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The 12 months that made 2001 will be remembered as the year of the World Trade Centre attacks in the US. Traders on the New York Stock Exchange worked day and night to restore systems after remaining closed for three days after the attacks. In economic terms, the United States dipped into recession. It was a development that few experts were predicting a year ago. In Japan, reforms stalled and the country dipped into its third recession in a decade. The integration of China into the world economy moved forward as it joined the World Trade Organisation. High-tech firms continued to prosper in India, although its stock market was hit by scandal.

(Picture: Smoke pours from the World Trade Centre after being hit by two planes September 11, 2001 in New York City. Credit: Getty Images)