TOP STORIES OF 2017
INTERNATIONAL
1. North Korea prompts international condemnation by test firing a ballistic missile across the Sea of Japan. This is an 0ngoing story that will most likely continue in 2018. With the possible resignation of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, there might be less of a diplomatic opportunity for a truce or diminished amount of reason.
2. -US Foreign policy and the changes brought about by the Trump administration. Questions bound regarding the fate of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, our relationship with our oldest allies, England, France and Germany. Additionally, the intersecting of bonds with the UN and NATO as well as whether in a crisis we can count on these steadfast friends if anything happens where we need their support. Foreign policy at State and the upheaval there has to be one of the biggest international question marks.
3. Computers around the world are hit by a large-scale ransomware cyberattack, which goes on to affect at least 150 countries.
4. Terrorism continues internationally. A terrorist bombing attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England kills 22 people and injures over 100. Two terrorist attacks were simultaneously carried out by five terrorists belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) against the Iranian Parliament building and the Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini, both in Tehran, Iran, leaving 17 civilians dead and 43 wounded. It became the first ISIL attack in Iran.
5. Iraqi Civil War, Mosul is declared fully liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
6. Jerusalem named the Capitol of Israel.The ramifications of this will be stunning. While I have always supported this from a spiritual standpoint, the potential for violence is staggering and mind boggling. Plus it keeps us out of the Peace process in the Mideast. After years, we have ceased to become a player in the entire region.
7. Yemen Famine. Conditions in Yemen have worsened significantly with every passing year. The country’s humanitarian crisis was already one of the world’s worst by the end of 2015, and by this time last year it had eclipsed every other catastrophe on the planet. Today the multiple, overlapping disasters of mass starvation and a record-setting cholera epidemic easily make the suffering of Yemen’s civilian population the largest crisis and most important story in the world. More than eight million people are on the verge of famine, and at least another nine million don’t have enough to eat.
8. Venezuela Deadly clashes between protesters and police marred voting on Sunday, as Venezuelans cast ballots on a controversial measure that could mark a turning point for their country.
The election will allow President Nicolás Maduro to replace Venezuela's current legislative body -- the National Assembly -- with a new institution called the Constituent Assembly that will have the power to rewrite the constitution.
9. Raul Castro confirms he will stay Cuba's president to April. Castro confirmed that he will continue as Cuba's president into April, two months longer than expected, as parliament extended the political cycle citing delays made necessary by a damaging hurricane.
10. Pope Francis continues the mission of the church by traveling to Myanmar, Egypt, Portugal, Columbia and Bangladesh. Francis is set to travel to Chile, Peru and Ireland in 2018.
(Source: CNN, wikipedia, MSN, LuLac)