2018 in review: A bittersweet experience

It's tough to label the year good or bad; royal weddings and mass shootings both made news

Last updated: December 30, 2018 | 22:00

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Refugee crisis: A migrant family, part of a caravan of thousands travelling from Central America en route to the United States, run from tear gas in front of the border wall between the US and Mexico in Tijuana, Mexico November 25.

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2018 in review: Leaders mince no words

Natural calamities, a migrant crisis on the US border and a royal wedding joined hands to make 2018 a bittersweet experience. But there was positive news,too, holding promise for the coming year.

A reclusive North Korea opened up at a summit with the United States and the Nobel Peace Prize was shared by individuals who have fought against sexual violence in Iraq and Congo.

Historic summit: US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un at the start of their historic US-North Korea summit, in Singapore on June 12.

First step: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in cross the military demarcation line at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarised Zone on April 27.

Nobel Peace Prize winners: Dr Denis Mukwege from Congo and Nadia Murad from Iraq receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo Town Hall in October for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.

Kerala floods: Fire services personnel rescue a child following a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Idukki, Kerala, India, in August.

California blaze: A home burns as the Camp Fire rages through Paradise, California. Insurance claims from November’s California wildfires already were at $9 billion (Dh33 billion) and expected to increase, the state’s insurance chief announced on December 12.

Longest sea bridge: World’s longest seacrossing bridge opens between Hong Kong- Zhuhai-Macau Bridge on October 23.

Harry weds Meghan: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride through Windsor following their wedding on May 19 at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Merkel steps down as CDU chief: German Chancellor and chairwoman of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Angela Merkel, steps down from the party post on December 7.

Protests against school massacre: Students participate in a demonstration in front of the White House in Washington in protest against the massacre of 17 people at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14.

Imran bowls over Pakistan and the world: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan addresses the nation from the Prime Minister’s Office after he was sworn in on August 28.

Deadly crash: An Algerian army plane crashed and caught fire killing 257 people, mostly army personnel and members of their families near the Boufarik air base from where the plane had taken off on April 11.

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