2000
March 10, - NASDAQ peaks at 5134, before beginning a downwards descent as the dot-com bubble collapses.
March 26 - Vladimir Putin is elected President of Russia.
September 8, - Millennium Declaration is made in New York
September 15 - Games of the XXVII Olympiad open in Sydney.
November 7 - George W. Bush is elected the 43rd President of the United States.

2001
April 1- Hainan Island incident: A Chinese fighter jet bumps into a U.S. EP-3E surveillance aircraft, which is forced to make an emergency landing in Hainan, China. The U.S. crew is detained for 10 days and the F-8 Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, goes missing and is presumed dead.
September 11- Islamist hijackers associated with al-Qaeda seized and crashed four aircraft. Two of them hit the World Trade Center, one hit The Pentagon, and another missed its target (crashing in Shanksville, Pennsylvania), most likely The Capitol Building. In all, nearly 3,000 people died.
November 12 - In New York City, American Airlines Flight 587, headed to the Dominican Republic, crashes in Queens minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 on board.

2002
The euro became the currency of members of the Eurozone.January 1, 2002 - The Euro replaces the currencies of 12 of the EU's 15 members.
October 12, 2002 - 2002 Bali bombings - Terrorists bomb nightclubs in Bali, killing 202 people

2003
March 15 - Hu Jintao becomes President of the People's Republic of China, replacing Jiang Zemin.
April 9 - US forces seize control of Baghdad, ending the regime of Saddam Hussein, during the Iraq War



2004
January 4- Spirit Rover lands on Mars.
March 11- 191 persons are killed in the Madrid Train Bombings.
March 14- Russian presidential election, 2004: Vladimir Putin wins a second term.
May 1- The largest expansion to date of the European Union takes place, extending the Union by 10 member-states: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Malta and Cyprus.
August 13- Games of the XXVIII Olympiad opens in Athens.
2004 - The Kivu Conflict begins in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
December 26- Boxing Day Tsunami - Around 230,000 persons were killed when a tsunami hit Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other states in the Indian Ocean.

2005
NASA's space view of hurricane Katrina as it strikes the U.S. Coast.2 April 2005 - Pope John Paul II dies. Pope Benedict XVI is elected Pope.
July 7- suicide Bombers attack London's public transit system, killing 56 people.
August 29- At least 1,836 are killed, and severe damage is caused along the U.S. Gulf Coast, as Hurricane Katrina strikes coastal areas from Louisiana to Alabama.

2006
October 9- North Korea performs its first successful nuclear test.

2007
August 6 – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert arrives in the historic Palestinian town of Jericho, becoming the first Prime Minister of Israel to visit the West Bank or Gaza Strip in more than 7 years. Olmert meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
August 14 – Multiple suicide bombings kill 572 people in Qahtaniya, northern Iraq.
August 15 – An 8.0 earthquake strikes Peru, killing 512 people, injuring more than 1,500, and causing tsunami warnings in the Pacific Ocean.

2008
May 2- Cyclone Nargis made landfall in Myanmar causing catastrophic destruction and at least 146,000 fatalities, leaving thousands more people missing.
May 7- Dmitry Medvedev takes office as President of Russia, replacing Vladimir Putin.
May 12- Over 69,000 are killed in central south-west China by the Wenchuan earthquake, an earthquake.
June 12- Ireland votes to reject the Treaty of Lisbon, in the only referendum to be held by a European Union member state on the treaty.

August 7 - August 16- 2008 South Ossetia War takes place as Georgia attempts to oust Russian troops from South Ossetia leading to Russia's invasion of Georgia, followed by de-facto independence of South Ossetia.
August 8- Games of the XXIX Olympiad opens in Beijing.
September 14- Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy, laying the catalyst for the Global financial crisis
November 4- United States presidential election, 2008: Barack Obama is elected the 44th President of the United States.
November 26 - November 29- Gunmen attack Mumbai, killing up to 175 people.

2009
February 7, - Black Saturday bushfires, the deadliest bush fires in Australian history begin; ultimately killing 173.
April, 2009 - the 2009 flu pandemic began spreading in Mexico.
November 3- The Prime Minister of Belgium, Herman Van Rompuy, is designated the first permanent President of the European Council, a position he assumed on 1 December 2009.
December 18- The Copenhagen Accord is agreed upon by a majority of states at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.