2011: A year that defied predictions

Anyone who, a year ago, said 2011 would see civil war in Libya; Muammar Qadhafi toppled and executed; revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt; a revolt in Syria; the quashing of a rebellion in Bahrain by Saudi Arabia; a new nuclear crisis; the near-collapse of the Eurozone; and a renewed pessimism in the global economy should be a candidate for some kind of Nobel prize