As yet another year comes to its close and we prepare to usher in a new era, it is a custom to always take a look back at what the past 12 months have left us with so that we can recall those events and learn from them as we move forward in the year to come. Let's see what each month of 2014 brought to the world.
January: Latvia officially joins the eurozone as its 18th member and adopts the Euro as its official national currency. Meanwhile in Ukraine, the violent protests are still going on due to the political measures taken and in Israel former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon passes away. In Switzerland, there is a United Nations meeting for a peace negotiation between the U.S.A., Syria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Russia.
February: The month of the Winter Olympic Games. They were held in Socchi, Russia, despite many terrorist threats and were considered in general a great success. In Ukraine, the protests continued even more violently leaving 100 people as casualties, which resulted in the parliament voting the removal of Viktor Yanukovych and him being replaced by Oleksandr Turchynov. The Ebola virus outbreak begins in Africa, with over 7,000 people dead and 19,000 infected. Protests continue in Venezuela as well, as a result of the very strict economical measures taken by President Nicolas Maduro's government. Three people are left dead after the struggle between police and rioters and Maduro warns that they are facing a "coup d'etat". The opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez is blamed for igniting the flames for the riots, so he turns himself in to the authorities, which results to even heavier protests. In the meantime, in Switzerland there is a second round of negotiations led by the United Nations for a peace treaty between the U.S.A., Russia, Turkey, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
March: Russia sends its troops to Crimea in order to defend the Russian people living in the area from the violent protests. This begins a series of events which results in the area seceding from Ukraine and seeking annexation by Russia, that it eventually succeeds in doing after Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a treaty on March 18th. Although the treaty is not considered valid by the majority of the UN, not to mention forces them to remove Russia from the G-8, halt all peace negotiation talks with them and move the G-8 meeting from Socchi to Brussels. In other news, an airplane from Malaysian airlines going from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur suddenly goes missing from the radars over the Gulf of Thailand. Not much is known about its whereabouts or the 239 people onboard. The violent protests continue in Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the police to use pepper spray, water cannons and tear gas in order to stop the outbreak.
April: Despite an initial agreement of the U.S.A, Russia and the European leaders for the situation in Ukraine to deflate, Russia does not maintain their end of the deal, keeping their 40,000 troops on the Ukraine-Russian borders. Also, there are many pro-Russian protesters and militants in many central buildings of main Ukrainian cities (Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kiev) that refuse to leave their posts and recognize the government. In response to these actions, U.S. President Barrack Obama imposes sanctions and bans to people and companies close to Vladimir Putin, including (but not limited to) travel ban, freezing of assets and inability to trade with the U.S.. In Nigeria, 276 girls and women are abducted from a school in order to be used as sex slaves. Former Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius is put on the stand for his murder trial against his former girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. During the testimony, Pistorius breaks out in tears and testifies that he shot the door four times in order to get it to open and, eventually, find his dead girlfriend's body behind it.
May: As the Ukrainian crisis comes to a conclusion, the U.S. and Europe threaten Russia with even heavier sanctions and polls show that only the people in favor of the annexation were actually voting in Crimea. As a result, Vladimir Putin withdraws his troops from the border, he urges separatists to abandon plans for a referendum or autonomy and begins reaching out to the other nations in order to begin negotiations, although he is met with much skepticism. Despite all that, the pro-Russian separatists attempt to take over the airport in Donetsk, with 50 of them killed as a result. Petro Poroshenko, a.k.a. the Chocolate King, is elected the new prime minister in Ukraine. In Nigeria, the Islamic group Boco Haram takes responsibility for the abduction of the 276 girls from the school. Their leader is seen in a video saying "I have your girls". Meanwhile, the U.S. and the Taliban complete a 5-year prisoner exchange negotiation, with the American military retrieving Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and 5 Taliban leaders headed for the Qatar prisons, where they will remain for one year. Scientists and doctors identify the spread of poliomyelitis in 10 countries.
June: King Juan Carlos of Spain abdicated, leaving his son Felipe VI in his place on the throne. Meanwhile, a group called ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) take control of the Mosul and, with the joined effort of government troops and officials who are simply 'fed up', head for the capital of Baghdad in order to overthrow the Shiite government itself. The FIFA World Cup begins in Brazil, despite numerous protests from the population.
July: After 3 Israeli teenagers where kidnapped and murdered and in response, one Palestinian was killed by the Israeli, the tension in the area began to rise, with the death toll reaching the thousands. Malaysian Airlines 777, a boeing type airplane traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down on the eastern Ukrainian border, the part of the country that was controlled by the separatists. All 298 people on board went missing. The plane was presumably shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile. This was a violation of the U.S.-Russia 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and as a result, forces the U.S. and Europe to take further actions against Russia or anyone doing business with them. Argentina defaults on its debt yet again, ISIS declares its ground in Iraq and Gremany go on to win the FIFA World Cup, after embarrassing the hosts to a 7-0 defeat in the semi-finals.
August: After ISIS take control of the largest dam in Mosul and threaten every Christian in town to convert to Islam, U.S. President Barrack Obama has ordered his troops to perform limited airstrikes on the group. However, in retaliation, ISIS released a video to the public in which American reporter James Foley was beheaded. After fighting for 7 weeks, Israel and the Hamas agree to an open cease-fire thanks to Egypt. The casualties are heavy, especially for the Palestinians, with over 100,000 people left without food or shelter. Famous actor Robin Williams was found dead in his apartment in California. Apparently he took his own life due to his depression.
September: In a nationwide vote, the people of Scotland elected to stay within the United Kingdom. However, this was only by a small margin as the vote ended in a 55-45% difference between the voters. Meanwhile, the actions of ISIS in the Middle-East leads over 130,000 Kurdish people to seek refuge in neighboring Turkey, with the European country unable to sustain such a huge amount of people. In Iraq, ISIS release yet another video showing the execution of American journalist Steven Sotloff, who worked for Time magazine. After this, Barrack Obama requests extra funds from the Senate in order to train rebel troops for ground strikes and gives a worldwide speech in which he addresses ISIS as "ISIL". Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. join the U.S. in their airstrikes against ISIS. The 2014 World Nobel Peace Price Award ceremony to be held in Cape Town is suspended after the South African government's refusal to issue a visa to the 14th Dalai Lama.
October: The U.S. airstrikes against ISIS continue. In Bolivia, President Evo Morales wins a third consecutive election by 61%. A man is shot and killed after attempting to attack the Canadian parliament. This is linked to Canada's association with the airstrikes against ISIS.
November: According to the final part of the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world faces "severe, pervasive and irreversible" damage from the exclusions of CO2 to the atmosphere. The U.S. and China reach a revolutionary agreement that will see both nations use cleaner energy sources like windmills in an attempt to reverse the climate change. Also, humanity managed to land a spacecraft on a moving comet, with the Rosetta spacecraft's Philae successfully reaching Comet 67P. Meanwhile, five people were killed in a synagogue in Israel by Palestinians and 43 Mexican college students were abducted and murdered presumably by the local police, an act which led to nationwide riots. In Egypt, the local militia voiced their support to ISIS and a local court dropped all charges on former president Hosni Mubarak for his crimes against humanity.
December: An Iranian man held people hostage in a coffee shop in downtown Sydney, Australia. The situation continued for over sixteen hours and resulted in the death of the armed man and another two people. The Taliban attacked a school in northern Pakistan, leaving 145 people dead, most of them children. A man who had been sentenced to prison in Cuba for 15 years was released by the local government, which resulted to the U.S. President stating that his country would resume diplomatic relations with Cuba.
And there you have it. A year with many events, some of them positive, others negative, but with many things to learn nonetheless. Let's hope we can use this year as a foundation upon which we can build a better future for the generations to come after us to this world. Happy new year everyone!!!
January: Latvia officially joins the eurozone as its 18th member and adopts the Euro as its official national currency. Meanwhile in Ukraine, the violent protests are still going on due to the political measures taken and in Israel former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon passes away. In Switzerland, there is a United Nations meeting for a peace negotiation between the U.S.A., Syria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Russia.
February: The month of the Winter Olympic Games. They were held in Socchi, Russia, despite many terrorist threats and were considered in general a great success. In Ukraine, the protests continued even more violently leaving 100 people as casualties, which resulted in the parliament voting the removal of Viktor Yanukovych and him being replaced by Oleksandr Turchynov. The Ebola virus outbreak begins in Africa, with over 7,000 people dead and 19,000 infected. Protests continue in Venezuela as well, as a result of the very strict economical measures taken by President Nicolas Maduro's government. Three people are left dead after the struggle between police and rioters and Maduro warns that they are facing a "coup d'etat". The opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez is blamed for igniting the flames for the riots, so he turns himself in to the authorities, which results to even heavier protests. In the meantime, in Switzerland there is a second round of negotiations led by the United Nations for a peace treaty between the U.S.A., Russia, Turkey, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
March: Russia sends its troops to Crimea in order to defend the Russian people living in the area from the violent protests. This begins a series of events which results in the area seceding from Ukraine and seeking annexation by Russia, that it eventually succeeds in doing after Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a treaty on March 18th. Although the treaty is not considered valid by the majority of the UN, not to mention forces them to remove Russia from the G-8, halt all peace negotiation talks with them and move the G-8 meeting from Socchi to Brussels. In other news, an airplane from Malaysian airlines going from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur suddenly goes missing from the radars over the Gulf of Thailand. Not much is known about its whereabouts or the 239 people onboard. The violent protests continue in Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the police to use pepper spray, water cannons and tear gas in order to stop the outbreak.
April: Despite an initial agreement of the U.S.A, Russia and the European leaders for the situation in Ukraine to deflate, Russia does not maintain their end of the deal, keeping their 40,000 troops on the Ukraine-Russian borders. Also, there are many pro-Russian protesters and militants in many central buildings of main Ukrainian cities (Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kiev) that refuse to leave their posts and recognize the government. In response to these actions, U.S. President Barrack Obama imposes sanctions and bans to people and companies close to Vladimir Putin, including (but not limited to) travel ban, freezing of assets and inability to trade with the U.S.. In Nigeria, 276 girls and women are abducted from a school in order to be used as sex slaves. Former Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius is put on the stand for his murder trial against his former girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. During the testimony, Pistorius breaks out in tears and testifies that he shot the door four times in order to get it to open and, eventually, find his dead girlfriend's body behind it.
May: As the Ukrainian crisis comes to a conclusion, the U.S. and Europe threaten Russia with even heavier sanctions and polls show that only the people in favor of the annexation were actually voting in Crimea. As a result, Vladimir Putin withdraws his troops from the border, he urges separatists to abandon plans for a referendum or autonomy and begins reaching out to the other nations in order to begin negotiations, although he is met with much skepticism. Despite all that, the pro-Russian separatists attempt to take over the airport in Donetsk, with 50 of them killed as a result. Petro Poroshenko, a.k.a. the Chocolate King, is elected the new prime minister in Ukraine. In Nigeria, the Islamic group Boco Haram takes responsibility for the abduction of the 276 girls from the school. Their leader is seen in a video saying "I have your girls". Meanwhile, the U.S. and the Taliban complete a 5-year prisoner exchange negotiation, with the American military retrieving Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and 5 Taliban leaders headed for the Qatar prisons, where they will remain for one year. Scientists and doctors identify the spread of poliomyelitis in 10 countries.
June: King Juan Carlos of Spain abdicated, leaving his son Felipe VI in his place on the throne. Meanwhile, a group called ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) take control of the Mosul and, with the joined effort of government troops and officials who are simply 'fed up', head for the capital of Baghdad in order to overthrow the Shiite government itself. The FIFA World Cup begins in Brazil, despite numerous protests from the population.
July: After 3 Israeli teenagers where kidnapped and murdered and in response, one Palestinian was killed by the Israeli, the tension in the area began to rise, with the death toll reaching the thousands. Malaysian Airlines 777, a boeing type airplane traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down on the eastern Ukrainian border, the part of the country that was controlled by the separatists. All 298 people on board went missing. The plane was presumably shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile. This was a violation of the U.S.-Russia 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and as a result, forces the U.S. and Europe to take further actions against Russia or anyone doing business with them. Argentina defaults on its debt yet again, ISIS declares its ground in Iraq and Gremany go on to win the FIFA World Cup, after embarrassing the hosts to a 7-0 defeat in the semi-finals.
August: After ISIS take control of the largest dam in Mosul and threaten every Christian in town to convert to Islam, U.S. President Barrack Obama has ordered his troops to perform limited airstrikes on the group. However, in retaliation, ISIS released a video to the public in which American reporter James Foley was beheaded. After fighting for 7 weeks, Israel and the Hamas agree to an open cease-fire thanks to Egypt. The casualties are heavy, especially for the Palestinians, with over 100,000 people left without food or shelter. Famous actor Robin Williams was found dead in his apartment in California. Apparently he took his own life due to his depression.
September: In a nationwide vote, the people of Scotland elected to stay within the United Kingdom. However, this was only by a small margin as the vote ended in a 55-45% difference between the voters. Meanwhile, the actions of ISIS in the Middle-East leads over 130,000 Kurdish people to seek refuge in neighboring Turkey, with the European country unable to sustain such a huge amount of people. In Iraq, ISIS release yet another video showing the execution of American journalist Steven Sotloff, who worked for Time magazine. After this, Barrack Obama requests extra funds from the Senate in order to train rebel troops for ground strikes and gives a worldwide speech in which he addresses ISIS as "ISIL". Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. join the U.S. in their airstrikes against ISIS. The 2014 World Nobel Peace Price Award ceremony to be held in Cape Town is suspended after the South African government's refusal to issue a visa to the 14th Dalai Lama.
October: The U.S. airstrikes against ISIS continue. In Bolivia, President Evo Morales wins a third consecutive election by 61%. A man is shot and killed after attempting to attack the Canadian parliament. This is linked to Canada's association with the airstrikes against ISIS.
November: According to the final part of the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world faces "severe, pervasive and irreversible" damage from the exclusions of CO2 to the atmosphere. The U.S. and China reach a revolutionary agreement that will see both nations use cleaner energy sources like windmills in an attempt to reverse the climate change. Also, humanity managed to land a spacecraft on a moving comet, with the Rosetta spacecraft's Philae successfully reaching Comet 67P. Meanwhile, five people were killed in a synagogue in Israel by Palestinians and 43 Mexican college students were abducted and murdered presumably by the local police, an act which led to nationwide riots. In Egypt, the local militia voiced their support to ISIS and a local court dropped all charges on former president Hosni Mubarak for his crimes against humanity.
December: An Iranian man held people hostage in a coffee shop in downtown Sydney, Australia. The situation continued for over sixteen hours and resulted in the death of the armed man and another two people. The Taliban attacked a school in northern Pakistan, leaving 145 people dead, most of them children. A man who had been sentenced to prison in Cuba for 15 years was released by the local government, which resulted to the U.S. President stating that his country would resume diplomatic relations with Cuba.
And there you have it. A year with many events, some of them positive, others negative, but with many things to learn nonetheless. Let's hope we can use this year as a foundation upon which we can build a better future for the generations to come after us to this world. Happy new year everyone!!!
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