JANUARY
The ruins of an ancient lost city were discovered in eastern Ecuador. The city, which lies in Ecuador’s Upano area, was built around 2,500 years ago.
Nasa’s Ingenuity helicopter took off for its 72nd and final flight on Mars. Ingenuity became the first aircraft to fly on another planet. Ingenuity far exceeded its expected life, as it was only ever supposed to be able to handle five flights and last about a month.
Icon of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, embarked on its maiden voyage from Miami. With 20 decks and the ability to hold 7,600 passengers, the new super-sized cruise ship is longer than the Eiffel Tower.
FEBRUARY
King Charles III of the United Kingdom was diagnosed with cancer.
Odysseus became the first private spacecraft to land on the Moon. The moon lander, operated by the US firm Intuitive Machines, was the first US-owned spacecraft to land on the Moon in over 50 years. The landing wasn’t a total success.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune officially opened a new mosque. It can hold as many as 120,000 people and features an 869-foot minaret — the tallest in the world.
MARCH
Christopher Nolan won Best Director and his film ‘Oppenheimer’ won Best Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
Cillian Murphy also won an Oscar for his lead role in ‘Oppenheimer,’ Emma Stone won Best Actress in a Leading Role for ‘Poor Things,’ and Miyazaki’s last film, ‘The Boy and the Heron’ won the Best Animated Feature Film.
Vladimir Putin won the Russian Presidential election again with 88 per cent of the vote.
Iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being struck by a cargo ship. The event happened in the early hours of the morning and Dali, the cargo ship, was only going 9 mph (15 km/hr).
APRIL
Taylor Swift became the world’s first musician to become a billionaire solely from songs and concerts.
New York and New Jersey were struck by the strongest earthquake in over one hundred years. The 4.8 magnitude earthquake was felt across New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area, as well as parts of Virginia and Maine. The last quake of its size to hit New Jersey was in 1783.
Dua Lipa made the cover of the TIME100 list of the world’s most influential people.
O J Simpson, the former football great who was accused of and ultimately acquitted of the brutal 1994 slayings of his ex-wife and her friend, died on April 10, according to his family. He was 76.
MAY
Madonna ended her ‘Celebration’ world tour with a free concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 1.6 million people attended the historic concert at Rio’s Copacabana beach, with some super-fans waiting in place for days to get a good spot near the front.
OpenAI’s newest version of ChatGPT, GPT-4 Omni (GPT-4o), goes live and its features included enhanced contextual understanding and multilingual proficiency, making it a significant milestone in AI development.
The International Criminal Court requested arrest warrants for Israeli leaders for alleged war crimes.
Warrants were requested for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
JUNE
Narendra Modi becomes India’s Prime Minster for the third term as 642 million people voted in the world’s largest election.
Mexico elected its first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum. A climate scientist, was formerly the Mayor of Mexico City, the nation’s capital.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked free after a 14-year legal battle. After creating WikiLeaks in 2010 and releasing classified US military documents, Assange faced 14 years of legal challenges and imprisonment. He spent the last five years in a high-profile London prison.
Donald Sutherland’s film included the 1978 remake of ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ and the Oscar-winning 1980 drama ‘Ordinary People.’ He won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for the 1995 miniseries ‘Citizen X,’ and a Golden Globe in 2003 for the movie ‘Path to War.’ He died at the age of 88.
JULY
Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt while at a rally in Pennsylvania while US President Joe Biden withdrew from his re-election campaign and endorsed Kamala Harris as his preferred successor.
‘Inside Out 2’ became the highest-grossing animated film ever, earning $1.462 billion worldwide and surpassing ‘Frozen II,’ which previously held the record with $1.453 billion.
The Summer Olympic Games opening ceremony was held outdoors for the first time ever. 6,800 athletes paraded in 85 boats along the Seine River in Paris, heading towards the Eiffel Tower. The Olympic flame was launched into the sky from a cauldron attached to a hot air balloon.
AUGUST
Pavel Durov, founder of the encrypted messaging app Telegram, was arrested in France for alleged involvement in organised crime. After his release, he was placed under formal investigation over Telegram’s use in criminal activities.
SEPTEMBER
Parts of Central and Eastern Europe were catastrophically flooded as they were struck by Storm Boris. The floods displaced thousands of people across Europe, with some regions receiving more than three months’ worth of rain overnight.
Norway became the first country in the world where electric cars outnumbered petrol cars. Out of the 2.8 million private vehicles registered in Norway, 753,905 ran on petrol while 754,303 were electric. More impressively, electric cars made up 94.3 per cent of all new cars registered in Norway in August 2024.
After nearly 80 years of business, the iconic plastic kitchenware brand Tupperware filed for bankruptcy.
Maggie Smith was an English actress born on December 28, 1934. She died on September 27, 2024, at age 89.
OCTOBER
The world’s longest treasure hunt ended after 31 years. The treasure hunt for France’s famed Golden Owl has finally ended with the discovery of a bronze owl. The hunt began in 1993 and the finder of the owl won a sculpted golden owl valued at over $160,000.
NOVEMBER
Donald Trump was re-elected as President of the United States and his win shocked the Democrats.
Beyoncé received her 99th Grammy nomination, becoming the most nominated artist in Grammy history.
A literal banana duct-taped to a wall sold for $6.2 million in New York. The new owner of the controversial art piece, a cryptocurrency enthusiast, held an event in Hong Kong on December 2 where he ate the banana.
Producer, composer and performer Quincy Jones won 28 times. He died on at the age of 91.
DECEMBER
The EU signed a contract to build an $11 billion satellite network to rival Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Syrian rebels seized the capital Damascus unopposed that sent President Bashar al Assad fleeing to Russia after a 13-year civil war and six decades of his family’s rule.
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