Every year there are several ups and downs witnessed by the entire world and same was for the year 2014. While we saw cruel acts being committed by extremist organizations, there were trending videos of people dropping a bucket full of ice water on them for a good cause. The world saw acts of violence as well as instances of selfless acts. We saw the death of some of the most celebrated personalities and also cheered for some brilliant teamwork.

No matter what one might say, 2014 was one hell of a year equally splitting the good and bad side of everything. Here are top ten acts we all hold testimony to in 2014:

10 .The Facebook revelation

Facebook saw the biggest backlash in all its year after it was revealed that Facebook conducted an experiment in 2012 where the news feed of its users was either filled with negative statements and content or positive statement and content thus manipulating their behaviour by observing the nature of statuses they put up via their account.

This was seen as a major breach of privacy by Facebook and was resented by many of its users.

9. Germany emerging as FIFA Champions

For the fourth time in the history of FIFA, Germany lifted the cup yet again in 2014. It defeated Argentina by a fierce 1-0 in the lush city of Rio de Janiero, Brazil. A knight in shining armour of Germany was Mario Gotze who scored in the extra time bringing the much deserved FIFA glory to his nation.

After a thrilling football series, Germany won the final match which was more than engaging and nail biting for the audience, thus making the biggest sports news of the year.

8. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

What came out to be one of the biggest social media campaign ever made, the ALS ice bucket challenge was launched to raise awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and contribute to the research.

In the challenge, the candidate had to raise dump a bucket full of ice water on his head and challenge others to do the same. In case one failed to fulfil the challenge, he had to donate money to the research. Several leading celebrities completed the challenge including George W. Bush, Justin Timberlake, Jim Parsons etc.

7. MH370: The unsolved mystery

Flying from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Beijing, China, the Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 disappeared

in March 2014 creating one of the biggest mysteries of the aviation industry. The flight lost contact with the air traffic control over the South China sea leading to a multinational search comprising of forces from Malaysia, Australia, China, UK, US and France. The flight was announced missing one hour after the arrival at the Beijing airport.

6. The Peshawar Attack

The world saw the most heinous terrorist attack in Pakistan on 16 December, 2014. An attack by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was launched in the Army Public School in the city of Peshawar killing 145 people including 132 schoolchildren.

The rescue operation by the Pakistani military killed all seven terrorists and rescued 960 people from the school. The attack was out of revenge against the Operation Zarb-e-Azb conducted by Pakistan which killed several family members of the terrorist organisation.

5. Russian annexation of Crimea

Return of the cold-war like situation was one of the biggest affairs of 2014. This year gave a live show to younger generation of what must have happened back in 1962. Part of the former USSR, Crimea was transferred to Ukraine from Russia when USSR disintegrated. In March 2014, through a referendum, held invalid by the UN, declared Crimea as a part of Russia and independent from Ukraine.

4. Ebola Outbreak

Resulting in a case fatality rate of 70%, the Ebola virus epidemic was one of the biggest medical emergencies seen in 2014. The virus broke out in West Africa killing more than 7,000 people all over the world.

More than 6 countries became a part of this epidemic, out of which many of them were successfully able to contain the crisis.

There was also a backlash against this epidemic which called the Ebola crisis to be a hoax and hospital created disease.

3. Narendra Modi became the PM of India

Frustrated out of the backdrops and corruption charges against the Congress government in India, the country elected a new government under the leadership of Mr. Narendra Modi. The victory attained by the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014 was seen as one of the biggest victories in the history of the Indian elections.

The total election turnout was 66.38%, the highest voter turnout of all times in the biggest democracy of the world. It is the first time after the 1984 elections that a single party won enough votes to form an independent government.

The leader, Narendra Modi, is seen a charismatic personality who has changed the scene of the Indian government post elections. He has launched several successful campaigns such as the Swach Bharat Abhiyan that is reflecting a new perspective towards India from the rest of the world.

2. Death of Robin Williams

One of the biggest losses that was seen by the entire world in 2014 was the death of the great entertainer, Robin Williams. He was a man of strength and charisma always performing to make the audience laugh and reach to a silver lining in their lives. He lighted many lives through his work and was awarded with many laurels such as Golden Globe Awards, Academy Awards etc.

The world mourned as he died at the age of 63 on August 11, 2014.

1. Islamic State

2014 saw the rise of the Islamic State through a series of violent attacks and international crisis gripping Iraq and Syria under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Motivated by establishing a worldwide caliphate, the ISIS group led by Baghdadi beheaded several people and popularised it on the social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook calling upon more Islamic people to join their cause and surrender to Islam.