Stories that made headlines
Jan 3
China issues its first-ever nationwide red alert for smog
April 16
A referendum in Turkey gives sweeping new powers to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
May 22
The deadliest of four terror attacks in Britain in three months kills 22 people at a pop concert in Manchester.
June 1
President Trump confirms he will withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement on climate change.
June 14
A deadly fire engulfs Grenfell Tower, an apartment block in west London, killing 71 people.
June 19
Forest fires in Portugal claim at least 64 lives.
Sep 24
Chancellor Angela Merkel wins a fourth term in Germany’s federal election despite gains by the farright AfD party.
Nov 3
Government forces recapture Deir ez-Zor, the last major Daesh stronghold in Syria, soon after US-backed militias regain the de facto Daesh capital of Raqqa.
Nov 21
Robert Mugabe resigns as president of Zimbabwe after a military coup, ending 37 years of autocratic rule.
Dec 4
Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is killed by Houthi forces, his former allies.
Jan 20
Donald Trump is inaugurated as US President, but arguably larger crowds show up for the next day’s Women’s March on Washington
April 30
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft begins a series of dives between Saturn’s rings before plunging into the planet’s atmosphere.
Oct 1
A gunman kills 58 concertgoers in Las Vegas in the deadliest mass shooting in US history.
Jul 4
North Korea tests its first long-range ICBM. Further tests of increasingly powerful missiles, capable ofstriking the U.S. mainland, spark an ongoing nuclear crisis.
Nov 4
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman launches a major crackdown on corruption. Over 40 princes and ministers are arrested.
Nov 11
The Louvre Abu Dhabi opens, the first museum of its kind in the Arab world.
Feb 6
Queen Elizabeth II’s reign passes 65 years. In November she and Prince Philip celebrate 70 years of marriage.
Feb 26
There are red faces at the Oscars as the wrong film is announced as Best Picture.
March 15
President Trump’s “travel ban”, affecting people from six mainly Muslim countries, is temporarily blocked in some US courts.
July 9
Iraqi forces recapture Mosul, three years after Daesh militants seized the city.
Aug 25
Hurricane Harvey causes catastrophic flooding in Houston and much of eastern Texas.
Aug 25
A crackdown on Rohingya militants in Myanmar leads to an exodus of over a million refugees to Bangladesh.
Oct 1-27
Catalonia’s controversial referendum on independence leads the Spanish government to strip the region of its autonomy and impose direct rule.
March 26
Carrie Lam is elected Chief Executive of Hong Kong, its first female leader.
May 7
Emmanuel Macron, 39, becomes France’s youngest leader since Napoleon.
Aug 14
As Iran-backed civil war escalates in Yemen, the WHO warns cholera cases now top 500,000.
Sep 6-18
Hurricanes Irma and Maria cause widespread destruction across the northern Caribbean.
Nov 15
Salvator Mundi, a painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, sells at auction for a world record $450.3 million.
March 29
The United Kingdom invokes Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty on European Union, beginning the formal process of Brexit.
Sep 7-19
Two earthquakes hit Mexico just 12 days apart, claiming over 470 lives.
Oct 5
Allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein launch a slew of sexual misconduct scandals.
Oct 25
China’s Communist Party elevates Xi Jinping by enshrining his name and ideology in its constitution.
Nov 15
An Argentine submarine goes missing with 44 crew on board. International search and rescue efforts fail to find it.
Dec 6
Donald Trump overturns decades of official US policy by recognising occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.