These are my picks:

1. The bloody civil war in Syria, which has claimed more than 100,000 lives since 2011, finally gained the attention of world leaders when Syrian President Bashar Assad allegedly ordered government troops to use chemical weapons on the country’s citizens. Hundreds of people died in the attacks and thousands more suffered from exposure. To date, the conflict has displaced 5 million Syrians internally and forced more than 2.2 million to become refugees. At least 150 journalists also have been killed while covering the war.

2. Super Typhoon Haiyan, a Category 5 storm, hit the Philippines in early November. A month later, the death toll passed 6,000. More than 27,000 people were injured and nearly 1,800 were reported missing. The homes of more than 16 million people were either flattened or damaged by the typhoon. Rebuilding the country is expected to take at least three years.

3. The bombings at the Boston Marathon claimed three lives, injured 264 people and prompted a massive manhunt for the terrorists. The suspects, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, then allegedly engaged in a deadly crime spree that ended when the police killed Tamerlan and captured his brother. Dzhokhar is currently being held at a federal medical center while awaiting trial.

4. Edward Snowden vs. the NSA: Snowden, a former computer technician and CIA contractor, stole classified documents and released many of them to the press. The files detailed the U.S. government’s massive surveillance program, which not only spied on potential terror targets but also millions of unsuspecting Americans and foreign dignitaries.

5. The Popes: When Benedict XVI announced his resignation in February, the world was stunned because no pope had resigned from office in nearly 700 years. However, with the March election of Francis, the Catholic Church was revitalized. The first non-European pope in 1,200 years, Francis was admired for his work with the poor, his nonjudgmental attitude toward gays and atheists and his goal of healing a religious institution harmed by infighting and years of sexual abuse scandals. Francis was named “Person of the Year” by TIME magazine.

6. Mass killings — which involve four or more victims not including the killer — occurred 30 times in the U.S. this year. The deadliest incident happened at the Navy Yard, and claimed 12 lives.

7. The death of Nelson Mandela on Dec. 5 prompted a period of mourning worldwide. The beloved anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist won the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize and was the first black president of South Africa.

8. DOMA/Prop 8 decisions: The Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act that denied federal benefits to same-sex couples. The justices also dismissed the Proposition 8 case, which banned same-sex marriage in California, claiming the defendants had no standing in court. In 2013, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey and Rhode Island all legalized gay marriage. Illinois also passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage, but it will not take effect until June 1, 2014.

9. The U.S. government shut down on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to enact legislation appropriating funds for fiscal year 2014 and refused to agree upon a continuing resolution. During the 16-day shutdown, approximately 800,000 federal employees were furloughed, and another 1.3 million were required to report to work without pay.

10. The Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya, began when several unidentified gunmen entered the structure and took hostages. The attack lasted for four days and claimed 72 lives, including 61 civilians. More than 200 people were also wounded. The Islamist group al-Shabaab later claimed responsibility for the attack.

(Other big stories of the year include: The coup against Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically-elected president; the Supreme Court decision striking down the heart of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; NASA’s release of a map containing over 1,400 “potentially hazardous astroids” for Earth; the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 in San Francisco; the trial of George Zimmerman for the slaying of Trayvon Martin; and the birth of Prince George of Cambridge.)