come to symbolise the worst of the excesses that led to the global financial crisis, pleads guilty on March 12th to 11 counts, including money laundering and perjury. Later in 2009 Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme lands him with an 150 year sentence.
● A teenager kills 16 people in a shooting rampage at a school in Winnenden, Germany on March 11th. The perpetrator, a 17-year-old former pupil of the school, Tim Kretschmer, kills himself three hours later following a large scale police chase.
Also in the news
● British reality star Jade Goody dies after a much-publicised cancer battle.
● Running in Heels goes live.
April
● As the month comes to an end the first (of 2009’s) revelations emerge about Silvio Berlusconi’s less than salubrious private life emerge. By May, his wife Veronica Lario files for divorce amidst rumours about Berlusconi and a teenage socialite, Noemi Letizia, and then others scandals about him and prostitutes. Public sympathy only really returns when an aggrieved man attacks Berlusconi with a statue, sending the Italian leader to hospital.
● World leaders convene in London for the G20 Summit. Held to construct a response to the global financial crisis, among other things, a $1.1 trillion investment is set for economic recovery. Outside of the summit itself, violent clashes between police and protestors leave one man dead after a heart attack.
Devastation in Abruzzo post-earthquake
● The first cases of Swine Flu, otherwise known as H1N1, are reported in Mexico, prompting – as yet unfounded – fears of a devastating global pandemic.
Also in the news
● The death toll reaches some 300 people after a major earthquake hits the Italian area of Abruzzo.
● Susan Boyle stuns audiences on Britain’s Got Talent, leading to a YouTube frenzy and massive album sales.
May
● The 622nd annual Cannes Film Festival opens on May 13th. As usual, the stars flock to the event, with all eyes on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, there for the opening of the new Quentin Tarantino film Inglorious Basterds, which Pitt starred in. However the movie that gets the most buzz features no celebrity names and follows an old man who flies south in a hot air balloon ; Pixar’s Up, the first animated film to open to festival in history.
● Britain’s Daily Telegraph uncovers full details of the expenses claims made by sitting members of parliament. The MP’s expenses scandal, which includes payments for moat drainage, a duck island and adult videos, continues to make headlines and ignite public anger throughout 2009.
Also in the news
● Norway take the top prize at the 54th Eurovision Song Contest 2009 on May 16th in Russia.
June
● Iran erupts in revolution from June 12th as protestors take to the streets to challenge what they view as the flawed election that brought Mahmoud Ahmadinejad another term in power. Supporters of defeated opponent Mir-Houssein Mousawi riot, and are violently repressed, as seen most shockingly with the death of student Neda Soltan. The Green Revolution is spread with the help of social mediums like Twitter and YouTube.
June saw violence in Iranian streets
● The world mourns a singing legend, as Michael Jackson dies at home in California, age 50. The circumstances of his death – prescription drugs that were administered and other rumours – are publicly debated while celebrities, politicians and everybody else pays homage to the King of Pop. In October the film This Is It is released, charting his last few months as he prepared for a series of sold-out concerts in London.
Also in the news
● All 216 passengers and 12 crew members on an Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris are killed in a plane crash.
July
● Honduras erupts in chaos after the military oust the President, Manuel Zelaya on exile him on June 28th. The international community condemn the coup in the central American country and the Organisation of American States (OAS) suspends Honduras’ membership.
Also in the news
● Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador wins the 92nd annual Tour de France competition
● Hundreds are killed in bloody clashes between Uighurs and Han Chinese people in Xinjian, China.
● The first person in 14 years is killed during the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain.
August
● The Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi is released from jail early on August 20th, on the grounds he is terminally ill. Al-Megrahi was convicted of killing 270 people in the attack on the 1988 Pan-Am flight, and there is outrage about the decision. At the time it is explained that he has just weeks to live. At the time of writing he is still alive.
Also in the news
● Corazon Aquino, the first female to hold the title of President of the Philippines dies.
● Twitter is hacked.
● Reports say the leader of Pakistan’s Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, is killed in a drone strike.
Patrick Swayze passed away in September
September
● Angela Merkel is reelected as Germany’s chancellor for a second term on September 27th. The vote sees a massive defeat for the Social Democrats, who achieve their worst share of the vote since World War II, and the Free Democrats become coalition partners with Merkel’s Christian Democrats.
● Dirty Dancing heartthrob Patrick Swayze dies after a tragic battle with pancreatic cancer. Demi Moore, who co-starred with the actor in Ghost, said that his ‘light will forever shine in all of our lives’.
Also in the news
● President Sarkozy and Prime Minister Gordon Brown announce that evidence has been found exposing a covert nuclear facility in Iran.
October
● Brazilian city Rio de Janeiro beats Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo on October 2nd to win the bid for the 2016 Olympic games. It will be the first time the games have been held in South America and the third time they take place in the southern hemisphere.
● After gay pop singer Stephen Gately, of Irish super-group Boyzone, is found dead, there is a storm of controversy due to a Daily Mail column. Jan Moir wrote that his death “strikes another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships”.
Also in the news
● The world waits for news of a six-year-old boy feared lost in a hot air balloon – then it turns out to be a scam pulled by his fame hungry parents.
November
● Europe gets a president and a foreign policy chief, as the long-awaited Lisbon Treaty is finally ratified by all 27 member states and comes into force on December 1st. Belgian haiku-writer Herman Van Rompuy is chosen as the first president, with Britain’s Baroness Ashton selected as high representative for foreign affairs.
● It turns out Tiger Woods is not as clean living as he would have liked us to believe. The golf star’s reputation is in shreds after he crashes his car into a fire hydrant in the middle of the night, the trigger for what turns out to be many, many revelations of extramarital affairs.
Celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall
Also in the news
● The twentieth anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down is marked with a giant set of dominos.
● French footballer Thierry Henry causes an international furore after a sneaky handball in an Ireland-France match puts an end to Ireland’s World Cup ambitions.
● Thirteen are killed when an Army major goes on a shooting spree in Fort Hood army base, Texas.
December
● Five ‘trophy hunters’ are arrested after the sign at the opening gate of concentration camp Auschwitz is stolen on December 18th. The sign, which reads “Arbeit Macht Frei”, meaning Work Sets you Free, was found cut into three pieces.
● American exchange student Amanda Knox and her Italian former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito are convicted of murdering British student Meredith Kercher in Perugia in 2007. Knox, who is given a 26 year sentence on December 4th, maintains she is innocent.
Also in the news
● The UN’s long-awaited Copenhagen summit on Climate Change comes and goes with little success.
● Brittany Murphy, made famous by her role as Tai in the film Clueless, dies age 32.
● The Pope is attacked by a mentally ill woman on Christmas Eve.
Email This Post
Tags: 2009, 2009 news review, 2016 Olympics, Amanda Knox, Angela Merkel, Balloon Boy, Berlusconi, Brittany Murphy, copenhagen, financial crisis, Geir Haarde, Honduras coup, Jade Goody, Lisbon Treaty, Michael Jackson, Michelle Obama, Moirgate, Obama inauguration, Patrick Swayze, Politics, Rachida Dati, review, Society, Susan Boyle, Thierry Henry 
Discussion
Comments are disallowed for this post.
Comments are closed.