What happened in 2019

World11

• Jan 5Bartholomew I of Constantinople issues a formal decree granting independence to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine from the Russian Orthodox Church.
• Mar 26The European Parliament votes by 348 to 278 in favour of the EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, which expands legal liability for websites and includes the controversial Article 13.
• AprFirst image of a black holeThe Event Horizon Telescope, which links radio telescopes around the world into one the size of the Earth, captured the shadow of the black hole at the center of the galaxy M87. Japan's National Astronomical Observatory took part.
• May 10Amid ongoing negotiations, the U.S.'s 25% tariff hike on US$200 billion worth of Chinese imports takes effect, escalating tensions between the two nations in the ongoing China–United States trade war.
• May 20The revision of the SI system of measurement adopted by the majority of countries in the world takes effect.
• Jul 24Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after defeating Jeremy Hunt in a leadership contest, succeeding Theresa May.
• Oct 8About 200 Extinction Rebellion activists block the gates of Leinster House (parliament) in the Republic of Ireland.
• Dec 1COVID-19 pandemic: First known human case of Coronavirus disease 2019, in Wuhan, Hubei, China.
• Dec 18The CHEOPS space telescope, whose mission is to study the formation of extrasolar planets and determine their precise radius, likely density and internal structure, is launched.
• Dec 26An annular solar eclipse is visible from South Asia. This is a part of Saros 132.
• Dec 31COVID-19 pandemic: First official reports of "viral pneumonia" from the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission.

Japan6

• Apr 30Emperor Akihito of Japan abdicates from his throne, the first abdication by a Japanese monarch in almost two centuries. The abdication ends the Heisei era of Japan and ushers in the Reiwa era with new emperor Naruhito ascending the throne on May 1.
• Jul 1Japan announces tightening high-tech exports to South Korea, thus beginning the trade dispute between the two countries.
• Jul 1836 people are killed and more than 30 others injured after an arson attack at an animation company in Kyoto, Japan. It is one of the deadliest massacres in the country's history since the end of World War II and the deadliest building fire in the country in 18 years, since the Myojo 56 building fire in 2001.
• Aug 22019–2020 Japan–South Korea trade dispute: Japan announces the removal of South Korea from its list of most trusted trading partners, effective on August 28.
• Aug 122019–2020 Japan–South Korea trade dispute: South Korea announces the removal of Japan from its list of most trusted trading partners, effective on September 18.
• Oct 12Typhoon Hagibis makes landfall in Japan, the biggest storm to hit the region in decades, with over seven million people urged to evacuate.

North America12

• May 19China–United States trade war: Google pulls Android update support for Huawei phones, as well as the Google Play Store and Gmail apps, after the company's blacklisting by the U.S. government.
• Jul 13Hurricane Barry strikes the Gulf Coast, killing one and causing over $500 million (2019 USD) in damages.
• Aug 323 people are killed during the 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting.
• Sep 2Sinking of MV Conception: 34 people are killed following a fire and subsequent sinking of a dive boat near Santa Cruz Island, California, United States. It is the worst maritime disaster in California in more than 150 years.
• Sep 20An international strike and protest led by young people and adults is held three days before the latest UN Climate Summit, to demand action be taken to address the climate crisis. Gathering 6 million people in 4,500 locations across 150 countries, the event is one of the largest climate mobilizations in history.
• Sep 21U.S. President Donald Trump approves deployment of several hundred troops and military equipment to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates following the September 14 attack on Saudi oil refineries. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran vow to defend themselves.
• Sep 24U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announces the start of a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
• Oct 27U.S. President Donald Trump announces that the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has been killed in a U.S. special forces operation. It is reported that al-Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest after being chased into a tunnel.
• Nov 13Public impeachment hearings against U.S. President Donald Trump begin in the House of Representatives.
• Nov 19Google enters the video game market with the launch of Stadia.
• Dec 18The U.S. House of Representatives approves two articles of impeachment against President Trump, making him the third president to be impeached in the nation's history.
• Dec 20The United States founds the United States Space Force, a branch of the United States Armed Forces dedicated to space warfare.

Europe11

• Jan 14Paweł Adamowicz, mayor of Gdańsk, died after he was stabbed shortly after his speech on 27. finale of WOŚP.
• Feb 12The Republic of Macedonia renames itself the Republic of North Macedonia, officially ending a decades-old dispute with Greece and paving the way for the former's integration into NATO and the EU.
• Apr 15During Holy Week, a major fire engulfs Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, resulting in the roof and main spire collapsing.
• Apr 212019 Ukrainian presidential election: Volodymyr Zelenskyy is elected the President of Ukraine in a landslide victory in the second round of voting. He took office on May 20, 2019.
• Jul 17The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the Kivu Ebola epidemic to be a public health emergency of international concern.
• Aug 23German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron describe the widespread Amazon fires as an international emergency, urging the matter to be discussed at the weekend's G7 summit.
• Oct 14Trial of Catalonia independence leaders: The Supreme Court of Spain sentences nine Catalan independence movement leaders to 9 to 13 years of prison for sedition and misuse of public funds. Three others are disqualified for 1 year and 8 months for disobedience. Violent protests erupt across Catalonia.
• Oct 19An estimated one million people march through London in a protest organised by People's Vote, to demand a second referendum on Brexit.
• Oct 23The bodies of 39 people are found in a truck container in Essex, England. A 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland is arrested on suspicion of murder.
• Nov 262019 Albania earthquake: 51 people are killed and around 2,000 others injured in a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in northwestern Albania. The earthquake is the strongest to hit Albania in more than 40 years, and the world's deadliest earthquake in 2019.
• Dec 2The 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place in Madrid, Spain, after Chilean President Sebastián Piñera announced in October that his country could not host the conference due to political unrest in the country.

USSR / Russia2

• May 5Aeroflot Flight 1492 crash-lands and bursts into flames at Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, killing 41 of the 78 people on board.
• Aug 8Nyonoksa radiation accident: Reports indicate that there may have been a nuclear explosion at the Nyonoksa weapons-testing site in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. At least five people were killed and three others injured in the blast, with radiation levels in Severodvinsk, from the site, being 20 times above normal levels temporarily.

Asia21

• Jan 3Chinese probe Chang'e 4 becomes the first artificial object to land on the far side of the Moon.
• Feb 26The Indian Air Force launches airstrikes on purported militant camps in Balakot, Pakistan. It precedes a series of events that lead to the 2019 India–Pakistan standoff.
• Apr 21A series of Islamist bomb attacks occur at eight locations in Sri Lanka, including three churches, four hotels and one housing complex in Colombo, on Easter Sunday, leaving 259 people dead and over 500 injured. It is the deadliest terrorist attack in the country since the Sri Lankan Civil War ended in 2009.
• Jun 92019–2020 Hong Kong protests: Over 1 million people in Hong Kong protest against proposed legislation regarding extradition to mainland China. It is the largest protest in Hong Kong since the 1997 handover.
• Jun 152019–2020 Hong Kong protests: Hong Kong announces it will indefinitely suspend the controversial extradition bill, but protests continue, this time calling for the total withdrawal of the bill and the resignation of Chief Executive Carrie Lam.
• Jul 12019–2020 Hong Kong protests: During the annual July 1 protests that mark the anniversary of the British handover of the city to China, a group of a few hundred protesters stormed the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, defacing various portraits and destroying furniture before being dispersed by police using tear gas.
• Aug 52019–20 Hong Kong protests: Amid ongoing protests, Hong Kong is hit by the first general strikes of their kind since 1967.
• Aug 122019–20 Hong Kong protests: Hong Kong International Airport is closed due to protests.
• Sep 42019–20 Hong Kong protests: Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announces the official withdrawal of the controversial Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019, and setting up of an independent study to probe social and economic inequality within the territory.
• Sep 6Chandrayaan-2, India's second lunar probe, is successfully placed in lunar orbit, but the lander Vikram crashes into the surface of the Moon.
• Oct 12019–20 Hong Kong protests: A protester is shot in the chest with a live round of ammunition and critically injured.
• Oct 42019–20 Hong Kong protests: Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and the Chief Executive in Council invokes the Emergency Regulations Ordinance and banning the face mask in public gatherings with immediate effect.
• Nov 112019–20 Hong Kong protests: A traffic officer shoots a youth in Sai Wan Ho during a city-wide strike. A man is also set on fire by protesters on the same day.
• Nov 132019–20 Hong Kong protests: The Chinese University of Hong Kong officially announces a premature end to the semester as a result of large-scale protests and civil unrest. Besides CUHK, several Hong Kong universities switch to online learning and suspend on-campus class. The Education Bureau in Hong Kong officially announces to close all schools in Hong Kong due to the ongoing protests.
• Nov 172019–20 Hong Kong protests: Police use tear gas and water cannons against protesters who try to break through cordons and reach The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which is at the center of a week-long standoff between demonstrators and law enforcement. Protesters fight back with Molotov cocktails, arrows, and bricks.

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Middle East8

• Feb 21SpaceIL launches the Beresheet probe, the world's first privately financed mission to the Moon.
• Mar 23The final territory of the Islamic State, located in Al-Baghuz Fawqani, Syria, is liberated.
• Apr 29Elusive Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appears in undated footage released by the group, his first appearance on video since 2014.
• May 14The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 takes place in Tel Aviv, Israel, and is won by Dutch entrant Duncan Laurence with the song "Arcade".
• Jun 13June 2019 Gulf of Oman incident: Two oil tankers are attacked near the Strait of Hormuz while transiting the Gulf of Oman amid heightened tension between Iran and the U.S., with the latter blaming the former for the incident.
• Sep 142019 Abqaiq–Khurais attack: Two Saudi Aramco oil refineries in Abqaiq and Khurais, Saudi Arabia, are attacked by drones, resulting in fires. Houthi militants claim responsibility, saying that they used ten drones for the attack. Aramco's oil exports and production are disrupted by five million barrels a day, close to half of the entire Saudi Arabian oil exports.
• Oct 92019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey announces a military invasion of north-eastern Syria, targeting the SDF and other Kurdish militias.
• Dec 23Five men are sentenced to death and another three face 24 years in prison for their roles in the murder of dissident journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Latin America17

• Jan 10Venezuela enters a presidential crisis as Juan Guaidó and the National Assembly declare incumbent President Nicolás Maduro "illegitimate".
• Jan 23Venezuelan presidential crisis: Thousands of people protest in favor of disputed interim President Juan Guaidó. Several people are killed, and President Maduro severs U.S. diplomatic ties.
• Jan 25A mine tailings dam breaks in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil. At least 248 people are killed, with 22 missing.
• Feb 32019 Salvadoran presidential election: Nayib Bukele is elected president.
• Feb 23Venezuelan presidential crisis: President Maduro severs diplomatic ties with Colombia amid attempts to send humanitarian aid to the country across the border.
• Feb 242019 Cuban constitutional referendum: The new constitution was approved by 90.61% of valid votes.
• Mar 13A massacre in Suzano, Brazil, resulted in the deaths of 10 people: 8 were students at the Raul Brasil State School, 1 was the owner of a vehicle dealership, and the other 2 were the perpetrators of the attack.
• Apr 30Venezuelan presidential crisis: Venezuelan opposition leader and disputed interim President Juan Guaidó leads an attempted uprising against President Nicolás Maduro.
• Jul 2A total solar eclipse occurs over South America. It is the 58th solar eclipse from Saros cycle 127.
• Aug 212019 Amazon rainforest wildfires: Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) reports fires burning in the Amazon rainforest at a record rate, with more than 36,000 in the year to date, while smoke reaches São Paulo more than away.
• Sep 1Hurricane Dorian makes landfall on The Bahamas as the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin outside the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, with sustained wind speeds of 185 mph. 43 deaths are reported.
• Oct 82019 Ecuadorian protests: The Government of Ecuador, headed by President Lenín Moreno, moves to Guayaquil as the Carondelet Palace in Quito is overtaken by protesters and chaos persists in the capital.
• Oct 18Riots in Chilean capital city Santiago erupt as civil unrest escalated as a reaction to a series of economic measures and Government's declarations labeled as abuse by protesters
• Nov 102019 Bolivian protests: Evo Morales and Álvaro García Linera resigns in response to fierce three-week long protests. Within hours, Adriana Salvatierra and Víctor Borda also tender their resignations, leading to a political crisis.
• Nov 262019 Chilean protests: Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International issue reports on Chile's situation denouncing grave human rights violations, including excessive violence use and detention abuses by police forces. Among police brutality acts there are records of police agents firing non-lethal ammunition to protesters' faces against provider's regulations, resulting in more than 200 people with severe eye trauma and more than 50 requiring prosthetic eyes.

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Africa11

• Jan 7A faction of the Armed Forces of Gabon attempts a coup d'état.
• Feb 242019 Senegalese presidential election: Incumbent president Macky Sall is reelected.
• Mar 10Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 bound for Nairobi, crashes shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board. All Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are subsequently grounded worldwide.
• Mar 15Cyclone Idai makes landfall on Mozambique, causing at least 1,073 fatalities, as well as mass flooding and power outages in southern Africa.
• Apr 2Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigns as President of Algeria amid widespread protests, after nearly two decades in office.
• Apr 11Amid mass protests, Omar al-Bashir is deposed as President of Sudan in a coup d'état, after nearly 30 years in office.
• May 3The number of deaths from the Kivu Ebola epidemic exceeds 1,000. It is the second deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, only surpassed by the Western African Ebola virus epidemic of 2013–2016.
• Jun 3Khartoum massacre: More than 100 people are killed when Sudanese troops and Janjaweed militiamen storm and open fire on a protest camp outside of a military headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan.
• Jun 6Sudanese revolution: The African Union suspends Sudan's membership "with immediate effect" after the Khartoum massacre.
• Dec 28A truck bomb attributed to al-Shabaab kills at least 78 and wounds 125 in Mogadishu, Somalia.
• Dec 29A report by the Multi-Sector Epidemic Response Committee (CMRE) indicates that 2,231 people have died so far in the 2018–20 Kivu Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Oceania2

• Mar 1551 people are killed and 50 others injured in terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the deadliest mass shooting and terrorist attack in New Zealand's history.
• Nov 23A non-binding independence referendum was held in Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea. Voters overwhelmingly voted for independence.