Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Thirty-nine people, including many foreigners, were killed when a gunman reportedly dressed as Santa Claus stormed an Istanbul nightclub as revellers were celebrating the New Year, the latest carnage to rock Turkey after a bloody 2016. The assailant shot dead a policeman and a civilian …
Read More »YEAR 2016: Bolt, Phelps cap era of excellence
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps towered over the 2016 Rio Games, capping an era of sustained excellence that promises to reverberate through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and beyond. From Beijing in 2008 through London 2012 and, finally, in Rio, Bolt and Phelps captivated …
Read More »Australia kicks off global New Year party
Sydney, Australia | AFP | Australia rang in the new year Sunday with a spectacular fireworks display in Sydney, sending rainbow-coloured showers into the night sky and defying the global terror attacks that cast a pall over 2016. Around 1.5 million people packed Australia’s biggest city to watch as the …
Read More »Australia kicks off global New Year party defying terror threat
Sydney, Australia | AFP | Global terror attacks have cast a pall over 2016 but Australia was Saturday set to defy the threats and ring in the New Year with bumper crowds gathering to watch a firework extravaganza on Sydney’s glittering harbour. 2016 has seen repeated bloodshed, most recently a …
Read More »Year 2016: Ronaldo’s Portugal seal year of the underdog
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Inspired by Leicester City’s incredible Premier League success, underdogs also shone on the international stage in 2016 as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal stunned hosts France to the European championships in a tournament also lit up by debutants Wales and Iceland. Ronaldo capped his stellar career with …
Read More »Notable deaths in 2016
Paris, France | AFP | From legendary British singer David Bowie to Cuban leader Fidel Castro and American boxer Muhammad Ali, here are some of the notable figures who died in 2016. – January – – 10: DAVID BOWIE, 69, legendary British singer and musician who died of cancer two …
Read More »Ban Ki-moon bids farewell to United Nations
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon paid an emotional farewell to the United Nations on Friday, wistfully describing his two-term stint at the helm of the global body as something of a fairy tale. “I feel a bit like Cinderella. Tomorrow at midnight, everything changes!” …
Read More »WORLD: Snapshots of 2016
Paris, France | AFP | From Donald Trump’s victory to the Brexit vote and the fall of Syria’s Aleppo, here is a snapshot of 10 stories that dominated the news in 2016: – Trump wins US vote – On November 8, Republican billionaire Trump, a 70-year-old populist with no political …
Read More »The world in 2016
Paris, France | AFP | The shock election of Donald Trump to the White House, Britain crashing out of the European Union, attacks in Europe and the deaths of Mohammed Ali and David Bowie: 2016 has been a momentous news year. Here are some of the main events that marked …
Read More »93 journalists killed in 2016
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Ninety-three journalists and media staff were killed around the world in the course of their work in 2016, with Iraq and Afghanistan the deadliest countries, the International Federation of Journalists said Friday. The IFJ said the figure, 19 less than in 2015, was for journalists …
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