2015: World riven by conflict and crisis January: Charlie Hebdo attacks April: Nepal earthquake May: UK election June: Greece financial crisis July: U.S.-Cuba reconciliation August: Migrant crisisJuly: Iran nuclear deal November: Myanmar election November: Paris attacks November: Turkey-Russia row December: Syria airstrikes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- JAN 7 Islamist attacks in Paris on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a supermarket kill 17 24 The anti-austerity Syriza party wins power in Greece, and heads for a showdown with the EU over its massive bailout FEB 5 Jordan launches air strikes against Islamic State (Daesh) in Iraq and Syria following the brutal murder of a Jordanian pilot 7 Paul Gauguin’s oil painting When Will You Marry? sells for $300m, the highest price for any painting MAR 8 Daesh extremists demolish cultural heritage sites in Iraq, including Nineveh and Nimrud 9 Apple finally unveils its hotly anticipated smartwatch 24 The co-pilot of a Germanwings plane deliberately crashes into the French Alps, killing all 150 on board 25 Saudi Arabia launches air strikes in Yemen against Iranian-backed Houthi militants APR 2 Al-Shabab gunmen in Garissa, Kenya, storms a university killing 148 people, mostly students 12 U.S. golfer Jordan Spieth, 21, wins the U.S. Masters, and follows up with the U.S. Open 19 Over 800 migrants die when their ship sinks in the Mediterranean off Libya’s coast 25 A major earthquake kills over 8,000 people in Nepal and destroys many historic landmarks MAY 2 Princess Charlotte, second child of Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate,is born 7 The Conservatives, led by David Cameron, win a surprise election victory in the UK 22 Ireland becomes the first country to legalise same-sex marriage in a popular vote JUN 2 Sepp Blatter announces his resignation as FIFA president in the wake of corruption investigations 12 China’s stock market bubble crashes, sending share values plunging 13 The Philae lander from the Rosetta mission reawakens, seven months after landing on comet 67P/CG 26 A gunman kills 38 tourists at a beach resort in Tunisia, the deadliest terror attack in the country’s modern history 29 Greece closes all its banks for six days as its financial crisis deepens JUL 3 The solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse completes the longest leg of its round-the-world journey, from Japan to Hawaii 14 Iran agrees a historic nuclear deal to limit its ability to produce a nuclear weapon in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions 20 The United States and Cuba restore full diplomatic relations after 54 years 29 Aircraft debris washed up on Reunion proves to be from the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which vanished in March 2014 AUG 6 Egypt inaugurates a new channel of the Suez Canal, doubling capacity 19 Europe’s migration crisis intensifies, with up to 3,000 migrants arriving daily 30 Daesh militants blow up two ancient temples and the Arch of Triumph in Palmyra SEP 9 Queen Elizabeth II becomes Britain’s longest reigning monarch 18 Volkswagen admits widespread rigging of test results for diesel emissions 24 Over 2,000 pilgrims die in the worst ever crush at the Hajj 30 Russia launches airstrikes in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad OCT 25 Justin Trudeau Canada’s federal election, pulls off an upset in ending nine years of Conservative rule 29 China ends its controversial one-child policy after 35 years 31 A bomb destroys a Russian airliner over Sinai, killing all 224 people on board NOV 8 Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy wins a landslide election victory in Myanmar to end decades of military rule 13 Russia is suspended from all international athletics for alleged involvement in widespread doping 13 At least 130 people are killed in coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris. The suspected mastermind is later killed in a police raid in Saint-Denis 24 Turkey shoots down a Russian warplane near the border with Syria, sparking a major diplomatic row 28 Pope Francis makes a six-day trip to Africa, including the first visit by any pope to an active conflict zone DEC 1 Mark Zuckerberg,CEO of Facebook, says he will donate 99 percent of his shares, worth $45 billion, to charity 3 British bombers join U.S. and French airstrikes on Daesh targets in Syria 3 Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is convicted of murder on appeal, overturning a lesser conviction over the shooting death of his girlfriend in 2013 7 Republican presidential front- runner Donald Trump was widely criticised after calling for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pictures: Associated Press, Getty Images words 744