date: March 26

text: March 26 – Global COVID-19 cases reach 500,000, with nearly 23,000 deaths confirmed. The U.S. surpasses China and Italy in the total number of known COVID-19 cases, with at least 81,321 cases and more than 1,000 deaths.


date: April 5

section: Health & Medicine

text: April 5 – COVID-19 pandemic: The first case of COVID-19 in a zoo animal is reported: a four-year-old female Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City.

source_section: Events › April


date: April 7

text: April 7 – COVID-19 pandemic: Japan declares a state of emergency in response to COVID-19 and finalises a stimulus package worth 108 trillion yen (US$990 billion), equal to 20% of the country's GDP.


date: April 10

text: April 10 – Kivu Ebola epidemic: The Democratic Republic of the Congo reports the first case of Ebola since February 2020. The outbreak has killed more than 2,200 people since August 2018.


date: April 14

text: April 14 – U.S. president Donald Trump announces that the U.S. will suspend funding towards the World Health Organization (WHO) pending an investigation of its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship with China.


date: April 28

text: April 28 – The Indian Ministry of External Affairs condemns the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom after its annual report recommends placing India on the "countries of particular concern" blacklist over the Citizenship Amendment Act, the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status, and controversial comments made by Home Minister Amit Shah, among others.


date: May 4

text: May 4 – A team of British and Kenyan scientists announce the discovery of Microsporidia MB, a parasitic microbe in the Microsporidia fungi group that blocks mosquitos from carrying malaria, potentially paving the way for the control of malaria.

source_section: Events › May


date: May 12

text: May 12 – Gunmen storm a maternity hospital and kill 24 people, including two newborn babies, in Dashte Barchi, a majority-Shia neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan. In a separate incident in Kuz Kunar, 32 people are killed at a funeral by a suicide bomber.


date: May 14

text: May 14 – The UN warns of a global mental health crisis caused by isolation, fear, uncertainty and economic turmoil.


date: May 18

text: May 18 – In a historic move, the World Health Organization holds its annual World Health Assembly using video conferencing instead of in-person meetings.


date: June 1

text: June 1 – Kivu Ebola epidemic: The World Health Organization reports six new cases of Ebola, and UNICEF reports five deaths, in a renewed outbreak of the disease in Mbandaka, Équateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

source_section: Events › June


date: July 7

text: July 7 – COVID-19 pandemic: Thousands of people rally outside the House of the National Assembly of Serbia in Belgrade in response to stricter lockdown measures proposed by President Aleksandar Vučić following an increase of cases in the city.

source_section: Events › July


date: August 11

text: August 11 – COVID-19 pandemic: Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that Russia has approved the world's first COVID-19 vaccine.

source_section: Events › August


date: October 15

text: October 15 – 2020 Thai protests: The Government of Thailand declares a "severe" state of emergency banning gatherings of five or more people, initiating a crackdown on demonstrations and imposing media censorship.

source_section: Events › October


date: November 9

text: November 9 – COVID-19 pandemic: The first successful phase III trial of a COVID-19 vaccine is announced by drug companies Pfizer and BioNTech, which is 90% effective according to interim results.

source_section: Events › November


date: November

text: 2020 United States presidential election: The election of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States and Kamala Harris as the 49th Vice President of the United States is called by many news media organizations after remaining vote counts (November 7) come in from key states delayed by an influx of mail-in ballots caused by the pandemic, defeating incumbent President Donald Trump.


date: December 5

text: December 5 – COVID-19 pandemic: Russia begins mass vaccination against COVID-19 with the Sputnik V candidate.

source_section: Events › December


date: December 10

text: December 10 – COVID-19 pandemic: The United States and Saudi Arabia approve the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, while Argentina approves Sputnik V.


date: December 20

text: December 20 – COVID-19 pandemic: A highly infectious new strain of SARS-CoV-2 spreading in Europe and Australia provokes international border closures.


date: December 30

text: December 30 – COVID-19 pandemic: The United Kingdom approves AstraZeneca-Oxford's vaccine, the second one available. The vaccine is easier to store as it only requires normal fridge temperatures, making distribution easier.


date: January 16

section: Crime & Justice

text: January 16 – The first impeachment trial of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, begins in the U.S. Senate. He was acquitted on February 5.

source_section: Events › January


date: February 19

text: February 19 – Hanau shootings: Eleven people are killed and five injured in a terrorist shooting spree by a far-right extremist targeting shisha bars in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Germany.

source_section: Events › February


date: April 18

text: April 18 – 44 suspected Boko Haram members are found dead, apparently due to poisoning, inside a prison in N'Djamena, Chad.


date: April 21

text: April 21 – Mozambique police say 52 male villagers were killed by Islamist militants earlier this month in Muidumbe District, Cabo Delgado Province, after they refused to join their ranks.


date: April 26

text: April 26 – King Salman issues a royal decree, declaring that people will no longer be executed in Saudi Arabia for crimes they were convicted of when they were minors.


date: May 16

text: May 16 – Félicien Kabuga, a Rwandan businessman responsible for supporting the Rwandan genocide, is arrested in Asnières-sur-Seine, France, after 26 years as a fugitive.


date: May 26

text: May 26 – Protests caused by the murder of George Floyd break out across hundreds of cities in the U.S. and around the world. These are followed by further protests and rallies on June 6 against racism and police brutality around the world.


date: July 28

text: July 28 – Former Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak is found guilty of all seven charges in the first of five trials on the 1MDB scandal, being jailed 12 years and fined RM210 million as a result.


date: September 14

text: September 14 – Former Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak is listed on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) online database of corruption offenders convicted locally. His name at the top of the first page of the MACC Corruption Offenders Database.

source_section: Events › September


date: September 19

text: September 19 – A 1634 edition of The Two Noble Kinsmen, the last play by English playwright William Shakespeare, is discovered at the Royal Scots College's library in Salamanca, Spain. It is believed to be the oldest copy of any of his works in the country.


date: September 20

text: September 20 – BuzzFeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) release the FinCEN Files, a collection of 2,657 documents relating to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network describing over 200,000 suspicious transactions valued at over trillion that occurred from 1999 to 2017 across multiple global financial institutions.


date: December 2

text: December 2 – Three activists in Hong Kong were jailed for their roles in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, with Joshua Wong getting the heaviest at 13.5 months.


text: December 10 – The Nicolas Sarkozy corruption trial concludes in France.


date: January 8

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: January 8 – Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down by Iranian forces shortly after takeoff from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, killing all 176 people on board.


date: January 26

text: January 26 – 2020 Calabasas helicopter crash: Nine people are killed in an accident in Calabasas, California, including retired basketball player Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna; cause later attributed to heavy fog.


date: February 6

text: February 6 – Livraga derailment: A Frecciarossa high-speed train traveling from Milan to Salerno derailed in Livraga, Lombardy, Italy. Two people were killed, and 31 were injured.


date: April 12

text: April 12 – OPEC and allies strike a deal to cut oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day, the largest such cut agreed upon, starting May 1.


date: May 10

text: May 10 – The Iranian Navy frigate Jamaran accidentally strikes the Iranian support vessel Konarak with a missile, killing nineteen sailors. This is the first friendly fire incident since February 2019, when an Indian Mil Mi-17 helicopter was mistakenly shot down by Indian air defense forces.


date: May 22

text: May 22 – Flight PK8303, a Pakistan International Airlines passenger aircraft, crashes in a residential area near Karachi, in Pakistan, killing 97 of the 99 total people on board and injuring dozens on the ground.


date: May 24

text: May 24 – Mining corporation Rio Tinto admits to blowing up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge caves in the Pilbara area of Western Australia. The firm later issues an apology to the two Aboriginal peoples who are the traditional owners of the site.


date: August 4

text: August 4 – An explosion caused by unsafely stored ammonium nitrate kills at least 218 people, injures thousands, and severely damages the port in Beirut, Lebanon. Damage is estimated at $10–15 billion, and an estimated 300,000 people are left homeless. The following day, the Lebanese government declares a two-week state of emergency.


date: August 7

text: August 7 – Air India Express Flight 1344 crashes after overrunning the runway at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, India, killing 19 of the 191 people on board.


date: January 1

section: Climate & Environment

text: January 1 – Flash floods struck Jakarta, Indonesia, killing 66 people in the worst flooding in over a decade.


date: January 12

text: January 12 – The Taal Volcano in the Philippines has had its first major eruption since 1977.


date: May 21

text: May 21 – Cyclone Amphan makes landfall in eastern India and Bangladesh, killing over 100 people and forcing the evacuation of more than 4 million others. It causes over US$13 billion in damage, making it the costliest cyclone ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean, shattering the record previously held by Nargis.


date: June 3

text: June 3 – Russian President Vladimir Putin declares a state of emergency after 20,000 tons of oil leaked into the Ambarnaya River near the Siberian city of Norilsk within the Arctic Circle on May 26, 2020. The World Wildlife Fund said the accident is believed to be the second-largest in modern Russian history.


date: July 19

text: July 19 – Flooding of the Brahmaputra River kills 189 and leaves 4 million homeless in India and Nepal.


date: August 15

text: August 15 – The Japanese bulk carrier Wakashio, which stranded on a reef in Mauritius last month, breaks in half. Approximately 1,000 tonnes of oil are spilled into the ocean, becoming the largest environmental disaster in the history of Mauritius.


date: August 27

text: August 27 – Hurricane Laura makes landfall in Lake Charles, Louisiana with winds of 150 mph, making it the strongest hurricane to ever strike the state in terms of windspeed, tied with the 1856 Last Island Hurricane.


date: September 6

text: September 6 – Typhoon Haishen makes landfall on Japan and then South Korea as a strong category 2-equivalent typhoon. It later makes landfall on North Korea where widespread flooding occurs.


date: September 16

text: September 16 – Hurricane Sally makes landfall on the Alabama coast as a high-end Category 2 hurricane, causing over $8 billion in damages and killing 8 people.


date: October 6

text: October 6 – Serious floods affected in Central Vietnam, lasted nearly 3 months and killed at least 249 people.


date: October 17

text: October 17 – 2020 New Zealand general election: Jacinda Ardern's Labour Party wins a landslide second term in office, defeating the National Party led by Judith Collins and gaining the country's first parliamentary majority since the introduction of the MMP voting system.


date: October 21

text: October 21 – Heavy rains brought by tropical storm Linfa caused landslides at the Rao Trang 3 hydroelectric plant in Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam, killing 17 construction workers and 13 soldiers who were on a rescue mission.


date: October 30

text: October 30 – 2020 Aegean Sea earthquake: A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits Turkey and Greece, killing 119 people and injuring over 1,000.


date: October 31

text: October 31 – Typhoon Goni makes landfall in the Philippines, becoming the strongest landfalling tropical cyclone in history, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and killing dozens of people in the region.


date: November 7

text: November 7 – Hurricane Eta makes landfall in Nicaragua, killing over 100 people in Central America as a category 4.


date: November 16

text: November 16 – Hurricane Iota makes landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane just two weeks after Hurricane Eta made landfall, devastating the same areas.


date: November

text: Typhoon Vamco makes landfall in Vietnam, after crossing the Philippines and killing at least 69 people. The storm causes the worst floods in the region since Typhoon Ketsana in 2009.


text: The United States formally exits the Paris Agreement on climate change.


text: Western Sahara conflict: fighting erupts between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic when Moroccan forces launch a military operation to capture the town of Guerguerat, located in a UN-monitored buffer zone.


date: December 29

text: December 29 – The 2020 Petrinja earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 strikes Croatia, killing seven and injuring more than 20.


date: March 24

section: Culture & Society

text: March 24 – The International Olympic Committee and Japan postpone the 2020 Summer Olympics to 2021. On March 30, the Summer Olympics will be rescheduled from July 23 to August 8, 2021.

source_section: Events › March


date: May 26

text: May 26 – Costa Rica becomes the first Central American country to legalise same-sex marriage.


date: July 10

text: July 10 – Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan orders the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to be reverted to a mosque following a supreme court annulment of a 1934 presidential decree that made it into a museum.


date: November 15

text: November 15 – Lewis Hamilton wins his seventh Formula One World Drivers' Championship at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, equalling the record set by Michael Schumacher in 2004.


date: May 18

section: Deaths

text: May 18 – The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announces that nearly 1 million people are affected and at least 24 people have died in flash floods that have hit Beledweyne and Jowhar, Somalia.


date: May 27

text: May 27 – COVID-19 pandemic: The U.S. death toll passes 100,000 – more Americans than were killed in the Vietnam War and Korean War combined, and approaching that of the First World War, where 116,000 Americans died in combat. The total number of cases continues to rise, although the rate is slowing.


date: September 4

text: September 4 – Pope Benedict XVI becomes the longest-lived pope at 93 years, 4 months, and 16 days, surpassing Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903.


date: September 29

text: September 29 – The Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Sabah dies at the age of 91. Crown Prince Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is named his successor.


date: October 29

text: October 29 – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirms the death of at least 140 migrants who drowned off the coast of Senegal on a vessel bound for the Spanish Canary Islands, making it the deadliest shipwreck of 2020.


date: December 4

text: December 4 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 65 million worldwide, with the global death toll exceeding 1.5 million. Figures reflect that, in the last week, over 10,000 people worldwide have died on average every day, with one death every nine seconds. According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 had caused more deaths in 2020 than tuberculosis in 2019, as well as four times the number of deaths than malaria.


date: January 15

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: January 15 – The Lao People's Revolutionary Party elects Thongloun Sisoulith as its new General Secretary, replacing retiring chief Bounnhang Vorachith. Sisoulith is elected for a five-year term as top leader in Laos.


date: February 1

text: February 1 – Kosovo officially establishes diplomatic ties with Israel and announces plans to open an embassy in Jerusalem.


date: April 11

text: April 11 – Peru holds a general election, with Pedro Castillo and the left-wing Free Peru party winning.


date: April 25

text: April 25 – Albania holds parliamentary elections.


date: April 28

text: April 28 – The European Union approves the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, governing the relationship between the EU and UK after Brexit.


date: May 19

text: May 19 – The European Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the formal suspension of accession negotiations between the European Union and Turkey.


date: June 9

text: June 9 – The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador passes legislation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in the country, becoming the first country to adopt the cryptocurrency alongside the U.S. dollar.


date: June 13

text: June 13 – Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister of Israel, is voted out of office; Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid are sworn in as Prime Minister of Israel and as Alternate Prime Minister of Israel, respectively.


date: June 20

text: June 20 – 2021 Armenian parliamentary election: Acting PM Nikol Pashinyan wins the country's snap election, with his Civil Contract party gaining 54% of the vote.


date: July 13

text: July 13 – After the Supreme Court declares his incumbency unconstitutional, KP Oli is succeeded by Sher Bahadur Deuba as 43rd Prime Minister of Nepal.


date: July 19

text: July 19 – Leftist schoolteacher Pedro Castillo is confirmed as President of Peru over a month after the 2021 Peruvian general election.


date: July 25

text: July 25 – Tunisian president Kais Saied formally takes power in the country, suspending the parliament and sacking the prime minister.


date: September 13

text: September 13 – Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the main Malaysian opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan, sign a confidence and supply agreement ending the 18-month political crisis that has led to the fall of two successive governments in Malaysia.


date: September 15

text: September 15 – AUKUS: A trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States is formed, to counter the influence of China. This includes enabling Australia to build its first nuclear-powered submarine fleet.


date: September 19

text: September 19 – The 2021 Russian legislative election is held, with the United Russia party winning nearly 50% of the vote.


date: September 20

text: September 20 – The 2021 Canadian federal election is held, with Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party retaining a minority government.


date: September 26

text: September 26 – The 2021 German federal election is held, with Olaf Scholz and the Social Democratic Party beating out Armin Laschet's CDU/CSU coalition and Annalena Baerbock's Green Party.


date: October 4

text: October 4 – Fumio Kishida becomes the 100th Prime Minister of Japan, succeeding Yoshihide Suga.


date: October 8

text: October 8–October 9 – The 2021 Czech legislative election is held, with the main opposition coalition alliance of SPOLU and Pirates and Mayors gaining a legislative majority.


date: October 9

text: October 9 – Sebastian Kurz announces his resignation as Chancellor of Austria as a result of a corruption probe launched against him.


date: October 31

text: October 31 – The 2021 Japanese general election is held, with Fumio Kishida and the Liberal Democratic Party along with its coalition partner Komeito retaining a majority government.


date: November 24

text: November 24 – Magdalena Andersson resigns as Prime Minister-elect of Sweden hours after the Riksdag voted her in as Sweden's first female prime minister. She was due to take office on 26 November. Instead, she takes office on 30 November.


date: November 30

text: November 30–December 18 – The 2021 FIFA Arab Cup is held in Qatar, and is won by Algeria.


date: December 19

text: December 19 – The second round of the 2021 Chilean presidential election is held; leftist candidate Gabriel Boric is elected President.


date: January 6

section: Conflict & Security

text: January 6 – Supporters of US President Donald Trump attack the US Capitol, disrupting certification of the 2020 presidential election, and forcing both houses of Congress to evacuate. Five people die during the ensuing riot. The event is classified as a domestic terrorist attack, and draws international condemnation.


date: February 1

text: February 1 – A coup d'état in Myanmar removes Aung San Suu Kyi from power and restores military rule leading to widespread demonstrations across the country.


date: February 4

text: February 4 – US President Joe Biden announces that the United States will cease providing weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for use in the Yemeni Civil War.


date: February 25

text: February 25 – The Armenian military calls for prime minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign. Pashinyan accuses the military of attempting a coup d'état.


date: March 21

text: March 21 – Clashes in Apure between Colombian FARC dissidents and the Venezuelan Armed Forces cause at least six casualties, as well as displacing 4,000 Venezuelans.


date: April 2

text: April 2 – Russia warns NATO against sending any troops to aid Ukraine, amid reports of a large Russian military build-up on its borders.


date: April 11

text: April 11 – Iran accuses Israel of "nuclear terrorism" and vows revenge after a large explosion destroys the internal power system of the Natanz uranium enrichment plant.


date: April 17

text: April 17 – The Czech government concludes that the Russian GRU was responsible for the blast of two ammo warehouses in Vrbětice in 2014. 18 Russian diplomats and alleged spies are subsequently expelled.


date: April 24

text: April 24 – U.S. president Joe Biden becomes the first U.S. president to formally recognize the Ottoman killings of Armenians during World War I as genocide.


date: April 28

text: April 28 – At least 55 people are killed and nearly 50,000 more are displaced in one of the most serious clashes in Central Asia following border disputes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.


date: May 11

text: May 11 – 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis: Israel hits the Gaza Strip with airstrikes as Hamas increases rocket fire. This follows tensions over the possible eviction of several Palestinians due to a long-standing property dispute in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.


date: May 15

text: May 15 – Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants continues to escalate, as the death toll exceeds 150. An Israeli airstrike destroys a high-rise office building in Gaza occupied by Associated Press, Al Jazeera, and other media outlets.


date: May 24

text: May 24 – A coup d'état in Mali removes interim president Bah Ndaw and the acting prime minister, Moctar Ouane, from power and restores military rule leading to the country being suspended from the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union, as well as France suspending its military operations in the country.


date: May 29

text: May 29 – 2021 UEFA Champions League Final; Chelsea become champions, defeating fellow English club Manchester City 1–0 to win the UEFA Champions League for the second time.


date: June 28

text: June 28 – Tigray War: The Tigray Defense Force seizes the Tigrayan capital Mekelle shortly after the Ethiopian government declares a ceasefire.


date: July 5

text: July 5 – More than 1,000 Afghan soldiers flee to neighbouring Tajikistan after clashing with Taliban militants.


date: July 7

text: July 7 – Assassination of Jovenel Moïse: Haitian President Jovenel Moïse is shot to death by unidentified gunmen at 1:00 am local time in his home. First Lady Martine Moïse is injured and hospitalized.


date: August 5

text: August 5 – Tigray War: The Tigray Defense Forces seize the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lalibela.


date: August 15

text: August 15 – 2021 Taliban offensive: The Taliban capture Kabul; the Afghan government surrenders to the Taliban.


date: August 30

text: August 30 – The United States withdraws its last remaining troops from Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, ending 20 years of operations in Afghanistan.


date: September 5

text: September 5 – 2021 Guinean coup d'état: Guinea's President Alpha Condé is detained by an elite military unit led by a former French legionnaire, Lt. Col. Mamady Doumbouya, claiming to have seized power.


date: October 25

text: October 25 – The Sudanese military launches a coup against the government. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok is placed under house arrest. President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan declares a state of emergency and announces the dissolution of the government.


date: November 5

text: November 5 – Tigray War: The Tigray People's Liberation Front forms a coalition with eight other rebel groups with the aim of defeating the Ethiopian government "by force or by negotiations."


date: December 11

text: December 11 – New York City FC defeat the Portland Timbers at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon 5–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw, and win MLS Cup title for the first time in their history.


date: January 1

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: January 1 – The African Continental Free Trade Area comes into effect.


date: January 4

text: January 4 – The border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia reopens.


date: April 9

text: April 9 – Roscosmos launches the Soyuz MS-18 mission, carrying three Expedition 65 crewmembers to the International Space Station.


date: April 17

text: April 17 – The Soyuz MS-17 mission concludes, returning three crewmembers of Expedition 64 to Earth from the International Space Station.


date: April 23

text: April 23 – SpaceX launches the Crew-2 mission, carrying four crew members of Expedition 65 and 66 to the International Space Station aboard Crew Dragon Endeavour.


date: May 2

text: May 2 – The SpaceX Crew-1 mission ends, returning four crew members of Expedition 64 and 65 to Earth from the International Space Station aboard Crew Dragon Resilience.


date: September 26

text: September 26 – Lewis Hamilton wins his 100th Grand Prix in Formula 1, becoming the first to reach the milestone, at an eventful Russian Grand Prix.


date: October 5

text: October 5 – Roscosmos launches the Soyuz MS-19 mission, which carries an Expedition 66 crewmember and two Channel One Russia personnel to the International Space Station. The two Channel One crew will perform principal photography on the film Vyzov aboard the station.


date: November 11

text: November 11 – SpaceX launches the Crew-3 mission, carrying four Expedition 66 crew members to the International Space Station.


date: February 18

section: Religion & Belief

text: February 18 – Porfirije Peric is elected as the 46th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church.


date: March 6

text: March 6 – Pope Francis meets with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, Iraq. It is the first-ever meeting between a pope and a grand ayatollah.


date: April 18

text: April 18 – Twelve football clubs, including three from La Liga and leading clubs from the Premier League and Serie A, agree to join a new breakaway European Super League, prompting international condemnation. Two days later, following major protests from supporters, other clubs and politicians, Manchester City withdraw from the league; this prompts all the remaining Premier League clubs and three others to do the same.


date: May 28

text: May 28 – The New York Times breaks the story on a Canadian Indian Residential School Cemeteries announcement, incorrectly reporting a discovery of "mass graves" of Indigenous children at a former school site. The reporting would help "spawn a new holiday, Truth and Reconciliation Day, prompt an official visit by Pope Francis, and result in Canadian flags being kept at half-mast for a record-breaking five consecutive months."


date: January 27

section: Economy & Finance

text: January 27 – The GameStop short squeeze reaches its peak of $483 per share, as the result of influence from the online community, r/wallstreetbets, drawing international attention.


date: May 17

text: May 17 – Discovery, Inc. agrees to buy media conglomerate WarnerMedia and all of its subsidiaries from AT&T for US$43 billion. The merger is set to be complete the following year.


date: June 5

text: June 5 – The G7 agrees on a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% intended to prevent tax avoidance by some of the world's biggest multinational companies.


date: September 7

text: September 7 – El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to accept Bitcoin as an official currency.


date: October 31

text: October 31 – October 31–November 13 – The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference is held in Glasgow, after being postponed in 2020 due to COVID-19. A deal is agreed by world leaders, which includes a "phasedown" of unabated coal power, a 30% cut in methane emissions by 2030, plans for a halt to deforestation by 2030, and increased financial support for developing countries.


date: March 23

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: March 23 – Ever Given, one of the largest container ships in the world, runs aground and obstructs the Suez Canal, disrupting global trade. The ship is freed on March 29.


date: May 3

text: May 3 – Mexico City Metro overpass collapse: 26 people were killed and 98 people were injured when a Mexico City Metro train bridge collapsed when a train passed it.


text: October 5 – Microsoft releases the desktop operating system Windows 11.


date: February 9

section: Science & Discovery

text: February 9 – The UAE's uncrewed Hope spacecraft becomes the first Arabian mission successfully to enter orbit around Mars.


text: February 18 – NASA's Mars 2020 mission (containing the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter drone) lands on Mars at Jezero Crater, after seven months of travel.


date: April 15

text: April 15 – Scientists announce they successfully injected human stem cells into the embryos of monkeys, creating chimera-embryos.


date: April 19

text: April 19 – NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, part of the Mars 2020 mission, performs the first powered flight on another planet in history.


date: April 22

text: April 22 – World leaders mark Earth Day by hosting a virtual summit on climate change, during which more ambitious targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions are proposed, including a 40% cut by 2030 for the United States.


date: April 29

text: April 29 – The China National Space Administration launches the first module of its Tiangong space station, named Tianhe, beginning a two-year effort to build the station in orbit.


date: May 14

text: May 14 – The China National Space Administration lands its Zhurong rover at Utopia Planitia on Mars, making China the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the planet and only the second to land a rover.


date: May 26

text: May 26 – Shell becomes the first company to be legally mandated to align its carbon emissions with the Paris climate accord, following a landmark court ruling in the Netherlands.


date: June 7

text: June 7 – The Juno spacecraft performs its only flyby of Jupiter's moon Ganymede, the first flyby of the moon by any spacecraft in over 20 years.


date: June 10

text: June 10 – An annular solar eclipse is visible from Canada, Greenland, the North Pole, and the Russian Far East.


date: June 17

text: June 17 – The China National Space Administration sends its first three astronauts to occupy the Tiangong Space Station, the country's first space station.


date: July 19

text: July 19 – Blue Origin successfully conducts its first human test flight, with a reusable New Shepard rocket delivering four crew members into space including its founder Jeff Bezos.


date: July 28

text: July 28 – The first direct observation of light from behind a black hole is reported, confirming Einstein's theory of general relativity.


date: July 29

text: July 29 – Roscosmos' Nauka laboratory docks with the International Space Station following a protracted seventeen-year development and launch on 21 July. Hours after docking, a malfunction of its thrusters causes a temporary loss of control of the station, spinning it up to 45 degrees from its normal orbital attitude.


date: August 30

text: August 30 – The UN Environment Programme announces that leaded petrol in road vehicles has been phased out globally, a hundred years after its introduction.


date: September 16

text: September 16 – Inspiration4, launched by SpaceX, becomes the first all-civilian private spaceflight, carrying a four-person crew on a three-day orbit of the Earth. Sian Proctor becomes first female commercial astronaut spaceship pilot and Hayley Arceneaux becomes first astronaut with a prosthesis.


date: October 16

text: October 16 – The Lucy spacecraft is launched by NASA, the first mission to explore the Trojan asteroids.


date: November 16

text: November 16 – Russia draws international condemnation following an anti-satellite weapon test that creates a cloud of space debris, threatening the International Space Station.


date: November 24

text: November 24 – NASA launches the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the first attempt to deflect an asteroid for the purpose of learning how to protect Earth.


date: December 25

text: December 25 – NASA, ESA, the Canadian Space Agency and the Space Telescope Science Institute launch the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor of the Hubble Space Telescope.


date: January 13

text: January 13 – In Lyon, France, the first transplant of both arms and shoulders is performed on an Icelandic patient at the Édouard Herriot Hospital.


date: January 15

text: January 15 – COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 passes 2 million.


date: January 27

text: January 27 – A near-total ban on abortion comes into effect in Poland.


date: January 29

text: January 29 – COVID-19 pandemic: The European Union invokes Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol following a row over COVID-19 vaccine supplies before reversing the decision.


date: February 1

text: February 1 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations administered worldwide exceeds 100 million.


date: February 9

text: February 9 – COVID-19 pandemic: A joint WHO–China investigation into the source of the outbreak concludes. Investigators deem a Wuhan laboratory leak to be "extremely unlikely", with a "natural reservoir" in bats being a more likely origin.


date: February 24

text: February 24 – COVID-19 pandemic: the COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative delivers its first vaccines, delivering 600,000 doses for healthcare workers in Ghana.


date: March 25

text: March 25 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations administered worldwide exceeds 500 million.


date: April 23

text: April 23 – UEFA announces that due to a lack of guarantees regarding spectators caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland would be removed as a tournament host for the UEFA Euro 2020.


date: April 24

text: April 24 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations administered worldwide exceeds 1 billion. Half of these doses have been administered in just three countries (the United States, China and India).


date: May 12

text: May 12 – COVID-19 pandemic in India: The country's death toll exceeds 250,000. Delhi cremation grounds were running out of places while hundreds of bodies were reported washed up on the banks of the Ganges.


date: May 18

text: May 18–May 22 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 is held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, after the cancellation of the 2020 contest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The contest is won by Italian entrants Måneskin with the song "Zitti e buoni".


date: June 11

text: June 11–June 13 – World leaders meet at the 47th G7 summit, hosted by the United Kingdom, with topics of discussion including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and the corporate taxation of multinationals.


date: June 29

text: June 29 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations administered worldwide exceeds 3 billion.


date: July 8

text: July 8 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of deaths from COVID-19 surpasses 4 million.


date: July 11

text: July 11 – Thousands of Cubans, most of them young, attend a rare anti-government protest in San Antonio de los Baños to protest the increased food and medicine shortages brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.


date: July 23

text: July 23–August 8 – The 2020 Summer Olympics were held in Tokyo, Japan. They were originally scheduled for 24 July–9 August 2020, but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


date: August 9

text: August 9 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases the first part of its Sixth Assessment Report, which concludes that the effects of human-caused climate change are now "widespread, rapid, and intensifying".


date: August 24

text: August 24–September 5 – The 2020 Summer Paralympics were held in Tokyo, Japan. They were originally scheduled for 25 August–6 September 2020, but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


date: October 1

text: October 1 – The 2020 World Expo in Dubai begins. Its opening was originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


date: October 6

text: October 6–October 10 – The 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals is held in Italy, and is won by France. They were originally scheduled for 2–6 June 2021, but were moved following the rescheduling of UEFA Euro 2020 to June and July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


text: October 6 – The World Health Organization endorses the first malaria vaccine.


date: November 26

text: November 26 – COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization convenes an emergency meeting in Geneva amid concerns over Omicron, a highly mutated variant of COVID-19 first identified in South Africa that appears more infectious than Delta.


date: December 19

text: December 19 – The 2021 Hong Kong legislative election, originally scheduled for 6 September 2020 but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is held.


date: February 22

text: February 22 – Luca Attanasio, the Italian Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is murdered near Goma.


text: June 11–July 11 – The delayed UEFA Euro 2020, hosted by 11 different countries, is held, and is won by Italy after beating England on penalties in the final.


date: June 25

text: June 25 – Derek Chauvin is convicted and sentenced to 22 years and 6 months in prison, for the murder of George Floyd. Despite this, the civil unrest still goes on.


date: July 18

text: July 18 – An international investigation reveals that spyware sold by Israel's NSO Group to different governments is being used to target heads of state, along with thousands of activists, journalists and dissidents around the world.


date: August 3

text: August 3 – The oil tanker Asphalt Princess is hijacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.


date: October 3

text: October 3 – The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and assorted media partners publish a set of 11.9 million documents leaked from 14 financial services companies known as the Pandora Papers, revealing offshore financial activities that involve multiple current and former world leaders.


date: October 23

text: October 23 – Colombia's most wanted drug lord, Dario Antonio Úsuga, whose Gulf Clan controls many smuggling routes into the US and other countries, is captured by Colombia's armed forces.


date: January 9

text: January 9 – Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 crashes north of Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 62 people on board.


date: April 2

text: April 2 – 2021 Hualien train derailment: In Taiwan, a Taroko Express train collided with a truck that rolled down a slope and derailed, resulting in 49 deaths and 202 injuries.


date: April 24

text: April 24 – Following an international search and rescue effort, the Indonesian navy reports the sinking of KRI Nanggala with 53 crew members, the largest loss of life aboard a submarine since 2003.


date: May 23

text: May 23 – Ryanair Flight 4978 is forced to land by Belarusian authorities to detain dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.


date: June 7

text: June 7 – 2021 Ghotki rail crash: In Pakistan, 2 trains collided in Daharki, in the Ghotki District of Sindh. Killing 65 people and injuring 150 people.


date: June 24

text: June 24 – Surfside condominium collapse: A portion of the Champlain South Towers condominium building collapses in Surfside, Florida, United States, leaving 98 people dead. One survivor was pulled from the wreckage while 35 others were evacuated from the uncollapsed section of the building.


date: December 9

text: December 9 – A truck crash in Chiapas, Mexico, kills 55 migrants who were being smuggled in it from Guatemala through Mexico to its border with the United States.


date: February 13

text: February 13–February 17 – A major winter storm kills at least 136 people and causes over 9.9 million power outages in the U.S.


date: April 4

text: April 4 – More than 270 people are killed in Indonesia and East Timor after Cyclone Seroja strikes East Nusa Tenggara and the island of Timor.


date: April 13

text: April 13 – Japan's government approves the dumping of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean over the course of 30 years, with full support of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The decision is opposed by China, South Korea, and Taiwan.


date: July 3

text: July 3 – Over 130 wildfires, fuelled by lightning strikes, burn through Western Canada following a record-breaking heatwave in North America that results in over 600 deaths.


date: July 12

text: July 12 – 2021 European floods: Heavy rain causes flooding in the border region of Germany and Belgium, resulting in 229 deaths, including 184 in Germany, 42 in Belgium with 1 person still missing there, and 2 in Romania. The event is attributed to a slowed jetstream caused by climate change.


text: August 3 – Wildfires in Greece begin.


date: August 14

text: August 14 – A 7.2-magnitude earthquake strikes Haiti, killing more than 2,500 people.


date: August 29

text: August 29 – Hurricane Ida strikes New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, after having caused devastation in Venezuela.


date: September 14

text: September 14 – North Korea demonstrates two short-range ballistic missiles that land just outside Japan's territorial waters; and then only hours later South Korea demonstrates its first submarine-launched ballistic missile.


date: September 15

text: September 15 – Several ministers of the Argentine president Alberto Fernández's cabinet resign after the government's defeat in the primary elections, triggering a political crisis in the country.


date: December 10

text: December 10–December 11 – A late season tornado outbreak occurs in the Southern and Midwestern United States, causing major damage and killing at least 94 people. One of the longest-tracked tornadoes in history occurred, which impacted western Kentucky, particularly Mayfield.


date: December 16

text: December 16 – Typhoon Rai, also known as Typhoon Odette, hits the Philippines and caused destruction to agriculture, establishments, and houses, and caused many injured and deaths.


date: March 23

text: March 23 – The Israeli general elections take place, the fourth Knesset election in two years.


date: April 11

text: April 11 – Hideki Matsuyama wins the 2021 Masters Tournament, becoming the first man from Japan to win a major golf championship.


date: May 26

text: May 26 – The 2021 Syrian presidential election is held.


date: June 9

text: June 9 – The 2021 Mongolian presidential election is held.


date: June 13

text: June 13–July 10 – The 2021 Copa América, hosted behind closed doors by Brazil, is held, and is won by Argentina.


date: June 23

text: June 23 – 2021 ICC World Test Championship Final: New Zealand wins the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship.


date: July 10

text: July 10–August 1 – The 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup is held in, and is won by, the United States.


date: July 19

text: July 19 – Day of Hajj: For the first time, women are permitted to attend without a male guardian (mehrem) provided they go in a trustworthy group.


date: August 4

text: August 4 – 2020 Summer Olympics: Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is given political asylum in Poland through a humanitarian visa after attempts by the Belarus Olympic Committee to repatriate her against her will.


text: September 14 – The inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, the third tier of European club football, kicks off with Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv winning 4–1 against Armenian club FC Alashkert.


date: October 17

text: October 17–November 14 – The 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup is held in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and is won by Australia.


date: October 24

text: October 24 – The 2021 Uzbek presidential election is held.


date: November 5

text: November 5 – A crowd crush at the Astroworld Festival hosted by Travis Scott in Houston, Texas, kills 10 people and causes 300+ injuries.


date: November 14

text: November 14 – The 2021 Bulgarian general election is held.


date: November 21

text: November 21 – The 2021 Chilean general election is held.


date: November 24

text: November 24–December 12 – Magnus Carlsen beats Ian Nepomniachtchi in the 2021 World Chess Championship. Magnus has been World Chess Champion since 2013.


date: December 6

text: December 6 – The United States announces a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in response to China's human rights record. Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia join shortly after.


date: December 12

text: December 12 – Max Verstappen won his first Formula One World Championship and the first for a Dutch driver, driving for Red Bull Racing at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.


date: January 10

text: January 10 – Kim Jong Un is elected as the General Secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, inheriting the title from his father Kim Jong Il, who died in 2011.


date: March 19

text: March 19 – Samia Suluhu Hassan is sworn in as president of Tanzania following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli.


date: February 4

text: February 4 – China and Russia issue a joint statement opposing further NATO expansion, expressing "serious concerns" about the AUKUS security pact, and pledging to cooperate with each other on a range of issues.


date: February 21

text: February 21 – February 24 – Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a decree declaring the Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic as independent from Ukraine, and, despite international condemnation and sanctions, launched the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine; at dawn on 24 February missiles strike Kyiv. Ukraine severs diplomatic relations with Russia, followed by the Federated States of Micronesia on 25 February.


date: March 9

text: March 9 – 2022 South Korean presidential election: People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is narrowly elected President of South Korea.


date: March 11

text: March 11 – Gabriel Boric is sworn in as President of Chile. He becomes the youngest head of state in the nation's history and the first to be born during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.


date: March 29

text: March 29 – The Democratic Republic of the Congo is admitted to the East African Community.


date: April 3

text: April 3 – The second round of voting of the 2022 Costa Rican general election is held, and Social Democratic Progress Party presidential candidate Rodrigo Chaves Robles is elected president.


date: April 7

text: April 7 – The UN votes by 93–24 to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, with 58 countries abstaining.


date: April 11

text: April 11 – The National Assembly of Pakistan elects leader of the opposition Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister of Pakistan, after Imran Khan is removed from office following a motion of no confidence two days prior.


date: May 15

text: May 15 – Former President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is elected president again, beating President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.


date: May 21

text: May 21 – 2022 Australian federal election: The Labor party, led by Anthony Albanese, defeats the Liberal-National Coalition government led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Albanese is sworn in as Prime Minister two days later.


date: June 14

text: June 14 – Canada and Denmark end their competing claims for Hans Island by dividing the island roughly in half, ending what was referred to as the Whisky War.


date: July 21

text: July 21 – The Parliament of Sri Lanka elects Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as President of Sri Lanka, following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa amid protests over the ongoing economic crisis.


date: August 4

text: August 4 – The Prime Minister of Peru, Aníbal Torres, resigns following multiple criminal investigations against the President of Peru, Pedro Castillo.


date: August 17

text: August 17 – Turkey and Israel agree to restore full diplomatic relations after a period of tensions.


date: September 6

text: September 6 – Liz Truss is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after winning the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.


date: September 27

text: September 27 – Russian occupation authorities in Ukraine claim that their annexation referendums show an overwhelming support for the annexation by Russia of the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, and parts of Kherson Oblast and Zaporizhzhia Oblast. However, the voting is widely dismissed as a sham referendum.


date: October 16

text: October 16–October 23 – The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is held. Xi Jinping is elected as General Secretary by the Central Committee, beginning a third term as the paramount leader of China.


date: October 20

text: October 20 – Amid a government crisis, Liz Truss announces her resignation as leader of the Conservative Party and her intention to resign as prime minister of the United Kingdom, after 45 days in office.


date: October 25

text: October 25 – Rishi Sunak becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following the resignation of Liz Truss the previous week resulting in a 50-day tenure, making him the first person of colour to become the prime minister.


date: November 2

text: November 2–November 3 – Tigray War: The Ethiopian government and the TPLF agree to a formal cessation of hostilities, signing a peace agreement in Pretoria, South Africa.


date: November 19

text: November 19 – The 2022 Malaysian general election results in a hung parliament, which is the first in the country's history. Long-time opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is appointed by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Abdullah as prime minister five days later to break the political deadlock and form a unity government.


date: November 20

text: November 20 – 2022 Nepalese general election: The Nepali Congress, led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, emerged as the largest party with 89 seats, but the governing bloc falls short of the majority by two seats, leading into likely coalition government.


date: December 7

text: December 7 – The Congress of Peru removes President Pedro Castillo from office and arrests him after he tries to dissolve Congress in a self-coup attempt. Vice President Dina Boluarte becomes the first female President of Peru.


date: December 17

text: December 17 – Leo Varadkar succeeds Micheál Martin as Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, as part of a rotation agreement made in 2020.


date: January 6

text: January 6 – The CSTO deploys a "peacekeeping" mission in Kazakhstan, including Russian paratroopers, following a request by Kazakh president Tokayev.


date: March 2

text: March 2 – The International Criminal Court begins an investigation into possible war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.


date: March 3

text: March 3 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Russia is condemned by world leaders following an attack by its troops on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – the largest in Europe – which led to a fire at the site.


date: March 4

text: March 4 – Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: An Afghan man on behalf of the Islamic State – Khorasan Province commits a suicide attack at a Shia mosque in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, killing 63 people.


date: March 9

text: March 9 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Russia is condemned by world leaders following an air strike in Mariupol that destroys a hospital including a maternity and children's ward.


date: March 16

text: March 16 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: A Russian airstrike on the Mariupol Theatre in Mariupol kills an estimated 600 civilians sheltering inside.


date: March 24

text: March 24 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: NATO announces that four new battlegroups totaling 40,000 troops will be deployed in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, along with enhanced readiness for potential chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.


date: March 27

text: March 27 – The M23 offensive begins in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.


date: April 3

text: April 3 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: As Russia's forces retreat from areas near Kyiv, it is accused by Ukraine of war crimes, amid mounting evidence of indiscriminate civilian killings, including the Bucha massacre.


date: April 8

text: April 8 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Russia is condemned by world leaders following a missile attack on Kramatorsk train station, which kills 59 civilians trying to evacuate, including seven children.


date: April 14

text: April 14 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: The Russian flagship Moskva becomes the largest warship to be sunk in action since World War II. Ukraine claims to have struck it with Neptune anti-ship missiles, while Russia claims it sank during stormy weather after an onboard fire.


date: May 16

text: May 16 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: The Siege of Mariupol ends in a Russian victory as Ukrainian troops are evacuated from Mariupol.


date: May 28

text: May 28 – Spanish club Real Madrid beat English club Liverpool 1–0 to win the UEFA Champions League final played at the Stade de France in Paris, France.


date: June 19

text: June 19 – The second round of the 2022 Colombian presidential election is held, and former guerrilla fighter for the 19th of April Movement and incumbent senator, Gustavo Petro, defeats businessman and former mayor of Bucaramanga, Rodolfo Hernández Suárez.


date: June 24

text: June 24 – The United States' Supreme Court rules in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that America's constitution does not confer a right to abortion. In response, mass protests against the decision form across the US as well as in France, the UK and Canada.


date: July 8

text: July 8 – Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe is assassinated while giving a public speech in the city of Nara, Japan.


date: July 22

text: July 22 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Russia and Ukraine sign the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement brokered by Turkey and the United Nations to facilitate the shipment of grain exports and reduce soaring global food prices.


date: August 5

text: August 5 – August 7 – Israel launches airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, killing Islamic Jihad military leader Tayseer Jabari. Both parties agree to a ceasefire after three days of skirmish.


date: September 2

text: September 2 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: The G7 economies agree to impose a price cap on Russian petroleum exports.


date: September 12

text: September 12 – September 2022 Armenia–Azerbaijan clashes: Azerbaijan attacks Armenian positions near the cities of Vardenis, Goris, Sotk and Jermuk, and occupies certain areas of its territory along the Armenia–Azerbaijan border. Over the next few days, more than 100 Armenian soldiers are killed in the clashes, while Azerbaijan acknowledges 71 fatalities among its forces.


date: September 21

text: September 21 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Following a major counteroffensive by Ukraine in the east of the country, Putin announces a partial mobilisation of Russia and threatens nuclear retaliation, saying "this is not a bluff".


date: October 1

text: October 1 – A fatal human crush occurs during an association football match at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang Regency, East Java, Indonesia, killing 135 people and injuring more than 500.


date: October 29

text: October 29 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: In response to an alleged Ukrainian drone attack against the Black Sea Fleet, Russia suspends its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative.


date: November 11

text: November 11 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Ukrainian forces recapture Kherson, the only regional capital to be taken by Russia since the start of the war.


date: November 15

text: November 15 – The 2022 G20 Bali summit in Bali, Indonesia takes place.


date: January 1

text: January 1 – France takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Slovenian presidency.


date: January 5

text: January 5 – A nationwide state of emergency is declared in Kazakhstan in response to the 2022 Kazakh unrest. The cabinet of prime minister Askar Mamin resigns, while president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev removes former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, widely regarded as being the real power in the country, from his position as Chairman of the Security Council of Kazakhstan.


date: March 19

text: March 19 – The apostolic constitution Praedicate evangelium, reforming the Roman Curia, is promulgated by Pope Francis, coming into force on 5 June.


date: July 1

text: July 1 – the Czech Republic takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the French presidency.


date: September 19

text: September 19 – The state funeral of Elizabeth II is held in Westminster Abbey, London. Her coffin is then taken by procession to Windsor Castle for burial with her husband, parents and sister in the King George VI Memorial Chapel. The funeral is speculated to be the most watched television event in world history.


text: January 1 – The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the largest free trade area in the world, comes into effect for Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.


date: February 26

text: February 26 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: The EU, US, and their allies commit to removing Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system, as well as imposing measures on the Russian Central Bank and further restrictions on Russian elites. These and other sanctions fuel a financial crisis in Russia.


date: February 28

text: February 28 – 2022 Russian financial crisis: In an unprecedented move, Switzerland, Monaco, Singapore and South Korea impose unilateral sanctions over Russia including the introduction of export controls and asset freezes.


date: March 8

text: March 8 – The US and UK announce a ban on Russian oil, while the EU announces a two-thirds reduction in its demand for Russian gas.


date: April 8

text: April 8 – Global food prices increase to their highest level since the UN's Food Price Index began in 1990, with commodities such as wheat rising by nearly 20% as a result of the Ukraine crisis.


date: April 25

text: April 25 – Elon Musk reaches an agreement to acquire the social media network Twitter (which he later rebrands as X) for US$44 billion, which later closes in October.


date: May 27

text: May 27 – Fiji announces that it will become the 14th member of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in order to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific. This comes amid a visit by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to Kiribati.


date: July 21

text: July 21 – The European Central Bank raises its key interest rate for the first time in more than 11 years, from minus 0.5 per cent to zero, with plans for further increases later in the year.


date: November 6

text: November 6–November 18 – The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) on climate change mitigation takes place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.


text: November 11 – The cryptocurrency exchange FTX, once valued at $18 billion, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in a collapse that affects the cryptocurrency environment.


date: December 2

text: December 2 – The G7 and Australia join the EU in imposing a cap of $60 a barrel on Russian crude oil, designed to "prevent Russia from profiting from its war of aggression against Ukraine."


date: April 27

text: April 27 – The European Union accuses Russia of blackmail after gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria are halted by energy giant Gazprom.


date: April 30

text: April 30 – The Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway, located in Cebu, Philippines, is officially opened as the longest bridge in the country.


date: September 26

text: September 26 – The Nord Stream pipeline sabotage occurs by an unknown perpetrator off the coast of Bornholm, Denmark with explosions on two pipelines leaving them inoperable.


date: October 28

text: October 28 – Elon Musk completes his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.


date: October 30

text: October 30 – The collapse of a suspension bridge in Gujarat, India, leaves at least 135 dead.


date: December 5

text: December 5 – The National Ignition Facility achieves fusion ignition, a major milestone in the development of nuclear fusion power.


date: February 9

text: February 9 – The biggest breakthrough in fusion energy since 1997 is reported at the Joint European Torus in Oxford, the UK, with 59 megajoules produced over five seconds (11 megawatts of power), more than double the previous record.


date: February 27

text: February 27 – European nations ban Russian flights in their airspace.


text: February 28 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) releases the second part of its Sixth Assessment Report on climate change. It concludes that many impacts are on the verge of becoming "irreversible".


date: March 1

text: March 1 – World Athletics bans both Russia and Belarus from competing in all of its events.


date: April 4

text: April 4 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) releases the third and final part of its Sixth Assessment Report on climate change, warning that greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030, in order to limit global warming to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F).


date: April 6

text: April 6 – The first known dinosaur fossil linked to the very day of the Chicxulub impact is reported by palaeontologists.


date: April 20

text: April 20 – A European Southern Observatory team announce the discovery of micronovae, a new type of exploding star.


date: April 22

text: April 22 – The Large Hadron Collider recommences full operations, three years after being shut down for upgrades.


date: May 12

text: May 12 – The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration reveals its first image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.


date: July 11

text: July 11 – The first operational image from the James Webb Space Telescope, showing the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, is revealed to the public.


date: November 16

text: November 16 – NASA launches Artemis 1, the first uncrewed mission of its Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever to reach orbit. The onboard Orion capsule orbits the Moon before returning to Earth, as a demonstration of planned human missions.


date: November 30

text: November 30 – OpenAI releases ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot able to answer questions and write essays.


date: December 19

text: December 19 – At the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15), nearly 200 countries agree a landmark deal to protect a third of the planet for nature by 2030.


date: January 7

text: January 7 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of COVID-19 cases exceeds 300 million worldwide.


date: January 10

text: January 10 – The first successful heart transplant from a pig to a human patient occurs in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.


date: January 16

text: January 16 – World No. 1 tennis champion Novak Djokovic is deported from Australia following a high-profile legal case regarding his COVID-19 vaccination status, preventing his participation in the 2022 Australian Open.


date: January 28

text: January 28 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations administered worldwide exceeds 10 billion.


date: March 2

text: March 2 – The United Nations reports that over a million refugees have now fled from Ukraine to other countries.


date: March 7

text: March 7 – COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 6 million.


date: March 31

text: March 31 – Expo 2020 closes in Dubai after a 6-month run; originally scheduled for 10 April 2021, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


date: April 13

text: April 13 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases exceeds 500 million worldwide.


date: May 6

text: May 6 – 2022 monkeypox outbreak: An outbreak of monkeypox begins when the first monkeypox virus case is reported in London, the United Kingdom.


date: May 20

text: May 20 – 2022 monkeypox outbreak: The World Health Organization (WHO) holds an emergency meeting to discuss the spread of monkeypox in nearly a dozen countries, as the number of reported cases reaches 100.


date: July 23

text: July 23 – The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the recent monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, as the number of reported cases exceeds 17,000 in 75 countries.


date: September 1

text: September 1 – The UN releases a report stating that the Chinese government's Xinjiang internment camps and treatment of Uyghurs may constitute crimes against humanity.


date: October 29

text: October 29 – At least 158 people are killed and another 197 injured in a crowd crush during Halloween festivities in Seoul, South Korea.


date: November 15

text: November 15 – The world population reaches approximately 8 billion.


date: December 7

text: December 7 – After substantial protests against China's Zero-COVID policies, the Chinese government eases on its COVID restrictions.


date: February 3

text: February 3 – Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi is killed in Atme during a counter-terrorism raid by U.S. special forces in north-western Syria.


date: May 11

text: May 11 – The Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is killed by the Israel Defence Forces while covering a raid in Jenin. Initially, Israel denied responsibility but later admitted to the killing and issued an apology.


date: May 24

text: May 24 – Uvalde school shooting: 18-year-old Salvador Ramos fatally shoots 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.


date: July 31

text: July 31 – Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian terrorist who became the 2nd Emir of al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden's death in 2011, is killed in an airstrike in Kabul, Afghanistan conducted by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency.


date: August 12

text: August 12 – Indian-born British-American novelist Salman Rushdie is stabbed multiple times as he is about to give a public lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, United States.


text: October 29 – A double car bombing by al-Shabaab in Mogadishu, Somalia kills at least 121 people and injures around 300.


date: January 2

text: January 2 – Abdalla Hamdok resigns as Prime Minister of Sudan amid deadly protests.


date: January 13

text: January 13 – Bikaner-Guwahati Express derailment: The Bikaner-Guwahati Express train derailed in Maynaguri. 9 people were killed and 50 people were injured. This was the first major train accident of 2022.


date: March 5

text: March 5 – Researchers in the Antarctic find Endurance, one of the greatest ever undiscovered shipwrecks, which sank in 1915 during Ernest Shackleton's exploration.


date: March 21

text: March 21 – China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 crashes in Guangxi, China, killing all 133 people on board.


date: June 8

text: June 8 – 2022 South Khorasan train derailment: In Iran, a passenger train derailed travelling from Tabas to Yazd crashed into an excavator and derailed, killing 18 and injuring 87.


date: June 27

text: June 27 – 53 migrants from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador are found dead in a tractor trailer in San Antonio, Texas, United States.


date: September 26

text: September 26 – NASA's DART crashes into the asteroid Dimorphos in a first test of potential planetary defense.


date: October 5

text: October 5 – OPEC+ imposes a production cut of up to 2 million barrels per day.


date: October 7

text: October 7 – Ten people are killed and eight are injured in an explosion at petrol station in Creeslough, Ireland.


date: December 21

text: December 21–December 26 – A major winter storm hits the northern United States and southern Canada. Killing at least 91 people, the storm also severely disrupts North American air traffic, with Southwest Airlines alone canceling more than half of its schedule.


date: January 15

text: January 15 – A large eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai, a submarine volcano in Tonga, triggers tsunami warnings in Australia, Canada, Chile, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand, Samoa, and the United States.


date: January 23

text: January 23 – Tropical Storm Ana kills 115 people in Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique, days after a series of floods killed 11 people in Madagascar.


date: February 5

text: February 5 – Cyclone Batsirai kills a total of 123 people across Madagascar, Mauritius, and Réunion two weeks after Tropical Storm Ana killed 115 people in the same region.


date: May 9

text: May 9 – 2022 Philippine presidential election: Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte are elected the 17th President and 15th Vice President of the Philippines in a landslide victory.


text: May 9 – Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns as a result of massive protests against his government across the country. He is succeeded by Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister three days later.


date: June 22

text: June 22 – A 6.2 earthquake strikes the Durand Line between Afghanistan and Pakistan, killing at least 1,163 people.


date: July 19

text: July 19 – 2022 European heat waves: A series of severe heatwaves from July to August hit Europe, causing at least 53,000 deaths and additionally causing major wildfires, travel disruption, and record high temperatures in many countries.


date: July 27

text: July 27 – A 7.0 earthquake strikes the island of Luzon in the Philippines killing 11 people and injuring over 600.


date: August 28

text: August 28 – 2022 Pakistan floods: Pakistan declares a "climate catastrophe" and appeals for international assistance, as the death toll from recent flooding in the country exceeds 1,000, the world's deadliest flood since 2017. Several nations, alongside the UN, pledge millions in funding for aid.


date: September 5

text: September 5 – A 6.8 earthquake strikes Luding County in Sichuan province, China, killing 117 and injuring 424.


date: September 14

text: September 14–September 25 – The Atlantic hurricane Fiona hits Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Lucayan Archipelago, Bermuda, and Eastern Canada.


date: September 27

text: September 27–September 30 – Hurricane Ian impacts Cuba and the United States, causing catastrophic damage to both nations, killing at least 157 people, 16 missing, and leaving millions without power, including the entire nation of Cuba.


date: November 21

text: November 21 – A 5.6 earthquake strikes near Cianjur in West Java, Indonesia, killing 635 people and injuring 7,700 more.


date: January 9

text: January 9 – February 6 – The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations is held in Cameroon, with Senegal winning their first championship.


date: February 4

text: February 4 – February 20 – The 2022 Winter Olympics are held in Beijing, China, making it the first city ever to host both the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics.


date: February 28

text: February 28 – Football governing bodies FIFA and UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions.


date: March 4

text: March 4 – March 13 – The 2022 Winter Paralympics are held in Beijing, China, making it the first city to host both Summer Paralympics and Winter Paralympics.


date: May 10

text: May 10–May 14 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 is held in Turin, Italy. The contest is won by Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra with their song "Stefania".


date: July 6

text: July 6 – July 31 – UEFA Women's Euro 2022, originally intended for 2021 but indirectly delayed due to UEFA Euro 2020 being delayed, is held in England, with the hosts winning their first major tournament since 1966.


date: July 7

text: July 7 – July 17 – The 2022 World Games is held in Birmingham, Alabama, United States.


date: July 18

text: July 18 – IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto issued.


date: July 28

text: July 28–August 8 – The 2022 Commonwealth Games is held in Birmingham, England.


date: August 10

text: August 10 – Spanish club Real Madrid beat German club Eintracht Frankfurt 2–0 to win the 2022 UEFA Super Cup played at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland.


date: August 27

text: August 27 – September 11 – The 2022 Asia Cup is held in the United Arab Emirates, and is won by Sri Lanka.


date: September 22

text: September 22 – October 1 – The 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup is held in Sydney, Australia. In the final, the United States wins 83–61 against China.


date: November 19

text: November 19–November 26 – The 2022 Central American and Caribbean Beach Games are held in Santa Marta, Colombia.


date: November 20

text: November 20–December 18 – The 2022 FIFA World Cup is held in Qatar and won by Argentina.


date: December 18

text: December 18 – Argentina wins the 2022 FIFA World Cup against defending champions France.


date: April 18

text: April 18 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: The battle of Donbas begins, leading to the deaths of several thousand military personnel and civilians.


date: May 13

text: May 13 – Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is elected as the 3rd president of the United Arab Emirates by the Federal Supreme Council following the death of Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan a day earlier.


date: August 30

text: August 30 – Mikhail Gorbachev, the final leader of the Soviet Union, dies at the age of 91.


date: September 8

text: September 8 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms dies at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at the age of 96. Her son Charles III succeeds her as King.


date: September 16

text: September 16 – Protests erupt in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country's "morality police".


date: October 12

text: October 12–October 13 – 2022 Bratislava shooting, killing 3 (including the perpetrator) and injuring one. The shooting occurred outside of a gay bar in Bratislava known as Tepláreň. Two people (excluding the perpetrator) died as a result of the shooting. Juraj Vankulič, a non-binary person, and Matúš Horváth, a bisexual man. The perpetrator (Juraj Krajčík) was found dead due to a self-inflicted gunshot the morning after the attack.


date: December 31

text: December 31 – Former Pope Benedict XVI dies at the age of 95, with his funeral being held in St. Peter's Square, presided over by Pope Francis and Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.


date: January 8

text: January 8 – Following the 2022 Brazilian general election and the inauguration of Lula da Silva as president of Brazil, supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro storm the Brazilian National Congress, the Supreme Federal Court and the Presidential Palace of Planalto.


date: January 25

text: January 25 – Chris Hipkins succeeds Jacinda Ardern as Prime Minister of New Zealand, six days after she announced her resignation.


date: February 14

text: February 14 – The European Parliament approves a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles in the European Union from 2035, citing the need to combat climate change in Europe and promote electric vehicles.


date: March 26

text: March 26 – Honduras switches its formal diplomatic recognition of "China" from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China.


date: April 2

text: April 2 – The 2023 Bulgarian parliamentary election results in a GERB—SDS–PP–DB coalition government headed by Nikolai Denkov as prime minister.


date: April 30

text: April 30 – The 2023 Paraguayan general election is held, with the Colorado Party candidate Santiago Peña being the president-elect of Paraguay, winning in a plurality.


date: May 24

text: May 24 – Canada and Saudi Arabia agree to restore full diplomatic relations after a breakdown in relations in 2018 over the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.


date: June 19

text: June 19 – Qatar and the United Arab Emirates announce that they will restore diplomatic relations after relations were suspended during the Qatar diplomatic crisis.


date: June 25

text: June 25 – The June 2023 Greek legislative election is held; Kyriakos Mitsotakis becomes prime minister after his centre-right party, New Democracy, wins a majority of seats in the Greek parliament.


date: July 4

text: July 4 – Iran joins the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, becoming the organization's ninth member.


date: July 13

text: July 13 – Pita Limjaroenrat fails to become Prime Minister of Thailand in a National Assembly vote after forming a coalition with pro-democracy parties following the 2023 Thai general election.


date: July 23

text: July 23 – The 2023 Spanish general election is held, with the People's Party becoming the largest party in the Congress of Deputies.


date: August 11

text: August 11 – The Narendra Modi led NDA government wins a no confidence motion in the Lok Sabha moved by the INDIA Alliance after an opposition walkout in response to the ethnic violence in the state of Manipur.


date: September 1

text: September 1 – 2023 Singaporean presidential election: Economist and former deputy prime minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam is elected president with a vote share of over 70%.


date: September 30

text: September 30 – 2023 Slovak parliamentary election: Smer, under the leadership of former prime minister Robert Fico, wins a plurality of seats in the National Council.


date: October 3

text: October 3 – Elected on January 8, Kevin McCarthy is removed as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, with Mike Johnson being elected new Speaker on October 25.


date: October 14

text: October 14 – 2023 New Zealand general election: The National Party wins a plurality of seats under leader Christopher Luxon, while the Labour Party suffers the worst result for an incumbent ruling party in modern New Zealand history.


date: October 15

text: October 15 – In the second round of the 2023 Ecuadorian general election, Daniel Noboa of the National Democratic Action is elected as the youngest-ever President of Ecuador.


text: October 15 – 2023 Polish parliamentary election: The Law and Justice party wins the most seats, but loses its majority, with its incumbent prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki being succeeded by the Civic Platform party's Donald Tusk on 13 December.


date: November 7

text: November 7 – The Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa announces his pending resignation. The President of Portugal decides to dissolve the parliament and call for early elections to be held on 10 March 2024.


date: November 10

text: November 10 – In the Falepili Union treaty, Australia grants "special" freedom of movement and defence rights to Tuvaluans for residence and employment for climate reasons.


date: November 24

text: November 24 – Somalia is admitted as the eighth member of the East African Community, having applied for membership in 2012.


date: December 10

text: December 10–12 – 2023 Egyptian presidential election: Incumbent President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi wins a third term with 89.6 percent of the vote in the election.


date: December 31

text: December 31 – Queen Margrethe II of Denmark announces her abdication effective January 14, 2024, after 52 years on the throne.


date: January 9

text: January 9 – Juliaca massacre: At least 18 people are killed and over 100 others are injured when the Peruvian National Police fire upon demonstrations in Juliaca.


date: January 21

text: January 21 – Tigray War: Eritrean forces withdraw from Shire and other major towns in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia.


date: February 17

text: February 17 – The South African Navy hosts a 10-day joint military exercise in the Indian Ocean with Russia and China.


date: March 4

text: March 4 – Kivu conflict: Burundi deploys 100 troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to help fight insurgencies by militias, including M23.


date: March 8

text: March 8 – Allied Democratic Forces jihadist insurgents use machetes to kill about 35 people in the village of Mukondi, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.


date: March 10

text: March 10 – Kivu conflict: Angola announces the deployment of troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the failure of a ceasefire between government forces and M23 rebels in North Kivu.


date: March 26

text: March 26 – 2023 Israeli judicial reform protests: Large-scale spontaneous protests erupt across Israel in the wake of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firing his defense minister who criticized the government's judicial overhaul plan.


date: April 5

text: April 5 – Clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli police happen at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.


date: April 10

text: April 10 – Two document leaks from the Pentagon detailing foreign military aid relating to the Russo-Ukrainian war are leaked onto the Internet.


date: April 15

text: April 15 – Fighting breaks out across Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The RSF captures Khartoum International Airport, and the presidential palace in Khartoum.


date: April 19

text: April 19 – At least 90 people are killed and another 322 injured in a crowd crush during a Ramadan charity event in Sanaa, Yemen.


date: June 20

text: June 20 – At least 46 people are killed after a riot between MS-13 and Barrio 18 gang members at a women's prison near Tegucigalpa, Honduras.


date: September 19

text: September 19 – Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Azerbaijan launches a military offensive against the Armenia-backed Republic of Artsakh, which ends with a swift Azerbaijani victory. Protests erupt in Armenia, Artsakh announces the dissolution of government institutions, and over 100,000 ethnic Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh.


date: September 24

text: September 24 – 2023 Nigerien crisis: French President Emmanuel Macron announces that France will end its military presence in Niger and will recall its ambassador from the country.


date: October 7

text: October 7 – Gaza war: Hamas launches an incursion into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing more than 1,100 Israelis and taking about 240 hostages, prompting a military response from the Israel Defense Forces. Israel launches numerous air strikes on Lebanon after rockets are fired by Hezbollah and further attempts are made to penetrate Israel.


date: October 8

text: October 8 – Israel's Security Cabinet formally declares war for the first time since the Yom Kippur War in 1973.


date: October 31

text: October 31 – Israel intercepted a Yemeni Houthi ballistic missile with its Arrow 2 missile defense system. The interception occurred above Earth's atmosphere above the Negev Desert, making it the first instance of space combat in history.


date: November 2

text: November 2 – The Beatles release "Now and Then", the band's last ever song, featuring restored vocals by John Lennon (1940–1980), as well as guitar tracks by George Harrison (1943–2001).


date: November 6

text: November 6 – Gaza war: The death toll in Gaza is reported to have passed 10,000. United Nations Secretary General António Guterres calls for a humanitarian ceasefire to increase the flow of aid to civilians.


date: November 23

text: November 23 – Riots broke out in Dublin, Ireland after a mass stabbing on Parnell Square East which injured 4 people.


date: December 18

text: December 18 – A number of shipping companies announce a temporary suspension of their operations in the Red Sea due to continued attacks on vessels by Houthi rebels.


date: December 22

text: December 22 – Gaza war: The death toll in Gaza is reported to have passed 20,000, almost 1% of its population and surpassing the casualties in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.


date: December 29

text: December 29 – A genocide case against Israel is brought towards the International Court of Justice by South Africa for Israel's invasion and subsequent bombardment of the Gaza Strip, and its role in the subsequent humanitarian crisis.


text: December 29 – Russo-Ukrainian war: Russia launches the largest wave of drones and missiles on Ukrainian cities since the start of the war in an overnight assault, killing at least 39 people and injuring at least 160 others. Ukraine launches a drone assault the following day, killing at least 21 people, including three children, and injuring 110 others, including 17 children.


date: April 14

text: April 14 – Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) to search for life in the Jovian system, with an expected arrival year of 2031.


date: August 22

text: August 22 – Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returns to Thailand after 15 years of political exile.


date: January 5

text: January 5 – The funeral of Pope Benedict XVI is held at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City. The funeral was attended by an estimated 50,000 people.


date: February 16

text: February 16 – Lawmakers in the Russian State Duma vote to withdraw Russia from 21 conventions of the Council of Europe.


date: April 21

text: April 21 – The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, representing a majority of the global Anglican population, reject the leadership of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as the head of global Anglicanism over his support for same-sex marriage.


date: May 6

text: May 6 – The coronation of Charles III and Camilla as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms is held in Westminster Abbey, London.


date: January 1

text: January 1 – Croatia adopts the euro and joins the Schengen Area, becoming the 20th member state of the Eurozone and the 27th member of the Schengen Area. This is the first enlargement of the Eurozone since Lithuania's entry in 2015, and the first enlargement of the Schengen Area since Liechtenstein's entry in 2011.


date: February 1

text: February 1 – Lebanese liquidity crisis: The central bank of Lebanon devalues the Lebanese pound by 90% amid an ongoing financial crisis.


date: February 2

text: February 2 – The European Central Bank and Bank of England raise their interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to combat inflation, one day after the US Federal Reserve raises its federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points.


date: March 10

text: March 10 – Silicon Valley Bank, the 16th largest bank in the United States, fails, creating then the largest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis, affecting companies around the world.


date: March 24

text: March 24 – Rahul Gandhi, the official opposition leader of India is disqualified from the Lok Sabha after he was convicted in a defamation case filed by BJP MLA, Purnesh Modi.


date: March 29

text: March 29 – Brazil and China sign an agreement to trade in their own currencies, ceasing the usage of the United States dollar as an intermediary.


date: May 1

text: May 1 – 2023 banking crisis: San Francisco-based First Republic Bank fails and is auctioned off by the US FDIC to JPMorgan Chase for $10.7 billion. The collapse surpasses March's collapse of Silicon Valley Bank to become the second largest in US history.


date: July 3

text: July 3 – Indian oil refiners start payments for Russian oil imports in Chinese yuan as an alternative to the US dollar due to increasing sanctions against Russia.


date: July 8

text: July 8 – In the Netherlands, the governing coalition collapses and Prime Minister Mark Rutte announces his upcoming resignation.


date: July 9

text: July 9 – New Zealand signs a free trade agreement with the European Union, increasing bilateral trade.


date: September 14

text: September 14 – The European Central Bank (ECB) raises eurozone interest rates to an all-time high of 4%, amid ongoing inflationary pressures across the continent.


date: February 28

text: February 28 – A train crash in Thessaly, Greece, kills 57 people and injures dozens. The crash leads to nationwide protests and strikes against the condition of Greek railways and their mismanagement.


date: March 14

text: March 14 – OpenAI launches GPT-4, a large language model for ChatGPT, which can respond to images and can process up to 25,000 words.


date: June 6

text: June 6 – Russo-Ukrainian war: The Nova Kakhovka dam in the Russian-controlled region of Kherson is destroyed, threatening the region with devastating floodwaters.


date: June 14

text: June 14 – Scientists report the creation of the first synthetic human embryo from stem cells, without the need for sperm or egg cells.


date: July 14

text: July 14 – SAG-AFTRA announces it will begin a strike against the major film and TV studios in protest of low compensation, ownership of work, and generative AI.


date: September 20

text: September 20 – Archaeologists in Zambia find the world's oldest wooden structure, dating back 476,000 years, consisting of two interlocking wooden logs connected by a notch securing one perpendicular to the other.


date: September 21

text: September 21 – Rupert Murdoch announces his retirement and passes his businesses on to his son Lachlan. Murdoch led News Corp and Fox, and formerly Sky Group.


date: October 17

text: October 17 – Whoosh, the first high speed rail in Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and the Southern Hemisphere, opens.


date: November 1

text: November 1 – The first AI Safety Summit takes place in the United Kingdom, with 28 countries signing a "world first agreement" on how to manage the riskiest forms of artificial intelligence.


date: March 20

text: March 20 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) releases the synthesis report of its Sixth Assessment Report on climate change.


date: April 20

text: April 20 – SpaceX's Starship rocket, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, launches for the first time in a test flight from Texas. It explodes four minutes after launch.


date: May 14

text: May 14 – The 49th G7 summit takes place in Hiroshima, Japan. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in Japan on the second day of the summit.


date: August 23

text: August 23 – India's Chandrayaan-3 becomes the first spacecraft to land near the south pole of the Moon, carrying a lunar lander named Vikram and a lunar rover named Pragyan.


date: September 2

text: September 2 – The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launches Aditya-L1, India's first solar observation mission.


date: October 11

text: October 11 – ExxonMobil announces it will acquire Pioneer Natural Resources for US$65 billion, the first of two major energy industry acquisitions of the month. The second occurs less than two weeks later on 23 October, where Hess announces it will be acquired by Chevron for $50 billion.


date: November 17

text: November 17 – The global average temperature temporarily exceeds 2 °C above the pre-industrial average for the first time in recorded history.


date: December 6

text: December 6 – Google DeepMind releases the Gemini Language Model. Gemini will act as a foundational model integrated into Google's existing tools, including Search and Bard.


date: March 23

text: March 23 – World Athletics, the global governing body for athletics, bans trans women who have gone through male puberty from competing in female events.


date: March 24

text: March 24–27 – A tornado outbreak kills at least 26 people in Mississippi and Alabama. This includes a violent tornado which devastated the city of Rolling Fork and the town of Silver City in Mississippi, killing 16 people and injuring 165 others.


date: March 31

text: March 31 – April 1 – A historic and widespread tornado outbreak occurs in the United States, killing 33 people, injuring more than 218 others, and caused over $5.4 billion in damage. This tornado outbreak produced 147 tornadoes, making it the third-largest tornado outbreak in history.


date: April 24

text: April 24 – India surpasses China as most populous country.


date: April 25

text: April 25 – A mass cult suicide is uncovered in Shakahola forest in Kenya. 429 followers of the Good News International Ministries are found in shallow graves throughout the forest, with over 613 people missing.


date: May 5

text: May 5 – The World Health Organization ends its declaration of COVID-19 being a global health emergency, but continues to refer to it as a pandemic.


date: May 11

text: May 11 – The World Health Organization ends its declaration of mpox being a global health emergency.


date: August 21

text: August 21 – Saudi Arabia is accused of mass killing hundreds of African migrants attempting to cross its border with Yemen.


date: October 17

text: October 17 – An explosion occurs at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, where displaced Palestinians are taking refuge. Many fatalities are reported, but estimates vary significantly, from 100 to as many as 471, depending on the source.


date: November 9

text: November 9 – U.S. surgeons at NYU Langone Health announce the world's first whole eye transplant.


date: March 17

text: March 17 – The International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights, marking the first arrest warrant against a leader of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.


date: April 11

text: April 11 – Myanmar civil war: In the village of Pazigyi, at least 165 people are killed by the Myanmar Air Force during the opening celebrations of a People's Defence Force administration office.


date: May 3

text: May 3 – A school shooting occurs in Belgrade, Serbia. A second mass murder occurs the next day near Mladenovac and Smederevo. These events leave 19 people dead, causing the government to increase regulations on gun ownership and mass anti-government protests to begin.


date: August 10

text: August 10 – Tapestry, the holding company of Coach New York and Kate Spade, announces it will acquire Michael Kors' Capri Holdings, which also owns Versace and Jimmy Choo.


date: September 9

text: September 9 – At the 18th G20 summit in New Delhi, the African Union is announced as the 21st permanent member of the G20.


date: September 28

text: September 28 - The landmark Sycamore Gap Tree, beside Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, is illegally felled. A 16-year-old boy is subsequently arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.


date: October 3

text: October 3 – Sam Bankman-Fried, an American entrepreneur and founder of cryptocurrency exchange company FTX, is put on trial and later convicted on 7 charges of fraud and conspiracy. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison on March 28, 2024.


date: October 25

text: October 25 – 40-year-old Robert Card shoots and kills 18 people at two locations in Lewiston, Maine, making it one of the deadliest spree shootings in U.S. history.


date: December 21

text: December 21 – The European Court of Justice rules that threats by FIFA and UEFA to sanction football clubs that wish to join the European Super League are unlawful.


text: December 21 – The deadliest mass shooting in the Czech Republic's history occurs at a Prague university, with 15 killed, including the perpetrator, and 25 others wounded.


date: January 15

text: January 15 – Yeti Airlines Flight 691 crashes during final approach into Pokhara, Nepal, killing all 72 people on board.


date: January 18

text: January 18 – A helicopter crash in Brovary near Kyiv, Ukraine kills 14 people including Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrsky.


date: February 3

text: February 3 – A Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derails in East Palestine, Ohio. Multiple train cars burn for more than two days, followed by emergency crews conducting a controlled burn of several additional cars, releasing hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the atmosphere.


date: April 15

text: April 15 – Nuclear power in Germany ends after 50 years, with the closure of the final power plants.


date: June 2

text: June 2 – A train collision in Odisha, India results in at least 296 deaths and more than 1,200 others injured.


date: June 13

text: June 13 – At least 106 people are killed when a wedding boat capsizes on the Niger River in Kwara State, Nigeria.


date: June 14

text: June 14 – At least 82 people die and 500 are reported missing after a boat carrying migrants capsizes off the coast of the Peloponnese.


date: June 18

text: June 18 – Titan submersible implosion: All five crew members of Titan, a deep-sea submersible exploring the wreck of the Titanic, are killed following a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.


date: August 17

text: August 17 – A Beechcraft 390 Premier I business jet crashes onto an expressway interchange near Elmina, Selangor, Malaysia, killing 10 people.


date: August 23

text: August 23 – Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder Dmitry Utkin and eight others are killed when their plane crashes in Russia.


date: August 31

text: August 31 – 2023 Johannesburg building fire: 77 people are killed and more than 85 are injured in a fire in a building that had been taken over by gangs who rented it out to squatters.


date: September 25

text: September 25 – An estimated 170 people are killed and over 300 are injured during an explosion at a gas station in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh.