2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis
The situation raised important constitutional issues. The actual crisis cannot be understood as a question of law in the first place. It was part of a longer standing power struggle between opposition and government. O'Neill won that struggle and remained de facto in power after the court ruling. It laid the foundation for his dominance in the  PNG political arena. Somare did not admit defeat. The 2012 election, however, gave a clear victory to O'Neill. Somare accepted the outcome and he even supported the election of O'Neill as prime minister. The conflict flared up again during the Peter O'Neill/Leo Dion government period from 2012 to 2017.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Background
The government of Michael Somare was already challenged before the constitutional crisis. The opposition had tried to mount a motion of no confidence since 2009. This was blocked by the speaker, Jeffrey Nape, through adjourning parliament before the motion could be tabled. Somare's reputation was also dented by a leadership tribunal in 2009. That tribunal, however, treated him lightly. During the tribunal he appointed Sam Abal as acting Prime Minister. Abal was again acting Prime Minister when  Somare was hospitalized in Singapore in March 2011.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Background
The position of Prime Minister became particularly opaque when Arthur Somare, a son of Michael Somare and an MP as well, announced in June 2011 on behalf of the family that Somare had spent three weeks in intensive care and could not be expected to resume work as prime minister. Arthur Somare positioned himself in this way for the post. The legality and validity of this statement was challenged immediately as Michael Somare had not been heard himself.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Background
In this uncertain situation the opposition tried to mount another motion of no confidence. The success of such a motion was not certain at all. The government of Michael Somare had been established with the support of a large majority in parliament (86 out of 109 votes). Somare had already lost the support of some MPs when the Supreme Court loosened the restrictions on MPs to change sides. A previous attempt to mount a vote of no confidence by breakaway ministers and MPs led by Puka Temu had been unsuccessful.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Background
Somare's majority could only be confidently challenged if there was a revolt in  his party, the National Alliance (NA). It was also vital that the Speaker would change sides, as he had obstructed  previous attempts. When the speaker did so and allowed an open vote for a new government, the parties supporting the Somare government split. NA divided in a breakaway group itself under the leadership of Don Polye (21 MPs), opposed to a group that remained loyal to Sam Abal and Michael Somare (20 MPs). The desire not to seem displeasing to Somare may be the reason that it was in the end not presented as a motion of confidence but a declaration that the post of prime minister was vacant. This had large consequences in the ensuing court cases.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Background
The revolt proved successful. Peter O'Neill became the new Prime Minister with the support of 70 MPs out of a 109-member parliament. However, O'Neill's People's National Congress (PNC) had only six seats in parliament. PNC had supported the Somare government since 2007. Belden Namah and Mekere Morauta of the main opposition PNG party led the revolt, but they did not become prime minister. Namah, the leader of the opposition, became deputy Prime Minister. He had also been part of the Somare  government. Don Polye, who had led the revolt in NA, became the Minister for Finance and the Treasury. He had been strongly tipped for the post of Prime Minister. It was thus to a large extent a revolt from within.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Background
Mekere Morauta on the contrary had been the prime opponent of the Somare government. He did not become involved in the ensuing struggles surrounding the legality of the first O'Neill government. Instead, he used this position to fight a vigorous cleanup campaign of public enterprises in which he attacked especially the heritage of his predecessor, Arthur Somare.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Legal battle
The government of Somare/Abal was therefore not defeated by a motion of no confidence. In that case the position of O'Neill would have been unequivocally covered by law. It is puzzling that instead, the Speaker had allowed a motion to declare the post of Prime Minister vacant because of illness.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Legal battle
That possibility was covered in the Constitution in section 142(5,c) on the grounds: "that two medical practitioners appointed by the National Authority responsible for the registration or licensing of medical practitioners have jointly reported in accordance with an Act of the Parliament that, in their professional opinions, the Prime Minister is unfit, by reason of physical or mental incapacity, to carry out the duties of his office." Parliament had approached the Papua New Guinea Medical Board for such a mission to Singapore at the beginning of Somare's hospitalization. Nothing came of that.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Legal battle
The next possibility envisioned concerned the absence of a Member of Parliament, and because the PM is an MP in a Westminster parliamentary system, this is therefore applicable to the Prime Minister. The relevant section 104 (d) of the Constitution reads: "if he is absent, without leave of the Parliament, during the whole of three consecutive meetings of the Parliament unless Parliament decides to waive this rule upon satisfactory reasons being given".


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Legal battle
Somare had been absent since March but his reasons were accepted by parliament and he was granted leave until May 2012. Parliament then withdrew this leave. However, in early September Somare returned to PNG and declared that he was willing and able to finish his term of prime minister. On 6 September he made a brief appearance in the chamber and therefore the rule  of missing three consecutive meetings no longer applied. On 9 December, Parliament amended the law to state that an absence of ninety days would make a  parliamentary seat vacant. The Supreme Court would give a judgment on the legality of the O'Neill government on 12 December 2011.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Legal battle
The Supreme Court came unequivocally down on the side of Somare. There was no legal vacancy in the office of Prime Minister when O'Neill was elected. The Speaker's decision to declare a vacancy in Somare's parliamentary seat in East Sepik was similarly unconstitutional and void. Somare should have been reinstated as Prime Minister. According to the Supreme court the facts had not been correctly stated and therefore a different legal provision was applicable.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Legal battle
The factual situation did not change: O'Neill remained in charge. The Supreme Court heard the case  again in May 2012 and came again down in favor of Michael Somare. The deputy speaker accepted the Supreme court ruling, but declared the seat again immediately vacant on the ground that Somare had been absent for 90 days. He referred to the change in law that parliament had passed on 9 December just before the Supreme Court's decision. O'Neill was therefore again elected as Prime Minister.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Legal battle
The Supreme Court ignored the change of law of 9 December 2011. It was also not valid on 12 December, as the Speaker of Parliament still had to certify the change of law. This brought to the fore the issue of constitutional law. The Constitution stresses separation of powers. According to those on the side of O'Neill, this implies that the Court cannot exercise executive decision making. The constitutional court can only judge on the constitutionality of a law or general measure. In this case, they were seen to encroach on the power of parliament. The legal battle was a conflict on the sovereignty of parliament.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
The essence of the PNG constitutional crisis in 2011-2012 was thus whether parliament was supreme or whether the separation of powers implied that parliament was under control of the judiciary. This was not in the first place a legal battle, but a political one. It was a struggle for political support. The O'Neill/Namah government obtained that support immediately in August 2011. The PM and cabinet were recognized by the Crown through the Governor-General, Michael Ogio. It also immediately gained international recognition, and the approval of Australia was especially vital.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
There remained some pockets that were loyal to Michael Somare. For example, the court case challenging the legality of the O'Neill/Namah government was opened by the Provincial government of East Sepik, the home base of the Somare family. Nevertheless, the O'Neill/Namah government seemed safe. The judgment of the Supreme Court on 12 December 2011 was therefore a shock.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
Somare immediately announced a new cabinet and had his cabinet sworn in by the Governor General. Somare himself did in his opinion not need to be sworn in, as that had happened already when he became PM again in 2007. Parliament protested strongly against this. Ogio was suspended and the speaker of parliament, Jeffrey Nape, became acting Governor General. Nape then swore in O'Neill and his cabinet. Civil society organisations, especially churches, offered to mediate. O'Neill refused on the ground that it is up to parliament to form the government and not forces outside the chamber.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
Somare did not come into parliament and was with his cabinet in an Ela Beach hotel. He had the support of about 20 MPs. Ogio was therefore supporting a government that did not have a majority on parliament and his  position became thus untenable. He changed his mind and supported the O'Neill government. Parliament ended his suspension.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
The dispute was about the power of parliament, but this does not mean that the conflict was fought with parliamentary procedures. For example, MPs stormed the house of the Governor-General when he supported Somare. It is thus not surprising that control over the police was one of the main issues during the  stalemate. Somare immediately after the court case appointed Fred Yakasa as police commander. Yakasa controlled the armed response unit of the police. That unit had remained loyal to Somare and had prevented O'Neill from entering the Governor-General's office (government house). O'Neill relied on his own appointment: Thomas Kulunga. Yakasa turned to the courts and got a restraining order that he was not to be harassed. The threat of arrest was no longer there, but Kulunga disarmed Yakasa's unit a few days later.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
O'Neill had control over parliament, the public service, the police and the army. Nevertheless, Somare did not accept his defeat. At the end of January he walked into parliament showing the court order and demanding a seat. O'Neill replied with a threat of arrest.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
The control over the army was challenged towards the end of January. A retired army officer, Colonel Yaura Sasa, claimed to have been appointed as army commander by Somare. He stormed the main barracks in Port Moresby with a group of soldiers, and took the army commander Frances Agwi hostage. Sasa presented his intervention as an attempt to mediation: he wanted to force both parties to return to parliament and forge a consensus. Vice president Belden Namah, a former ex army officer, announced the arrest of 15 of the 30 soldiers involved as well as the arrest of Sasa.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
The fight to control the judiciary was the most bitter fight of the O'Neill government. It was originally fought on grounds that were not germane to the issue of legitimacy of the O'Neill government. The National Executive Council has no power over the appointment of judges; that is a prerogative of the Legal and Judicial Services Commission. The NEC (Cabinet), however, has the power of appointment over the Chief Justice and it used these powers during the constitutional crisis.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
Chief Sir Salamo Injia was dismissed in early November on various grounds of personal misbehaviour. The main claim was stealing from the estate of a deceased judge entrusted to the courts. This was one month before the Supreme Court had to rule over the constitutionality of the O'Neill/Nama government. The Supreme Court reacted with a charge of contempt of court for the attorney general Allan Marat and the deputy PM Belden Namah. The police commander followed  this up and detained them briefly. The move against Injia Salamo was made under the leadership of the deputy Prime minister, Belden Namah.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
O'Neill was at the time out of the country and declared himself not in sympathy, but he assuaged the situation by declaring that under the constitution the Chief Justice could continue to sit on the bench despite disciplinary procedures against him. The NEC withdrew the charges.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
The Supreme Court comprising all five judges met on 12 December 2011 and decided that the seat of PM as well as of MP in East Sepik were not vacant and O'Neill's position was unlawful. The court came down in the case against O'Neill with a three to two majority.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
The Governor General proceeded to recognise the Somare government while parliament continued to support O'Neill. The court decision was ignored by the O'Neill government and ultimately the Governor General also gave in. The government was not satisfied and pursued the conflict with the Supreme Court further. In February there was another attempt to suspend the Chief Justice on grounds of personal misbehaviour, and a panel of judges was mentioned to look at misconduct by Salomo Injia. This charge was stayed shortly thereafter by the National Court. Despite this, Salomo Injia was forcibly arrested on 6 March and charged. The National Court met on 13 March on the case and permanently stayed the charges, as these were flawed.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
Thereafter the government tried a new tack to get rid of the Supreme Court judges, and announced a Judicial Conduct Bill that brought disciplining the judiciary effectively under political control instead of under the control of the Judicial Service Commission. Very soon after enacting the law two Supreme Court judges, Solomon Injia and Nicholas Kiriwom, were mentioned for disciplinary action to the Governor-General. Kiriwom had organised a protest meeting against the treatment of Injia. This led to widespread protests in the country, such as a massive student protest march.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
The Supreme Court proceeded to hear the case again as to whether O'Neill was the lawful prime minister. The government asked Injia and another justice to recuse themselves from the case because of personal interests in the case. That, similar to the arrest under the Judicial Conduct Bill, would have reduced the votes against O'Neill to a single one.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
At the end of May 2012 the Supreme Court decided and came down again in favour of Somare, this time with three out of five judges while two withheld judgment. Belden Namah, the deputy PM, stormed the court and took Injia Solomon and Nichlas Kiriwom in detention. The government charged them with sedition on the accusation that they had created chaos in the country.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Political battle
In the meantime elections were looming and these would be the definite determinant who would rule PNG. That line was strongly taken by the new Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bob Carr. There were strong forces to postpone the elections. Parliament of PNG even voted for a delay of six months. However, the decision to hold elections was in the hands of the Electoral Commission. . There was  widespread protest against the proposal to delayThe plan to postpone was shelved. By the time the second Supreme Court decision was taken, parliament was dissolved and electioneering was in full swing.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Aftermath
Peter O'Neill's party obtained most seats in the 2012 and 2017 elections and therefore he had the right to form a government. A clear majority coalition in parliament elected him as prime minister in both cases. He faced many legal challenges on governance grounds in this parliamentary period, which O'Neill successfully deflected. The only case where the executive was defeated was over the challenge over the Manus Island detention centre, which the courts declared unconstitutional.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Aftermath
However, that did not challenge the right of O'Neill to his position. The power structure established during the constitutional crisis of 2011-2012 proved to be enduring: a politician who has the support of a clear majority in parliament can dominate over the whole government apparatus, including the courts. The influence of the Somare family on the contrary has been waning since then as they lost influence in parliament.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Aftermath
Somare's National Alliance Party was truncated from 20 to 6 seats in 2012. It was a surprise that he supported the coalition behind O'Neill despite his great enmity with O'Neill before the election. Somare never did really accept his defeat in 2011. He reached an out of court settlement of one million Australian dollars as indemnity for his illegal removal from office in 2011.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Aftermath
In November 2014 Somare withdrew his support for the ruling coalition. He advocated that Peter O'Neill should face a leadership tribunal because of his handling of the controversial UBS loan to acquire equity in the Oil Search company. In November 2016 he resigned from the National Alliance Party. Almost immediately after that he proclaimed jointly with his old foe Mekere Morauta the need for investigation of O'Neill's handling of the UBS loan  by international and local agencies because of the alleged fraudulent nature of the deal.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Aftermath
Somare decided no longer to stand for office in the 2017 election and retired from politics. His most prominent son Arthur had lost his Sepik seat in 2012 and did not run in 2017. Dulianan Somare Brash, his youngest daughter, contested the West Sepik regional seat that had been secure for Michael Somare in his whole career; she lost to Alan Bird. There is no Somare name anymore in the PNG National Parliament.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Aftermath
The National Alliance Party (NA) survived the split in 2011. It still gains most of its seats in the highlands, but it became a very different entity. It survived the departure of the Somare family, and in the 2017 elections they were the second largest party.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Aftermath
The loyalists to Somare succeeded in the expulsion of Don Polye and his friends. Polye founded the True Heritage Empowerment Rural Party (THE). THE party was second in the 2012 elections, with 12 seats. Polye became treasury minister but fell foul of O'Neill. Polye, as minister of the treasury, refused to sign the UBS loan to buy back the OilSearch shares that had been lost in a previous financial deal. Polye considered it economically disastrous and the procedure unconstitutional: parliament needed to be consulted. Peter O'Neill sacked Polye and appointed himself as minister of the treasury. Polye did therefore not resign but was sacked. In the 2017 elections Polye lost his seat and THE party gained only three seats.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Aftermath
Belden Namah, the deputy prime minister, was relegated to the opposition after 2012. He has since  been the accused in several court cases and tribunals.


2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, Aftermath
Mekere Morauta resigned from politics in 2012, but came back to challenge O'Neill. He won his seat, but the grand coalition against O'Neill did not come off. O'Neill has dominated the political competition since 2011 and the other protagonists in the constitutional crisis have been overshadowed.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption
The 2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption ([puˈʝewe]) was a volcanic eruption that began in the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcanic complex in Chile on 4 June 2011. The eruption, which occurred from the Cordón Caulle fissure after 51 years of the volcano being inactive, is the largest volcanic eruption of the 21st century thus far.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption
At least 3,500 people were evacuated from nearby areas, while the ash cloud was blown across cities all around the Southern hemisphere, including Bariloche, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Stanley, Porto Alegre, Cape Town, Hobart, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Wellington, Auckland and Port Moresby, forcing airlines to cancel hundreds of international and domestic flights and causing travel chaos.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption
By 18 June the ash cloud had completed its first circle of the globe. The Chilean civil aviation authority said that "the tip of the cloud that has travelled around the world has more or less reached the town of Coyhaique", about 600 kilometres south of the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle. An estimated one hundred million tons of ash, sand and pumice were ejected – requiring power equivalent to 70 atomic bombs.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption
Cordón Caulle is a volcanic fissure and has erupted many times in recorded history, most recently in 1960, following the 1960 Valdivia earthquake days earlier, whereas the Puyehue stratocone has remained dormant.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption
The Southern Andean Volcano Observatory (OVDAS) of Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería de Chile (SERNAGEOMIN) reported on 27 April 2011, 15:30 local time, an increased seismicity at the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle and set the alert Level to 3, Yellow.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption
Between 20:00 on 2 June and 19:59 on 3 June, OVDAS reported that about 1,450 earthquakes at Puyehue-Cordón Caulle were detected, or an average of about 60 earthquakes per hour. Scientists and regional authorities flew over the volcano, noting no significant changes. The alert level remained at 3, yellow. Area residents reported feeling earthquakes during the evening of 3 June through the morning of 4 June.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption
On 4 June, at 11:30 local time, a new round of eruption in the Puyehue volcano began. For a six-hour period on 4 June seismic activity increased to an average of 230 earthquakes per hour, at depths of 1–4 km. About 12 events were magnitudes greater than 4 of Richter magnitude, and 50 events were magnitudes greater than 3. The alert level was raised to 5, red.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption
At 15:15 local time OVDAS reported an explosion and a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi)-wide ash-and-gas plume that rose to an altitude of 10 kilometres (33,000 ft) above sea level. The plume drifted south at 5 kilometres (16,000 ft) altitude, and southeast and east at 10 kilometres (33,000 ft) altitude. The alert level was raised to 6, red.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption
18 days after it first erupted, lava begun spilling from the volcano, heading west and flowing "slowly by a channel about 50 meters wide and 100 feet long."


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption
According to Argentine physicists, the eruption sent one hundred million tons of ash, sand and pumice stone, equivalent to the load of 24 million trucks of sand and released power equivalent to 70 atomic bombs (about 1 megaton). The eruption, though violent, is expected to fertilize the land and rivers.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Evacuation
A "red alert" was declared pre-emptively by the National Emergencies' Office (ONEMI) for regions near the volcano: Puyehue, Río Bueno, Futrono, and Lago Ranco; initially 600 persons were evacuated. The "red alert" was later extended for the Los Ríos Region area: the areas of Pocura, Pichico, Los Venados, Contrafuerte, El Zapallo, Futangue, Pitreño, Trahuico, Riñinahue Alto, Ranquil, Chanco, Epulafquén, Las Quemas, Licán, Boqueal, Rucatayo, and Mantilhue were evacuated; and areas in the Los Lagos Region such as El Retiro, Anticura, El Caulle, Forestal Comaco, and Anticura Pajaritos were also evacuated, increasing the number to at least 3,000 total evacuated people. It was reported that, at first, large land- and farm-owners in Chilean rural areas near the volcano did not allow workers to be evacuated. According to Chilean authorities, the evacuated persons "would be relocated in temporary shelters in safe areas." There are no reports of deaths or injuries.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Evacuation
The families who refused to be evacuated from the riverbed of Rio Nilahue were removed by force by the Carabineros de Chile after a resolution of the Appeal Court of Valdivia. It took the police more than 8 hours to evacuate 40 people. People resisted mainly because they had to leave their livestock behind. Small livestock farmers were permitted to check and care for their livestock once a day.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Evacuation
On 17 June 2011 OVDAS reported that the ash-and-gas plume reached 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) above sea level, and the frequency of earthquakes had dropped to 5 per hour. They reduced the alert level from 6 (moderate eruption) to 5 (imminent eruption), and at least 100 evacuated persons were allowed to return home. People from the Northeast side of the Cordón (Nilahue and Gol Gol Valley) will stay in the shelters.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Evacuation
On 19 June the ONEMI decided that all 4,200 evacuees could return home, as the scale of the eruption continued to decrease.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Ash cloud over Argentina and Uruguay
The ash cloud crossed Chile's borders and precipitated over the Argentine cities of Villa la Angostura, Bariloche and the northern part of Chubut province. The eruption was reported to have produced lightning and strong thunderstorms. Argentine Minister of Defense Arturo Puricelli ordered that "the Argentine Army personnel, means of transport, water treatment plants, and other equipment of VI Mountain Brigade in the province of Neuquén" be moved to the affected areas on the Argentine border with Chile.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Ash cloud over Argentina and Uruguay
In Argentina's affected cities, people have been recommended to stay indoors.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Ash cloud over Argentina and Uruguay
On 5 June the ash rain in Bariloche ceased. There were reports that the ash had caused power outages and prompted the local airport to be closed. The Bariloche Atomic Centre reported that the ashes contain no crystal phases of quartz or cristobalite.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Ash cloud over Argentina and Uruguay
On 9 June ash clouds from Puyehue reached Uruguay, forcing most flights to be cancelled. On 11 June the ash clouds reached the southern tip of New Zealand, with unusual sunsets reported in Invercargill.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Ash cloud over Argentina and Uruguay
Further disruption was caused by ash in October 2011, with airports at Mendoza, Bariloche and Buenos Aires closed and flights to Buenos Aires and Montevideo cancelled. This was ash from the earlier eruption which had been deposited across Patagonia and stirred up by high winds. Some areas of Argentina close to the Chilean border still had ash falling almost daily four months after the June eruption.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Ash cloud over Argentina and Uruguay
Image from NASA's Aqua satellite showing the heavy ash cloud on 4 June 2011.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Ash cloud over Argentina and Uruguay
Image showing a large plume of volcanic ash blowing about 800 kilometers east and then northeast over Argentina.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, River temperature and contamination
The eruption of the Chilean volcano Puyehue significantly affected the surrounding environment. The temperature of the Nilahue River rose to 45 °C (113 °F) and killed an estimated 4.5 million fish with an economic impact on fish farming in the area. The cattle economy was also damaged.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, River temperature and contamination
Scientists from the Southern University of Chile analyzed waters from the Nilahue and Golgol rivers, the two principal collectors of waters from Cordón Caulle. Scientists found that if solid particles were removed the water was safe to drink.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, River temperature and contamination
Although very little ash was deposited on the western side of the volcano, the ash reached Puyehue Lake through river transport, depositing a layer of tephra at the bottom of the lake.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Livestock
The ash cloud led Argentina to declare a state of emergency for farmers as the prolonged eruption's continued effect on the 2 million head of sheep that graze in southern Argentina. Chubut and Río Negro Provinces had suffered five years of drought, and the ash destroyed the little pastureland still serviceable. 750,000 sheep suffered the consequences, and Rio Negro officials said 60,000 head of cattle also were "at risk." The Livestock had suffered major heart attacks and many of which contracted throat cancer, resulting in death.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Livestock
Whereas there appears to be no published support for the existence of heart attacks or throat cancer as a consequence from the exposure to ashes and causing death, there are at least 2 phenomena which play a role. For one, the physical reduction of available forage (on top of the prevailing general drought conditions) has resulted in lack of forage, and therefore, starvation with all its consequences. This was accelerated by the rapid wear of teeth from the abrasive action of ashes, and thus a reduced efficiency to forage. The second reason is that these ashes cause fluoride intoxication in herbivores, with many different symptoms, and confirmed in sheep, cattle and horses.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Wildlife and forests
However, besides livestock, also wild species are strongly affected by the ashes. Fluoride intoxication was first discovered in red deer (Cervus elaphus), with pronounced dental fluorosis. The result is formation of abnormal teeth both in physical form as well as in reduced hardness. It reduces foraging efficiency, eliminated pregnancies in subadults, and will reduce longevity by 50–75%. While the rate of fluoride intake exceeds the capacity to eliminate it, animals continue to accumulate fluoride. Before the eruption, fluoride levels in adults was about 50–60 ppm.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Wildlife and forests
On average, deer were judged to accumulate about 1,000 ppm per year under similar exposure to ashes, which remains the situation for many drier sites, where the winds constantly redeposit the ashes. Some deer accumulated more like 3,700 ppm per year and reached 5,175 ppm by the year 2012. This trend has remained for some areas as the most recent deer examined had adults which had reached 10,396 ppm. These high levels of fluorosis likely affect the skeleton, and a first case in deer with severe osteological pathology has been described in March 2015.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Eruption, Wildlife and forests
A study along Chile Route 215 showed that in places with ash falls of 10 cm about 8% of the trees died while at locations with 50 cm of ash 54% of the trees died. Ashes did not cause any significant abrasion of the canopy.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Transport disruption
Ash poses a significant threat to aircraft because once sucked into engines, it can be transformed into molten glass by the high temperatures and potentially cause an engine to fail.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Transport disruption
On the ground lava, ash and volcanic stone can impede vehicle movement.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Transport disruption, Chile
Initially, because of the wind direction (to east), the flights within Chile were not interrupted and only the highway Route 215-CH and the "Cardenal Samore Pass" was reported to be covered by 10 to 15 cm of "volcanic stone" by Chilean authorities. and closed down on 4 June.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Transport disruption, Chile
The Chilean government increased the frequency of barges on the Pirihueico Lake in Huahum Pass to transport passengers traveling between Chile and Argentina. Huahum Pass is approximately 100 km north of the closed "Cardenal Samore Pass".


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Transport disruption, Chile
On 22 June, as the ash cloud rounded the world and returned to Chile, the Chilean airline LAN cancelled flights to Temuco and Valdivia in the south of the country.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Transport disruption, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil
On 4 June at approximately 4:30 pm local time, Neuquén Airport was closed due to the ash cloud. Ash fell across a wide swathe of South America, forcing cancellation of most flights across the southern half of the continent. A planned meeting between the presidents of Argentina and Uruguay was cancelled because José Mujica was unable to fly to Buenos Aires.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Transport disruption, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil
South Brazil suffered a lot with flights between Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Santiago, Curitiba, Florianopolis and Porto Alegre cancelled.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Transport disruption, Falkland Islands
Three Falkland Islands air links with the United Kingdom were merged onto one aircraft. Allocation operated according to a priority system, with passengers ranked in importance. The three highest categories were 1. Travel for medical reasons (as designated by the Director of Health and Education); 2. Students returning to study (as designated by the Director of Health and Education); 3. Business passengers at risk of a serious and unavoidable impact on their business. Passengers were strongly recommended to travel LAN Airlines as the ash cloud did not cover the route over Punta Arenas.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Transport disruption, South Africa
On 14 June the South African Civil Aviation Authority released a statement saying that the ash cloud was being monitored and that there was no operational impact to the airlines. However, two local airlines, South African Airways and Kulula.com, cancelled some flights to and from Cape Town International Airport and East London Airport on 18 June; operations later returned to normal.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Transport disruption, Australia and New Zealand
At its greatest extent, strong winds had carried the ash cloud from Puyehue a great distance at high altitude, and the ash remained present for several days at distinct altitude bands between 20,000–35,000 feet over New Zealand and southern Australia, disrupting flights between Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, and all of Tasmania and New Zealand. Initially Air New Zealand managed to avoid cancellations by flying their aircraft at lower altitudes (20,000 feet) in order to avoid ash, requiring 10% more fuel. Cancellations started by 15 June. Subsequently, Rob Fyfe of Air New Zealand hit back at malicious rumours from Australian airlines that continuing to fly was unsafe.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Transport disruption, Australia and New Zealand
Virgin Australia resumed flights to southern Australia by 13 June, but Qantas and its subsidiary Jetstar did not resume flights until 14 and 15 June because the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Australia did not have the technology to determine the thickness of the plume. Losses for the airlines are expected to be in the millions.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Transport disruption, Australia and New Zealand
Flights to and from Perth were disrupted by the approaching plume of ash, extending from 15,000 to 35,000 feet.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Transport disruption, Australia and New Zealand
On 20 June flights were once again cancelled at Adelaide and Mildura airports. On 21 and 22 June flights to Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Newcastle, Wagga Wagga and Albury airports were cancelled due to the ash cloud. As of 22 June 2011 the ash cloud was expected to move from Australia to New Zealand.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Economic and financial impact
Macquarie Equities placed the cost of disruptions to airlines at A$21 million for Qantas and $11 million for Virgin Australia. The tourism industry was also impacted, costing Australia $15 million during the two-week period, with CEO John Lee of lobbying group Tourism & Transport Forum stating a daily cost of at least A$10 million as a result of complete closure of Sydney and Melbourne's main airports.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Economic and financial impact
The government of Neuquen province, Argentina, declared an economic emergency as the ash cloud was harming tourism and threatening livestock. The decree by provincial governor Jorge Sapag allowed those affected to claim for tax and other benefits. In Argentina ashes from Puyehue were advertised for sale and some were also used for making handicrafts. The intendant of Villa La Angostura assured that there were plenty of ideas of what to do with the ashes, among them bricks. In addition ashes were used to improve gravel roads around San Carlos de Bariloche.


2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption, Economic and financial impact
The president Cristina Fernández announced on national television plans to supply $2.41 billion to 1,400 farmers and businesses in the area affected by the ash cloud. They also plan to spend $7 million on the cleanup operation, and double social benefits, and defer tax payments for the hardest hit regions.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests
The protests in Saudi Arabia were part of the Arab Spring that started with the 2011 Tunisian revolution. Protests started with a self-immolation in Samtah and Jeddah street protests in late January 2011. Protests against anti-Shia discrimination followed in February and early March in Qatif, Hofuf, al-Awamiyah, and Riyadh. A Facebook organiser of a planned 11 March "Day of Rage", Faisal Ahmed Abdul-Ahad, was allegedly killed by Saudi security forces on 2 March, with several hundred people protesting in Qatif, Hofuf and al-Amawiyah on the day itself.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests
Khaled al-Johani demonstrated alone in Riyadh, was interviewed by BBC Arabic Television, was detained in ʽUlaysha Prison, and became known online as "the only brave man in Saudi Arabia". Many protests over human rights took place in April 2011 in front of government ministry buildings in Riyadh, Ta'if and Tabuk and in January 2012 in Riyadh. In 2011, Nimr al-Nimr encouraged his supporters in nonviolent resistance.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests
Anti -government protests demanding release of prisoners held without charge or trial continued in April and May 2011 in Qatif, al-Awamiyah and Hofuf in the Eastern Province, and extended to calls for the Peninsula Shield Force to be withdrawn from Bahrain and for the Eastern Province to have a constitution and a legislature. Four protesters were shot dead by Saudi authorities in late November in Qatif region protests and funerals, two on 12/13 and two on 9 and 10 February 2012.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests
In the early 2012 demonstrations, protesters chanted slogans against the House of Saud and Minister of Interior, Nayef, calling Nayef a "terrorist", "criminal" and "butcher" and throwing an effigy of Nayef at tanks. Police described two of the fatal shootings as responses to unidentified gunmen who had shot first. Eastern Province protests intensified after Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was wounded in the leg and arrested by police on 8 July. Four men were killed in a protest immediately following the arrest, with several funerals and protests following, including calls for the downfall of the House of Saud.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests
While detained, al-Nimr was tortured and started a hunger strike, he was later executed in the 2016 mass execution. Protest organisers insisted on the use of nonviolent resistance and called for all Shia and Sunni detainees to be freed. A protester and a soldier were fatally shot in Qatif during a 3–4 August protest, leading to more protests.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests
Protests and sit-ins calling for political prisoners to be released spread beyond the Eastern Province to protests at the Ministry of Interior in Riyadh on 20 March and in Riyadh and Buraidah in December 2011, and in July and August 2012 near al-Ha'ir Prison.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests
Women organised a Facebook women's suffrage campaign called "Baladi", stating that Saudi Arabian law gives women electoral rights. In April 2011, women in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam tried to register as electors for the 29 September municipal elections despite officials stating that women could not participate. In May and June, Manal al-Sharif and other women organised a women's right-to-drive campaign, with the main action to take place on 17 June.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests
In late September, Shaima Jastania was sentenced to 10 lashes for driving in Jeddah, shortly after King Abdullah announced women's participation in the 2015 municipal elections and eligibility as Consultative Assembly members; King Abdullah overturned the sentence. Al-Sharif and Samar Badawi filed lawsuits against Saudi authorities in the Grievances Board, a non-Sharia court, because of the rejection of their driving licence applications. Women university students protested in King Khalid University (KKU) in Abha in March 2012 and were attacked by security forces, leading to one death. Other university protests followed in Taibah University in Medina and Tabuk University in March and April. KKU students called for the university president to be dismissed. He was replaced on 1 July 2012.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Protests timeline, January–April 2011
Protests started with a 65-year-old man's self-immolation in Samtah, Jizan on 21 January and protests of a few hundred people in late January in Jeddah, triggered by flooding, and several times throughout February and early March in the cities of Qatif, al-Awamiyah, Riyadh, and Hofuf. A "Day of Rage" was planned for 11 March. One of the main organisers, Faisal Ahmed Abdul-Ahad (or Abdul-Ahadwas), was alleged to have been killed by Saudi security forces on 2 March, by which time one of the Facebook groups discussing the plans had over 26,000 members. On 11 March, several hundred people protested in Qatif, Hofuf and al-Amawiyah. Khaled al-Johani demonstrated in Riyadh despite a massive police presence, was interviewed by BBC Arabic Television, and has since then been detained in 'Ulaysha Prison. Al-Johani became known online as "the only brave man in Saudi Arabia".


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Protests timeline, January–April 2011
The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) and the Saudi organisation Human Rights First Society called for ACPRA co-founder Mohammed Saleh Albejadi to be released following his arbitrary arrest in Buraidah on 21 March by Mabahith, the internal security agency. In April, several small protests over labour rights took place in front of government ministry buildings in Riyadh, Ta'if and Tabuk. Protests, made up mainly of Shia protesters, continued in late March and April in Qatif and smaller cities in the Eastern Province such as al-Awamiyah, and Hofuf. The protesters called for the release of prisoners, for the Peninsula Shield Force to be withdrawn from Bahrain, for equal representation in key offices and for reforms in political positions, as they feel marginalised.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Protests timeline, January–April 2011
In response to the 22–23 March announcement of men-only municipal elections in late September 2011 to elect half the members of local councils, women organised a Facebook women's suffrage campaign called "Baladi", stating that Saudi Arabian law gives women electoral rights. In April, women in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam tried to register as electors for the 22 September municipal elections despite officials stating that women could not participate.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Protests timeline, May–December 2011
In May and June, motivated by the Arab Spring, Manal al-Sharif and other women organised a women's right-to-drive campaign, with the main action to take place on 17 June. Al-Sharif drove a car in May and was detained on 22 May and from 23‒30 May. Other women also drove cars, including actress Wajnat Rahbini, who was arrested after driving in Jeddah on 4 June and released a day later. From 17 June to late June, about seventy cases of women driving were documented. In late September, Shaima Jastania was sentenced to 10 lashes for driving in Jeddah, shortly after King Abdullah announced women's participation in the 2015 municipal elections and eligibility as Consultative Assembly members. King Abdullah cancelled the sentence.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Protests timeline, May–December 2011
From 17 June to late June, more than seventy cases of women driving were documented. In October protests, police shot live ammunition at protesters. The protesters called for Eastern Province to have its own constitution and legislative assembly, and for their association Society for Development and Change to be legally registered. In late November, Nasser al-Mheishi, Ali al-Felfel, Munib al-Sayyed al-'Adnan and Ali Abdullah al-Qarairis were shot dead by security forces in the Qatif region in successive protests and funerals.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Protests timeline, May–December 2011
Hundreds of people protested in Riyadh and Buraidah in December, calling for the release or trial of prisoners.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Protests timeline, January–June 2012
A protest for labour rights took place in Riyadh on 14 January and a sit-in calling for the Syrian Ambassador to be expelled occurred on 5 February in Jeddah.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Protests timeline, January–June 2012
Protests in the Qatif region continued from January to May, with security forces arresting medical personnel. Security forces shot dead Issam Mohamed Abu Abdallah in al-Awamiyah on 12 or 13 January, and Munir al-Midani and Zuhair al-Said on 9 and 10 February. In the 70,000 strong funeral for Abdallah on 16 January in al-Awamiyah and the daily Qatif region protests that followed, protesters chanted slogans against the House of Saud and Minister of Interior, Nayef, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. In mid-February, two medical personnel were arrested for having clandestinely treated injured protesters.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Protests timeline, January–June 2012
In a 10 February protest and a 13 February funeral, an effigy of Nayef was thrown at tanks and participants described Nayef as a "terrorist", "criminal" and "butcher". Police described two of the fatal shootings as responses to unidentified gunmen who had shot first. Dawoud al-Marhoon and Abdullah Hasan al-Zaher were arrested on 22 May and 3 March 2012, when they were aged 17 and 16 respectively, for participated in the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests. Originally, in March 2012, Al Marhoon was questioned by Saudi police and asked to be an informant and report details about his fellow protesters.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Protests timeline, January–June 2012
After he refused, Saudi security forces arrested him from the Dammam Central Hospital, where he was undergoing treatment for an eye injury sustained in a traffic accident. Saudi forces surrounded the hospital and arrested him as he prepared for surgery. He was arrested on 22 May 2012, and have been tortured and forced to "confess". Then sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court in September 2015, and as of 23 September 2015, awaited ratification of his sentence by King Salman of Saudi Arabia, to be carried out by beheading and crucifixion (in that order).


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Protests timeline, January–June 2012
Manal al-Sharif and Samar Badawi, active in the women to drive movement, announced that they had filed lawsuits against Saudi authorities in the Grievances Board, a non-Sharia court, because of the rejection of their driving licence applications. As of the end of June 2012, 100 Saudi women had started driving regularly since the June 2011 campaign launch. Women university students protested in King Khalid University in Abha in March and were attacked by security forces, leading to one death. Other university protests followed in Taibah University in Medina and Tabuk University in March and April.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Protests timeline, July–August 2012
In July 2012, Amnesty International protested in the United Nations Human Rights Council against legal persecution of Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) leaders. Ten female activists were detained in a Buraidah 14 July protest calling for political prisoners to be freed. Similar protests calling for prisoners to be freed and protesting against the Saudi government occurred in Buraidah on 23 July and in front of the Ministry of Interior near al-Ha'ir Prison and in Dammam in August.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Protests timeline, July–August 2012
In July and August 2012, protests in the Qatif region intensified after Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was wounded in the leg and arrested by police on 8 July. Three men were killed in a protest on the evening of the arrest. Funerals and protests took place on 10 July, including chants calling for the downfall of the House of Saud. While detained, al-Nimr was tortured, had bruises on his face and broken teeth, and started a hunger strike. Protest organisers in al-Awamiyah stated their support for al-Nimr and insisted on the use of nonviolent resistance.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Protests timeline, July–August 2012
Protester Mohamed al-Shakhouri was shot in the back and neck and arrested in a 26–27 July protest calling for al-Nimr's release. Further protests called for all Shia and Sunni detainees to be freed. A protester and a soldier were fatally shot in Qatif during a 3–4 August evening human rights protest, leading to several more protests.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Aftermath, 2014 Qatif protests
In early 2014, conflict between protesters and the security forces continued, with Qatif being "a militarised zone, surrounded by checkpoints and armoured vehicles". A Saudi journalist who had been documenting the protests for two years for the BBC left Saudi Arabia as she judged the situation "too risky for [her] to continue investigating". Nimr al-Nimr was sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court on 15 October 2014 for "seeking 'foreign meddling' in [Saudi Arabia], 'disobeying' its rulers and taking up arms against the security forces".


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Aftermath, 2014 Qatif protests
His brother, Mohammad al-Nimr, was arrested on the same day for tweeting information about the death sentence. Al-Nimr was executed on or shortly before 2 January 2016, along with 46 others in a mass execution. His execution was condemned by Iran and Shiites throughout the Middle East, as well as by Western figures and Sunnis opposed to sectarianism. The Saudi government said the body would not be handed over to the family.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Aftermath, 2014 Qatif protests
In March 2017, after a long campaign of harassment, the Saudi security forces killed two members of Nimr family during a raid on a farm in eastern Saudi Arabia. Miqdad and Mohammad Al-Nimr were killed at a farm in Awamiyah, the Nimr family hometown. al-Nimr was very critical of the Saudi Arabian government, and called for free elections in Saudi Arabia.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Aftermath, 2014 Qatif protests
Protests in the Qatif region continued during 2017–19, with deaths of protestors and security forces.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Casualties, Deaths, Others
On 21 January 2011, an unidentified 65-year-old man died after setting himself on fire in the town of Samtah, Jizan. This was apparently the kingdom's first known case of self-immolation.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Casualties, Deaths, Others
On 10 September 2012, a Bangladeshi man was shot dead in the Al-Awamiyah district of eastern Saudi Arabia. Saudi police said that the Bangladeshi man was driving when his car was hit by bullets fired at two security patrol cars. However, an activist in Al-Awamiyah gave a different account of the incident, saying the man had been killed by gunfire when security forces stormed a house while trying to arrest one of the 23 wanted activist for organising protest in Qatif.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic
On 10 February 2011, a Reuters report claimed that 10 intellectuals, human rights activists and lawyers came together to create the Umma Islamic Party – considered to be the first political party in Saudi Arabia since the 1990s – to demand the end of absolute monarchy in the country. On 18 February however, all ten members of the party were arrested and ordered to withdraw demands for political reform in exchange for their release.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic
On 23 February, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, after returning to the country following three months spent abroad for health treatment, announced a series of benefits for citizens amounting to $10.7 billion. These include funding to offset high inflation and to aid young unemployed people and Saudi citizens studying abroad, as well as writing off some loans. State employees' incomes were increased by 15 percent and new housing loans subsidies were introduced. No political reforms were announced as part of the package, though the 86-year-old monarch did pardon some prisoners indicted in financial crimes.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic
On 6 March, the Saudi Arabian Council of Senior Scholars, headed by Grand Mufti Abd al-'Aziz al-Ashaikh, issued a fatwā (religious opinion) opposing petitions and demonstrations, declaring, "Therefore the council hereby reaffirms that only the reform and [counsel] that has its legitimacy is that which may bring welfare and avert the evil, whereas it is illegal to issue statements and take signatures for the purposes of intimidation and inciting the strife. ... reform should not be by demonstrations and other means and methods that give rise to unrest and divide the community. ...


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic
The Council affirms prohibition of the demonstrations in this country and [that] the legal method which realizes the welfare without causing destruction rests on the mutual advice." The fatwa included a "severe threat against internal dissent", stating, "[The Prophet] again said: 'He who wanted separate affairs of this nation who are unified, you should kill him with sword whoever he is' (narrated by Muslim)." In late March, Abd al-'Aziz al-Ashaikh called for a million copies of the fatwa to be printed and distributed.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic
On 22–23 March 2011, officials of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural affairs announced that men-only municipal elections to elect half the members of local councils would be held in September 2011. Associated Press described the election announcement as having "coincided with rumblings of dissent in Saudi Arabia stemming from the wave of political unrest in the Arab world".


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic, Arrests and other repression
About 30 to 50 people were arrested following 29 January Jeddah demonstration. On 18 February, the ten founding members of the Umma Islamic Party were arrested and ordered to withdraw demands for political reform in exchange for their release.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic, Arrests and other repression
According to a Deutsche Presse-Agentur report on 2 March, Saudi activists have alleged that one of the main administrators of one of the Facebook groups calling for a "Day of Rage" on 11 March, Faisal Ahmed Abdul-Ahad (or Abdul-Ahadwas), was killed by Saudi security forces, who removed his body to "hide evidence of the crime".


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic, Arrests and other repression
On 5 March, thousands of security forces were sent to the north-east, causing delays on the road to Dammam. On the same day, following about two weeks of small protests in the eastern part of Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of the Interior warned that the "ban [on] all sorts of demonstrations, marches, sit-ins" imposed by Saudi law would be enforced.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic, Arrests and other repression
On 9 March, Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal stated that the government would not tolerate any street protests against it, while also saying that the "best way to achieve demands is through national dialogue".


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic, Arrests and other repression
On 21 March, Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) co-founder Mohammed Saleh Albejadi (also Al-Bjady) was arrested in Buraidah by Mabahith, the internal security agency. ACPRA stated that the arrest was arbitrary, in violation of the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia and the Law of Criminal Procedures. Both the ACPRA and Human Rights First Society called for his immediate, unconditional release.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic, Arrests and other repression
On 27 March 2011, Human Rights Watch estimated that the "scale of arrests [rose] dramatically during the preceding two weeks", up to about 160 protesters and critics being held without charge.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic, Arrests and other repression
In early January 2012, Saudi authorities published the names of a list of 23 people who were allegedly involved in the October 2011 Awamiyah/Qatif protests, calling for their arrests. Ministry of Interior spokesman Mansour al-Turki alleged that the protesters "were working according to a foreign agenda" and were "sponsored financially or supplied with weapons and were working as part of an organization". Shah Ali al-Shokan (or Shaukan) from Tarout Island, one of the 23, was arrested by Mabahith on 2 January 2012.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic, Arrests and other repression
Hussain Ali Abdullah al-Baraki, Mosa Ja'far Mohammad al-Mabyouq, and two others among the 23 were also arrested on 2 January. The Ministry of Interior claimed that al-Shokan, al-Baraki and al-Mabyouq had turned themselves in voluntarily. On 10 January, Aqeel al-Yaseen was wounded in al-Awamiyah by security forces, arrested and transferred to a Mabahith facility in Dammam, and forbidden family visits.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic, Censorship
In mid-March 2011, Reuters chief correspondent in Saudi Arabia, Ulf Laessing, who had reported from Riyadh since 2009, had his journalistic accreditation withdrawn because of his reporting on the early 2011 Saudi Arabian protests, effectively forcing him to leave Saudi Arabia.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, Domestic, Execution of Nimr al-Nimr
One of the subsequent responses of the Saudi government was the arrest, conviction and subsequent execution of Nimr al-Nimr on 2 January 2016.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, International, Media
Journalist Robert Fisk said that the protests were known as the "Hunayn Revolution," after the Battle of Hunayn fought between Muhammad and the Hawazin.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, International, Other
On 21 February 2011, oil prices rose in response to the 2011 Libyan civil war and speculation regarding 11 March Saudi Arabian Day of Rage. The Saudi Tadawul stock market index fell to a seven-month low on stability concerns. During the week of 27 February, global stock prices fell as oil prices increased and silver reached a 30-year high price on stability concerns in the region. Regional stock market indices also fell on concern for Saudi stability.


2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, Response, International, Other
In August 2017, ten Nobel Peace Prize laureates, including Desmond Tutu and Lech Wałęsa, urged Saudi Arabia to stop the executions of 14 young people for participating in the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute
The 2011–12 Strait of Hormuz dispute was a dispute between a coalition of countries and Iran. The dispute arose on 27 December 2011, when Iranian Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz. In late April 2019 Iran said that it will block any shipping if it was barred from using the strategic waterway and in face of US sanctions


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute
Subsequently, a number of naval drills and missile tests were carried out by Iran. A coalition of countries responded by sending a flotilla of warships to deter any Iranian attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz and warned Iran publicly and through letters not to close the Strait.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute
The dispute was interjected by a European Union sanction banning oil exports from Iran to Europe on 23 January 2012 in an attempt to deter Iran from continuing with their nuclear program. Oil exports contribute to about 80% of Iranian public revenue, with roughly 20% being exported to Europe. Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea, which both accounts for 26% of Iran's oil exports have expressed a willingness to reduce oil exports from Iran.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Background
The Strait is situated off the coast of Iran and is a recognized international trade route. The strait is narrowest at 21 nautical miles (39 km) and is recognized as a naval choke point. Oil is a key commodity with approximately 20% of seaborne oil in the world transported via the Strait of Hormuz.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Background
The Strait of Hormuz has been the scene of a stand-off between Iran and the United States before. On 18 April 1988, the U.S. Navy waged a one-day battle against Iranian forces in and around the strait. The battle, dubbed Operation Praying Mantis by the U.S. side, was launched in retaliation for the mining of USS Samuel B. Roberts on 14 April by Iran. U.S. forces sank one Islamic Republic of Iran Navy frigate, one gunboat, and as many as six armed speedboats in the engagement and seriously damaged a second frigate.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Background
Iran's strategy of asymmetric warfare recognizes that, since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has little chance of winning any face-to-face military contest with powerful enemies like the United States. Instead, Iran aims to "exploit enemy vulnerabilities through the used of 'swarming' tactics by well-armed small boats and fast-attack craft, to mount surprise attacks at unexpected times and places" which will "ultimately destroy technologically superior enemy forces," writes Iranian military expert Fariborz Haghshenass in a 2008 study based on published doctrines of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Background
Teheran can accomplish its objectives simply by clogging the strait, adds the Monitor. The Monitor also makes reference to Millennium Challenge 2002, a major war game exercise conducted by the United States armed forces in mid-2002, in which Red forces, commanded by retired Marine Corps Lt. General Paul K. Van Riper, used old methods to evade Blue's sophisticated electronic surveillance network, and a significant portion of Blue's navy was "sunk".


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
On 27 December 2011, Iranian Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi threatened to cut off oil supply from the Strait of Hormuz should economic sanctions limit, or cut off, Iranian oil exports. Also on that date, the U.S. aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis concluded a four-day port visit to Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates, and returned to the North Arabian Sea in support of coalition ground operations in Afghanistan via the Strait of Hormuz.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
To coincide with this threat, Iran carried out Velayat 90, a 10-day military exercise in international waters near the Strait of Hormuz. The United States countered this exercise with an increased naval presence in and around the Persian Gulf, with the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis pictured by Iranian reconnaissance in the Persian Gulf. A U.S. Fifth Fleet spokesperson said in response that the Fleet was "always ready to counter malevolent actions", whilst Admiral Habibollah Sayari of the Iranian navy claimed that cutting off oil shipments would be "easy". Security analysts in the West were largely unconcerned by Iran's capabilities to disrupt trade in the area.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
On 3 January 2012, following the end of Velayat 90, the Iranian Army chief of staff, General Ataollah Salehi, was quoted by the state news agency IRNA as warning the United States to not deploy the John C. Stennis back to the Persian Gulf. General Salehi said the United States had moved an aircraft carrier out of the Gulf because of Iran's naval exercises, and Iran would take action if the ship returned. "Iran will not repeat its warning...the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Gulf of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf", he said.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
On 4 January 2012, Fars News Agency reported that a bill was being prepared for the Iranian Parliament to bar foreign naval vessels from entering the Persian Gulf unless they receive permission from the Iranian navy, with Iranian lawmaker Nader Qazipour noting: "If the military vessels and warships of any country want to pass via the Strait of Hormuz without coordination and permission of Iran’s navy forces, they should be stopped by the Iranian armed forces." Also, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi reiterated that "transnational forces" have no place in the Persian Gulf region.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
The U.S. Navy spokesman Commander Bill Speaks responded that deployment of U.S. military assets would continue as has been the custom stating: "The U.S. Navy operates under international maritime conventions to maintain a constant state of high vigilance in order to ensure the continued, safe flow of maritime traffic in waterways critical to global commerce."


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
On 7 January 2012, the United Kingdom announced that it would be sending the Type 45 destroyer HMS Daring to the Persian Gulf. Daring, which is the lead ship of her class was claimed to be one of the "most advanced warships" in the world, and undertook its first mission in the Persian Gulf. However, the British Government said that this move was long-planned, as Daring replaced another Armilla patrol frigate. During this maiden deployment, Daring operated with Carrier Strike Group One in the Persian Gulf and Carrier Strike Group Nine in the North Arabian Sea.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
On 9 January 2012, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi denied that Iran had ever claimed that it would close the Strait of Hormuz, saying that "the Islamic Republic of Iran is the most important provider of security in the strait...if one threatens the security of the Persian Gulf, then all are threatened." Vahidi reiterated that "transnational forces" have no place in the Persian Gulf region. Also, on 9 January 2012, Carrier Strike Group One, led by the carrier Carl Vinson, joined Carrier Strike Group Three, led by the John C. Stennis, in the North Arabian Sea. Carrier Strike Group Nine, led by the carrier Abraham Lincoln, was en route to the Arabian Sea amid rising tensions over the Strait of Hormuz.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
The Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed on 16 January 2012 that received a letter from the United States concerning the Strait of Hormuz, "via three different channels." Authorities considered whether to reply, although the contents of the letter were not divulged. The US had previously announced its intention to warn Iran that closing the Strait of Hormuz is a "red line" that would provoke an American response.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
General Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated that the United States would "take action and reopen the strait," which could be accomplished only by military means, including minesweepers, warship escorts and potentially airstrikes. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta told troops in Texas that the United States would not tolerate Iran's closing of the strait. Nevertheless, Iran continued to discuss the impact of shutting the Strait on world oil markets, saying that any disruption of supply would cause a shock to markets that "no country" could manage.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
On 19 January 2012, Carrier Strike Group Nine entered the U.S. Fifth Fleet's area of responsibility and relieved Carrier Strike Group Three (pictured). Also on that date, Ambassador of Iran to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaee reportedly stated in a recent interview on the Charlie Rose Show that Iran would consider closing the Strait of Hormuz if Iran's security was endangered.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
On 22 January 2012, Carrier Strike Group Nine was joined by the British Type 23 frigate Argyll and the French frigate La Motte-Picquet and together this American-British-French naval flotilla transited the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf without incident. By 23 January, a flotilla had been established by countries opposing Iran's threats to close the Hormuz Strait. These ships operated in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea off the coast of Iran. The flotilla included two American aircraft carriers (Carl Vinson and Abraham Lincoln), three destroyers (USS Momsen, USS Sterett, USS Russell) and seven British warships including the destroyer Daring and a number of Type 23 frigates (HMS Westminster, Argyll and HMS Somerset).


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
On 24 January tensions rose further after the European Union imposed sanctions on Iranian oil. A senior member of Iran's parliament said that the Islamic Republic would close the entry point to the Gulf if new sanctions blocked its oil exports. "If any disruption happens regarding the sale of Iranian oil, the Strait of Hormuz will definitely be closed," Mohammad Kossari, deputy head of parliament's Foreign Affairs and National Security Committee, told the semi-official Fars News Agency.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
On 14 February 2012, the carrier Abraham Lincoln, the cruiser Cape St. George, and the destroyer Sterett transited through Strait of Hormuz into the northern Arabian Sea, concluding Carrier Strike Group Nine's initial operations in the Persian Gulf. The strike group's movements were monitored by Iranian patrol boats and aircraft during its transit. In addition to combat air support for coalition forces in Afghanistan, Carrier Strike Group Nine maintained flights operations some 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) off the coast of Iran.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
On 6 June 2012, the former amphibious transport dock Ponce (pictured) joined the U.S. Fifth Fleet. The Ponce was converted at a "mother-ship for MH-53E Sea Dragon mine-sweeping helicopters. The U.S. Navy also deployed four more MH-53E helicopter to reinforce the six helicopters based in the Persian Gulf. On 24 June 2012, four  Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships joined the U.S. Fifth Fleet for a seven-month deployment. The four ships joined the four other Avenger-class minesweepers based in the Persian Gulf as well as the four British Royal Navy minesweepers operating with the Armilla Patrol. Both U.S. mine-sweeping ships and helicopters were refitted with the new Seafox anti-mine marine drones.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
In July 2012, Iranian General Hasan Firouzabadi announced Iran's plans to block the Strait of Hormuz if the country's interests are seriously threatened.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
The International Mine Countermeasures Exercise 2012, (IMCMEX 12) or IMCMEX 2012, was held 16–27 September 2012 in multiple locations in the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) area of operations (pictured). This multi-national mine warfare exercise was the largest ever held in the region, and it involved navies from more than 30 nations. The purpose of IMCMEX 12 was protecting three critical maritime chokepoints at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal, and the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb (see map).


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
The Iranian Navy carried out Velayat 91, a six-day exercise held in the Strait of Hormuz that began on 28 December 2012. The exercise commander, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, noted:


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Dispute
During Velayat 91, the Iranian Navy test-fired its Noor and Qader cruise missiles, its Ra'd anti-aircraft missiles, and its Nasr tactical ballistic missile.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Consequences
Despite an initial 2% rise in oil prices, oil markets ultimately did not react significantly to the Iranian threat, with oil analyst Thorbjoern Bak Jensen of Global Risk Management concluding that "they cannot stop the flow for a longer period due to the amount of U.S. hardware in the area". While earlier statements from Iran had little effect on global oil markets, coupled with the new sanctions, these terse comments from Iran are driving crude futures higher, up over 4%. Pressure on prices reflect a combination of uncertainty driven further by China's recent response – reducing oil January 2012 purchases from Iran by 50% compared to those made in 2011.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Consequences
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz would inflate oil prices, not only in the west but in Asian countries such as Japan, India, and South Korea. All three countries collectively account for 42% of Iranian oil exports – Japan 17%, South Korea 9%, and India 16%. China is another importer of Iranian oil, of which it accounts for 20% of Iran's oil exports.


2011–2012 Strait of Hormuz dispute, Warships
A number of countries dispatched warships to the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea in an effort to ward off any Iranian closure of the Hormuz Strait.


2011–2012 Sukma Games
On 27 May 2010, the National Sports Council of Malaysia had decided the Sukma Games be held annually with the National Sports Council held the games every odd year in Kuala Lumpur, while the state held the games every even year. It was also decided that the odd year Sukma Games featured only optional sports while the even year Sukma Games featured 19 core sports and 5 optional sports.


2011–2012 Sukma Games
The 2011 Sukma Games, officially known as the 14th Sukma Games was held from 2 to 12 June 2011 and featured 19 optional sports, whereas the 2012 Sukma Games, officially known as the 15th Sukma Games was held in Pahang from 9 to 16 July 2012 and featured 24 sports.


2011–2012 Sukma Games, Organisation, Venues
The 15th Sukma Games had 19 venues for the games, 17 in Kuantan and 1 each in Temerloh and Pekan respectively. while the 14th Sukma Games had 13 venues for the games, 7 in Kuala Lumpur, 5 in Selangor and 1 in Putrajaya respectively.


2011–2012 Sukma Games, Marketing, Logo
The Logo of the 2012 Sukma Games is an image of the elephant, a symbol of Pahang. Besides representing Pahang, the elephant represents the welcoming of the arrival of all participating states from Malaysia.


2011–2012 Sukma Games, Marketing, Logo
There are five colours on the logo, the black and white represents the state of Pahang,  the red represents the fighting spirit of all participating athletes in achieving victory, the blue represents the sporting and unity spirit of all Malaysians and the yellow represents Pahang as a sovereign constitutional monarchy and the pride, the cheers and the honour of all people involved in making the 2012 Sukma Games a success. Overall, it represents the prosperous Pahang and the welcoming of all participating states and Malaysians to Pahang as host of the games.


2011–2012 Sukma Games, Marketing, Mascot
The mascots of the 2012 Sukma Games is a group of four elephants together as a family namely: Tahan (Father), Puteh (Mother), Rajah (Son), and Teku (Daughter), the four elephants are named after respective mountains found within Pahang. The adoption of elephant, the state symbol as the games' mascot is to promote the state's eco-tourism.


2011–2012 Sukma Games, Marketing, Mascot
Meanwhile, the mascot of the 2011 Sukma Games is a Malayan tiger named Harimau Muda (Youth Tiger).


2011–2012 Sukma Games, Marketing, Songs
The theme song of the 2012 Sukma Games is "Satu Tujuan" (One Aim).


2011–2012 Sukma Games, Broadcasting
Radio Televisyen Malaysia was responsible for live streaming of several events, opening and closing ceremony of the games.


2011–2012 Sukma Games, Related events, Paralympiad Malaysia
The 16th Paralympiad Malaysia was held in Pahang from 9 to 14 December.


2011–2012 Tunisian protests
The 2011–2012 Tunisia protests was a series of increasingly violent street demonstrations characterised by popular unrest and civil riots against economic grievances and deteriorating conditions in Tunisia. Inequality and unemployment has also been a trigger of nationwide civil disorder and massive disobedience. The fresh protests first began as a wave of national peaceful protests on 14–21 January against the government and demanded a civilian government and fresh elections to be held immediately. Instead, the interim government has led the 2011 Tunisian presidential election. But the protests adapted to different towns and regions, and mass demonstrations re-erupted nationwide.


2011–2012 Tunisian protests
In 2012, massive labour strikes and anti-government riots have been ongoing, with police brutality becoming violent and more extreme. Women strikes and hunger strikes had been held nationwide in August–September. University students also led national student protests in protest at economic conditions. Nationwide protests against the government and Police brutality led by youths had been held in Tunis, Sousse and Gafsa and poor neighbourhoods in cities nationwide in November–December. 8 were killed in the mass uprising and political movement. Insurrectional demonstrations continued and ultimately led to the 2013–2014 Tunisian political crisis.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race
The 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race was the 11th edition of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race, yacht race which started with an in-port race in Alicante, Spain on 29 October 2011 with six Volvo Open 70 yachts at the start line and ended with an in-port race in Galway, Ireland on 7 July 2012. The 39,270 NM route involved stopovers and in-port races in Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, Itajaí, Miami, Lisbon, Lorient, and finally Galway. The race consisted of nine ocean races and ten in-port races.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Participants
Six teams started and finished the race. Of the teams only Team Sanya raced a second-hand boat, Telefónica Blue, which had taken third place in the 2008-09 race.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route
The race used a scoring system where the overall winner was the team with the most points at the end of the race. All races counted with no discards allowed. The boats were awarded points in every race, six to one in in-port races and 30 to 5 points (30, 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5) for ocean races (legs). The race had a total of nine ocean legs and ten in-port races. Due to piracy the legs to and from Abu Dhabi were given two scores with the same total as the other legs. The scores were to be divided 80+20% and 20+80% respectively.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route
In addition to the ocean and in-port races, there were no-score pro-am races in every port where sponsors and guests were given an experience as close to that of true professional sailing as possible.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Summary
The race began in Alicante on 29 October 2011 and ended in Galway on 7 July 2012.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Alicante In-Port Race
On 29 October 2011 Abu Dhabi won the first In-Port race with Puma second and Camper third. The winds were very light on the race day.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Alicante to Cape Town
The 6,500 NM leg started 5 November 2011 at 1300 UTC.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Alicante to Cape Town
Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand led the fleet out of Alicante and through the Gibraltar straits.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Alicante to Cape Town
On 5 November 2011, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing lost its mast within hours of the race's beginning during heavy winds and high seas near Alicante. On 6 November 2011 Team Sanya was forced to head to port after damaging its hull. Team Sanya withdrew from the first leg on 7 November after an assessment of the damage.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Alicante to Cape Town
The fleet were led round the turning mark near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha by Puma Ocean Racing, powered by BERG Propulsion on 17 November. Several days later at 1500 hours on 21 November their mast failed, splitting into three bits. They retired from the first leg on 22 November and headed to Tristan da Cunha.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Alicante to Cape Town
Telefónica won the first leg, followed by Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand. Groupama placed third, several days after the leaders, as they missed the lowpressure system Telefónica and Camper used to cross the southern Atlantic at high speed.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Cape Town In-Port Race
On 10 December 2011 Telefónica won the In-Port race with Camper second and Puma third.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Cape Town to Abu Dhabi
The 5,430 NM leg started on 11 December 2011. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing led the fleet out of Cape Town. Team Sanya were forced to suspend racing following a rigging failure and missed the cargo ship from the secret port to Abu Dhabi.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Cape Town to Abu Dhabi
Due to the threat of piracy around Somalia, the fleet headed from Cape Town to a secret port, later revealed to be Malé, and were then transported by ship to Abu Dhabi, closer to the finish line for a sprint into Abu Dhabi. The first part of the leg gave 80% of the points (24, 20, 16, 12, 8 and 4 points) and the second part 20% (6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points) for the same total of 30 to 5 points as the other ocean legs. Team Telefónica were the first boat into the secret port while Groupama Sailing Team won the sprint leg. Telefónica won overall points on the leg.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Cape Town to Abu Dhabi
Team Sanya resumed racing on 6 January with a six-man crew and finally finished the first part of leg 2 on 19 January, also scoring points for the sprint part of leg 2 and the in port race that they had missed.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Abu Dhabi In-Port Race
Was held on 13 January 2012 and was won by Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, with Groupama coming second, and Camper third.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Abu Dhabi to Sanya
The 4,600 NM leg started on 14 January 2012. Due to the threat of piracy around Somalia, the fleet was transported once again by ship to Male from where the third leg of the race began. From the new port they will then head through the Bay of Bengal and then pass the Malacca Strait. The first part give 20% of the points (6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points) and the second part 80% (24, 20, 16, 12, 8 and 4 points) for the same total of 30 to 5 points as the other ocean legs.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Sanya In-Port Race
On 18 February 2012 Team Telefónica took their second in-port victory in perfect sailing conditions with flat waters and winds gusting up to 20 knots. Team Puma came in second, followed by Abu Dhabi, Camper, Groupama and Sanya.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Auckland to Itajaí
The 6,705 NM leg started 18 March 2012. This leg, the longest in the race, included safety waypoints which were designed to keep the boats north of the main areas of iceberg risk.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Auckland to Itajaí
Team Sanya suffered rudder and hull damage on 22 March and were forced to return to New Zealand. They rejoined the race in Miami. Both Team New Zealand and Abu Dhabi stopped in Puerto Montt, Chile. Team New Zealand repaired the boat and continued on while Abu Dhabi was shipped from there to Itajai, Brazil.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Auckland to Itajaí
After 17 days at sea, with 677 nautical miles to go to the finish line, Groupama (Franck Cammas/FRA) dismasted 60 nautical miles (nm) south of Punta del Este. Groupama motored to Punta del Este and following the creation of a jury rig rejoined the race and was placed third.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Itajaí In-Port Race
Was held on 21 April 2012 and won by Groupama.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Itajaí to Miami
The 4,800 NM leg started on 22 April 2012 and was won by Puma.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Miami In-Port Race
Was held on 19 May 2012 and won by Abu Dhabi.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Lisbon to Lorient
The 1,940 NM leg started on 10 June 2012. From Lisbon the fleet travelled to a turning point at São Miguel Island before heading to Lorient.


2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, Route, Lorient to Galway
The 485 NM leg started on 1 July 2012. This leg was the shortest offshore leg in the race.


2011–2013 America's Cup World Series
The inaugural America's Cup World Series were held between 2011 and 2013 in the lead up to the 2013 America's Cup. They were raced in AC45 catamarans. The competition was rocked by a cheating scandal in which Oracle Team USA had made an unauthorized modification by using additional ballast. The team withdrew from the competition on 8 August 2013. Penalties imposed included expelling three team members,  a $250,000 fine, and a one-point penalty for each of the first two races of the Match in which they would otherwise score a point. This also affected boats on loan to Ben Ainslie Racing and HS Racing, which withdrew from the competition. After reallocating points, overall winner for 2011/2012 was declared to be Team New Zealand, and for 2012/2013 it was Luna Rossa Piranha.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests
The 2011–2013 Chilean protests – known as the Chilean Winter (in particular reference to the massive protests of August 2011) or the Chilean Education Conflict (as labelled in Chilean media) – were a series of student-led protests across Chile, demanding a new framework for education in the country, including more direct state participation in secondary education and an end to the existence of profit in higher education. Currently in Chile, only 45% of high school students study in traditional public schools and most universities are also private. No new public universities have been built since the end of the Chilean transition to democracy in 1990, even though the number of university students has swelled.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests
Beyond the specific demands regarding education, there is a feeling that the protests reflect a "deep discontent" among some parts of society with Chile's high level of inequality. Protests have included massive non-violent marches, but also a considerable amount of violence on the part of a side of protestors as well as riot police.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests
The first clear government response to the protests was a proposal for a new education fund and a cabinet shuffle which replaced Minister of Education Joaquín Lavín and was seen as not fundamentally addressing student movement concerns. Other government proposals were also rejected.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests
Student protestors have not achieved all their objectives, but they contributed to a dramatic fall in Piñera's approval rating, which was measured at 26–30% in August 2011 polls by respected Chilean pollsters and had not increased by January 2012.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, Background
The onset of the 2011 Chilean protests have been attributed to several causes. The Economist explained the protests as being the result of "one of world’s lowest levels of public funding for higher education, some of the longest degrees and no comprehensive system of student grants or subsidized loans" and a flat job market as the detonant. Historian Gabriel Salazar describes the student conflict as being the continuation of a long strife between popular citizen movements and civic and military dictatorships. BBC have attributed "students' anger" to "a perception that Chile's education system is grossly unfair – that it gives rich students access to some of the best schooling in Latin America while dumping poor pupils in shabby, under-funded state schools."


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, Background
Many newspapers and analysts have traced the protests back to the 2006 Penguin Revolution that occurred during the government of Michelle Bachelet, some claiming that these are the same secondary students who headed the 2006 movement that when in university are heading the 2011 student protests. Bachelet has defended the legacy of her government and said that in the aftermath of the Penguin Revolution the right-wing opposition prevented them from eliminating for-profit activity in education. Right-wing politician Cristián Monckeberg responded to this by saying that if Bachelet had solved the problem in 2006, the students would not be protesting now. On June 5 it was noted in the Chilean TV discussion show Tolerancia Cero that the Chilean students protests followed a cyclic pattern with major protests every 5 or 7 years.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, Background
Víctor Lobos, intendant of Biobío Region attributed the protests to the increasing number of children born outside matrimony claiming that this condition made them susceptible to "anarchism".


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, Demands, University students
University students are represented by CONFECH, the Confederation of Chilean Student Federations, a national body made up of student governments at Chilean universities and led by Camila Vallejo of the University of Chile and Giorgio Jackson of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. The CONFECH's proposal, known as the "Social Agreement for Chilean Education" (Acuerdo Social por la Educación Chilena), demands:


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, Demands, High school students
High school students are more loosely organized than the university students, with no national federation. However, their demands have also been included in CONFECH's proposal and include:


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, Demands, High school students
Additionally, some segments of the student movement have called for additional changes, such as a constitutional amendment guaranteeing quality education, an increase in the tax rate of higher earners (which is low in comparison to OECD countries), higher taxes for foreign extractors of or renationalization of Chile's copper resources.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, First wave of protests
The 2011 student protests in Chile began gradually in May, and can be traced to the so-called "penguin revolution", or 2006 student protests in Chile. It is also important to note that the student protests began on the heels of other national protests, over the HidroAysén dam project and gas prices in Magallanes Province. The protests are commonly portrayed as a new social movement loosely based on Spain's 15-M Movement or even the Arab Spring.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, First wave of protests
The protests were triggered in part by the initiative of the then-Minister of Education Joaquín Lavín to increase government funding of non-traditional Universities. Although, officially nonprofit, some of these institutions were known to use legal loopholes to turn profits. Lavín had invested in several firms that render services to Universidad del Desarrollo.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, First wave of protests
According to students cited by El Mercurio on June 13, there were 100 schools being occupied by students as a form of protest, of which 80 were in the Santiago Metropolitan Region Sources differ; Chilean police listed on June 13 only 50 schools as occupied.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, First wave of protests
On June 30, there was a massive demonstration that mobilized between one hundred and two hundred thousand demonstrators.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, First wave of protests
The student protests have included several creative acts which received foreign media attention, such as flash mobs and kiss-ins.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, July 2011 government proposal
On July 5 Chilean President Sebastián Piñera announced in a televised speech educational reforms that his government planned to do in order to satisfy the student demands. The plans announced revolved mainly around a project labelled "GANE" (Spanish acronym for Grand National Accord of Education, forming the Spanish word for win), which would cost 4 billion dollars.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, July 2011 government proposal
The project is to be, if implemented, financed from the Funds of Economical and Social Stabilization (Fondo de Estabilización Económica y Social or FEES) with which a fund named Fund for the Education (Fondo por la Educación) will be created from which the dividends and interest (under 300 million dollars) will be used annually to support public education.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, July 2011 government proposal
Piñera also announced the shaping of a new legal framework for universities which will allow higher education providers to legally engage in for-profit activity and rejected the public ownership of education proposed by students as a "serious mistake and something that damages deeply the quality as well as the freedom of education".


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, July 2011 government proposal
The announcement was received with skepticism by students, some of whom criticized harshly the announcements.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, July 2011 government proposal
Camila Vallejo, one of the movement's spokespersons and the president of the University of Chile student federation said that the presidential discourse "was a great disappointment and a backward step" and emphasized that the proposal to legalize for-profit activity in education, which is currently illegal but widely practised in private institutions, goes against the Chilean state of law and that the government rejected categorically the main point presented by the secondary students which was to place public secondary and primary education under state management instead of being under municipalities.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, July 2011 government proposal
Additionally, some opposition senators from the center-left Concertación criticized the speech, signaling that the proposal was not "in tune with the student movement" After the televised speech students of the University of Chile went out from the university to protest against the proposal blocking transit in Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins before confrontations with special forces of the police.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, Continued protests
Students marched on July 14 together with contractors from El Teniente mine that were on strike in one of the largest protests since the return to democracy in Chile two decades prior. Although the protests were downplayed by the Chilean government, they were described as a complete success by the organizers. On July 18, Chilean Minister of Education Joaquín Lavín was replaced by Felipe Bulnes, as President Sebastián Piñera opted for a cabinet shuffle in response to the months of protest.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, Continued protests
The change came two weeks without any clear movement on the issues, Lavín received a new ministerial role as Minister of Development and Planning. Meanwhile, the Chilean student federation insists that it will continue its occupations and other mobilizations, as well as attempt to broaden the movement into other political areas. On July 19, La Tercera reported that 148 high schools remained occupied, but some universities such as the Universidad Austral de Chile and the Universidad de Santiago de Chile were ending their occupations.


2011–2013 Chilean student protests, August 2011 government proposal and subsequent protest
On August 1, the government of Sebastian Piñera introduced a new 21-point proposal to reorganize Chilean education from pre-school to higher education and thus reach an agreement with the student movement. The proposal included many of the students' demands, such as: