By Simon Wright – Follow
me on Twitter @Siwri88
2013 in news
was another dramatic year and sadly another one where human tragedy was at the
forefront. Civil conflicts in countries, mixed in with one of the worst
tropical cyclones in history, international terrorism and the deaths of some
huge historical figures meant it was a year of distressing stories.
However the
worldwide economy seems to be making some form of recovery and along with the
end of a long British sporting drought, a fine summer of weather in the UK and
the arrival of a Royal baby, there were some happy and positive stories to come
out of this calendar year.
Here is
Viewing Perspectives’ round-up of the news review of 2013.
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| The Federal Government shutdown made Barack Obama's year difficult |
The year
started well enough for American president Barack Obama as he had his second
inauguration ceremony in Washington after being elected for a second term at
the backend of 2012. If only Obama knew that this was to be the high point of
a tough year at the helm. In October, the US government
shutdown for the first time since 1995 and lasted for 16 days. This was after
the Democratic and Republic parties were unable to agree on measures to keep
the government operating. This led to some historic landmarks across the States
such as the Grand Canyon (notice pictured) being closed to tourists and leaving Obama completely
powerless.
Obama wasn’t
the only worldwide leader to either be re-elected or come into power for the
first time. Merkel won a historic third term in German office as Chancellor,
though not by an overall majority for her party to take full control of the
country. In Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe swept back into office once again
after another landslide success. China’s parliament formally elected Xi Jinping as their new president
in March whilst presidential elections were held in Iran in June – a crucial
election for both the country and the world given their stance on the use of
nuclear power. With 51 per cent of the vote, Hassan Rouhani from the Combatant
Clergy Association party emerged triumphant.
Other political
powers didn’t see out the year though. In Venezuela, Hugo Chavez died in March.
The capital of Caracas stood at a standstill on the day of his funeral. Chavez
had strained relations with world countries but was dearly loved
and adored in his native homeland. Over 30 world leaders paid their respects at
the state funeral. There were more protests over government rulings in Arab
countries. Fighting broke out once again in Egypt this summer as Hosni
Mubarak’s successor Mohamed Morsi was overthrown in a military coup, just over
two years after arriving in office. The Egyptian people were angry that little
had changed since the first uprising in 2011. Violence followed for days in the
capital Cairo. It was a similar story in the Central African
Republic. Their president Francois Bozize fled to the Democratic Republic of
Congo after rebel forces managed to take control of the capital Bangui. The biggest political change though came in
the Catholic Church. On February 28, Benedict XVI resigned as pope, becoming
the first to do so in nearly 600 years. Ill health was stated as the official
reason for his sudden departure. After two weeks of guessing, the 266th
pope was revealed as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, taking on the
name Pope Francis. He is the first from the Southern Hemisphere to take the
role as head of the Catholic Church and led to great scenes in the Vatican City
afterwards.
Back home and
it was a quieter year for the major political parties with no serious scandals
that divided parliament. Party conference season in the
autumn came and went, with Labour making promises about freezing gas and energy
prices if they get into power at the 2015 General Election. David Cameron’s response was to pledge for taxes to be cut for working class
people. Chancellor George Osbourne, who was on rocky ground 12 months ago had a
better year as the economy started to show signs of a slow but steady recovery.
This was backed up by the autumn statement with fuel duty axed, although the
retirement age did rise to 70. One of the biggest reactions in Downing Street
was the introduction of the titled ‘bedroom tax’ in April which would see
people being taxed more for having bedrooms that were not being used. Online
campaigns were set-up and peaceful demonstrations made outside the Royal Courts
of Justice. The government would later state that the changes to the housing
benefit scheme were required but special dispensation cases would be made for
those suffering from ill health or other exceptional circumstances.
The big
political story in the UK was that of the death of a former power in the 20th
century. After suffering another stroke in the Ritz hotel in April, Margaret
Thatcher died aged 87. The reaction to the death of Britain’s longest-serving
PM of the last century was mixed with some burning effigies and
celebrating her passing. Others were left to mourn Thatcher’s death with
dignity. She had left her mark on this country. Her ruthlessness had led to
some great success such as the Falklands War victory in 1982 and was ultimately
her biggest downfall with the Poll Tax policy that led to riots eight years
later. Thatcher has a legacy that shouldn’t be tarnished, though it is
understandable why some like the mining industry didn’t share a tear on hearing
of her passing. The ‘Iron Lady’ was no more.
Thatcher
wasn’t the only huge name to pass away. Other shock deaths including
Hollywood actor Paul Walker, singer Bernie Nolan, broadcaster Sir David Frost
and South African model and TV personality Reeva Steenkamp – found dead after
being shot by her boyfriend Oscar Pretorius on Valentine’s Day at the Pretoria
home of the ‘Blade Runner.’ The Paralympic competitor is believed to have fired
shots through a door, mistaking Steenkamp for an intruder in his home. The
events were tragic and the episode a mystery. The trial will begin early next
year in South Africa. By the end of the year though, South Africa was paying
its respects to its greatest human-being and for the world, one of its most
influential figures.
Nelson
Mandela had endeared himself to so many on this planet. He did so much for his
country and the world as a whole. South Africa’s first black president died on
December 5, aged 95 after spending much of the year fighting a lung infection.
He was admitted to hospital three times as his health started to decline
rapidly. In June, his condition was described as ‘serious’ by doctors and he
returned home to spend the final months of his life with his family. The
tributes that flowed in worldwide were overwhelming and show the appreciation
so many had for Nelson Mandela. He was laid to rest 10 days later after several
days of national mourning and a memorial service in the Soccer City stadium in
Johannesburg, the setting of his last public appearance three years ago. He
will be dearly missed by so many people.
International terrorism remains sadly a
forefront of our news. In April, everyone was stunned by the attacks carried
out by Islamic forces on the finishing straight of the Boston Marathon. Two
bombs went off in quick succession as many were completing the
marathon. 264 people were injured and three people were killed. Five months
later, it was Kenya’s time to be in the spotlight for the wrong reasons as the
Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi came under fire from Islamic militants. The
three-day siege saw some harrowing pictures on our television
screens as 170 people were wounded and 62 people killed. The Islamic group
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.
There was
plenty of tragedy throughout the year worldwide on a human and Mother Nature
scale. In January, a deadly fire at a Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil
killed 241 people.
Brazilian police confirmed two months later that 16 people were to be
prosecuted for the disaster, started when the member of a band lit a firework
that caught fire on the ceiling and spread in a matter of seconds. In the
Russian city of Chelyabinsk, 1,491 were injured as a meteor exploded over
their town with many buildings destroyed. It was the most powerful meteor to
strike the atmosphere of the Earth in over a century. April brought the
building collapse of a commercial building in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
The accident was the third worst industrial disaster in history, leaving 2,500
injured and 1,129 people dead as the eight-story building came down. Many
stores on the high street here like Primark and Mango paid out compensation to the families of the victims. Oklahoma City in the
United States was hit by a severe tornado in May, the country’s worst in two
years. 237 were left injured as a suburb was virtually wiped out. At least 24
died, including nine children. A supermarket roof collapsed in the Latvian
capital Riga following the carrying out of structural work. 54 people died and the
incident was so distressing to the PM Valdis Dombrovskis, he tendered his
resignation with immediate effect. Lastly the people of Spain were left in
mourning in July as a high-speed train crashed in the North West region of
Santiago de Compostela. 79 passengers lost their lives as CCTV cameras showed
the moment the train left the tracks, caused by the driver going too fast on a
track not designed for the speeds he was travelling at.
However there were three other incidents that were gruesome, shocking and left either outrage
or heartfelt donations. In May the town of Woolwich made the headlines after
the absolutely horrific killing of soldier Lee Rigby. The pictures of his dead
body lying in the road were broadcast to millions, leaving many people
absolutely sickened by this act carried out on the 25-year-old. It was a knife
attack while he made his way through south east London. 29-year-old Michael
Adebolajo and 22-year-old Michael Adebowale are currently on trial for his
murder. Meanwhile events in Syria continued to dominate many of the front
pages of the newspapers and TV bulletins as the year progressed. The world was
appalled to hear about an alleged chemical attack carried out by the Assad
regime on August 21 in Damascus. The world condemned the attacks. A month later, inspectors from the United Nations confirmed the use of
chemical weapons after some intense investigations. The civil war in the
country claimed many more lives throughout the year and many natives have fled
in a desperate attempt to either start again and in many cases to survive.
November saw Mother Nature show her true force once again. One of the most
powerful storms in history was recorded as the Philippines was battered by Typhoon Haiyan.
Small towns were literally wiped out and thousands died in this tropical
cyclone which was a reminder to many of this force following the earthquake
that left Haiti in ruins three years ago and the tsunami in Japan in 2011. At
least 5,700 were confirmed to have died and many more have had their livelihoods
completely shattered. Aid started arriving from all areas across the
globe as the planet came together to try and help the Philippine people. The US
has already pledged over $100m to help those now trying to fend off the
severe threats of contracting diseases.
In Britain, January
brought terror to morning commuters in London as a helicopter crashed into a
crane on top of one of Europe’s tallest residential blocks in Vauxhall. On a foggy Wednesday morning as many were making their way to work for
a normal day, that aspect changed when debris ploughed down onto the nearby
roads and wreckage spread across the area. Nine were injured and two lost their
lives. There was a more tragic loss of life in Glasgow at the end of November
as 10 people were killed when a police helicopter crashed into a pub on a busy
Friday evening. In both instances, community spirit was shown in abundance to
come to terms with these shocking events. The incident in London was down to
the weather conditions and pilot error. The cause of the Glasgow crash is still
unknown.
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| Findus' Beef Lasagne was one product caught up in the horsemeat scandal |
One issue
totally unexpected in this country but caused plenty of concern was the
horsemeat scandal throughout January and into February. It started when food
inspectors in the Republic of Ireland claimed they had found horsemeat in
frozen beefburgers which had been sold by a number of supermarket chains over
here, including Iceland, Tesco and Aldi. In the weeks that followed, more cases
came out of detected horsemeat in ingredients with major suppliers including
Nestle and Findus (Beef Lasagne product pictured) being forced to recall products as tests confirmed traces of
horse DNA. Some brushed it off, others cried foul and it certainly damaged the
trust relationship between the consumer and the main supermarkets. Some 2,501
tests were conducted in the aftermath of all this - health experts saying the
cases were down to negligence in food production rather than the safety of
customers eating the products. In total, there were 29 positive results in
seven products – all withdrawn as soon as news broke. Then it all blew away
like a storm in a teacup. However it would leave a mark on the food industry
for the remainder of the year. The phone hacking trial began towards the
end of the year. Eight journalists including former senior editors of the News
of the World Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks are among those on trial. One of the
early reveals of the evidence given was a love letter that confirmed that
Coulson and Brooks had an affair for at least six years from the late 1990s.
The trial will continue well into next year.
While the UK’s
economy started to settle down again with unemployment levels dropping to their
lowest level since the spring of 2009, it wasn’t so good for Cyprus. In March the EU agreed to a bailout of €10 billion after a banking crisis hit the island on the Mediterranean which left
people with restricted access to bank accounts. The EU also got a new member in
July as Croatia became the 28th member of the organisation.
Other news
stories to make the headlines saw the end of British sport’s longest drought
without a winner. Andy Murray ended the 77 years of hurt when he defeated Novak
Djokovic of Serbia in straight sets to become the Wimbledon Men’s Singles
champion. There was a summer success for England’s cricketers against Australia
in the Ashes before surrendering the urn meekly before Christmas Down Under.
Chris Froome became the second Brit in a row to win the Tour de France and
football’s greatest manager retired at the top as Sir Alex Ferguson stood aside
as Manchester United manager after leading the Red Devils in May to a 13th
Premier League title. The city of Hull was named as the next UK City of Culture
in November. It held off competition from Leicester, Dundee and Swansea to take
the coveted prize for the year 2017. Tokyo was announced as the host of the 2020 Olympic Games at an IOC
meeting in Buenos Aires in the summer and a new appeal was launched to find
missing Madeleine McCann following 100 calls and e-mails to the BBC’s
Crimewatch programme after a reconstruction of events was broadcasted. She was
taken from a holiday apartment in Portugal six years ago.
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| William and Kate pose with their bundle of joy, Prince George of Cambridge |
There was no
competition though for what was the happiest news story of the year and that
came in July as the country welcomed Prince George of Cambridge. Ever since
the announcement of Kate Middleton’s pregnancy, there had been plenty of talk
about baby's sex and potential names. The baby boy was born at St Mary’s Hospital to their
proud parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (all three pictured) on the evening of Monday, 22
July. As predicted, a media scrum waited outside for the first shots of the new
arrival to the Royal Family and with it, the future King of England. George
received a private Christening in October and baby and parents are still doing
well nearly six months on. It is stories like this that remind us that while
the year in news is often controlled by bad headlines, it sometimes is the good and
happy stories that can leave the biggest mark and best memories of a calendar
year.
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| This man will NOT be the UK's Prime Minister in 2014! |
With that in
mind, that is the news review of 2013. It had plenty to lookback on and now, we
wait what 2014 will bring. There is bound to be another scandal in the country somewhere,
the Commonwealth Games arrive in Glasgow, Scotland votes for independence and I
can guarantee you all that this man (Ed Miliband pictured) will NOT be prime minister
by this time next year. Other than that, who knows what will happen but happier
times wouldn’t go amiss.
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