The 2017 has been one chaotic year for us all when you think about it because with the world's hardest strongman leaders making the rounds, every day in 2017 has became a battlefield for ordinary people are they are trying to do something in their minds off rather than listening to what the strongmen are up to. As this year comes to a complete closure, let's time to list down what we remember so far in this year in review.
1) The rise of Donald Trump - Following his controversial win at the 2016 presidential elections, the controversial businessman who made famous in his show, The Apprentice, Donald J. Trump, began his reign as the most powerful man in the world. Throughout his first year, US President Trump rattles the world with his campaign promises by invoking strong immigration laws (including the DACA revoke), withdrawing the US from the Paris Accord, dismantle the Affordable Care Act slowly, unleash tax reforms that critics warn it could benefit the rich, recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and many more, all in the name of his "America first" policy, much to the dismay of his political opponents and the mass public who strongly oppose him.
2) Britain pulls trigger on EU exit - Following 2016's controversial referendum that favored England to leave the European Union for good, British Prime Minister Therese May triggered Article 50, giving the country two years to make an agreement before leaving the European Union. Since then little progress have been made, especially when PM May's ruling party was overrun by her opposing Labour Party at the general elections.
3) Moon Jae-in becomes South Korean leader - Following the impeachment of Park Geun-hye because of her scandal that plagued her, South Korea held their presidential elections since May and by a landslide, Park's 2012 presidential rival, Moon Jae-in, is named the country's new leader and one of his campaign promises includes how to deal with the ongoing threats from North Korea.
4) Martial Law in Mindanao and Marawi Siege - For the first time since the Marcos regime, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in the Mindanao region because of the ongoing clash between the government troops and the ISIS-inspired Maute terror group. The war in Marawi displaced numerous civilians as the battle against the Maute terrorists intensifies until the very moment that the key people behind the Maute group are killed and President Duterte declared the end of the Marawi siege in late October. However, the Martial Law declaration is still in effect and as of now, it has been extended until the end of next year.
5) Emmanuel Macron is the new French leader - In early May, the people of France voted for one of the two candidates vying to become the replacement to former French president Francois Hollande. One is Marine Le Pen, the National Front leader who wants to rule the country with her Donald Trump-inspired approach by leaving the EU, end immigration, and terminiate the Schengen agreement, while the other is Emmanuel Macron, the outsider who used to work with the Socialist Party as economic minister and formed his own group that seeks a political revolution. Macron wins the election and named as France's new leader after he garnered 66.1% of the votes. Macron's victory can be either good news and bad news because while some don't know the extent of his platform, the European Union signals his win as good news.
6) Trouble in Spain - Following a terrible terrorist attack in mid-August that involves a group of Islamic extremists launched twin attacks in and around the Spanish city of Barcelona, killing 15 people and left hundreds hurt, life in Spain couldn't get as troublesome and if that wasn't enough, a Catalonians voted for independence, which was labeled as an illegal activity by the Spanish government. Despite the majority voted in favor of Catalonia's independence, the Spanish government went berserk and that led of labeling Catalonian leader Carlos Puigdemont as an outlaw. It's hard to predict what comes next for Spain as well as the Catalonia region.
7) Sexual harassment - Sexual harassment has been making the rounds in America lately since the Harvey Weinstein scandal. From newscasters like Matt Lauer, actors like Kevin Spacey, politicians like Al Franken and Roy Moore, even those involved in animation such as John Lasseter and TLH creator Chris Savino. Men who are involved in such positions are not safe when they were alleged for some "sex for favors" tricks women of all kinds have been strongly condemned for.
8) ASEAN Summit - The Philippines is the hosting nation of the 2017 ASEAN Summit and throughout the course of the summit, President Rodrigo Duterte, along with other powerful leaders from the ASEAN region, have been collaborated to share their common goals in the pursuit of a better Southeast Asia. In later months, they were joined by other world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, for a summit that tackles current issues facing worldwide.
9) North Korea's sixth nuclear test - North Korea triggered their sixth and most powerful nuclear test in early September 2017. The blast is so powerful, it measured a magnitude 6.3 quake that felt in China, Russia, South Korea, even Japan. In response to the most powerful test occurred by the reclusive state, the world's governing bodies are doing everything they can to impose the toughest sanctions against North Korea. Of course, the United Nations adopted the Nuclear Ban treaty that will seek the end of nuclear weapons once and for all but so far, it hasn't ratified yet. Even nuclear-armed states are not part of this historic UN treaty.
10) Wildfires in the Golden State - In the Autumn of 2017, there has been a strain of wildfires occurred in the southern parts of the Golden State from the USA, better known formally as the California state. From the wine country to San Diego, hundreds and thousands of Californians are heavily affected from the hellish wildfires.
That's it for the top 10 headlines that made the rounds of 2017. Join me next time for more in this year in review.
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