Visiting U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon on November 19 (CFP)

Growing U.S. Presence in the Asia-Pacific

U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled on January 5 a new military strategy that called for a shift of focus to the Asia-Pacific region. At the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the United States seeks to transfer 60 percent of its naval ships to the region by 2020. Also, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Myanmar on November 19, a move that marked a dramatic improvement in Washington's previously strained ties with the Southeast Asian nation.

North Korean carrier rocket Unha-3 blasts off with the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite on December 12 (XINHUA/KCNA)

North Korea's Satellite Launches

North Korea successfully launched the second version of the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite with carrier rocket Unha-3 on December 12 after a failed attempt in April. The launches, seen by the West as possible tests of long-range ballistic missiles in disguise, drew international concern.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde (right) chats with Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the Euro Group, at an EU finance ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on October 8, the day the European Stability Mechanism was officially launched (XINHUA)

Permanent European Bailout Fund

The euro zone inaugurated its permanent bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, on October 8 as a "historic milestone" in shaping the future of the monetary union. The 700-billion-euro ($927 billion) fund is designed to provide financing to distressed euro-zone members on condition that they commit to strict fiscal and structural reforms.