"What in the World?" - Week of Dec 31, 2017 - Jan 6, 2018

The year 2017 began with news that U.S. President Barack Obama announced new sanctions on Russia, along with the expulsion of 35 of its diplomats from the U.S., in retaliation for which Russian action?

Concerns over climate change and the threat of nuclear weapons led the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to reset its “Doomsday Clock” to two and a half minutes to midnight in January 2017. When was the last time the clock was set this close to midnight?

President Trump announced a ten percent boost in military spending for his proposed budget and “fairly dramatic reductions” in the international affairs budget. WHICH Trump cabinet official famously said, “If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition ultimately,” referring to the consequences of diminished American “soft power” resources.

April 6 marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the United States’ involvement in THIS armed conflict:

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told State Department employees in May that, in the interest of advancing the United States’ economic and national security concerns, the nation needs to lessen its emphasis on THIS issue in its global dealings:

The leaders of Japan, Germany, France, Great Britain, Canada, and Italy urged United States president Donald Trump to honor THIS international agreement at the G7’s annual summit in May.

In July North Korea marked a military milestone and changed its dynamic with the rest of the world by successfully launching what?

THIS long-standing autocratic fixture in Zimbabwe was in the midst of being toppled by the country’s army in November.