Donald Trump Climate Change Myanmar Isis: North Korea Keeps Tensions High

2017 was a tumultuous year on the global stage as world leaders confronted a morphing U.S.
role
in international affairs and crises across the world.
SLIDESHOW: Pictures of the year 2017

President Donald Trump projected a policy of "America First" as he ceded the United States'
leadership on climate change, blasted international agreements and demanded more of U.S. allies.
The world banded together to fight climate change, while humanitarian crises unfolded in Yemen
and Myanmar. ISIS was beat back in Syria and Iraq, but its followers unleashed attacks in Europe
and across the world. Middle East machinations kept leaders busy, while the world looked ahead
to next year's Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
ABC News' team of reporters around the world has a look back at 2017, and a glimpse ahead at
what stories will make news in 2018.
North Korea keeps tensions high
North Korea's provocations continued throughout 2017, followed by stronger international
sanctions each time. The country test-fired various ranges of missiles repeatedly throughout the
year, almost every few weeks during the first half of 2017. Its latest ICBM flew for 50 minutes and
reached 2,800 miles in height in late November -- a milestone that could threaten the mainland
United States once the North potentially masters the technology to top it with a nuclear warhead.
The assassination of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, at an
airport in Malaysia in February is thought to have been carried out by or on behalf of North Korean
authorities and demonstrated the brutal nature of the regime. Otto Warmbier, an American
college student held captive for allegedly stealing a propaganda paper, was released in June in a
state of coma but later died soon after his return. Kim Jong Un was also rumored to have purged
or executed numerous top officials throughout this year in order to consolidate his power.
SLIDESHOW: The seesaw relationship between North Korea and the US

The year also witnessed “war of words” between Kim and Trump. The U.S. leader threatened that
North Korea will "be met with fire, fury, and frankly power," and called Kim the "Little Rocket
Man.” The North responded by calling Trump "a mentally deranged American dotard.”
The North's nuclear weapons program is expected to pick up speed heading into 2018. While
tensions have remained high, experts say once North Korea is confident that it holds the
bargaining nuclear power, it could come to the negotiating table to gain assurance for the
regime's survival.
-Joohee Cho, Seoul
Lucas Jackson/Reuters
President Donald Trump addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N.
headquarters in New York, Sept. 19, 2017.
U.S. global role morphs under Trump
Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president at the beginning of 2017 sent shockwaves across the world,
with Trump promising to enact foreign policies that put "America First.”
Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and vowed to take the U.S. out of the
Paris Climate Accord. He has demanded more of U.S. allies -- calling on South Korea and Japan to
foot more of the bill for U.S. troops stationed there, for example. Commentators have debated
whether Trump had passed at least part of the mantle of leadership to countries like China and
Germany.
Trump frequently criticized the United Nations on the campaign trail, and at the U.N. General
Assembly in September, he told other world leaders they should put their own countries’ interests
first.
U.N. members were overwhelmingly united, though, in rebuking the United States this month,
when members of the U.N. General Assembly world nations -- including a number of close U.S.
allies -- voted to condemn Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as
Israel’s capital and move the U.S. Embassy to Israel there.
Back at home, Trump faces calls to do more to combat what U.S. intelligence agencies have said is
Russian meddling in the American electoral process. While reports have shown a concerted
Russian effort to support Trump’s candidacy and oppose that of his Democratic opponent, Hillary
Clinton, the Kremlin has denied interfering.
-Ben Gittleson, New York
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Chinese President Xi Jinping votes at the closing of the 19th Communist Party Congress at the
Great Hall of the People on October 24, 2017 in Beijing, China.more +
China on the rise
2017 was a banner year for Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi began the year standing before the
world’s economic elite at the Davos economic forum giving a full-throated defense of
globalization and ended it enshrined in the charter of the Chinese Communist Party, officially
making him the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong. Only Mao didn’t command the
world’s second-largest economy.
Meanwhile, Xi’s China has been forced into the fray as the de-facto defender of the Paris Climate
Agreement and international trade as Trump extricated American leadership in those areas.
Despite numerous challenges at home, including find a feasible way to redirect China’s rapidly
changing economy, expect Xi to keeping projecting China’s increasingly robust foreign policy
across the globe in 2018 with an even more urgent confidence. The Chinese military opened its
first overseas base and is being prepped to do more to defend Chinese interests abroad.
But there are already signs from some countries, like Australia and Pakistan, of pushback against
Chinese influence. 2018 may be the year China receives the increased attention and scrutiny that
comes with being a superpower.
-Karson Yiu, Hong Kong
Bernat Armangue/AP Photo
PHOTO:A Rohingya Muslim man carries an elderly woman through water after crossing the border
from Myanmar into Bangladesh, near Palong Khali, Nov. 1, 2017.more +
Rohingya flee Myanmar ‘ethnic cleansing’
The ongoing exodus of the persecuted, officially stateless Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar
became the world’s fastest-growing refugee crisis in 2017.
A series of attacks on Myanmar border troops precipitated a heavy-handed military crackdown
that, according to Doctors Without Borders, killed 6,700 Rohingya in its first month. The Myanmar
government claims only 400 were killed.
More than 600,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh since the violence broke out in
Myanmar’s Rakhine state. The U.S. has called the attacks “ethnic cleansing.”
The crisis has tainted the legacy of Myanmar’s de-facto civilian leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi, a Nobel
Laureate, for her silence on the issue.
The crisis will extend into 2018. Bangladesh announced in October that it is building the largest
refugee camp in the world to house the over 800,000 Rohingya seeking asylum within its borders.
The governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh have agreed to begin repatriating in early 2018
Rohingya who can prove their residence in Myanmar. But Myanmar has for decades refused to
issue official identity documents to the Rohingya.
-Karson Yiu, Hong Kong
Yahya Arhab/EPA
PHOTO:A malnourished Yemeni child receives treatment amid worsening malnutrition in the
emergency ward of a hospital in Sana'a, Yemen,Nov. 15, 2017. More than 50,000 children under the
age of 15 are at risk of death from severe acute malnutrition.more +
Yemen’s humanitarian catastrophe grows
Yemen is one of the largest humanitarian catastrophes in the world. Millions of Yemenis are in
desperate need of aid, including some 8.4 million who are a step away from famine, according to
the U.N., and severe acute malnutrition is threatening the lives of about 400,000 children. In 2017,
Yemen became home to the world’s largest cholera outbreak, with about 1 million cases and more
than 2,000 cholera-related deaths.
In November, the situation worsened when a Saudi-led military coalition that is fighting
Iran-backed Houthi rebels blockaded Yemen’s ports. Since then, the blockade has been eased, but
it has further limited access to food, fuel and medicine.
While the cholera outbreak has declined, aid workers now warn that a suspected outbreak of
diphtheria, an infection that can be deadly, could quickly become an epidemic.
On Dec. 4, the war in Yemen took a surprising turn when ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed
after he abandoned his Houthi allies for the Saudi-led coalition, which is backed by the U.S. and the
United Kingdom.
Since then, violence has escalated in Yemen. The war could get even worse in 2018.
-Lena Masri, London
Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images
Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) walk down a street in Raqa past destroyed vehicles
and heavily damaged buildings on October 20, 2017, after a Kurdish-led force expelled Islamic State
(IS) group fighters from the northern Syrian city.more +
ISIS loses territory, but ‘lone wolves’ still a threat
Three years after the leader of ISIS declared a caliphate, an international coalition this year largely
took back control of territory in Iraq and Syria where the group had imposed draconian rules on
the local population.
After months of bloody, door-to-door fighting in Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, Iraqi forces this
summer forced ISIS to retreat, and life there began to return to normal. The battle shifted to ISIS’s
de facto capital in Raqqa, Syria, where an international coalition also beat back ISIS. Remnants of
the group shifted to much-diminished territory in Syria, where the so-called caliphate was largely
wiped out.
Throughout 2017, though, ISIS’s online propaganda inspired a multitude of supporters
contemplate or carry out attacks in Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East. Militant groups across
the world -- from Somalia and North Africa to Afghanistan and the Philippines, have pledged
allegiance to the group and continue to carry out attacks. Intelligence officials across the world
fear that ISIS’s territorial defeat may lead to more bloodshed in the future as “lone wolves” take
up the group’s call to arms.
Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images
Police and members of the emergency services attend to victims of a terror attack on London
Bridge in central London on June 3, 2017.
Europe hit by wave of terror attacks
In 2017, Europe was hit by a number of terror attacks: a truck attack in Stockholm, the shooting of
police officers at the Champs-Élysée boulevard in Paris, and twin vehicle attacks in Barcelona and
Cambrils, Spain.
The U.K. was hit by five attacks, from the Ariana Grande concert bombing in Manchester to an
attack on Muslim worshippers in London. At least nine plots have been thwarted in the past year
in Great Britain alone, a spokesman for the British prime minister said this month.
As ISIS lost territory across Syria and Iraq in 2017, officials feared its remnants would inspire an
increase in terror attacks elsewhere, particularly in Europe.
Across the continent, countries continue to worry about what a top British intelligence official in
October called a threat that is “multi-dimensional, evolving rapidly and operating at a scale and
pace we’ve not seen before.”
-Lena Masri, London
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
PHOTO:People ride through floodwaters,caused by Hurricane Harvey, in a four wheel drive truck
on September 4, 2017 in Katy, Texas. A week after it hit Southern Texas, residents are beginning
the long process of recovering from the storm.more +
High temperatures, intense storms put focus on climate
Trump promised over the summer to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord, ceding
leadership on the fight against climate change to the rest of the world. After Syria and Nicaragua
announced they would join the agreement, the U.S. became an outlier as nations teamed up to
combat carbon pollution.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced his country would assert itself on the issue, giving
“Make Our Planet Great Again” grants to climate scientists -- a play on Trump’s “Make America
Great Again” campaign slogan. In November, nations gathered in Bonn, Germany, vowed to move
forward with the 2015 Paris Accord. This month, China, the world’s top polluter, announced an
ambitious plan to curb its emissions.
While there is no scientific consensus about whether climate change is behind the growing
intensity of storms across the world -- including hurricanes that wreaked havoc on Caribbean
countries and U.S. this year -- the storms have led to calls from island nations and others to
prioritize addressing carbon pollution. And the U.N.’s weather and meteorological agency said
2017 was on track to be the hottest year on record, other than 2015 and 2016, which were affected
by the El Nino phenomenon.
Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
PHOTO:Crown Prince and Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud speaks
during Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) Defense Ministers' Meeting at Al
Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 26, 2017.more +
Saudi-Iranian competition flares as conflict racks Middle East
In 2017, Saudi-Iranian competition over regional dominance reached new heights, bolstered by a
more combative posture by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince -- most dramatically embodied in what
appeared to be his forcing Lebanon’s prime minister to resign, before international negotiations
allowed a return to the status quo.
Under Trump, the U.S. has pushed itself closer to Saudi Arabia and made combatting Iran a priority.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has led a coalition battling Houthi rebels in Yemen, where thousands
have suffered from cholera and diphtheria. While ISIS was rolled back from almost all the territory
it held in Iraq and Syria, Russia’s intervention in Syria successfully allowed the Assad regime to
regain control over much of the territory -- though it continues to rely heavily on Iran-backed
militias such as Lebanese Hezbollah.
Saudi-Iranian proxy wars do not seem set to cool down, and a flare-up of the conflict in the
northern Syrian province of Idlib as well as a continued devastating regime siege of East Ghouta,
close to Damascus, are expected.
-Rym Momtaz, London
Yonhap News via Newscom
Retired major league pitcher Park Chan-ho, right, delivers the Olympic flame for the 2018
PyeongChang Games to Hanwha Eagles slugger Kim Tae-gyun at an event in Daejeon on Dec. 9,
2017, as part of the Olympic torch relay.more +
Doping and security fears cast pall over Olympics
When the 2018 Winter Olympics open in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February, looming over
them will be two stories from 2017: Russian doping and the continuing confrontation between the
United States and North Korea over its nuclear program.
Russian athletes will be competing under a neutral flag at the Winter Games after their country
was banned over the continuing doping scandal. The reason for the ban was the same scheme
that saw Russia partly barred from the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: allegations of a
vast state-sponsored cover-up of doping by its athletes, involving Russia’s sports ministry and
even its FSB intelligence service.
Rattling some nerves as well will be the nuclear standoff with South Korea’s neighbor to the north.
U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley recently caused a furor when she suggested the United
States could avoid the Games over security fears. While the White House has since signaled
otherwise and most experts expect the Olympics to be safe, there are worries the North could
seek to interfere and South Korea has asked the U.S. to delay planned military drills until after the
Olympics, hoping for calm.
-Patrick Reevell, Moscow
2017 Lookback: The Top 10 Newsmakers in the PhilippinesWith 2017 coming to an end, let us look
back and see what significant events transpired in the Philippines for the past 12 months. Here
are our Top 10 Newsmakers for 2017 which made an impact not only in the Philippines, but also in
the world.
Duterte signs 10-year passport validity, 5-year driver’s license into law
IMAGE Wikimedia Commons
In August 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte signed both RA 10928 and RA 10930 into law, which
extends passport validity into 10 years and driver’s license for 5 years, respectively. The 10-year
passport validity is available for regular passports issued under the act, while those individuals
aged 18 and below will still have five-year passport validity. On the other hand, the five-year
driver’s license validity applies to both professional and non-professional license. The Land
Transportation Office (LTO) has already started releasing these licenses since August.
Also read: Duterte signs 10-year passports and 5-year driver’s licenses into law
Filipinos can now enter Taiwan visa-free
In November 2017, Taiwan has granted a visa-free entry for Filipinos for 14 days. This is only valid
for tourism, business, or visiting relatives as the purpose of travel. This visa-free entry will be on a
trial period until July 31, 2018, which was established to further strengthen the relations between
the Philippines and Taiwan.
Also read: Visa-free entry for Filipinos to Taiwan to start on November 1
Duterte and De Lima in TIME’S 100 Most Influential People List
American news magazine TIME released its list of the World’s Most Influential People in 2017,
where President Duterte and Senator Leila De Lima was part of. The two politicians are joined by
various leaders, titans, icons, artists, and pioneers across the world. The article describes Duterte’s
ironfisted strategy in his drug war, while De Lima was described as Duterte’s most vocal critic.
Also read: PH’s Duterte, De Lima on TIME 100 Most Influential People in the World 2017
PH tycoons who passed away this year
IMAGE sgv.ph
Some of the most notable businessmen in the Philippine business industry passed away early this
year. These people have made remarkable contributions in the field of commerce: Mariano Que
(Founder of Mercury Drug Corporation), Roberto Aboitiz (President of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation,
Inc.), Alfonso Yuchengco (Founder and Chairman of Yuchengco Group of Companies), Washington
Sycip (Founder of SGV & Co. Accounting firm), and David Consunji (Founder of DMCI Holdings.)
Also read: Que, Aboitiz, Yuchengco: Business Tycoons who passed away on Holy Week
Baguio City as PH’s first UNESCO Creative City
Perhaps one of the most significant good news we’ve heard this year would be Baguio City being
recognized as one of the new 64 UNESCO Creative Cities. The Summer Capital of the Philippines is
listed under UNESCO’s Crafts and Folk Art category. Baguio City is also home to national artists
including Kidlat Tahimik and Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera.
Also read: Baguio City from PH is one of the New UNESCO Creative Cities
Signing of EO on Smoking Ban in all public places nationwide
On July 22, the Nationwide Smoking Ban took effect in the Philippines, which bans smoking in all
public places in the country. Violators shall be apprehended based on Republic Act No. 9211 or the
Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003. This EO is seen as a step leading towards a tobacco-free
Philippines.
Also read: Nationwide Smoking Ban to take effect on July 22
PH’s glorious wins in international beauty pageants
Winwyn Marquez /IMAGE gmanetwork.com
This year, Filipina beauties once again reigned in several prestigious pageants all over the world.
Karen Ibasco won the Miss Earth title, actress Winwyn Marquez was hailed Reina
Hispanoamericana 2017, and Jannie Loudette Alipo-on won as Miss Tourism International this 2017.
Signing of the Tax Reform Bill
Yet another good news this year for Filipinos would be the tax-reform program which exempts
individuals who earn an annual taxable income of Php 250,000 and below from paying personal
income tax. This move will mean that prices of fuel, sweetened beverages, automobiles, and coals
will be increased, as part of the tax reform initiative.
Martial Law in Marawi
Earlier this year, ISIS-inspired terrorist group Maute attacked the province of Marawi in Mindanao.
This prompted Duterte to implement Martial Law in the whole Mindanao for 60 days. In October
of the same year, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced the termination of all combat
operations in the said city, which means that the place is finally free from the terror group.
Also read: #PrayForMarawi: Things To Know About The Declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao
Nickelodeon’s controversial underwater theme park in Coron, Palawan
American media conglomerate Viacom International Media Networks scrapped its plan of putting
up an underwater resort in Coron, Palawan. The supposed theme park was set to open in 2020 but
the plan was sacked after online petitions against the plan were made by concerned Filipinos and
environmental advocates as it was said to “disrupt marine ecosystem in the Philippines.”
Ten Most Significant World Events in 2017
Blog Post by James M. Lindsay
December 15, 2017
Donald Trump is sworn in as the forty-fifth president of the United States. (Reuters/Kevin
Lemarque)
Last year a lot of people were asking if 2016 was the worst year ever. (It wasn’t.) I haven’t
seen anyone making similar claims about 2017, but that doesn’t mean that this year didn’t
produce its share of significant world events. It has. Below is my top ten, listed in descending
order. You may want to read what follows closely. Several of these stories will continue into
2018.
10. Robert Mugabe’s Ouster. Can someone be both a hero and a villain? The career of Robert
Mugabe suggests the answer is yes. Like Nelson Mandela in South Africa, Mugabe
endured years in prison to lead the movement that ended white minority rule in his country,
then known as Rhodesia, but known today as Zimbabwe. That victory for human decency is
to his credit. But unlike Mandela, Mugabe never grasped that democracy means letting go of
power. He ran Zimbabwe for thirty-seven years and planned to rule for longer, even if that
meant running the economy into the groundand becoming increasingly ruthless. His
presidency ended only when tanks rolled into Harare in November to force him from power.
The trigger was his decision to shove aside his vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, in
favor his wife, Grace. The seventy-five year-old Mnangagwa had been Mugabe’s associate for
more than half a century. Rather than go quietly, the man known as “ the Crocodile” because
of his ruthlessness struck back. Mugabe quickly lost the support of his party, the Zimbabwe
African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), and after some hesitation,
finally resigned. Zimbabweans rejoiced at the news of his ouster, and Mnangagwa promised
to hold new elections next year. Based on his early decisions, however, the new boss looks a
lot like the old boss.
More on:
United States
Donald Trump
2017
9. Britain Triggers Article 50. The June 2016 “Brexit” vote was merely advisory. Actually
initiating divorce proceedings from the European Union (EU) required Britain to
invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. The move “from which there can be no turning back”
finally came on March 29. Britain now has until March 29, 2019 to negotiate the terms of its
departure. Prime Minister Theresa May tried to shore up Britain’s weak negotiating
leverage this spring by calling a snap election. The decision backfired; her Conservative
Party lost its parliamentary majority and she ended up leading a hung parliament. In early
December, Britain and the EU reached an agreement on several critical preliminary issues,
including how much Britain has to pay to settle its debts to the EU (somewhere between €40
billion and €60 billion). Assuming that deal holds, the two sides can now focus on the rules
that will govern their future economic relationship. Those negotiations will likely be difficult;
EU members have yet to agree among themselves on what terms to offer and the British
Parliament has asserted its right to vote on the final agreement. Unless a deal is signed,
sealed, and delivered by March 29, 2019, or a unanimous EU agrees to an extension, Britain
faces a “hard Brexit.” That would maximize how much disruption its divorce from the EU
causes. The clock is ticking.
8. The Rohingya Crisis. The Rohingya may be the most persecuted minority group in the
world. They have lived in Myanmar for centuries. Most of them are Muslims, though some
are Hindus, in a country in which nearly nine out of ten people are Buddhists. The Rohingya
have long been discriminated against, often violently so, and the Myanmar
government refuses to acknowledge them as citizens. The latest and ugliest surge of
violence began in August when Rohingya began fleeing into neighboring Bangladesh telling
stories of mass killings, systematic rape, and torture. At last count, more than 400,000 have
fled Myanmar and thousands more have been displaced internally. The Myanmar military
denies committing atrocities, insisting that it is combating attacks on police posts and army
bases by Rohingya insurgents. But it’s clear, as the U.S. government has charged, that the
Myanmar government is engaged in ethnic cleansing. Aung San Suu Kyi, a recipient of
the Nobel Peace Prizeand Myanmar’s most prominent official, has done little publicly to end
the violence. That’s probably because the military still runs the country despite the political
opening of the past few years.
7. The Fall of Mosul. ISIS shocked the world in June 2014 when its forces captured Mosul,
Iraq’s second largest city. Within a month, ISIS had declared a new caliphate.
Although President Obama once dismissed ISIS as “the JV,” it proved to be a stubborn foe.
Finally, in October 2016, Iraqi and Kurdish soldiers, backed by Britain, France, and the United
States, as well as by Iran, launched an offensive to liberate Mosul. In June 2017, after a
three-year-long occupation, the city was finally liberated. The cost was high. Perhaps as many
as 40,000 civilians died in the fighting and another million displaced. The city itself
was devastated and will take years to rebuild. Unfortunately, the liberation of Mosul did not
resolve the divisions that bedevil Iraq. In September, Iraqi Kurds voted for independence,
which triggered clashes between the Iraqi army and Iraqi Kurds. The Iraqi government,
with the help of Iran, seized control of the oil-rich province of Kirkuk from the Kurds. By the
same token, the loss of Mosul didn’t mean the demise of ISIS. The group has a cyclical
history, waxing and waning in strength over time. As its territorial control diminishes, it’s
likely to revert back to its insurgent roots. All in all, Iraq’s future remains troubled.
6. Mohammad bin Salman Remakes Saudi Arabia. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin
Salman (MBS) is a young man in a hurry. Back in June, his father, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman,
made the thirty-two year-old his heir, after deposing the previous crown prince, the king’s
nephew and MBS’s cousin, Mohammed bin Nayef. MBS immediately got to work. His vehicle
for remaking the country is Vision 2030, a two-year-old initiative that seeks
to modernize Saudi Arabia’s economy and society. The idea is to prepare the country for
a post-oil future and to loosen its conservative social strictures. The former goal has Saudi
Arabia proposing to take its state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, public, while the latter
has it allowing women to drive. MBS moved quickly to consolidate power. In November, he
had eleven of his cousins arrested on corruption charges. (Their jail cell was a Ritz-Carlton.)
President Trump applauded the move. But MBS isn’t only looking inward. He is moving
aggressively to counter Iranian influence in the region. He championed Saudi Arabia’s
intervention in Yemen in 2015, which created a humanitarian disaster for Yemenis and
a quagmire for the Saudis. He also pushed for this summer’s Saudi-led embargo of
neighboring Qatar. Some experts think that MBS is Saudi Arabia’s best chance for a
moderate and prosperous future. Others worry that he is reckless. A lot turns on which side
is right.
5. Global Growth Picks Up. Ten years after the Great Recession started, global
economic growth is accelerating and stock markets around the world are hitting record highs.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in October that “The outlook is strengthening,
with a notable pickup in investment, trade, and industrial production, together with rising
confidence.” The IMF added the caveat that “recovery is not yet complete.” However, even
cautious optimism has been in short supply for nearly a decade. The IMF predicts that global
economic growth will average 3.6 percent in 2017. That’s a half percentage point higher than
in 2016. The Eurozone has been a particular bright spot—growth there is at a ten-year high
and unemployment is at a nine-year low. The U.S. economy grew 3.3 percent in the third
quarter of 2017, a three-year high, and unemployment is the lowest it’s been since 2000.
China looks to be beating its target of 6.5 percent growth in 2017, though it continues to face
risks. Even Russia, which has struggled for several years because of low oil
prices and sanctions over Ukraine, is seeing modest growth. The big question is whether
good economic news will give a political lift to globalization by tamping down rising
protectionist and nationalist impulses around the world.
4. The Globe Continues to Warm. The news is not good. The earth is getting warmer,
whether people believe it or not. In September, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) announced that 2017 was shaping up as the second warmest year on
record. What is the warmest year? 2016. The other eight warmest years on record have all
occurred since 1998. Do the devastating hurricanesthat struck the Caribbean this summer,
causing upward of $290 billion in damage and displacing hundreds of thousands, prove that
human activity is changing the climate? No. After all, catastrophic storms aren’t new, and
storms may create more havoc today because societies are denser and more dependent on
modern amenities. Still, the dramatic melting of the Arctic and Antarctic and of glaciers
around the world is something that climate scientists have been predicting for decades. And
it’s basic physics that warmer oceans temperatures mean bigger storms. But the mounting
evidence that the climate is changing hasn’t moved governments to make substantial
reductions in the emission of heat-trapping gases, even if only as an insurance policy against
the fact that climate scientists might be right. President Trump announced in June that the
United States would leave the Paris Climate Agreement, and words have been more common
than deeds in other foreign capitals. The trend is not our friend.
3. North Korea Defies the World. Successive U.S. presidents have insisted that they
would prevent North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons. They backed that up by offering
carrots, imposing sanctions, and threatening military action. North Korea hasn’t listened. In
early September, North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test. Three months later it tested a
ballistic missile that looks capable of hitting any U.S. city. President Trump says he will stop
North Korea in its tracks, vowing that North Korea “will be met with fire and fury like the
world has never seen,” tweeting that “military solutions are now fully in place, locked and
loaded,” and calling North Korean leader Kim Jung-un “Little Rocket Man.” Trump has
also pushed China to solve the problem. While Beijing is taking a tougher line on North Korea,
it can’t—or won’t—compel Pyongyang to back down. Only military force looks likely to do
that. But the cost of military action would likely be steep—possibly even “catastrophic.” On
the other hand, allowing North Korea to remain a nuclear power poses big risks as well.
Washington, Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo have tough choices ahead in 2018.
2. Xi Jinping’s “Extraordinary Elevation.” Not even Adele with her five Grammy awards had
as good a year as Xi Jinping. Although China blatantly exploits international trade rules, Xi
won applause for his January speech at Davoschampioning globalization and likening
protectionism to “locking oneself in a dark room.” In April, President Donald Trump feted
him at a two-day summit meeting at Mar-a-Lago and quite noticeably avoided his typical
China-bashing rhetoric. In June, Xi won more global accolades for doubling down on his
commitment to the Paris climate agreement. But his biggest success came in October at the
nineteenth Chinese Communist Party Congress. It was a coronation. Xi was named to
his second five-year term as party general secretary. He was also named a “core leader,” a
title denied to his immediate predecessor, Hu Jintao. The congress also wrote "Xi Jinping
Thought" into the party's constitution, an honor previously bestowed only on Mao
Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Best of all for Xi, the congress ended without naming anyone as
his successor. When Trump called Xi “king of China” during his November “state visit-plus,”
he wasn’t far off the mark. Xi is China’s most powerful leader since Mao, and he’s likely to be
around for a while. If you’re wondering how he might approach foreign policy in the years
ahead, consider this: in his 205-minute speech to the party congress he used the terms
“great power” and “strong power” twenty-six times. So don’t expect him to sit on the
sidelines while others try to set the agenda or the rules.
1. Donald Trump Champions America First. Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to do
things differently and to do different things in foreign policy. He has been good to his word
since getting to the White House. He has canceled U.S. participation in the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, withdrawn the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, refused to
certify that Iran is in compliance with its nuclear obligations, recognized Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel, ramped up the use of drones, and relegated democracy and human rights to
the sidelines of U.S. foreign policy. To be sure, Trump hasn’t enacted all of his campaign
promises. He beefed uprather than withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and he hasn’t
declared China a currency manipulator or kicked NAFTA to the curb. But his tough campaign
trade talk may soon be U.S. policy. Trump is poised to take punitive actions against Chinese
trade practices, his demands for a revamped NAFTA look to be unacceptable to Canada and
Mexico, and he’s waging a low-level war against the World Trade Organization.
Trump’s dismissal of traditional foreign policy practices even has some fellow Republicans
questioning whether America First means embracing a “doctrine of retreat.” Many of
America’s closest allies are worried. They fear the era of U.S. global leadership is ending. If so,
the consequences are epic.
Other stories of note in 2017. In January, António Guterres became the ninth secretary
general of the United Nations. In February, Israel announced plans for its first new
settlement in the West Bank in more than twenty years. The United States began deploying
the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea in March. Violent
protests wracked Venezuela in April, a critical point in the country’s constitutional crisis. In
May, Emmanuel Macron defeated Marine Le Pen to become France’s youngest president. In
June, Montenegro became the twenty-ninth member of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO). The G20 met in Hamburg in July and failed to agree on climate action.
In August, Britain’s Prince Philip announced he was retiring from making official appearances.
Russia and Belarus carried out the Zapad 2017 military exercises in September.
Catalonia’s October independence referendum triggered a political crisis in Spain. In
November, thousands attended a far-right nationalist rally in Warsaw. The Australian
parliament voted in December to legalize same-sex marriage, making Australia the twenty
fifth country to do so.
8 most talked about issues on PH social media in 2017

Mocha Uson, fake news, and the killing of Kian delos Santos are among the most talked about
issues on social media in the Philippines in 2017
MANILA, Philippines – From Mocha Uson’s government

appointment, to messages of support for soldiers and cops who
fought with terrorists in Marawi, Filipinos on social media didn't
hold back on theirs views on the major political and social issues
of 2017.
Mocha Uson’s appointment as Malacañang communicator
It was a tough 2017 for sex blogger-turned-government official
Mocha Uson as she faced criticism over her appointment as an
official of the Duterte administration.
Uson, a staunch supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, was first
appointed as Movie and Television Review and Classification
Board (MTRCB) board member in January.
Some netizens questioned her qualifications for the position
while her followers asked that Uson be given a chance and the
benefit of the doubt. (READ: Board member Mocha Uson?
Netizens weigh in)
Months later, social media was again abuzz when Uson
was appointed as assistant secretary of the Presidential
Communications Operations Office (PCOO) in charge of social
media.
Some netizens said it was regrettable that an environmentalist
like Gina Lopez was denied a government post because the
Commission on Appointments rejected her appointment as
environment secretary while someone like Uson, accused of
sharing fake information through her Facebook blog, earned a
post in the government's primary communication arm. (READ:
'Let that sink in': Filipinos react to Mocha Uson appointment)
Fake news
Social media has made spreading lies and propaganda – and
therefore manipulating public opinion – so much easier.
Despite being caught several times peddling wrong or misleading
information, Uson maintained in a Senate hearing that she
herself was a "victim of fake news."
Netizens lambasted Uson's statement. They said that Uson, as a

government official, should be more careful with what she
posted on her Facebook page. Some expressed disgust that their
taxes were being used to pay for Uson's salary. (READ: Mocha
Uson: fake news victim or fake news peddler?)
A veteran newspaper columnist even fell victim to "fake news."
Netizens criticized Manila Times' Yen Makabenta after he used a
quote from a fake news website in his opinion piece. Makabenta
claimed that US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley
said that Duterte should be "given space to run his nation." The
US embassy, however, denied that Haley made such a
statement. (READ: Manila Times columnist falls for fake news)
Philippine News Agency blunders
State-run media Philippine News Agency (PNA) drew criticism for
a string of mistakes in its articles.
PNA used the Dole pineapple logo for a Department of Labor and
Employment story on 2018 pay rules for holidays. It also
erroneously published on its website several articles with editor's
notes and instructions.
Netizens slammed the state news agency for mistakes that had
been "happening too often.
Following the blunders, the Presidential Communications
Operations Office assigned a new undersecretary to supervise
the PNA.
Sotto's 'sexist' comment on single mother Taguiwalo
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III got flak for his sexist
comments during the confirmation hearing of then Social
Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo.
After grilling Taguiwalo on her qualifications as social welfare

chief, Sotto asked about her personal life.
"Just on the lighter side, Senator Drilon and I were looking at the
personal information about you. You have two children –
daughters or sons?" Sotto asked Taguiwalo.
Taguiwalo replied she has two daughters.
Sotto went on to ask Taguiwalo, "But you're single?" He then said
that single mothers are "na-ano lang" (just got knocked up).
Netizens criticized the senator, calling him "basura" (trash) and
"misogynist." Sotto then appologized to the public and promised
a measure to amend the Solo Parents' Welfare Act, which would
give more benefits to solo parents could be passed by December
2017. (READ: After gaffe, Sotto vows to seek more benefits for
solo parents)
P1,000 budget for CHR
The House of Representatives sparked public outrage when it
voted to allocate a P1,000-budget to the Commission on Human
Rights (CHR) for 2018.
#CHRBudgetCheaper became one of the trending topics on

Twitter as netizens started comparing the measly budget to
buying 3 buckets of fried chicken from a fastfood chain, a general
admission ticket for a concert, and a pair of sneakers. (READ:
P1,000 budget for CHR? Netizens react on House decision with
#CHRBudgetCheaper)
Amid the public outrcy, the House restored the CHR budget. This
was also included in the P3.8 trillion-budget signed into law on
December 19.
Uber suspension
Netizens hit the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory
Board (LTFRB) for suspending ride-hailing company Uber.
Uber was suspended for defying the LTFRB's order for all
transport network companies (TNCs) to stop accrediting drivers
starting July 26, 2017.
Commuters took to social media to express their anger over the
LTFRB decision, saying the suspension would be a "hassle" to
them, while others asked for a good alternative for the
commuting public.
After paying the P190-million fine, the LTFRB lifted the
suspension.
#SalamatSaSerbisyo Marawi soldiers
Netizens remembered the fallen soldiers and cops who fought
with terrorists in Marawi by using the hashtag
#SalamatSaSerbisyo.
Messages of support flooded social media on June 12 as the
Philippines celebrated its 119th Independence Day.
Kaya ibinibigay ko po ang buo kong pagsaludo
sa lahat ng sundalong Pilipino na lumalaban para
sa bansa. Maraming
salamat.#SalamatSaSerbisyo
— August;
(@ryeegonzales) June 12,

2017
The President honored the fallen men who were killed in action.
Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao following the attack of
local terrorists in Marawi City on May 23. Despite the liberation of
the war-torn Marawi on October 17, martial law has not yet been
lifted in the region, and was even extended until the end of 2018.
#JusticeForKian
Netizens were outraged over the killing of 17-year-old Kian delos
Santos, whom the Caloocan police tagged as a drug runner
though he was not included in any drug list.
According to authorities, Delos Santos fired a gun at the cops
during a drug raid. However, CCTV footage showed that he was
dragged to a dark alley. Forensic experts at the Philippine
National Police and the Public Attorney's Office had the same
finding: Delos Santos was executed – he was shot in the back of
his head while kneeling down.
Delos Santos was among the minors killed in the Duterte

administration's bloody drug war.
#JusticeForKian trended on social media as netizens expressed
their condemnation of human rights abuses in the drug war.
Year in review 2017: The SHOCKING events that changed the world in 2017
THERE can be no doubt that 2017 will be remembered as one of the most eventful years in modern
history. From Donald Trump to North Korea, here is a look back at the most iconic moments of
2017.
GETTY
2017 in review: This year has been one of the most eventful in modern history
JANUARY
Donald Trump: The year started with the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of
the United States.
Held in Washington DC from January 17 to 21, ceremonies included concerts, parades and a
memorable inaugural address from the former reality star.
In a speech full of the patriotic rhetoric that had become a staple of his campaign, Mr Trump
promised to “make America strong again, make America wealthy again, make America proud
again and make America safe again.
He was sure to add: “And, yes, we will make America great again.”
The Trump Administration caused controversy in the days after the inauguration when it claimed
to have “perhaps record-breaking crowd attendance”, despite photographic evidence suggesting
otherwise.
The President’s then Press Secretary Sean Spicer boasted the crowd "was the largest audience
ever to witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe”, later accusing the
media of reporting inaccurate crowd estimates.
FEBRUARY
North Korea missile test: Kim Jong-un grabbed the headlines on February 12 when he ordered the
launch of a ballistic missile over the Sea of Japan.
It was the hermit nation’s first missile test of Mr Trump’s presidency and sparked a bitter feud
between Kim and the US leader.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described the launch as “intolerable”, though North Korea
would go on to test a handful of other missiles later in the year.
GETTY
2017 in review: North Korea tested its first missile of the year in February
GETTY
2017 in review: SpaceX successfully launched and landed a re-used rocked in March
MARCH
Triggering of Article 50: March saw Theresa May finally trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty,
officially starting the process of the UK’s departure from the European Union.
The Prime Minister told the Commons at the time: "This is a historic moment from which there can
be no turning back. Britain is leaving the European Union."
Britain is currently due to leave the EU on March 29, 2019.
First SpaceX re-flight: On March 30, SpaceX became the first to successfully re-launch and land the
first stage of an orbital rocket.
The California-based company used a booster, which had been previously launched 11 month prior,
to carry a telecommunication satellite into orbit, before successfully landing it on a ship in the
Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk described the launch as an “amazing day for space.”
A picture taken with a slow shutter speed shows the Colima Volcano, the most active in Mexico,
during an eruption as seen from the site of Carrizalillos, Colima, Mexico, 26 January 2017
APRIL
Shayrat missile strike: On the morning of April 7, US President Trump ordered 59 Tomahawk
cruise missiles to be fired at the Shayrat airbase in Syria.
The strike was in response to a chemical attack three days earlier, which saw the Syrian
Government airdrop toxic gas on the town of Khan Shaykhun, killing 74 people and injuring more
than 557 others, according to the Idlib health authority.
MAY
Manchester terror attack: On May 22, after an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena, a
suicide bomber detonated an explosive device, killing 22 people and injuring hundreds of others -
many of them children.
About two weeks later, the singer returned to the UK to host a benefit concert at Old Trafford
Cricket Ground dubbed One Love Manchester.
The concert raised some £10million for the victims of the attack.
GETTY
2017 in review: A terror attack was carried out at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester
JUNE
Trump snubs Paris Climate Accord: June started with the US President announcing that America
would be pulling out of the landmark Paris climate agreement.
The Republican claimed the Paris agreement "front-loads costs on American people",
"disadvantages the US" to benefit other countries and causes "vastly diminished economic
production”.
The move was widely condemned by other world leaders.
London Bridge terror attack: Before Ariana Grande could sing at One Love Manchester, another
terror attack was carried out on London Bridge.
Terrorists ploughed into pedestrians on the bridge, before running into nearby Borough Market
where they set about stabbing revellers.
Eight victims died in the attack, with a further 48 suffering injuries.
UK General Election: The Conservatives lost their majority in a shocking general election that
defied all the early polls.
Mrs May was forced to broker a deal with the DUP in Northern Ireland to prop up her government,
as Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour surged in popularity.
Grenfell Tower fire: On June 14, people all over Britain watched in horror Grenfell Tower in North
Kensington went up in flames.
The fire, which burned for more than 60 hours, caused the deaths of 71 people.
The tragedy led to a mass outrage after it was revealed that the flames may have been worsened
by the cladding that encased the building’s exterior.
GETTY
2017 in review: Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party exceeded all expectations in the general election
JULY
North Korea launches intercontinental missile: On July 4, North Korean officials launched its first
test of an intercontinental missile, which the reclusive nation claimed could strike “anywhere in
the world”.
In response to the launch Mr Trump tweeted: "North Korea has just launched another missile.
Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?
“Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer.
“Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!”
AUGUST
Total solar eclipse: A stunning total solar eclipse, dubbed The Great American Eclipse, blocked out
the Sun across the US on August 21.
The path of totality crossed 14 states and was the first total solar eclipse to be visible from all of
the US since 1918.
Hurricane Harvey: Four days later, the deadly Hurricane Harvey struck the US as a category for
hurricane, causing devastating damage to parts of Texas, killing at least 90 people in total and
costing just shy of $200billion.
GETTY
2017 in review: A stunning total solar eclipse blocked out the sun across the US in August
SEPTEMBER
North Korea launch: The warmongering nation fired its most powerful weapon to date - a
thermonuclear hydrogen bomb.
Hurricanes devastate the Americas: The Caribbean and swathes of the US were battered by a
string of hurricanes including the powerful Irma and Maria.
The two storms killed more than 200 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage.
Olympics awarded: On September 13, the International Olympic Committee awarded Paris and Los
Angeles the right to host the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics, respectively.
OCTOBER
Las Vegas shooting: On October 1, 58 people were killed when Stephen Paddock opened fire on a
crown of concert-goers from his hotel room in Las Vegas Nevada.
The attack is the deadliest US mass shooting to date and has reignited calls for tougher gun
control laws nationwide.
Hurricane Ophelia hits UK: The British Isles were barraged by torrential rain and deadly winds as
the remnants of Ophelia blew in on October 16.
The Met Office issued a red warning for the whole of the Republic of Ireland and parts of the UK,
with winds speeds of up to 120mph recorded in parts.
Three people were killed during the storm.
Catalan independence: October also saw Catalonia vote for indolence from Spain in a referendum
that was later declared unlawful by the international community.
However, the vote was overshadowed by the aggressive response of Spanish police forces who
were accused of violence towards people trying to cast their ballots.
GETTY
2017 in review: October saw Catalonia vote for independence from Spain
NOVEMBER
Panama Papers: On November 5, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung released millions of
documents highlighting the dubious financial activities of some politicians, celebrities and
businesses.
Among those caught up in the scandal were Queen Elizabeth II, Bono and David Cameron.
Zimbabwe coup: Robert Mugabe was forced to resign as President of Zimbabwe after 37 years,
following a military coup in the south African nation.
The six-day takeover resulted in Mugabe’s former ally Emmerson Mnangagwa being sworn in as
President,
DECEMBER
US recognises Jerusalem: On December 6, Donald Trump made the controversial decision to
formally recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The move was widely condemned and Mr Trump was even accused of issuing a “declaration of
war”.
Theresa May branded the President’s speech as “unhelpful”, arguing that it could destabilise
peace in the region.
Arts and culture

 The Eiffel Tower in Paris shuts down after workers go on a strike over ticketing
changes. (Upi)
Disasters and accidents
 2018 Vietnam floods
 Two children and a man drown as new floods overflow one bank of the Bui River,
engulf several villages, and threaten to submerge parts of Hanoi. (NHK World)
 An intense heat wave hits South Korea, which started at the end of July and is forecast to
reach its highest temperature in the coming days. The heat wave kills 27 people, while
more than 2,200 are taken to the hospital. (The Straits Time)
 Grenfell Tower fire
 England announces that the Ministry of Housing will manage Grenfell
Tower in London once the investigation into the fire that gutted the building and
killed 72 people is complete. (BBC)
International relations
 Turkey–United States relations, 2016–present purges in Turkey
 The White House imposes sanctions on two Turkish officials over the detention
of Andrew Brunson, an American pastor who is being tried on espionage and
terror-related charges. (Al Jazeera)
Law and crime
 An orb and two crowns, part of the Regalia of Sweden, are stolen from Strängnäs
Cathedral. (BBC)
Politics and elections
 Zimbabwean general election, 2018
 Violence breaks out in Zimbabwe amid allegations of election-rigging by the
ruling Zanu-PF party. (BBC)
 Afghan presidential election, 2019
 The Afghan government says that it will hold presidential elections on April 20,
2019. (AL Jazeera)
Science and technology
 Researchers from Australia report the success of a plan to use mosquitoesinfected
with Wolbachia bacteria to prevent the spread of dengue fever in an Australian town,
stating that they intend to bring the program to other locales. (BBC)
 Reddit reports a data breach consisting of emails and usernames. The site states that the
perpetrators had access to information on accounts which were subscribed to their
newsletter between the 3rd and 17th of June, as well as those created between 2005 and
2007. (NBC)
August 2, 2018 (Thursday)
edithistorywatch
Armed conflicts and attacks
 Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, Battle of Al Hudaydah
 Alleged Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on a fish market and hospital entrance kill at
least 20 people in Al Hudaydah, Yemen. A Saudi spokesman denies that its jets
were in the area at the time, and blames rebels instead. (BBC)
 Internal conflict in Myanmar
 In northern Myanmar, around 300 villagers flee from their homes in Namtu
Township, Shan State, after Northern Alliance insurgents take positions in the
area, renewing fears of clashes between insurgents and government
soldiers. (Radio Free Asia)
Arts and culture
 Theology of Pope Francis
 Pope Francis changes Catholic Church teaching to fully reject the death penalty,
saying that it would work to abolish the death penalty worldwide. (The
Washington Post)
 Yomiuri Shimbun reports Tokyo Medical University altered entrance examination scores to
decrease the number of women attending the school. (BBC)
 Archeologists of the Romano-Germanic Museum report the discovery of the foundations
of a Roman library building in Cologne. Dating from the 2nd century CE, it is the oldest
library yet discovered in Germany. (BBC)
Business and economy
 List of public corporations by market capitalization
 Apple Inc. becomes the first public company to be worth US$1 trillion. (BBC)
 2018 Pacific hurricane season
 Hurricane Hector becomes the fourth named hurricane of the eastern Pacific's
hurricane season. (TC Palm)
 Hector is forecast to strengthen into a category 3 storm the next few
days. (Hawaii News Now)
International Relations
 Crisis in Venezuela (2012-present), Colombia-Venezuela relations
 Departing Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos grants 2-year citizenship
rights to over 440,000 displaced Venezuelans living in Colombia, giving them
certainty in access to medical and financial aid. (United Nations), (ABC News)
 Tennessee gubernatorial election, 2018
 Former construction executive Bill Lee wins the Republican primary
for Tennessee governor. (WSJ)
 2018 United States gun violence protests
 Anti-violence protesters take to the streets of Chicago to draw attention to the
problem of gun violence in Chicago, which briefly shuts down Lake Shore Drive.
Protesters also call for Chicago Police SuperintendentEddie T.
Johnson and Mayor Rahm Emanuel to step down for their handling of racial
incidents in communities of color. (The Grio) (VOA News)
 Discoveries of exoplanets
 Kepler-452b emerges as an exoplanet that might support alien life. (Sky News)
 Greenhouse gas, Plastic pollution
 A study is published suggesting that loose plastic objects in the ocean release
more methane than previously thought. (BBC)
 Tests on the 5,000-year-old burnt human bones of 25 people found
at Stonehenge suggest that ten came from more than 100 miles (160 km) away in West
Wales. (The Guardian)
August 3, 2018 (Friday)
edithistorywatch
 War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
 A suicide bomb attack at a Shi'ite mosque in Gardez, Afghanistan, kills at least 29
people and wounds at least 40 others. There is no immediate claim for the
attack. (Reuters) (The Express Tribune)
 2018 Vietnam floods
 Floods in Vietnam trigger landslides that kill six people, and leave two injured and
five missing. (VnExpress)
 21 people are killed after a boat capsizes in Nigeria's northwestern state
of Sokoto. (Xinhua)
Health and environment
 Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston report the first
successful transplant of a bio-engineered lung. The lung, taken from a donor pig, was
reduced to a protein scaffold, and replaced with the subject pig's own cells over the
course of a month. (BBC)
 Phase-out of lightweight plastic bags
 Chile becomes the first Latin American country to ban the commercial use of
single-use plastic bags. (Sky News)
 North Korea warns that the heat wave affecting the Korean peninsula could damage
important food crops and lead to shortages. (BBC)
 North Korea–United States relations, Aftermath of the 2018 North Korea–United States
summit
 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo states in an interview that North
Koreanleader Kim Jong-un will ultimately set the timeline for
denuclearization. (CBS News)
 Russia–United States relations
 The United States imposes sanctions on a Russian bank that facilitated a
transaction for a North Korean on an American blacklist. (Reuters)
Law and crime
 Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations
 Attorneys for Harvey Weinstein seek to throw out sexual assault charges against
him. (New York CBS Local)
 Yazidi demonstrators at Calgary City Hall in Calgary, Alberta call for the Canadian
government to help with efforts to reunite family members in Canada who fled the
genocide perpetrated by ISIL in 2014 with those still living in Iraq. (Calgary Herald)
 Zimbabwean general election, 2018
 The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission declares Emmerson Mnangagwaof the
ruling ZANU–PF party the winner of Zimbabwe's 2018 presidential election. (The
Guardian)
 Deportation and removal from the United States
 The wife of a former US Marine and Iraq War veteran whose family publicly
pleaded for President Donald Trump to intervene is deported to Mexico. (NBC
News)
 Cabinet of Greece
 Greek Civil Protection Minister Nikos Toskas resigns after a wildfire that killed 88
people and led to wide criticism of the government for its handling of the
disaster. (Reuters)
 NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory releases a report officially disclosing
a meteor explosion of roughly 2.1 kilotons of force near Thule Air Base in
northwest Greenland on July 25. The United States Air Force confirms the explosion,
adding that it did not impact operations at Thule Air Base. (The Independent)
 The Space Needle in Seattle unveils the world's first revolving glass floor. (CNN)
August 4, 2018 (Saturday)
edithistorywatch
 Caracas drone explosions
 Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro survives what he claims is an assassination
attempt involving drones while speaking at a military event in Caracas. Eight
people are injured. (BBC)
 An MI-8 helicopter belonging to Russian company Utair crashes in Siberia, killing 18
people. (BBC)
Health and environment
 England's Local Government Association reports that approximately two-thirds of plastic
objects which reach recycling facilities cannot be recycled, due to the mix
of polymers used by producers. (BBC)
 2017–18 North Korea crisis
 A report commissioned by the United Nations Security Council concludes
that North Korea has not stopped its nuclear program and that it attempted to
sell military supplies to Libya, Sudan and Yemen. (BBC)
 Ri Yong-ho, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Korea, says that his country
will not start denuclearizing unless the United States takes reciprocal
actions. (The New York Times)
 Colombia–Venezuela relations, United States–Venezuela relations
 Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro blames an alleged assassination
attempt on Colombia and Venezuelan exiles in the U.S. state of Florida. (The
Guardian)
 2018 Bangladesh road safety protests
 Nationwide student protests following the deaths of two teenagers killed by a
speeding bus enter their fifth day, causing the government to shut down
thousands of high schools. (The Guardian)
 2018 United States gun violence protests
 Advocates of stricter gun control measures protest outside the NRAheadquarters
in Northern Virginia. (CBS News)
Sports
 Oakland Raiders cornerback Daryl Worley is sentenced to three days in jail and two years
of probation in June after pleading guilty to firearms and resisting arrest charges
stemming from an incident in April. (NFL) (ABC News)
August 5, 2018 (Sunday)
edithistorywatch
 War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
 A Taliban suicide bomber kills three Czech soldiers on a routine patrol
in Charikar, Afghanistan. A U.S. soldier and two Afghan troops are also injured in
the bombing. (BBC)
 Syrian Civil War
 Syrian media reports that ISIL has executed one of a number of Druzehostages
taken from Syria's government-held city of As-Suwayda in an attack last
week. (Haaretz)
 August 2018 Lombok earthquake
 A 7.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Lombok, Indonesia. A tsunami warning is
issued. At least 131 people are killed and more than 238 are injured. (BBC)
 2018 Ju-Air Junkers Ju 52 crash
 Police in Switzerland say that all 20 occupants of a World War II-era Junkers Ju
52 plane that crashed yesterday on the flanks of the Piz Segnas mountain are
dead. (Whig)
 Police in New Mexico rescue 11 malnourished children being kept in squalid conditions in a
remote desert compound. (BBC)
 Five people are killed after a small plane crashes in a Southern Californiaparking
lot. (Time)
 Canada–Saudi Arabia relations
 Saudi Arabia withdraws its Ambassador from Canada, and orders the Canadian
counterpart to leave the country in 24 hours, after Canada calls for the release of
activists who are in detention in the Middle East nation. (CBC News)
Law and crime
 Venezuelan authorities detain six people involved in what they call an
assassination attempt on Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro. (The Hill)
Sports
 Englishwoman Georgia Hall wins the 2018 Women's British Open golf championship. (The
Guardian)
August 6, 2018 (Monday)
edithistorywatch
 2018 European heat wave
 A heat wave in Spain kills nine people. (Público)
 A heat wave in Genoa, Italy, kills seven people. (Genova24)
 Landslides triggered by floods in Nepal kill nine people. (The Himalayan)
 A fuel tanker explodes on the A14 motorway after colliding with a lorry near Bologna
Airport in Italy, causing a section of the motorway to collapse. A person dies and 145
others are injured, at least 14 seriously. (ANSA)
 Twelve migrant workers die and three others are injured when a truck collides with a van
in Foggia, Italy. (ANSA)
 The Mendocino Complex Fire grows into the largest active wildfire in California
history. (BBC)
 Iran–United States relations, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
 The United States reimposes sanctions on Iran after the US pulled out of the
international agreement three months prior. (Reuters)
 The European Union announces that its blocking statute against the US sanctions
will take effect tomorrow, protecting European companies from US sanctions
and encouraging them to keep trading with Iran. (The Telegraph)
 Foreign relations of Brazil, Crisis in Venezuela (2012–present)
 Brazil closes its international border with Venezuela, following a similar move
enacted but then rescinded by Colombia earlier in 2018, as a response to an
increase in Venezuelans fleeing their country to neighbouring states. (The
Guardian)
 Tajikistan–Uzbekistan relations
 Commercial flights have resumed between the Tajikistan capital, Dushanbe, and
the Uzbekistan city of Bukhara amid improving ties. (rferl)
 Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro skips a rally in Caracas following weekend
drone blasts that he called an assassination attempt, surprising and confusing
some supporters in attendance. (Reuters)
 The Colombian Civil Aviation Authority announces a ban on drones within a 2
nautical mile radius and altitude of Plaza Bolívar, Bogotá during the Presidential
Inauguration of Iván Duque the following afternoon. (Tele13)
 Second Ivorian Civil War
 The government of Ivory Coast grants amnesty to former First Lady Simone
Gbagbo a week after the Supreme Court of Ivory Coast (fr)overturned her
acquittal for crimes against humanity. (France 24)
 Facebook removes several InfoWars-related pages from its platform, for what it describes
as glorification of violence and dehumanizing language. YouTube deletes Alex Jones's
main account for repeated Terms of Service violations. Apple and Spotify pull Jones's
podcasts. Editor Paul Joseph Watson calls Facebook's move "political censorship"
on Twitter. (NBC News)
Sports
 Swimming at the 2018 European Aquatics Championships – Mixed 4 × 100 metre medley
relay
 The British 4x100 mixed medley relay team (Anderson, Davies, Guy, Peaty) break
their own European record at the 2018 European Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
August 7, 2018 (Tuesday)
edithistorywatch
 Caracas drone explosions, Colombia–Venezuela relations
 Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro says that he has "hard evidence" that
the Colombian government planned and executed an attempted assassination
attack on him on Saturday, and that he will release it later in the day. (Al Jazeera)
 Oromo conflict
 The government of Ethiopia signs a deal with Oromo Liberation Frontrebels in an
attempt to end long-running hostilities. (Al Jazeera)
 A police officer dies and five people are injured in three separate FARC attacks
in Colombia. (El Español)
Arts and culture
 The Australian Bureau of Statistics says the total population of Australia has hit 25
million. (BBC)
 Crisis in Venezuela (2012–present), Colombia–Venezuela relations
 Newly inaugurated Colombian President Iván Duque Márquezannounces that he
will not have an ambassador in neighboring Venezuela. (Diarios Las Américas)
 Brazil re-opens its northern border with Venezuela which was briefly closed in
response to refugees from Venezuela. (BBC)
 2018 China–United States trade war
 The Office of the United States Trade Representative publishes its finalized list of
279 Chinese goods, worth $16 billion, to be subject to a 25% tariff from August
23. (Reuters)
Law and crime
 Crime in Germany
 A German couple is jailed for twelve years each for selling the woman's son to
a Spanish pedophile on the dark web, who repeatedly abused him. The couple
themselves previously abused the boy and a three-year-old girl, whom they are
ordered to pay €42,500 in compensation. The Spaniard is sentenced to ten
years. (BBC)
 Ohio's 12th congressional district special election, 2018
 A special election for Ohio's 12th congressional district is held following the
resignation of Republican Representative Pat Tiberi. The Republicancandidate
is Troy Balderson and the Democratic candidate is Danny O'Connor. (Politico)
 Politics of Colombia
 Iván Duque Márquez is sworn in as new President of Colombia. (BBC News)
 Arrest of Juan Requesens, Caracas drone explosions
 Venezuelan politician Juan Requesens is arrested for alleged crimes related to
the supposed Maduro assassination attempt, despite having political
immunity. (BBC News)
August 8, 2018 (Wednesday)
edithistorywatch
Arts and culture
 Academy Awards
 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces new changes to
the Oscars, including possibly a shorter ceremony, and a new category called
"Most Popular Film". (Huffington Post)
 The death toll from the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Lombok, Indonesia, rises to
131 and nearly 2,500 people are now confirmed seriously injured. (The Washington
Post)
 Canada–Saudi Arabia relations
 Saudi Press Agency reports that all Saudi patients are being transferred from
Canadian hospitals to other medical facilities outside Canada. (Al Jazeera)
 Colombia–United States relations, Crisis in Venezuela (2012–present)
 The United States pledges US$9 million in aid to Colombia to help
support Venezuelan migrants in the country. (McClatchy DC Bureau)
 2018 China–United States trade war
 China announces 25% tariffs on an additional US$16 billion worth of imports from
the United States, effective August 23, matching yesterday's decision by the
United States. (Bloomberg)
 International recognition of the State of Palestine
 The Mission of Palestine in Colombia announces recognition of the State of
Palestine as a free and sovereign state. (WAFA)
 Reactions to the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal
 The United States imposes new sanctions on Russia after the use of a Novichok
nerve agent in the United Kingdom. Yesterday, the UK said that they would seek
extradition of suspects from Russia. (BBC) (Sky News)
Law and crime
 Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia
 Saudi Arabia reports the execution and crucifixion, in Mecca, of a man
from Myanmar. The man was sentenced for breaking into the home of a woman
and stabbing her, which led to her death, as well as for other
crimes. (Bloomberg)
 Insider trading
 U.S. Representative Chris Collins (R–NY) is arrested on charges
of securities and wire fraud, conspiracy and lying to investigators. He is accused
of passing nonpublic information about Innate Immunotherapeutics, a biotech
company, to his son, who traded on the information and passed it along to
others. Collins was a director of the company and also a major investor. (NPR)
 Politics of Slovenia
 Five center-left political parties nominate Marjan Šarec to become Prime Minister
of Slovenia. (Euronews)
edithistorywatch
 Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
 At least 43 people, mostly children, are killed in an airstrike on a bus at a market
in Dahyan, Sa'da, by the Saudi-led coalition, while more than 60 are injured. The
coalition calls the strike a "legitimate military action" against the Houthis,
accusing them of using children as human shields. (The Guardian)
 War in Afghanistan
 At least 40 bodies of Afghan National Army soldiers are found in a military base
in Urozgan that Taliban forces stormed last week. (Reuters via Euronews)
 Gaza–Israel conflict
 Over 180 rockets and mortars are launched toward Israel by Hamasmilitants,
injuring seven people. In retaliation, IDF launches an air assault on 150 targets in
Gaza, in which three people are killed, including an 18-month-old child. (CNN)
 Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV reports that a cease-fire is reached to end the latest round of
fighting with Israel. (NBC News)
Arts and culture
 Video game censorship
 Germany lifts a blanket ban on Nazi symbolism in video games, including
the swastika. (Deutsche Welle)
 The death toll from the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Lombok, Indonesia, rises to
259, and may go higher still. (BBC)
 Hurricane Maria
 Puerto Rico raises its official death toll from Hurricane Maria from 64 to
1,427. (The Kansas City Star)
 Bolivarian diaspora
 Ecuador declares a state of emergency over increases in migrant entry
from Venezuela. (Al Jazeera)
 Toronto sees severe flooding in many parts of the city after some areas receive over 100
millimeters of rain. (Weather Network)
Law and crime
 Abortion in Argentina
 The Argentine Senate rejects a bill that would have legalized
abortion in Argentina. (NPR)
 Illegal drug trade
 Italian police seize 20 tonnes of hashish in
a Panama-flagged, Montenegrin-crewed "research and survey" vessel's fuel
tanks. (Deutsche Welle)
 Indonesian general election, 2019
 Indonesian President Joko Widodo chooses the Islamic cleric Ma'ruf Amin as his
running mate in the upcoming presidential election. (Reuters)
 The Venezuelan Constituent National Assembly revokes the immunity of
opposition politicians Julio Borges and Juan Requesens after claiming that they
were involved in an assassination plot on President Nicolás Maduro. (Al Jazeera)
edithistorywatch
 War in Afghanistan, Ghazni offensive
 A large-scale military offensive is launched by the Taliban in a bid to overrun the
southeastern city of Ghazni, a provincial capital on the Kabul–Kandahar Highway.
They manage to take control of a part of the city. (The New York Times)
 Foreign relations of Colombia
 Colombia announces its withdrawal from the Union of South American
Nations after having suspended its membership in the organization since April
2018. (CNN)
 Turkey–United States relations, Turkish currency and debt crisis, 2018
 U.S. President Donald Trump authorizes the doubling of Section 232tariffs on
imports of aluminium and steel from Turkey, to 20% and 50% respectively.
The Turkish lira further falls to a new record low against the U.S. dollar and
Turkish stocks tumble. (CNBC)
Law and crime
 Fredericton shooting
 At least four people, including two police officers, are killed in a mass
shooting in Fredericton, Canada. (BBC)
 Glyphosate § Legal cases
 A jury in the U.S. state of California awards $289 million to a man who claims that
his terminal cancer was caused by Monsanto's glyphosate-containing weed
killer. (BBC)
 2018 Horizon Air Q400 incident
 An airport mechanic steals a Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 from Seattle–Tacoma
International Airport in the United States, eventually crashing the plane. (CBS
News)
 2017–2018 Romanian protests
 452 people are injured in clashes between protesters and police during an
anti-government meeting in Bucharest, Romania. (Știrile Pro TV)
 United Nations Development Group
 The United Nations General Assembly confirms Michelle Bachelet,
former President of Chile, to succeed Zeid Raad Al Hussein as the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights. The decision to appoint her for a four-year term,
starting September 1, was made by consensus after her nomination by UN
Secretary-General António Guterres. (TASS)
 Terrorism in the United Kingdom
 Lewis Ludlow pleads guilty to financing and planning a terrorist van attack
in London, England. (BBC)
 The Supreme Court of Costa Rica rules that a ban on same-sex marriage is illegal, and
states that legislators must change the law accordingly within eighteen months. (BBC)
edithistorywatch
 War in Afghanistan, Ghazni offensive
 Fighting continues around the city of Ghazni. (Reuters)
 The death toll from heavy floods that triggered landislides in Kerala, India, which started
on 8 July, rises to 37. (India.com)
 Foreign relations of Uzbekistan, War in Afghanistan
 A delegation of the Taliban political office in Doha, Qatar, has
visited Uzbekistan from 7 to 10 August and met with officials at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. Both parties "exchanged views of prospects of the peace process
in Afghanistan". (The Hindu) (Uzbekistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Law and crime
 List of foreign nationals detained in North Korea, Japan–North Korea relations
 A Japanese man is taken into custody in North Korea with Tokyo trying to gather
information about the case. (The Japan Times)
 LGBT rights in Russia
 According to the Russian LGBT Network campaign group, a 16-year-old person
becomes the first minor to be prosecuted under the Russian gay propaganda
law. (The Independent)
 Thousands of people protest in Tunis against a government report on gender
equality that proposes, among other things, to legalize homosexuality and to make the
sexes equal in inheritance matters. (Al Araby)
 U.S. Representative Chris Collins (R–NY) announces that he is suspending his campaign
for re-election in the 2018 midterms, intending to serve out the remainder of his term.
Collins was arrested by the FBI on August 8 on charges relating to insider trading. (CNN)
edithistorywatch
 The BNPB spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho confirmed that the death toll
from the earthquake in Lombok rises to 436. (Tempo.co)
 A report by the SOHR says that the explosion of an arms depot in Sarmada, Idlib
Governorate, Syria, kills at least 69 people, including 17 children. The cause of the blast is
"not yet clear". Most of the victims were reportedly family members of Hayat Tahrir
al-Sham militants. (Reuters)
 At least 15 people die after a bus falls into a ravine in the western region of Ancash,
in Peru. (Xinhua)
 Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea
 After more than 20 years of negotiations, the five countries bordering
the Caspian Sea sign an agreement in Aktau, Kazakhstan, on its shared use and
the distribution of its resources. The convention legally defines the body of water
as a sea rather than a lake, but with special provisions. (Deutsche Welle)
 Foreign relations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Foreign relations of South
Africa
 South African President Cyril Ramaphosa meets with President Joseph
Kabila of DR Congo in Kinshasa, praising him for his "respect for the constitution"
by agreeing to step down and not take part in the upcoming December 2018
Congolese general election. (The South African)
Law and crime
 Moss Side mass shooting
 Ten people are injured in a mass shooting in Manchester, United Kingdom. (BBC)
 Unite the Right 2
 Around twenty white nationalists hold a protest march in Washington, D.C. on
the first anniversary of the Unite the Right rally, with thousands of
counter-protesters. (AP via CBC News)
 NASA launches the Parker Solar Probe, an unpiloted spacecraft designed to study
the sun. (BBC)
edithistorywatch
 More than 100 Afghan soldiers and police, 13 civilians and hundreds of Taliban are
killed during the ongoing offensive in Ghazni. (BBC)
 The Taliban captures Camp Chenaya, an Afghan Army base in Ghormach
District, Faryab Province. (Voice of America)
 At least 40 people are killed by paramilitary forces in eastern Ethiopia, in the latest spate
of violence driven by ethnic divisions. (Voa News)
 Turkish currency and debt crisis, 2018
 Asian stock prices sink as Turkey’s financial turmoil fuels fears contagionmight
spread to other emerging markets. (Market Watch)
 2018 Laos dam collapse
 The death toll from a dam collapse in Laos on 23 July rises to 36, while 98 people
are still missing. (Business Standard)
 Authorities in India confirm that 774 people have been killed so far
during monsoon rains. (Financial Express)
 Nine people are killed and 16 others injured after a fire breaks out in a ward on the
seventh floor of a hospital in New Taipei City, Taiwan. (BBC)
 More than 300 people are injured, five seriously, after a section of wooden jetty collapsed
at an urban sports and music festival in Vigo, Spain. (BBC)
 Twelve fans of Ecuadorian football team Barcelona S.C. are killed and 30 others are
injured after the bus they were traveling on overturns in Azuay, Ecuador. (Xinhua)
 Three Russian climbers and two Tajik pilots die while 12 other people are injured in a
helicopter crash in Tajikistan. (Tampa Bay Times)
 41 people are injured when a coach overturns in Kent, England, United Kingdom. (Kent
Live)
 North Korea–South Korea relations
 North Korea and South Korea officials begin high-level negotiations, with reports
suggesting that Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in could be planning for
a summit in Pyongyang later this month. (Reuters)
 Special Counsel investigation (2017–present)
 The lawyer of Peter Strzok, a former agent of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) who was removed from Robert Mueller's Special Counsel
investigation, announces that his client has been fired by the FBI. (The
Washington Post via MSN)
edithistorywatch
 Norma Azucena Rodríguez Zamora, a recently elected member of the Congress of Mexico,
is kidnapped by gunmen in Hidalgo State. (BBC)
 Ponte Morandi § Collapse
 The Ponte Morandi viaduct collapses on the A10 motorway in Genoa, Italy. 38
people are confirmed dead, 16 others are seriously injured, 5 are missing and 632
displaced. 35 cars and three heavy vehicles are involved in the accident. Several
homes are also damaged and people inside them also injured. (TGCom)
 A road accident in Quito, Ecuador involving a bus and a truck leaves 24 people dead and 18
others injured. (CNN en Español)
 Ten people are killed and another injured in a fire at a care home in Chiguayante, Chile. (24
Horas)
 Following a period of quiet, Israel reopens the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza. (BBC)
Law and crime
 2018 Westminster car crash
 A man is arrested near the Palace of Westminster in London after a Ford
Fiesta hit pedestrians, cyclists and a security barrier. (The Daily Telegraph)
 Stand-your-ground law in Florida
 Michael Drejka is charged with manslaughter by a state attorney after a reversal
of an earlier decision made by police. The case stems from a controversial video
that shows Drejka shooting another man over a handicapped parking space and
claiming self defense. (NBC)
 Capital punishment in Nebraska
 Nebraska executes convicted murderer Carey Dean Moore, becoming the
first U.S. state to execute an inmate with fentanyl, and what is also the state's
first execution in 21 years, and its first by lethal injection. (BBC)
 European migrant crisis
 Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Luxembourg agree to take in 141 migrants,
67 of them unaccompanied children, who were rescued on Friday by
the MV Aquarius; Malta allows the ship to dock. (The Guardian)
 Kansas gubernatorial election, 2018
 Incumbent Governor of Kansas Jeff Colyer concedes defeat
to Republican challenger Kris Kobach in the primary election. (CNN)
August 15, 2018 (Wednesday)
edithistorywatch
 At least 48 people, mostly students, are killed and a further 67 are injured in a
suicide bomb attack at an education centre in Kabul. The Talibandenies any
involvement. (BBC)
 The Taliban attacks two units of Afghan security forces in
the Baghlan-e-Markazi district of Baghlan Province, killing at least 39 soldiers and
police officers. (SFGate)
Arts and culture
 Me Too movement § China
 Following accusations by fellow monks of sexual misconduct and embezzling
funds—accusations which were subsequently posted on social
media—the Buddhist Association of China announces Shi Xuecheng's resignation
from the office of president of that organization. Xuecheng had dismissed the
records as a fabrication. (The Guardian)
 Automotive industry in South Korea
 The government of South Korea announces that it will ban 20,000 BMWvehicles
following engine fires. (BBC)
 Economy of New Zealand
 New Zealand's parliament votes to ban the sale of homes to non-resident foreign
nationals amid a housing affordability crisis. Australians and Singaporeans are
exempt due to free-trade deals. (BBC)
 2018 California wildfires
 Officials lift all mandatory evacuation orders for the deadly Carr Fire in Northern
California that destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and killed eight people. (KHQ) (ABC
News)
 22 children and a woman drown after their boat sinks in the Nile in Sudanwhile travelling
to school. (Business Standard)
 Foreign relations of South Korea
 South Korean President Moon Jae-in announces plans to create a Northeast
Asian railroad community with North Korea, the United
States, China, Japan, Russia, and Mongolia. (CNBC)
Law and crime
 Transgender rights in Germany
 The Cabinet of Germany approves a third gender option for official identification
records. The change will come into force by the end of the year. (Deutsche Welle)
 Venezuelan authorities arrest a military general, a colonel, and a dozen others in
connection to a failed assassination attempt on PresidentNicolás Maduro. (UPI)
 Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)
 Omar Ameen, an ISIL member who lived in California as a refugee, is arrested
in Sacramento for a 2014 murder in Rawa, Iraq. (The New York Times)
 President Donald Trump revokes the security clearance of former Central Intelligence
Agency director John Brennan, and the White House announces clearance reviews for
other current and former national security officials. (ABC News)
 Indian Space Research Organisation
 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India will launch its first manned space
mission by 2022, which would make it the fourth nation to do so after Russia,
the United States, and China. (Reuters)
 Discoveries of exoplanets
 Scientists observe the signal of iron and titanium atoms in
the atmosphere of KELT-9b, an exoplanet located 600 light-years
from Earth. (Gizmodo)
edithistorywatch
Arts and culture
 2018 Washington Veterans Day Parade
 The United States Department of Defense postpones President Donald Trump's
military parade, which was slated to take place on 10 November, until 2019. The
estimates for the parade's cost have risen from $12 million to $92 million. (ABC
News) (Market Watch)
 Freedom of the press in the United States
 In coordinated editorials defending press freedom, hundreds of U.S.
newspapers rebuke President Donald Trump's repeated accusations that the
news media reports "fake news" and that journalists are "enemies of the
people". (RTÉ News)
 Constellation Brands, the owner of Corona Beer, announces plans to invest
in Canadian marijuana producer Canopy Growth. (BBC)
 2018 California wildfires
 Analysis shows that a rare fire tornado that barreled into the city of Redding on
July 26 during the Carr Fire was responsible for the death of a firefighter as he
raced towards a neighborhood in flames. (Los Angeles Times)
 2018 Kerala floods
 Authorities in India say that 350 people are confirmed dead in the heavy floods
in Kerala. (Times of India)
Law and crime
 Mexican Drug War
 The Mexican government announces that they are offering up to MXN$30 million
(equivalent to US$1.56 million) for anyone who provides information that leads to
the arrest of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes(alias "El Mencho"), the suspected
leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and one of Mexico's most-wanted. (El
Universal)
 The government of DR Congo issues an international arrest warrant for opposition
leader Moïse Katumbi, who was hoping to take part in the upcoming December 2018
Congolese general election. (Zambia Reports)
 Elections in Canada, Premiership of Justin Trudeau
 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismisses speculation that he would call
an early election this fall and states that his government remains focused on
renegotiating NAFTA and strengthening the economy. (Reuters)
 Dog meat consumption in South Korea
 Animal rights groups hold protests against dog meat consumption in Seoul. (UPI)
Sports
 2018 Major League Baseball season
 The Texas Rangers pull off a triple play against the Los Angeles Angelswithout
retiring the batter, the first such triple play in MLB since 1912. (HuffPost)
edithistorywatch
 2018 Gaza border protests
 Around 20,000 Palestinians protest near the Israel–Gaza barrier. Medical sources
say that Israel Defense Forces killed two people and wounded at least 270 others,
50 of them with live bullets. (Reuters)
 Accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
 A Boeing 737 skids off a runway at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Philippines,
while landing in a downpour. All aboard are unharmed but the aircraft is severely
damaged with one engine and some of the landing gear being ripped away. (Fox
News)
 United States foreign policy in the Middle East, Syrian Civil War
 The U.S. Department of State announces that it will redirect
approximately US$230 million in stabilization funds for Syria to "other key foreign
policy priorities." Career Ambassador James Jeffrey is appointed as "special
representative for Syrian engagement". (AP via Chron)
Law and crime
 A high court in İzmir, Turkey, rejects an appeal to release U.S. pastor Andrew
Brunson. (USA Today)
 Amnesty International releases a report accusing Indonesian police of fatally shooting at
least 77 suspected petty criminals since January 2018, in the lead-up to the 2018 Asian
Games. Authorities insist that lethal force is used when the suspects resist the
police. (BBC)
 Pakistani general election, 2018
 Imran Khan, the chairman of the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, is elected as
the Prime Minister of Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)
edithistorywatch
Arts and culture
 Russian president Vladimir Putin attends the wedding of Austrian foreign minister Karin
Kneissl (FPÖ) and businessman Wolfgang Malinger. (BBC)
 History of cheese
 Archeologists from the Cairo University and the University of Cataniareport the
discovery of one of the oldest known examples of cheese. Discovered at a tomb
in the Saqqara necropolis, it is the first known evidence of
ancient Egyptian cheese production. (BBC)
 Ponte Morandi § Collapse
 The death toll from the Ponte Morandi collapse in Genoa, Italy, rises to
43. (Adnkronos)
 Hurricane Lane enters the central Pacific as a category 4 hurricane. (Honolulu
Star-Adviser)
 Kim–Xi meetings, China–North Korea relations
 Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Pyongyang to attend the
celebration of the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding. (Reuters)
Law and crime
 School violence
 A school official in Bicol Central Academy, a school in Libmanan, Camarines
Sur, Philippines burned students' bags and other personal belongings as a
punishment for students who violated the no-bag policy set for the school's
event during that time. It was met with huge outrage from the
netizens. (Rappler)
 Politics of Belarus
 Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko reshuffles his government in the
wake of a corruption scandal. Andrei Kobyakov is replaced by Sergei
Rumas as Prime Minister of Belarus. (The Guardian)
 6th Justice and Development Party Ordinary Congress
 At the 6th Ordinary Congress of the Justice and Development
Party(AKP), President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is re-elected as the party's
chairman, receiving 1380 of 1381 votes. (Anadolu)
 Protests against Rodrigo Duterte
 Vice President Leni Robredo protests President Rodrigo Duterte's remark that
her hometown Naga City is a "hotbed of shabu." (CNN Philippines)(Rappler)
Sports
 2018 Asian Games
 The opening ceremony of the Asian Games takes place. (NDTV Sports)
edithistorywatch
 Earthquakes in 2018
 A deep-focus earthquake of magnitude 8.2 (the strongest recorded in 2018)
strikes the South Pacific Ocean near Fiji. No threat of tsunami is immediately
detected. (KATU)
 19 August 2018 Lombok earthquake
 A 6.3-magnitude earthquake strikes the Indonesian island of Lombok, killing
14. (The Guardian)
 2018 Pacific typhoon season
 Tropical Storm Rumbia kills nine people
in Anhui and Henan provinces, China. (Xinhua)
 Hurricane Lane weakens to a Category 3 storm and is expected to pass south
of Hawaii throughout the next few days. (CBS News) (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)
 European migrant crisis
 Italy Interior Minister Matteo Salvini threatens to return 177 migrants who have
been aboard an Italian coast guard ship for days to Libya. (Time)
 War In Afghanistan
 Afghan President Ashraf Ghani calls for a conditional cease-fire
with Taliban insurgents for the duration of the Eid al-Adha holiday. (Fox
News) (Al Jazeera)
Sports
 2018 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final
 In hurling, Limerick defeat Galway in the 2018 All-Ireland Senior Hurling
Championship Final at Croke Park to win the Liam MacCarthy Cup for the first
time since 1973. (BBC Sport) (Sky Sports)
 Cincinnati Masters
 Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer in Cincinnati, becoming the first player to
win singles titles in all nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000tournaments in his
career. (The Star)
edithistorywatch
 Terrorism in Europe
 An officer fatally shoots a man in Cornellà, Barcelona, Spain, after he storms into
a Mossos d'Esquadra police station with a knife. Police are treating the incident
as an attempted terrorist attack. (BBC)
 Suspected Boko Haram militants raid and burn the village of Mailari in Borno
State, Nigeria, killing six people. (BBC)
Arts and culture
 Me Too movement
 Italian actress Asia Argento, one of the actresses who accused producer Harvey
Weinstein of inappropriate sexual conduct, is accused by American actor Jimmy
Bennett of having had sexual relations with him when he was 17 years old and
then paying him $380,000 to keep silent. (The Hollywood Reporter)
 2018 MTV Video Music Awards
 Camila Cabello wins Artist of the Year and "Havana" wins Video of the Year
in Radio City Music Hall at the MTV Video Music Awards. (CBS News) (MTV)
 PepsiCo announces its intent to buy SodaStream, a manufacturer of products for
in-home soft drink production, for US$3.2 billion. The deal awaits approval by
regulators. (BBC)
 Venezuela announces that, in an attempt to curb inflation, the bolivar will be replaced
with the "Sovereign Bolivar". The new currency is linked to the petro, a form
of cryptocurrency operated by the country. (BBC)
 Yosemite National Park officials say the Ferguson Fire in California is now fully
contained. (BBC)
 Heavy floods in Civita, Italy, kill eleven people, injure twelve and misplace at least
five. (BBC)
 A South Carolina alligator kills a woman walking her dog on Hilton Head Island. Police
call such an attack "extremely uncommon". The dog is unharmed. (Al.com)
 Korean reunification, North Korea–South Korea relations
 Eighty-nine South Koreans are selected via lottery to be reunited for three days
with North Korean relatives they were separated from in the Korean War six
decades earlier. (UPI)
Law and crime
 Arrests of Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone
 The judge in the trial of two Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmarannounces that
he will deliver his verdict on August 27, in a test of press freedom in the country.
The journalists were investigating mass graves at the village of Inn Din and
the massacre that took place there when they were arrested for allegedly
obtaining "secret documents". (Reuters)
 Crime in Chicago, Gun violence in the United States
 Sixty-one people are shot over the weekend in Chicago, including twelve in two
mass shootings. Eight die, including five teenagers. Police arrest three people in
connection with the shootings and 29 on other firearms charges, and seize 83
guns. (CBS News)
 Omar Ameen, a man arrested in Sacramento on suspicion of an Iraqi murderlinked to
the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, faces a judge at an extradition hearing. He is
denied bail. (CBS Sacramento) (KCRA)
 Two men are detained in Ankara, Turkey, after shots are fired at the US embassy. (ABC
News)
 An American woman shoots two employees at a food distribution plant in Houston, Texas,
killing one person and injuring the other, before killing herself. (CNN)
edithistorywatch
 Foreign relations of El Salvador
 El Salvador severs diplomatic relations with Taiwan, opting to establish ties
with China. (Financial Times)
 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill, 2018
 Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull survives a challenge by conservative
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton for leadership of the Liberal Party, with 48
votes to 35. (The Guardian)

Donald Trump Climate Change Myanmar Isis: North Korea Keeps Tensions High

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Donald Trump Climate Change Myanmar Isis: North Korea Keeps Tensions High

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2017 was a tumultuous year on the global stage as world leaders confronted a morphing U.S.

SLIDESHOW: Pictures of the year 2017

SLIDESHOW: The seesaw relationship between North Korea and the US

8 most talked about issues on PH social media in 2017

MANILA, Philippines – From Mocha Uson’s government

Netizens lambasted Uson's statement. They said that Uson, as a

After grilling Taguiwalo on her qualifications as social welfare

#CHRBudgetCheaper became one of the trending topics on

(@ryeegonzales) June 12,

Delos Santos was among the minors killed in the Duterte

Arts and culture

You might also like