January – Greece takes over the EU rotating Presidency.
February – Senate permitting, Janet Yellen becomes the first female chairman of America’s Fed.
March – Hollywood rolls out the red carpet for the 86th Academy Awards.
April – Afghanistan holds a presidential election and South Africans go to the polls.
May – Elections to the European Parliament are held across the EU’s 28 countries.
June – Russia hosts the G8 summit. Meanwhile, all football fans’ eyes turn to Brazil as it stages the FIFA World Cup.
July – Italy takes over the EU presidency. Glasgow holds the Commonwealth Games.
August – On the 100th anniversary of Britain declaring war on Germany, a war memorial opens on the White Cliffs of Dover commemorating 1.7m Commonwealth casualties in the two world wars of 1914-18 and 1939-45.
September – Scotland votes in a referendum on whether to remain part of the United Kingdom.
October – The IMF and the World Bank hold their annual meetings in Washington, DC.
November – Celebrations mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which brought down communism.
December – American troops head home as the International Security Assistance Force’s mission ends in Afghanistan.