World happenings in 2017
1 January 2017
The Portuguese politician and diplomat António Guterres becomes United Nations Secretary General, replacing South Korean Ban Ki-moon.
17 January 2017
Nigerian military mistakely bomb refugee camp killing more than 70 in Rann, Borno state.
20 January 2017
Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America and Mike Pence as the 48th Vice President.
1 February 2017
British MPs vote in favour of the European Union Bill, allowing the government to begin Brexit.
5 February 2017
Romanian government scraps corruption degree after 6 days of mass demonstrations.
7 March 2017
Malta’s famous landmark the Azure Window collaspes into the sea after a storm.
8 March 2017
FC Barcelona in a great comeback become 1st team to overturn 4-0 deficit beating St-Germain 6-5 in return game to reach the Champions League quarter finals.
15 March 2017
Dutch elections; Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s centre-right VVD party win 33 seats vs against 20 for right wing Geert Wilder’s Party of Freedom.
22 March 2017
Terrorist attack on London’s Westminster Bridge and Houses of Parliament kills 4 including a police officer and injures 40.
29 March 2017
UK Prime Minister Teresa May signs article 50 letter, sends to to the EU, formally triggering Brexit.
1 April 2017
Bob Dylan receives his Nobel Prize for Literature at a private ceremony in Stockholm.
4 April 2017
Alibaba becomes the world’s largest retailer.
16 April 2017
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wins referundum on 18-article constitutional reform package
20 April 2017
Terrorist attack on police van on Champs Élysées, Paris 1 police officer killed, 2 injured.
7 May 2017
Emmanuel Macron wins France’s presidential election defeating Marine Le Pen.
13 May 2017
62nd Eurovision Song Contest: Portugal’s Salvador Sobral wins singing « Amar Pelos Dois ».
22 May 2017
Suicide bombing at Manchester Arena, England, after Ariana Grande concert kills 22 and injures 59.
31 May 2017
Comedienne Kathy Griffin fired from CNN after photo of her holding bloody head resembling Donald Trump by Tyler Shields posted.
5 June 2017
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt sever ties with Qatar, citing its support of terrorist groups, Yemen, the Maldives and Libya follow suit.
7 June 2017
Suicide bombers attack Iranian parliament in Tehran and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini killing 12, 1st Islamic State attacks in Iran.
8 June 2017
British General Election results in a hung parliament, Prime Minster Theresa May and the Conservative party lose their majority.
17 June 2017
Forest fires in Pedrógão Grande, Portugal begin, kill 62 people, more than 1,600 firefighters fight 156 fires.
18 June 2017
French President Emmanuel Macron’s party La République en Marche and allies win a majority in 2nd round French legislative elections.
27 June 2017
Mark Zuckerberg announces Facebook has reached 2 billion monthly users.
9 July 2017
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi proclaims victory over Islamic State forces in Mosul.
27 July 2017
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos briefly becomes world’s richest man at $91.4bn overtaking Bill Gates for half a day.
30 July 2017
Russian President Vladimir Putin announces American diplomats in Russia cut by 755 in response to American sanctions.
3 August 2017
Footballer Neymar signs 5-year deal with club Paris Saint-Germain in a $263 million world-record transfer from Barcelona.
5 August 2017
Usain Bolt races his last race, coming third in the 100m at IAAF World Championships in London.
17 August 2017
Terror attack on Las Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain as van rams into crowds killing 16, injuring 120.
27 August 2017
Former five-weight world boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeats MMA fighter Conor McGregor in his debut match in the 10th round in Las Vegas.
4 September 2017
Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai criticizes Suu Kyi’s lack of response to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar.
18 September 2017
Hurricane Maria passes over the Caribbean island of Dominica as a category 5 hurricane, destroying 90% of structures and killing 27.
19 September 2017
President Hassan Rouhani of Iran in his UN speech criticizes US President Donald Trump for his comments about Iran in his own UN speech.
25 September 2017
92% of Iraqi kurds vote in favour of independence in controversial referendum.
5 October 2017
« The New York Times » publishes investigation into sexual harassment behaviour by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
26 October 2017
Cremation ceremony for King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand held in Bangkok, a year after his death.
30 October 2017
Actor Kevin Spacey issues apology after actor Anthony Rapp accuses him of inappropriate sexual behaviour when he was 14.
5 November 2017
Paradise Papers are leaked; 13.4 million documents from offshore investment firm Appleby, mentioning Queen Elizabeth and Wilbur Ross US Secretary of Commerce.
15 November 2017
The Zimbabwean Army detains Robert Mugabe and the first family and appoints sacked Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa as interim president.
16 November 2017
Leonardo da Vinci’s painting « Salvator Mundi » sells for $450.3 million at auction in New York, world record price for any artwork.
20 November 2017
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announces that coalition talks to form a government have collapsed.
22 November 2017
Ratko Mladic the « Butcher of Bosnia » is convicted of genocide and other atrocities during the Bosnian war and jailed for life in The Hague.
27 November 2017
Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce their engagement.
6 December 2017
Time Magazine names their Person of the Year « The Silence Breakers », people who came forward to report sexual misconduct
