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⟶ Actualizado 10 dic 2019 ⟶
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Eventos
FLEC attack on Togo National Team
Burj Khalifa Opens
Haiti Earthquake
Ethiopian Air Flight 409 Crash
Logest annular solar eclipse of the millennium
Chadian Civil War ends
Niger's Mamadou Tandja overthrown
Trains collide in Halle, Belgium
Chile Earthquake
Kasubi Tombs destroyed by fire
South Korean Navy Ship ROKS sinks killing 46
Mount Eyjafjallajökull Volcanic Ash Erupts
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev flees country
Smolensk plane crash -- President of Poland Lech Kaczyński among 96 dead
Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform explodes
S&P Downgrades Greek sovereign credit rating to junk
€110 billion Greek bailout
2010 Flash Crash - Trillion-Dollar Market Crash
Neanderthal genome project sequenced
Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crash
Bangkok Protest ends with military crackdown
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris Painting Stolen €100 million
Air India Express Flight 812 Incident - 158 died, 8 survive
Functional synthetic genome created
Ahmadiyya mosque massacre in Pakistan - 94 dead
Activists killed in Israel in clash to stop attempted break of Gaza blockade
Iran suspends oil exports to Britain and France, following sanctions put in place by the European Union and the United States in January.[6]
WannaCry ransomware attack: Computers around the world are hit by a large-scale ransomware cyberattack,[16] which goes on to affect at least 150 countries.[17]
Botswana lifts its five-year prohibition on elephant hunting.[119]
Greek government-debt crisis: Eurozone finance ministers reach an agreement on a second, €130-billion Greek bailout.[7]
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller is appointed Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice, taking over the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States Presidential Election[18]
A prison riot in Acarigua, Venezuela, leaves 29 prisoners dead and 19 guards injured.[120]
After 246 years since its first publication, the Encyclopædia Britannica discontinues its print edition.[8]
An Islamic terrorist bombing attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, kills 22 people and injures more than 500 others.[19]
British Prime Minister Theresa May announces her resignation as Conservative leader, effective June 7, 2019.
The President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Touré, is ousted in a coup d'état after mutinous soldiers attack government offices.[9]
Amidst widespread criticism, the U.S. government announces its decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement in due time.[20]
U.S. President Donald Trump, during an official state visit to Japan, is the first foreign leader to meet with Japanese emperor Naruhito.[122]
The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad unilaterally declares the independence of Azawad from Mali.[10]
An Islamist terror attack on London Bridge kills 8 people and injures 48 others.[21]
Former European Court of Justice judge Egils Levits is elected the 10th President of Latvia.
Mutinous soldiers in Guinea-Bissau stage a coup d'état and take control of the capital city, Bissau. They arrest interim President Raimundo Pereira and leading presidential candidate Carlos Gomes Júnior in the midst of a presidential election campaign.[11]
Montenegro joins NATO as the 29th member.
Less than two months after the April 9 Israeli legislative elections, the Israeli Knesset dissolves itself and votes to hold new elections in September 17, after Benjamin Netanyahu failed to assemble a coalition government within the allotted time.[124]
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3, a North Korean Earth observation satellite, explodes shortly after launch. The United States and other countries had called the impending launch a violation of United Nations Security Council demands.[12] The launch was planned to mark the centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the founder of the republic.[12]
Qatar diplomatic crisis starts, as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab countries block Qatari access to their seas and air.
Sinking of Hableány: The Hableány, a sightseeing river cruise ship on the Danube in Budapest, Hungary, collides with another vessel and sinks with two Hungarian crew members and 33 South Korean tourists on board. At least 25 people have been found dead and 3 others remain missing.[123]
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is found guilty on 11 counts of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Sierra Leone Civil War.[13]
Two terrorist attacks are simultaneously carried out by five Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists against the Iranian Parliament building and the Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini, both in Tehran, leaving 17 civilians dead and 43 more wounded. It is the first ISIL attack in Iran.
South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo reports that North Korea executed nuclear envoy Kim Hyok-chol and four other diplomats in March after the failed February Hanoi summit with the United States. The newspaper also reports that Kim Yong-chol, a top aide to Kim Jong-un, was sentenced to hard labor during the purge.[125]
A pastel version of The Scream, by the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, sells for US$120 million in a New York City auction, setting a new world record for an auctioned work of art.[14][15]
In the midst of Brexit, a snap general election is held in the UK, three years before the next one was due, resulting in a hung parliament, with the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Theresa May, losing their majority in Parliament. The Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, makes gains for the first time since 1997. Days later, the Conservative Party, now lacking a majority, enters a confidence-and-supply deal with the Northern Irish DUP.[22]
2019 San Marino referendum: Sammarinese voters vote to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and initiate a popular legislative initiative for the reform of the electoral system.[127]
Vladimir Putin is elected President of Russia.
The 2017 World Expo is opened in Astana, Kazakhstan.[23]
Nearly five years after abdication, King Juan Carlos I of Spain retires from public life.[126]
An annular solar eclipse was visible from Asia and North America, and was the 58th solar eclipse from 73 solar eclipses of Solar Saros 128.
American student Otto Warmbier returns home in a coma after spending 17 months in a North Korean prison. He dies on June 19.[24][25]
Khartoum 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.[128]
Tokyo Skytree, the tallest self-supporting tower in the world at 634 metres high, is opened to the public.[17]
A fire at Grenfell Tower in London, England, kills 72 people and injures more than 70 others.[26]
The 2019 Danish general election takes place, for all 179 seats in the Folketing.
Shenzhou 9, a Chinese spacecraft carrying three Chinese astronauts, including the first-ever female, docks manually with orbiting module Tiangong-1, making them the third country, after the United States and Russia, to successfully perform the mission.[19]
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) fire six surface-to-surface mid-range ballistic missiles from domestic bases targeting ISIL forces in the Syrian Deir ez-Zor Governorate in response to the terrorist attacks in Tehran earlier that month.
Following results from the 2019 Finnish parliamentary election, a new government is formed consisting of 58 percent women.[132]
Lonesome George, the last known individual of the Pinta Island tortoise subspecies, dies in Galápagos National Park, thus making the subspecies extinct.[20]
The Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, Iraq, is destroyed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[27]
Sudanese protests: The African Union suspends Sudan's membership "with immediate effect" after the Khartoum massacre.[131]
Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, is elected 5th President of Egypt, sparking mixed reactions and protests throughout the country.[21]
The World Health Organization estimates that Yemen has over 200,000 cases of cholera.
British Prime Minister Theresa May resigns as leader of the Conservative Party.
CERN announces the discovery of a new particle with properties consistent with the Higgs boson after experiments at the Large Hadron Collider.[22][23][24][25][26]
2017 cyberattacks on Ukraine: A series of cyberattacks using the Petya malware begins, affecting organizations in Ukraine.[28]
2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests: Over 1 million people in Hong Kong protest against proposed legislation regarding extradition to China. It is the largest protest in Hong Kong since the 1997 handover.[133]
2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting: Twelve people die and 58 are injured in a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. The shooter, James Holmes, opens fire on a crowd during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises. He is found behind the theater claiming to be "The Joker".[27]
Russia and China urge North Korea to halt its missile and nuclear programs after it successfully tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile.[29][30]
A large explosive eruption of Mount Sinabung in Indonesia sends a 7,000-meter ash column, generating a pyroclastic flow 3-3.5 kilometers long towards the south and southeast of the mountain.[134][135]
Turkish adventurer Erden Eruç becomes the first person in history to complete a solo human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is voted for by 122 states.[31]
Botswana decriminalizes homosexuality.[136]
Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory mission's rover, successfully lands on Mars.[32]
Iraqi Civil War: Mosul is declared fully liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[32]
2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests: The Hong Kong government and police controversially declare that the protest has "turned into a riot".[138][139][140]
Armenia severs diplomatic relations with Hungary, following the extradition to Azerbaijan and subsequent pardoning of Ramil Safarov, who was convicted of killing an Armenian soldier in Hungary in 2004. The move is also met with fierce criticism from other countries.[33]
Mauritania holds a constitutional referendum for approval of proposed amendments to the constitution.
The Supreme Court of Ecuador rules in favor of same-sex marriage, making it legal throughout the country.[137]
Canada officially cuts diplomatic ties with Iran by closing its embassy in Tehran, and orders the expulsion of Iranian diplomats from Ottawa, over support for Syria, nuclear plans and human rights abuses.[34]
The UN Security Council unanimously approves fresh sanctions on North Korean trade and investment.[33]
June 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 United States, with the latter blaming the former for the incident.[141]
Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner becomes the first person to break the sound barrier without any machine assistance during a record space dive out of the Red Bull Stratos helium-filled balloon from 128,000 ft equaling 24 miles (39 km) over Roswell, New Mexico in the United States.[40][41][42]
The Unite the Right rally is held in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, by a variety of white nationalist and other far-right groups; Heather Heyer, a counter-protestor, is killed after being hit by a car.
Jane Goodall, British primatologist, is awarded the 2019 Luxembourg Prize for Outstanding Environmental Peace.[142][importance?][unreliable source?]
Seven paintings worth $25 million are stolen from the Kunsthal in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.[43][44][45][46]
The first observation of a collision of two neutron stars (GW170817)[34] is hailed as a breakthrough in multi-messenger astronomy[35] when both gravitational and electromagnetic waves from the event are detected.[36][37] Data from the event provided confirmatory evidence for the r-process theory of the origin of heavy elements like gold.[38][39]
2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill 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.[143]
Barack Obama is reelected President of the United States.
The first terrorist attack ever sentenced as a crime in Finland kills two people and injures eight others. Islamic terrorist Abderrahman Bouanane, a Moroccan man carried out the ISIS-inspired attack in southwest Finland.[40][41]
A large-scale power outage hits Argentina, Uruguay and parts of Paraguay, affecting nearly 50 million people.[144]
A total solar eclipse occurred in parts of Australia and the South Pacific. It was the 45th of 72 solar eclipses of Solar Saros 133.
A total solar eclipse (nicknamed "The Great American Eclipse")[42] is visible within a band across the entire contiguous United States of America, passing from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts.[43][44][45]
A triple suicide blast kills 30 and injures 40 in Borno, Nigeria, at a hall where people were watching a football match.
The UN General Assembly approves a motion granting Palestine non-member observer state status.[55]
A military operation targeting Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar "seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing", according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights begins
The U.S. sends an additional 1,000 troops to the Middle East as tensions build with Iran.[145]
In Qatar, the UN Climate Change Conference agrees to extend the Kyoto Protocol until 2020.[56]
Russian President Vladimir Putin expels 755 diplomats in response to United States sanctions.[49]
Four men are charged with murdering the 298 passengers and crew of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, the airliner shot down while flying over Ukraine in July 2014.[146]
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are killed in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
North Korea conducts its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.[50]
June 2019 Iranian shoot-down of American drone: Iran shoots down a United States RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz after claiming it violated their airspace. The U.S. claims it was shot down in international airspace in an "unprovoked attack".[148]
More than 100 people are killed and 270 injured in several bomb blasts in Pakistan.
The International Olympic Committee awards Paris and Los Angeles the right to host the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics, respectively.[52]
2019 Amhara Region coup d'état attempt: In the Amhara Region of Ethiopia, regional president Ambachew Mekonnen and national-military chief of staff Se'are Mekonnen are assassinated.[149]
The French military begins a five-month intervention into the Northern Mali conflict, targeting the militant Islamist Ansar Dine group.
Eleven days after another powerful earthquake, and on the 32nd anniversary of the deadly 1985 Mexico City earthquake, a 7.1 Mw earthquake strikes central Mexico, killing more than 350, leaving up to 6,000 injured[54] and thousands more homeless.[55]
Angara Airlines Flight 200 overruns the runway during landing and collides with a building, killing the captain and flight engineer, and injuring a further 22 people. Only 45 people survive the crash at Nizhneangarsk Airport, Russia.[150]
An estimated 233 people die in a nightclub fire at the Kiss nightclub in the Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Kurdistan Region votes in a referendum to become an independent state, in defiance of Iraq;[57] by October 15, the crisis escalates into a short-lived armed conflict over disputed territories.
During a trilateral gathering at the Panmunjom Truce Village between South Korean President Moon Jae-in, North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and United States President Donald Trump, Trump becomes the first sitting U.S. president to cross the Korean Demilitarized Zone and enter North Korea. Trump and Kim also agree to restart stalled denuclearization negotiations.[151]
North Korea conducts its third underground nuclear test, prompting widespread condemnation and tightened economic sanctions from the international community.
Fifty-eight people are killed and 851 injured when Stephen Paddock opens fire on a crowd in Las Vegas, surpassing the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting as the deadliest mass shooting perpetrated by a lone gunman in U.S. history.[58]
2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill 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 Hong Kong legislature, defacing various portraits and destroying furniture before being dispersed by police using tear gas.[159]
A meteor explodes over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, injuring 1,489-1,492 people and damaging over 4,300 buildings. It is the most powerful meteor to strike Earth's atmosphere in over a century. The incident, along with a coincidental flyby of a larger asteroid, prompts international concern regarding the vulnerability of the planet to meteor strikes.
The United States announces its decision to withdraw from UNESCO,[59] and is immediately followed by Israel.[60]
A fire on the Russian deep-diving submarine Losharik kills 14 crew members. Submarine commander Denis Dolonsky was among those killed.[160]
American scientists use a 3D printer to create a living lab-grown ear from collagen and animal ear cell cultures. In the future, it is hoped that similar ears could be grown to order as transplants for human patients suffering from ear trauma or amputation.
A massive blast caused by a truck bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia kills at least 512 people and injures 316 others.[61]
Japan announces tightening high-tech exports to South Korea, thus begin the trade dispute between the two countries.[157]
Benedict XVI resigns as pope, becoming the first to do so since Gregory XII in 1415, and the first to do so voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294.
Syrian Civil War: Raqqa is declared fully liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Japan resumes commercial whaling after a 30-year moratorium, following its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission.[155][156]
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina is elected the 266th pope, whereupon he takes the name Francis and becomes the first Jesuit pope, the first pope from the Americas, and the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere.
At the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping assumes his second term as General Secretary (China's paramount leader), and the political theory Xi Jinping Thought is written into the party's constitution.[62]
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirms that Iran has breached the limit on its stockpile of enriched uranium.[158]
Central African Republic President François Bozizé flees to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after rebel forces capture the nation's capital, Bangui.
Based on the results of a previously held referendum, Catalonia declares independence from Spain,[63] but the Catalan Republic is not recognised by the Spanish government or any other sovereign nation.[64]
A total solar eclipse occurs over South America. It is the 58th solar eclipse from Saros cycle 127.[161][162]
The European Union agrees to a €10 billion economic bailout for Cyprus. The bailout loan will be equally split between the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism, the European Financial Stability Facility, and the International Monetary Fund. The deal precipitates a banking crisis in the island nation.
2017 New York City truck attack: A rental truck plows into cyclists and runners in Lower Manhattan, New York City, killing eight people and injuring eleven others in an Islamic terror attack.[65]
2019 Tajoura migrant center airstrike: An airstrike by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army hits the Tajoura Detention Center outside Tripoli, Libya, while hundreds of people are inside the facility, killing at least 53 of them and injures 130 others.[163]
The United Nations General Assembly adopts the Arms Trade Treaty to regulate the international trade of conventional weapons.
A new species of orangutan is identified in Indonesia, becoming the third known species of orangutan as well as the first great ape to be described for almost a century.[66]
The 2019 Greek legislative election takes place. Leader of the Opposition Kyriakos Mitsotakis, from New Democracy, wins the election and is sworn in Prime Minister as left-wing incumbent Alexis Tsipras falls to second place.[164]
Two Chechnya-born Islamist brothers (one of whom was a United States citizen) explode two bombs at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States, killing 3 and injuring 264 others.
Syrian Civil War: both Deir ez-Zor in Syria and Al-Qa'im in Iraq are declared liberated from ISIL on the same day.[67]
The last Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the line in Puebla, Mexico. The last of 5,961 "Special Edition" cars will be exhibited in a museum.[165]
The 2013 Savar building collapse, one of the worst industrial disasters in the world, kills 1,134 people in Bangladesh.
Sutherland Springs church shooting: A gunman opens fire in a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, United States, killing 26 people and injures 20 more. It was the deadliest shooting in an American place of worship in modern history, surpassing the Charleston church shooting of 2015[69] and the Waddell Buddhist temple shooting of 1991.[70]
Asasey Hotel attack: A car bomb and a gun attack kill at least 26 people, including two prominent journalists and nine foreigners, in Kismayo, Somalia. Islamist group al-Shabaab claims responsibility.[166]
Willem-Alexander is inaugurated as King of the Netherlands following the abdication of Beatrix.
The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung publishes 13.4 million documents leaked from the offshore law firm Appleby, along with business registries in 19 tax jurisdictions that reveal offshore financial activities on behalf of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders. The newspaper shared the documents with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and asked it to lead the investigation.[68]
Hurricane Barry strikes the Gulf Coast, killing one and causing over $500 million (2019 USD) in damages.
Three women, missing for more than nine years, are found alive in Cleveland, Ohio. Police arrest Ariel Castro, their abductor, later that day.
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes the border region between Iraq and Iran leaving at least 530 dead and over 70,000 homeless.[71]
The European Parliament elects Ursula von der Leyen as the new President of the European Commission. Succeeding Jean-Claude Juncker, she will be sworn in on December 1, 2019. She is the first female to be elected to this office in EU history.[167][168]
In a study published in the scientific journal Nature, researchers from Oregon Health & Science University in the United States describe the first production of human embryonic stem cells by cloning.
A Leonardo da Vinci painting, Salvator Mundi, sells for US$450 million at Christie's in New York, a new record price for any work of art.[74]
Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, former head of the Sinaloa Cartel, which became the biggest supplier of drugs to the U.S., is sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.[169]
British Army soldier Fusilier Lee Rigby of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is murdered in Woolwich, southeast London by Islamic terrorists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale.
The Argentinian submarine ARA San Juan suddenly vanished with 44 crew members on board whilst on a routine patrol in the South Atlantic. It would be found one year later wrecked 907 metres (2,976 ft) below the Atlantic Ocean.[75]
The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the Kivu Ebola epidemic to be a public health emergency of international concern.[170]
The El Reno tornado, near El Reno, Oklahoma, United States, having a record-breaking width 2.6 miles (4.2 km), with maximum wind speeds up to 301 mph (484 km/h), is the widest tornado ever recorded on earth.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is placed under house arrest, as the military take control of the country.[72] He resigns six days later, after 37 years of rule.[73]
At least 35 people are killed and more than 30 others injured after an arson attack at an animation company in Kyoto, Japan.[171] 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.[172]
Former CIA employee Edward Snowden discloses operations engaged in by a U.S. government mass surveillance program to news publications and flees the country, later being granted temporary asylum in Russia.
Nature publishes an article recognising the high-velocity asteroid ʻOumuamua as originating from outside the Solar System, i.e. the first known interstellar object.
The Iranian Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps captures British tanker Stena Impero and temporarily seizes British-operated and Liberian-flagged tanker Mesdar in the Persian Gulf. The British Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, warns there will be "serious consequences" if Iran does not release the tanker.[173][174][175]
Emir of Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani abdicates and his son Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani assumes power.
The International Court of Justice finds Ratko Mladić guilty of genocide committed in Srebrenica during the 1990s Bosnian War, the worst massacre in Europe since World War II. He is sentenced to life in prison.[76]
A mob of over 100 suspected triad members dressed in white and armed with batons attack commuters indiscriminately at MTR Yuen Long station in Hong Kong, injuring 45, including a pro-democracy legislator and a pregnant woman. Hong Kong police have been accused of allowing the violence to happen due to their delayed response and decision to limit emergency services in the area. (The Guardian) (SCMP)
Kevin Rudd defeats Julia Gillard in an Australian Labor Party leadership ballot and consequently becomes Prime Minister of Australia, three years after Gillard replaced Rudd.
A mosque attack in Sinai, Egypt kills 305 worshippers and leaves hundreds more wounded.[77]
Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after defeating Jeremy Hunt in a leadership contest, succeeding Theresa May.[176]
United States v. Windsor (570 U.S. 744) decided in the Supreme Court of the United States, overturning a key section of the Defense of Marriage Act and hence granting federal recognition to same-sex marriage in the United States
Russia is banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang by the International Olympic Committee, following an investigation into state-sponsored doping.[78]
India bans triple talaq.[177]
Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union.
The United States officially recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital.[79]
Danish polar research institution Polar Portal reports a large spike in Greenland ice loss, with 11 billion tons melted in one day and 197 gigatonnes during the month of July.[178]
Amid mass protests across Egypt, President Mohamed Morsi is deposed in a military coup d'état, leading to widespread violence.
The Iraqi military announces that it has "fully liberated" all of Iraq's territory from "ISIS terrorist gangs" and retaken full control of the Iraqi-Syrian border.[80]
The United States officially withdraws from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty established with Russia in 1987.[179]
Philippe is sworn in as King of the Belgians, following the abdication of Albert II.
The Walt Disney Company announces that it will acquire most of 21st Century Fox, including the 20th Century Fox film studio, for $66 billion.[81]
Japan-South Korea trade dispute: Japan announces the removal of South Korea from its list of most trusted trading partners, effective on August 28.[180]
Following the military coup in Egypt, two anti-coup camps are raided by the security forces, leaving 2,696 dead. The raids were described by Human Rights Watch as "one of the world's largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history".
Guatemala follows in the footsteps of the United States by announcing that they will also move their Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, followed by Honduras and Panama two days later.[84]
A mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, United States, leaves 22 people dead and 24 others injured.[181]
1,429 are killed in the Ghouta chemical attack during the Syrian Civil War.
The killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud in a fake encounter staged by the police officer Rao Anwar in Karachi, Pakistan sparked countrywide protests against extrajudicial killings. The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (Pashtun Protection Movement), led by Manzoor Pashteen, launched a campaign to seek justice for Mehsud.[2]
2019 Cairo bombing: A car crashes into three other cars causing an explosion outside the National Cancer Institute Egypt in Cairo, Egypt, killing at least 20 people and injuring 47 others.[182]
The United Kingdom Parliament votes against UK military attacks on Syria.
Scientists in China report in the journal Cell the creation of the first monkey clones using somatic cell nuclear transfer, named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua.[6][7][8][9]
2019 Dayton shooting: Ten people, including the perpetrator, are killed and 27 others injured in a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, United States, just 13 hours after the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas.[183]
2013 Australian federal election: The Liberal/National Coalition led by Tony Abbott defeats the Labor Government led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Abbott would be sworn in on September 18th.
A total lunar eclipse takes place. The Moon appears as supermoon, with perigee being on January 30. It is also the first blue moon eclipse since 1983. It was also referred to as the super blue blood moon.
2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests: Amid ongoing protests, Hong Kong is hit by the first general strikes of their kind since 1967.[186]
The International Olympic Committee awards Tokyo the right to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.
SpaceX successfully conducts its maiden flight of its most powerful rocket to date, the Falcon Heavy, from LC39A at John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida.[10]
Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir: India revokes the part of its constitution that gives Indian-administered Kashmir special status in an unprecedented move.[184][185]
al-Shabaab Islamic militants attack the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 62 civilians and wounding over 170
Kay Goldsworthy becomes the first female archbishop in the Anglican Communion on her installation in the Anglican Diocese of Perth, Western Australia.[12]
The Singapore Convention on Mediation, also known as the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, comes into effect with 46 countries ratifying it. States that have ratified the treaty will have to ensure that international commercial settlement agreements are enforced by their courts.[187]
Delegates from some 140 countries and territories sign the Minamata Treaty, a UNEP treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds.
Saratov Airlines Flight 703 crashes shortly after take-off from Moscow, killing all 71 people on board.[13]
Nyonoksa 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, 29 miles (47 km) away from the site, being 20 times above normal levels temporarily.[188]
Saudi Arabia rejects a seat on the United Nations Security Council, making it the first country to reject a seat on the Security Council. Jordan takes the seat on December 6.
A school shooting occurs at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, United States, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others.[15]
32 are killed and 1,000,000 evacuated as Typhoon Lekima makes landfall in Zhejiang, China. Earlier it had caused flooding in the Philippines.[191]
The unmanned Mars Orbiter Mission is launched by India from its launchpad in Sriharikota.
Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa after nine years in power.[14]
Morogoro tanker explosion: A fuel tanker truck explodes in Morogoro, Tanzania, killing at least 89 people and injuring dozens more.[189][190]
Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), one of the strongest tropical cyclones on record, hits the Philippines and Vietnam, causing devastation with at least 6,241 dead.
Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704 crashes in the Zagros Mountains, en route from Tehran to Yasuj. All 65 passengers and crew members perish.[16]
2019 Indian floods: At least 114 people, including 57 in Kerala, 30 in Karnataka and 27 in Maharashtra, are reported to have died in monsoon-related floods in India. At least 227 died across India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan.[194]
Three Studies of Lucian Freud, a series of portraits of Lucian Freud by the British painter Francis Bacon, sells for US$142.4 million in a New York City auction, setting a world record for an auctioned work of art.
Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, are poisoned by the Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, England.[17] UK counter-terrorism police investigate amid speculation the Kremlin was behind the incident.[18]
2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests: Hong Kong International Airport is closed due to protests.[195]
The PlayStation 4 was released, the week before the release of the Xbox One.
2018 Russian Air Force Antonov An-26 crash: An Antonov An-26 transport aircraft operated by the Russian Air Force crashes on approach to Khmeimim air base in Syria, killing all 39 people on board. All of them were servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces, including Major-General Vladimir Yeremeyev.[19]
2019 Japan
Fifty people are killed when Tatarstan Airlines Flight 363 crashes at Kazan Airport, Russia.
President of the United States Donald Trump accepts an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for a meeting in May to discuss the denuclearisation of North Korea.[20]
The Trump administration announces it will delay its proposal for 10 percent tariffs slated to take effect from September 1 on certain consumer goods from China while exempting other products — less than two weeks after Trump announced the new proposed tariffs.[199]
Euromaidan pro-EU demonstrations begin in Ukraine after President Viktor Yanukovych rejects an economic association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine in favor of closer ties to Russia.
China's government approves a constitutional change that removes term limits for its leaders, granting Xi Jinping the status of "President for Life". Xi is also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (paramount leader).[21]
The main yield curve for U.S. Treasury bonds inverts, as the yield rate for 2-year bonds rises higher than the yield rate for 10-year bonds.[200]
Iran agrees to limit their nuclear development program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Flight BS211 crashes and bursts into flames at Tribhuvan International Airport, Nepal, killing 51 of the 71 people aboard. The 20 surviving passengers were seriously injured from the impact and the fire.[22]
The Dow Jones plunges more than 500 points, due to concerns over the yield curve inversion.[201][202][203]
Ninth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization delegates sign the Bali Package agreement aimed at loosening global trade barriers.
In response to gun violence in the United States, and particularly triggered by the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, thousands of high school students across the country participate in an organized protest they called the National School Walkout.[23]
The European Central Bank shuts down PNB Banka after ruling it had become insolvent; this bank, previously called Norvik Banka, was Latvia's sixth-largest lender, and was a critic of the Baltic country's financial authorities.[204]
Chinese unmanned spacecraft Chang'e 3, carrying the Yutu rover, becomes the first spacecraft to "soft"-land on the Moon since 1976 and the third ever robotic rover to do so.
In the Russian presidential election, Vladimir Putin is elected for a fourth term.[24]
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports, on August 15, that July 2019 was the hottest month on record globally, at 0.95 °C (1.71 °F) above the 20th-century average.[152][153][154]
Fighting between ethnic Dinka and Nuer members of the presidential guard break out in Juba, South Sudan, plunging the country into civil war.
The world's last male northern white rhinoceros dies in Kenya, making the subspecies functionally extinct.[25][26]
100 activists, officials, and other concerned citizens in Iceland hold a funeral for Okjökull glacier, which has completely melted after once covering six square miles (15.5 km2).[205]
38 people are killed in the Christmas Day bombings in Iraq.
An Islamic terrorist attack in Carcassonne and Trèbes, France, kills five people, including the perpetrator.[27]
2019 Papua protests erupt, mainly across Indonesian Papua, in response to an incident in Surabaya where a group of Papuan students were arrested for alleged disrespect of the Indonesian flag. In Jayapura, Sorong, Fakfak, Timika and Manokwari, protests turned violent, with various private buildings and public facilities being damaged or burned. The protests and unrest were described by Reuters as "the most serious civil unrest in years over perceived racial and ethnic discrimination."[206]
Latvia officially adopts the euro as its currency and becomes the 18th member of the Eurozone.[3]
In over 900 cities internationally, people participate in demonstrations against gun violence and mass shootings, calling for stronger gun control in the "March for Our Lives".
2019 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 1,700 miles (2,700 km) away.[207]
A launch of the communication satellite GSAT-14 aboard the GSLV Mk.II D5 marks the first successful flight of an Indian cryogenic rocket engine.
Kemerovo fire: At least 60 people are killed and 79 others injured in a fire at the Winter Cherry shopping mall and entertainment complex in Kemerovo, Russia.[29]
Giuseppe Conte offers his resignation as Prime Minister of Italy in order to avoid a no-confidence motion.[208]
2014 Bannu bombing: a Taliban vehicle bomb attack on a Pakistani military convoy in the city of Bannu kills at least 26 soldiers and injures 38 others.
Qantas launches direct non-stop Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights between Perth Airport and Heathrow Airport, making it the first commercially non-stop service between Australia and the United Kingdom.[28]
German 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.[209][210]
The Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa 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.[4][5]
More than 100 Russian diplomats are expelled by more than 20 countries in the wake of the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.[30]
2019 Beirut drone crash: According to Lebanese officials, two Israeli drones attack Beirut, Lebanon. One crashed into the roof of the Hezbollah Media Center, about 45 minutes before the second exploded in the air and damaged the building.[211] It was the first such incident between Israel and Lebanon since the 2006 Lebanon War.[212]
Belgium becomes the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia for terminally ill patients of any age.[7]
At least 78 people die in a fire in the police headquarters of Valencia, Venezuela.[32]
Hurricane Dorian makes landfall on The Bahamas, with sustained wind speeds of 185 mph.[213] 43 deaths are reported.[214]
2014 Ukrainian revolution: 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 Kiev.[8]
North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un meets Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping, leaving the country for the first time since assuming office in 2011.[31]
An Iranian woman named Sahar Khodayari sets herself on fire after being arrested for attending a soccer game in Iran. She dies a week later.[217]
Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, severs diplomatic and political ties with Panama, accusing Panama of being involved in a conspiracy against the Venezuelan government.[9]
A semi-truck collides with a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos ice hockey junior team in Saskatchewan, Canada, killing 16 and injuring 13 people.
Sinking of MV Conception: 34 people are killed following a fire and subsequent sinking of a dive boat near Santa Cruz Island, California, United States.[215] It is the worst maritime disaster in California in more than 150 years.[216]
Malaysia 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.[10]
Syrian Civil War: At least 70 people are reported to have died and hundreds suffering injuries after a sarin chemical attack in Douma, the last rebel-held town in Syria's Eastern Ghouta.[33]
2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill 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.[218]
2014 Crimean status referendum: A referendum on the status of the Crimean Peninsula is held.[11]
257 people are killed after an Ilyushin Il-76 belonging to the Algerian Air Force crashes near Algiers.[34]
Chandrayaan-2, India's second lunar probe, was successful to put the orbit in lunar orbit, but the lander Vikram crashes into the surface of the moon.[219]
The fifth ICC T20 World Cup is held in Bangladesh.
Syrian Civil War: The United States, the United Kingdom and France order the bombing of Syrian military bases in response to the sarin attack allegedly by the Bashar al-Assad regime on civilians in Ghouta.[35]
Afghan peace process: U.S. President Donald Trump announces he "called off" planned peace talks with the Taliban at Camp David after they claimed responsibility for the September 2 and 5 bombings in Kabul which killed a U.S. soldier, among others.[220]
Russia formally annexes Crimea after President Vladimir Putin signs a bill finalizing the process.[12]
Cinemas open in Saudi Arabia for the first time since 1983 with the American film Black Panther chosen as the first to be screened.[37]
Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and 66 others are released in a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia.[221]
During an emergency meeting, the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Germany, France, Japan, and Canada temporarily suspend Russia from the G8.[13]
In Nicaragua, protests begin against announced reforms of Social Security which would decrease retirement pension benefits. An estimated number of 34 protesters are killed by police.[36]
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is prorogued amid unprecedented protests from opposition MPs, who hold up signs in the House of Commons and refuse to back the shutdown.[222]
The United Nations General Assembly passes Resolution 68/262, recognizing Crimea within Ukraine's international borders and rejecting the validity of the 2014 Crimean referendum.[14]
NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is launched.[38][39]
Astronomers announce the detection of water in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b, the first such discovery for an exoplanet in the habitable zone around a star.[223]
The United Nations International Court of Justice rules that Japan's Antarctic whaling program is not scientific but commercial and forbids grants of further permits.[15]
Miguel Díaz-Canel is sworn in as President of Cuba, marking the first time since 1959 that Cuba has had a president other than Fidel or Raúl Castro.
A gas explosion in Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia sets off a fire in a bioweapons plant that houses viruses including smallpox, ebola and anthrax.[225]
The Donetsk People's Republic unilaterally declares its independence from Ukraine.[16]
Swaziland changes its English name, officially becoming the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Israel holds legislative elections for the second time in 2019, after the 21st Knesset voted to dissolve itself due to Benjamin Netanyahu's failure to cobble a parliamentary coalition.
In response to the 2014 Crimean crisis, 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.[17]
A vehicle-ramming attack kills 10 people and injures 16 others in Toronto, Canada. A 25-year-old suspect, Alek Minassian, is arrested.[40]
30 Afghan nut farmers are killed and 40 injured in a U.S. drone attack in Nangarhar Province.[226]
An estimated 276 girls and women are abducted and held hostage from a school in Nigeria.[18]
Kim Jong-un crosses into South Korea to meet with President Moon Jae-in, becoming the first North Korean leader to cross the Demilitarized Zone since its creation in 1953.[41]
An 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. The event is one of the largest climate mobilizations in history.[227][228]
Korean ferry MV Sewol capsizes and sinks after an unmanageable cargo shift, killing 304 people, mostly high school students.[19]
The 2018 lower Puna eruption causes destruction of structures and forces thousands of residents of Hawaii to evacuate as lava floods the land.
U.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.[230][231] Both Saudi Arabia and Iran vow to defend themselves.[232]
The water source for Flint, Michigan is changed, starting the Flint water crisis.[20]
The separatist group ETA officially announces its final dissolution after 40 years of conflict and more than 800 deaths in Spain.[42][43]
Nearly three weeks after Hurricane Dorian makes landfall on The Bahamas, the official death toll stands at 52 and 1,300 are reported missing. Rescuers report the widespread stench of rotting bodies in the rubble.[233]
The Catholic Church simultaneously canonizes Popes John XXIII and John Paul II.[21]
NASA's unmanned spaceprobe InSight is launched. It is expected to land on Mars in November and use a drill to conduct geological science.[44]
One of the largest and oldest travel firms, Thomas Cook, goes bankrupt as last-minute rescue negotiations fail, stranding 600,000 tourists worldwide.[234]
United States President Barack Obama's new economic sanctions against Russia go into effect, targeting companies and individuals close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.[22]
U.S. President Donald Trump announces his intention to withdraw the United States from the Iranian nuclear agreement.[45] In a statement, former U.S. President Barack Obama calls the move "a serious mistake".[46]
Russia formally adopts the Paris climate agreement.[235]
Boko Haram militants kill approximately 300 people in a night attack on Gamboru Ngala.[24]
The opposition-led Pakatan Harapan coalition, led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, secures a parliamentary majority in the Malaysian Parliament, ending the 61-year rule of the Barisan Nasional coalition since independence in 1957.[47]
The Supreme Court of Spain unanimously rules in favour of the exhumation of the remains of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco from the Valle de los Caídos.[237] He was finally exhumed on 24 October, being re-inhumed in a private crypt with his wife.[238]
The World Health Organization identifies the spread of poliomyelitis in at least 10 countries as a major worldwide health emergency.[23]
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, pardons Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who is immediately released.[48]
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom unanimously rules that the September 2019 prorogation of Parliament was unlawful and void.[236]
The Luhansk People's Republic unilaterally declares its independence from Ukraine.[25]
Cubana de Aviación Flight 972 crashes shortly after take-off near José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba, killing 112 people and leaving only one survivor.[49]
U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announces the start of a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.[239]
Terrorists in Nigeria detonate bombs at Jos, killing 118 people.
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is held at St George's Chapel, England, with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion.[50][51]
500,000 people march in a climate change protest led by activist Greta Thunberg and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Montreal, Canada.[240] 4,000,000 go on strike around the world.[241]
The Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic declare the formation of Novorossiya, also referred to as the Union of People's Republics.[27][28]
The 2018 Venezuelan presidential election was held with incumbent President Nicolás Maduro reelected with 67.8% of the vote and the lowest turnout in Venezuela's modern democratic history since the 1958 coup d'état.[52] The elections were denounced as a "sham" by several Latin American countries, the United States, Canada, the Organization of American States and the European Union.
Hurricane Lorenzo becomes the furthest northeast Category 5 hurricane on record.[242]
The Royal Thai Army overthrows the caretaker government of Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan after a failure to resolve the political unrest in Thailand.[26]
Foreign journalists report that tunnels in the Punggye-ri nuclear test site have been destroyed by the North Korean government in a move to reduce regional tensions.[53]
The 2019 Afghan presidential election takes place.
A Sunni militant group called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (also known as the ISIS or ISIL) 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.[29]
A constitutional referendum on whether to repeal the ban on abortion in Ireland takes place,[55] with a landslide win of 66.4% to 33.6% for the repeal side.[56]
The Republic of Ireland promises to plant 440 million trees in twenty years to combat climate change.[243]
The military intervention against ISIL begins.[32]
The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes into effect, imposing strict privacy controls for European citizens worldwide.[54]
2019 Hong Kong protests: A protester is shot in the chest with a live round of ammunition and critically injured.[245][246]
Felipe VI becomes King of Spain upon the abdication of Juan Carlos I.
The U.S. announces that it will extend its tariffs on imported steel (25%) and aluminium (10%) to include the EU, Mexico and Canada, starting at midnight.[57]
70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China: In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the largest-ever military parade and mass pageant in the history of China takes place in Beijing.[244][importance?]
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant declares itself a caliphate.[33]
At least 109 people are killed and hundreds wounded by the eruption of Volcán de Fuego, Guatemala's deadliest volcano for over a century.[58]
The Nanfang'ao Bridge, the only steel single-arch bridge in Taiwan, collapses, killing six people and injuring more than twenty others.[247]
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777, crashes in eastern Ukraine after being shot down by a missile. All 298 people on board are killed.[36]
Greece and the Republic of Macedonia reach a deal to end a 27-year naming dispute between both countries, which would result in Macedonia being officially renamed the Republic of North Macedonia.[61]
25 soldiers are killed and 60 missing following attacks on two army camps in Boulkessi and Mondoro, Mali.[248]
The United Nations Security Council adopts Resolution 2166 in response to the shootdown of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.[37]
The 2018 North Korea
European Commission spokesperson Daniel Rosario threatens retaliatory measures if the United States imposes a US$7.5-billion (approximately €6.8-billion) tariff on products such as olives, whiskey, wine, cheese, yogurt, and airplanes. The tariffs are scheduled to take place on October 18.[251]
Air Algérie Flight 5017, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, crashes in Mali, killing all 116 people on board.[38]
FIFA awards hosting rights for the 2026 World Cup to a joint bid from Canada, Mexico and the United States.[62]
Paris police headquarters stabbing: A man stabs five officers at the central police headquarters in Paris, France, killing four of them. The attacker, shot dead by other officers, was an administrative intelligence employee at the station.[249]
Khmer Rouge leaders Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan are found guilty of crimes against humanity and are sentenced to life imprisonment by the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.[39]
Seventeen people die in Caracas, Venezuela following the El Paraíso stampede after a tear gas canister is detonated in a crowded club.[65]
The European Court of Justice rules that Facebook must take down a post about Austrian politician Eva Glawischnig-Piesczek. The post originated in Ireland and the court ruled that the post defamed and insulted the politician and must be removed all over the world.[250]
The United States military begins an air campaign in northern Iraq to stem the influx of ISIL militants.[40]
Canada becomes the first major industrialised country to legalise cannabis for recreational use. The Bill which legalises cannabis took effect on October 17.[67]
2019 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.[252]
The shooting of Michael Brown occurs in Ferguson, Missouri.[41]
The United States announces it will withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council.[66]
2019 Iraqi protests: 91 people are killed by police during a week of demonstrations in Iraq.[253][importance?]
In a referendum, Scotland votes against independence from the United Kingdom.[42][43]
Saudi Arabia allows women to drive.
The 2019 Portuguese legislative election takes place, for all 230 seats to the Assembly of the Republic.
The United States and several Arab partners begin their airstrike campaign in Syria.[44][45]
Lithuania becomes the 36th member of the OECD.[68]
2019 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.[254]
The 2014 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, to be held in Cape Town from October 13 to 15, is suspended after a boycott of Nobel Laureates to protest the third time refusal of a visa to the 14th Dalai Lama by a South African Government "kowtowing to China".[46][47]
The 2018 North American heat wave takes place, killing 33 people in the Canadian province of Quebec.[69]
About 200 Extinction Rebellion activists block the gates of Leinster House (parliament) in the Republic of Ireland.[255]
Hong 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.
Former Aum Shinrikyo leader Shoko Asahara and six other main members of Aum Shinrikyo, who led the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack, are executed by hanging.[70][71]
2019 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.[256]
Stefan Löfvén replaces Fredrik Reinfeldt as Prime Minister of Sweden
U.S. tariffs on US$ 34 billion of Chinese goods come into effect, as President Trump suggests the final total could reach $550bn. China accuses the U.S. of starting the "largest trade war in economic history" and announces immediate retaliatory tariffs.[72][73]
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the U.N. Human Rights Office issue a report that says that U.S. bombings in Nimroz and Farah Province, Afghanistan, that killed 39 civilians are unlawful. The U.S. said the attacks were against drug labs that fund the Taliban.[257]
The Roman Catholic Church beatifies Pope Paul VI.[48]
Eritrea and Ethiopia officially declare an end to their twenty-year conflict.[74][75]
Typhoon Hagibis makes landfall in Japan, the biggest storm to hit the region in decades, with over seven million people urged to evacuate.[258]
Joko Widodo was inaugurated as the 7th President of Indonesia.[49]
Twelve boys and their football coach are successfully rescued from the flooded Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand, following a 17-day ordeal that gained worldwide attention.[76][77]
The 2019 Polish parliamentary election takes place, for all 460 seats in the Sejm and all 100 seats in the Senate.
Alan Eustace, an American computer scientist, set the current world record highest and longest free fall jump from 135,908 feet (41.425 km) over Roswell, New Mexico, United States, breaking the sound barrier without any machine assistance during a record space dive out of a massive helium-filled balloon. His descent to Earth lasted 4 minutes 27 seconds and stretched nearly 26 miles (42 km) with peak speeds exceeding 822 miles per hour (1,323 km/h), setting new world records for the highest free-fall jump an
Scientists report the presence of a subglacial lake on Mars, 1.5 km (0.93 mi) below the southern polar ice cap and extending sideways about 20 km (12 mi), the first known body of water on the planet.[81][82]
A New York Times investigation reveals that Russian planes have bombed at least 50 hospitals and clinics in opposition-held Idlib, Syria.[261][unreliable source?]
Longtime Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré resigns after widespread protests in response to his attempts to abolish presidential term limits.[54]
Heavy wildfires in Greece leave 102 dead and more than a hundred buildings destroyed.[83][84]
Trial 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.[259][unreliable source?][260]
The 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.[55]
The share price of Facebook drops by almost 20 percent after the company warns investors that user growth has slowed following the data leak scandal. Over $109 billion is wiped from its market value, the largest single day loss in corporate history.[85]
Shootouts erupt in Culiacán, Mexico, after the arrest of El Chapo's son, Ovidio Guzmán López, on an arrest warrant for drug dealing in the United States.[262] Eight people are killed and 56 convicts escape from prison; 7 are recaptured by October 18. Guzmán López is released in an effort to restore peace and to prevent more bloodshed.[263]
The tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, the One World Trade Center opens.
The longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century occurs,[86] and Mars makes its closest approach to Earth since 2003.[87]
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch conduct the first all-female spacewalk outside of the International Space Station.
The unmanned Rosetta spacecraft's Philae probe successfully lands on Comet 67P, the first time in history that a spacecraft has landed on such an object.[56]
The 2018 Kivu Ebola outbreak begins in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It becomes the second-deadliest outbreak of the Ebola virus on November 29, surpassed only by the 2013 West African Ebola virus epidemic.[88]
Riots 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 [264][265]
The Japanese space agency, JAXA, launches unmanned spaceprobe Hayabusa2 from the Tanegashima Space Center on a six-year round trip mission to Ryugu to collect rock samples.
Apple Inc. becomes the world's first public company to achieve a market capitalization of $1 trillion.[89]
An estimated one million people march through London in a protest organised by People's Vote, to demand a second referendum on Brexit.[266]
The Pakistani Taliban carry out a mass shooting at an army school in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing at least 145 people, mostly schoolchildren.[57]
The United States reimposes sanctions on Iran.[90]
2019 Bolivian general election: Evo Morales defeated his nearest rival by 10%, but after multiple allegations of irregularities the Organization of American States said it had found "clear manipulations" of Bolivia's voting system; Morales called for a new election.[267]
U.S. President Barack Obama announces the resumption of normal relations between the U.S. and Cuba.[58]
The five littoral states
The 2019 Canadian federal election takes place, for all 338 seats in the House of Commons of Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party win a narrow victory to form a minority government.
Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore crashes into the Java Sea just southwest of Borneo, killing all 162 people on board.[59]
NASA launches the unmanned Parker Solar Probe to study the Sun at close range and the solar wind.[92][93][94]
Google announces that its 53-qubit "Sycamore" processor has achieved quantum supremacy.[269][270][271][272] IBM disputes the claim.[273]
Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes the nineteenth Eurozone country.[2]
Part of the Morandi Bridge collapses after a violent storm in Genoa, Italy, causing 43 fatalities. Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio and transport minister Danilo Toninelli blame private company Autostrade per l'Italia.[95][96]
The 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.[268]
The Eurasian Economic Union comes into effect, creating a political and economic union between Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Ecuador withdraws from ALBA.[97]
Tourists visit the summit of Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) for the last time, as a ban on climbing the famous rock in Australia's Northern Territory comes into effect.[274]
Two gunmen belonging to Al-Qaeda's Yemen branch kill 12 people and injure 11 more at the Paris headquarters of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, prompting an anti-terrorism demonstration attended by over a million people and more than 40 world leaders.[7][8]
Scott Morrison succeeds Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister of Australia following a Liberal Party leadership ballot.[98] Morrison is sworn in as Prime Minister later that evening.[99]
The Amazon Catholic bishops synod proposes that married men be ordained as priests, which would reverse the Church's centuries-old discipline of celibacy.[275]
Government raids kill 143 Boko Haram fighters in Kolofata, Cameroon.
A fire breaks out in the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, destroying more than 90 percent of its archive of 20 million items.[100][101]
The 2019 Argentine general election takes place. Peronist candidate Alberto Fernández is elected President getting 48% of the vote, defeating President Mauricio Macri. Former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is elected Vice President.
The Swiss National Bank abandons the cap on the franc's value relative to the euro, causing turmoil in international financial markets.[9][10]
The Supreme Court of India decriminalises homosexuality.[102]
The 2019 Uruguayan general election takes place.
The Eritrean Catholic Church is founded.
Syrian Civil War: While the Israeli Air Force conduct missile strikes that hit targets in western Syria, a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance plane is shot down by a Syrian surface-to-air missile, killing all 15 Russian servicemen on board. Russia blamed Israel's military for the accident because the Israeli jets that conducted the strikes allegedly used the Russian plane as cover to allow them to approach their targets without being hit by Syrian fire.[103]
U.S. President Donald Trump announces that the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed in a U.S. special forces operation. It was reported that al-Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest after being chased into a tunnel.[276][277]
After Houthi forces seize the presidential palace, Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi resigns after months of unrest.[11]
The MV Nyerere capsizes on Lake Victoria, killing at least 228 passengers.[104]
An earthquake of 6.6. Mw rocks the Philippine island of Mindanao two days after an earthquake killed eight and left 12,000 people homeless.[279][unreliable source?][importance?]
Leaders from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France reach an agreement on the conflict in eastern Ukraine that includes a ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons. However, several days later, the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian rebels claim that, within its first day, the ceasefire was broken 139 times, as both sides failed to withdraw their heavy weapons and fighting had continued.[12][13]
An attack at a military parade kills 30 people (including 5 attackers) and injures 70 more in Ahvaz, Iran.[105]
Social media website Twitter bans all political advertising worldwide.[278]
The United Nations Security Council adopts Resolution 2199 to combat terrorism.[14]
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake hits Sulawesi, Indonesia, causing a tsunami that kills at least 4,340 people[106] and injures more than 10,679 others.[107]
A fire destroys much of the 500-year-old Japanese Shuri Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[280]
Two people were killed and five policemen wounded in Copenhagen, Denmark, at a shooting at Krudtønden cultural centre and the Great Synagogue.
The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, triggering a diplomatic crisis for Saudi Arabia.[108]
A train catches fire near Rahim Yar Khan in Pakistan. The blaze, sparked by gas used by passengers cooking on board, kills at least 74 people.[281]
The Egyptian military begins conducting airstrikes against a branch of the Islamic militant group ISIL in Libya in retaliation for the group's beheading of over a dozen Egyptian Christians.[15]
The United States Senate confirms Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the United States Supreme Court by a margin of 50-48, making it the closest successful confirmation vote of a Supreme Court nominee since 1881.[109]
Heavy rain and flooding leave 3 dead and 200,000 people are homeless in Beledweyne, Somalia. Meanwhile, 29 are dead and 29,000 homeless due to flooding in nearby Kenya.[282]
NASA's Dawn probe enters orbit around Ceres, becoming the first spacecraft to visit a dwarf planet.[19][20]
The IPCC releases its Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC, warning that "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society" are needed to ensure that global warming is kept below 1.5 °C.[110]
Pirates take nine crew members from Norwegian ship MV Bonita, owned by J. J. Ugland, near Cotonou, Benin.[283]
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant becomes allies with fellow jihadist group Boko Haram, effectively annexing the group.[21]
Hurricane Michael makes landfall at Mexico Beach, Florida as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 919 mb (27.1 inHg). It is the most intense hurricane to hit the mainland United States since Camille in 1969.[111]
Amnesty International alleges that Bangladesh killed 466 people in 2018 under the guise of an anti-drugs campaign in what appears to be a wave of extrajudicial executions.[285]
A total solar eclipse was visible in the north Atlantic, Faroe Islands, Svalbard. It was the 61st eclipse of the 120th saros cycle which started on May 27, 933 AD and will end on July 7, 2195, which is 180 years ahead of 2015.
Canada legalises the sale and use of cannabis, becoming the second country in the world to do so, after Uruguay in 2013.[112]
LeBarón family massacre: Nine Americans are killed when Mexican gang members open fire on their vehicles while driving to a wedding about 70 miles (110 km) south of the Mexico
An Airbus A320-211 operated by Germanwings crashes in the French Alps, killing all 150 on board.[22]
A school shooting and bomb attack in Kerch, Crimea, kills 20 people and injures 70 others.[113]
The United States formally begins process to pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change.[286]
A Saudi Arabia-led coalition of Arab countries starts a military intervention in Yemen in order to uphold the Yemeni government in its fight against the Houthis' southern offensive.[23][24]
At least 59 people are killed and at least 100 injured when a train runs through a crowd at a Hindu festival in Punjab, India.[114]
11,000 scientists from around the world publish a study in the journal BioScience, warning "clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency".[287][288][289]
148 people are killed, the majority students, in a mass shooting at the Garissa University College in Kenya, perpetrated by the militant terrorist organization Al-Shabaab.[25]
The unmanned European-Japanese spacecraft BepiColombo is launched on a seven-year journey to Mercury.[115]
Air pollution in parts of India hits record levels.[290]
A total lunar eclipse was visible in Asia, Australia, Pacific and Americas not seen since May 12, 1492 not seen again until June 26, 2754.
700,000 people march through central London demanding a second referendum on the final Brexit deal.[116] The event is the second most attended protest of the 21st century in the United Kingdom after the "Stop the War" anti-Iraq War march in 2003.[117]
2019 Fada N'gourma attack: At least 37 people are killed and 60 others injured when gunmen attack a Canadian gold mining company convoy on a road in Burkina Faso.[291]
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Nepal and causes 8,857 deaths[26][27] in Nepal, 130 in India,[28] 27 in China[29] and 4 in Bangladesh[30] with a total of 9,018 deaths.
President Trump announces that the US will "terminate" the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty over alleged Russian violations.[118]
Former Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda is sentenced to 30 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the longest sentence ever handed down by the International Criminal Court.[292]
The World Health Organization (WHO) declares that rubella has been eradicated from the Americas.[31]
11 people are killed during the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pennsylvania, United States.
Cyclone Bulbul kills seven in West Bengal, India and seven in Bangladesh. 2,000,000 people are evacuated.[294]
the 2015 UK General Election results in the first Conservative majority government in 18 years.
Michael D. Higgins is officially declared President of Ireland after receiving 822,566 first preference votes.[120]
The Supreme Court of India awards a holy site in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh to Hindus, rejecting a Muslim claim. The move is likely to spur sectarian disputes.[293][importance?]
A second major earthquake in Nepal, measuring 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale, results in 153 deaths in Nepal,[35] 62 in India,[36] 1 in China[37] and 2 in Bangladesh[37] with a total of 218 deaths.
The far-right Jair Bolsonaro is elected as the next President of Brazil, with 55% of the vote.[121][122]
2019 Bolivian protests: President Evo Morales resigns after calling for a re-vote in the disputed elections.
The two constituent republics of Novorossiya, the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, announce the suspension of the Novorossiya project, returning to separate (though internationally unrecognised) states.[citation needed]
Lion Air Flight 610 crashes off the coast of Java, killing all 189 people on board.[123]
The November 2019 Spanish general election takes place, for all 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 208 (of the 266) seats in the Senate.
ISIS captures the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria.[citation needed]
NASA's Kepler mission ends after the spacecraft runs out of fuel.[124]
2019 Hong Kong protests: A traffic officer shot a youth in Sai Wan Ho during city-wide strike.[295] A man was also set on fire by protesters on the same day.[296]
Ireland votes to legalize same-sex marriage, becoming the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote.[38]
The Camp Fire ignites in Butte County, California. It becomes California's deadliest and most destructive wildfire, with 88 deaths and 18,804 buildings destroyed.[129]
A transit of Mercury occurs.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter announces his intention to resign amidst an FBI-led corruption investigation, and calls for an extraordinary congress to elect a new president as soon as possible.[39]
Many nations around the world, particularly ones in Europe and the Commonwealth, along with the United States, commemorate the ending of the World War I centenary with Armistice Day, Veterans Day, and Remembrance Day ceremonies, speeches, parades, and memorials.[130]
Public impeachment hearings against U.S. President Donald Trump begin in the House of Representatives.[297][298]
The governments of India and Bangladesh officially ratify their 1974 agreement to exchange enclaves along their border.[40]
NASA's InSight probe successfully lands on the surface of Mars.[131]
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.[299][300]
Cuba becomes the first country in the world to eradicate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.[44]
Ukrainian crisis: Ukraine declares martial law after an armed incident in which the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) coast guard fired upon and captured three Ukrainian Navy vessels attempting to pass from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait.[132]
Italy declares a state of emergency in Venice following record flooding.[301]
Greek government-debt crisis: Greece becomes the first advanced economy to miss a payment to the International Monetary Fund in the 71-year history of the IMF.[45]
Chinese scientist He Jiankui, at a public conference in Hong Kong, announces that he has altered the DNA of twin human girls born earlier in the month to try to make them resistant to infection with the HIV virus; he also reveals the possible second pregnancy of another gene-modified baby.[133]
2019 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.[302]
Iran agrees to long-term limits of its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.[49]
NASA reports the arrival of the OSIRIS-REx probe at Bennu, the agency's first sample-return mission to an asteroid.[135]
Google enters the video game market with the launch of Stadia.[303]
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft performs a close flyby of Pluto, becoming the first spacecraft in history to visit the distant world.[48]
At the Katowice Climate Change Conference, nearly 200 nations agree rules on implementing the 2015 Paris agreement.[137]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.[304]
Cuba and the United States reestablish full diplomatic relations, ending a 54-year stretch of hostility between the nations.[50]
Scandinavian tourists Louisa Vesterager Jespersen and Maren Ueland are murdered by Islamic terrorists in the foothills of Mount Toubkal near to the village of Imlil in Morocco. At least one victim is beheaded with the murders recorded on video and posted on social media. In a previous video the perpetrators pledge allegiance to ISIS.[138]
An independence referendum begins in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.[305]
Turkey begins a series of airstrikes against PKK and ISIL targets after the 2015 Suruç bombing.[51]
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 22,445 after its worst week since 2008.[140][141]
The last known Sumatran rhinoceros in Malaysia dies.[306]
Debris found on Réunion Island is confirmed to be that of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, missing since March 2014.[52]
A tsunami hits the Sunda Strait, Indonesia, killing at least 430 people and injuring nearly 1,500.[142]
2019 Busy Bee crash: A plane crashes shortly after takeoff in a densely populated area of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing all 19 people on board and at least 10 more on the ground.[307]
Several terrorist bombings rock the city center in the Afghan capitol of Kabul, killing at least 50.
The United States government enters a second government shutdown, arising over a dispute over funding for the U.S.Mexico border wall. The shutdown, which lasted until January 25, 2019, is the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
IPv4 address exhaustion: The RIPE NCC, which is the official regional Internet registry (RIR) for Europe, officially announces that it has run out of IPv4 addresses.[310]
Terrorists strike Afghanistan again, this time a carbomb attack at Kabul International Airport, killing 5 and injuring dozens.
Burundi moves its capital from Bujumbura to Gitega.
The World Meteorological Organization reports that levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached another new record high of 407.8 parts per million, with "no sign of a slowdown, let alone a decline."[308][309]
A chemical fire erupts into explosions at the port in the Chinese city of Tianjin, killing 173 and injuring several hundred.
After weeks of losses the Dow Jones Industrial Average posts its largest ever one-day point gain: 1,086 points.
2019 Albania earthquake: 51 people are killed and around 2,000 others injured in a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in northwestern Albania.[311][312] The earthquake was the strongest to hit Albania in more than 40 years, and is currently the world's deadliest earthquake in 2019.
A bombing takes place inside the Erawan Shrine at the Ratchaprasong intersection in Pathum Wan District, Bangkok, Thailand, killing 20 people and injuring 125.[53]
2018 Magnitogorsk building collapse: An apartment block in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, partially collapses, killing 39 people and injuring 17 more. According to the official investigation the collapse was caused by a gas explosion.[143]
2019 Chilean protests: Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International issue reports on Chile's situation denouncing grave human rights violations, including excesive violence use and detention abuses by police forces.[313][314] 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.[315]
A chemical factory exploded in the Chinese city of Dongying, killing 13 and causing a severe fire that lasted over 5 hours.
All works published in 1923 except sound recordings (see 2022 scheduled events) enter the public domain in the United States, the first works to do so since the passage of the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act.[2]
The U.S. Government passes the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act.[316]
Scientists announce the discovery of Homo naledi, a previously unknown species of early human in South Africa.[54]
Jair Bolsonaro begins his four-year term as President of Brazil.
22 people (two civilians, four police officers and 16 drug dealers) are killed in a shootout in Villa Unión, Coahuila, Mexico, the largest such crime in the country's history.[317]
Queen Elizabeth II, having been on the throne for 63 years, 217 days, became the longest-reigning British monarch in history and the longest-serving head of state of any nation in modern history, surpassing Queen Victoria who had reigned for 63 years, 216 days upon her death on January 22, 1901.
Qatar withdraws from OPEC.
Typhoon Kammuri hits the Philippines, causing the evacuation of 200,000 people, but without reports of injuries or serious damage.[318]
A partial solar eclipse was visible in South Africa, south Indian and Antartica. It was the 54th eclipse of the 125th saros cycle which began with a partial solar eclipse on February 4, 1060 and will end on April 9, 2358.
Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Austria.[3]
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi asks the House Judiciary Committee to begin drafting the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.[321]
First observation of gravitational waves: Gravitational waves are detected for the first time, by LIGO. This is not announced until February 11, 2016.[55]
Unmanned space probe New Horizons makes a close approach of the Kuiper belt object (KBO) 486958 Arrokoth at 05:33 UTC.
The 2019 Burundi landslide is reported to have caused at least 26 deaths.[320]
Malcolm Turnbull defeats Tony Abbott in a Liberal Party leadership ballot.[56] Turnbull becomes Prime Minister of Australia, being sworn in the following day.[57]
Great Belt Bridge rail accident: A DSB express passenger train is hit by a semi-trailer from a passing cargo train on the western bridge of the Great Belt Fixed Link in Denmark, killing eight people and making it the deadliest rail accident in the country since 1988.[4]
A fire at a factory in New Delhi, India kills 43 and injures at least 50.[322]
Automaker Volkswagen is alleged to have been involved in worldwide rigging of diesel emissions tests, affecting an estimated 11 million vehicles globally.[58][59]
Chinese probe Chang'e 4 becomes the first human-made object to land on the far side of the Moon.[5]
Ethnic riots in Kyrgyzstan between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks result in the deaths of hundreds
A stampede during the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca kills at least 2,200 people and injures more than 900 others, with more than 650 missing.[60]
Bartholomew I of Constantinople issues a formal decree granting independence to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine from the Russian Orthodox Church.[6]
First female Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard elected
A total lunar eclipse was visible in Eastern Pacific, Americas, Europe, Africa and western Asia. It was the 26th eclipse of the 137th saros cycle, which began with a penumbral lunar eclipse in Earth's penumbral southern edge of the shadow on December 17, 1564 and will conclude with another penumbral lunar eclipse in Earth's penumbral northern edge of the shadow on April 20, 2953.
Muhammad V of Kelantan abdicates the federal throne as the 15th monarch of Malaysia, making him the first Malaysian monarch to do so.[7]
Solor Impulse completes first 24-hour flight by solar power
NASA announces that liquid water has been found on Mars.[61]
A faction of the Armed Forces of Gabon announces a coup d'état. Gabon's government later declares that it has reasserted control.
WikiLeaks releases report on US in Afghanistan
Russia begins air strikes against ISIL and anti-government forces in Syria, in support of the Syrian government.[62]
Venezuela enters a constitutional crisis as Juan Guaidó and the National Assembly declare incumbent President Nicolás Maduro "illegitimate" and start the process of attempting to remove him.[8]
Monsoon Floods in Khyber Pakhtunkwa killing 1600
A United States airstrike on a Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) hospital in Afghanistan accidentally kills an estimated 20 people.[63]
Nairobi DusitD2 complex attack: A terrorist attack at an upscale hotel and office complex in Nairobi, Kenya, kills 21 people (including 5 attackers) and injures 28 more.[9]
WHO declares H1N1 influenza pandemic over, saying flu activity has returned to typical seasonal patterns
A series of suicide bombings kills at least 100 people at a peace rally in Ankara, Turkey, and injures more than 400 others.[64]
A vehicle-bound suicide bomb attack in Bogotá, Colombia, kills 22 people and injures 68 others, making it the deadliest attack on the Colombian capital since 2003.[10]
2010 Australian federal election: Julia Gillard's Labor Government is re-elected, narrowly defeating[54] the Liberal/National Coalition led by Tony Abbott.
Hurricane Patricia becomes the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere and the second strongest worldwide, with winds of 215 mph and a pressure of 872 mbar.[65]
Fuel thieves rupture a pipeline in Tlahuelilpan, Mexico, and a subsequent explosion kills at least 137 people and injures dozens more.[11]
Christchurch Earthquake 7.1 magnitude
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes the Hindu Kush region and causes 398 deaths,[66] with 279 in Pakistan, 115 in Afghanistan and 4 in India.
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake hits Tongoy, Coquimbo Region in Chile, causing two deaths and as many as 200,000 people left without power.[12] Despite its moderate magnitude, since it was an intraplate earthquake, it caused some serious damage in La Serena and nearby cities.
Germany makes final reparation payment for World War I
Kogalymavia Flight 9268, an Airbus A321 airliner en route to Saint Petersburg from Sharm el-Sheikh, crashes near Al-Hasana in Sinai, killing all 217 passengers and 7 crew members on board.[67]
2019 Piper PA-46 Malibu crash: An aircraft carrying new Cardiff City F.C. footballer Emiliano Sala and pilot David Ibbotson en route from Nantes, France, to Cardiff, Wales, goes missing over the English Channel. Sala's body is recovered on February 7.[13]
The Netherlands Antilles are dissolved, with the islands being split up and given a new constitutional status
CPC general secretary Xi Jinping and ROC president Ma Ying-jeou formally meet for the first time.[68]
2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis: Thousands of people protest in favor of disputed interim President Juan Guaidó. Several people are killed, and President Maduro severs diplomatic ties with the United States.[14]
The International Space Station surpasses the record for the longest continuous human occupation of space, having been continuously inhabited since November 2, 2000 (3641 days).
Two suicide bombers detonated explosives in Bourj el-Barajneh, Beirut, killing 43 people and injuring over 200 others.
A mine tailings dam breaks in the Brazilian city of Brumadinho, in the state of Minas Gerais. At least 248 people are killed, with 22 missing.[15]
In preparation for the Seoul summit, finance ministers of the G-20 agree to reform the International Monetary Fund and shift 6% of the voting shares to developing nations and countries with emerging markets.
Multiple terrorist attacks claimed by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Paris, France, result in 130 fatalities.[69]
Two bombs at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Jolo, Philippines, kill at least 20 people and leave more than 100 others injured.[16]
An earthquake and consequent tsunami off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, kills over 400 people and leaves hundreds missing.
Turkey shoots down a Russian fighter jet on the Turkish-Syrian border in the first case of a NATO member destroying a Russian aircraft since the 1950s.[70]
The U.S. Justice Department charges Chinese tech firm Huawei with multiple counts of fraud, raising U.S.China tensions.[17]
Repeated eruptions of Mount Merapi volcano in Central Java, Indonesia, and accompanying pyroclastic flows of scalding gas, pumice, and volcanic ash descending the erupting volcano kill 353 people and force hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate.
The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) is held in Paris, attended by leaders from 147 nations.[71]
U.S. President Donald Trump confirms that the U.S. will leave the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987, citing Russian non-compliance.[18] The next day, Russia follows suit with suspension of its obligations to the treaty.[19]
The UN Security Council votes 15-0 in favor of additional sanctions on North Korea, including measures to slash the country's petroleum imports by up to 90%.[82][83]
Two gunmen open fire at a workplace in San Bernardino, California, killing 14 before dying themselves in a shootout with police. ISIL claimed responsibility.[72]
Pope Francis arrives in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, becoming the first pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula.[20]
The United Nations Security Council votes 10-0 to create a no-fly zone over Libya in response to allegations of government aggression against civilians.[19]-0 to create a no-fly zone over Libya in response to allegations of government aggression against civilians.[19]
A global climate change pact is agreed at the COP 21 summit, committing all countries to reduce carbon emissions for the first time.[73]
The Freedom House organization states that Hungary was no longer a free country, making it the first such country in the European Union to be labelled as such.[22] It also stated that neighboring Serbia was no longer a free country as well.[23]
A study finds the VSV-EBOV vaccine against the Ebola virus between 70-100% effective, and thus making it the first proven vaccine against the disease.[53]
The Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition is formed in order to fight terrorism.[74]
2019 Haitian protests: Anti-government protests demanding the resignation of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse begin in several cities across the country.[24]
Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo is arrested in his home in Abidjan by supporters of elected President Alassane Ouattara, with support from French forces; this effectively ends the 2010-11 Ivorian crisis and civil war.[22]
SpaceX lands an unmanned Falcon 9 rocket, the first reusable rocket to successfully enter orbital space and return.[75][deprecated source]
The 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 European Union.[25]
The Brazilian Senate votes (61-20) to impeach the President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff. The Vice President of Brazil, Michel Temer, who had assumed the presidential powers and duties as Acting President of Brazil during Rousseff's suspension, takes office for the remainder of her term.[36]
Following the fallout caused by the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabia and several other countries end their diplomatic relations with Iran.[3]
A suicide bomb attack on a vehicle kills at least 27 Revolutionary Guards in southeastern Iran.[26] It is one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Iran in years.[27]
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is given an arrest warrant after a vote by the Supreme Court voted 6-5 in favor of denying his habeas corpus, due to corruption and other scandals.
Joaquín Guzmán, widely regarded as the world's most powerful drug trafficker, is recaptured following his escape from a maximum security prison in Mexico.[4]
A suicide bomb attack on a vehicle convoy in Indian-administered Kashmir kills at least 40 Indian security personnel, making it the deadliest attack on India's security personnel in Kashmir in three decades.[28]
Cassini-Huygens ends its 13-year mission by plunging into Saturn, becoming the first spacecraft to enter the planet's atmosphere.[53]
Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a bombing near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
A major fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh kills at least 78 people.[29]
The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement is signed, the world's largest bilateral free trade deal, creating an open trade zone covering nearly one-third of global GDP.[79][80]
30 people are killed and 56 injured in terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, targeting a hotel and a nearby restaurant. A siege occurs and 176 hostages are released afterwards, by government forces.
SpaceIL launches the Beresheet probe, the world's first privately financed mission to the Moon.[30][31]
2019 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.[224]
In the general election of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Democratic Progressive Party, led by Tsai Ing-wen, secured a majority in the Legislative Yuan, resulting in the first majority by a non-KMT party and the first majority won by the DPP. Tsai become the 14th President for Taiwan, and also become the first female leader for China.[6]
2019 Nigerian general election, for the President; all 360 seats in the House of Representatives and all 110 seats in the Senate.
The Taliban kills at least 47 people in attacks while Afghan-Taliban peace talks are taking place in Moscow. 12 others are injured.[21]
The International Atomic Energy Agency announces that Iran has adequately dismantled its nuclear weapons program, allowing the United Nations to lift sanctions immediately.[5]
2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis: President Maduro severs diplomatic ties with Colombia as humanitarian aid attempts to enter the country across the border.[32]
Turkey, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, announces the beginning of a military offensive to capture a portion of northern Syria from Kurdish forces, amidst the ongoing Kurdish-Turkish conflict.[3][4]
The World Health Organization announces an outbreak of the Zika virus.[7]
Ramses Station rail disaster: A train smashes into a barrier inside Ramses Station in Cairo, Egypt, causing an explosion and a fire, killing 25 people and injuring 40 others.[38]
Amid ongoing negotiations, the United States' 25 percent tariff hike on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports takes effect, escalating tensions between the two nations in the ongoing China-United States trade war.[106]
North Korea launches a reconnaissance satellite named Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 into space, condemned as a long-range ballistic missile test.[8]
An unmanned demonstration flight of the new crew capable version of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, intended to carry American astronauts into space, achieves successful autonomous docking with the International Space Station.[39]
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai
Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their schism in 1054.[9]
The 2019 Estonian parliamentary election takes place, for all 101 seats in the Riigikogu.[40]
A bomb explodes as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, leave a new year service, killing 23 people.
A total solar eclipse was visible from Indonesia.
A second case of sustained remission from HIV is reported, ten years after the Berlin Patient.[41][42]
Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the 17th Eurozone country.
The ESA and Roscosmos launch the joint ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on a mission to Mars.[10]
2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis: Venezuela expels German ambassador Daniel Kriener for his alleged meddling in internal affairs.[43]
Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi dies after setting himself on fire a month earlier, sparking anti-government protests in Tunisia and later other Arab nations. These protests become known collectively as the Arab Spring.
Barack Obama visits Cuba, marking the first time a sitting US president has visited the island nation since president Calvin Coolidge visited in 1928.[12]
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 bound for Nairobi, crashes shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa killing all 157 people on board.[44] All Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are subsequently grounded worldwide.[45]
Iran Air Flight 277 crashes near Orumiyeh in the northeast of the country, killing 77 people.
The International Criminal Court finds former Congolese Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the first time the ICC convicted someone of sexual violence.[11]
Cargo ship Grande America sinks after it caught fire on March 10 in the Bay of Biscay, approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) west of France, causing a 2,200-tonne oil spill.[46]
The Tunisian government falls after a month of increasingly violent protests; President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali flees to Saudi Arabia after 23 years in power
2016 Brussels bombings: Suicide bombing attacks at Brussels' Zaventem airport and Maalbeek metro station kill 35 people and injure 300 more.
Australian Cardinal George Pell is sentenced to six years in prison for sexually abusing two choirboys in 1996.[49]
37 people are killed and more than 180 others wounded in a bombing at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia.[9][10][11]
Ex-Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić is sentenced to 40 years in prison after being found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the Bosnian War.[13]
March 2019 North American blizzard: A winter storm completes its explosive intensification over the Southern Rocky Mountains region, which began the day before, becoming a powerful "bomb cyclone" and triggering severe blizzard conditions across much of the Southwestern and Central United States.[47][48]
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns after widespread protests calling for his departure, leaving control of Egypt in the hands of the military until a general election can be held.[12]
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung publish a set of 11.5 million confidential documents from the Panamanian corporate Mossack Fonseca that provides detailed information on more than 214,000 offshore companies, including the identities of shareholders and directors including noted personalities and heads of state.[15]
51 people are killed and 50 others injured in terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand: Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre, both of which were the target of shootings by Australia-born Brenton Harrison Tarrant. It is the deadliest mass shooting and terrorist attack in New Zealand history and described by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as "one of New Zealand's darkest days".[50] Subsequently, Facebook announced they had disabled 1.5 million videos of the gunman's rampage.[51]
The First Libyan Civil War starts.
EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea en route from Paris to Cairo, killing all 66 people on board.[16]
Cyclone Idai makes landfall on Mozambique, causing at least 1,073 fatalities, as well as causing mass flooding and power outages in southern Africa.[52]
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes Christchurch, New Zealand. Over 180 people were killed, many within the CTV Building, including a large number of foreign citizens. A large number of foreign search and rescue workers responded to the event.
Tsai Ing-wen is sworn in as the 14th President of the Republic of China (Taiwan).[17]
American Karen Uhlenbeck is the first woman to win the Abel Prize for outstanding contributions to mathematics.[55][56]
Civil uprising phase of the Syrian Civil War is triggered when 15 youths in Daraa are arrested for scrawling graffiti on their school wall denouncing the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Harambe, a 17-year-old western lowland gorilla, is shot and killed after a boy falls into its enclosure in Cincinnati, Ohio, causing worldwide controversy.
Nursultan Nazarbayev resigns as President of Kazakhstan after 29 years in office and appoints Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as acting president.[53] Astana is renamed Nur-Sultan the following day in his honor.[54]
A 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the east of Japan, killing 15,840 and leaving another 3,926 missing. Tsunami warnings are issued in 50 countries and territories. Emergencies are declared at four nuclear power plants affected by the quake.[14]
Former Chadian President Hissène Habré is sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity committed during his tenure from 1982 to 1990, the first time an African Union-backed court convicted a former ruler of a country within its jurisdiction.[18]
Disney acquires the rights to 21st Century Fox leaving out a few assets to be spun-off to the newly formed Fox Corporation.[importance?]
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, declares a three-month state of emergency as troops from the Gulf Co-operation Council are sent to quell the civil unrest.[15][16]
The Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest and deepest railway tunnel, is opened following two decades of construction work.[19]
Europe's antitrust regulators fine Google 1.49 billion euros ($1.7 billion) for freezing out rivals in the online advertising business. The ruling brings to nearly $10 billion the fines imposed against Google by the European Union.[57]
Protests breakout across Syria demanding democratic reforms, resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, and release of those imprisoned for the March 6 Daraa protest.[17] The government responds by killing hundreds of protesters and laying siege to various cities, beginning the Syrian Civil War.[18]
A gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State opens fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others.[21]
A major explosion at a chemical plant in Xiangshui, Jiangsu, China, kills at least 78 people and injures more than 600 others. Its powerful impact registered as an artificial earthquake.[58]
In light of continuing attacks on Libyan rebels by forces in support of leader Muammar Gaddafi,[20] military intervention authorized under UNSCR 1973 begins as French fighter jets make reconnaissance flights over Libya.[21]
The United Kingdom votes in a referendum to leave the European Union.[22]
An estimated 400,000 people march in central London in protest against Brexit.[60][61]
India wins the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
2016 Atatürk Airport attack: ISIL is suspected to be responsible for attacking Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 45 people and injuring around 230 others.[23]
The final territory of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, located in Al-Baghuz Fawqani, Syria, is liberated.[59]
The Mexican town of Cherán is taken over by vigilantes in response to abuses from the local drug cartel. The new government is strongly focused on crime reduction and preserving the local environment.
Latvia becomes the 35th member of the OECD.[24]
A four-page summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report into U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign is published by the U.S. Attorney General William Barr. It concludes that there was no collusion with Russia but does not exonerate the President
An estimated two billion people[23] watch the wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London.
2016 Australian federal election: Malcolm Turnbull's Liberal/National Coalition Government is narrowly re-elected,[25] defeating the Labor Party led by Bill Shorten.[26]
The 2019 Thai general election takes place, for all 500 seats in the House of Representatives.
U.S. President Barack Obama announces that Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant group Al-Qaeda, was killed on May 2, 2011 (PKT, UTC+05) during an American military operation in Pakistan.[24]
NASA's Juno spacecraft enters orbit around Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet.[27]
The 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.[63][64]
The European Union agrees to a €78 billion rescue deal for Portugal. The bailout loan will be equally split between the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism, the European Financial Stability Facility, and the International Monetary Fund.[25]
The augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go is released, breaking numerous records in terms of sales and revenue.[28]
Taiwan scrambles its fighter aircraft after two Chinese jets crossed a maritime border between the two nations. Just the day before, Japan had similarly scrambled its jets when the Chinese flew between two Japanese islands, Miyako and Okinawa.[65]
Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano, erupts and causes disruption to air travel in Northwestern Europe.[26]
The Philippines wins the arbitration case they filed at the Permanent Court of Arbitration regarding the legality of China's "Nine-Dash Line" claim over the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.[29][30]
Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigns as President of Algeria amid widespread protests, after nearly two decades in office.[66]
The 2011 Joplin tornado, an EF5 tornado, strikes Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 and injuring 1,150.
2016 Nice truck attack: 86 people are killed and more than 400 others injured in a truck attack in Nice, France, during Bastille Day celebrations.[31]
Second Libyan Civil War: The Libyan National Army (LNA) launches a surprise offensive in western Libya, moving units towards the Government of National Accord-held capital Tripoli and capturing Gharyan. The LNA says that the operation, ordered by General Khalifa Haftar, is aimed at "cleansing the western zone from terrorist groups".[67][68]
Former Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladić, wanted for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, is arrested in Serbia.[27][28]
The final videocassette recorder is manufactured by the Japanese company Funai.[33]
The April 2019 Israeli legislative election takes place, for all 120 seats in the Knesset.
Chile's Puyehue volcano erupts, causing air traffic cancellations across South America, New Zealand and Australia, and forcing over 3,000 people to evacuate.
Swiss Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth.[34]
Fossil fragments found in the Callao Cave in the Philippines reveal the existence of the Homo luzonensis species of humans. The species is named after the island where it was discovered, Luzon.[71]
The Food and Agriculture Organization announces the eradication of the cattle plague rinderpest from the world.[29]
A 6.2 earthquake hits central Italy, killing 299 people.
Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope project announce the first ever image of a black hole, located in the centre of the M87 galaxy.[69][70]
South Sudan secedes from Sudan, per the result of the independence referendum held in January.[30]
An annular solar eclipse was visible from Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar.
Amid mass protests, Omar al-Bashir is deposed as President of Sudan in a coup d'état, after nearly 30 years in office.[74]
The planet Neptune completes its first orbit since it was discovered in 1846.[31]
The US and China, together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions, both formally join the Paris global climate agreement.[37]
The 2019 Indian general election begins, along with elections in six states. Counting takes place on 23 May.[75]
South Sudan joins the United Nations as the 193rd member.[32]
NASA launches OSIRIS-REx, its first asteroid sample return mission. The probe will visit Bennu and is expected to return with samples in 2023.[38][39]
WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange is arrested after seven years in Ecuador's embassy in London.[72][73]
Goran Hadžić is detained in Serbia, becoming the last of 161 people indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.[33]
The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test. World leaders condemn the act, with South Korea calling it "maniacal recklessness".[40]
During Holy Week, a major fire engulfs Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, resulting in the roof and main spire collapsing.[76][77]
The United Nations declares a famine in southern Somalia, the first in over 30 years.[34]
Global CO2 levels exceed 400 ppm at the time of year normally associated with minimum levels.[42] A 400 ppm level is believed to be higher than anything experienced in human history.[43]
The Howse Peak avalanche kills three noted mountaineers: Austrians Hansjörg Auer and David Lama, and Canadian Jess Roskelley.[78]
Space Shuttle Atlantis lands successfully at Kennedy Space Center after completing STS-135, concluding NASA's Space Shuttle program.[35]
International investigators conclude that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a Buk missile that came from an area controlled by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.[41]
At least 28 people are killed in a bus crash on the Portuguese island of Madeira.[79]
In Norway, Anders Behring Breivik kills 8 people in a bomb blast which targeted government buildings in central Oslo, then kills 69 at a massacre at a Workers' Youth League camp on the island of Utøya.[36]
Two paintings by Vincent van Gogh with a combined value of $100 million, Seascape at Scheveningen and Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen, are recovered after having been stolen on December 7, 2002 from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.[44]
The 2019 Indonesian general election takes place; for the President, 575 seats in the People's Representative Council, and 136 seats in the Regional Representative Council.
In Thailand over 12.8 million people are affected by severe flooding. The World Bank estimates damages at 1,440 billion baht (US$45 billion).[37] Some areas are still six feet under water, and many factory areas remain closed at the end of the year. 815[38] people are killed, with 58 of the country's 77 provinces affected.[39]
Three events that played a significant role in the 2016 United States presidential election all take place on the same afternoon: (1) U.S. intelligence agencies publicly accuse the Russian government of using computer hacking to interfere with the U.S. election process; (2) The Washington Post releases a videotape showing candidate Donald Trump privately bragging about sexual improprieties; (3) WikiLeaks releases thousands of private emails from inside the political campaign of candidate Hillary Clinton.
NepaliSat-1 is launched. It is Nepal's first ever research satellite to be sent into space.[81][82]
Juno, the first solar-powered spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter, is launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.[42]
The Maldives announces its decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Nations.[45]
The full 448-page report on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States Presidential Election (the Mueller Report) is released in redacted form.[80]
NASA announces that its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured photographic evidence of possible liquid water on Mars during warm seasons.
150 nations meet at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) summit in Rwanda and agree to phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as an amendment to the Montreal Protocol.[46]
A series of 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.[83][84][85][86] This is the first major terrorist attack in the country since the Sri Lankan Civil War ended in 2009.[87]
India and Bangladesh sign a pact to end their 40-year border demarcation dispute.[46]
The Chicago Cubs win the World Series for the first time since 1908, ending the longest championship drought in American sports history.[47]
Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky is elected President of Ukraine in a runoff election. Zelensky previously portrayed a fictional Ukrainian president in the television series Servant of the People.[88]
The MV Spice Islander I, carrying at least 800 people, sinks off the coast of Zanzibar, killing 240 people.[47]
Donald Trump is elected the 45th President of the United States as a Republican after running a campaign widely characterized as populist.[48]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits Russia to hold a series of summits with Russian leaders, including President Vladimir Putin.[89]
Approximately 100 people die after a petrol pipeline explodes in Nairobi.[48]
The remains of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos are buried in a private ceremony at the Heroes' Cemetery prompting nationwide protests throughout the Philippines.[49][50]
Avengers: Endgame is released in theaters, breaking many box-office records, including becoming the highest grossing movie of all time.
Occupy Wall Street protests begin in the United States. This develops into the Occupy movement which spreads to 82 countries by October.[49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57]
The Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People's Army sign a revised peace deal, bringing an end to the Colombian conflict.[51]
The 2019 Spanish general election takes place, for all 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 208 (of the 266) seats in the Senate. The PSOE, under Pedro Sánchez, wins the most seats, but not an outright majority.[90]
With 434 dead, the United Nations launches a $357 million appeal for victims of the 2011 Sindh floods in Pakistan.[58]
LaMia Flight 2933 crashes into a mountain near Medellín, Colombia, killing 71 of the 77 people on board, including members of the Brazilian Chapecoense football squad.
Victor Vescovo achieves the deepest dive of any human in history, as he reaches Challenger Deep within the Mariana Trench, at a depth of 10,928 m (35,853 ft).[91][92]
The death toll from the flooding of Cambodia's Mekong river and attendant flash floods reaches 207.[59]
Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, is assassinated by an off-duty Turkish police officer at an art exhibition in Ankara.[52]
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the elusive leader of the Islamic State terrorist organization, appears in undated footage released by the group, his first appearance on video since 2014. In the video, he references the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, indicating it was filmed very recently.[93]
Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange: Israel and the Palestinian militant organization Hamas begin a major prisoner exchange, in which the captured Israeli Army soldier Gilad Shalit is released by Hamas in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian and Israeli-Arab prisoners held in Israel, including 280 prisoners serving life sentences for planning and perpetrating terror attacks.[60][61][62]
The United Nations Security Council adopts Resolution 2334 condemning "Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories occupied since 1967".[54]
2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis: Venezuelan opposition leader and disputed interim President Juan Guaidó leads an attempted uprising against President Nicolás Maduro.[96]
Basque separatist militant organisation ETA declares an end to its 43-year campaign of political violence, which has killed over 800 people since 1968.[67]
2016 Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 crash: A Tupolev Tu-154 jetliner of the Russian Defence Ministry crashes into the Black Sea shortly after taking off from Sochi International Airport, Russia, while en route to Khmeimim Air Base, Syria. All 92 people on board, including 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble choir of the Russian Armed Forces, are killed.[55]
Emperor 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 1 May.[94][95]
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is killed in Sirte, with National Transitional Council forces taking control of the city and ending the war.[63][64][65][66]
United States troops withdraw from Afghanistan after 15 years.
King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand marries his personal bodyguard Suthida Tidjai a commoner
A magnitude 7.2 Mw earthquake jolts eastern Turkey near the city of Van, killing over 600 people and damaging about 2,200 buildings.[68]
2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 39 people and injuring 79 others.[2]
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs into law a controversial "sovereign internet" bill that allows Russian authorities to better monitor internet routing and to steer Russian internet traffic away from foreign servers.
After an emergency meeting in Brussels, the European Union announces an agreement to tackle the European sovereign debt crisis which includes a writedown of 50% of Greek bonds, a recapitalisation of European banks and an increase of the bailout fund of the European Financial Stability Facility totaling to €1 trillion.[69][70]
Turkish Airlines Flight 6491, a cargo flight en route from Hong Kong to Istanbul via Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, crashes in a residential area while attempting to land at Manas International Airport, Bishkek, killing all four crew members on board and 35 people on the ground.[3]
The number of deaths from the Kivu Ebola outbreak exceeds 1,000. It is the second deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, only surpassed by the West African Ebola virus epidemic of 2013-2016
Date selected by the UN as the symbolic date when global population reaches seven billion.[71]
Donald Trump, a Republican New York City businessman, is sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. Trump is the first person to be elected President of the United States who was neither a political office holder nor a military general.[4]
Aeroflot Flight 1492 crash-lands and bursts into flames at Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, killing 41 of the 78 people on board.[100]
UNESCO admits Palestine as a member, following a vote which 107 member states support and 14 oppose.[72]
Millions of people worldwide join the Women's March in response to the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States. 420 marches were reported in the U.S. and 168 in other countries, becoming the largest single-day protest in American history and the largest worldwide protest in recent history.[5]
In its first report since 2005, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) warns that biodiversity loss is "accelerating", with over a million species now threatened with extinction; the decline of the natural living world is "unprecedented" and largely a result of human actions, according to the report.[101][102]
The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity, the most elaborate Martian exploration vehicle to date, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center. It lands on Mars on August 6, 2012.[73][74][75]
Morocco rejoins the African Union.
Syrian Civil War: The Syrian Army launches a major ground offensive against one of the last rebel strongholds in the country.[103]
The United Kingdom severs diplomatic relations with Iran and expels diplomats, less than 24 hours after protesters attacked the British embassy in Tehran.[76]
North Korea prompts international condemnation by test firing a ballistic missile across the Sea of Japan.[6]
A British teenager, Isabelle Holdaway, 17, is reported to be the first patient ever to receive a genetically modified phage therapy to treat a drug-resistant infection.[104][105]
The United States formally declares an end to the Iraq War. While this ends the insurgency, it begins another.[77][78][79][80][81]
Assassination of Kim Jong-nam: Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of deceased North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and the half-brother of current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is killed after being attacked by two women with VX nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia.[7]
May 2019 Gulf of Oman incident: Four commercial ships, including two Saudi Aramco oil tankers, are damaged near the port of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman.[107] The United Arab Emirates claims the incident was a "sabotage attack", while an early United States assessment reportedly blames Iran for the attack. The incident occurs during a time of regional tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with the U.S. just weeks prior deploying strategic bombers, a carrier strike group and other military assets to the Persia
Tropical Storm Washi causes 1,268 flash flood fatalities in the Philippines, with 85 people officially listed as missing.[82]
An annular solar eclipse was visible from Pacific, Chile, Argentina, Atlantic, Africa. It was the 29th eclipse of the 140th saros cycle (descending node), which started with a partial solar eclipse visible in the Southern Hemisphere on April 16, 1512 and will conclude with another partial solar eclipse visible in the Northern Hemisphere on June 1, 2774.
Prosecutors in Sweden reopen the rape allegation investigation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Swedish prosecutors mention their intent to seek extradition of Assange from the United Kingdom after he has served his 50-week prison sentence for skipping bail.[109]
Samoa and Tokelau move from east to west of the International Date Line, thereby skipping December 30, in order to align their time zones better with their main trading partners.[83]
The UN warns that the world is facing the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II, with up to 20 million people at risk of starvation and famine in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria.[8]
The 2019 Philippine general election takes place, for all 297 seats in the House of Representatives and 12 seats in the Senate.
A hot air balloon crashes near Carterton, New Zealand, killing all 11 people on board.
March 2017 North American blizzard, a major late-season blizzard, affects the Northeastern United States, New England and Canada, dumping up to three feet of snow in the hardest hit areas.
Ibiza affair: A corruption scandal involving the Vice-Chancellor of Austria Heinz-Christian Strache and deputy leader of the Freedom Party Johann Gudenus offering to fix state contracts with a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch at a 2017 meeting in Spain leads to the collapse of the coalition government and calls for snap elections.[111]
A bombing in Khyber Agency, Pakistan, kills at least 30 people and 78 others injured.
An Islamic terror attack outside the Palace of Westminster in London, England, kills five people and injures more than fifty others.[9][10]
Taiwan's parliament becomes the first in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage.[110]
Violent protests occur in Bucharest, Romania, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President Traian Băsescu's economic austerity measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement officers.
The United Kingdom triggers Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, starting the Brexit negotiations, the talks for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.[11]
2019 Australian federal election: Scott Morrison's Liberal/National Coalition Government is narrowly re-elected,[112] defeating the Labor Party led by Bill Shorten.
The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy due to the captain Francesco Schettino's negligence and irresponsibility. There are 32 confirmed deaths.
SpaceX conducts the world's first reflight of an orbital class rocket.[12][13]
China-United States trade war: Google pulls Android update support for Huawei phones, as well as the Google Play Store and Gmail apps, after the Chinese technology company was blacklisted by the United States.[114]
The Hong Kong-based file-sharing website Megaupload is shut down by the FBI.
In response to a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town, the U.S. military launches 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at an air base in Syria. Russia describes the strikes as an "aggression", adding they significantly damage U.S.-Russia ties.[14]
Eleven people are killed in a shooting at a bar in Belém, Brazil.[113]
Iran-European Union relations: the European Union adopts an embargo against Iran in protest of its continued effort to enrich uranium.[3]
In the 2017 Nangarhar airstrike the U.S. drops the GBU-43/B MOAB, the world's largest non-nuclear weapon, at an ISIL base in the Nangarhar Province of eastern Afghanistan.
The redefinition of the SI system of measurement adopted by the majority of countries in the world takes effect.[115]
The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II marks the 60th anniversary of her accession to the thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and the 60th anniversary of her becoming Head of the Commonwealth.[4][5]
U.S. President Donald Trump fires FBI Director James Comey, leading to increased calls for the appointment of a special counsel.[15]
2019 Indian general election: Narendra Modi secures a landslide win, with his party BJP alone gaining 303 of the 543 seats in parliament, and his political alliance winning 353 seats of the 543.[116][117][118]
Períodos
Winter Olympics
2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India
Southern Sudan holds a referendum on independence. The Sudanese electorate votes in favour of independence, paving the way for the creation of the new state in July.[5][6]
Uncertainty over Libyan oil output causes crude oil prices to rise 20% over a two-week period following the Arab Spring,[13] causing the 2011 energy crisis.
The 2011 Super Outbreak forms in the Southern, Midwest and Eastern United States with a tornado count of 362; killing 324 and injuring over 2,200.
The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup takes place in Germany and is won by Japan.
Libyan rebels take control of the capital Tripoli, effectively overthrowing the government of Muammar Gaddafi.[43][44][45]
The 2012 World Expo takes place in Yeosu, South Korea.[16]
The century's second and last solar transit of Venus occurs. The next pair are predicted to occur in 2117 and 2125.[18]
Poland and Ukraine jointly host the UEFA Euro 2012 football tournament, which is won by Spain.
The 2012 Summer Olympics are held in London, England, United Kingdom.[28]
In the worst power outage in world history, the 2012 India blackouts leave 620 million people without power.[29][30][31]
A series of terrorist attacks are directed against United States diplomatic missions worldwide, as well as diplomatic missions of Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the US, opinions are divided over whether the attacks are a reaction to a YouTube trailer for the film Innocence of Muslims. In Libya, among the dead is US ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.[35][36][37][38][39]
Israel launches Operation Pillar of Defense against the Palestinian-governed Gaza Strip, killing Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari. In the following week 140 Palestinians and five Israelis are killed in an ensuing cycle of violence. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is announced by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after the week-long escalation in hostilities in Southern Israel and the Gaza Strip.[47][48][49][50][51]
Typhoon Bopha, known as "Pablo" in the Philippines, kills at least 1,067 with around 838 people still missing. The typhoon causes considerable damage in the island of Mindanao.[52][53][54]
Thirty-nine international workers and one security guard die in a hostage crisis at a natural gas facility near In Aménas, Algeria.
The XXII Olympic Winter Games are held in Sochi, Russia.[6] Slopestyle events are introduced for the first time.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup is held in Brazil,[30] and is won by Germany.[31]
Amid 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,[34] followed by a ground offensive a week later.[35] In seven weeks of fighting, 2,100 Palestinians and 71 Israelis are killed.
The 2014 Commonwealth Games takes place in Glasgow, Scotland.
A series of massacres in Baga, Nigeria and surrounding villages by Boko Haram kills more than 2,000 people.[3][4][5][6]
The ancient city sites of Nimrud, Hatra and Dur-Sharrukin in Iraq are demolished by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[16][17][18]
Expo 2015 is held in Milan, Italy.[32]
Version O of Les Femmes d'Alger by Pablo Picasso sells for US$179.3 million at Christie's auction in New York, while the sculpture L'Homme au doigt by Alberto Giacometti sells for US$141.3 million, setting a new world record for a painting and for a sculpture, respectively.[33][34]
ISIL claim responsibility for three attacks around the world during Ramadan: Kobanî - 220 people, Sousse 38 people, Kuwait mosque- 27 killed and 227 injured
Greek government-debt crisis: After six months of clashes and futile negotiations between Greece's newly elected, leftist government and the country's creditors, over the austerity measures imposed through bailout programmes, tension peaks as Greece votes in a referendum to reject the terms offered in a third programme;[46] however the government eventually proceeds to concur to harsher terms than those offered before, in what was widely characterized as a coup on the creditors' part.[47]
The highest ever recorded individual cricket score, 1,009 not out, is made by Pranav Dhanawade.
2016 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes: Clashes occur along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact with the Artsakh Defense Army, backed by the Armenian Armed Forces, on one side and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the other. The US State Department estimates that a total of 350 people have been killed in the clashes, which have been defined as "the worst" since the 1994 ceasefire.[14]
France hosts the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament, which is won by Portugal.[20]
In Turkey, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces that organized themselves as the Peace at Home Council, unsuccessfully stages a coup against the state institutions, resulting in the deaths of at least 240 people and triggering a series of unprecedented purges throughout the country.[32]
The 2016 Summer Olympics are held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the first time in a South American nation.[35]
Hurricane Harvey strikes the United States as a Category 4 hurricane, causing catastrophic damage to the Houston metropolitan area, mostly due to record-breaking floods. At least 108 deaths are recorded, and total damage reaches $125 billion (2017 USD), making Harvey the costliest natural disaster in United States history, tied with Hurricane Katrina in 2005.[47][48]
The Caribbean and United States are struck by Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 hurricane that is the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin outside the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. The storm causes at least 146 deaths and $64.2 billion (2017 USD) in damage.[48][51]
Just two weeks after Hurricane Irma struck the Caribbean, Hurricane Maria strikes similar areas, making landfall on Dominica as a Category 5 hurricane, and Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane. Maria caused at least 3,000 deaths and damages estimated in excess of $91.6 billion (2017 USD).[48][56]
The United States government enters a federal government shutdown as a result of a dispute over Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.[5]
The 2018 Winter Olympics are held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.[11]
The 2018 Winter Paralympics are held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games are held in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 is held in Lisbon, Portugal, and is won by Israeli entrant Netta Barzilai with the song "Toy".
The 44th G7 summit is held in Canada. President Trump pushes for the reinstatement of the G8 (to include Russia). He also proposes the elimination of tariffs.[59]
The 2018 FIFA World Cup is held in Russia[63] and is won by France.[64]
The 2018 Mediterranean Games are held in Tarragona, Spain.
The 2018 Brussels NATO summit is held in Belgium.[78]
Heavy rainfall causes severe floods in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the worst flood to hit the state in a century.
The 2018 Asian Games are held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia.
France experiences its worst civil unrest since the protests of 1968 due to the yellow vests movement. Protests in Paris morph into riots, with hundreds of people injured and thousands arrested; over 100 cars are burned, the Arc de Triomphe is vandalized and numerous other tourist sites are closed, both in the capital and elsewhere in the country.[134]
Gatwick Airport drone incident: Reports of drone sightings close to the runway at Gatwick Airport in England causes major disruption, affecting approximately 140,000 passengers and 1,000 flights, making it the largest disruption since ash from an Icelandic volcano shut the airport in 2010.[139]
India-Pakistan Standoff
The 2019 North Korea
Coronation of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 takes place in Tel Aviv, Israel, and is won by Dutch entrant Duncan Laurence with the song "Arcade".
The 2019 European Parliament election takes place. The election has a 51 percent voter turnout, the highest since the first direct elections in 1979.
Amazonas prison massacres: More than 50 prisoners are killed in a series of riots at four different prisons in Amazonas, Brazil.[121]
The 2019 Cricket World Cup is held in England and Wales, and is won by England.
U.S. President Donald Trump makes a state visit to the United Kingdom, meeting with Queen Elizabeth II and outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May. It is the first official state visit to the U.K. by a sitting U.S. president since 2011. Trump also attends D-Day commemorative ceremonies.[129]
Chinese President Xi Jinping makes a state visit to Russia, where he also attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.[130]
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup is held in France and is won by the United States.
Chinese President Xi Jinping makes a state visit to North Korea. It is his first visit to the country as president and the first visit to North Korea by a Chinese leader since Hu Jintao's visit 14 years prior.[147]
The 2019 Pan American Games are held in Lima, Peru.
2019 Canary Islands wildfires: A number of forest fires break out in the Canary Islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Lanzarote. The fires on the island of Gran Canaria were the most severe, resulting in the loss of large areas of the island's forests and leading to the evacuation of thousands of residents from a number of towns and villages.[192][193]
The 2019 Rugby Union World Cup is held in Japan; the South Africa Springboks defeat the England national rugby union team 32
The 2019 Southeast Asian Games are held in the Philippines.
The 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place in Madrid, Spain, after Chilean President Sebastián Piñera announced his country could not do so due to political unrest in the country.[319]