1. 911 terror attacks (2001)
In the worst terror attack on the US mainland in modern history, two hijacked planes slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York - where about 40,000 people worked - and a third plane hit the Pentagon, across the Potomac River from Washington DC.
Within minutes a fourth hijacked plane crashed 130km southeast of Pittsburgh. Though its destination is unclear, speculation centred on the presidential retreat Camp David, 135km away in the Maryland mountains.
The attacks, by 19 Islamic terrorists linked to al-Qaeda, killed 2974 people from over 90 countries.
2. Boxing Day Tsunami (2003)
It has been called the world's first global disaster, not because of the number of dead but because the toll touched so many countries who had citizens in the tourist resorts and because of the time of the disaster - Boxing Day.
A huge earthquake in the Indian Ocean, west of Sumatra, measuring between 9.1 and 9.3 on the Richter Scale caused an enormous Tsunami, which struck the coastlines of 11 countries including Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka with devastating effect.
Over 150,000 people perished in one of the world's deadliest natural disasters with the humanitarian aid bill topping NZ$10b.
3. Bali bombings (2002)
The terror attack on October 12, 2002 killed 202 people including three New Zealanders and 88 Australians, confirming terrorism's arrival on Australasia's doorstep.
The attack, a car bomb which which ripped through the popular Sari Club and nearby Paddy's Bar, was orchestrated by bombers linked to Jemaah Islamiah, considered al Qaeda's Southeast Asian arm.
Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, widely thought to have been one of the masterminds behind the attack, had his conviction for conspiracy quashed in 2003.
Imam Samudra, Amrozi Nurhasyim and Mukhlas Nurhasyim were executed on November 8, 2008 for carrying out the attacks.
4. Saddam Hussein's capture (2003)
The US and Britain's invasion of Iraq in 2003 was based on the premise that Saddam Hussein possessed "weapons of mass destruction". None were ever found, but the Iraqi dictator was - on December 13 2003 in the small town of Ad-Dawr near Tikrit. Despite being armed with two guns and over US$750,000 (NZ$1.4m) in cash he didn't resist arrest.
Hussein was tried before the Iraqi Interim Government for crimes against humanity.
He was executed by hanging on December 30 2006.
5. Obama's US election win (2008)
On November 5 2008 Barack Obama helped African-Americans break through the ultimate glass ceiling with his election to the White House as the 44th President of the United States.
Describing his victory as the "defining moment change has come to America", Obama promised to take America in a new direction, by "fixing the economy", focusing on green job creation and withdrawing US troops from Iraq.
He was inaugurated as president on January 21 this year.
6. Beijing Olympics (2008)
China exploded into the Western public's mainstream consciousness with the most expensive Games in Olympic history. The opening ceremony alone was reported to have cost an estimated US$100 (NZ$150m).
The event showcased China's culture and country to the outside world in a way never seen before, in the process changing some perceptions of the world's largest country for good.
Despite concerns over China's human rights record, the event was widely viewed as a tremendous success and went off without disruption.
A total of 43 world records were set during the two week extravaganza.
7. London bombings (2005)
The London bombings on July 7 2005 were a sobering reminder of the new terrorist threat.
Four years after 911 and three years after the first Bali bombings, multiple bomb attacks on the London underground and bus system left 52 dead, including New Zealand woman Shelley Mather, 26, who was on the underground train between King's Cross and Russell Square stations when a bomb exploded.
8. Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair (1998)
Former US President Bill Clinton called his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky "a terrible moral error", but later called his subsequent impeachment a "badge of honour".
Clinton became just the second US president to be impeached after lying about an affair with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky in 1998.
Clinton had denied having "sexual relations" with Lewinsky during his deposition for the Paula Jones case, in which he was also accused of having an extra-marital affair.
An independent inquiry later found that deposition to be false but Clinton was acquitted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges, and remained President until the end of his second term in 2001.
9. Hurricane Katrina (2005)
Hurricane Katrina became the worst natural disaster in US history when it slammed into New Orleans on August 29 2005.
By August 31, 80 per cent of New Orleans was flooded, with some parts under 4.5m of water.
Over 1.5 million people were forced from their homes with the official death toll reaching 1464.
10. Pakistan earthquake (2005)
On October 8 2005 an earthquake registering 7.7 on the Richter Scale shook the Kashmir region of Pakistan to its foundations.
Over 17,000 of the more than 73,000 killed in the quake were children who died in schools destroyed in the quake. About 3 million people were left homeless by the disaster.
With the quake occurring at the start of winter, many of the homeless who were living in the open eventually perished in the cold.
In the worst terror attack on the US mainland in modern history, two hijacked planes slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York - where about 40,000 people worked - and a third plane hit the Pentagon, across the Potomac River from Washington DC.
Within minutes a fourth hijacked plane crashed 130km southeast of Pittsburgh. Though its destination is unclear, speculation centred on the presidential retreat Camp David, 135km away in the Maryland mountains.
The attacks, by 19 Islamic terrorists linked to al-Qaeda, killed 2974 people from over 90 countries.
2. Boxing Day Tsunami (2003)
It has been called the world's first global disaster, not because of the number of dead but because the toll touched so many countries who had citizens in the tourist resorts and because of the time of the disaster - Boxing Day.
A huge earthquake in the Indian Ocean, west of Sumatra, measuring between 9.1 and 9.3 on the Richter Scale caused an enormous Tsunami, which struck the coastlines of 11 countries including Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka with devastating effect.
Over 150,000 people perished in one of the world's deadliest natural disasters with the humanitarian aid bill topping NZ$10b.
3. Bali bombings (2002)
The terror attack on October 12, 2002 killed 202 people including three New Zealanders and 88 Australians, confirming terrorism's arrival on Australasia's doorstep.
The attack, a car bomb which which ripped through the popular Sari Club and nearby Paddy's Bar, was orchestrated by bombers linked to Jemaah Islamiah, considered al Qaeda's Southeast Asian arm.
Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, widely thought to have been one of the masterminds behind the attack, had his conviction for conspiracy quashed in 2003.
Imam Samudra, Amrozi Nurhasyim and Mukhlas Nurhasyim were executed on November 8, 2008 for carrying out the attacks.
4. Saddam Hussein's capture (2003)
The US and Britain's invasion of Iraq in 2003 was based on the premise that Saddam Hussein possessed "weapons of mass destruction". None were ever found, but the Iraqi dictator was - on December 13 2003 in the small town of Ad-Dawr near Tikrit. Despite being armed with two guns and over US$750,000 (NZ$1.4m) in cash he didn't resist arrest.
Hussein was tried before the Iraqi Interim Government for crimes against humanity.
He was executed by hanging on December 30 2006.
5. Obama's US election win (2008)
On November 5 2008 Barack Obama helped African-Americans break through the ultimate glass ceiling with his election to the White House as the 44th President of the United States.
Describing his victory as the "defining moment change has come to America", Obama promised to take America in a new direction, by "fixing the economy", focusing on green job creation and withdrawing US troops from Iraq.
He was inaugurated as president on January 21 this year.
6. Beijing Olympics (2008)
China exploded into the Western public's mainstream consciousness with the most expensive Games in Olympic history. The opening ceremony alone was reported to have cost an estimated US$100 (NZ$150m).
The event showcased China's culture and country to the outside world in a way never seen before, in the process changing some perceptions of the world's largest country for good.
Despite concerns over China's human rights record, the event was widely viewed as a tremendous success and went off without disruption.
A total of 43 world records were set during the two week extravaganza.
7. London bombings (2005)
The London bombings on July 7 2005 were a sobering reminder of the new terrorist threat.
Four years after 911 and three years after the first Bali bombings, multiple bomb attacks on the London underground and bus system left 52 dead, including New Zealand woman Shelley Mather, 26, who was on the underground train between King's Cross and Russell Square stations when a bomb exploded.
8. Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair (1998)
Former US President Bill Clinton called his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky "a terrible moral error", but later called his subsequent impeachment a "badge of honour".
Clinton became just the second US president to be impeached after lying about an affair with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky in 1998.
Clinton had denied having "sexual relations" with Lewinsky during his deposition for the Paula Jones case, in which he was also accused of having an extra-marital affair.
An independent inquiry later found that deposition to be false but Clinton was acquitted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges, and remained President until the end of his second term in 2001.
9. Hurricane Katrina (2005)
Hurricane Katrina became the worst natural disaster in US history when it slammed into New Orleans on August 29 2005.
By August 31, 80 per cent of New Orleans was flooded, with some parts under 4.5m of water.
Over 1.5 million people were forced from their homes with the official death toll reaching 1464.
10. Pakistan earthquake (2005)
On October 8 2005 an earthquake registering 7.7 on the Richter Scale shook the Kashmir region of Pakistan to its foundations.
Over 17,000 of the more than 73,000 killed in the quake were children who died in schools destroyed in the quake. About 3 million people were left homeless by the disaster.
With the quake occurring at the start of winter, many of the homeless who were living in the open eventually perished in the cold.
