The plane of Air France disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean in 2011 and its location was not found until later. However, we may never know what happened to MH-370. The disappearance of MH-370 has led to calls for better technology to track the location of planes around the world. The media coverage of the plane’s disappearance has been dominated by the fact that modern technology cannot find everything on the poorly mapped floor of the Indian Ocean. The Malaysian government, particularly Malaysia Airlines, has been criticized for stonewalling and not providing enough information. The search for the plane has involved international cooperation from countries such as the United States, Australia, China, Malaysia, and others. However, there are still disputes over territorial control in the South China Sea, where the plane was last in contact with air traffic control. No one knows if the plane was hijacked or if it was a tragic accident. After nine months, we are no closer to finding any answers about the plane carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It is a mystery that continues to baffle the world in this age of instant global communication.
Catalonia continues to push for independence, but the current status quo holds and Madrid did not recognize the legitimate vote. Last month, Catalonia held an informal referendum on independence, and the majority voted in favor. Catalans had hoped that this would pressure Madrid to allow a similar vote in Scotland, where they expected a yes vote. There is considerable sadness in Europe, as Catalonia’s vote is one of the least favorable outcomes compared to Scotland’s. Meanwhile, the SNP, now riding a wave of popularity, may break the Labour Party’s hold on seats in the Scottish Commons in the upcoming parliamentary elections in May. Northern Ireland and Wales are also asking for special deals, just like Scotland. Now, Cameron must make good on his promises, as voters in England are also concerned about the ripple effects of the Scottish referendum. The high price of victory became moot when 55 percent of Scots voted to remain in the old Union in 2014. Serious discussions on the consequences for England and the future of the Union began, as pro-independence sentiment surged in Scotland this summer. Cameron had expected a win for the “Better Together” campaign, but he was wrong. Scotland’s votes are crucial to the United Kingdom remaining intact.
Once again, the economies of the Eurozone are faltering. Things are not looking great for the European economies, as they are poised to slide into their third recession in five years. Overall, the growth in the Eurozone was only 0.2% between September and July. Italy is already in a recession, while Germany and France are teetering on the brink. Some reports are more optimistic than others, with third-quarter growth rates higher than expected. Last week, the Greek stock market crashed, leading to snap elections. Greece looked to emerge from its recession, but the details of the new stimulus plan proposed by the European Central Bank are not yet settled. However, if Europe as a whole manages to stay out of the sluggish recession, it still won’t be enough to bring down the high unemployment rates plaguing most Eurozone countries. Even if the strength of Europe grows, it is likely that the outsider and populist nationalist parties did well in the last European Parliament elections in May. If you can write off efforts to negotiate the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the United States and the European Union, then you can negotiate a deal for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
In 2015, pay attention to Hong Kong. That barely indicates that Hong Kong’s discontent with Beijing’s decisions has faded away. As of today, all of the camps have been cleared. After that, police cracked down on the remaining protest camps. On December 3, three protest leaders surrendered themselves. Participation in the protests reached its peak in early October, and under pressure from authorities the number of demonstrators decreased to only a few hundred. The demonstrators were met with tear gas, which only encouraged more people to join the demonstrations. The “Occupy Central” protests demanding that Beijing allow democratic elections in Hong Kong took off. Beijing added fuel to the fire in August by announcing that only candidates it approved would be permitted to run in the 2017 election for Hong Kong chief executive. Tensions escalated this summer after Beijing’s severe response to a June demonstration commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the riots in Tiananmen Square. However, Beijing has not always fulfilled its part of the agreement. The “special administrative region” of seven million individuals is promised certain privileges not granted to other Chinese citizens. “One country, two systems” has been the guiding principle for Chinese governance of Hong Kong since the British returned the city to Chinese control in 1997. Pro-Democracy Protests Erupt in Hong Kong.
The weekends are three days long and the work days are short, so there is plenty of time for long lunches. Indians may be impressed with one of his domestic innovations, a website that allows them to track the comings and goings of over 50,000 public servants. Modi’s goal of making India more attractive to investors has generated international buzz and could help him in his efforts. He also tried to raise India’s profile on the world stage by speaking at the opening of the UN General Assembly in September and addressing a crowd of almost twenty thousand cheering fans at Madison Square Garden. He took a hard line on Pakistan, which alarmed some critics. Although he has devoted plenty of time to foreign policy in his first six months in office, his number one job is the economy. He has also made progress on trade, reaching an agreement with President Obama in November on the implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. Modi has focused on improving India’s dilapidated infrastructure and taming inflation. However, Indians have yet to see significant economic results, which is not surprising given the overall slowdown in the global economy. Modi’s opponents have many ways to derail his plans, and he faces immediate political problems in India, where power is decentralized. But voters hope that he can bring the same success to India as he did to the state of Gujarat when he was chief minister. Modi, the son of a poor tea seller, led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a historic victory in India’s parliamentary election in May, making it the first party in thirty years to win an absolute majority of seats. Narendra Modi wins in India.
Negotiators are faced with an impending deadline, and if a deal is not reached, it is unlikely that they will come to a position with hardline Iran. The United States contends that Iran is seeking nuclear weapon capabilities, which Iran maintains is for peaceful purposes and its uranium enrichment program. Western demands have been called “excessive,” and the main sticking points in the negotiations are how much uranium Iran will be allowed to enrich and at what speed. The negotiations kicked off in July 2015, with the deadline set for July 1. However, negotiators agreed to extend talks for another four months, despite not reaching an agreement by the November 24 deadline. When the negotiations began in January 2014, as part of a joint action plan, some Iranian assets were unfrozen by the United States. President Hassan Rouhani may be more moderate than his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but he has been unable to concede to the hardline elements in Iran. There is optimism that a comprehensive deal will eventually be reached, but there is also pessimism due to the stall in negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
The countries like Venezuela, Nigeria, and Iran heavily rely on oil revenues to fund government programs, but they don’t have substantial rainy day funds. However, lower oil prices mean that money can be invested or spent on other things, rather than being spent on buying gasoline. The other side of the equation is that falling demand, as growth slows in many parts of the world, is causing prices to drop. Oil prices have dropped in part because of the increasing supply, as the advent of hydraulic fracturing has led to soaring oil production in the U.S. And Libya. OPEC can’t agree on production cuts and oil prices have come down as a result. Some experts predict that prices could soon stay around $50 a barrel, while others say it could go up to $60 a barrel or even over $100 a barrel. In July, oil costs just over $100 a barrel, so prices have come down significantly. What goes up can come down, and this is the case with oil prices. It’s a crash.
(For continuous coverage of the epidemic, visit eboladeeply.Org.). The World Bank indicates that economic growth is rapidly declining in all three Ebola-ravaged nations and there is an increasing concern about food shortages in the area. Furthermore, the economic consequences of the outbreak may persist long after it concludes. Scientists worldwide are racing to develop a vaccine, but it will take a considerable amount of time before it is ready. There are significant risks associated with prematurely declaring victory. While Liberia has made progress in combating the virus, Sierra Leone continues to report more cases. The overall international response has had some impact. Doctors Without Borders, whose teams have been on the ground since the beginning of the outbreak, have criticized the response as “dangerously insufficient” and “slow and inconsistent.” This year’s outbreak was distinctive partly because it originated in a densely populated region and partly due to the delayed international response. As of 2014, over six thousand individuals have lost their lives to Ebola, with a few isolated cases appearing in Europe and the United States. This stark contrast is partly because in the twenty-four previous outbreaks, the death toll from the disease, first discovered in 1976, rarely exceeded a few dozen victims and never surpassed three hundred. The official declaration of Ebola outbreaks in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone in March went largely unnoticed. Ebola Strikes West Africa.
The stay remains tense. ISIS continues to attract individuals, including some Americans, to join their ranks and draw allegiance from other foreign jihadists and jihadi groups. Although the group still controls a significant amount of territory, including the second-largest city in Iraq, Mosul, their advances have been slowed down by airstrikes. The United States and its uneasy allies have launched their own airstrikes against ISIS, while Iran also conducted its own airstrikes earlier this month. In addition to advising the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Iraqi army on how to regain the territory taken by ISIS, President Obama has deployed around 3,000 US troops to Iraq. The beheading of three Americans by ISIS in late summer and early fall prompted President Barack Obama to order airstrikes against ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria. There is a clear disagreement about how much the threat from ISIS in the region poses a risk to Americans. While ISIS declared itself an Islamic caliphate in June 2014, controlling a considerable swath of territory in Syria and Iraq, it has been denounced by al-Qaeda, formerly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq. Americans believed that the book was closed on the emergence of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) when the last US combat troops left Iraq in December 2011. However, ISIS declared itself an Islamic caliphate again in 2014.
The geopolitical map could potentially be remade if tensions between the West and Russia continue to increase. If the crisis ends soon, we will be living with the fallout for years. So far, more than four thousand people have been killed in the fighting in eastern Ukraine. Despite a ceasefire agreement reached in September, the conflict persists. In response, the EU and United States have escalated sanctions against Russia. When a Malaysian passenger jet was shot down over rebel-held territory, Moscow faced more criticism from the Western countries. The West immediately recognized Poroshenko as the new president of Ukraine in May. Meanwhile, the pro-Russian separatists in eastern regions of Ukraine, particularly Donetsk, declared independence and held their own elections six months later. In a questionable referendum, 95 percent of the Crimeans, who favored rejoining Russia, voted for the peninsula to be controlled by Russia. On February 27th, pro-Russian militants quickly seized the capital of Crimea, acting under the direction of President Putin. Ukraine has been caught between the East and West, with protests and the collapse of President Yanukovich’s pro-Russian government triggering the crisis. Russia’s annexation of Crimea in mid-March raised the specter of a new Cold War.
That’s my top ten list of world events in 2014. You may have a different list. If you know any significant events that I left out or how you would reorder the list, please use the comments below to let me know.
Rachael Kauss and Corey Cooper assisted in the preparation of this article.
Additional articles in this collection:
Top Ten Most Noteworthy Global Occurrences in 2021.
Ten Most Notable Global Occurrences in 2020.
The Top Ten Most Important Global Events of 2019.
Top Ten Most Important Global Happenings in 2018.
The Top Ten Most Important Global Events in 2017.
Top Ten Most Noteworthy Global Occurrences in 2016.
The Top Ten Most Important Global Events in 2015.