January 3: United States
The United States national debt passes $14 trillion. What it also means is that the debt is approaching the statutory debt ceiling of $14.294 trillion set by Congress last year. Unless the Congress increases the debt ceiling, the U.S. might not be able to borrow more money and even default on its obligations.
January 13: Mexico
The Mexican authorities report that more than 34,500 people have died in violence since the government launched its campaign against the drug cartels in December 2006. In 2010 alone, more than 15,000 people were killed. Ninety percent of these deaths were gang members. Most of the violence took place in Mexico’s three northern states of Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, and Sinaloa.
January 31: Belarus/EU/United States
In response to the last month’s fraudulent presidential election and the crackdown on the opposition in Belarus, the European Union and the United States toughen and widen sanctions on the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, and other senior officials. The sanctions include freezing assets, stricter financial controls, and a travel ban.
March 9: United States
The Governor of the U.S. state of Illinois, Pat Quinn, signs a bill abolishing the death penalty. The move makes Illinois the 16th state that does not allow executions. In 2000, the previous governor imposed a 10-year moratorium on death penalty after it was revealed that several death row inmates were wrongly convicted.
May 2: United States
Osama bin Laden, the founder of the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda and the world’s most wanted man, is killed in his private residential compound in a Pakistani city of Abbottabad by the U.S. Special Forces in a covert operation ordered by U.S. President Barack Obama. Bin Laden is believed to be responsible for the September 11 attacks in New York, which killed more than 3,000 people, as well as other terrorist attacks, such as bombings of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed hundreds of people and the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000.
July 7: United States/Mexico
The United States agrees to give trucks from Mexico full access to its roads and highways settling a 17-year old dispute. Mexico was granted this right by the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), but the U.S. restricted its access, citing concerns over Mexico being able to meet U.S. safety and environmental standards. In retaliation, Mexico imposed higher tariffs on many U.S. products, which, after reaching the deal, are to be lifted.
August 2: United States
After a last-minute compromise deal in the United States Congress, President Barack Obama signs legislation that raises the federal debt limit by $2.4 trillion. Legislators risked the U.S. going into a full-scale default, but come to a deal just hours before the deadline. (August 6): One of the world’s main credit rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s, downgrades the United States’ AAA rating to AA+ for the first time ever, saying that the Congress-approved deficit reduction plan was insufficient and it took too long to come to an agreement. The downgrade could erode investors’ confidence in the U.S. economy and raise the cost of borrowing for the U.S. However, other rating agencies, such as Moody’s and Fitch do not follow S&P. The critics say the S&P’s calculations were wrong.
September 13: United States
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s data for 2010, poverty in the United States rose to 15.1 percent and the number of Americans without health insurance has reached 49.9 million. The U.S. poverty line is an annual income of $11,139 for a single person or $22,314 for a family of four.
October 1: United States
U.S. forces assassinate Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born al-Qaeda leader in Yemen. This is a major blow to the terrorist organization, as al-Awlaki was its major figure. The U.S. intelligence cooperated with the Yemeni security forces on this mission.
October 2: United States
Police of New York City arrests at least 700 protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement mostly for disorderly conduct. Anti-corporate greed protests, Occupy Wall Street, begun last month and now have spread to other major U.S. cities, such as Boston, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Tens of thousands of people also protest job cuts, layoffs, and growing inequality between 99 percent of the U.S. population and the wealthiest 1 percent.
October 27: United States
Speaking in the United States Congress to the Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton says that cooperation with Pakistan was key to weakening the terrorist al-Qaeda organization. But she also criticizes Pakistan for tolerating safe havens for other terrorist groups on its border with Afghanistan, such as the Taliban and the Haqqani network. She also accuses the Pakistani government, as did former chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen before her, of having ties with the Haqqani organization.
November 22: United States
South Korean parliament ratifies a free-trade agreement with the United States after it was agreed in 2007. The United States ratified it last month. The deal is expected to raise U.S. exports to South Korea by $10 billion. However, the Korean opponents, who protest outside the parliament, say the agreement puts Korean workers at disadvantage.
December 1: United States
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pays an official visit to Myanmar for the first time since 1955. She meets with the country’s president, Thein Sein, and commends the recent reforms, saying that as long as they continue relations between Myanmar and the United States will improve. Hillary Clinton also meets with opposition and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.