- February 16
- The Egyptian military begins conducting airstrikes against a branch of the Islamic militant group ISIL in Libya in retaliation for the group's beheading of over a dozen Egyptian Christians. [1233]
- March 6
- NASA's Dawn probe enters orbit around Ceres, becoming the first spacecraft to visit a dwarf planet. [1233]
- March 12
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant becomes allies with fellow jihadist group Boko Haram, effectively annexing the group. [1233]
- March 18
- For a few hours, Paris, France, becomes the world's most polluted city. [1549.9]
- March 20
- Total eclipse of the Sun by the Moon is visible from Svalbard, Norway. [1588.15]
- March 24
- An Airbus A320-211 operated by Germanwings crashes in the French Alps, killing all 150 on board. [1233]
- March 25
- A Saudi Arabia-led coalition of Arab countries starts a military intervention in Yemen in order to uphold the Yemeni government in its fight against the Houthis' southern offensive. [1233] [1301.9]
- April 2
- 148 people are killed, the majority students, in a mass shooting at the Garissa University College in Kenya, perpetrated by the militant terrorist organization Al-Shabaab. [1233]
- April 25
- A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Nepal and causes 8,857 deaths in Nepal, 130 in India, 27 in China and 4 in Bangladesh with a total of 9,018 deaths, and destroying the houses of millions. [1233] [1247.36]
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- April 29
- The World Health Organization declares that rubella has been eradicated from the Americas. [1233]
- May 1
- Expo 2015 opens in Milan, Italy. [1233]
- May 11
- Version O of Les Femmes d'Alger by Pablo Picasso sells for US$179.3 million at Christie's auction in New York, setting a new world record for a painting. [1233]
- May 12
- A second major earthquake in Nepal, measuring 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale, results in 153 deaths in Nepal, 62 in India, 1 in China and 2 in Bangladesh with a total of 218 deaths. [1233]
- The sculpture L'Homme au doigt by Alberto Giacometti sells for US$141.3 million at Christie's auction in New York, setting a new world record for a sculpture. [1233]
- May 20
- The two constituent republics of Novorossiya, the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, announce the suspension of the Novorossiya project, returning to separate (though internationally unrecognised) states. [1233]
- May 23
- Ireland votes to legalize same-sex marriage, becoming the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote. [1233]
- May 24
- General election in Ethiopia, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn remains in power. [1235.43]
- Presidential runoff election in Poland. Winner is Andrzej Duda (51.5%) over incumbant Bronislaw Komorowski (48.5%). [1235.49]
- May 25
- In southern Helmand province, Afghanistan, Taliban kill 26 government soldiers in a siege of a police headquarters. [1235.39]
- June 1
- The Oriental Star ferry on the Yangzi river in the People's Republic of China capsizes in a tornado. An estimated 400 people die. [1236.36]
- June 2
- FIFA President Sepp Blatter announces his intention to resign amidst an FBI-led corruption investigation, and calls for an extraordinary congress to elect a new president as soon as possible. [1233]
- June 6
- The governments of India and Bangladesh officially ratify their 1974 agreement to exchange enclaves along their border. [1233]
- June 7
- (to June 8) The 41st G7 summit is held in Schloss Elmau, Bavaria. [1233]
- June 26
- Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ends talks with European Union and International Monetary Fund on more bail-out terms, calling for a referendum on their terms. [1238.23]
- June 30
- Cuba becomes the first country in the world to eradicate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. [1233]
- July 1
- The Gibe III hydroelectric dam on the Omo River in Ethiopia is completed, the largest in Africa. [1238.44]
- July 2
- British Petroleum announces it had settled US federal, state, and local claims for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 for US$18.7 billion, to be paid over 18 years. [1238.10]
- July 5
- Greek referendum on deal with creditors: 61.3 percent reject the terms. [1238.23]
- July 14
- Iran agrees to long-term limits of its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. [1233] [1237.19]
- NASA's New Horizons spacecraft performs a close flyby of Pluto, becoming the first spacecraft in history to visit the distant world. [1233]
- July 20
- Cuba and the United States reestablish full diplomatic relations, ending a 54-year stretch of hostility between the nations. [1233]
- July 24
- Turkey begins a series of airstrikes against PKK and ISIL targets after the 2015 Suruç bombing. [1233]
- July 27
- Peru soldiers and police rescue 26 people ept as slaves up to 30 years by Shining Path group Maoist, created by Abimael Guzmán. [1242.33]
- August 5
- Debris found on Réunion Island is confirmed to be that of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, missing since March 2014. [1233]
- August 17
- A bombing takes place inside the Erawan Shrine at the Ratchaprasong intersection in Pathum Wan District, Bangkok, Thailand, killing 20 people and injuring 125. [1233]
- September 10
- Scientists announce the discovery of Homo naledi, a previously unknown species of early human in South Africa. [1233]
- September 14
- Gravitational waves are detected for the first time, by LIGO. [1233]
- September 18
- Automaker Volkswagen is alleged to have been involved in worldwide rigging of diesel emissions tests, affecting an estimated 11 million vehicles globally. [1233]
- September 24
- A stampede during the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca kills at least 2,200 people and injures more than 900 others, with more than 650 missing. [1233]
- September 27
- Total lunar eclipse is visible from Teulon, Manitoba, Canada. [1587.8]
- September 28
- NASA announces that liquid water has been found on Mars. [1233]
- September 30
- Russia begins air strikes against ISIL and anti-government forces in Syria, in support of the Syrian government. [1233]
- October 3
- A United States airstrike on a Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) hospital in Afghanistan accidentally kills an estimated 20 people. [1233]
- October 10
- A series of suicide bombings kills at least 100 people at a peace rally in Ankara, Turkey, and injures more than 400 others. [1233]
- October 23
- Hurricane Patricia becomes the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere and the second strongest worldwide, with winds of 215 mph and a pressure of 872 mbar. [1233]
- October 25
- Poland parliamentary elections, won by the Law and Justice party. [1239.41]
- October 26
- A magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes the Hindu Kush region and causes 398 deaths, with 279 in Pakistan, 115 in Afghanistan and 4 in India. [1233]
- October 31
- Kogalymavia Flight 9268, an Airbus A321 airliner en route to Saint Petersburg from Sharm el-Sheikh, crashes near Al-Hasana in Sinai, killing all 217 passengers and 7 crew members on board. [1233]
- November 7
- Chinese and Taiwanese presidents, Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou, formally meet for the first time. [1233]
- November 12
- Several suicide bombings occur in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 43 and injuring 239. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant claim responsibility. [1233]
- November 13
- Multiple terrorist attacks claimed by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Paris, France, result in 130 fatalities. [1233]
- November 24
- Turkey shoots down a Russian fighter jet in the first case of a NATO member destroying a Russian aircraft since the 1950s. [1233]
- November 30
- The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) is held in Paris, attended by leaders from 147 nations. [1233]
- December 12
- At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, 195 country representatives sign an agreement to limit future global average temperature to well below 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels. [1233] [1241.89]
- December 15
- The Islamic Military Alliance is formed in order to fight terrorism. [1233]
- December 22
- SpaceX lands a Falcon 9 rocket, the first reusable rocket to successfully enter orbital space and return. [1233]
- December 27
- Iraqi security forces announce the recapture of Ramadi from ISIS. [1239.33]
- December 31
- US resumes export of crude oil, first since 1973. [1240.61]
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