The Big Stories of March 2017

Another month gone by and the Trump Administration is still struggling, cyber attacks continue and Brexit becomes official.

Headlines

This month saw the Trump Administration face more failures. We saw Trump Care failing to be passed by Congress along with the second Muslim Ban being blocked. Not only that but there were investigations into wire tapping claims and Russian ties to the Trump Administration and Climate Change suffered a major set back when Trump undid much of the work put in place by Obama. In the UK we saw a terrorist attack at Westminster while natural disaster claimed lives with landslides in Peru.

Business

On the business front the infamous Brexit decision was given the green light to begin proceedings while Europe's VW continued to face the repercussions of it's emissions scandal with more fines ordered.

Entertainment

Bill Cosby continued his fight against sexual abuse allegations and the Oscars apologized for the Best Picture snafu. Another celebrity hacked nude photo and sex tape scandal broke and Late Show hosts battled for ratings with Trump in their sights.

Technology

March was all about cyber security with Yahoo's security woes seeing 32 million accounts accessed while Apple also came under fire with claims by hackers saying they had accessed iCloud accounts. But of all the big security news it was WikiLeaks releasing details about the CIA's hacking efforts that got everyone's attention. Google didn't fair any better with advertisers pulling out of YouTube due to questionable content but on the bright side SpaceX made history for launching their reusable rocket.

Style

Paris Fashion Week closed off the fashion calendar with big names like Louis Vuitton, Alexander McQueen, Chanel and more while the CFDA nominees were announced for the 2017 awards.

Terrorism on Trial

The week saw unsettled business take center stage with the beginning of the Boston Marathon Bombing trial along with various other worrying developments around the world.

Tackling Terrorism

We begin this week with the Boston Marathon Bombing trial which began after struggling to find jury members. The trial kicked off with opening statements with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's attorney admitting his client had carried out the attacks but tried to push the blame onto his older brother. The trial continued with testimony from survivors recounting their experience on the tragic day with the trial expected to continue for weeks to come.

In other terror related news the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram released a graphic video showing the beheading of two men believed to be spies while in the US, Twitter revealed that it had suspended over 2000 accounts used by ISIS in recruiting new members resulting in ISIS threatening Twitter staff.

Political Front Lines

Politicians were on the front line this week when a man armed with a razor attacked a US ambassador slashing his face and wrist in opposition to military drills by South Korea and the US. The military drills also received attention from North Korea who fired two short range missiles into the sea as the drills began.

In Russia a new video has surfaced of the assassination of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov last week, showing the bridge as the attack takes place. On the topic of high profile leaders, Ex-CIA chief Petraeus, has pleaded guilty to mishandling classified material with his mistress.

Blood on the Streets

In the world of drugs it was revealed that the Bali 9 were executed on a secluded island ignoring pleas from the Australian government while in Mexico police and troops made progress capturing Zetas cartel leader, Omar Trevino Morales, in a wealthy suburb of Monterrey.

Images were released which the police say confirms the homeless man shot by LAPD had tried to take an officers weapon. Finally we end the week with a Justice Department investigation into the Ferguson police which shows excessive use of force and unjustified arrests.

What Happened? 2014 Headline News

2014 wasn't an easy year for the world at large with tragedies and human suffering defining a difficult time for many. While governments struggled with conflict and people fought for their rights, nature reminded everyone who was in charge.

Tragedies

Tragedy struck with Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappearing on a route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with not a trace to be found of the 239 on-board. Things got worse when Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over the Ukraine by pro-Russian rebels killing all 298 on-board. But it wasn't over when another aviation tragedy struck on the tail end of 2014 when communication was lost with Asia Airs Flight QZ8501 echoing the loss of MH370 with 162 on-board until search parties discovered parts of the wreckage and bodies of the crew and passengers.

South Korea suffered a national disaster when a Ferry carrying 450 people, mostly school children, capsized. Towards the end of the year another Ferry disaster struck in the Adriatic Sea when the ferry caught on fire killing 11 on-board. The year ended with 35 people killed in a New Years celebration's stampede.

Protests

The year saw people protesting across the world starting with the unfortunate killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri which sparked protests around police brutality. Things only got worse when a second man, Eric Garner, was killed in New York by a police officer using a choke hold. However the protests against police brutality were stymied after 2 police officers were executed in New York by a lone gunman and tension grew as more police became targets.

It wasn't only the US that saw people protesting as Hong Kong came to a grinding halt after protestors took over the main business district. With corruption and gang violence prevalent Mexico experienced protests after 43 students went missing and were believed to have been killed by gangs with government assistance. Protests were triggered in the Ukraine by politics resulting in the President being thrown out, but it didn't end there with things only getting worse.

Politics

After protests in the Ukraine erupted Russia invaded Crimeia outraging the international community and beginning the process of sanctions on Russia for it's actions. While some conflicts resulted in financial pain others were outright bloody with old enemies fighting in Gaza to a new foo the world learnt to fear with ISIS who resorted to beheading journalists as threats against the west.

North Korea flexed it's muscle with it's old adversary South Korea and challenged Sony when a movie about it's leader resulted in hackers believed to be from North Korea breaking into Sony's network and threatening terrorist style attacks if the movie was released. Even with blood in the streets it was what happened behind the scenes that brought about outrage when the CIA torture report was released detailing it's torture methods. Boko Harem in Nigeria resorted to kidnapping 273 school girls and selling them off into slavery triggering the campaign for #BringBackOurGirls.

Individuals

Some individuals shone bright making their names with the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to Malala Yousafzai making her the youngest ever recipient while the entertainment world lost great entertainers with Robin Williams death shocking everyone.

The news wasn't great for everyone with Rob Ford caught in another video smoking crack less than a year after the first video emerged and the Oscar Pistorius trial which gripped the world. US President Obama had a tough year when the Democrats lost control after many cut ties to Obama and top officials like Eric Holder resigned.

Nature

For a year where man did his best to destroy nature wasn't going to be outdone with Earthquakes ravaging areas and Wild fires tearing through Northern California destroying everything in its path as it passed through, Hawaii had to call in the National Guard after a volcano directed a slow moving mass of lava into populated areas.

Over 900,000 people had to be evacuated after Typhoon Hagupit slammed into the Philippines all the while a deadly disease threatened to take down everyone in the form of Ebola which spread through West Africa claiming nearly 7000 lives.

When Breathing Isn't Guaranteed

The past few weeks have seen human rights issues across the world, however, it was in the United States with the killing of unarmed black men in public and the release of CIA documents revealing the hidden world of torture that showed no nation was immune.

I Can't Breathe

Just days after a court failed to indict Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown the masses were thrown back into turmoil when Daniel Pantaleo was also allowed to walk free after the killing of Eric Garner by choke hold in New York.

With Ferguson still fresh in their minds crowds rallied across the country for days on end and staged "die-ins", including in the iconic Apple store, even congressional staffers staged a walk out in protest. And while most protests remained calm some turned violent with explosives being thrown at police. As the holidays neared protestors took a different approach and opted instead for new lyrics to popular Christmas carols.

It wasn't just the public standing up in protest but various celebrities and sports stars that supported the protestors with member from the NBA wearing t-shirts reading "I can't breathe".

CIA Torture Report

The US Senate Intelligence Committee revealed a 500 page summary report showing the extent of torture inflicted on detainee's at various black sites around the world. The report described various sexual threats and mock executions to torturing people to get information from family members. Since the reports release there have been increased fears of retaliation resulting in increased security at US embassies and bases around the world.

World Protests

The US was not alone with a court ordering that the main protest sites be cleared by police ending the weeks of protest in Hong Kong's financial district. However the peaceful nature of the Hong Kong protests was starkly different from protests in Haiti which turned violent with police firing tear gas into crowds who were demanding President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe step down. Finally the remains of one Mexican students that had gone missing was identified triggering anger from an already exhausted population.

Tech Keeping Tabs

It was revealed this week that all your private information is there for Facebook's amusement and Government perusal.

Internet

It was revealed this week that Facebook had manipulated the news feeds of over half a million users in an experiment on "emotional contagion" for 1 week in January 2012. Naturally the backlash was swift but Facebook addressed the issue stating that they "care about the emotional impact of Facebook" however this hasn't quelled the masses with the UK data regulator probing the experiment.

In Google news, Google chair Eric Schmidt reportedly visited Cuba. It was announced that Google would shut down it's other social network Orkut, no word on Google+. Google will face claims of spying on WiFi networks after the supreme court refused to hear it's street view appeal.

After one year the UK's porn filter now blocks 1 in 5 sites most of which aren't related to pornography. Speaking of a bit of naughty, a music industry site was hacked and redirected to the file haring site The Pirate Bay.

Bitcoin had a busy week when the entire haul confiscated from Silk Road was auctioned off to one bidder but California was left embarrassed and had to update it's laws after it was revealed that Bitcoin was illegal in the state.

Space

NASA successfully tested a new "flying saucer" vehicle which could be used in future missions to Mars. In closer to earth news 2 Astronauts had their heads shaved on board the ISS after losing a soccer bet and finally pictures have also been released from the ISS of Hurricane Arthur growing along the US Eastern seaboard.

Security

While there are serious threats in the world with the energy sector facing attacks from Russian hackers it was Government overreach that raised the most concern's with the FBI and CIA having joined the NSA in so called "backdoor" searches of Americans while the new NSA chief downplayed fears claiming Edward Snowden's leaks are "manageable". New reports on the NSA spying scandal have revealed that the NSA was allowed to spy on all but 4 countries but never fear because an "independent privacy board" says it's alright for the NSA to do what it does.

Science

And if all that security news doesn't make you paranoid, the World Health Organization called for more drastic measures to stop the recent deadly outbreak of Ebola. But that's not all because the CDC are trying to retrace events to see how several scientists came into contact with Anthrax. Never fear if it all comes to an end we can always rebuild you after it was announced that scientists have figured out how to grow blood vessels in 3D printed organs, as long as we don't run out of ink.

A week of Death, Destruction and Foreboding

It's been a week where Mother Nature's devastating reach took it's toll and men tried to match her destructive power.

Nature

An earthquake hit off the northern coast of Chile with a magnitude of 8.2 triggering a tsunami warning. A 7.6 aftershock hit Chile the following day.

An outbreak of Ebola has been reported in Guinea with 63 people reported dead. Liberia has also confirmed cases of Ebola while Senegal and other neighbouring countries have closed their borders to prevent the spread of the disease.

A mudslide in Washington has officially killed 27 people with 19 victims positively identified. Along with the human lives many pets and livestock have also been lost.

A UN panel on Climate Change warns that global temperatures will likely be "severe, pervasive, and irreversible" in coming years. 7 Key findings in the report summary span only 44 pages with full chapters providing in depth details.

Man

Both Korea's traded fire over a sea border after South Korea warned North Korea of immediate retaliation if any ordinance was fired across the border. North Korea had declared a no-go area in disputed waters warning South Korea that it would be using live fire while conducting drills.

Another shooting took place at Fort Hood with 4 people killed, including the gunman, and 14 injured. President Obama has vowed to get to the bottom of the shooting.

A Senate report claims the CIA mislead the US and that the "enhanced interrogations" contributed almost nothing in the fight against al-Qaeda. The Senate Intelligence Committee voted to declassify portions of the report on the CIA's torture program.

The Philippines has filed a case after a Chinese navy vessel tried to prevent a Philippine supply boat from delivering supplies to a disputed island. The confrontation was captured on film by reporters on board the Philippine boat.