2014 was designated as: International Year of Crystallography International Year of Family Farming International Year of Small Island Developing States International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
Events
January
January 1 – Latvia officially adopts the euro as its currency and becomes the 18th member of the Eurozone. January 5 – A launch of the communication satellite GSAT-14 aboard the GSLV Mk.II D5 marks the first successful flight of an Indian cryogenic rocket engine.
February
February – The West African Ebola virus epidemic begins, infecting at least 28,616 people and killing at least 11,310 people, the most severe both in terms of numbers of infections and casualties. February 7–23 – The XXII Olympic Winter Games are held in Sochi, Russia. Slopestyle events are introduced for the first time. February 13 – Belgium becomes the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia for terminally ill patients of any age. February 22 – Revolution of Dignity: The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) votes to remove President Viktor Yanukovych from office, replacing him with Oleksandr Turchynov, after days of civil unrest leaving around 100 people dead in Kyiv. February 28 – The number of people in the U.S. using mobile devices to access the internet overtook those using desktop computers for the first time, a feat which would be followed globally two years later in 2016.
March
March 1 – 2014 Kunming attack: Eight knife-wielding terrorists stabbed and slashed passengers at the Kunming railway station in Kunming, Yunnan, China, killing 31 people and injuring 143 others. March 5 – Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, severs diplomatic and political ties with Panama, accusing Panama of being involved in a conspiracy against the Venezuelan government. March 8 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777 airliner en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, disappears over the Gulf of Thailand with 239 people on board. The aircraft is presumed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean. March 16 2014 Crimean status referendum: A disputed referendum on the status of the Crimean Peninsula is held. The fifth ICC T20 World Cup in cricket is held in Bangladesh. March 21 – Russia formally annexes Crimea after President Vladimir Putin signs a bill formalizing the 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, recognizing Crimea within Ukraine's international borders and rejecting the validity of the 2014 Crimean referendum. March 31 – The United Nations International Court of Justice rules that Japan's Antarctic whaling program is not scientific but commercial and forbids grants of further permits.
April
April 7 – The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic statelet unilaterally declares its independence from Ukraine. April 10 – In response to the invasion and subsequent annexation of Crimea by Russia, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) passes a resolution to temporarily strip Russia of its voting rights; its rights to be represented in the Bureau of the Assembly, the PACE Presidential Committee, and the PACE Standing Committee; and its right to participate in election-observation missions. April 14 – Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping: an estimated 276 girls and women are abducted from a school in Nigeria and held hostage. April 16 – The South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsizes and sinks after an unmanageable cargo shift, killing 304 people, mostly high school students. April 27 – The Catholic Church simultaneously canonizes Popes John XXIII and John Paul II. April 28 – United States President Barack Obama's new economic sanctions against Russia go into effect, targeting companies and individuals close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.