Almanac: Jan | Feb | Mar
Screenshot
Mon | 1st | Jan
JAPAN → A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Noto peninsula, killing more than 260 people and displacing over 10,000. The following day a small coastguard plane waiting to deliver aid to the region collides with a Japan Airlines jet on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda airport. In an evacuation described as “miraculous” by air safety experts, 367 passengers and 12 crew safely disembark the burning aircraft, but five of the six crew on the coastguard plane die. The Japanese government estimates that the cost of rebuilding after the earthquake could reach $17.6 billion.
UK → An ITV drama about the Post Office scandal is broadcast, generating widespread anger about the treatment of the hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted on the basis of data from a faulty IT system. [P18 ‘Moment that mattered’]
Tue | 2nd | Jan
US → A newly released video shows the reaction of 13-year-old Willis Gibson, aka Blue Scuti, upon becoming the first human to complete 1985 video game Tetris
Fri | 5th | Jan
US → An Alaska Airlines flight makes an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon after a window and a chunk of fuselage blow out mid-air. None of the 177 passengers or crew onboard are seriously injured on the Boeing 737 Max-9 jet, although the subsequent vacuum sucked some clothes off a 15-year-old boy, who survived due to his use of a seatbelt. Regulators order the grounding of 737 Max-9 planes and it later emerges that four door bolts had not been fitted. The incident puts renewed focus on safety at Boeing, which is facing a criminal probe by the justice department as well as legal action from passengers. The Max 9 model’s predecessor, the Max 8, was involved in deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019.
Tue | 9th | Jan
ECUADOR → Armed gunmen storm a TV studio during a live broadcast, prompting President Daniel Noboa to declare a state of “internal armed conflict”. Nobody is hurt when the masked gangsters storm the
El Noticiero news programme on the TC Televisión network in Guayaquil, and 13 alleged perpetrators are arrested by police. The incident is one of several seemingly coordinated attacks by drug gangs, including the detonation of bombs throughout the country and over 150 prison guards being taken hostage in seven different correctional facilities. It appears that the unrest is related to the 7th January prison escape by notorious gang kingpin José Adolfo Macías, known as ‘Fito’. Noboa designates 22 gangs as terrorist organisations and authorises the country’s military to “neutralise” them. Three days later all the hostages are freed from the prisons.
Record breakers
The quarter’s landmark achievements
1m 55s
Thu | 25th | Jan
Fastest time for a pig to pull ten socks from a foot and place them in a washing machine
– Iris Brun and Pongo, Milan, Italy –
253g
Sat| 17th | Feb
Most Bombay mix eaten in one minute
– André Ortlof, Augsburg, Germany –
885
Wed | 6th | Mar
Largest gathering of people dressed as Albert Einstein
– Salesforce Inc, San Francisco, US –
Thu | 11th | Jan
UK → Pioneering DJ Annie Nightingale dies aged 83. [P24 ‘Annie Nightingale, 1940-2024’]
NETHERLANDS → South Africa accuses Israel of intent to commit genocide in Gaza at the start of a case at the UN international court of justice in The Hague. Israel describes the South African claim that it is involved in “grave violence and genocidal acts” as baseless, with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling the court’s decision to hear the case a “disgrace that will not be erased for generations”. In an interim judgement issued on 26th January, the court orders Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent genocide, but rejects South Africa’s demand for an immediate ceasefire.
Fri | 12th | Jan
YEMEN → The US and UK launch strikes against Houthi targets in an effort to halt the militant group’s targeting of ships in the Red Sea. [P28 ‘The briefing’]
Sat | 13th | Jan
TAIWAN→ Pro-sovereignty candidate William Lai wins the country’s elections, as voters ignore Chinese warnings not to vote for a candidate it describes as a dangerous trouble-maker. Lai’s victory marks a third consecutive term for the Democratic Progressive Party, which argues that since Taiwan is a de facto sovereign nation there is no need for a formal declaration of independence, which many believe would trigger conflict with China. Two days later the Pacific island nation of Nauru, one of the few remaining countries to retain diplomatic ties with Taipei, switches allegiances to China in what Taiwanese officials describe as “retaliation against our democratic elections”
Mon | 15th | Jan
UK → The British Library’s main catalogue goes back online for the first time since a devastating October 2023 cyber-attack. It signals a first step towards the full restoration of services, which have been down since Rhysida, a ransomware gang believed to be from Russia, encrypted or destroyed most of the institution’s servers and stole nearly 600 gigabytes of data including personal information on users and staff. The data was dumped on the dark web by the hacking group after it was told that the £600,000 ransom fee would not be paid. It is reported that the library will have to spend up to £7 million overall fully to restore its digital services, which are likely to be disrupted for months to come.
Born
Notable debuts of the quarter
Son of Concorde
Fri | 12th | Jan
Nasa’s new X-59 supersonic aircraft, which can travel faster than the speed of sound without creating sonic booms, presented at Skunk Works in Palmdale, California.
Roberto the Builder
Fri | 26th | Jan
It is announced that a film version of British children’s TV programme Bob the Builder set in Puerto Rico is to be co-produced by Jennifer Lopez.
The Lioness line
Thu | 15th | Feb
One of six new names announced for the lines of London’s Overground network, along with Liberty, Mildmay, Suffragette, Weaver and Windrush.
Timber satellites
Sat | 17th | Feb
Environmentally-friendly, biodegradable LignoSat probe built of magnolia wood by scientists at Kyoto University is reported in the press and will be launched aboard a US rocket in summer.
Military beards
Thu | 28th | Mar
The British army joins the Belgian, Danish and German forces in allowing soldiers to sport facial hair.
Wed | 17th | Jan
UK→ Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill is passed by the House of Commons on its third reading despite opposition by some Conservative MPs. The new legislation establishes in UK law that Rwanda is a safe country and is aimed at allowing a scheme found to be unlawful by the supreme court in November 2023 to go ahead. The bill becomes law on 23rd April but the May announcement of a general election, the subsequent dissolution of parliament and Keir Starmer’s vow to scrap the scheme makes it unlikely that anyone will be sent to Rwanda.
Fri | 19th | Jan
JAPAN→ The country becomes only the fifth to achieve a soft touchdown on the moon, although the lander runs out of power after its descent. Nine days later Japan’s space agency confirms that due to a change in the direction of sunlight the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon spacecraft is again generating electricity and gathering data, and in late March it exceeds expectations by surviving the extreme cold of a fortnight-long lunar night for the second time. On 22nd February the US returns to the lunar surface for the first time in over 50 years when the privately-built Odysseus spacecraft touches down near the moon’s south pole.
Mon | 22nd | Jan
CAMEROON→ The world’s first routine malaria vaccination campaign begins in the central African country. [P30 ‘Moment that mattered’]
INDIA→ Prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurates a Hindu temple on the contested site of a razed mosque in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in the Hindu holy city of Ayodhya has been constructed on the land where Hindu nationalist mobs destroyed the 16th century Babri mosque in 1992, sparking sectarian riots in which over 2,000 people died.
Sun | 28th | Jan
A brief history of the Mona Lisa
Highlights from the biography of the world’s most famous painting, which was attacked – but thanks to protective glass, not damaged – by protesters throwing pumpkin soup in January
MEXICO → The country holds its first bullfight in almost two years after the supreme court overturns a May 2022 ban on the practice. The latest chapter in a long-running legal dispute between animal rights activists and La Plaza de Toros México, the world’s largest bullfighting arena, sees 41,000 spectators fill the stadium and hundreds of people protest on the streets outside.
JORDAN→ Three US troops are killed in a drone strike on a military outpost in the north-east of the country. The US responds by attacking more than 80 targets in Syria and Iraq linked to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed Shia insurgent groups which claimed responsibility for the attack. On 7th February, Wissam Mohammed ‘Abu Bakr’ al-Saadi, the commander thought to have masterminded the attack, is killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad.
Tue | 30th | Jan
UK → The Democratic Unionist party (DUP) reaches an agreement with the UK government over post-Brexit trade barriers and ends its two-year boycott of the devolved government. Stormont reconvenes four days later with Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill as the first nationalist first minister. On 29th March DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who secured the deal to restore the power-sharing executive, resigns after being charged with rape and other historical sexual offences, which he says he will contest. On 24th April Donaldson appears in court in Newey to face 11 charges, while his wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, faces four charges connected to aiding and abetting the alleged offences.
Wed | 31st | Jan
PAKISTAN→ Former prime minister Imran Khan is sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption a day after receiving a separate ten-year sentence for leaking state secrets. Khan, who was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and sent to prison in August 2023 for “corrupt practices”, claims that the many charges he faces have been orchestrated by the military to sideline him from politics. Despite the severe crackdown on his associates, Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party wins the most seats in a 8th February election, though not enough to form a government. An eight-party anti-Khan coalition is formed and in March Shehbaz Sharif becomes PM. On 3rd June Khan is acquitted of leaking state secrets on appeal but remains in prison on other charges.
UK → Two teenagers are sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Brianna Ghey. Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe killed the 16-year-old transgender girl in Warrington in what the judge at Manchester crown court described as “a brutal, planned and sadistic” attack with a hunting knife in February 2023, when the pair were aged 15. The family of Jenkinson, who was motivated by a “deep desire to kill” according to the judge, say they are “truly sorry” for their daughter’s actions and that they agree with the verdict and sentence.
Died
Notable departures of the quarter
Evergrande, 28
Mon | 29th | Jan
Beleaguered Chinese property giant, ordered to be liquidated by a Hong Kong court two years after defaulting
on its offshore debt and holding $300 billion of liabilities.
Kelvin Kiptum, 24
Sun | 11th | FEB
Marathon world record holder at 2hr 0min 35sec, killed with his coach in a car accident in Kenya.
Overtly Christian syrup, 136
Tue | 20th | FEB
Lyle’s causes controversy by toning down the image of bees swarming over a dead lion – a reference to the story of Samson slaying a lion – from its golden syrup package in its first significant rebrand since 1888.
Project Titan, 10
Tue | 27th | FEB
Apple’s hugely expensive plan to
create a semi-autonomous electric car is shelved by executives.
Iris Apfel, 102
Fri | 1st| MAR
New York interior designer and style icon who came to prominence in her eighties.
Sat | 3rd | Feb
UK → Two concerned parents start a WhatsApp group called Smartphone Free Childhood, which quickly becomes a nationwide movement. [P48 ‘The phoney war’]
Sun | 4th | Feb
EL SALVADOR → Nayib Bukele claims a landslide victory in the central American country’s election. A severe crackdown on gangs in his first term has turned one of the region’s most dangerous countries into one of its safest, but Amnesty says that the 42-year-old president has reduced “gang violence by replacing it with state violence”. Bukele, who has described himself as the “world’s coolest dictator”, holds approval ratings of around 90 percent.
Mon | 5th | Feb
UK → Buckingham Palace announces that King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer and will temporarily steps back from his public duties while receiving treatment. On 26th April, Buckingham Palace says that the King will return to public duties and that doctors are “very encouraged” by his progress.
Wed | 7th | Feb
SUDAN → The UN appeals for $4.1 billion of aid for Sudan, saying that ten months of civil war has “fuelled epic suffering”. Over 1.5 million people have fled the country since armed conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces militia broke out in April 2023, and a third of the population faces acute food insecurity, with five million people on the brink of famine. Last year the UN only received 43 percent of the $2.5 billion it tried to raise for Sudan.
Thu | 8th | Feb
US → The special counsel investigating Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents decides that the president should not face criminal charges. However, there is a political firestorm over Robert Hur’s explanation that one reason he wasn’t pressing charges over the president’s retention of files was because a jury would view him as a “sympathetic, well meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” and therefore wouldn’t be able to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. At a congressional hearing on 12th March, four days after the president is widely praised for a vigorous State of the Union address, Hur defends his comments, saying that he didn’t “disparage the president unfairly”.
AUSTRALIA → Retired swimmer James Magnussen expresses his interest in competing in the Enhanced Games, a multi-sports event with no drug-testing planned for 2025
Sat | 10th | Feb
US → Donald Trump says that if he were re-elected president he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to Nato allies that don’t meet spending guidelines on defence. The comments made at a South Carolina rally are described as “appalling and dangerous” by Joe Biden. In a 19th March interview with Nigel Farage, the former president says that the US would “100 percent” remain in Nato if he is elected, as long as allies didn’t “take advantage” of US support.
Thu | 15th | Feb
US → The White House says it has evidence that Russia is developing a “troubling” space-based anti-satellite weapon. National security spokesperson John Kirby does not confirm media reports that the weapon is nuclear but says that it violates the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. On 18th March, after Russia describes the White House’s claim as a “malicious fabrication”, the US and Japan sponsor a UN security council resolution not to deploy nuclear weapons in space.
TURKEY → An ancient statue from the archaeological site of Göbekli Tepe goes on display in a museum in Şanlıurfa. [P54 ‘Written in stone’]
Fri | 16th | Feb
RUSSIA → Alexei Navalny dies in an Arctic Circle penal colony. While the Russian authorities claim that the main opposition leader to Vladimir Putin, who survived an assassination attempt by the security services in 2020, died from ‘sudden death syndrome’, US president Joe Biden places the blame squarely on “Putin and his thugs”. On 1st March, thousands of mourners defy the Kremlin’s warnings of a crackdown to attend Navalny’s funeral in the capital Moscow, at which chants of “Putin is a murderer” and “Russia without Putin” are heard.
Sat | 17th | Feb
UKRAINE → Russia takes full control of the eastern city of Avdiivka in its biggest victory on the battlefield since capturing Bakhmut in May 2023. The Ukrainian forces’ retreat from the city, which has been almost completely destroyed by fierce fighting, comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky tells the Munich Security Conference in Germany that his military is being hampered by low supplies of ammunition.
Wed | 21st | Feb
UK → The ministry of defence admits that a test of Trident in January failed, raising concerns about the country’s nuclear deterrent. Despite the “anomaly”, which saw the Trident missile fired from a Royal Navy submarine land in the sea close to the launch site, defence secretary Grant Shapps says he has “absolute confidence” in the nuclear weapons system.
Fri | 23rd | Feb
UK → Lee Anderson claims that Islamists have “got control” of London mayor Sadiq Khan and, after refusing to apologise, is suspended from the Conservative party the following day. The Ashfield MP and former party deputy chair, who makes the comments in an interview on GB News, defects to Reform UK on 11th March, becoming the right-wing populist party’s first member of parliament.
UK → Shamima Begum fails to overturn a decision to have her British citizenship removed. The judges at the court of appeal unanimously rule that then-home secretary Sajid Javid acted lawfully in 2019 when he revoked citizenship from Begum, who had left London aged 15 to join Islamic State in Syria four years earlier. Lawyers for the 24 year old, who is effectively stateless and being held in indefinite detention in a Syrian refugee camp, say they will “keep fighting” for her British citizenship to be restored.
Sat | 24th | Feb
Famous for five minutes: The Unknown
February saw police called to a Glasgow venue by customers angry about an “immersive” Willy Wonka experience that left children in tears and was cancelled half way through. Video and images from the “awful” show, which took place in a sparsely decorated warehouse and featured oddly costumed performers reading from a script described by one actor as “AI-generated gibberish”, swiftly spread online. The event sparked global news coverage and was spoofed by US talk shows including Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Daily Show. The coverage turned Felicia Dawkins, a 16-year-old actor who struggled valiantly to portray AI-generated character The Unknown, an evil chocolate-maker who lives in the walls [pictured], into a viral sensation. Dawkins was asked to recreate the role in a guest appearance at the London Dungeon, and in June it was announced that a musical parody of the event, Willy’s Candy Spectacular, would debut at the Edinburgh Fringe festival.
Mon | 26th | Feb
GERMANY → Daniela Klette, a far-left militant who spent more than three decades on the run, is arrested in Berlin. [P64 ‘Moment that mattered’]
Wed | 28th | Feb
Safe as Houses?
In February the UK government announced a new £31 million package designed to protect the country’s democratic processes, including additional money to counter threats to MPs’ security. The topic had been thrown into sharp relief by the murder of Jo Cox MP in 2016, the terror attack outside parliament in 2017 and the murder of David Amess MP in 2021.
Change in spending per MP on security by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority:
Thu | 29th | Feb
UK → George Galloway wins the Rochdale by-election by a landslide. The founder and leader of the far-left Workers Party of Britain, who was expelled from the Labour party in 2003 for urging British soldiers to disobey orders to fight in Iraq, says his victory in Greater Manchester “is for Gaza”. The 69 year old’s success came after Labour’s candidate, Azhar Ali, was disowned by the party after audio was leaked of him claiming that Israel had allowed the 7th October 2023 massacre to happen as a pretext for the invasion of Gaza. Ali, who came fourth in the by-election, had apologised for his comments. On 1st March prime minister Rishi Sunak condemns Galloway’s victory, saying that extremist groups in the country are “trying to tear us apart”.
Starmer and Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside, and they both got well and truly spanked” – George Galloway after winning a by-election in Rochdale
GAZA → More than 115 Palestinians are killed and over 760 are injured while gathering for a delivery of flour from aid trucks, according to the Hamas-run health authorities. There are conflicting reports of the incident, with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas blaming Israel for an “ugly massacre” and the Israeli military questioning the death toll saying its forces only opened fire in self-defence and that many people died in a crush or were run over by military vehicles. On 5th March UN experts condemn “the violence unleashed by Israeli forces”, saying that it follows “a pattern of Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians seeking aid.”
HAITI → Gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, aka Barbecue, launches a wave of violence aimed at bringing down the government of Ariel Henry. [P68 ‘The Barbecue rebellion’]
Fri | 1st | Mar
US → President Joe Biden confirms that the US will airdrop aid into Gaza, saying that children’s lives are on the line. He refers to Gaza as ‘Ukraine’ twice in his statement, leaving White House officials to clarify that he was in fact talking about the Palestinian territory. On 13th March, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell accuses Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza; Israel says it isn’t to blame for food shortages.
Mon | 4th | Mar
FRANCE → The country becomes the first in the world to make abortion a constitutional right after a parliamentary vote. Nearly 800 of 925 MPs and senators back the amendment, which will protect the law that decriminalised abortion in France in 1975.
Wed | 6th | Mar
US → Nikki Haley ends her presidential campaign, leaving Donald Trump the Republican party’s presumptive nominee. The former ambassador to the UN, who had lost all but one of the ‘Super Tuesday’ primaries the previous day, does not endorse Trump and on 15th April starts a new job at the Hudson Institute, a right wing foreign policy think-tank.
Thu | 7th | Mar
NIGERIA → A reported 287 schoolchildren are kidnapped from a school by gunmen in the north-west town of Kuriga. Around two weeks after the gunmen demand nearly £500,000 for the release of the children, around half of whom are aged under 12, the Nigerian military rescues a group of the hostages. Due to major discrepancies in reported figures, it is unclear how many children remain captive.
Fri | 8th | Mar
US → A digital, AI-powered version of Marilyn Monroe is unveiled at a conference in Austin, Texas. [P80 ‘The ghosts in the machine’]
Sun | 10th | Mar
US → Oppenheimer wins seven gongs at the Academy Awards including best picture, best director and best actor for Cillian Murphy, who played the titular role. [P86 ‘The big pictures’]
Wed | 13th | Mar
Colombia → The first sentences are given to soldiers as part of Colombia’s transitional justice system for their role in the systematic murder of thousands of innocent citizens during the civil conflict. [P88 “A truth which cried out loud”]
Sun | 17th | Mar
RUSSIA → Vladimir Putin claims victory in stage-managed presidential elections. [P102 ‘The explainer: Putin’s Russia’]
Mon | 18th | Mar
UK → Laura Kenny, Great Britain’s most successful female Olympic athlete, on announcing her retirement from cycling
Wed | 20th | Mar
IRELAND → Leo Varadkar resigns as the country’s taoiseach and leader of the Fine Gael party citing “personal and political” reasons. The 45 year old’s shock decision comes 11 days after Irish voters rejected two constitutional amendments backed by his government in a referendum. On 9th April new Fine Gael leader Simon Harris becomes the country’s new leader.
Fri | 22nd | Mar
UK → It is announced that Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, has been diagnosed with cancer. The news that the princess is in the early stages of treatment for an unspecified cancer follows weeks of public speculation over her health since she underwent abdominal surgery in January.
RUSSIA → A terror attack at a Moscow concert hall leaves 145 people dead and hundreds more wounded. Although a branch of Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack on Crocus City concert hall, and releases footage of the incident, president Vladimir Putin alleges, without evidence, that the perpetrators had links to Ukraine and its western allies. On 24th March four suspects, all identified as citizens of Tajikistan, plead guilty to terror charges in court in Moscow. Two weeks before the incident, US intelligence had warned the Kremlin that extremists had “imminent plans” to carry out such attacks, which were dismissed by the Kremlin as “provocative statements”.
Sat | 23rd | Mar |
Tue | 26th | Mar
US → A bridge in Baltimore collapses after being struck by a ship, killing six construction workers. Joe Biden says that the federal government will fund the rebuilding of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which fell after being hit by the Singaporean-flagged container ship Dali. A US government investigation finds in May that Dali had suffered two power failures moments before the collision.
Fri | 29th | Mar
UK → An Iranian journalist is stabbed outside his home in London. Pouria Zeraati, a presenter at Iran International, is attacked by three suspects who, according to police, flee the country afterwards. The Persian-language news channel, which is critical of the Tehran regime, has faced increasing threats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. In February 2023 it closed its London operation on the basis of police advice, but it resumed broadcasting from the UK capital from what it described as a “mini fortress” seven months later.
Sun | 31st | Mar
TURKEY → The opposition Republican People’s party wins local elections in cities across the country including in Istanbul, where Ekrem İmamoğlu is elected mayor. It is the biggest electoral defeat in many years for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who led the campaign for his Justice and Development Party in Istanbul.
Reasons to be cheerful
Good news from the quarter
Hope for northern whites
Wed | 24th | JAN
In January the first successful rhino IVF took place, using southern white rhinos. The next step is to try to save the northern white rhino by using eggs from one of the two living members of the species – both female and infertile – and sperm from deceased males, with the embryo carried to term by a surrogate southern white.
Greek gay marriage
Thu | 15th | FEB
February saw Greece become the first Christian orthodox majority country to legalise same-sex marriage after a 176-76 vote in parliament. Same-sex couples will also now be able to legally adopt children. Fifteen of the 27 EU member nations have now legalised same-sex marriage.
A surfeit of hydrogen
Sun | 18th | FEB
It was revealed in February that the US Geographical Survey believes that up to five trillion tonnes of naturally generated hydrogen exists in underground reservoirs around the world. While much is unrecoverable, even a small percentage of the carbon-free resource could be a game-changer in the shift from fossil fuels.
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