Events that made headlines in 2009

As we say good bye to 2009, here is a look at the events that made headlines around the world.  

2009 undoubtedly belongs to Barack Obama who was sworn in as the 44th, and first African American, President of the United States. He received Nobel prize for peace for no apparent reasons raising many eye brows. Perhaps his order to close within a year the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, where the US had held non-citizens whom it accused of terrorism, did the trick?

In February, the deadliest bush fires in Australian history began; killing 173, injured many, and left 7,500 homeless. The fires came after Melbourne recorded the highest-ever temperature (46.4°C, 115°F) of any capital city in Australia. The heat was so unbearable the Aussies turned to poor Indian students and beat the hell out of them.

Tiger woods became the first sports person in history to admit transgressions. He decided to take time off from golf to concentrate on adult movies.

The death of American entertainer Michael Jackson in June triggered an outpouring of worldwide grief. Online, reactions to the event crippled several major websites, as the abundance of people accessing the web pushed internet traffic to unprecedented levels. It turned out that most of the people were searching the internet to figure out if he was Black or White.

Swine Flu is deemed a global pandemic and even terrorists are looking at ways to take it to their advantage.

Dubai sneezes and the world catches a flu. In November, Dubai requested a debt deferment following its massive building projects, as well as the late 2000s economic crisis. The announcement caused global stock markets to drop.

Copenhagen climate meeting began with a bang but ended up with the world leaders banging up each other. Leading Bollywood actresses threatened to drop their clothes potentially pushing up global warming if a resolution is not made at the summit.

2009 also witnessed earth quakes, Tsunami, plane crashes, solar eclipse, terrorist attacks and a Hollywood movie telling us that the world will end in the year 2012. Finally, James Cameron the director who gave us the movie Titanic returning after 12 years with the mother of all movies Avatar with a $400 million budget. The movie is receiving rave reviews and the initial sign is that it is going to be a mega block buster.

That said, my personal favorite event is the rise of an unexpected star. YouTube announced that its 2009 star was Susan Boyle, the frumpy Scottish woman who mesmerized the world with a heartwarming rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream" on a British talent show in April.

Boyle, now 48, ended up taking second place in that competition, but no one came close to outshining her on YouTube. Her "Britain's Got Talent" videos attracted more than 300 million views worldwide.

Entertainment weekly said that Boyle's performance was a victory for talent and artistry in a culture obsessed with physical attractiveness and presentation. New York's Daily News said that an underdog being ridiculed or humiliated but then enjoying an unexpected triumph is a common trope in literature, and the stark contrast between the audience's low expectations and the quality of her singing made Boyle's performance such an engaging piece of television.

Boyle's first album, I Dreamed a Dream, was released on 23 November 2009. The album made it to No. 1 spot in UK, Ireland, US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland. 

As we embark ourselves to say good bye to 2009 and welcome a more exciting 2010, enjoy Susan Boyle's performance at Britain's Got Talent and be inspired.