That stuck with us
Trump spoke at a Nato summit in Brussels. The world watched, wondering how the President’s tough talk on the campaign trail would translate to an international stage. Video showed Trump physically pushing aside another country’s leader. The US President shoved Montenegro’s Prime Minister, Dusko Markovic, on the way to a photo op.
A suicide bomber attacked an Ariana Grande concert as it ended at the Manchester Arena in Britain. The blast killed 22 people among a crowd of concertgoers.
JUNE
A London high-rise apartment building erupted in flames, leaving at least 71 people dead and hundreds homeless. The building was located in one of the city’s wealthiest neighbourhoods, but it was public housing. Video posted to social media from those down below showed residents trapped inside, desperate to escape the burning building. One video showed the view of the building through the window of a plane, spewing smoke over the city. A month later, British police released footage that takes the viewer on a macabre tour of Grenfell Tower’s barren lobby, charred stairwells and blown out windows. Residents displaced by the blaze struggled to find new housing options of the same quality as they had had before. The fire prompted the British Government to test other high-rise buildings to see if they contained the same flammable exterior cladding involved in the Grenfell Tower fire. As of mid-December, thousands of people are still living in structures confirmed to be at risk.
JULY
July saw a victory in the war against Isis as Iraqi joint forces recaptured the key city of Mosul. As soldiers and journalists re-entered the city, it was clear rebuilding would be no small task. Five months later, the US military is still figuring out what its role is in Iraq now that the fighting is over.
AUGUST
In the beginning of August, Burma began sending troops into the Rakhine state, home to much of the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority population. That month, the Rohingya left their country, telling stories of rape and abuse by the Burmese Army. Aid group Doctors Without Borders estimates that at least 6700 Rohingya were killed in the violence between August 25 and September 24. The images of people lined up to leave their homes were staggering. In the months since the clashes began, the US has declared the violence against the Rohingya community to be “ethnic cleansing” and almost 650,000 Rohingya have fled to refugee camps in Bangladesh.
In the US, hurricane and tropical storm Harvey caused dozens of deaths in Texas and Louisiana and became the costliest disaster ever in the country.
In Spain, 13 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded by a van in Barcelona’s La Rambla area.
People were thrown into the air as a car was driven into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Virginia. The white nationalists were against plans by Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
SEPTEMBER
Hurricanes Irma and Maria brought destruction of historic proportions to the Caribbean. Florida and Puerto Rico were also struck. The storms pushed Caribbean islands back to a primitive state. Irma wrecked the island of Barbuda. Homes were flattened, trees torn down.
OCTOBER
Despite opposition from the Spanish Government, Catalonia held a referendum on whether to form its own independent nation. More than two million people voted in favour of independence. More than three weeks later, secessionists filled the streets, hugging and cheering as Catalonia officially declared itself an independent republic. Spain stripped Catalan officials of their power and threw leaders of the separatist movement in jail. With its Parliament dissolved, Catalan voters went back to the polls on December 21 to elect new leaders. Pro-independence parties won most of the vote. Since the first vote, more than 2700 businesses have already moved out of the region.
Stephen Paddock fired on a crowd in Las Vegas, leaving 58 people dead and hundreds injured.
Reports in the New York Times and New Yorker about film mogul Harvey Weinstein set off the #MeeToo movement about sexual harassment and assault.
Eight people were killed Manhattan in a vehicle attack.
NOVEMBER
Robert Mugabe reigned over Zimbabwe for 37 years, but in November, he stepped aside. His rule began unravelling when the military placed him and his wife, Grace, under house arrest on November 14. This seemed to signal a coup, but military leaders denied that, and Mugabe did not immediately step down. Facing opposition from his own party, the 93-yearold finally resigned, clearing the way for Emmerson Mnangagwa to take the lead.
For more than two months, North Korea had abstained from launching any missile tests. On November 29, that calm period shattered when the country shot up a new kind of intercontinental ballistic missile, one that appeared to be more advanced than any of its predecessors. Kim Jong Un’s regime claimed his weapons could now reach the United States. The launch prompted Trump to threaten “additional major sanctions” on North Korea and to call on China to check their neighbour’s nuclear ambitions.
At the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, a man opened fire, killing more than two dozen and injuring others.
DECEMBER
in When Trump took office, one of the lofty goals he touted was bringing peace to the Middle East. In a move that critics said made that goal less achievable, Trump upended decades of US foreign policy precedent on December 6 when he announced his Administration would recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The move ignited protests and led to a showdown at the United Nations.