What happened in 2014

53 events　World 8, Japan 3, North America 4, Europe 8, USSR / Russia 1, Asia 12, Middle East 8, Latin America 3, Africa 6

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Highlights of 2014

World8

  • FebThe West African Ebola virus epidemic begins, infecting at least 28,616 people and killing at least 11,310 people, the most severe both in terms of numbers of infections and casualties.
  • Mar 8Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777 airliner en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, disappears over the Gulf of Thailand with 239 people on board. The aircraft is presumed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean.
  • Mar 21Russia formally annexes Crimea after President Vladimir Putin signs a bill formalizing the process.
  • Mar 24During an emergency meeting, the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Germany, France, Japan, and Canada temporarily suspend Russia from the G8, recognizing Crimea within Ukraine's international borders and rejecting the validity of the 2014 Crimean referendum.
  • Apr 10In response to the invasion and subsequent annexation of Crimea by Russia, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) passes a resolution to temporarily strip Russia of its voting rights; its rights to be represented in the Bureau of the Assembly, the PACE Presidential Committee, and the PACE Standing Committee; and its right to participate in election-observation missions.
  • May 22A terrorist attack in Ürümqi, China leaves 43 people dead and more than 90 injured.
  • Jun 13War against the Islamic State begins.
  • Dec 15Two hostages and terrorist Man Haron Monis are killed in the Lindt Cafe siege in Sydney, Australia.

Japan3

  • FebMt. Gox collapsesA Tokyo exchange that once handled most of the world's bitcoin trading lost a huge amount of bitcoin and went bankrupt. It led Japan to make laws on crypto assets.
  • Sep 27Mount Ontake, in Japan, erupts, killing several climbers on the slopes of the volcano.
  • Dec 3The Japanese space agency, JAXA, launches uncrewed spaceprobe Hayabusa2 from the Tanegashima Space Center on a six-year round-trip mission to Ryugu to collect rock samples.

North America4

  • May 23Isla Vista attacks: Elliot Rodger kills 6 people and injures 14 more before committing suicide in his car in Isla Vista, California, United States in an incel terrorist attack.
  • Aug 9The shooting of Michael Brown, an African American, by a police officer occurs in Ferguson, Missouri, triggering riots.
  • Nov 3The tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, One World Trade Center in New York City, opens.
  • Nov 22Tamir Rice, a twelve-year-old African-American boy, is killed by a police officer in Cleveland, Ohio.

Europe8

  • Feb 22Revolution of Dignity: The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) votes to remove President Viktor Yanukovych from office, replacing him with Oleksandr Turchynov, after days of civil unrest leaving around 100 people dead in Kyiv.
  • Mar 162014 Crimean status referendum: A disputed referendum on the status of the Crimean Peninsula is held.
  • May 22014 Odesa clashes
  • May 6The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark, and is won by Austrian entrant Conchita Wurst with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix".
  • Jul 13Germany defeats Argentina 1-0 to win the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
  • Aug 8The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the Ebola outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
  • Sep 18In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Scotland votes against independence from the United Kingdom.
  • Nov 2The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) releases the final part of its Fifth Assessment Report, warning that the world faces "severe, pervasive and irreversible" damage from global emissions of CO2.

USSR / Russia1

  • Feb 7The XXII Olympic Winter Games are held in Sochi, Russia. Slopestyle events are introduced for the first time.

Asia12

  • Jan 5A launch of the communication satellite GSAT-14 aboard the GSLV Mk.II D5 marks the first successful flight of an Indian cryogenic rocket engine.
  • Mar 12014 Kunming attack: Eight knife-wielding terrorists stabbed and slashed passengers at the Kunming railway station in Kunming, Yunnan, China, killing 31 people and injuring 143 others.
  • Apr 16The South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsizes and sinks after an unmanageable cargo shift, killing 304 people, mostly high school students.
  • May 21A mass stabbing incident occurred on Taipei Metro's Bannan line from Longshan Temple to Jiangzicui station causing 4 fatalities and 21 injuries.
  • May 222014 Thai coup d'état: The Royal Thai Army overthrows the caretaker government of Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan after a failure to resolve the political unrest in Thailand.
  • Jul 17Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777, crashes in eastern Ukraine after being shot down by a missile. All 298 people on board are killed.
  • Jul 18Typhoon Rammasun makes landfall in Hainan, China as a category 5 super typhoon, killing 88 and causing $7.14 billion in damages.
  • Sep 24The Mars Orbiter Mission, popularly known as Mangalyaan, which was launched on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation, reached Martian orbit, making India the first Asian country to successfully reach Mars.
  • Sep 28Hong Kong protests: Benny Tai Yiu-ting announces that Occupy Central is launched as Hong Kong's government headquarters is being occupied by thousands of protesters. Hong Kong police resort to tear gas to disperse protesters but thousands remain.
  • Dec 162014 Peshawar school massacre: The Pakistani Taliban carry out a mass shooting at an army school in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing at least 145 people, mostly schoolchildren.
  • Dec 28Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore crashes into the Java Sea just southwest of Borneo, killing all 162 people on board.
  • Dec 31A stampede occurred on New Year's Eve in Shanghai, China, resulting in the deaths of 36 people and leaving 49 injured.

Middle East8

  • Jun 5A Sunni militant group now calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) begins an offensive through northern Iraq, aiming to capture the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad and overthrow the Shiite government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
  • Jun 12In the Camp Speicher massacre in Iraq, ISIL kills 1,566 Shia Iraqi Air Force cadets. It is the second deadliest terrorist attack in history and the deadliest attack conducted by ISIL.
  • Jul 8Amid growing tensions between Israel and Hamas following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in June and the revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager in July, Israel launches Operation Protective Edge against Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip starting with numerous missile strikes, followed by a ground offensive a week later. In seven weeks of fighting, 2,100 Palestinians and 71 Israelis are killed.
  • Aug 3Sinjar massacre, beginning of ISIS attacks resulting in the massacre of over 4,000 Yazidis in Iraq's Sinjar District.
  • Aug 8American-led intervention in Iraq: The United States military begins an air campaign in northern Iraq to stem the influx of ISIL militants.
  • Sep 15Syrian civil war: ISIS militants launched an offensive to capture the town of Kobanî, which lasted for six months.
  • Sep 21The Battle of Sanaa leads to the start of the Yemeni Civil War, as Houthi forces capture the capital city Sanaa, followed by a rapid Houthi takeover of the government.
  • Sep 22American-led intervention in Syria: The United States and several Arab partners begin their airstrike campaign in Syria.

Latin America3

  • Jun 12The 2014 FIFA World Cup started with hosts Brazil defeating Croatia 3–1.
  • Jul 8In the 2014 FIFA World Cup semi-finals, hosts Brazil were shockingly beaten 7–1 by Germany after trailing 5-0 in 29 minutes.
  • Sep 26Forty-three male students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College are forcibly abducted in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico. They were allegedly taken into custody by local police officers in collusion with organized crime. The mass kidnapping caused international protests and social unrest, leading to the resignation of Guerrero Governor Ángel Aguirre Rivero.

Africa6

  • Apr 14Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping: an estimated 276 girls and women are abducted from a school in Nigeria and held hostage.
  • May 5Boko Haram militants kill approximately 300 people in a night attack on Gamboru Ngala in Nigeria.
  • May 16The Battle of Benghazi leads to the start of the Second Libyan Civil War.
  • May 202014 Jos bombings: Terrorists in Nigeria detonate bombs at Jos, killing 118 people.
  • Jul 24Air Algérie Flight 5017, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, crashes in Mali, killing all 116 people on board.
  • Oct 31Longtime Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré resigns after widespread protests in response to his attempts to abolish presidential term limits.