What was the biggest event of 2013? Was it the death of Nelson Mandela, the destructive Typhoon Haiyan, or the installation of Pope Francis in the Papacy? or was it something else?
In a year in which the world population reached 7,198 million, the Gregorian Year MMXIII has revealed no less hype, drama and tragedy than we are accustomed to seeing. Perhaps in terms of enormity, the following ten events can be considered (in reverse ‘countdown’ order of importance) as the biggest and most memorable:
NUMBER TEN – Typhoon Haiyan
This storm, one of the strongest cyclones on record, and the damage it caused, was the largest single weather event to cause massive devastation during the year. Thousands were killed (5,822 confirmed) and millions went missing. It devastated portions of Southeast Asia. Winds were officially recorded to exceed 270 kph (167 mph or 75 m/s). This hurricane has broken a lot of records. His damage bill is $2.4 billion (USD).
NUMBER NINE – Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage
There are now twenty countries that have recognized same-sex marriages, although many of these, like the United States, only small portions, or states, have passed laws. Same-sex marriage is now a global point of contention and debate about its merits and problems is on the agenda for almost every country.
NUMBER EIGHT – National and Global Information Security Leaks
2013 will long be remembered for several cases where leaked classified documents caused international embarrassment and local pressure.
NUMBER SEVEN – Location of North Korea
In February, North Korea conducts its third underground nuclear test to widespread condemnation. Of greater concern to world leaders is the unpredictability of North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong-un.
NUMBER SIX – Pope Benedict XVI resigns
The first Pope to resign from the Papal Office since Pope Gregory XII in 1415 (who was forced to do so due to the Western Schism), and the first Pope to resign on his own initiative since 1294, Pope Benedict XVI resigns due to the deteriorating health and old age. The resignation process began on February 11 and concluded on February 28.
NUMBER FIVE – Developments in the Middle East
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is deposed by the military and Adly Mansour is appointed interim president. Furthermore, tensions and political unrest in Syria are reaching a critical point.
NUMBER FOUR – Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi is a Burmese opposition politician and president of the National League for Democracy in Burma, and the world’s most prominent contemporary political prisoner. She was released in 2010. Like Nelson Mandala, but in reverse (she was president in 1990 and then under house arrest), Aung San Suu Kyi declared in June that she will run for the Myanmar presidency in 2015 in what will likely be a massive regional development if she wins and is allowed to govern.
NUMBER THREE – The Boston Marathon Bombing
Although there were relatively few deaths and injuries, the scale of the terrorism – striking in the world’s oldest marathon event and one of the ‘big’ six – defied belief, as did London (2005) and Bali (2002), but on a much smaller scale than September 11, 2001 in New York City. Three died and 264 were injured.
NUMBER TWO – Pope Francis takes over the Papacy
Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the 266th Pope) becomes the first Pope to wash women’s feet at the Holy Thursday service. Pope Francis seems to continue with a more liberal and compassionate stance on the Papacy than the traditional Roman Catholic Church might be remembered.
NUMBER ONE – The death of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
The 20th century model of peace, unprecedented in the scale of its personal suffering and the global impact it had for good, died peacefully, aged 95. Twenty-seven years of harsh incarceration on Robben Island preceded his single-handed unification of a broken south. Africa in the 1990s. Perhaps ‘Madiba’s’ most enduring legacy, however, is his personification of grace; his tireless forgiveness of his transgressors.
© 2013 SJ Wickham.
Attribution: Source information from various pages on Wikipedia and HistoryOrb.