Top 10 World Events That Left Us Speechless
These events made the world stand still. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most shocking global events since the 1970s that, for good or for ill, left the entire world stunned.
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00:00 - Good evening.
00:00 Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life,
00:06 our very freedom came under attack.
00:08 - Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:09 Today we're counting down our picks
00:10 for the top 10 world events that left us speechless.
00:13 - Now there is confirmation that Diana,
00:15 Princess of Wales, has died.
00:18 - For this list, we'll be looking at the most shocking
00:20 global events since the 1970s that, for good or for ill,
00:23 left the entire world stunned.
00:24 Modern history is filled with world-stopping moments.
00:27 Did we trip up and leave any off the list?
00:29 Let us know in the comments below.
00:31 Number 10, Hurricane Katrina.
00:33 One of the knock-on effects of climate change
00:35 heating up the atmosphere
00:36 is the gradual warming of the oceans.
00:38 Warm water supercharges hurricanes
00:40 by providing more moisture in the air
00:41 that, in turn, fuels the storm.
00:43 In 2005, the US entered a new era of climate superstorms
00:47 with Hurricane Katrina.
00:48 - And with much of New Orleans now underwater,
00:50 authorities are focused on search and rescue
00:53 before it's too late.
00:54 - The Category 5 storm pummeled the coasts
00:56 of Louisiana and Mississippi at the end of August,
00:59 decimating most of the coastal wetlands in the area.
01:02 - And it just got worse and worse and worse.
01:05 I mean, it was just incredible, the sound.
01:09 It was like having a freight train in your ear
01:11 for hours on end.
01:13 - But when the levees around New Orleans failed,
01:15 everyone looked on in horror
01:16 as one of America's greatest cities flooded.
01:19 - From what we've been hearing,
01:20 a lot of New Orleans East has been inundated.
01:23 - Families around the world stared at the news,
01:25 stunned as they witnessed people standing on the rooftops
01:28 in flooded neighborhoods, begging for rescue.
01:30 Number nine, the London attacks.
01:33 Less than four years after September 11th,
01:35 the United Kingdom saw the war on terror
01:37 hit the home front.
01:38 - Breaking news we're getting from the PA Newswire
01:40 that there's been reports of an explosion
01:43 outside Liverpool Street Station.
01:45 - On July 7th, 2005,
01:47 four Islamic fundamentalist terrorists
01:49 in a coordinated attack set off a series of bombs in London.
01:52 The first three targeted London's tube system,
01:54 while the fourth exploded on a double-decker bus.
01:57 The nation was devastated by the worst terrorist attack
02:00 in British history in nearly two decades.
02:02 - Train derailed, there was smoke everywhere.
02:04 There's a lot of serious injuries down there as well,
02:06 a lot of serious head injuries.
02:07 - Over 700 rush hour commuters were injured,
02:10 and 56 died, including the bombers.
02:12 A second, less successful attack followed two weeks later,
02:15 but the damage was done and the world was shaken.
02:17 London, the seat of the once largest empire
02:20 in the history of the world,
02:21 had suffered a devastating attack.
02:23 - Our determination to defend our values
02:26 and our way of life
02:27 is greater than their determination
02:34 to cause death and destruction to innocent people
02:37 in a desire to impose extremism on the world.
02:41 - Number eight, Brexit.
02:42 The year 2016 was a banner year
02:44 for self-described nationalists around the world.
02:46 The shocking election of Donald Trump capped it off,
02:49 but the rightward turn began months earlier in the UK.
02:51 By the end of 2015, right-wing discontent
02:54 with the EU leadership in Brussels grew to a fever pitch.
02:57 In an attempt to shore up his right flank,
02:59 Prime Minister David Cameron announced a referendum
03:02 to vote on leaving the EU.
03:03 - Mr. Cameron is spearheading the push
03:05 to convince voters to remain.
03:07 - Let me be clear,
03:09 leaving Europe would threaten our economic
03:12 and our national security.
03:13 - Prominent figures like Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson
03:16 jumped on the bandwagon,
03:18 slamming foreign regulation and immigration.
03:20 Britain shocked the world and its own prime minister
03:23 with the success of the Brexit vote.
03:24 - The official results are in.
03:25 The people of Britain have spoken,
03:28 voting for a British exit dubbed Brexit,
03:30 with almost 52% of the votes choosing
03:33 to leave the 28-member European Union.
03:36 - Its aftermath and negotiations have churned
03:39 through 4 p.m. so far and led to years
03:41 of devastating economic consequences.
03:43 - We've lost a large fraction of our trade
03:46 with the European Union,
03:47 including with high-value professional services trade.
03:52 That's making us poorer.
03:54 - Number seven, Haiti earthquake.
03:56 In January of 2010, the Caribbean island nation of Haiti
03:59 was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake.
04:02 - It's being called a catastrophe of major proportions.
04:06 The Caribbean island nation of Haiti has been rocked
04:08 by its biggest earthquake in more than 200 years.
04:11 - The entire country's infrastructure was destroyed
04:14 by the disaster and its 52 aftershocks.
04:17 Hospitals, electrical and communication systems,
04:19 as well as transport hubs collapsed.
04:21 Between 100,000 and 300,000 people were killed,
04:24 with about $8 billion in damages sustained.
04:27 Haiti was already struggling economically,
04:29 and without global aid, the entire country
04:31 was on the verge of collapse.
04:32 (speaking in foreign language)
04:36 - Armies of aid workers from around the world
04:40 mobilized to save the island's population afterwards.
04:43 Unfortunately, Haiti has never truly recovered.
04:45 - And over the last 10 years,
04:46 more than $13 billion was contributed.
04:49 But of that 13 billion, it's estimated only 48%
04:53 made it to Haiti.
04:54 - Thousands fled the country, never to return.
04:57 Today, crime lords run much of Haiti,
04:59 while uncoordinated NGOs provide
05:01 the bulk of social services.
05:03 Number six, attack at Munich.
05:05 36 years after Adolf Hitler used the 1936 Olympics
05:08 for propaganda, the international competition
05:10 returned to West Germany.
05:12 Unfortunately, instead of helping to unite the world
05:14 in friendly competition, the 1972 games ended in tragedy.
05:18 - Despite protests, the games go on
05:20 as Israel buries her dead, and the world mourns
05:23 the innocent victims of the Munich massacre.
05:25 - A group of eight armed Palestinian terrorists,
05:28 calling themselves Black September,
05:30 infiltrated the Olympic Village.
05:32 They killed two members of the Israeli team
05:34 and took nine more hostage.
05:35 The Olympic Village didn't have tight security
05:37 in the early hours of the morning of September 5th, 1972,
05:41 when the militants broke into the Israeli apartments,
05:44 which tipped off a bloody 24-hour standoff
05:47 between the gunmen and unarmed athletes
05:50 who tried to defend themselves.
05:51 - West German police attempted to negotiate
05:53 for almost a full day, offering the group a plane to Cairo.
05:56 The police attempted a raid and rescue on the tarmac,
05:59 which failed utterly.
06:00 - German and Olympic authorities faced bitter criticism
06:03 for their response to the attack.
06:04 - All the hostages, one West German policeman,
06:07 as well as five of the gunmen were killed.
06:09 It was a bloody end to an event
06:11 that held the entire world's attention.
06:13 Number five, Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster.
06:16 In the two decades after Neil Armstrong
06:18 first walked on the moon,
06:19 space travel became a commonplace affair.
06:21 - That's one small step for man,
06:23 one giant leap for mankind.
06:29 - NASA had created the Space Shuttle program,
06:31 and astronauts spent longer and longer periods in orbit.
06:34 When interest in the interstellar began to wane,
06:36 NASA launched the Teacher in Space Project,
06:38 from which Krista McAuliffe emerged
06:40 as the first participant.
06:41 - I don't know what put me over the top,
06:43 and I'm delighted to be here.
06:44 - Her inclusion on the Challenger mission
06:46 reignited interest.
06:47 Fledgling news channel CNN broadcast the launch live,
06:50 and classrooms across the country watched it in real time.
06:53 After multiple delays, the Challenger launched
06:55 at 1138 AM on January 28th, 1986.
06:58 Less than two minutes after taking off,
07:00 the Space Shuttle disintegrated live on air
07:03 with many of the nation's children watching.
07:05 - Today is a day for mourning and remembering.
07:07 - Number four, Paris attacks.
07:10 Early in 2015, the offices of Charlie Hebdo
07:12 were attacked for depicting a cartoon of the prophet Muhammad.
07:15 The tragic incident resulted in the loss of 12 lives,
07:18 and inspired demonstrations around the world.
07:21 Later that year, the onslaught was followed up
07:23 with the worst series of terrorist attacks
07:24 in modern French history.
07:26 - Police have now confirmed at least four attacks
07:28 in the city of Paris.
07:29 - At 9.15 PM on November 13th,
07:31 three explosions rocked the Stade de France,
07:34 while a match was ongoing.
07:35 Soon after, a group of assailants rained bullets
07:37 and explosives on cafes and restaurants in Paris.
07:40 The worst attack came later at the Bataclan Theater,
07:43 where another group carried out a mass shooting.
07:45 - And I opened up the hallway door,
07:47 and that's when I saw the shooter,
07:50 and he turned on me, brought his gun down in the barrel,
07:54 hit the doorframe.
07:56 - Over 130 people were ultimately killed.
07:59 Millions expressed support with a French flag filter
08:01 on their Facebook profile picture.
08:04 Number three, death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
08:06 Diana Spencer lost the title of Princess of Wales
08:09 when she divorced Prince Charles in 1996.
08:11 Her popularity never faded, though.
08:13 Diana was known as the people's princess,
08:15 well-regarded for her charity work and empathy.
08:17 - Each time I visit, I'm appalled
08:20 at the dangers young people face on the streets,
08:24 and how vulnerable they are to exploitation.
08:27 - Her personal life was also a source
08:29 of international interest.
08:30 She spent years as a target of the tabloid press
08:32 and was hounded by paparazzi wherever she went.
08:35 On the morning of August 31st, 1997,
08:37 the chase came to a tragic end.
08:39 Diana's driver was drunk when he attempted
08:41 to elude the paparazzi.
08:42 Sadly, he crashed the car with the princess
08:44 and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, inside.
08:46 - Diana, Princess of Wales, has in fact been killed
08:50 in that car accident.
08:51 - The entire world mourned along with the British public,
08:54 with an estimated over two billion people
08:56 tuning in for her funeral.
08:57 ♪ And it seems to me ♪
08:59 ♪ You lived your life ♪
09:01 ♪ Like a candle in the wind ♪
09:03 - Number two, Russian invasion of Ukraine.
09:06 In early 2014, the Maidan uprising
09:09 ousted corrupt Russian-backed Viktor Yanukovych
09:11 from power in Ukraine.
09:13 Vladimir Putin wasted no time in responding.
09:15 Russia almost immediately annexed Crimea,
09:18 a strategic landmass in Ukraine's southeast.
09:20 (speaking in foreign language)
09:24 Many in Ukraine and the West saw this
09:32 as a first step in long-term plans for invasion.
09:35 The country spent almost a decade modernizing its military
09:38 from a Soviet-style force into a NATO-style army.
09:41 They begged the West for military aid and training
09:43 and prepared for the inevitable.
09:45 In February of 2022, the Russians struck,
09:47 launching a full-scale invasion.
09:49 As the world watched, despair turned to hope and enthusiasm
09:52 as the Ukrainians,
09:53 led by their indefatigable President Zelensky,
09:56 put up a good fight against their invaders.
09:58 - Videos shared on social media show citizens standing up.
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10:16 Number one, September 11th.
10:20 For many American baby boomers,
10:21 the formative world event of their childhood
10:23 was the assassination of JFK.
10:25 For Generation X and millennials, that event was 9/11.
10:28 - You will remember this day as long as you live.
10:31 - On September 11th, 2001,
10:33 terrorists from Al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial flights
10:36 in the United States.
10:37 Two flew into both towers of the World Trade Center,
10:40 while another crashed into the Pentagon.
10:42 - We have a report of a plane crash
10:44 somewhere in the area of the Pentagon.
10:46 We're trying to get further.
10:47 - The fourth plane went down in Pennsylvania
10:49 after passengers fought back.
10:51 The entire country came to a standstill.
10:53 Eyes all over the world were glued to their televisions.
10:55 The US became the only nation in history
10:57 to invoke Article V of the NATO Charter.
11:00 Nobody knew exactly what would follow.
11:02 We only knew that we'd entered a new age in geopolitics.
11:05 - These acts shatter steel,
11:07 but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.
11:11 (upbeat music)
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