OCCASIONS OF 2015 THAT DEFINED AN ICONIC YEAR

SAME SEX MARRIAGE IN IRELAND

On May 23^rd, Ireland became the first country to legalize gay

marriage by popular vote. Out of an electorate of more than

3 million, 1,201,607 backed gay marriage, while

734,300 voters said No.

CHARLESTON CHURCH SHOOTING

Sadly, 2015 also witnessed several mass shooting tragedies.

One of the deadliest took place at the Emanuel African

Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South

Carolina on June 17^th, 2015. During a prayer service,

nine people were killed by a gunman.

SEPP BLATTER CORRUPTION AFFAIR

British comedian known as Lee Nelson (unseen) threw banknotes

at FIFA President Sepp Blatter as he arrived for a news

conference after the Extraordinary FIFA Executive Committee

Meeting at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich. Prior to the

meeting, on June 2^nd, Blatter announced his intention to

resign amidst an FBI-led corruption investigation.

CUBA PUBLIC HEALTH ACHIEVEMENT

On June 30^th, Cuba became the first country in the world to

eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.

Universal health coverage, improved access to tests and

increased attention to maternal care were credited with the success,

defined by health authorities as fewer than 50 cases of

mother-to-child transmission of syphilis or HIV per

100,000 live births.

FLYBY OF PLUTO

On July 15^th, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft performed a

close flyby of Pluto, becoming the first spacecraft in history

to visit the distant world. During the mission, the spacecraft

took a number of unique and detailed photos of the dwarf planet.

MALAYSIAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 370

DEBRIS DISCOVERY

On August 5^th, debris found on Réunion Island, a remote French

territory in the Indian Ocean, was confirmed to be that of 

Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, missing since March 2014.

ROCKY FIRE

Burning for more than two weeks until it was finally contained

on August 14^th, the Rocky Fire was a large wildfire that burned

in Lake County, California during the 2015 California wildfire

season. The fire burned 69,438 acres (281 km2) destroying

43 residences and 53 outbuildings.

DEATH OF AYLAN KURDI

At the beginning of September, the world got shocked by

a heart-breaking photo of a dead 3-year old Syrian boy

Aylan Kurdi who drowned during a motorboat trip from Turkey

to Greece and was washed up on a Turkish beach. It was this

photo what brought the migrant crisis into the main focus.