April 14 2014 – On the night of 14–15 April 2014, approximately 276 female students were kidnapped from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. The kidnappings were claimed by Boko Haram, an Islamic Jihadist and Takfiri terrorist organization based in northeast Nigeria.
March 16 – A referendum on the status of Crimea is held.
March 21 – Russia formally annexes Crimea after President Vladimir Putin signed a bill finalizing the annexation process.
March 24 – During an emergency meeting, the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Germany, France, Japan, and Canada temporarily suspend Russia from the G8.
March 27 – The United Nations General Assembly passes Resolution 68/262, recognizing Crimea within Ukraine’s international borders and rejecting the validity of the 2014 Crimean referendum.
March 8 2014 (MH370/MAS370) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing that lost contact with air traffic control on 8 March 2014 at 01:20 MYT, less than an hour after takeoff. At 07:24, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) reported the flight missing.The aircraft, a Boeing 777-200ER, was carrying 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers from 14 nations. There has been no confirmation of any flight debris and no crash site has been found.
On 5 December 2013, Nelson Mandela, the first President of South Africa elected in a fully representative democratic election, died at the age of 95 after suffering from a prolonged respiratory infection. He died at around 20:50 local time (UTC+2) at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg, South Africa, surrounded by his family.His death was announced by President Jacob Zuma. Reactions from governments, international organizations, and notable individuals, gained worldwide media coverage.
August21 2013: Around 1,429 people (according to US estimates), including many children, are killed in chemical attacks in the suburbs of Damascus, apparently involving sarin gas. Opposition groups blame the Assad regime. In the week that follows, as more details emerge, John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, condemns the attacks as a “moral obscenity” and President Obama threatens limited military strikes. David Cameron pledges British support, subject to parliamentary approval.
June 30 2013: Huge protests calling for the resignation of President Mohamed Morsi take place across Egypt. Protestors numbering in their millions accuse Morsi of failing to tackle Egypt’s economic and security problems since taking power in 2012.
August 5 2013 : In a surprise move, Jeff Bezos, the CEO and founder of Amazon, has purchased The Washington Post and various other newspaper assets from The Washington Post Company for $250 million, it was announced at an all-hands meeting at The Washington Post's offices
July 13 2013: George Zimmerman is found not guilty of charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter in relation to the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. The shooting took place on 26 February 2012, but, controversially, Zimmerman was not initially charged with a crime because of Florida’s “stand-your-ground” law.
July 6 2013: Forty-seven people are killed after a runaway train carrying crude oil is derailed and explodes in Quebec, causing a fireball that wipes out much of the town of Lac-Mégantic, located in the Eastern Townships of the Canadian province of Quebec, at approximately 01:15 EDT, on July 6, 2013, when an unattended 74-car freight train carrying Bakken formation crude oil ran away and derailed, resulting in the fire and explosion of multiple tank cars. Forty-two people were confirmed dead, with five more missing and presumed dead.
Edward Joseph "Ed" Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American computer professional. A former systems administrator for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a counterintelligence trainer at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), he later went to work for the private intelligence contractor Dell, inside a National Security Agency (NSA) outpost in Japan. In early 2013, he joined the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton inside the NSA center in Hawaii.
