2009 Newcastle Knights season, Season summary
The Knights won 9 consecutive games at EnergyAustralia Stadium, breaking the previous home record of 8. Season 2009 also saw coach Brian Smith sacked after announcing on July 19 that he had signed a four-year deal with the Sydney Roosters, and subsequently the team faltered as they lost three consecutive games until Newcastle officials dismissed Smith and appointed assistant coach Rick Stone. The season began well for the Knights with the side winning 7 of their opening 10 games and were sitting equal first with the Bulldogs, St. George Illawarra and the Gold Coast with 14 points.


2009 Newcastle Knights season, Season summary
However, during the representative season, the Knights struggled and went through a bad period of 7 losses in 11 games, the last three losses were recorded after news broke of Smith's departure from the club. With Stone in charge, the Knights won 3 of their last 4 games to secure 7th place and a finals berth for the first time since 2006.


2009 Newcastle Knights season, NRL Standings
* Bulldogs stripped of 2 competition points after an interchange breach in round 2


2009 Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Men's Curling Championship
The 2009 Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Men's Curling Championship (Newfoundland and Labrador's men's provincial curling championship) was held from February 3-8 at the Caribou Curling Club in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador. The winning team (skipped by Brad Gushue) represented Newfoundland and Labrador at the 2009 Tim Hortons Brier in Calgary.


2009 Newfoundland and Labrador Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The 2009 Newfoundland and Labrador Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Newfoundland and Labrador's women's provincial curling championship, will be held January 21-25 at the Bally Haly Golf and Curling Club in St. John's. The winner represents team Newfoundland and Labrador at the 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Victoria, British Columbia.


2009 Newfoundland and Labrador municipal elections
The Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador held municipal elections in its municipalities on September 29, 2009.


2009 Newfoundland and Labrador municipal elections
Listed are the results of selected municipal mayoral races in the province.


2009 Nicholls State Colonels football team
The 2009 Nicholls State Colonels football team represented Nicholls State University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Colonels were led by sixth-year head coach Jay Thomas. They played their home games at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium and were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 3–8, 3–6 in Southland play to finish in seventh place.


2009 Nickelodeon Indonesia Kids' Choice Awards
The 2009 Nickelodeon Indonesia Kids' Choice Awards were held on July 23, 2009, at the Tennis Indoor Senayan in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta and hosted by Raffi Ahmad, Indra Bekti, and Fitri Tropica. The ceremony awards held the theme for "Playground Adventure".


2009 Nickelodeon Indonesia Kids' Choice Awards
Agnes Monica and Raffi Ahmad led the nominations with three categories, followed by Afgan, Bunga Citra Lestari, and Luna Maya with two nominations. Afgan was the biggest winner of the night, taking home two awards in the categories: Favourite Male Singer and Indonesian Star Wannabe Award.


2009 Nicky Rackard Cup
The 2009 Nicky Rackard Cup is the 5th annual third-tier hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. Seven county teams and one regional team participate in the competition. The teams are Fingal, Monaghan, Louth, Sligo, Meath, London, Armagh and Roscommon.


2009 Nicky Rackard Cup
The winners of the competition were promoted to the 2010 Christy Ring Cup.


2009 Nicky Rackard Cup
On 11 July, Meath won the cup with a 2-18 to 1-15 win over London at Croke Park.


2009 Nicky Rackard Cup, Structure
The tournament has a double elimination format - each team will play at least two games before being knocked out.


2009 Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship
The 2009 Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 18th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2009 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Winnetka, United States between 29 June and 5 July 2009.


2009 Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship, Singles entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2009 Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship, Champions, Doubles
Carsten Ball /  Travis Rettenmaier def. Brett Joelson /  Ryan Sweeting, 6–1, 6–2


2009 Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship – Doubles
Todd Widom and Michael Yani were the defending champions; however, they were eliminated by Ball and Rettenmaier in the semifinal. Carsten Ball & Travis Rettenmaier defeated Brett Joelson & Ryan Sweeting in the final 6–1, 6–2.


2009 Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship – Singles
Rajeev Ram was the defending champion; however, he lost to Kuznetsov in the second round. Alex Kuznetsov won in the final 6–4, 7–6(1), against Tim Smyczek


2009 Nigeria Entertainment Awards
The 2009 Nigeria Entertainment Awards was held at Howard University Cramton Auditorium on June 9, 2009. It was hosted by Omoni Oboli and Ebbe Bassey


2009 Nigerien constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in Niger on 4 August 2009. The referendum proposed the dissolution of the Fifth Republic and the creation of the Sixth Republic under a fully presidential system of government, offering a yes or no vote on the suspension of the constitution and granting President Mamadou Tandja a three-year interim government, during which the constitution of the Sixth Republic would be formulated. On 20 June, the Constitutional Court declared the plan illegal, but Tandja subsequently assumed emergency powers and dissolved the Court. The events surrounding this election led to a constitutional crisis.


2009 Nigerien constitutional referendum
Although the opposition boycotted the referendum, official results reported that turnout was 68%, with 92.5% of voters in favor. The new constitution was accordingly promulgated on 18 August 2009.


2009 Nigerien constitutional referendum, Background
The full details of the referendum proposal were not finalized, but elements of the proposed constitution were outlined by government spokesmen and by a commission set up by the president to draft a proposed document. Tandja would extend his term for a transitional mandate of three years, during which a new constitution would be written and approved. The system of government would be changed from a semi-presidential system to a full presidential system, which Tandja claims is more stable. There would be no limit to presidential terms, and a bi-cameral legislature would be created with an upper house, the Senate.


2009 Nigerien constitutional referendum, Background
On 5 June, the President and the Council of Ministers of Niger approved plans for the referendum, titled Referendum on the Project of the VIth Republic. Campaigning would take place from 13 July 2009 to 2 August 2009. The President established a commission to create a draft constitutional law upon which the population would vote. The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) was ordered to oversee preparations for voting. Electors would be able to choose "yes" or "no" to the text "Do you approve of the Constitutional project submitted for your assent?"


2009 Nigerien constitutional referendum, Background
On 12 June 2009, the Constitutional Court ruled against Tandja's referendum proposal, following a non-binding advisement to the President the month before. This time the ruling was in response to a case brought by a coalition of opposition groups, which included the CDS, a governing partner in the previous government, without which the MNSD could not gain a majority in the Assembly. In such cases, the Constitution specifies that rulings of the Constitutional Court are binding and may not be appealed. Thereafter, CENI announced that National Assembly elections would take place on 20 August, and no referendum would be voted upon.


2009 Nigerien constitutional referendum, Background
CENI chairman Moumouni Hamidou stated, following the 18 June Court decision, that they would not hold the 4 August Referendum, and were preparing almost seven million voting cards for the 20 August legislative elections. By law, Nigerien electoral officials must send out voter cards two months prior to an election.


2009 Nigerien constitutional referendum, Background
Upon the final ruling by the Constitutional Court, Tandja declared that he had assumed "special powers" as the "independence of the nation was threatened". Interior Minister Albade Abouba announced on 28 June, following President Tandja's assumption of emergency powers, that both the 4 August referendum and the 20 August parliamentary election would go ahead.


2009 Nigerien constitutional referendum, Conduct
The vote went ahead as planned on 4 August, although the opposition chose to boycott it. As the boycott made the outcome of the referendum effectively a foregone conclusion, voter turnout assumed a greater significance, as a higher turnout would enhance the referendum's appearance of legitimacy and a lower turnout would suggest that the population had followed the opposition leaders' call for a boycott. As vote counting took place on 5 August, CENI President Moumouni Hamidou said that voter turnout had varied "between 40 and 90 percent" across the country, with the higher figures found in rural areas. Marou Amadou of the opposition FDD coalition said that this was a "ridiculous" claim and that actual turnout was less than seven percent. In the Kabalewa district, from which Tandja originated, turnout was placed at the particularly high level of 94.72%; in Arlit, official turnout was only 30.8%.


2009 Nigerien constitutional referendum, Conduct
Large signs from President Tandja were posted in Niamey on 6 August, reading "For your fresh show of confidence, all of you: thank you". Meanwhile, the opposition Coordination of Democratic Forces for the Republic (CFDR) described the referendum as "organised in breach of the laws of the Republic" and said that it was "rejected by the sovereign people and it is null and void". It claimed that less than five percent of the population voted and stated that "in boycotting the referendum, Niger people have clearly rejected the autocratic scheme of the President"; according to the CFDR, the turnout figures were "seriously inflated" and many of the "yes" votes were not from real voters.


2009 Nigerien constitutional referendum, Results
Official results on 7 August 2009 reported a turnout of 68.26% with 92.5% of the votes in favour. Speaking on 8 August, opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou vowed to "resist and fight against this coup d'etat enacted by President Tandja and against his aim of installing a dictatorship in our country".


2009 Nigerien constitutional referendum, Results
After calling for protests, Marou Amadou was arrested on 10 August; he was quickly released on the orders of a judge in Niamey, but according to a member of his non-governmental organization, the United Front for the Protection of Democracy (FUSAD), he was then "kidnapped ... by members of the Republican Guard at the prison in Niamey as he was trying to complete formalities for his freedom from prison".


2009 Nigerien constitutional referendum, Results
The Constitutional Court's decision confirming the referendum results was announced on 14 August 2009, thereby legally validating the outcome. Mahamane Hamissou of the CFDR derided the validation as a "non-event" and vowed to fight on against Tandja's alleged effort to impose "dictatorship", while Issoufou's PNDS party dismissed the Constitutional Court as "a tailor-made court that merely did the work for which it was created". On 16 August, Issoufou Sidibé, the Secretary-General of the Democratic Confederation of the Workers of Niger (CDTN), announced that the CFDR would conduct nationwide protests against the "fantasy results" on 20 August.


2009 Nigerien constitutional referendum, Aftermath
President Tandja promulgated the new constitution on 18 August, and Prime Minister Seyni Oumarou submitted the resignation of his government to Tandja. Tandja reappointed Oumarou and the whole government without changes on 19 August. Although the composition of the government was unchanged, its reappointment marked the formal transition from a semi-presidential system (in which the President and Prime Minister share executive power) to a presidential system in which the President holds full executive power.


2009 Nigerien constitutional referendum, Aftermath
The opposition held a protest in Niamey on 22 August despite an official ban. Police fired tear gas and broke up the protest.


2009 Nigerien parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Niger on 20 October 2009, after President Mamadou Tandja dissolved the National Assembly in May 2009 and a constitution referendum was held in August 2009. The elections were boycotted by most opposition parties, and saw Tandja's National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD) win a landslide victory.


2009 Nigerien parliamentary election, Background
The Independent Electoral Commission announced on 15 May 2009 that the elections would be held on 28 November 2009, between the first and second rounds of the planned presidential elections on 14 November and 6 December 2009. However, the Electoral Commission announced in June that the parliamentary elections would be moved to 20 August, two weeks after the controversial referendum on a new constitution that allowed Tandja to remain in office until 2012.


2009 Nigerien parliamentary election, Background, Constitutional crisis
This period prior to the elections was dominated by controversy regarding Tandja's efforts to have the constitution changed so that he would be allowed to run for re-election; those efforts were opposed by the opposition, as well as parties within the presidential majority coalition and some elements of the MNSD. In May 2009, after Tandja informed the National Assembly of his plans to call a referendum on the matter, 23 deputies asked the Constitutional Court to rule on whether he could do so.


2009 Nigerien parliamentary election, Background, Constitutional crisis
The Court ruled against Tandja on 25 May 2009; it said that although article 49 of the constitution allowed the President to call referendums, it should not be interpreted to mean he could call referendums on the content of the constitution itself, because the presidential oath required him to respect the constitution. Tandja then promptly dissolved the National Assembly on 26 May. It was suggested that he did so because he was concerned that the government would lose its parliamentary majority and face a vote of no confidence.


2009 Nigerien parliamentary election, Background, Constitutional crisis
The election date was originally set by the Supreme Court on 19 June 2009. The Chairman of the 66 member decentralized organization which operates and certifies all elections, Niger National Independent Election Commission (CENI), Moumouni Hamidou stated, following the 18 June Court decision, that they would not hold the 4 August referendum, and were preparing almost 7 million voting cards for the 20 August legislative election.


2009 Nigerien parliamentary election, Background, Constitutional crisis
Despite this, Interior Minister Albade Abouba announced on 28 June, following Tandja's assumption of emergency powers, that both the 4 August referendum and the 20 August parliamentary elections would go ahead.


2009 Nigerien parliamentary election, Campaign
On 19 August 2009, following the success of the referendum, it was announced that the parliamentary elections would be held on 20 October 2009, with a campaign period lasting from 28 September to 18 October. The opposition indicated that it would boycott the election, officially announcing their intention to do so on 26 September. The following day, Tandja called for a massive turnout. The campaign began on 28 September, as planned. About 20 parties participated, although most of them supported Tandja and were allied with his MNSD.


2009 Nigerien parliamentary election, Conduct
Despite the opposition boycott and warnings from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the elections were held as planned on 20 October. ECOWAS promptly suspended Niger "until constitutional legality is reinstated", stating that it would "not recognize the outcome" of the elections. Niger's Foreign Minister, Aichatou Mindaoudou, said on 21 October that ECOWAS had made a mistake in its "assessment of the political situation in our country" and that Niger would try to convince ECOWAS to change its position, without "cast[ing] aspersions on ECOWAS".


2009 Nigerien parliamentary election, Results
The turnout for the elections was 51.27% of the six million registered voters. According to official results announced by CENI President Moumouni Hamidou on 24 October the governing MNSD won the elections by taking 76 of 113 seats in the National Assembly. The MNSD had held 47 seats in the previous assembly.


2009 Nigerien parliamentary election, Results
Five parties considered allied to the MNSD won 25 seats: 15 for the Social Democratic Rally (RSD), seven for the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), one for the Rally of Nigerien Patriots (a party founded in June 2009 by a former cabinet minister), one for the Party of the Masses for Labour, one for the Union of Independent Nigeriens (Union des Nigériens Indépendants) and one for the Nigerien Self-Management Party. The RSD increased its number of seats by eight from the previous elections in 2004, whilst the RDP gained an extra seat. Eleven independent candidates won the remaining seats, marking first time that independents have won seats in the assembly. The Constitutional Court had 15 days to validate the elections from the date of the announcement of the results.


2009 Nigerien parliamentary election, Aftermath
At the official certification of the results on 11 November, the government announced that one seat in the Tassarra constituency, which had been won by an independent candidate, had been annulled by the Constitutional Court, and a by-election for that seat would take place at an unspecified date. Until that time, only 112 of the 113 representatives would be seated. A second change made by the court, annulling the vote at a single polling station in Koygolo Commune, Boboye Department, Dosso Region did not change the overall result in that seat. In doing so the Court turned down several other appeals against the results, and declared that the five-year term of the 112 deputies had begun at 0:00 hours on 11 November 2009, and would end at exactly 24:00 hours on 11 November 2014.


2009 Nigerien parliamentary election, Aftermath
MNSD President Seyni Oumarou was elected President of the National Assembly on 25 November 2009; the vote was unanimous, with all of the 109 deputies present voting in favor. Oumarou said on the occasion that he would work to restore the National Assembly's image in the wake of the controversies of the preceding months.


2009 Nikon SuperGP
The 2009 Nikon SuperGP was an Australian motor racing meeting held on a street circuit in Surfers Paradise on Queensland's Gold Coast on 22–25 October 2009. It was to have featured the opening round of the 2009–10 A1 Grand Prix season, although A1 Grand Prix's involvement in the event was cancelled just five days prior to practice beginning.


2009 Nikon SuperGP
The event did feature the eleventh event of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series, the 2009 V8 Supercar Challenge. The program was altered from two 200-kilometre races for the Australian touring car series to four 150-kilometre races. Mark Winterbottom won two of the four races over the weekend with Garth Tander winning the second race on Saturday and Craig Lowndes winning the first race on Sunday. Tander and Winterbottom won each of the two days on combined point score.


2009 Nikon SuperGP
Despite the extended V8 Supercar racing round and the last-minute inclusion of an "Australian Legends" parade featuring racing identities Dick Johnson, Kevin Bartlett, Jim Richards, Glenn Seton, Colin Bond and Bob Morris driving historic racing cars, valued in excess of $1 million each, the 2009 event failed to attract anywhere near the numbers of spectators of previous events and the A1GP no-show has resulted in two separate government inquiries into the event.


2009 Nikon SuperGP
Surfers Paradise residents' groups are also lobbying for the event to be scrapped or relocated to a purpose-built facility, yet to be built. The Queensland tax payers are investing close to A$12 million into the event annually.


2009 Nikon SuperGP
On 4 February 2010, the Queensland government announced that the SuperGP will be relaunched as the SuperCarnivale, an event developed and designed specifically for V8 Supercars. The announcement came after the release of two separate inquiries into the SuperGP event. Changes included shortening the event to three days instead of four and a shortening of the track.


2009 Nikon SuperGP
The fallout from the highly critical reports has resulted in the contract between the Queensland government and the event organisers – The Gold Coast Motor Events Corporation (GCMEC) and the International Management Group (IMG) – being canceled. The contract had another four years to run and was worth $11.8 million annually. The QLD government therefore had to pay out $2.5 million as a settlement fee upon termination. The result was that Nikon SuperGP General Manager Greg Hooton and Nikon SuperGP Event Manager David Bennett, as well the support staff at the GCMEC/IMG event offices, were sacked and the office closed down.


2009 Nineveh governorate election
The Nineveh Governorate election of 2009 was held on 31 January 2009 alongside elections for all other governorates outside Iraqi Kurdistan and Kirkuk Governorate.


2009 Nineveh governorate election, Background
Three seats on the council have been reserved for religious minorities: one for Christians, one for Yazidis and one for Shabak.


2009 Nineveh governorate election, Background
In May 2008, arrest warrants were issued against a number of KDP council members who were accused of involvement in an assassination ring headed by the deputy leader of the KDP. The ring allegedly assassinated 900 people including a prominent Imam, two former senior officials of the Baath party, doctors and university professors. They were also accused of funnelled money and logistical help to al Qaeda in Iraq, in order to persuade the predominantly Arab residents to turn over security to the Kurdish Peshmerga.


2009 Nineveh governorate election, Campaign
The main contest in Ninawa was between the incumbent Kurdish-backed governor and the al-Hadba party, formed by Sunni Arab tribal groups and backed by the Shiite Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki. During the campaign the pro-Kurdish governor, Duraid Kashmoula, said he intended to leave Mosul, the city of his birth, after the election and retire to Kurdistan.


2009 Nineveh governorate election, Campaign
Al-Hadba complained of being targeted by Kurdish security forces. They accused the Kurdish parties of fraud in the 2005 election and, together with other non-Kurdish groups asked for federal troops to UN monitors to protect the voting centres. A candidate for the Sunni Arab "Iraq for Us" coalition was killed by a gunman who walked into a cafe and shot him. Just before the election another Sunni Arab candidate, this time from the National Unity List, was killed outside his home in Mosul.


2009 Nineveh governorate election, Campaign
Al-Hadba called for the removal of Kurdish peshmerga forces from Ninawa, saying many of the province's insurgent groups would become law-abiding after that. The Iraqi Islamic Party said the peshmerga should be replaced by the Iraqi Army within six months.


2009 Nineveh governorate election, Results
Usama al-Najafi, a member of the Council of Representatives of Iraq and a supporter of the al-Hadba party, claimed that they had won 60% of the vote, with the Kurdish list gaining only 20%.


2009 Nineveh governorate election, Results
After the election, reports claimed that Assyrians had been fired from their jobs because they were suspected of not voting for the pro-Kurdish Ishtar Patriotic List, which won the seat reserved for an Assyrian candidate.


2009 Nippon Professional Baseball season
The 2009 Nippon Professional Baseball season is the 60th season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950


2009 Nippon Professional Baseball season, Climax Series
Note: All of the games that are played in the first two rounds of the Climax Series are held at the higher seed's home stadium. The team with the higher regular-season standing also advances if the round ends in a tie.


2009 Nippon Professional Baseball season, Japan Series
CL Yomiuri Giants (4) vs. PL Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (2)


2009 Nobel Peace Prize
The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to United States President Barack Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples". The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award on October 9, 2009, citing Obama's promotion of nuclear nonproliferation and a "new climate" in international relations fostered by Obama, especially in reaching out to the Muslim world.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Committee's decision drew mixed reactions from US commentators and editorial writers across the political spectrum, as well as from the rest of the world.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize
Obama accepted the prize in Oslo on December 10, 2009. In a 36-minute speech, he discussed the tensions between war and peace and the idea of a "just war" saying, "perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the Commander-in-Chief of the military of a nation in the midst of two wars."


2009 Nobel Peace Prize
Obama is the fourth President of the United States to have won the Nobel Peace Prize (after Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Jimmy Carter, with Carter's honor happening after leaving office).


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Nomination and announcement
The winner is selected by the Nobel Committee from nominations submitted by committee members and others. Nominations for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize closed just 11 days after Obama took office. There were 205 nominations for the 2009 award, which included Chinese and Afghan civil rights activists and African politicians. Colombian Senator Piedad Córdoba, Afghanistan's Sima Samar, Chinese dissident Hu Jia and Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Morgan Tsvangirai had been speculated to be favorites for the award.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Nomination and announcement
The five members of the Nobel Committee are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament to roughly reflect the party makeup of that body. The 2009 Committee comprised two members of the Norwegian Labor Party, one from the left-wing Socialist Left Party, one from the Conservative Party of Norway and one from the right-wing Progress Party. The chairman of the Committee was Thorbjørn Jagland, former Norwegian Labor Party prime minister and Secretary General of the Council of Europe since September 29, 2009. The panel met six or seven times in 2009, beginning several weeks after the February 1 nomination deadline. The winner was chosen unanimously on October 5, but was initially opposed by the Socialist Left, Conservative and Progress Party members until strongly persuaded by Jagland.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Nomination and announcement
Jagland said "We have not given the prize for what may happen in the future. We are awarding Obama for what he has done in the past year. And we are hoping this may contribute a little bit for what he is trying to do," noting that he hoped the award would assist Obama's foreign policy efforts.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Nomination and announcement
Jagland said the committee was influenced by a speech Obama gave about Islam in Cairo in June 2009, the president's efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation and climate change, and Obama's support for using established international bodies such as the United Nations to pursue foreign policy goals. The New York Times reported that Jagland shrugged off the question of whether "the committee feared being labeled naïve for accepting a young politician's promises at face value", stating that "no one could deny that 'the international climate' had suddenly improved, and that Mr. Obama was the main reason... We want to embrace the message that he stands for."


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Nomination and announcement
Obama was the fourth U.S. President to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, after Theodore Roosevelt (1906) and Woodrow Wilson (1919)—both of whom received the award during their terms—and Jimmy Carter (2002), who received the award 21 years after leaving office. In addition, then-sitting Vice President Charles Dawes was a co-winner with Austen Chamberlain (1925), and former Vice President Al Gore was a co-winner with the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007)


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Nomination and announcement
Obama was the first U.S. president to receive the award during his first year in office (at eight and a half months, after being nominated less than two weeks in office), although several other world leaders were awarded in the year following their election to national office, including Óscar Arias (1987) and Aung San Suu Kyi (1991).


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Barack Obama
Obama said he was "surprised" and "deeply humbled" by the award. In remarks given at the White House Rose Garden on the day of the announcement, Obama stated, "I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments but rather an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations."


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Barack Obama
"Throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes," Obama said. "And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action — a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Barack Obama
He said those common challenges included the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons (which he said might not occur in his lifetime), nuclear proliferation, climate change, tolerance "among people of different faiths and races and religions", peace between and security for Israelis and Palestinians, better social conditions for the world's poor, including "the ability to get an education and make a decent living; the security that you won't have to live in fear of disease or violence without hope for the future." The United States, he said, is "a country that's responsible for ending a war and working in another theater to confront a ruthless adversary that directly threatens the American people and our allies."


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Barack Obama
The award, he said, "must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity — for the young woman who marches silently in the streets on behalf of her right to be heard even in the face of beatings and bullets; for the leader imprisoned in her own home because she refuses to abandon her commitment to democracy [referring to Aung San Suu Kyi]; for the soldier who sacrificed through tour after tour of duty on behalf of someone half a world away; and for all those men and women across the world who sacrifice their safety and their freedom and sometime their lives for the cause of peace." He did not take questions from reporters after giving his statement.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Barack Obama
Obama announced early that he would donate the full 10 million Swedish kronor (about US$1.4 million) monetary award to charity. The largest donations were given to the housing charity Fisher House Foundation who received $250,000, and the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund which received $200,000. Eight organizations which support education also received a donation. $125,000 was donated to the College Summit, the Posse Foundation, the United Negro College Fund, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the Appalachian Leadership and Education Foundation, and the American Indian College Fund. $100,000 was donated to Africare, and the Central Asia Institute.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In the United States
Obama's winning of the peace prize was largely unanticipated and called a "stunning surprise" by The New York Times, though major oddsmaker Centrebet had in fact put him at 7–1 odds of winning, with Piedad Córdoba and Sima Samar at 6–1 and Morgan Tsvangirai at 7–1.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In the United States
In a USA Today / Gallup Poll conducted October 16–19, 61% of American adults polled responded that they thought Obama did not deserve to win the prize, while 34% responded that he did; when asked if they were personally glad that Obama won the award, 46% of respondents said they were and 47% said they were not glad (poll margin of error +/–3%).


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In the United States
There was widespread criticism of the Nobel Committee's decision from commentators and editorial writers across the political spectrum. The New York Times published a mildly-supportive editorial which said the prize was "a (barely) implicit condemnation of Mr. Bush's presidency. But countering the ill will Mr. Bush created around the world is one of Mr. Obama's great achievements in less than nine months in office. Mr. Obama's willingness to respect and work with other nations is another." It said that much remains to be done.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In the United States
Among those agreeing that the award was a criticism of the Bush administration were the editorial pages of the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, as well as Thomas L. Friedman of The New York Times. Today host Matt Lauer and Jonah Goldberg of the National Review said that less than a year into the first term, there have been "no major foreign policy achievements to date".


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In the United States
Goldberg added: "surely someone in Iran—or maybe the Iranian protestors generally—could have benefitted more from receiving the prize" while in CounterPunch, political journalist Alexander Cockburn said that, in historical context of other former U.S. Presidents winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the award to Obama "represents a radical break in tradition, since he's only had slightly less than nine months to discharge his imperial duties". Peter Beinart of the Daily Beast called the decision a "farce", while Noam Chomsky said: "In defense of the committee, we might say that the achievement of doing nothing to advance peace places Obama on a considerably higher moral plane than some of the earlier recipients".


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In the United States
Many were critical of the Nobel Committee. A Wall Street Journal editorial, noting Obama's comment that the world's problems "can't be met by any one leader or any one nation", opined, "What this suggests to us—and to the Norwegians—is the end of what has been called 'American exceptionalism'. This is the view that U.S. values have universal application and should be promoted without apology, and defended with military force when necessary. Put in this context, we wonder if most Americans will count this peace-of-the-future prize as a compliment."


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In the United States
The Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson wrote that the committee members "have forfeited any claim to seriousness. Peace—the kind of peace that keeps people from being killed and oppressed—is an achievement, not a sentiment. ... Intending to honor Obama, the committee has actually embarrassed him." Commentary magazine's Peter Wehner wrote that the award, with past awards that seemed aimed at criticizing the Bush administration, showed the Nobel Committee "long ago ceased to be a serious entity; this choice merely confirms that judgment."


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In the United States
According to The Washington Post news analyst Dan Balz, "[E]ven among his supporters there was a sense of surprise and even shock on Friday [the day of the announcement], a belief that the award was premature, a disservice and a potential liability." An editorial in The Washington Post began, "It's an odd Nobel Peace Prize that almost makes you embarrassed for the honoree", and compared the Nobel Committee's statement that Obama had "created a new climate in international politics" to a recent satirical skit on television.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In the United States
A Los Angeles Times editorial said the committee "didn't just embarrass Obama, it diminished the credibility of the prize itself". Thomas L. Friedman of The New York Times wrote, "It dismays me that the most important prize in the world has been devalued in this way". Much of the commentary across the political spectrum involved describing the award as something risible, with the humor focusing on Obama's getting the award without having accomplished much. According to an analysis in The New York Times, "it ... [


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In the United States
is] striking how so many people seemed to greet the Nobel news with shock followed by laughter". On the morning of the announcement, several of The Washington Post's opinion-page columnists, posting at the newspaper's "Post Partisan" blog, characterized the award as laughable or directly satirized it, including such supportive columnists as Ruth Marcus ("ridiculous—embarrassing, even"), Richard Cohen (who satirized the award), and foreign-affairs columnist David Ignatius ("goofy" and "weird"), and Michael Kinsley (whose satirical response came the next day). Other prominent commentators who often supported Obama but responded with ridicule included Peter Beinart and Ann Althouse.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In the United States
James Taranto wrote in The Wall Street Journal an article summarising various opinions on the Internet, concluding how the award was embarrassing for Obama. He said the award was a "staggeringly premature honor – the equivalent of a lifetime-achievement Oscar for a child star" and that it "makes yesterday's satire into today's news". Fred Greenstein, presidential historian and author and professor of politics emeritus at Princeton University, told Fox News that giving President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize is a "premature canonization" and an "embarrassment to the Nobel process". Slate magazine blogger Mickey Kaus, The New York Times columnist David Brooks and former U.N. ambassador John Bolton amongst others, called for Obama to not accept the award; pundit Michael Crowley argued that it was a "mixed blessing".


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In the United States
Subsequent to the award many Americans now consider that Obama did not deserve it in the light of following events. Opponents of the award cite the expansion of the War on Terror and the large increase in the number of drone strikes carried out under Obama, specifically in Pakistan. There have been a number of calls for Obama to either return the award or to have the Nobel Committee recall it, most recently in 2013. In April 2013 a petition was begun asking the Nobel Committee to rescind the Peace Prize. The petition garnered 10,000 signatures in its first day and nearly 20,000 by the end of its first week.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In the United States, Political reaction
Nobel laureate and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore called the award "extremely well deserved". Obama received congratulations and kind words from other elected officials, such as from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former rival, Senator John McCain, who said, "As Americans, we're proud when our president receives an award of that prestigious category". RNC chairman Michael Steele discussed his disapproval of the award in a fund-raising letter, writing, "the Democrats and their international leftist allies want America made subservient to the agenda of global redistribution and control."


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In the United States, Political reaction
In 2015, Geir Lundestad, the non-voting Director of the Nobel Institute and secretary for the Nobel Committee at the time of the award, published a memoir, Secretary of Peace. In it, he wrote "In hindsight, we could say that the argument of giving Obama a helping hand was only partially correct. Many of Obama's supporters believed it was a mistake." Lundestad said that Obama had been surprised by the award, and considered not going to Oslo to accept it. He also said in his memoir that Obama had since failed to live up to the Nobel Committee's expectations.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In Norway
A poll conducted by Synovate for the newspaper Dagbladet showed that 43% of the Norwegian population believed giving Obama the prize was right, while 38% believed it was wrong. 19% had no opinion. The poll showed a sharp divide between younger and older people; of those over 60 years of age 58% were for and only 31% against it. Of those between 18 and 29 years of age, only 25% approved of the decision, while 42% disapproved.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, In Norway
The award divided opinion among politicians. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg congratulated Obama for a "well-deserved prize". Siv Jensen, leader of the opposition Progress Party, said that while Obama had taken several good initiatives the committee should have waited to see their results. Erna Solberg, leader of the Conservative Party, also said that the prize came early and increased pressure on Obama to live up to the expectation. Torstein Dahle, the leader of the far leftist party Red, called the award a scandal, citing the fact that Obama was the commander-in-chief of a country at war in Iraq and Afghanistan.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Other reactions
The response from U.S. allies was generally positive; reactions around the world were mixed.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Other reactions
Several Nobel Laureates commented: Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus (co-winner 2006 prize) said the committee's award was "an endorsement of [Obama] and the direction he is taking". Archbishop Desmond Tutu said the award to Obama "anticipates an even greater contribution towards making our world a safer place for all". Mairead Corrigan (co-winner 1976) expressed her disappointment, stating, "[g]iving this award to the leader of the most militarized country in the world, which has taken the human family against its will to war, will be rightly seen by many people around the world as a reward for his country's aggression and domination." Lech Wałęsa (1983), cofounder of the Solidarity trade union and former president of Poland, said the award was premature. "He has not yet made a real input." The 14th Dalai Lama congratulated Obama.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Other reactions
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the Nobel Committee's choice. "We are entering an era of renewed multilateralism ... President Obama embodies the new spirit of dialogue and engagement on the world's biggest problems: climate change, nuclear disarmament and a wide range of peace and security challenges."


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Other reactions
In Europe, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the award would reinforce Obama's determination to work for justice and peace. He added that the award "finally confirms the return of America in the hearts of all the peoples of the world". Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said the award will encourage warmer U.S.–Russian relations, and he hoped it would "serve as an additional incentive" for both governments to foster a better "climate in world politics". British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sent a private message of congratulations to President Obama.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Other reactions
Hope that the prize would assist Obama's efforts toward nuclear disarmament was also a part of congratulatory statements from Ireland's Taoiseach Brian Cowen and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said the Vatican "appreciated" the nomination. Kosovar President Fatmir Sejdiu congratulated Obama by saying, "This award is testimony to your success as a leader of a free country aimed at creating a safer and more peaceful world."


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Other reactions
In Australia, former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said that the selection was "a political decision of gross stupidity", laying the blame on the selection committee for a "hideous display of cynical politics". Stuart Rees, director of the Sydney Peace Foundation in Australia, questioned the award. "Perhaps the Nobel organisation wants to give him a magic wand. I think the guy is full of promise, but I don't think the promise has been realised yet particularly in regards the Middle East."


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Other reactions
In Asia and the Middle East: Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai said that Obama was the "appropriate" person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Siamak Hirai, a spokesman for Karzai, said, "His hard work and his new vision on global relations, his will and efforts for creating friendly and good relations at global level and global peace make him the appropriate recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize". Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the decision was ridiculous, saying, "The Nobel prize for peace? Obama should have won the 'Nobel Prize for escalating violence and killing civilians'."


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Other reactions
Indonesia's Masdar Mas'udi, deputy head of the Islamic organisation Nahdlatul Ulama, praised Obama's policy towards his country as confirmation of his worthiness as a Nobel laureate. "I think it's appropriate because he is the only American president who has reached out to us in peace," he said. "On the issues of race, religion, skin colour, he has an open attitude." Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama,Indian President Pratibha Patil, and Israeli President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres sent congratulatory messages to Obama, but Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters that "the decision was taken hastily and the award was [too] early".


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Other reactions
In Latin America, former Cuban President Fidel Castro called the award "positive" and said the prize should be seen as a criticism to the "genocidal policy" carried out by past U.S. presidents. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro said the award was a surprise and perhaps premature. "As President Hugo Chávez said at the United Nations, (the Obama administration) is a government that has raised expectations and hopes in many people in the world, amid great contradictions."


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Other reactions
In Africa, the news of the Obama Nobel Peace Prize was positively received. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki issued a statement saying that the prize was a "recognition of the contribution [Obama is] making for the well being of humanity". In South Africa, President Jacob Zuma used Ubuntu—the Zulu term for "the importance of community"—in his congratulatory message, saying that the U.S. president's "leadership reflects the true spirit of Ubuntu because your approach celebrates our common humanity." Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who was touted as a possible Nobel laureate, said Obama deserved the honor.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Other reactions
In 2011, Bolivian President Evo Morales and Russian Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky condemned the award, calling it hypocritical in light of US policy during the Libyan Civil War.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Other reactions
After the death of Anwar al-Awlaki and his son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki by CIA predator drones in Yemen, Nasser al-Awlaki, the father and grandfather of Anwar and Abdulrahman respectively, released an audio message condemning the killings:


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Reactions, Other reactions
I urge the American people to bring the killers to justice. I urge them to expose the hypocrisy of the 2009 Nobel Prize laureate. To some, he may be that. To me and my family, he is nothing more than a child killer.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel lecture
President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace prize in person at the Oslo City Hall in Norway on December 10, 2009. In a 36-minute speech, reportedly written by Obama and then edited by Jon Favreau and Ben Rhodes, he discussed the tensions between war and peace and the idea of a "just war". The address contained elements of the ideas of Reinhold Niebuhr, someone Obama once described as one of his favorite philosophers.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel lecture
The speech was generally well received by American pundits on both ends of the political spectrum. Several noted similarities between Obama's message and the rhetoric of President George W. Bush. This was also mentioned by former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson, who called it a "very American speech" and wrote that "Obama was recognizing that the great commitments and themes of American foreign policy are durably bipartisan". A number of prominent Republican politicians publicly praised the speech, including Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel lecture
Conservative The New York Times columnist Ross Douthat called it an oftentimes impressive speech that was "An extended defense of using realist means in the service of liberal internationalist ends". Columnist Andrew Sullivan distinguished between the Obama and Bush messages, stating that "Obama is far more conservative than his predecessor" in his views on human imperfection, reality, and war; he also linked the speech back to the tragic nature of Obama's line "the audacity of hope".


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel lecture
To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism – it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel lecture
Former Jimmy Carter speechwriter Hendrik Hertzberg said that the speech "will live on for a long time as a text for peacemakers in power". A few commentators were more critical, with former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton calling it "pedestrian, turgid, and uninspired" and US Congressman Dennis Kucinich "Once we are committed to war's instrumentality in pursuit of peace, we begin the Orwellian journey to the semantic netherworld where war is peace..."


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel lecture
The New York Times praised the eloquence of the speech, noting that "President Obama gave the speech he needed to give, but we suspect not precisely the one the Nobel committee wanted to hear." The Wall Street Journal echoed this sentiment and congratulated Obama for defending the occasional necessity of war and for stating that evil exists in the world, though used the same editorial to criticize him for current disarmament talks with Russia and a lack of progress with Iran and North Korea. The Los Angeles Times lauded the speech as "a blockbuster even by Obama's lofty standards", and even though the ideas were not new, "Obama's special gift is to make them seem achievable by appealing to our higher nature." It was also received well by columnists in The Washington Post.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel lecture
Abroad, British historian Simon Schama said of the speech that "in its seriousness, bravery and clarity, [it] was on a par with FDR and Churchill" and "summoned the spirit of Cicero".


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Aftermath
President Obama reduced the number of United States Army soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, but expanded the use of unmanned air-strikes on these countries, as well as Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Libya and Somalia.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Aftermath
Analysis by the Council on Foreign Relations suggests that the United States Army dropped 79 per cent of all 30,743 coalition bombs in 2016. Obama has been at war for longer than any other president in US history.


2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Aftermath
The secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Geir Lundestad, said in 2015 that awarding the prize to Obama failed to achieve what the committee hoped it would. "Even many of Obama's supporters believed that the prize was a mistake," he says. "In that sense the committee didn't achieve what it had hoped for."


2009 Nord LB Open
The 2009 Nord LB Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. This was the 16th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2009 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Braunschweig, Germany between 29 June and 5 July 2009.


2009 Nord LB Open, Singles entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2009 Nord LB Open, Champions, Doubles
Johan Brunström /  Jean-Julien Rojer def. Brian Dabul /  Nicolás Massú, 7–6(2), 6–4


2009 Nord LB Open – Doubles
Marco Crugnola and Óscar Hernández were the defending champions, but Crugnola chose not to defend 2009 title. Hernández played with José Checa-Calvo and they were eliminated in the second round by Emilio Benfele Álvarez and Sander Groen. Johan Brunström and Jean-Julien Rojer won the doubles competition. They won 7–6(2), 6–4 in the final, against Brian Dabul and Nicolás Massú.


2009 Nord LB Open – Singles
Nicolas Devilder, the champion in 2008, was eliminated by Adam Vejmělka in the first round. Óscar Hernández defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili 6–1, 3–6, 6–4 in the final.


2009 Nordic Figure Skating Championships
The 2009 Nordic Figure Skating Championships were held between February 6 and 8, 2009 at the Malmö Isstadion in Malmö, Sweden. They were a multi-national competition between skaters from Nordic countries. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles and ladies' singles on the senior, junior, and novice levels.


2009 Nordic Junior World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic Junior and U23 World Ski Championships 2009 took place in Praz de Lys-Sommand, France and Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia from 29 January to 6 February 2009. It was the 32nd Junior World Championships and the 4th Under-23 World Championships in nordic skiing.


2009 Nordic Trophy (Finnish tournament)
The Finnish edition of the 2009 Nordic Trophy ice hockey tournament was played between 6 August and 29 August 2009 and included only Finnish teams.


2009 Nordic Trophy (Finnish tournament)
Tappara won this tournament, beating HIFK 2–0 in the final. For unexplained reasons, Kärpät and Jokerit left the tournament after the regulation round, and instead, Tappara joined the playoffs.


2009 Nordic Trophy (Finnish tournament), Participating clubs
The Finnish edition of the 2009 Nordic Trophy featured 6 teams.


2009 Nordic Trophy (Swedish tournament)
The 2009 Nordic Trophy (Swedish tournament) was the Swedish edition of the 2009 Nordic Trophy ice hockey tournament, played between August 7 and August 29, 2009. The final weekend was played in Mariehamn, Åland Islands, Finland, at the Islandia.


2009 Nordic Trophy (Swedish tournament)
This year, the Finnish teams dropped out and formed their own Finnish edition of the 2009 Nordic Trophy. Djurgårdens IF defeated defending champions Linköpings HC in the final with a score of 4–1. Andreas Engqvist, Djurgården became the best player of the tournament while Jacob Josefson, also Djurgården, scored most points.


2009 Nordic Trophy (Swedish tournament), Group stage
The group stage matches were played at different small town venues in Sweden. HV71 clinched the first place for the first time since the tournament's inauguration.


2009 Nordic Trophy (Swedish tournament), Group stage
y - clinched semi-final spot for championship, x - play for 5th place


2009 Nordic Trophy (Swedish tournament), Playoffs
The 2009 Nordic Trophy playoffs were played from August 28 to August 30 in Mariehamn, Åland Islands, Finland, at the Islandia. The four best teams from the group stage played in the semi-finals and final, and the two lowest ranked teams played in the fifth-placed game.


2009 Nordic Trophy Junior
The 2009 Nordic Trophy Junior was the third and last Nordic Trophy Junior ice hockey tournament, played between 20 August- and 23 August, 2009. This time, the tournament was held in Linköping, Sweden.


2009 Norfolk County Council election
The Norfolk County Council election took place on 4 June 2009, coinciding with local elections for all county councils in England.


2009 Norfolk County Council election
The Conservative administration was re-elected with an increased majority and, as in Suffolk and Kent, the Liberal Democrats replaced Labour as the main opposition party.


2009 Norfolk County Council election
The Conservatives increased their majority on the council from 10 to a comfortable 36 seats with a net gain of 14 seats. They held virtually all of their seats across the county, but made a net loss of 1 seat to the Liberal democrats in North Norfolk.


2009 Norfolk County Council election
The Liberal Democrats performed well in the North Norfolk area through making a net gain of 1 against the Conservatives, and gaining Thetford West from Labour in Breckland, but lost seats to the conservatives in King's Lynn & West Norfolk and South Norfolk as the latter swept the board. Despite the party's flat-lining, they became the official opposition to the governing conservative administration.


2009 Norfolk County Council election
Labour, just as had been the case across the rest of the country, suffered heavy losses to all parties and especially to the conservatives being left with just 3 seats across the county, being pushed in to 4th place behind the Green Party for the first time.


2009 Norfolk County Council election
The Green Party made gains, particularly in Norwich where they won a majority of seats, which built upon their successes in city elections over the preceding years. They won more seats than labour across the county, but did not beat them in share of vote.


2009 Norfolk County Council election
The United Kingdom Independence Party stood candidates in some seats, winning one in Great Yarmouth from Labour.


2009 Norfolk County Council election
Other parties and independent candidates stood without winning seats and making little impact.


2009 Norfolk County Council election, Previous composition, Changes between elections
In between the 2005 election and the 2009 election, the following council seats changed hands:


2009 Norfolk County Council election, Summary of results, Election of Group Leaders
Daniel Cox (Humbleyard) was re-elected leader of the Conservative Group, Paul Morse (North Walsham East) was elected leader of the Liberal Democratic Group, Richard Bearman (Mancroft) was elected leader of the Green Party group and George Nobbs (Crome) became leader of the Labour Group now down to just 3 members.


2009 Norfolk County Council election, Summary of results, Election of Leader of the Council
Daniel Cox the leader of the conservative group was duly re-elected leader of the council and formed a conservative administration.


2009 Norfolk County Council election, Summary of results, Election of Leader of the Council
He would unexpectedly resign in October 2010 and was replaced by his deputy Derrick Murphy (Freebridge Lynn)


2009 Norfolk County Council election, Summary of results, Election of Leader of the Council
Murphy himself would be forced to resign after a controversy emerged over an email which was sent by a political assistant to the Conservative group at County Hall, to BBC Radio Norfolk in April 2012, which suggested that the leader of West Norfolk Council, Nick Daubney and facing 'a serious leadership challenge' over King's Lynn incinerator, which had been a source of tension between the two Councils.


2009 Norfolk County Council election, Results by district
Gains and losses are in comparison to the preceding full election in 2005, unless otherwise stated. Intervening by-elections are noted.


2009 Norfolk County Council election, Results by district, Broadland
At a by-election held on 14 July 2011, Old Catton was retained by the Conservatives.


2009 Norfolk County Council election, Results by district, Great Yarmouth
At a by-election on 5 May 2011, Lothingland was retained by the Conservatives.


2009 Norfolk County Council election, Results by district, King's Lynn and West Norfolk
At a by-election on 27 September 2012, Clenchwarton and King's Lynn South was won by the Labour Party.


2009 Norfolk County Council election, Results by district, Norwich
At a by-election on 24 November 2011, Lakenham was regained by the Labour Party.


2009 Norfolk County Council election, Results by district, South Norfolk
At a by-election on 13 January 2011, the Conservatives retained Humbleyard.


2009 Norfolk State Spartans football team
The 2009 Norfolk State Spartans football team represented Norfolk State University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Spartans were led by fifth-year head coach Pete Adrian and played their home games at William "Dick" Price Stadium. They were a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 7–4, 6–3 in MEAC play.


2009 North African Cup Winners Cup
The 2009 North African Cup Winners Cup was the second edition of the competition initiated in 2008 by the UNAF. CS Sfaxien of Tunisia were crowned champions after defeating Ahly Benghazi of Libya in the final on the away goals rule.


2009 North African Cup Winners Cup, Draw
The draw was made in Djerba, Tunisia on 25 July 2009 at a FNAF meeting.


2009 North African Cup Winners Cup, Draw, Final, Second leg
Ahly Benghazi 1–1 CS Sfaxien on aggregate. CS Sfaxien win on the away goals rule


2009 North African Cup of Champions
The 2009 North African Cup of Champions was the second edition of the competition initiated by the North African Football Union (UNAF). Algerian side ES Sétif were crowned champions after beating Tunisian champions ES Tunis in a penalty shootout in the final. Midfielder Hocine Metref was chosen as the Best Player of the competition, while goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi was chosen as the Best Goalkeeper.


2009 North African Cup of Champions, Draw
The draw was made in Djerba, Tunisia on 25 July 2009 at an UNAF meeting.


2009 North African Cup of Champions, Draw, Semi finals, Second Legs
ES Sétif go through with an aggregate score of 3–1


2009 North African Cup of Champions, Draw, Semi finals, Second Legs
ES Tunis go through with an aggregate score of 4–3.


2009 North African Futsal Tournament
The 2009 North African Futsal Cup was the 2nd Championship and it took place in Tunis, Tunisia from August 10–20, 2009, Organised by the Union of North African Football Federations. Syria were invited after the withdrawal of Algeria and Morocco.


2009 North Alabama Lions football team
The 2009 North Alabama Lions football team represented the University of North Alabama in the 2009 NCAA Division II football season.


2009 North American Christmas blizzard
The 2009 North American Christmas blizzard was a powerful winter storm and severe weather event that affected the Midwestern United States, Great Plains, Southeastern United States, the Eastern Seaboard, and parts of Ontario. The storm began to develop on December 22 before intensifying to produce extreme winds and precipitation by the morning of December 24. The storm's rapid development made it difficult for forecasters to predict. The blizzard was reported to have claimed at least 21 lives, and disrupted air travel during the Christmas travel season. In the Southeastern and Central United States, there were 27 reported tornadoes on December 23–24. The storm, a Category 5 "Extreme" one on the Regional Snowfall Index scale, was the first winter weather event to rank as such since the Blizzard of '96.


2009 North American Christmas blizzard, Impact, Snowfall
Snowfall varied across the United States. South Dakota likely received the most, with 30.8 inches (78 cm). In Minnesota, 26 inches (66 cm) was received near Pequaywan Lake on the state's North Shore. Parts of Texas recorded snowfall as high as 9 inches (23 cm) at Post. Snowfall in Nebraska caused six deaths. In Oklahoma, a state of emergency was declared after blizzard conditions killed 3 people and dropped 19 inches of snow. Iowa saw high snowfall as well.


2009 North American Christmas blizzard, Impact, Snowfall
The storm was so intense that it wrapped warm air around the north and west side of it and cold air and snow blew in from the south. Rochester, Minnesota, in the northern half of the storm, saw rain with temperatures in the mid 30s Fahrenheit while snow was falling just to the west in a 1,300-mile (2,100 km) band stretching from Canada south to at least Dallas, Texas, giving that region its first "White Christmas" since 1929. Interstate 29 was completely closed in North and South Dakota, and then in stretches into Missouri.


2009 North American Christmas blizzard, Impact, Rain
Heavy rain in parts of the Midwest prompted the National Weather Service to issue Flood Warnings for many areas. The maximum rainfall amount recorded was 6.89 inches (17.5 cm) in Little Rock, Arkansas. Freezing rain fell across Iowa and Illinois, affecting travel to and from O'Hare International Airport. The Chicago area saw as much as ten inches of snow following the freezing rain and sleet.


2009 North American Christmas blizzard, Impact, Tornadoes
Several houses were destroyed near Lafayette, Louisiana, possibly by a tornado. Near Longview, Texas an EF2 tornado left a path of destruction nearly one mile long. Another tornado near Lufkin, Texas produced EF3 damage.


2009 North American SuperLiga
The 2009 SuperLiga was the third edition of the SuperLiga. The top four overall Major League Soccer teams from the 2008 season not already qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League earned qualification, as well as four clubs from the Mexican Primera División. All games of the tournament were broadcast live on Fox Sports World in Canada, Telefutura in the United States, and Televisa and TV Azteca in Mexico and an internet stream on the SuperLiga website. UANL won their first title after beating Chicago Fire 4–3 on penalties in the final.


2009 North American SuperLiga, Qualification
The teams involved were selected based on qualification rules set by their respective leagues.


2009 North American SuperLiga, Qualification
On November 21, 2008, MLS announced that for the 2009 tournament, the top four teams in the 2008 MLS regular season standings not competing in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2009–10 would qualify for SuperLiga 2009. That ruling means that the top two teams from the 2008 MLS season, the Columbus Crew and the Houston Dynamo, who had already qualified for the 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League, were not eligible to participate in the Superliga 2009.


2009 North American SuperLiga, Qualification
On May 14, 2009, FMF announced that for the 2009 tournament the top four eligible teams from the Clausura 2008 and Apertura 2008 overall season standings not competing in the CONCACAF Champions League would qualify for SuperLiga 2009. That ruling meant that the Apertura-08 Champion Toluca and the runner-up Cruz Azul (2008 3rd and 4th overall respectively), who had already qualified for the 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League, were not eligible to participate in the tournament. UNAM (6th overall) were also ineligible, while Guadalajara (2nd overall) declined to participate.


2009 North American SuperLiga, Group stage
There were two groups of four teams. Each group contained two clubs from each league with the top two teams from each groups advancing to the semifinals.


2009 North American Under 21 World Qualifier
The 2009 North American Under 21 World Qualifier Speedway tournament


2009 North Carolina Tar Heels football team
The 2009 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by third-year head coach Butch Davis, the Tar Heels played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina finished the season 8–5 overall and 4–4 in ACC play to place fourth in the Coastal Division. The Tar Heels lost to Pittsburgh in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. In 2011, North Carolina vacated all its wins from the 2008 season and 2009 seasons.


2009 North Carolina Tar Heels football team, Preseason, Key losses
On January 5, 2009 starting wide-receiver Hakeem Nicks announced that he would forgo his senior year in order to enter the 2009 NFL Draft. In just three years Nicks had set 14 school records, including career receptions (181), career receiving yards (2,580), and career touchdowns (21). In his senior season, Nicks was named first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference after catching 68 passes for 1,222 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was the only player in UNC history with more than 1,000 yards receiving in a season.


2009 North Carolina Tar Heels football team, Preseason, Key losses
The following are some of the other key players who will no longer play for North Carolina in the 2009 season:


2009 North Carolina Tar Heels football team, Preseason, Key returns
For 2009, the Tar Heels are likely to return numerous starters from the previous season. The following players will maintain their playing eligibility and in all likelihood will return for the season:


2009 North Carolina Tar Heels football team, Recruiting
As of February 6, 2009, Scout.com rated North Carolina's 2009 recruiting class as 5th in the nation, Rivals.com ranked North Carolina's recruiting class as 6th, and ESPN ranked 12th. Joshua Adams (WR) and Kevin Reddick (LB) plan to enroll in January 2009 and do not count against the limit of 25 recruits per year. The other following players have offered North Carolina non-binding verbal commitments. These pledges can become binding when recruits sign their National Letters of Intent on February 4, 2009.


2009 North Carolina Tar Heels football team, Game summaries, The Citadel
North Carolina had its best rushing game under coach Butch Davis with 260 total rushing yards (its most since 2004), and Shaun Draughn rushing for 118 yards, his fourth 100-yard rushing game. T. J. Yates threw two touchdown passes and threw for 114 yards.


2009 North Carolina Tar Heels football team, Game summaries, UConn
North Carolina managed to come back by scoring 12 points against Connecticut in the fourth quarter to win the game. North Carolina gained its final two points when Connecticut's senior tackle Dan Ryan was flagged for holding North Carolina's end Robert Quinn in the end zone, which gave North Carolina a safety, with 1:32 left in the fourth quarter.


2009 North Carolina Tar Heels football team, Game summaries, Miami
Miami and North Carolina last met at Miami on September 27, 2008 in a game won by UNC 28–24. Miami is 5–7 all time versus UNC.


2009 North Carolina Tar Heels football team, Game summaries, Boston College
The Tar Heels defeated a Boston College team that was playing for an outside shot at a trip to the ACC Championship Game. The UNC defense stifled the Eagles offense for much of the game, holding them to 0 conversions on 13 3rd down attempts. Freshman Boston College quarterback David Shinskie threw for more yards to the Tar Heels defenders than to his own team. His four interceptions were returned for a total of 133 yards, while his twelve completions gained only 101 yards.


2009 North Carolina Tar Heels football team, Game summaries, Boston College
Tar Heels DB Kendric Burney's interception return for a touchdown was his second in as many games. Cam Thomas added another defensive touchdown on a fumble return. UNC's offense had four turnovers of their own (3 T. J. Yates interceptions, 1 fumble by Erik Highsmith), and struggled to move the ball for much of the game. The UNC running attack was slowed due to a lower extremity injury to Ryan Houston who was sidelined for most of the second half. However, he did return for a 1-yard touchdown run. UNC's stout defense once again came up with big plays in the Tar Heel's fourth straight win.


2009 North Dakota State Bison football team
The 2009 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bison were led by seventh-year head coach Craig Bohl and played their home games at the Fargodome. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVC). Their record on the season was 3–8 overall and 2–6 in MVFC play to finish in seventh place. This season was only the third since 1964 that North Dakota State has a losing record. The Bison were not ranked all year and did not participate in the playoffs.


2009 North Dakota floods
The US State of North Dakota experienced significant flooding in its major river basins in 2009, following abnormally heavy winter snows atop saturated and frozen ground.


2009 North Dakota floods, Background
Ground which was already saturated when it froze at the onset of winter, melting snow which could not be absorbed by the frozen ground, and additional precipitation from a rain storm on March 22 and a later snowstorm, are reasons for the serious flooding. Heavy snowfalls fell in the state toward the end of March, adding to the existing snowpack.


2009 North Dakota floods, Background, Flooding
Beulah and Hazen were affected by the Knife River and Spring Creek floods. Linton was affected by Big Beaver Creek floods. Napoleon was affected by overland flooding from heavy snowmelt. Mott was affected by the Cannonball River floods.


2009 North Dakota floods, Background, Ice jams
Explosives had to be used blow up an ice jam on the Missouri River North Bismarck, North Dakota in Double Ditch. It was successful. Flooding would cause problems south of the Bismarck Expressway and west of Washington Street.


2009 North Dakota floods, Red River
The 2009 Red River flood along the Red River of the North in North Dakota and Minnesota in the United States and Manitoba in Canada brought record flood levels to the Fargo-Moorhead area. The flood is a result of saturated and frozen ground, Spring snowmelt exacerbated by additional rain and snow storms, and virtually flat terrain. Communities along the Red River prepared for more than a week as the U.S. National Weather Service continuously updated the predictions for the city of Fargo, North Dakota with an increasingly higher projected river crest. Originally predicted to reach a level of near 43 feet (13 m) at Fargo by March 29, the river in fact crested at 40.82 feet (12.44 m) at 12:15 a.m. March 28, and started a slow decline. The river continued to rise to the north as the crest moved downstream.


2009 North Dakota floods, Red River, Predictions and preparations, Wahpeton
Early predictions for the Wahpeton area saw a predicted level of at least 16 feet (4.9 m). By March 24, the National Weather Service predicted the crest in Wahpeton and Breckenridge not to top 18 feet (5.5 m), below the cities' levees.


2009 North Dakota floods, Red River, Predictions and preparations, Fargo area
Warnings for the 2009 flood occurred as early as March 9 when the National Weather Service warned that the Fargo-Moorhead area could see a significant flood of between 35 feet (11 m) and 36 feet (11 m). As preparations began for the flooding on March 16, North Dakota Governor John Hoeven declared a statewide disaster in anticipation of flooding across the state. On March 19, the National Weather Service raised the predicted flood level in the Fargo area to between 37 feet (11 m) and 40 feet (12 m). The city began filling sandbags on March 20. In anticipation of a rain and snow storm, the predicted crest level was raised on March 22 to a range from 39 feet (12 m) to 41 feet (12 m).


2009 North Dakota floods, Red River, Predictions and preparations, Fargo area
Volunteers continued preparing sandbags, with 560,000 bags filled by late March 22 out of an expected 1.5 million to 2 million needed. By March 24, residents in Fargo-Moorhead had filled over 1 million sandbags and were attempting to fill a total of 2 million by the 26th. A levee in Georgetown, Minnesota was raised another two feet, and emergency dikes were being built in Fargo, Moorhead, Harwood, Grafton and Richland County. The predicted flood crest was raised again on March 26, changed to between 41 feet (12 m) and 42 feet (13 m) by March 28, with a possibility of 43 feet (13 m).


2009 North Dakota floods, Red River, Predictions and preparations, Fargo area
In addition to the sandbags the construction of the dikes protecting the city has required large amounts of clay. Clay has been brought from several places in and around the city, including the soccer field at Centennial Elementary School and around Discovery Middle School.


2009 North Dakota floods, Red River, Predictions and preparations, Fargo area
At 7:15 P.M. CDT on March 26, 2009, the river exceeded the 1997 crest of 39.57 feet (12.06 m) at Fargo, which was the previous second-highest crest. The projected crest is 24 feet (7.3 m) above flood stage and higher than the record-setting floods in 1997 and 1897.


2009 North Dakota floods, Red River, Predictions and preparations, Grand Forks
In the Grand Forks, North Dakota area, flood predictions released February 27 predicted a possibility of a flood crest between 44 feet (13 m) and 46 feet (14 m). The snow storm that struck March 9–10 raised the predicted levels between 47 feet (14 m) and 50 feet (15 m) prompting the city to declare a state of emergency. On March 22 the predicted crest level was changed to 52 feet (16 m).


2009 North Dakota floods, Red River, Predictions and preparations, Grand Forks
At 2:30 A.M. CDT, the  National Weather Service offices in Grand Forks issued a Flash Flood Warning for extreme east-central Cass County due to a levee breach in Fargo on Linden Avenue. With the river now more than 6 meters (20 feet) above flood stage, there appears to be a growing sense in Fargo that despite best efforts, it may not be possible to build dikes high enough to hold back the river.


2009 North Greenville Crusaders football team
The 2009 North Greenville Crusaders football team represented North Greenville University in the 2009 NCAA Division II college football season. The Crusaders offense scored 101 points while the defense allowed 287 points.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
The 2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The North Indian Ocean cyclone season has no official bounds, but cyclones tend to form between April and December, with peaks in May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
The scope of this article is limited to the Indian Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere, east of the Horn of Africa and west of the Malay Peninsula. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean — the Arabian Sea to the west of the Indian subcontinent, abbreviated ARB by the India Meteorological Department (IMD); and the Bay of Bengal to the east, abbreviated BOB by the IMD.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
The official Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center releases unofficial advisories. The tropical cyclone scale for this basin is detailed on the right. On average, 4 to 6 storms form in this basin every season.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Bijli
On April 13, an area of shower and thunderstorms became slightly organized over the central Bay of Bengal. Later that day, an area of low pressure developed underneath the convection as the system developed. Weak banding features also formed around the periphery of the storm. By April 14, deep convection persisted around the center of circulation; following the development the RSMC in New Delhi, India designated the system as Depression BOB 01. Following further development, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) as they anticipated the system to develop into a tropical storm.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Bijli
Early the next morning the JTWC reported that the depression had intensified into a tropical storm and designated it as Cyclone 01B. The storm tracked towards the west-northwest due to a mid-level ridge over India. Later that morning RSMC New Delhi reported that the depression had intensified into a deep depression and reported it was expected to intensify into Cyclonic Storm Bijli. Around 1500 UTC, the RSMC New Delhi upgraded the system to a cyclonic storm and gave it the name Bijli. All four ports in Orissa were placed on high alert due to rough seas produced by the storm.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Bijli
A Local Cautionary Signal Number Three was issued for the Gopalpur, Puri, Paradeep and Chandabali ports. On April 16, the storm turned towards the northeast, paralleling the eastern coast of India. Around 0600 UTC, RSMC New Delhi reported that Bijli had reached its peak intensity with winds of 75 km/h (45 mph 3-minute winds). Early on April 17, RSMC New Delhi reported that Bijli had weakened to a deep depression as it moved northwest. Later, RSMC New Delhi downgraded the deep depression to a depression.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Bijli
Late on April 17, RSMC New Delhi reported that Depression ex-Bijli had made landfall near Chittagong, Bangladesh and had rapidly become an area of low pressure over Bangladesh. Maximum winds of 30 knots (56 km/hr) were reported in Cox's Bazar and 3 people were killed in Bangladesh. That night, the JTWC issued their final advisory on Tropical Cyclone 01B as it rapidly weakened over Bangladesh and Myanmar.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Bijli
Bijli developed as a depression in the first fortnight of April. Climatologically, the formation of tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal at this time of the year is rare. Only ten cyclones have developed over the Bay of Bengal during 1891–2008.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Severe Cyclonic Storm Aila
Late on May 21, the JTWC reported that a Tropical Disturbance had persisted about 515 nm to the south of Kolkata, India. The disturbance at this time had a broad and poorly organised area of deep convection, which was located to the southeast of the low level circulation center which had consolidated into a single circulation during the previous 12 hours. Environmental analysis indicated that the system was in an area of favorable conditions to develop with low vertical wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures. During May 22 the disturbance developed further with a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert being issued early the next day by the JTWC as the low level circulation center had become stronger and more defined. Later that morning RSMC New Delhi designated the disturbance as Depression BOB 02.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Severe Cyclonic Storm Aila
The Cyclone crossed the West Bengal coast close to the east of Sagar Island between 0800 & 0900 UTC as a severe cyclonic storm on 25 May. A maximum wind gust of 112 km/h was recorded in Kalaikunda in West Bengal. Singlabazar recorded 320 mm of rainfall in 48 hours between 26 and 27 May.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Depression ARB 01
Early on June 21, the JTWC reported that an area of low pressure had persisted about 675 km, (420 miles), southwest of Mumbai, India. Multispectral imagery showed that the disturbance had a developing low level circulation center with convection flaring over it and was in an area of low vertical wind shear. Over the next couple of days the disturbance developed gradually with a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert being issued early on June 23 as the disturbance had continued to organize and consolidated over the past few hours.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Depression ARB 01
RSMC New Delhi then reported later that morning that Depression ARB 01 had formed and was expected to intensify into a Deep Depression before making landfall, however the depression did not intensify any further before making landfall on the south Gujarat coast near Diu. The JTWC then cancelled their Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert, with the IMD issuing their final advisory later that day. It hovered over Gujarat as a well marked area of low pressure before moving towards the northeast and re-emerging into the Arabian Sea where it redeveloped into a depression. Tropical Depression ARB 01 dissipated early on June 26.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Depression ARB 01
Unusually strong lightning storms associated with the depression killed at least nine people in Gujarat. Officials in the region warned residents about the likelihood of severe flooding from the depression. Sutrapada in Gujarat received 250 mm rainfall in 48 hours between 24 & 25 June.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Depression ARB 02
Early on June 25 at 0900 UTC, the remnants of Depression ARB 01 emerged into the Arabian Sea, and intensified into Depression ARB 02. The storm moved northward, weakened, and maintained its intensity as a well marked low-pressure area over Kutch and neighbouring areas at 0000 UTC on 26 June 2009. Saurashtra and Kutch experienced active monsoon conditions under the influence of this system. Like its parent system, it was mostly monitored through synoptic and satellite analysis. It was a short-lived system, existing for about 25 hours. As a result, it did not have any significant impact on rainfall, except over Saurashtra & Kutch.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Depression ARB 02
Moving in a north-northwesterly direction, the Depression, which was located over Saurashtra, Kutch, and neighbouring areas, which was the system, re-intensified into the depression over northeast Arabian Sea, and lay centred near lat. 22.50N/long. 68.50E about 50 km west-northwest of Dwarka and 300 km south-southeast of Karachi at 0900 UTC on 25 June. Moving slowing in a northerly direction, the system weakened into a well marked low-pressure area at 0000 UTC on 26 June over Kutch and its neighbouring regions. However, later on June 26, Depression ARB 02 dissipated completely. Mangrol in Gujarat recorded 130 mm of rainfall on 27 June.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Deep Depression BOB 03
Early on July 20, RSMC New Delhi reported that Depression BOB 03 had formed about 120 km (75 miles) to the southeast of Digha. Convection had been gradually organizing itself over the last 12 hours, and was in an area of low to moderate vertical wind shear. The Depression then intensified further and became a Deep Depression that afternoon before making landfall crossed north Orissa-West Bengal coast between Balasore and Digha during 1600 and 1700 UTC later that day. The Deep Depression gradually weakened before becoming a low-pressure area early the next day. Binika in Orissa received 220 mm rainfall on 21 July. Around 43 people lost their lives in the state of Orissa.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Deep Depression BOB 03
The remnants of this storm caused heavy to very heavy downpours in coastal Pakistan.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Deep Depression BOB 04
Early on September 3, the IMD reported that an area of low pressure had formed embedded within the monsoon off the Orissa coastline. During the next day it developed further with the IMD reporting that the low-pressure area had become well marked with deep convection starting to consolidate around a developing low level circulation center in an area of moderate vertical wind shear.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Deep Depression BOB 04
Early on September 5, as the area of low pressure was moving into an area of low vertical windshear the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert, whilst the IMD reported that the low-pressure area had intensified into a Depression. Later that day the IMD reported that the depression had intensified further and had become a Deep Depression, whilst the JTWC designated the depression as a Cyclone 03B, with winds equivalent to a tropical storm.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Deep Depression BOB 04
However the JTWC's first warning was also their final warning as the cyclone had made landfall near Digha in West Bengal and was expected to dissipate later that day. However the IMD kept issuing advisories on the deep depression until early on September 7, when the IMD reported that it had weakened into a depression and then into a well marked low-pressure area later that day when they stopped issuing advisories on the depression whilst it was located over Jharkhand and adjoining region of Chhattisgarh.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Deep Depression BOB 04
One person drowned in Digha after being swept away by high waters. Berhampur received 210 mm of rainfall on 6 September.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Phyan
Cyclonic Storm Phyan developed as a tropical disturbance to the southwest of Colombo in Sri Lanka late on November 4, 2009. Over the next couple of days the disturbance gradually developed before weakening as it made landfall on Southern India on November 7. After the disturbance had emerged into the Arabian Sea late on November 8 it rapidly became more marked with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reporting early on November 9 that the disturbance had intensified into a Depression and designated it as Depression ARB 03 whilst the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Phyan
Later that day the JTWC designated the system as Cyclone 04A. During the next day as the Depression turned towards the northeast, the IMD reported that it had intensified into a Cyclonic Storm and named it Phyan. Chandwad in Maharashtra recorded 240 mm of rainfall in 48 hours between 11 and 12 November. The maximum winds of 68 km/h were reported in Pune at the time of landfall. However the coastal areas recorded 75 km/hr winds. Seven persons died and about 44 fishermen were missing due to the cyclone.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Phyan
As a tropical disturbance, Phyan caused heavy rainfall in Tamil Nadu. Kethi in Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu received 82 cm of rainfall in 24 hours, beating the previous 24‑hour rainfall record for Tamil Nadu. Kethi recorded 1171 mm of rainfall in 72 hours, making Phyan the 5th wettest cyclone in India


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Ward
On December 10, RSMC New Delhi announced that Depression BOB 05 had formed, about 400 km east-southeast of Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. The next day it strengthened to become Cyclonic Storm Ward. After wandering some time to the east of Sri Lanka, the system made landfall near Trincomalee on December 14 as a Deep Depression. Cyclonic Storm Ward dissipated completely on December 16. Sirkali in Tamil Nadu recorded 140 mm of rainfall on 15 December. Maximum winds of 25 knots (46 km/hr) was reported at the Pamban observatory in coastal Tamil Nadu.


2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Season effects
This is a table of the storms in 2009 and their landfall(s), if any; the table does not include storms that did not make landfall, which is defined as the center of the storm moving over a landmass. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but are still storm-related. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical or a wave or low.


2009 North Korean missile tests
Two rounds of North Korean missile tests were conducted in July 2009. On July 4, 2009, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (the DPRK, or North Korea) launched seven short range missiles into the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea), after previously launching four missiles two days earlier on July 2. The missiles were launched in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874.


2009 North Korean missile tests, Events
Missiles have been fired from the launch site at the port of Wonsan on the east coast of the country. Based on information from an anonymous government representative in Seoul, Korean agency Yonhap reported that the missiles are of the Scud type with a range of around 400 kilometers.


2009 North Korean missile tests, Events
During the week North Korea announced upcoming military exercises in the Sea of Japan, and with it declared an area closed to navigation around the port of Vonsan and into the Sea of Japan and covering an area of 450 by 110 kilometers. The planned military exercises were announced to cover the period from June 25 to July 10.


2009 North Korean missile tests, Events
The latest round of missile launches were timed for the United States' Independence Day as a show of military might and came on the heels of UNSC Resolution 1874. Sanctions and penalties were declared in the wake of the May 25 underground test of a nuclear explosive device by Pyongyang, and what the DPRK insist was an attempt to peacefully place a satellite in orbit but what the United States, Japan and South Korea  see as cover for the development of a long-range ballistic missile.


2009 North Korean missile tests, Events
The North Koreans have previously warned that any attempt to enact sanctions will be seen as an act of war.


2009 North Korean missile tests, Events
The United Nations Security Council condemned the launches expressing "grave concern" and urged all countries in the region to refrain from any action that could escalate tensions.


2009 North Korean nuclear test
The 2009 North Korean nuclear test was the underground detonation of a nuclear device conducted on Monday, 25 May 2009 by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. This was its second nuclear test, the first test having taken place in October 2006. Following the nuclear test, Pyongyang also conducted several missile tests. A scientific paper later estimated the yield as 2.35 kilotons.


2009 North Korean nuclear test
The test was nearly universally condemned by the international community. Following the test, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1874 condemning the test and tightening sanctions on the country.


2009 North Korean nuclear test
It was widely believed that the test was conducted as a result of the succession crisis in the country. After Kim Jong-Il suffered a stroke in the summer of 2008, arrangements were made for his third son, Kim Jong-un, to take power upon his death. It is believed the North Koreans conducted the nuclear test to show that, even in a time of possible weakness, it did not intend to give up its nuclear weapons program.


2009 North Korean nuclear test, Background
North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK) had threatened to conduct a second nuclear test in protest after the United Nations Security Council adopted a presidential statement condemning the country after it launched a rocket, which it claimed was carrying the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 satellite, on 5 April 2009. The launch was condemned by several nations, describing it as an intercontinental ballistic missile test.


2009 North Korean nuclear test, Background
The test also came after recent messages stating that North Korea had miniaturized nuclear warheads for medium-range missiles and that the country had been recognized by analysts as a fully fledged nuclear power.


2009 North Korean nuclear test, Background
In June 2009, after it was announced that Kim Jong-un was to be the intended successor of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, U.S. government analysts speculated that the purpose of the nuclear test was to establish North Korea as a nuclear power within Kim Jong-il's lifetime.


2009 North Korean nuclear test, North Korean statements
Without citing a specific time, Pyongyang notified both Washington, D.C. and Beijing of the test about an hour before the actual detonation, which occurred around 10:00 Korea Standard Time (KST) Monday; the U.S. State Department promptly contacted the four other six-party talks members.


2009 North Korean nuclear test, North Korean statements
The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released an announcement claiming, in part, that:


2009 North Korean nuclear test, North Korean statements
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea successfully conducted one more underground nuclear test on May 25 as part of the measures to bolster up its nuclear deterrent for self-defence in every way as requested by its scientists and technicians. The current nuclear test was safely conducted on a new higher level in terms of its explosive power and technology of its control and the results of the test helped satisfactorily settle the scientific and technological problems arising in further increasing the power of nuclear weapons and steadily developing nuclear technology.


2009 North Korean nuclear test, North Korean statements
This was interpreted as referring to the disputes over the low yield of the 2006 test.


2009 North Korean nuclear test, Seismic activity
South Korea and Japan reported seismic activity at 09:50 KST (00:50 UTC). The United States Geological Survey reported a magnitude 4.7 earthquake at a depth of zero and put the center of the tremor about 70 kilometres (43 mi) northwest of Kimchaek and 375 kilometres (233 mi) northeast of Pyongyang, within a few kilometres of the country's 2006 nuclear test site. The Japan Meteorological Agency measured the seismic activity at magnitude 5.3. The Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources reported seismic activity in the same area but far stronger than in 2006.


2009 North Korean nuclear test, Seismic activity
The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed it had detected a nuclear detonation in North Korea and was analysing the data to determine the yield. Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences has registered underground nuclear explosion conducted in North Korea on 25 May 2009. Registration time of this explosion was 0:54 am. GMT (4:54 a.m. Moscow time) with magnitude 5.0.


2009 North Korean nuclear test, Seismic activity
In China, tremors were felt in the prefecture of Yanbian, which borders North Korea, and forced students in some local schools to be evacuated. The test is believed to have taken place at Mantapsan in the vicinity of P'unggyeri (Korean: 풍계리), which was the site of the nuclear test held in 2006.