2019 was a year of triumph. And tragedy. One of hope. And heartbreak. Before we embark on 2020, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s content curation desk is taking a look back at the biggest stories of 2019 and their effects on Georgia and the rest of the nation. Today’s topic: World news.
Credit: HANDOUT
Credit: HANDOUT
9. China achieves first moon landing
On the morning of Jan. 3, China's burgeoning space program landed the first spacecraft on the so-called dark side of the moon and brought the country closer to its goal of becoming a major space power. The China National Space Administration's Chang'e 4 craft landed on the far side of our closest planetary neighbor and sent back photos of a small crater and a barren surface. Before the historic moment, only two other countries — the United States and the former Soviet Union — had sent spacecraft to the near side of the moon, which faces Earth.
Credit: Mulugeta Ayene
Credit: Mulugeta Ayene
8. Ethiopian Airlines plane crash kills 157
On March 10, a jetliner carrying 157 crashed shortly after takeoff from the Ethiopian capital, killing everyone aboard. At least 35 nationalities were among the dead, including eight Americans. The accident was strikingly similar to the 2018 crash of a Lion Air jet that plunged into the Java Sea, killing 189 people. Both crashes involved the Boeing 737 Max 8, which President Donald Trump grounded throughout the United States three days after the Ethiopian disaster. “The safety of the American people, of all people, is our paramount concern,” Trump told reporters in the White House. The Max 8 has remained out of use since the investigation began into the aircraft's navigation system.
Credit: Mark Baker
Credit: Mark Baker
7. 50 killed at New Zealand mosque
On March 15, 50 people were shot to death in the New Zealand city of Christchurch in a terror attack at two mosques during midday prayers. The man who allegedly carried out the attack was described as a white supremacist who posted a racist manifesto online and used a helmet-mounted camera to broadcast a 17-minute live video of the slaughter on Facebook. The attack was by far the deadliest mass shooting in modern New Zealand history. Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, was arrested and charged.
Credit: HANDOUT
Credit: HANDOUT
6. Inferno nearly destroys Notre Dame Cathedral
On April 15, a catastrophic fire nearly destroyed the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The central spire, roof and much of the interior of the soaring medieval structure were obliterated as the inferno spread within minutes through the building that had stood at the heart of Paris for 850 years. The subsequent investigation found the fire, which began in the attic of the cathedral amid the famed latticework of ancient timbers known as “the forest,” to be accidental, and no one was charged.
Credit: I-Images
Credit: I-Images
5. A royal baby is born
On May 6, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex — better known as Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle — announced the birth of their first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, the seventh in line to the British throne and the eighth great-grandchild of 93-year-old Elizabeth. The royal couple introduced their new baby to the world in the vast, red-carpeted St. George's Hall at Windsor Castle. Harry cradled the newborn in his arms. The baby lay silently, swaddled in a white merino wool shawl and a knitted cap. The baby is the first Anglo-American member of the royal family and is eligible for U.S. citizenship.
Credit: LAM YIK FEI
Credit: LAM YIK FEI
4. Hong Kong protests begin
On June 9, hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators took to Hong Kong's streets in a major challenge to China's ruling Communist Party and its president, Xi Jinping. The protests were sparked by legislation that would allow criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China, an issue which became a lightning rod for concerns about Beijing's increasing control over the former British colony. Throughout the year, the protests have snowballed, paralyzing parts of downtown Hong Kong, blocking major thoroughfares and storming government buildings, and surrounded the headquarters of Hong Kong's police. Hong Kong police in riot gear have had to use tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets, and also have made thousands of arrests since the protests began.
3. Terror leader killed in raid
On Oct. 26, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of the Islamic State group who presided over its global jihad and became arguably the world's most wanted man, died after U.S. special operators cornered him during a raid in Syria, President Donald Trump announced the next day. No U.S. troops were killed in the operation. The death of al-Baghdadi was considered a milestone in the fight against the Islamic State. As U.S. troops closed in on al-Baghdadi, he fled into a “dead-end” tunnel with three of his children, Trump said, and detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and the children.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
2. Donald Trump meets Kim Jong Un in North Korea
On June 30, President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un met at the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone and agreed to revive talks on the pariah nation's nuclear program. Trump became the first sitting American leader to step into North Korea. What was intended to be an impromptu exchange of pleasantries turned into a 50-minute meeting, which marked a return to face-to-face contact between the leaders after talks broke down during a summit in Vietnam in February. In the made-for television moment, the men strode toward one another from opposite sides of the Joint Security Area and shook hands over the raised patch of concrete at the Military Demarcation Line. After asking if Kim wanted him to cross, Trump took 10 steps into the North with Kim at his side, then escorted Kim back to the South for talks at Freedom House, where they agreed to revive the stalled negotiations.
1. Family massacre in Mexico
The women and their children were taking a drive along a familiar rural road in northern Mexico when gunmen ambushed their three-vehicle caravan. When the shooting stopped, six children and three women were dead, all members of the LeBarón family, dual Mexican and American citizens who have lived for decades in a fundamentalist Mormon community of La Mora, Sonora, near the border. No police forces were in the area when the attack happened, and it took authorities about eight hours to respond to the scene. Several child survivors were forced to hide in nearby bushes, and a 13-year-old boy walked 14 miles for help. On Dec. 1, Mexican authorities detained several suspects during a joint operation by members of the Mexican armed forces and intelligence agents, and followed the detention last month of another suspect living in Mexico City.
Check out the other stories in our year-end project:
9 for 2019: Top Georgia stories
9 for 2019: Top sports stories
9 for 2019: Top business stories
9 for 2019: Top national stories
9 for 2019: Top weather stories9 for 2019: Notable deaths
9 for 2019: Top political stories
About the Author
