2000s in Angola, 2008
The government held legislative elections on 5 September 2008, the first national election in sixteen years. Election observers reported serious electoral irregularities and restrictions on political freedom.


2000s in Bahrain
In the 2000s in Bahrain the government instituted political reforms and relaxed economic controls.


2000s in Bahrain, Accession of Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa
In 1999 Shaikh Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa became Emir after the death of his father, Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and carried out wide-ranging social and political reforms, described by Amnesty International as representing a "historic period for human rights". King Hamad ended the political repression that had defined the 1990s by scrapping security laws, releasing all political prisoners, instituting elections, giving women the vote and promising a return to constitutional rule. The move brought an end to political violence that was part of the 1990s uprising in Bahrain, but did not initially bring about a reconciliation between the government and most of the opposition groups.


2000s in Bahrain, Accession of Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa
The invitation to Bahrain's former exiles to return home revitalised the Kingdom's politics. Exiled leaders included a number of London-based Islamists including Dr Majid Al Alawi who became Minister of Labour, Dr Mansur Al Jamri who became editor of the new opposition daily, Al Wasat, and Sheikh Ali Salman who became head of the newly established Shia Islamist Al Wefaq, Bahrain's largest political group. Former Leftist dissidents formed the National Democratic Action, the Communist Democratic Bloc, and the Bahrain Human Rights Society. Leftists were also involved in the new trade union movement, although they faced competition from Islamists for control of several unions.


2000s in Bahrain, Accession of Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa
Following the political liberalization Bahrain negotiated a Free Trade Agreement with the United States in 2004. The country participated in military action against the Taliban in 2001 with its ships patrolling the Arabian Sea searching for vessels, but opposed the invasion of Iraq. Relations improved with neighbouring Qatar after the border dispute over the Hawar Islands was resolved by the International Court of Justice in The Hague in 2001.


2000s in Bahrain, Accession of Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa
The two countries sought to build the Qatar-Bahrain Friendship Bridge to link the countries across the Persian Gulf, which would have had been the longest fixed link bridge in the world when completed, however with the 2017–19 Qatar diplomatic crisis imposed by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Egypt, the plan was dismissed.


2000s in Bahrain, 2001: National Action Charter
In 2001 Hamad put forward the National Action Charter which would return the country to constitutional rule. However the opposition was opposed to the Charter's call for an amendment to the 1973 Constitution, changing the legislature from unicameral to bicameral. The Charter stated that "the legislature will consist of two chambers, namely one that is constituted through free, direct elections whose mandate will be to enact laws, and a second one that would have people with experience and expertise who would give advice as necessary." The opposition groups deemed this statement to be too ambiguous, and remained opposed to the Charter.


2000s in Bahrain, 2001: National Action Charter
Hamad responded by holding a highly publicized meeting with the spiritual leaders of the Shia Islamist opposition. He signed a document clarifying that only the elected lower house of the parliament would have legislative power, while the appointed upper house would have a strictly advisory role. Upon this assurance, the main opposition groups accepted the Charter and called for a 'Yes' vote in the national referendum. The Charter was accepted in the 2001 referendum with 98.4% voting 'Yes' for it.


2000s in Bahrain, 2002: new constitution
However, in 2002 Hamad promulgated the 2002 Constitution in which both the elected and the royally-appointed chambers of parliament were given equal legislative powers, going back on his public promise of 2001. As a result, the parliamentary elections due to be held later that year were boycotted by a group of four political societies; Al Wefaq, a Shia Islamist group, thought to be the most popular political society in the country, National Democratic Action, the largest Leftist political society, Islamic Action Society, a marginal Shia Islamist society, and the Nationalist Democratic Rally Society, a marginal Arab Nationalist society.


2000s in Bahrain, 2002: new constitution
Between 2002 and 2006, the four boycotting societies continued their demand for discussions on constitutional reforms. By 2006 these four party opposition indicated that it would participate in the parliamentary elections, but retain their demand for constitutional reform at the top of their agenda.


2000s in Bahrain, Bahraini uprising
The protests in Bahrain started on 14 February, and were initially aimed at achieving greater political freedom and respect for human rights; they were not intended to directly threaten the monarchy. Lingering frustration among the Shiite majority with being ruled by the Sunni government was a major root cause, but the protests in Tunisia and Egypt are cited as the inspiration for the demonstrations. The protests were largely peaceful until a pre-dawn raid by police on 17 February to clear protestors from Pearl Roundabout in Manama, in which police killed four protesters.


2000s in Bahrain, Bahraini uprising
Following the raid, some protesters began to expand their aims to a call for the end of the monarchy. On 18 February army forces opened fire on protesters when they tried to reenter the roundabout, fatally wounding one. The following day protesters reoccupied Pearl Roundabout after the government ordered troops and police to withdraw. Subsequent days saw large demonstrations; on 21 February a pro-government Gathering of National Unity drew tens of thousands, whilst on 22 February the number of protestors at the Pearl Roundabout peaked at over 150,000 after more than 100,000 protesters marched there. On 14 March, Saudi-led GCC forces were requested by the government and entered the country, which the opposition called an "occupation".


2000s in Bahrain, Bahraini uprising
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa declared a three-month state of emergency on 15 March and asked the military to reassert its control as clashes spread across the country. On 16 March, armed soldiers and riot police cleared the protesters' camp in the Pearl Roundabout, in which 3 policemen and 3 protesters were reportedly killed. Later, on 18 March, the government tore down Pearl Roundabout monument. After the lifting of emergency law on 1 June, several large rallies were staged by the opposition parties. Smaller-scale protests and clashes outside of the capital have continued to occur almost daily. On 9 March 2012 over 100,000 protested in what the opposition called "the biggest march in our history".


2000s in Bahrain, Bahraini uprising
The police response has been described as a "brutal" crackdown on peaceful and unarmed protestors, including doctors and bloggers. The police carried out midnight house raids in Shia neighbourhoods, beatings at checkpoints, and denial of medical care in a "campaign of intimidation". More than 2,929 people have been arrested, and at least five people died due to torture while in police custody. On 23 November 2011 the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry released its report on its investigation of the events, finding that the government had systematically tortured prisoners and committed other human rights violations.


2000s in Bahrain, Bahraini uprising
It also rejected the government's claims that the protests were instigated by Iran. Although the report found that systematic torture had stopped, the Bahraini government has refused entry to several international human rights groups and news organizations, and delayed a visit by a UN inspector. More than 80 people had died since the start of the uprising.


2000s in Bangladesh
The 2000s was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 2000, and ended on December 31, 2009. For Bangladesh this decade was characterized by strife among the political parties over the caretaker government system for managing the national elections. Continued rapid urbanisation and globalization influenced the socio-economic and cultural activities of the country in this decade.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Political transition
In July 2001, the incumbent Bangladesh Awami League government stepped down to allow a caretaker government to preside over parliamentary elections. Political violence that had increased during the Bangladesh Awami League government's tenure continued to increase through the summer in the run up to the election.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Political transition
In August, The leader of the opposition, Khaleda Zia and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina agreed during a visit of former President Jimmy Carter to respect the results of the election, join Parliament win or lose, forswear the use of hartals (violently enforced strikes) as political tools, and if successful in forming a government allow for a more meaningful role for the opposition in Parliament. The caretaker government was successful in containing the violence, which allowed a parliamentary general election to be successfully held on 1 October 2001.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Second Khaleda administration, 2001–2006
The Four Party Alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won over a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Begum Khaleda Zia was sworn in on 10 October 2001, as Prime Minister for the third time (first in 1991, second after the 15 February 1996 elections).


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Second Khaleda administration, 2001–2006
Despite her August 2001 pledge and all election monitoring groups declaring the election free and fair, Sheikh Hasina condemned the election, rejected the results, and boycotted Parliament. In 2002, however, she led her party legislators back to Parliament, but the Bangladesh Awami League again walked out in June 2003 to protest derogatory remarks about Hasina by a State Minister and the allegedly partisan role of the Parliamentary Speaker. In June 2004, the AL returned to Parliament without having any of their demands met. They then attended Parliament irregularly before announcing a boycott of the entire June 2005 budget session.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Second Khaleda administration, 2001–2006
On 17 August 2005, near-synchronized blasts of improvised explosive devices in 63 out of 64 administrative districts targeted mainly government buildings and killed two persons. An extremist Islamist group named Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) claimed responsibility for the blasts, which aimed to press home JMB's demand for a replacement of the secular legal system with Islamic sharia courts. Subsequent attacks on the courts in several districts killed 28 people, including judges, lawyers, and police personnel guarding the courts. A government campaign against the Islamic extremists led to the arrest of hundreds of senior and mid-level JMB leaders. Six top JMB leaders were tried and sentenced to death for their role in the murder of two judges; another leader was tried and sentenced to death in absentia in the same case.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Second Khaleda administration, 2001–2006
In February 2006, the AL returned to Parliament, demanded early elections and requested significant changes in the electoral and caretaker government systems to stop alleged moves by the ruling coalition to rig the next election. The AL blamed the BNP for several high-profile attacks on opposition leaders and asserted the BNP was bent on eliminating Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League as a viable force. The BNP and its allies accused the AL of maligning Bangladesh at home and abroad out of jealousy over the government's performance on development and economic issues. Dialogue between the Secretaries General of the main ruling and opposition parties failed to sort out the electoral reform issues.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Political crisis and Caretaker government, 2006–2008
The months preceding the planned January 22, 2007, elections were filled with political unrest and controversy. Following the end of Khaleda Zia's government in late October 2006, there were protests and strikes, during which 40 people were killed in the following month, over uncertainty about who would head the caretaker government. The caretaker government had difficulty bringing the all parties to the table. Awami League and its allies protested and alleged that the caretaker government favoured the BNP.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Political crisis and Caretaker government, 2006–2008
The interim period was marked by violence and strikes. Presidential Advisor Mukhlesur Rahman Chowdhury negotiated with Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia and brought all the parties to the planned 22 January 2007 parliamentary elections. Later Hussain Muhammad Ershad's nomination was cancelled; as a result, the Grand Alliance withdrew its candidates en masse on the last day possible. They demanded to have voters' lists published.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Political crisis and Caretaker government, 2006–2008
Later in the month, the president Iajuddin Ahmed imposed a state of emergency. Iajuddin Ahmed resigned from the post of chief adviser, under the pressure of Bangladesh Army, and appointed Fakhruddin Ahmed, the new chief adviser. Political activity was prohibited. The military-backed government worked to develop graft and corruption cases against leaders and members of both major parties. In March 2007, Khaleda Zia's two sons, who both had positions in Bangladesh Nationalist Party, were charged with corruption. Hasina was charged with graft and extortion in April 2007, and a day later, Khaleda Zia was charged with graft as well.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Political crisis and Caretaker government, 2006–2008
There was attempt by Bangladesh Army chief Moeen U Ahmed, the head of Anti- Terrorism division of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence Brigadier General ATM Amin, and Director of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence Brigadier General Chowdhury Fazlul Bari to remove Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia from politics. Former Army Chief, General Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury, was made the head of Bangladesh Anti Corruption Commission. The Anti Corruption Commission and the Bangladesh Election Commission were strengthened by the caretaker government. On 27 August 2007 violence broke out in the University of Dhaka campus between students and soldiers of Bangladesh Army.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Political crisis and Caretaker government, 2006–2008
Students called strikes and burned effigies of the army chief. Police attacked the students and physically assaulted Acting Vice-chancellor Prof AFM Yusuf Haider and other faculty members of the University of Dhaka. Students were joined in demonstration by street vendors and slum residents who were evicted by the government. Bangladesh Army agreed to the demands of the protesters and removed the Army camp from the University of Dhaka campus. Students and teachers expressed dissatisfaction over the continued state of emergency in Bangladesh.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Second Hasina administration
The Awami league won national election on 29 December 2008 as part of a larger electoral alliance that also included the Jatiya Party led by former military ruler General Hussain Muhammad Ershad as well as some leftist parties. According to the Official Results, Bangladesh Awami League won 230 out of 299 constituencies, and together with its allies, had a total of 262 parliamentary seats. The Awami League and its allies received 57% of the total votes cast.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Second Hasina administration
The AL alone got 48%, compared to 36% of the other major alliance led by the BNP which by itself got 33% of the votes. Sheikh Hasina, as party head, is the new Prime Minister. Her term of office began on 7 January 2009 after Fakhruddin Ahmed. The new cabinet had several new faces, including three women in prominent positions: Dr Dipu Moni (Foreign Minister), Matia Chowdhury (Agriculture Minister) and Sahara Khatun (Home Minister). Younger MPs with a link to assassinated members of the 1972–1975 AL government are Syed Ashraful Islam, son of Syed Nazrul Islam, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, son of Sheikh Fazlul Huq Moni, and Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj, son of Tajuddin Ahmad.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Second Hasina administration
Since 2009, the Awami League government faced several major political challenges, including BDR (border security force) mutiny, power crisis, unrest in garments industry and stock market fluctuations. Judicial achievements for the party included restoring 1972 constitution (set by the first Awami League government), beginning of war crimes trials, and guilty verdict in 1975 assassination trial. According to the Nielsen 2-year survey, 50% felt the country was moving in the right direction, and 36% gave the government a favourable rating.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Second Hasina administration, Bangladesh Rifles revolt
On 25 and 26 February 2009, section of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a paramilitary force mainly tasked with guarding the borders of Bangladesh, staged a mutiny that brought the national life to a standstill. The rebelling BDR soldiers took over the BDR headquarters in Pilkhana, killing the BDR Director-General and some army officers. They also fired on civilians, held many of their officers hostage, vandalised property and looted valuables. By the second day, unrest had spread to 12 other towns and cities.


2000s in Bangladesh, Politics and National life, Second Hasina administration, Bangladesh Rifles revolt
Eventually, a total of seventy-four people were killed. Among them were 57 army officers seconded to the BDR. The Chief of the BDR, the Deputy Chief and all 16 Sector Commanders died during the revolt. The mutiny ended as the mutineers surrendered their arms and released the hostages after a series of discussions and negotiations with the government.


2000s in Bangladesh, Administrative Division
Throughout the decade Bangladesh was administratively divided into 6 divisions, namely Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet which were further subdivided into a total of 64 districts (See List of districts of Bangladesh).


2000s in Bangladesh, Demographics
Based on World Development Indicators published by the World Bank the population of Bangladesh grew from 129 million at the beginning of the decade to 150 million by the end. This signifies an annual population growth rate of 1.5%. Population density increased from 991 to 1156 per km2. The urban population was 23.6% of the total at the beginning, which ended up at 29.7%. Dhaka, the largest city, with a population of 10.3 million, accounted for 33.1% of the total urban population by 2009.


2000s in Bangladesh, Demographics
United Nations World Population Prospects show that the population growth rate was in decreasing trend (from 2.0% per annum to 1.1%), primarily due to reduction in fertility rate (births per woman) from 3.2 to 2.4. Life expectancy at birth increased from 65.3 years to 69.8 years with Child (0-5) mortality reducing from 87 per 1,000 births to 53. Age dependency ratio (% of working-age population) changed from 69.2% to 59.3% by the end of the decade.


2000s in Bangladesh, Climate, Temperature and Precipitation
Compared to prior decade the average winter temperature from December to February increased by about 0.6 degree Celsius leading to overall average annual temperature increase by about 0.3 degree Celsius. Average rainfall decreased for July-Sep resulting in overall average annual rainfall decrease by about 31 cm.


2000s in Bangladesh, Climate, Natural Disasters
The extremely severe tropical cyclone, named Cyclone Sidr, was the major natural disaster in this decade. Sidr formed in the central Bay of Bengal, and quickly turned into a Category-5 equivalent tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. The storm eventually made landfall in Bangladesh on November 15, 2007, causing large-scale evacuations. At least 3,447 deaths have been blamed on the storm,. Save the Children estimated the number of deaths associated with the cyclone to be between 3,100 and 10,000, while the Red Crescent Society reported on November 18 that the number of deaths could be up to 15,000. International groups pledged US$95 million to repair the damage, which was estimated at $1.7 billion (2007 USD).


2000s in Bangladesh, Climate, Natural Disasters
Besides there have been multiple flood events throughout the decade. In late summer 2002, heavy monsoon rains led to massive flooding in eastern India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, killing over 500 people and leaving millions homeless. There were estimated 3.5 million victims of flooding in 30 out of 64 districts. In 2004, monsoon flood intensified from April to July leading to the destruction of the rice crop in the northern region just before it was harvested. Water persisted in these regions for 3 to 4 weeks whilst gradually draining southwards, severely flooding most of Central Bangladesh.


2000s in Bangladesh, Climate, Natural Disasters
The high water level and widest extent of the flood was reached on 24 July affecting 39 out of 64 districts and 36 million people. In 2007 a series of floods impacted South Asia including Bangladesh. During this flood an estimated 7.5 million people had fled their homes, more than 50,000 people had diarrhoea or other waterborne diseases and more than 400,000 people took temporary shelters.


2000s in Bangladesh, Economy, National Income and Balance of Payment
Bangladesh GDP was USD 67.0 billion in 2000, which grew to USD 109.2 billion in 2009 (in 2010 constant dollar) signifying a 5.0% annual growth. Agricultural Sector contributed to 23.8% of GDP in the beginning of the decade, which decreased to 17.9% by the end. During the same period contribution from the industrial sector increased from 23.3% to 26.4% and that of the service sector increased from 52.9% to 55.7%. Per capita GDP increased from USD 509 to USD 726 (in 2010 constant dollar).


2000s in Bangladesh, Economy, National Income and Balance of Payment
According to World Development Indicators published by the World Bank, on 2010 constant dollar basis, Bangladesh used to export USD 4.0 billion (12.3% of GDP) worth of goods and services as of 2000, which grew at annual average rate of 16.3% to USD 18.3 billion (16.9% of GDP) in 2009. The increase can be attributed to rapid growth in export oriented ready-made garments sector. During the same time import of goods and services grew from USD 6.4 billion (17.0% of GDP) to USD 24.9 billion (23.2% of GDP) - also driven by raw material import for ready-made garments industry. Over the decade, Foreign Direct Investment and Personal Remittances Receipt averaged 0.68% and 6.61% of GDP; while, total Reserve averaged at 21.6% of external debt and 2.9 month's coverage of import.


2000s in Bangladesh, Economy, National Income and Balance of Payment
Gross National Income (at 2010 constant dollar) grew from USD 69.3 billion to USD 117.8 billion over the decade. At the beginning of this period External Debt stock (of which concessional debt was 94.8%) was 28.3% of gross national income (GNI) and External Debt Service burden was 1.4% of GNI. By the end of the decade, External Debt stock (of which concessional debt now was 78.8%) stood at  23.0% of GNI and External Debt Service burden was 0.9% of the same. During the same period Military expenditure decreased from 1.4% to 1.2% of GNI.


2000s in Bangladesh, Economy, Agriculture
Aggregate value addition from agricultural sector was USD 13.0 billion in 2000 (in 2010 constant USD), which grew at average annual rate of 3.6% to USD 18.5 billion by 2009 (in the same constant USD). During this decade, crop production grew at an annual average rate of 3.1% driven by cereal production increase from 39.5 million metric tons to 49.7 million (implying annual growth of 2.3%) - enabled by improvement in cereal yield from 3384.4 kg per hectare to 4176 kg. At the same time livestock production grew at 3.2% per annum and fisheries production increased at annual rate of 5.7%. Altogether these contributed to overall food production increase by annualized rate of 3.1%.


2000s in Bangladesh, Economy, Industrial and Service Sectors
Net value addition from industrial sector, which stood at USD 14.0 billion in 2000 (in 2010 constant USD), grew at average annual rate of 6.7% to USD 26.9 billion by 2009 (in the same constant USD basis). Manufacturing sector contributed 64.3% of industrial value added in the beginning of this period and it gradually changed to 64.8% by the end. There were 8,293 recorded industrial design applications by Bangladeshi residents in this decade, more than double of that from earlier decade. As of 2005-06 there were 34,701 industrial establishments in the country generating employment for 3.34 million.


2000s in Bangladesh, Economy, Industrial and Service Sectors
On the other hand, net value addition from the service sector amounting USD 35.8 billion in 2000, also grew at average annual rate of 5.0% and stood at USD 58.4 billion by 2009 (in 2010 constant USD). Major business enterprises that started journey in Bangladesh in this decade include Western Marine Shipyard in 2000, RanksTel and TeleTalk in 2004, United Airways in 2005, Best Air, NovoAir and Regent Power in 2007 and Walton in 2008.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Transportation
The construction of new roads somewhat slowed down in 2000s compared to earlier decade, but several major bridges were constructed. The arterial road network under the jurisdiction of Roads and Highways department (R&HD) in 2001 was about 20,854 km including 3,144 km of national highways, 1,746 km of regional roads and 15,964 km of Type A feeder roads. By 2011, there were about 21,000 km of highways (including over 3,478 km of national highways and 4,221 km of regional highways) as well as 18,258 bridges to connect the roads.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Transportation
In December 2000, over 406,000 different types of motorised vehicles were plying on the roads of Bangladesh, and the number rose to 852,416 by 2005. Major bridges constructed in the 2000s include Syed Nazrul Islam Bridge over Meghna River in 2002, Lalon Shah Bridge over Padma River in 2004, Khan Jahan Ali Bridge over Rupsha River in 2005 and Mukterpur Bridge over Dhaleshwari River in 2008 (see List of bridges in Bangladesh).


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Transportation
The opening of Bangabandhu Jamuna Bridge in 1998 opened up the scope for expanding the railways, especially for connecting the Bhuapur end of the bridge with Dhaka via tangail. This required a connectivity between Broad-gauge (BG) lines in the west of Jamuna to the Metre-gauge (MG) line in the east. Most part of the construction works of this km long section was completed by 2001. On 14 August 2003, direct BB train communication between East zone (Joydevpur) and West Zone (Rajshahi) was started. In 2008, direct passenger train “Maitree Express” between Dhaka and Kolkata was established. From 14 April 2009, BG Trains started coming to Dhaka directly after Dhaka-Joydevpur section was converted into dual gauge.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Transportation
With 3,800 kilometers of navigable rivers during the dry season and 6,000 kilometers during the monsoon season, the waterway network in Bangladesh remained an important part of the transport network. As of 2005, inland water transport was accounting for 8% of the passenger transport and 16% of the freight transport across all forms of ground transport in Bangladesh.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Transportation
With multiple private sector carriers in operation along with the national carrier Biman, air transport sector finally started to take off in this decade. As of 1999, there were 5,900 registered carrier departures worldwide which increased to 16,399 by 2009. During the same period number of passenger carried increased from 1.22 million to about 1.41 million per annum.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Telecommunication
In 2000 BTTB went into Global Telecom Service (GTS) Telex Exchange venture with British Teleco. The next year Telecommunication Act was enacted, to establish Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). In 2002 the Government issued ICT Policy. From earlier decade 3 mobile operators, namely Citycell, GrameenPhone and Aktel were in operation in Bangladesh. in 2004, BTTB owned Teletalk cellular mobile launched. Next year, Egypt-based Orascom acquired Sheba Telecom and launched Banglalink.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Telecommunication
In the beginning of the decade there were 491,303 fixed telephone line subscription in the country - which increased to 1,234,895 by the end signifying 0.82 lines per 100 people. However, there was rapid growth in mobile cellular subscriptions in this decade. By 2009 there were 51,359,315 mobile subscriptions signifying 34.14 lines per 100 people.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Energy
In 2000 per capital electric power consumption was 101.5 kWh, which increased to 219.2 kWh by 2009. During the same period per capita energy usage increased from 138.8 kg of oil equivalent to 187.3 kg and fossil fuel energy consumption increased from 57.9% to 69.0% of total.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Energy
In the year 2000, the electricity produced in the country was coming from: hydroelectric sources: 4.7%, natural gas sources: 88.8%, oil sources: 6.5% and coal sources: 0.0%. By 2009 the distribution changed to hydroelectric sources: 1.1%, natural gas sources: 91.6%, oil sources: 4.3% and coal sources: 2.9%.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Energy
On January 7, 2005, there was an accidental blowout at the Chhatak gas field at Tengratial - just a few days after Niko Resources started drilling in that location. Another blowout occurred at the same field on June 24, while Niko was trying to contain the fire from the first blowout. The gas field was ablaze for years, causing significant loss of resources for Bangladesh and damaging the environment of surrounding areas. The Government went into a lengthy legal battle with Niko for adequate compensation.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Financial Services
As of 2008, in addition to the money and capital markets, the financial sector of Bangladesh included a number of insurance, pensions, and microfinance institutions. However, the sector was dominated by the banking industry, which consisted of 4 state-owned commercial banks (SCBs), 5 state-owned specialized banks, 30 domestic private commercial banks (PCBs), 9 foreign commercial banks, and 29 non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) under the supervision of Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of the country. In the insurance sub-sector, 21 companies provided general insurance while 6 other provided life insurance; but most of the assets in the sector was commanded by the two large, state-owned companies— the Sadharan Bima Corporation for general insurance and the Jiban Bima Corporation for life insurance.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Financial Services
In order to reinforce the Government's ongoing financial sector reform programs from earlier decade (see here), Bangladesh bank administered the World Bank's Financial Institutions Development Project from 2000 to 2006, which, according to Asian Development Bank, enabled "substantial progress towards sustainable financing of private sector initiatives to accelerate industrial growth in the country".


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Financial Services
There were developments in the Capital Market as well. In the beginning of the decade, shares and debentures of 442 companies were traded in the equity market (258 in Dhaka Stock Exchange and 184 in Chittagong Stock Exchange). The listing and trading of debt securities were minimum. The market capitalisation on 30 June 2000 in the two stock exchanges was Tk 80.86 billion and Tk 53.12 billion, equivalent to about $1.62 billion and $1.06 billion respectively.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Financial Services
The establishment and incorporation of the Central Depository Bangladesh Ltd (CDBL) as a public limited company in August 2000 and the incorporation of the Central Depository System (CDS) as an independent company in January 2004 helped increase operational efficiency of the stock markets. From 2007 onwards, in the aftermath of the largest IPO at the time, that of Grameenphone Ltd., the market began to appreciate culminating in a significant bubble in 2010. In 2010 alone, the DSE was the second-highest performing market globally, with the general index, DGEN, posting a 92 per cent year-on-year return. However the bubble was short-lived, as the market began to slow from December 8, 2010, beginning a protracted phase of contraction.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Education
In this decade, the focus of Bangladesh education policy at school level switched from “quantity” to “quality”. Reforms were implemented in school managing committee (SMC), retirement and service benefit of non-government teachers, teacher training, information technology and computer education, secondary curriculum, school-based assessment system (SBA) and English language teaching. In different phases the amount of public sector contribution towards salary subvention to non- government educational institutions at secondary and higher secondary level was increased to 90% in 2001.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Education
The coverage of primary education system significantly improved in this decade. As of 2006, number of primary-school-age children outside school came down to approximately 634 thousand. However, number of teachers per 1,000 primary student remained a bismal 2.4. Based on World Bank data, in 2000, there were 10.33 million secondary school students (including higher secondary) in the country, which grew to 10.91 million by the end of the decade. Secondary school enrollment rate ranged between 48.0% to 48.4% during the same period. Over these years ratio of female students in secondary education changed from 49.9% to 51.6%; while, number of teachers for these students grew from 269 to 387 thousand.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Education
In this decade the secondary and higher secondary education administration for the country, used to be managed by 7 general education boards, namely Dhaka, Rajshahi, Comilla, Jessore, Chittagong, Barisal and Sylhet; a Technical Education Board and a Madrasah Education Board.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Education
The tertiary education used to be managed under University Grants Commission, the apex body of all the affiliated public, private and international universities of Bangladesh, while the colleges providing tertiary education operated under the authority of National University. Number of general purpose public universities increased from six (DU, RU, CU, JU, IU and newly opened KU) in the beginning of the decade to eleven by the end with the addition of JnU, JKKNIU, CoU, BRU and BUP. BUET used to be the only university for Engineering education; but in 2003, four other institutes of technology were upgraded to universities.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Education
During the decade, number of agricultural universities in the public sector increased from two to five and one more science and technology university was added to existing three. BSMMU continued to serve as the university overseeing post graduate medical education in the country. Asian University for Women was established in Chittagong in 2008 as the second International University in the country after IUT. Number of private universities continued to grow rapidly throughout the decade. By the end of 2000s there were at least 55 registered private universities, but not all of them were recognized for their quality. However, some of the older private universities expanded and moved to larger campus in this decade.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Mass Media
In the 1990s the country saw explosive growth in the number of newspapers in publication. The trend continued in the following decade. Jugantar and Samakal were the two notable additions to the landscape of daily newspapers in the 2000s. Moreover, country's first online news outlet, bdnews24.com, started its operation in 2005 which was a transformative change for the print media of the country. Earlier online Bangladeshi newspapers were merely a static copy of the printed version, but bdnews24.com and later prothom-alo.com started giving realtime news updates on their site - which revolutionalized dissemination of information in Bangladesh.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Mass Media
Although BTV launched BTV World in 2016 it faced fierce competition from private TV Channels. One notable development in 2000 was the launch of the country's first private terrestrial TV channel - Ekushey TV (ETV), which covered half the country's population and "turned out to be the most popular channel offering brisk, highly professional, and path-breaking programmes". However, in 2002 the BNP-led Government shutdown ETV, on the ground of technical reasons, but the conventional wisdom was that the channel was being punished for its partisan role. In the post ETV era, many new private TV channels mushroomed and competed with older channels to take a share of audiences. NTV, RTV, Banglavision, Boishakhi TV and Desh TV were among the new channels which started their journey in this period.


2000s in Bangladesh, Infrastructure, Mass Media
While Television viewership persistently increased from 31% in 1995 to 42% in 1998 and 61% in 2002; the number of people with radio exposure decreased from 42% to 24.1% from 1998 to 2002. The rapid increase in availability of television from the late 1990s and the subsequent years was the major reason behind the fall of radio listenership. Although private TV channels were already available, the radio network was still controlled by state-owned Bangladesh Betar in this decade.


2000s in Bangladesh, Awards and Recognitions
Yunus was the first Bangladeshi to ever get a Nobel Prize. After receiving the news of the important award, Yunus announced that he would use part of his share of the $1.4 million (equivalent to $1.8 million in 2020) award money to create a company to make low-cost, high-nutrition food for the poor; while the rest would go toward setting up an eye hospital for the poor in Bangladesh.


2000s in Bangladesh, Culture, Literature
Throughout the 2000s the literary scene of the country remained vibrant. Humayun Ahmed continued his reign as the most popular author in the country as his books consistently remained the highest seller in Ekushey Book Fair.


2000s in Bangladesh, Culture, Literature
Notable literary works produced by the authors of Bangladesh in this decade include: Humayun Ahmed's Brishti Bilash, Jochona O Jononir Golpo; Haripada Datta's Jonmo-Jonmantor, Drabirgram; Anisul Hoque's Se, Maa, Dushwapner Jatri, Alo Andhokare Jai and Nandini; Shamsur Rahman's Hridopodmay Jotsna Dolay and Na Bastob Na Dushshopno; Abdullah Abu Sayeed's Bidaye, Obonti, Bohe Joloboti Dhara, Bhalobashar Shampan, Amar Uposthapok Jibon, Amar Ashabad and Bisostro Journal; Hasan Azizul Huq's Agunpakhi; Muntassir Mamoon's Lorai and Rajakar Shomogro; Salauddin Ahmed edited Ekatturer Chithi and Tahmima Anam's A Golden Age.


2000s in Bangladesh, Culture, Literature
The assassination attempt on writer Humayun Azad in 2004 and his subsequent mysterious death later in the year shocked the nation. In this decade the literature circle of the country also lost luminaries like: Ahmed Sofa (2001), Nilima Ibrahim and poet Syed Ali Ahsan (2002), master playwrights Selim Al Deen and Abdullah al Mamun (2008) and baul musician Shah Abdul Karim (2009).


2000s in Bangladesh, Culture, Visual arts
Photographers like  Anwar Hossain, Hasan Saifuddin Chandan and Shahidul Alam continued to dominate the photography field. Shahidul, who set up Pathshala South Asian Media Institute in Dhaka in 1998 and the Chobi Mela International Photography Festival in 1999 remained the director of that institute throughout the decade. He had been a judge of the World Press Photo competition on four occasions, and was the first Asian chair of its judging panel. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 2001. The paintings field was also quite vibrant.


2000s in Bangladesh, Culture, Visual arts
New contributors in painting and painting-related mixed techniques in this decade include Abdus Shakur Shah, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, Mahbubur Rahman, Tayeba Begum Lipi, Ashok Karmakar. Among the veterans artist Shahabuddin Ahmed and painter cartoonist Rafiqun Nabi continued to make active contributions. In this decade Bangladeshi artists focused on social justice, rampant industrialization, gentrification, and man's disconnect from nature. Prominent architects who made notable contribution in this decade include Jalal Ahmad, Salauddin Ahmed, Saif Ul Haque, Ehsan Khan, Mubasshar Hussein, Mustapha Khalid Palash, Enamul Karim Nirjhar, Rafiq Azam and Marina Tabassum.


2000s in Bangladesh, Culture, Performing arts
In this decade music directors and composers like Shujeo Shyam, Alauddin Ali, Gazi Mazharul Anwar, Satya Saha, Ahmed Imtiaz Bulbul, S.I. Tutul, Emon Saha, Alam Khan, Kabir Bakul and Sheikh Sadi Khan and singers like Sabina Yasmin, Runa Laila, Subir Nandi, Andrew Kishore,  Bashir Ahmad, Asif Akbar, Baby Naznin, Samina Chowdhury,  Kumar Biswajit, Uma Khan, Kanak Chapa, Fahmida Nabi and Monir Khan  led the music arena with modern Bengali music and playback music of films. Singers like Partha Barua, Tahsan, Bappa Mazumder, and Habib Wahid cemented their places as rising stars of modern Bengali songs.


2000s in Bangladesh, Culture, Performing arts
The established bands from 1980s and 90s, including LRB, Souls, Feedback, Nagar Baul, Miles and Warfaze continued to dominate the 2000s. James as ‘’Nagar Baul’’ And Ayub Bachchu leading LRB particularly gained success experimenting with blues rock. The folk rock music made a comeback when Dalchhut proved their respect and ability to do folk song as a rock band in Bangladesh. Later Aurthohin, Bangla, Chirkutt and Shironamhin joined this trend. Arnob and Shironamhin with their poetic songs incorporating philosophical and experimental elements in their music, began to develop Bangladeshi rock in an artistic manner.


2000s in Eritrea
The Eritrean–Ethiopian War ended with the signing of the Algiers Agreement on December 12, 2000. In 2002, in an effort to mitigate the effects of the prolonged stalemate with Ethiopia, the President's Administration created the Wefri Warsay Yika'alo. It is a comprehensive, revolutionary, national economic rehabilitation and development program in the aftermath of the destructive war with Ethiopia. Due to his frustration with the stalemated peace process with Ethiopia, the President of Eritrea Isaias Afewerki wrote a series of Eleven Letters to the UN Security Council and Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Despite the Algiers Agreement, tense relations with Ethiopia have continued and led to regional instability.


2000s in Eritrea
His government has also been condemned for allegedly arming and financing the insurgency in Somalia; the United States is considering labeling Eritrea a "State Sponsor of Terrorism," however, many experts on the topic have shied from this assertion, stating that "If there is one country where the fighting of extremists and terrorists was a priority when it mattered, it was Eritrea." This accusation has also been labeled a reckless move by others.


2000s in Eritrea
In December 2007, an estimated 4000 Eritrean troops remained in the 'demilitarized zone' with a further 120,000 along its side of the border. Ethiopia maintained 100,000 troops along its side.


2000s in Eritrea
Under Afewerki's rule, Eritrea has had one of the worst rates of press freedom in the world, and since 2007, the worst.


2000s in Hong Kong
The 2000s in Hong Kong began a new millennium under the People's Republic of China (PRC).


2000s in Hong Kong, Background
After the transfer of sovereignty, Hong Kong faced a series of problems, both political and economical. The government carried out a series of reforms to adopt a more modern ideology and democracy, but faced many difficulties. Despite a transfer of power to China, the citizens participate in how their government is run, and the region maintains some degree of autonomy. Media in Hong Kong has not come under state control, though many citizens believe the media practices self-censorship.


2000s in Hong Kong, Background
The economy would also begin the period with a rise in unemployment rate from 2.2% in 1997 to 4.4% in 2000, and 7.9% in 2003. The economy had gradually recovered since 2004 and the overall unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in 2008, however the overall figure rose again to 5.4% in 2009 due to the global economic downturn in the last quarter of 2008.


2000s in Hong Kong, Politics
The two major political camps of the decade are the Pro-Beijing camp and the Pro-democracy camp.


2000s in Hong Kong, Politics, Article 23
In 2003, the government proposed an anti-subversion law titled Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law. Many people feared that the proposal would erode freedom of press, religion, and association. The unpopularity of Chief Executive Tung Chee-Hwa and his administration, combined with the dissatisfaction about economy recession and the pandemic control, prompted an estimated 500,000 - 1,000,000 people to march on 1 July 2003, making it the largest since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The proposal fell after the several pro-government lawmakers withdrew their support to pass the bill.


2000s in Hong Kong, Politics, Article 23
The resignation of Liberal Party chief James Tien from the Executive Council on 6 July 2003 caused the eventual withdrawal of the legislation and the break-up of the "ruling alliance" of the Chief Executive. The security secretary, Regina Ip, who was heavily criticised for her arrogant and condescending handling of the proposed law, was forced to resign.


2000s in Hong Kong, Politics, Other marches
For the first time in Hong Kong's history, on 1 July 2006, the People's Liberation Army marched through the city. The display was one of power and symbolism staged by 19 pro-Beijing groups. The march was part of a celebration demonstration that began in Victoria Park.


2000s in Hong Kong, Politics, Chief executive
Many calls were made for the resignation of Tung Chee-hwa, a leader who was blessed by the Communist Party of China, Jiang Zemin. Tung remained in the office until 10 March 2005, 20 months after the march against Article 23. Hong Kong's Basic Law permitted Tung to serve another 3 years, many suspected Beijing forced him to resign due to widespread public disapproval and his perceived lacklustre leadership. The 2005 election filled the seat with Donald Tsang who was the No. 2 ranking official, Chief Secretary, and career civil servant during British colonial rule.


2000s in Hong Kong, Politics, Media control in Hong Kong
A survey conducted by the Hong Kong Journalists Association found that 58.4% of journalists think press freedom in HK has deteriorated since the handover, mainly as a result of self-censorship and government's tighter grip on information flow. Direct Internet censorship in Hong Kong has not been a major issue. In 2009 HK was still ranked 48 by the international Press Freedom Index. This is still far ahead of the People's Republic of China. Other self-censorship events include the 2009 Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority forum where major station TVB was labeled as CCTVB with censored news like the mainland's CCTV. The local Citizens' Radio was raided by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) after being deemed illegal.


2000s in Hong Kong, Finance
The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis caused a deflationary period that spanned 6 years into July 2004. A few years later, the global Financial crisis of 2007–2010 rocked the financial well-being of the SAR's financial sector. The Lehman mini-bond crisis was one that affected the territory greatly. Joseph Yam, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority who was the highest paid central banker in the world resigned in 2009. Traditionally, HK dollar is pegged against the US dollar. Questions have come up on whether HK should peg to the Chinese yuan since it is integrated to China economically. But since the yuan is not fully convertible, a peg to the yuan would cause disruptions.


2000s in Hong Kong, Building and infrastructure
At the end of the 2000s, the International Commerce Centre (ICC), at 484 m (1,588 ft) high, was the tallest building in Hong Kong. The tallest building prior to the ICC was the Two International Finance Centre (2 IFC), at 415 m (1,362 ft) high, completed in 2003. Prior to that, the tallest building in Hong Kong was the Central Plaza since 1992, with a height of 374 m (1,227 ft).


2000s in Hong Kong, Building and infrastructure
Many new infrastructure projects had been completed throughout the territory during the 2000s. Examples of those infrastructures includes: For Railway - the completion of MTR Tseung Kwan O line in 2002, KCR West Rail in 2003, KCR Ma On Shan Rail in 2004, MTR Disneyland Resort line in 2005, the extension of the Airport Express to AsiaWorld–Expo in 2005, KCR Lok Ma Chau Spur Line in 2007, and MTR Kowloon Southern Link between East Rail line and West Rail line from Hung Hom station to Nam Cheong station via East Tsim Sha Tsui station and Austin station in 2009. For major bridges and tunnels - the completion of Discovery Bay Tunnel in 2000, Nam Wan Tunnel in 2007, Deep Bay Bridge (Hong Kong–Shenzhen Western Corridor) in 2007, Eagle's Nest Tunnel and Sha Tin Heights Tunnel in 2008, and Stonecutters Bridge in 2009.


2000s in Hong Kong, Building and infrastructure
Other major infrastructures includes the opening of the Hong Kong Disneyland in 2005, which was the fifth Disneyland opened in the world and the second opened in Asia after the Tokyo Disneyland, and the completion of the Ngong Ping 360 in 2006, which was a gondola lift system that connects Tung Chung New Town and Ngong Ping Market.


2000s in Hong Kong, Demographics, Population
In 2000, the population of Hong Kong was 6,900,000. The population in the summer of 2006 was 6,994,500, though the majority of population increase is mostly contributed via immigration from mainland citizens. Also in 2006, the birth rate of 7.29 is ranked lowest among the list of countries surveyed by the CIA. Towards the end of the decade, Hong Kong's population had slowed further to a growth of 0.5% in 2009 with the city having a total population of 7,055,071 as of 2009. Other new immigration topics include the Right of abode issue, Quality Migrant Admission Scheme or the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme.


2000s in Hong Kong, Culture, Entertainment
The passing of idol legends like Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui rocked the cantopop industry. Their deaths in the early 2000s further sank the people's morale. The 2008 Edison Chen photo scandal was also dubbed Asia's biggest scandal. Other cultural phenomenon include the rise of young female Liang mou models.


2000s in Hong Kong, Culture, Charities
The HK government and entertainment industry pursued a number of major charities in the decade. The 1:99 Concert was held for the SARS outbreak. In early 2005, a major relief campaign concert was held for the victims of the neighbouring 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. This was followed by one of the largest assembly of celebrities in the territory in the Artistes 512 Fund Raising Campaign for the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In 2009 the Artistes 512 Fund Raising Campaign was held for Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan.


2000s in Hong Kong, Sports
Hong Kong was the site for the 2008 Olympics and paralympics Equestrian events. The events were held at the Hong Kong Sports Institute in Fo Tan, Sha Tin. The torch relay also passed through both the Special administrative regions of HK and Macau. Various stars and celebrities were also present at the opening ceremonies in Beijing. At the end of 2009, HK also held its first ever East Asian Games. It opened up with a performance on the water of Victoria Harbour.


2000s in Hong Kong, Society
Beginning in 2008, the Mong Kok acid attacks began a series of acid throwing incidents from tall buildings. The government also stepped up effort against many incidents of throwing any random objects out of skyscraper windows and roofs. The housing department began installing closed-circuit television systems to monitor these throwing activities. Other incident involve the creation of a mass-suicide Facebook group called "I want to practise suicide" (我要（練習）自殺). The group was shut down before urging 190 members to kill themselves.


2000s in Hong Kong, Health, Flu pandemics
Health officials made the Bird Flu crisis a top priority beginning in 1997. To control the spread of the virus, millions of chickens were slaughtered in an extreme measure to prevent the global spread of the H5N1 virus. The crisis would lead to a series of panic that continue well into the 2000s. The volume consumption of poultry was significantly reduced for a period. Beginning in 1997, over 1 million birds were slaughtered, followed by 860,000 in 2002. Another batch of 300,000 and 200,000 chickens in 5 farms in Kam Tin New Territories were also included in the quarantine process.


2000s in Hong Kong, Health, Flu pandemics
China also had series of outbreaks, and the pandemic have left both regions strained in trade relationships. Controversies of the handling of the crisis has been criticised by radio programmes, TVs and newspapers. Both Hong Kong and China were the center of international attention during the early 2000s. Specifically, the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau were constantly bombarded with questions about the effectiveness in the decision to slaughter in large numbers. Wild dogs, rats and cats preying on bags of uncollected dead poultry also made the whole procedure a public relations disaster for the government. In 2009 a Swine flu pandemics followed, but citizens were more prepared this time.


2000s in Hong Kong, Health, SARS outbreak
The first suspected case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was recorded in February, 2003. Hong Kong remained on the World Health Organization's list of affected areas until 23 June 2003. The city was gripped by fear of contagion and panic throughout the epidemic. Children stayed home, while schools were halted. Economic activities were greatly disrupted. Restaurants were empty, and tourism ground to a halt. The epidemic infected more than 1,700 people and claimed 299 lives. As director general of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan faced some tough issues.


2000s in Hong Kong, International, WTO
The World Trade Organization Conference of 2005 was held in Wan Chai. With 148 nations participating at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, it was one of the largest international event ever held in the area. A series of protests broke out in the designated protest zones and Hong Kong Police were resorted to using tear gas and pepper spray for crowd control. Numerous sources proclaimed the conference as the "Siege of Wan Chai" as the world class city became the hosting site of the event.


2000s in Irish television
For articles on Irish television in the 2000s please see:


2000s in Japan
The 2000s in Japan began with hope and optimism for the 21st century and ended with the Late-2000s recession.


2000s in Japan
Gaming systems like the PlayStation 3, the Nintendo Wii, and the Nintendo DS continued to help generate the profits of Japan-based electronic companies like Nintendo and Sony. Video games released and/or developed in Japan would see an improvement with their physics engine, their artificial intelligence, and see their graphics become high definition. Many young people would live with their parents and spend their time reading manga and watching anime due to the lack of employment for young people in Japan during this decade.


2000s in Japan
The average price of gasoline at the end of the 2000s would be $8/gallon; making it unaffordable for most Japanese people to drive long distances unless necessary.


2000s in Japan
Anime of the 2000s would include Bleach, One Piece, Kirby of the Stars, Sonic X, Tokyo Mew Mew, Ojamajo Doremi, Gurren Lagann, and Kodai Ōja Kyōryū Kingu. Most of these anime shows mentioned here would also go on to relative success in North America and Europe in the 2000s. For example, Tokyo Mew Mew became Mew Mew Power while Ojamajo Doremi became Magical Doremi.


2000s in Japan, Social, Employment
While people were losing their jobs, technology still was advancing at an exponential rate - making more jobs obsolete as new technologies replaced the old. Manufacturing jobs were being replaced with service sector jobs just like they were doing in the Western countries—leading to people being underemployed in either minimum wage or near-minimum wage jobs. There was some economic recovery during this decade; but the spending on cars and whiskey had not return to the levels that were reached during the Japanese economic boom of the 1980s. Japanese employers and companies made up for the labor shortages in the 1990s by hiring temporary workers without security or job benefits.


2000s in Japan, Social, Employment
As of March 2010, the unemployment rate in Japan is 4.9%; a very low number compared to the unemployment rate during the height of the Lost Decade. The Lost Decade would finally come to a close in the year 2000; marking a decade of economic renewal after a gradual recession.


2000s in Japan, Social, Cell phone usage
Japan has more multi-function cell phones than any other nation on earth during this decade. Handsets that are available often double as televisions and subway passes. They can also be used to buy sodas and beer from vending machines or conduct banking. Japanese people of this decade are more likely to send e-mails, messages and play games on their cell phones instead of using them to talk to people. Teenagers listen to music and surf the Internet for vital information. Girls often go to restrooms to send progress reports about dates to their friends.


2000s in Japan, Social, Cell phone usage
Poets and musicians write down thoughts in their cell phones and memorize them for work or home. Young kids are e-mailed by their parents or their guardians about their whereabouts. Expert cell phone users can type 100 Chinese characters per minute (the equivalent of 100 words per minute in the English language).


2000s in Japan, Social, Cell phone usage
Young women between the ages of 10 and 19 spend almost one hundred minutes (1.65 hours) a day on a cell phone; compared to the national average of 18 minutes. People use cell phones in Japan to find apartments for rent, follow the results of each and every Sumo match, download horoscopes, and check out the most popular pop music songs on the charts. Kanji is now used less frequently thanks to cell phones; leading to a dumbing down of the Japanese language. Cell phones in Japan are arguably the world's most advanced. However, most models do not work outside Japan. Many use their cell phones to tap to into service that send messages about bargain prices. The Japanese even use their cell phones to do grocery shopping. Sales using cell phones have increased by 51.4 billion yen from 2003 to 2004.


2000s in Japan, Social, Population decline
The 1990s were the final decade where the birth rate in Japan would exceed the death rate. Young people lacking money and living space to properly reproduce is just one of many reasons the birth rate plummeted starting in the year 2005. It has been suggested that the population of Japan will fall from over 100 million in the 1990s to a mere 95.2 million by the year 2050. However, the most recent rise in the national birth rate of Japan happened in February 2007. Japan will see a 0.9% decline of their population after the year 2025 - lowering their labor force while countries like Canada will see a rise in their labor force by that same year. More than 100000 new jobs were added in Canada by the end of April 2010 alone.


2000s in Japan, Social, Population decline
Shimojō, a village in the prefecture of Nagano, has an approximate population of 4169. This village is the only Japanese municipality in this decade to contradict the national population decline in Japan. The birthrate in the area was 2.12 (compared to the national average of 1.25) in 2005. There is a  density of 110.70 people per square kilometre in Shimojō and the total area of the village is 37.66 square kilometres (9,310 acres).


2000s in Liberia
A new civil war began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighboring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), emerged in northern Liberia. By the spring of 2001, they were posing a major threat to the Taylor government. Liberia was now engaged in a complex three-way conflict with Sierra Leone and the Guinea Republic. By the beginning of 2002, both of these countries were supporting the latest addition to the lexicon of Liberian guerrilla outfits – Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), while Taylor was supporting various opposition factions in both countries. By supporting Sierra Leonean rebels, Taylor also drew the enmity of the British and Americans.


2000s in Liberia, Siege of Monrovia
In early 2003, a second rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), emerged in the south, and by the summer of 2003, Taylor's government controlled only a third of the country. Despite some setbacks, by mid-2003 LURD controlled the northern third of the country and was threatening the capital. The capital Monrovia was besieged by LURD, and that group's shelling of the city resulted in the deaths of many civilians. Thousands of people were displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict. By the beginning of August, after a two-month siege, LURD had overrun parts of Monrovia.


2000s in Liberia, U.S. intervention
The United States of America sent a small number of troops to bolster security around their embassy in Monrovia, which had come under attack. The U.S. also stationed a Marine Expeditionary Unit with 2300 Marines offshore while Nigeria sent in peacekeepers as part of an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) force.


2000s in Liberia, U.S. intervention
On June 4, 2003 in Accra, Ghana, ECOWAS facilitated the inauguration of peace talks among the Government of Liberia, civil society, and the rebel groups called “Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy” (LURD) and “Movement for Democracy in Liberia” (MODEL). LURD and MODEL largely represent elements of the former ULIMO-K and ULIMO-J factions that fought Taylor during Liberia's previous civil war (1989–1996). By July 17, 2003 the Government of Liberia, LURD, and MODEL signed a cease-fire that envisioned a comprehensive peace agreement within 30 days. The three combatants subsequently broke that cease-fire repeatedly, which resulted in bitter fighting that eventually reached downtown Monrovia.


2000s in Liberia, U.S. intervention
Also on June 4, 2003, the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone issued a press statement announcing the opening of a sealed March 7 indictment of Liberian President Charles Taylor for “bearing the greatest responsibility” for atrocities in Sierra Leone since November 1996. On August 11, 2003 under intense U.S. and international pressure, President Taylor resigned on August 11, 2003 as part of a peace agreement and was flown into exile in Nigeria. Vice-President Moses Blah replaced Taylor on an interim basis while a transitional government was being set up.


2000s in Liberia, Transitional government
On August 18, leaders from the Liberian Government, the rebels, political parties, and civil society signed a comprehensive peace agreement that laid the framework for constructing a 2-year National Transitional Government of Liberia, effective October 14. On August 21, they selected businessman Charles Gyude Bryant as Chair and Wesley Johnson as Vice Chair of the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL). Under the terms of the agreement the LURD, MODEL, and Government of Liberia each selected 12 members of the 76-member Legislative Assembly (LA). On October 14, Blah handed over power to Charles Gyude Bryant who was appointed Chairman of the transitional government in late 2003.


2000s in Liberia, Transitional government
Because of failures of the Transitional Government in curbing corruption, Liberia signed onto GEMAP a novel anti-corruption program. The primary task of the transitional government was to prepare for fair and peaceful democratic elections. With UNMIL troops safeguarding the peace, Liberia successfully conducted presidential elections in the fall of 2005. Twenty three candidates stood for the October 11, 2005 general election, with the early favorite George Weah, international footballer, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and member of the Kru ethnic group expected to dominate the popular vote.


2000s in Liberia, Transitional government
No candidate took the required majority in the general election, so that a run-off between the top two vote getters, Weah and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was necessary. The November 8, 2005 presidential runoff election was won decisively by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist. Both the general election and runoff were marked by peace and order, with thousands of Liberians waiting patiently in the Liberian heat to cast their ballots.


2000s in Liberia, ECOMIL and UNMIL
These changes paved the way for the deployment by ECOWAS of what became a 3,600-strong peacekeeping mission in Liberia (ECOMIL). Since then, the United States has provided limited direct military support and $26 million in logistical assistance to ECOMIL and another $40 million in humanitarian assistance to Liberia.


2000s in Liberia, ECOMIL and UNMIL
In October 2003, the UN took over peacekeeping operations from ECOWAS and established the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). In the years that followed, active disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration and rebuilding efforts unfolded


2000s in Liberia, ECOMIL and UNMIL
Despite the accord with the rebels, fighting initially continued in parts of the country; tensions among the factions in the national unity government also threatened the peace. By the end of 2004, however, more than 100,000 Liberian fighters had been disarmed, the former government and rebel forces had agreed not to rearm, and the disarmament program was ended. In June 2004, a program to reintegrate the fighters into society began, but by year's end the funds proved inadequate.


2000s in Liberia, ECOMIL and UNMIL
In light of the progress made, President Bryant requested an end to the UN embargo on Liberian diamonds and timber, but the Security Council postponed such a move until the peace was more secure. Bryant's government was hindered by corruption and a lack of authority in much of Liberia, but the peace enabled to the economy recover somewhat in 2004.


2000s in Liberia, Liberian elections (2005)
First round presidential elections in October 2005 resulted in a run-off between ex-footballer George Weah and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a former World Bank economist and finance minister. Weah proved hugely popular, particularly with the young and won the first round with 28% of the vote. However, his opponents argued Johnson-Sirleaf was better qualified for the job.


2000s in Liberia, Liberian elections (2005)
The second round of elections took place on November 8, 2005. Johnson-Sirleaf claimed victory of this round, winning 59 per cent of the vote. However, Weah alleged electoral fraud, despite international observers declaring the election to be free and fair. Although Weah was still threatening to take his claims to the Supreme Court if no evidence of fraud was found, Johnson-Sirleaf was declared president on November 23, making her the first woman president of Liberia and indeed of any African country.


2000s in Liberia, Allegations of labor rights abuses by Firestone
A case against Firestone brought by the International Labor Rights Fund states,


2000s in Liberia, Allegations of labor rights abuses by Firestone
The Plantation workers allege, among other things, that they remain trapped by poverty and coercion on a frozen-in-time Plantation operated by Firestone in a manner identical to how the Plantation was operated when it was first opened by Firestone in 1926


2000s in Liberia, Allegations of labor rights abuses by Firestone
Well, in addition to the devastation that 15 years of civil war has caused, I think you need to understand another point -- during the 2003 fighting, we had thousands of refugees come to Harbel for the safety that it provided. When those people came, they occupied any open area of land that was available. They put up temporary housing made out of mud, out of bamboo, out of thatch, out of tarpaulin, out of corrugated steel. Anything that they could do to get shelter. And those conditions still exist. They are not Firestone housing, but they are on our property.


2000s in Liberia, Allegations of labor rights abuses by Firestone
We have very strict policies about child labor. We do not hire anybody under 18 years of age, and we discourage parents from bringing their children to the fields with them. We have a program with the Ministry of Labor in Liberia to - and also the union that represents our employees -- to educate parents about why they should not bring children with them into the field. And if we see incidents of this, we will cancel those employees, and if necessary, ultimately discipline them over such issue.


2000s in Liberia, Extradition and trial of Charles Taylor
Under international pressure, Sirleaf requested in March 2006 that Nigeria extradite Charles Taylor, who was then brought before an international tribunal in Sierra Leone to face charges of crimes against humanity, arising from events during the Sierra Leone civil war (his trial was later transferred to The Hague for security purposes). In June 2006, the United Nations ended its embargo on Liberian timber, but continued its diamond embargo until an effective certificate of origin program was established, a decision that was reaffirmed in October.


2000s in Liberia, Extradition and trial of Charles Taylor
In March 2007, former interim president Bryant was arrested and charged with having embezzled government funds while in office.


2000s in Morocco
In March 2000, women's groups organised demonstrations in Casablanca proposing reforms to the legal status of women in the country. 40,000 women attended, calling for a ban on polygamy and the introduction of civil divorce law (divorce being a purely religious procedure at that time). Although a counter-demonstration attracted half a million participants, the movement for change started in 2000 was influential on King Mohammed, and he enacted a new Mudawana, or family law, in early 2004, meeting some of the demands of women's rights activists.


2000s in Morocco
In July 2002, a crisis broke with Spain over an uninhabited small island lying just less than 200 meters from the Moroccan coast, named Toura or Leila by Moroccans, and Isla Perejil by Spain. After mediation by the United States, Both Morocco and Spain agreed to return to the status quo by which the Island remains deserted and almost a no man's land.


2000s in Morocco
In September 2002, new legislative elections were held, and the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires—USFP) led all other parties in the voting. International observers regarded the elections as free and fair, noting the lack of irregularities that had plagued the 1997 elections. Under Muhammad VI, Morocco has continued down a path toward economic, political, and social reform and modernization. In May 2003, in honor of the birth of a son and heir to the throne, the king ordered the release of 9,000 prisoners and the reduction of 38,000 sentences. Also in 2003, Berber-language instruction was introduced in primary schools, prior to introducing it at all educational levels. In 2004, the government implemented reforms of the family code improving the status of women—first proposed in 2000—despite the objections of traditionalists.


2000s in Morocco
Internationally, Morocco has maintained a moderate stance, with strong ties to the West. It was one of the first Arab and Islamic states to denounce the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. In May 2003, Morocco itself was subjected to the more radical forces at work in the Arab world when Islamist suicide bombers simultaneously struck a series of sites in Casablanca, killing 45 and injuring more than 100 others. The Moroccan government responded with a crackdown against Islamist extremists, ultimately arresting several thousand, prosecuting 1,200, and sentencing about 900. Additional arrests followed in June 2004.


2000s in Morocco
That same month, the United States designated Morocco a major non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally in recognition of its efforts to thwart international terrorism. On January 1, 2006, a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement between the United States and Morocco took effect. The agreement had been signed in 2004 along with a similar agreement with the European Union, its main trade partner.


2000s in Morocco
In 2005, demonstrations and riots in support of independence for Western Sahara broke out in Moroccan-controlled El-Aaiun. Criticism from groups such as Amnesty International, Freedom House and Human Rights Watch has resulted from perceived police abuse of demonstrators and independence advocates. The demonstrations are labeled the "Independence Intifada" by its participants and are supported by the Polisario Front. Sporadic unrest is still occurring in January 2007.


2000s in Sierra Leone, 2001
General elections due for early 2001 were postponed in Februaryof that year due to the insecurity caused by the civil war. In May 2001, sanctions were imposed on Liberia for its support for the rebels, and U.N. peacekeepers began to make headway in disarming the various factions. Although disarmament of rebel and progovernment militias proceeded slowly and fighting continued to occur, by January 2002 most of the estimated 45,000 fighters had surrendered their weapons. In a ceremony that month, government and rebel leaders declared the civil war to have ended. An estimated 50,000 persons died in the conflict.


2000s in Sierra Leone, 2002
Elections were finally held in May 2002. President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was reelected, and his Sierra Leone People's Party won a 83 of the 112 parliamentary seats.


2000s in Sierra Leone, 2003
In June 2003, the UN ban on the sale of Sierra Leone diamonds expired and was not renewed.


2000s in Sierra Leone, 2004
The UN disarmament and rehabilitation program for Sierra Leone's fighters was completed in February 2004, by which time more 70,000 former combatants had been helped. UN forces returned primary responsibility for security in the area around the capital to Sierra Leone's police and armed forces in September 2004. It was the last part of the country to be turned over.


2000s in Sierra Leone, 2005
Some UN peacekeepers remained to assist the Sierra Leone government until the end of 2005.


2000s in Sierra Leone, Truth and Reconciliation Commission
The 1999 Lomé Accord called for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to provide a forum for both victims and perpetrators of human rights violations during the conflict to tell their stories and facilitate genuine reconciliation. Subsequently, the Sierra Leonean Government and the UN agreed to set up the Special Court for Sierra Leone to try those who "bear the greatest responsibility for the commission of crimes against humanity, war crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian law, as well as crimes under relevant Sierra Leonean law within the territory of Sierra Leone since November 30, 1996."


2000s in Sierra Leone, Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Special Court began operating in the summer of 2002. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final Report to the government in October 2004. In June 2005, the Government of Sierra Leone issued a White Paper on the Commission’s final report which accepted some but not all of the Commission's recommendations. Members of civil society groups dismissed the government’s response as too vague and continued to criticize the government for its failure to follow up on the report’s recommendations.|


2000s in Sierra Leone, Special Court
In March 2003 the Special Court for Sierra Leone issued its first indictments. Foday Sankoh, already in custody, was indicted, along with notorious RUF field commander Sam Bockarie, Johnny Paul Koroma, and Samuel Hinga Norman, the Minister of Interior and former head of the Civil Defence Forces, among several others. Norman was arrested when the indictments were announced, while Bockarie and Koroma remained in hiding. On May 5, 2003 Bockarie was killed in Liberia. Johnny Paul Koroma was also rumored to have been killed, though his death remains unconfirmed. Two of the accused, Sankoh and Norman, have died while incarcerated.


2000s in Sierra Leone, Special Court
On March 25, 2006, with the election of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo permitted transfer of Charles Taylor, who had been living in exile in the Nigerian town of Calabar, to Sierra Leone for prosecution. Two days later, Taylor attempted to flee Nigeria, but he was apprehended by Nigerian authorities and transferred to Freetown under UN guard.


2000s in Sierra Leone, 2007
Elections held on August 11, 2007 had a good turnout and were initially judged by official observers to be "free, fair and credible".


2000s in Togo
March 2000 passed without presidential action. New legislative elections were ultimately rescheduled for October 2001. Because of funding problems and disagreements between the government and opposition, the elections were again delayed, this time until March 2002.


2000s in Togo
In May 2002 the government scrapped CENI, blaming the opposition for its inability to function. In its stead, the government appointed seven magistrates to oversee preparations for legislative elections. Not surprisingly, the opposition announced it would boycott them. Held in October, as a result of the opposition’s boycott the government party won more than two-thirds of the seats in the National Assembly. In December 2002, Eyadéma's government used this rubber-stamp parliament to amend Togo’s constitution, allowing President Eyadéma to run for an “unlimited” number of terms.


2000s in Togo
A further amendment stated that candidates must reside in the country for at least 12 months before an election, a provision that barred the participation in the upcoming presidential election of popular Union des Forces du Progrès (UFC) candidate, Gilchrist Olympio, who had been in exile since 1992. The presidential election was held June 1. President Eyadéma was re-elected with 57% of the votes, amid allegations of widespread vote rigging.


2000s in Togo, Death of Eyadéma and Gnassingbé's rise
President Eyadéma died on February 5, 2005 while on board an airplane en route to France for treatment for a heart attack. His son Faure Gnassingbé, the country's former minister of public works, mines, and telecommunications, was named President by Togo's military following the announcement of his father's death. Under international pressure from the African Union and the United Nations however, who both denounced the transfer of power from father to son as a coup, Gnassingbé was forced to step down on February 25, 2005, shortly after accepting the nomination to run for elections in April.


2000s in Togo, Death of Eyadéma and Gnassingbé's rise
Deputy Speaker Bonfoh Abbass was appointed interim president until the inauguration of the April 24 election winner. As to official results, the winner of the election was Gnassingbé who garnered 60% of the vote. Opposition leader Emmanuel Bob-Akitani however disputed the election and declared himself to be the winner with 70% of the vote. After the announcement of the results, tensions flared up and to date, 100 people have been killed. On May 3, 2005, Gnassingbé was sworn in and vowed to concentrate on "the promotion of development, the common good, peace and national unity".


2000s in Togo, Death of Eyadéma and Gnassingbé's rise
In August 2006 President Gnassingbe and members of the opposition signed the Global Political Agreement (GPA), bringing an end to the political crisis triggered by Gnassingbe Eyadema's death in February 2005 and the flawed and violent electoral process that followed. The GPA provided for a transitional unity government whose primary purpose would be to prepare for benchmark legislative elections, originally scheduled for June 24, 2007. CAR opposition party leader and human rights lawyer Yawovi Agboyibo was appointed Prime Minister of the transitional government in September 2006.


2000s in Togo, Death of Eyadéma and Gnassingbé's rise
Leopold Gnininvi, president of the CDPA party, was appointed minister of state for mines and energy. The third opposition party, UFC, headed by Gilchrist Olympio, declined to join the government, but agreed to participate in the national electoral commission and the National Dialogue follow-up committee, chaired by Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore.


2000s in Togo, Death of Eyadéma and Gnassingbé's rise
Parliamentary elections are set to take place on October 14, 2007, and Olympio, who has returned from exile to campaign, is taking part for the first time in 17 years. More than 3,000 national and international observers are monitoring the poll.


2000s in Tunisia
An historic snapshot of Tunisia during the first decade of the 2000s is presented. Since then, however, Tunisia has been transformed politically and socially by the Tunisian Revolution, which commenced in  early 2011. Quickly Ben 'Ali was overthrown and left the country, his political party the Rassemblement Constitutionnel Démocratique was disbanded. Over the next several years the government structure of Tunisia has been gradually reconstituted by democratic means.


2000s in Tunisia, Ben 'Ali regime
Ben 'Ali in 1987 had constitutionally removed from office the former leader Habib Bourguiba (1903-2000, President 1957-1987). Ben 'Ali himself then won election as the new president. The change in leadership "took place in complete calm" and the new regime inherited "a well-established party nomenclatura". In 2004 Ben'Ali was reelected for a five-year term, with a reported 94.5% of the vote. Elected also were 189 members of the Majlis al-Nuwaab or Chamber of Deputies, whose term was also five years.


2000s in Tunisia, Ben 'Ali regime
In addition, there was a Chamber of Advisors composed of 126 members with six-year terms; of these 85 are selected by: government subdivisions (e.g., municipalities), professional associations, and trade unions (yet 14 union members boycotted the process); the other 41 members were appointed by the President. The court system remained a combination of French Civil Law and Islamic law. The autocratic rule of Ben 'Ali was extended in 2009 by his reelection, reportedly at 99.44%.


2000s in Tunisia, Ben 'Ali regime
A widely supported human rights movement had emerged, initiated by trade unionists, lawyers, and journalists, in addition to being joined by aggrieved Islamists. Tunisia's political institutions, however, often appeared to remain fixed in an authoritarian past. As reported in 2001, the government's response to calls for reform had been house arrests and prison. The government refused to cease its repression of the Islamist opposition party, due to prior terrorist activity. Generally, the Ben 'Ali regime's governance of the country included fostering a political climate considered rigid, from time to time using objectionable police methods to repress dissent. Before becoming president Ben 'Ali had been "a police and security specialist" who during his military career once led the Gendarmerie National.


2000s in Tunisia, Ben 'Ali regime
In foreign affairs, Tunisia continued its close ties to the West. Nonetheless, the Arab League secretariat, which had moved to Tunis from Cairo in 1979, before Ben 'Ali's presidency, remained until 1991 when it relocated back to Cairo. An association agreement with the European Union, signed in 1995, was scheduled to move Tunisia toward full free trade with the EU by 2008. Following the 2001 al-Qaeda attacks on the United States, Tunisia stood with the west against terrorism. Within the Maghreb, efforts continued to form a regional unity with Algeria, Morocco, Libya, and Mauritania]], in the Arab Maghreb Union. Yet for Tunisia, "over 90 percent of its trade [was] with Europe, most of it with France." From the perspective of the first decade of the 21st century, Tunisia pursued a moderate strategy in its foreign relations, actively associated with the west, yet nurturing its ties to the developing world.


2000s in Tunisia, Ben 'Ali regime
In managing the economy the Ben 'Ali regime was said to have mostly "met with success" yet it was a success "built on the repressive institutions and personality cult" of an earlier era. "Within the regional Maghrebi context, Tunisia has been relatively efficient in instituting economic reforms, and its economy was the strongest in terms of growth, stability, and integration into a wider global market." A favorable factor was the motivated "entrepreneurial middle class". Although many Tunisians disliked the regime's authoritarian repression, in compensation there was the government's ability to develop the country. "Tunisia's strong economy throughout most of the Ben 'Ali era helped to neutralize political opposition." Yet under Ben 'Ali, the modernizing privatization of state enterprises became corrupted at its root, benefitting insiders and family members. Thereafter the corruption in the regime multiplied and became notorious.


2000s in Tunisia, Society and business
Tunis, the capital city, had a population of about 700,000, out of Tunisia's total of nearly 10 million. The second city of Sfax, a Mediterranean port to the south, a commercial and industrial center, numbered approximately 250,000. The population growth rate measured as births per female had fallen from 7 (1960s) to 2 (2007). Life expectancy was female 75, male 72. Required education was eight years. The religion composition was:  Muslim 98%, with 1% Christian, and 1% Jewish and other. The official language continued as Arabic, with French also spoken particularly in commercial dealings, and with less than 2% Berber. Literacy by recent definition included all over 15 years; overall it was 74%, male 83% and female 65%. In 2006, 7.3 million mobile phones were in use and 1.3 million Tunisians were on the internet. There were 26 television stations and 29 radio stations.


2000s in Tunisia, Society and business
Over half the population was considered urban, with agricultural workers being about 30% of the total. Between 1988 and 1998 the economy more than doubled. Unemployment in 2000 was about 15.6%, and in 2006 about 13.9%. Over 300,000 Tunisians were reported to be residing in France during 1994. Left out of the recent prosperity were many rural and urban poor, including small businesses facing the world market.


2000s in Tunisia, Society and business
The business community was diverse. The nation's domestic economy was based primarily on light industry (food processing, textiles, footwear, agribusiness, mining commodities, construction materials) and on agriculture (olives, olive oil, grains (wheat and barley), tomatoes, citrus, sugar beets, dates, almonds, figs, vegetables, grapes, beef dairy), as well as livestock (sheep, goats) and fishing. Other sectors included the petroleum industry and mining (phosphates, iron, lead, zinc, salt). Tunisia was self-sufficient in oil, but not in natural gas. Exports in aggregate were sent to France 29%, Italy 20%, Germany 9%, Spain 6%, Libya 5%, U.S.A. 4%. Imports arrived from France 25%, Italy 22%, Germany 10%, Spain 5%. A very significant portion was generated by tourism. On average five million tourists were visiting each year, and "one in eight Tunisians depended, directly or indirectly, on [the tourist industry] for their livelihoods".


2000s in Tunisia, Society and business
The monetary unit remained the dinar, at about 1.33 per dollar U.S.A. in 2000 (the dinar was then maintaining a fairly constant rate). Inflation was estimated at 4.5% in 2006. Tunisia's Gross Domestic Product (G.D.P.) was composed of approximately 12.5% agriculture, 33.1% industry, and 54.4% services. The economy grew at 5% per year during the 1990s (the best in North Africa), but hit a 15-year low of 1.9% in 2002 (due to drought and a decline in tourism following world terrorist attacks). It regained a 5% rate for 2003–2005, and was said to be 4%-5% for 2006. Tunisia's per capita annual income was approximately 8,900 U.S.A. dollars in 2006.


2000s in Tunisia, Society and business
The face of the countryside changes markedly as one moves from north to south. In the north and central coast, orchards and fields predominate; while in the central plains, pasturage. An overview of Tunisian land use would apportion arable land at 17%-19%, with forest and woodland 4%, permanent crops 13%, irrigated lands at 2.4%; about 20% is used for pasture. There are limited fresh water resources. In the south the environment grows increasingly arid, until eventually reaching the Sahara desert borderlands. Roads total about 20,000 km., two-thirds being paved, with most of the unpaved roads lying in the desert south.


2000s in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe began experiencing a period of considerable political and economic upheaval in 1999. Opposition to President Mugabe and the ZANU-PF government grew considerably after the mid-1990s in part due to worsening economic and human rights conditions. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was established in September 1999 as an opposition party founded by trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai.


2000s in Zimbabwe
The MDC's first opportunity to test opposition to the Mugabe government came in February 2000, when a referendum was held on a draft constitution proposed by the government. Among its elements, the new constitution would have permitted President Mugabe to seek two additional terms in office, granted government officials immunity from prosecution, and authorised government seizure of white-owned land. The referendum was handily defeated. Shortly thereafter, the government, through a loosely organised group of war veterans, sanctioned an aggressive land redistribution program often characterised by forced expulsion of white farmers and violence against both farmers and farm employees.


2000s in Zimbabwe
Parliamentary elections held in June 2000 were marred by localised violence, and claims of electoral irregularities and government intimidation of opposition supporters. Nonetheless, the MDC succeeded in capturing 57 of 120 seats in the National Assembly.


2000s in Zimbabwe, 2002
The Youth brigade assaulted residents of Ruwa and Mabvuku on 2 January 2002 sealing off the towns of Bindura, Chinhoyi and Karoi on 8 January as part of a recruiting drive and to weed out members of the Movement for Democratic Change before the upcoming elections. Militants petrol bombed the offices of The Daily News, Zimbabwe's main independent daily newspaper, on 11 February. Kenneth Walker reported on National Public Radio on 15 February that the Zimbabwean government had sent troops into Matabeleland.


2000s in Zimbabwe, 2002
The legislature passed a law in May, giving 2,900 farmers 45 days to wind up operations and another 45 days to leave their land and make way for black settlers. In July the High Court under Judge Feargus Blackie sentenced Patrick Chinamasa, the Justice Minister, to three months in jail on contempt of court charges after the minister repeatedly ignored a court summons. Chinamasa ignored the ruling and police refused to arrest him.


2000s in Zimbabwe, 2002
The High Court ruled against the state on 8 August in the confiscation of Andrew Kockett's farm because it had not informed the National Merchant Bank, the mortgage holder. Some farmers vacated their land in connection with the expropriation law originally passed in May, but police arrested more than 300 white farmers who refused to vacate their land on 16 August. A bomb exploded at the Voice of the People, an independent radio station in Harare, on 29 August. Police arrested twelve sugar cane farmers from the Chiredzi area in September for refusing to leave their farms. Police arrest Feargus Blackie, a former High Court Judge, is arrested on 13 September. Police find Learnmore Jongwe, a Movement for Democratic Change MP, dead in his prison cell on 22 October. Police had originally arrested Jongwe for allegedly murdering his wife.


2000s in Zimbabwe, 2002
Presidential elections were held in March 2002. In the months leading up to the poll, ZANU-PF, with the support of the army, security services and especially the so-called 'war veterans' – very few of whom actually fought in the Second Chimurenga against the Smith regime in the 1970s – set about wholesale intimidation and suppression of the MDC-led opposition. Despite strong international criticism, these measures, together with organised subversion of the electoral process, ensured a Mugabe victory. The government's behaviour drew strong criticism from the EU and the US, which imposed limited sanctions against the leading members of the Mugabe regime. Since the 2002 election, Zimbabwe has suffered further economic difficulty and growing political chaos.


2000s in Zimbabwe, 2003
The treason trial of Morgan Tsvangirai began in the High Court in Harare on 3 February. President Robert Mugabe issued a decree on 7 December, announcing that Zimbabwe was permanently withdrawing from the Commonwealth to protest the organisation's criticism of ZANU-PF and the government's policies. Canaan Banana, Methodist minister, theologian and the first President of Zimbabwe, died of cancer on 10 November in London at the age of 67.


2000s in Zimbabwe, 2004–2005
Divisions within the opposition MDC had begun to fester early in the decade, after Morgan Tsvangirai (the president of the MDC) was lured into a government sting operation that videotaped him talking of Mr. Mugabe's removal from power. He was subsequently arrested and put on trial on treason charges. This crippled his control of party affairs and raised questions about his competence. It also catalysed a major split within the party. In 2004 he was acquitted, but not after suffering serious abuse and mistreatment in prison.


2000s in Zimbabwe, 2004–2005
The opposing faction was led by Welshman Ncube who was the general secretary of the party. In mid-2004, vigilantes loyal to Mr. Tsvangirai began attacking members who were mostly loyal to Ncube, climaxing in a September raid on the party's Harare headquarters in which the security director was nearly thrown to his death.


2000s in Zimbabwe, 2004–2005
The Committee to Protect Journalists released a list of the ten most hazardous countries for journalists on 2 May 2004 placing Zimbabwe third after Iraq and Cuba as the most dangerous place to be a journalist.


2000s in Zimbabwe, 2004–2005
An internal party inquiry later established that aides to Tsvangirai had tolerated, if not endorsed, the violence. Divisive as the violence was, it was a debate over the rule of law that set off the party's final break-up in November 2005. These division severely weakened the opposition. In addition the government employed its own operatives to both spy on each side and to undermine each side via acts of espionage. Zimbabwean parliamentary election, 2005 were held in March 2005 in which ZANU-PF won a two-thirds majority, were again criticised by international observers as being flawed.


2000s in Zimbabwe, 2004–2005
Mugabe's political operatives were thus able to weaken the opposition internally and the security apparatus of the state was able to destabilise it externally by using violence in anti-Mugabe strongholds to prevent citizens from voting. Some voters were 'turned away' from polling station despite having proper identification, further guaranteeing that the government could control the results. Additionally Mugabe had started to appoint with judges sympathetic to the government, making any judicial appeal futile. Mugabe was also able to appoint 30 of the Members of Parliament.


2000s in Zimbabwe, 2004–2005
As Senate elections approached further opposition splits occurred. Ncube's supporters argued that the M.D.C. should field a slate of candidates; Tsvangirai's argued for a boycott. When party leaders voted on the issue, Ncube's side narrowly won, but Mr. Tsvangirai declared that as president of the party he was not bound by the majority's decision. Again the opposition was weakened. As a result, the elections for a new Senate in November 2005 were largely boycotted by the opposition. Mugabe's party won 24 of the 31 constituencies where elections were held amid low voter turnout. Again, evidence surfaced of voter intimidation and fraud.


2000s in Zimbabwe, 2004–2005
In May 2005 the government began Operation Murambatsvina. It was officially billed to rid urban areas of illegal structures, illegal business enterprises, and criminal activities. In practice its purpose was to punish political opponents. The UN estimates 700,000 people have been left without jobs or homes as a result. Families and traders, especially at the beginning of the operation, were often given no notice before police destroyed their homes and businesses. Others were able to salvage some possessions and building materials but often had nowhere to go, despite the government's statement that people should be returning to their rural homes.