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New Years Baby
Asel was born forty-seven minutes into 2018 in Vienna. She was nicknamed “New Years Baby”. Instead of love, her family was greeted with racism and hatred. Social media attacked her and her mother’s headscarf. One user wrote, “Deport the scum immediately.” Many of the comments are being examined to see if any hate speech laws had been broken. 145,00 people from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan have applied for asylum in Austria since 2015. Muslims are seen as the enemy in their culture. -
Freezing Temperatures in Europe
A cold spell nicknamed “The Beast From the East” froze Europe as the temperatures got as low -30 Celsius which is -22 Fahrenheit. At least ten people have died from the freezing temperatures. This cold weather has brought snow to Spain and Italy and to the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Capri which is very unusual. Emergency shelters opened all around the continent. Five people died in Poland, four in France, two in Lithuania, and two in Romania. -
Russian Presidential Race
Vladimir Putin won the Russian presidential election. His win secured him the office until 2024. He is now known as one of the most powerful leaders in Modern Russia. He received about 76.7% of the vote. He worked hard to make Russia a world power by invading Eastern Ukraine and helping Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad return to power. His victory gave him more power in Russia, but he is facing global backlash because of a nerve agent attack in the UK and interfering in the 2016 presidential race. -
Birth of Prince Louis
Kate Middleton and Prince William gave birth to their third child Louis Arthur Charles. He is now fifth in line to the British Throne following his paternal grandfather, father, and two older siblings. The order to the throne is Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, then Prince Louis, and then Prince Harry. -
The Marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Prince Harry, who is sixth in line to the throne, married the American Actress Rachel (Meghan) Markle in a ceremony that challenged most of the royal rules. Meghan was a biracial American Actress as well as a divorcee and that is the first time that that has happened. The couple were named the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. -
One Year Anniversary of London Bridge Attack
The city of London came together to remember those who died and those who were injured. 8 people died and over 50 were injured. Three attackers began their deadly rampage that started with a van striking people along the bridge and a series of stabbings in the market area. All three attackers were killed by police within minutes. -
France Winning the 2018 World Cup
This was the first time France has won the World Cup since 1998 against Brazil and they won against Croatia 4 to 2. This was the highest scoring final since 1966. There were thousands of people gathered in France partying to celebrate their amazing victory in the World Cup. -
Wildfires in Sweden
This was the most serious wildfire incident in Swedish history. The heat wave lasted from the beginning of May to late July. Warmest May and July ever in Sweden. Some fires were started by disposable barbecues, others by lightning strikes and the disgustingly hot weather. Although many people were evacuated, there were no deaths. Sweden armed forces provided helicopters to evacuate civilians. The air force used fighter jets to draw oxygen from the wildfire. -
Moss Side Mass Shooting
First mass shooting in the UK since 2010. Moss Side is a neighborhood in Manchester. Shots were fired early on Sunday, August 12th, on Claremont Road. The Manchester Caribbean Carnival was going on at the same time, but the attack seemed to be unrelated to the festival. Luckily, no one died, however, 12 people were injured. 10 were hospitalized and 1 in serious condition. two children were injured: one 12 year old and one teenager -
The Ryder Cup
Golf Tournament held in France from September 28th - September 30th. The five bids that hosted the event included France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. It was eventually decided that France would be hosting it. Europe beat the US, the defending champions, by 17 ½ to 10 ½. Sergio Garcia was the all-time Ryder Cup points leader, scoring a grand number of 25 ½ points. -
Flooding in Venice
The Italian city of Venice was flooded by an extremely high tide of 156 cm, leaving seventy five percent of the city underwater. This flooding was due to landslides, hurricane-force winds, and heavy rain in the Dolomites mountain range. Currently, Venice floods about four times anually as climate change has made the city’s proximity to the sea problematic. This flood has left eleven people dead and the city of Venice in desperate need for flood barriers in order to begin recovering. -
Ukrainian Orthodox Church gains Independence
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced that the Constantinople patriarchy has approved a decree granting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church independence from the Russian Orthodox Church. The Ukrainian church has formally been under the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries and now the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s independence has split the world's largest Eastern Orthodox denomination and destroyed the power of the leading player within the global Orthodox community, the Moscow Patriarchate. -
Third Gender Category in Germany
Germany is now the first European country to create a third gender category called divers, which translates to other in English. Germans who do not fit the biological definitions of male or female can now be identified as a diver on all legal documents. The ruling will apply to those born as intersex and adults who are intersex, but they will need a doctor's certificate to mark themselves under the new category.
