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The Soviet Union ended on December 26, splitting into 15 new countries and stopping the Cold War. The U.S. became the world’s biggest power after this. -
On February 7, the Maastricht Treaty made the European Union, bringing Europe closer with one money system, the euro. It helped countries work together more. -
A bomb exploded in the World Trade Center’s garage on February 26, killing 6 people and hurting over 1,000. It was one of the first big terrorist attacks in the U.S. -
From April to July, about 800,000 people were killed in Rwanda because of fighting between groups. The world didn’t stop it, which made people upset. -
On April 19, a man named Timothy McVeigh blew up a building in Oklahoma, killing 168 people. It was the worst homegrown attack in the U.S. at that time. -
The Kyoto Protocol was made on December 11 to cut pollution and fight climate change. It was a big step, but not everyone liked it. -
Google started on September 4 by two guys, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, making it easier to find stuff online. It grew into a huge tech company fast. -
NATO bombed Yugoslavia from March to June to stop fighting in Kosovo. It worked, but some people didn’t like other countries getting involved. -
People worried computers would crash on January 1, 2000, but nothing big happened after fixes were made. It showed how much we depend on tech. -
On September 11, terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, killing almost 3,000 people. It started a big U.S. fight against terrorism. -
The U.S. attacked Iraq on March 20, saying it had dangerous weapons, but none were found. The war caused lots of problems in the Middle East. -
A huge wave from an earthquake on December 26 killed over 230,000 people in many countries. It made people want better ways to warn about disasters. -
Apple showed off the iPhone on June 29, a phone that could do lots of things like play music and go online. It changed how we use phones forever. -
A bank called Lehman Brothers failed on September 15, starting a big money problem around the world. Governments had to step in to help fix it. -
In December, people in Tunisia started protesting, and soon others in Arab countries did too, kicking out some leaders. It was about wanting freedom, but some places got messy. -
U.S. soldiers killed Osama bin Laden, the 9/11 leader, on May 2 in Pakistan. It was a big win, but terrorism didn’t stop. -
On December 12, the Paris Agreement was signed by lots of countries to keep the Earth from getting too hot. It’s a big plan, but not everyone follows it well. -
On June 23, the UK voted to leave the European Union, called Brexit, which surprised many people. It took years to figure out and caused lots of arguments. -
On March 11, the world called COVID-19 a pandemic as it spread everywhere, killing millions. People stayed home, and vaccines came fast to help. -
On January 6, a crowd broke into the U.S. Capitol to stop the election results, and 5 people died. It showed how divided the U.S. was.