A narrow majority in a Swiss referendum votes to end the free access of EU citizens, causing something of a diplomatic crisis

Belgium becomes the first nation to remove the age-limit on euthanasia, alllowing terminally ill children of any age to choose to die

The UN publishes a report on the atrocities committed against the North Korean people and calls for those responsible, including Kim Jong-un, to be brought to justice

The Ukrainian parliament votes to dismiss President Viktor Yanukovych, leading to major political disturbances by Russian-speakers in the Crimea and southeast Ukraine

ETA, the violent Basque separatist group responsible for many acts of terrorism, begins decomissioning its arms in line with the terms of a peace agreement

Budget cuts are announced that will shrink the US army by 75,000 soldiers, reducing its size to the lowest level since 1940

Putin absorbs Sevastopol and the Republic of Crimea within the Russian Federation, after encouraging a referendum for Russians in these southeast regions of Ukraine

Amit Shah, a manager of Narendra Modi's election campaign, is charged with the murder of three Muslim political opponents

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 loses contact with the ground for unknown reasons but flies on for five hours and vanishes, causing a massive international search

As tens of thousands of Muslims flee from their homes in the Central African Republic, the UN warns of potential genocide by Christian militias

The Israeli cabinet approves a draft reform bill that will end a 65-year exemption of the ultra-Orthodox (or Haredi) from military service

The Crimean parliament declares independence from Ukraine, and four days later signs a treaty with Russia for the Republic of Crimea to become part of the Russian Federation

Pope Francis preaches against the Mafia, warning that its members will end up in hell if they don't repent

A court in Egypt, after the briefest of mass trials, condemns 529 people to death, nearly all Muslim Brotherhood supporters, and follows this another 683 death sentences on April 29

US scientists observe, through a telescope near the South Pole, evidence of gravitational waves or ripples in space-time, set in motion during thr first trillionth of a second of the universe

North Korea test-fires into the sea two medium-range ballistic missiles, capable of reaching Japan or China

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, becomes the first Islamic terrorist to be convicted in a civilian court in the USA

The UN General Assembly condemns Russia's annexation of the Crimea and passes a resolution recognizing the Crimea as being within Ukraine's national borders

President Obama sends to Congress reforms of the NSA's surveillance powers in response to Edward Snowden's leaked documents

Cuba's National Assembly passes a law offering tax advantages to foreign companies entering partnership arrangements with local firms

With the election of Anne Hidago, a civil servant, Paris gets its first female mayor

A United Nations report warns of future disasters from climate change, even larger than previously expected, if the developed nations do not take rapid measures

General Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in Pakistan in a 1999 coup, is charged with reason by a special court in Islamabad

France's far-right Front National, led by Marine Le Pen, does far better than expected in municipal elections, winning control of eleven towns

François Hollande brings his former partner Ségolène Royal into his government as environment minister