The Biggest Events of 2015

 

  1. Charlie Hebdo Shootings.

On January 7 two brothers entered the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine and killed 12 employees working there. They were motivated to attack them because they had printed a cartoon with a picture of the Prophet Muhammad. Islamic law prohibits any depiction of him.

charlie_hebdo_scene

(http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/charlie-hebdo-french-media-sued-816239)

  1.  FIFA President resigns amidst corruption scandal

After many allegations of corruption involving cities paying FIFA executives to get the chance to host the World Cup. After 14 people were indicted in connection to an FBI and IRS investigation of wire fraud, racketeering, and money laundering the FIFA President, Sepp Blatter stepped down.

 

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(http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report-russian-sports-minister-says-fifa-president-sepp-blatter-s-resignation-courageous-2091821)

 

  1. San Bernardino shootings

On December 15 a shooting occurred at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California. The perpetrators were a couple with a young child which is very rare for attackers. It was soon found out after the attacks that the husband had connections to al-Qaida. The english radio station run by ISIS reported that the attackers had been ISIS soldiers. In the end 14 people died (not including the attackers) and 24 were injured.

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(http://deadline.com/2015/12/san-bernardino-shooting-networks-covering-live-1201649089/)

 

  1.  Russian plane disintegrates over Egypt, ISIS claims responsibility

On October 31 Metrojet Flight 9268, operated by a Russian airline disintegrated over the Sinai Valley in Egypt. The cause is still unknown to this day but it is widely thought to have been caused by an improvised explosive device. Shortly after the crash the branch of ISIS located in the Sinai Valley claimed responsibility for the attack.   

 

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(http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/egypt-plane-crash-investigators-reject-claim-isis-brought-down-metrojet-flight-9268-a6716586.html)

  1. Legalization of same-sex marriage in the U.S.

On June 26 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled  in a 5-4 vote decision that all 50 states had to grant same-sex marriages and recognize same-sex marriages granted in other states. They also overturned a previous ruling making that had made it legal for states to deny same-sex marriage legal.

 

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(http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/28/us/same-sex-marriage-fast-facts/)

 

  1. Protests in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Grey while in police custody

After being arrested for possessing an illegal switchblade, Freddie Grey was transported to a van where he ended up going into a coma and eventually dying. The autopsy showed he died from a spinal injury. Following the news that he died many people protested police brutality and rioting, looting and civil disobedience soon ensued.

 

150426172013-01-baltimore-protests-0426-super-169(http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/23/us/gallery/freddie-gray-protest/)

 

  1. Cuba and the U.S. reestablish full diplomatic relations.

After breaking ties with Cuba during the Cold War the U.S. and Cuba finally reestablished relations. In 1961 the U.S. severed ties with Cuba because of their affairs with the Soviet Union who were enemies of the U.S. In addition to severing ties the U.S. placed a trade embargo on Cuba which forbid the importation of Cuban goods. Cuba also had a communist government led by Fidel Castro who the U.S. attempted to kill over eight times between 1960 and 1965. Now U.S. citizens can easily travel to Cuba which has been much more difficult for the last 54 years. Trade between the two countries will also start again meaning Cuban citizens will be introduced to a lot of new technology and U.S. citizens will most notably get Cuban sugar, coffee and tobacco.

 

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(http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/01/politics/obama-note-to-castro-reestablish-ties/)

 

  1. Nepalese earthquakes

On April 25 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the South Asian country Nepal. The epicenter included Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The quake was felt in Nepal, India, China and Bangladesh. It was the worst natural disaster to hit Nepal since 1934. Aftershocks from the initial quake went on for two months. One of the aftershocks had a magnitude of 7.3, it killed 218 people and injured over 2,500. Together the quakes caused over 9,000 deaths and 30,000 injuries.

 

 

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(http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/26/world/nepal-snapshot/)

 

  1. Paris Attack

On the evening of November 13 the capital of France was attacked by ISIS. The attack consisted of 3 teams of terrorists that launched six coordinated attacks. In the end there were 130 deaths and many injured. Many people were involved with planning or helping with the attacks and have been either killed or captured. But of the attackers one escaped and is most likely in Syria. The attacks caused many countries to rethink the safety of allowing refugees and it also caused many people to get islamophobia, the prejudice against Islam or Muslims.

 

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(http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-paris-attacks-20151113-storygallery.html)

 

  1.  Syrian Refugee crisis

Due to the intense civil war in Syria many have escaped to countries throughout Europe. The countries they have escaped to have had problems handling them and finding places for them to live. In the U.S. many politicians are trying to stop Syrian refugees to settle in the U.S. So far an estimated 9,000,000 Syrians have emigrated. Many have died trying because of the danger they have to risk to escape. They cram into boats that are overcrowded by the hundreds that often sink. They are doing this so they will get a better life but most importantly their kids will.20150805-LESBOS-slide-ZG91-articleLarge

(http://www.helpforsyria.org.uk/the-syrian-refugee-crisis/)