Exactly 50 years after Hong Kong passed from Great Britain to China with a special statute, which provides for “one nation – two systems”, Hong Kong is fully integrated into China.
G20 Summit in Rome, Italy. Prime Minister Mario Draghi welcomes US President Joe Biden (who also visited Pope Francis), who tells him «Mario, you are doing an extraordinary job. We need to show that democracies can work and that we can produce a new economic model. You are
Colombia announces that drug trafficker Dairo Antonio Usuga, better known as Otoniel, the most wanted in the country, will be extradited to the United States after being captured in a raid, a joint operation of the army, air force and police. He led the country’s largest
The Tokyo Olympics are over. The United States overtook China in the medal table at the last moment and finished with 39 golds, 41 silvers, 33 bronzes (113 medals), China with 38 golds, 32 silvers, 18 bronzes (88 medals), Japan with 27 golds, 14 silvers, 17
Tokyo Olympics. Unexpected gold in the men’s 100 meters (Lamont Marcell Jacobs) and in the men’s high jump (Gianmarco Tamberi) for Italy. They come within ten minutes of each other. After a few days the Italian 4×100 relay will win gold, still ahead of the English, second.
Wembley Stadium, London. Italy – England: 4-3. Italy wins the European football championships on penalties in the temple of English football.
Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. The remains of 215 children buried in a mass grave are found next to a school for Native Americans. The school ran until 1978 when it was closed. Episodes of child maltreatment were already known.
Germany officially recognizes its responsibility in the genocide of the people of Namibia, during the German occupation at the beginning of the 20th century. (1884-1915). Germany undertakes to indemnify Namibia with EUR 1.1BLN
France, in the person of President Macron, recognizes its responsibility and asks forgiveness, for the role of support by Mitterand for the Hutu government of Rwanda in 1994, which caused the genocide of 800,000 people, mostly Tutsi (but also Hutu) in the space of 100
Brazil. In a joint operation of the carabinieri, the DEA, the American FBI, and the Brazilian federal police, Rocco Marabito and Vincenzo Pasquino are captured. Marabito, a prominent figure of the ‘ndangheta, was wanted since 1994, as number 2 of the fugitives after Matteo Messina Denaro (Sicilian
Minsk, Belarus. A civilian plane of Ryan Air, carrying the Belarusian political dissident Roman Protasevich is informed of the false news of a bomb on board by the Belarusian authorities, then is joined by a Mig-29 and forced to land in Minsk. Here KGB officers board the
Paris. Seven convicted of terrorist episodes, including members of the Red Brigades, armed groups against territorial power and a former Lotta Continua militant, are arrested in France at the request of Italy, while two others surrender in the following days, and a third remains in escape
Pope Francis visits Iraq. This is the first papal visit to this country. In Baghdad he meets President Barham Salih. Then he flies to Najaf (where he meets the Shiite Ayatollah Al-Sistani), Mosul, Erbil (where he meets the president of the Iraqi Kuridtan Nechirvan Barzani), Nassiriya, Ur of
Rome. The former governor of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, dissolves the reserve and presents his new government, with broad agreements.
Burma (Myanmar). The Burmese armed forces carry out a coup d’état and arrest Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party, the National League for Democracy, had just won the legislative elections, against the Union of Solidarity and Development Party, close to the army. A few days later, China
Joe Biden, takes office as the 46th president of the United States. In the following 2 days he signed 25 executive orders. Trump had signed 25 in 90 days, Obama in several months. George W Bush took even longer. Biden intends to carry out a U-turn of several previous
Moscow. Alexei Navalny, one of Putin’s main opponents, was arrested at the Sheremetyevo airport by police in riot gear after his hospitalization in Berlin following his poisoning in Russia, and was immediately tried in a station police.
United States. The House calls for President Trump’s impeachement for inciting the assault on Congress the seventh earlier. This is the first time in the history of the United States that a president has been “impeached” twice in his presidential term.
United States. In a dramatic session at 3 am, after having suspended the session for the entry of pro-Trump protesters, Congress, chaired by VP Pence, formalizes the victory of the elections by Joe Biden. The Democrats also win the two seats in Georgia, and thus reach parity
United States. In the hours in which on Capitol Hill takes place the ceremony of formalization of the vote count that ratifies the election of Democrat Joe Biden, and while the Democratic Party wins the majority of the Senate by winning the two seats in Georgia,
United States. The American Congress reaches an agreement for a mega package of 900 billion USD to help against the pandemic from Covid-19, for business, for unemployment. A following step of 1400 billion USD to finance the following 9 months of government remains under discussion.
Iran. The Iranian journalist Ruhollah Zam is hanged for posting on a social network a few years earlier posts inciting the anti-government protest.
Israel, after having normalized relations with the Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, is also doing so with Morocco.
At the age of 64, Paolo Rossi, nicknamed “Pablito”, the main author of Italy’s world success at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, dies, against all odds.
At the age of 60, Diego Armando Maradona dies, nicknamed “El pibe de oro”, and is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time.
The almost definitive results of the American elections see the Democrat Joe Biden winning at least 279 of the 270 minimum electoral votes to win the presidency, against the 214 acquired by the outgoing president, the Republican Donald Trump. The counts of Georgia and Arizona (both
Presidential and partisan elections of the Senate and House of Representatives in the United States. A record percentage of the population entitled to vote go to the polls.
Israel, after having normalized relations with the Arab Emirates and Bahrain, is also doing so with Sudan.
Germany. Alexei Navalny, one of Putin’s main opponents, is diagnosed as having been poisoned with Novichok by German military experts after being taken to Germany for medical checks after an illness. Novichok is a set of related molecules, which falls into the category of nerve agents, developed
Israel and the United Arab Emirates conclude an agreement to normalize diplomatic relations. This is the third case in relations between Israel and the Arab countries, after Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994).
Beirut, Lebanon. Over one hundred people lose their lives, thousands are injured, and hundreds of thousands lose their homes, following a terrible explosion in the port. It appears 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate were stored.
The European Parliament approves the agreement for the issuance of EUR 750 billion of common debt, to finance a package of EUR 360 billion of loans and EUR 390 billion of grants, to address the recovery after the Covid-19 emergency.
Salerno. The Guardia di Finanza seizes in the port a record quantity of 14 tons of amphetamines, 84 million tablets with the “captagon” logo, produced in Syria by ISIS to finance terrorism, for a market value of over 1 billion euros.
Minneapolis, Minnesota. An officer on duty, Derek Chauvin, chokes by pressing his knee to his neck to immobilize him, George Floyd, black. Protests break out across the United States against racism.
North Macedonia (former Macedonian state that changed its name to avoid Greece’s veto upon joining NATO) formally joins the Atlantic Alliance. It is the 30th state to do so.
Doha, Qatar. US sepcial envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sign an agreement to bring peace to Afghanistan.
Washington DC, United States. President Donald Trump is acquitted by the Senate of impeachment charges.
Kerman, Iran. 52 people lose their lives in the crowd for the public funeral of General Soleimani, in his hometown.
Baghdad, Iraq. Parliament votes to expel all foreign troops from its territory.
Ukraine. The Russian company Gazprom agrees to pay the Ukraine of 3.9 billion USD for the transit of Russian gas in Ukrainian territory.
Calabria. 334 people, including national and local politicians, members of the police and justice, are arrested as part of the largest operation against the Calabrian Ndrangheta.
Washington DC, United States. The House of Representatives (with a Democratic majority) votes positively for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, on the basis of the two counts. He thus becomes the third American president to be impeached, after Bill Clinton in 1998, and Andrew Johnson in
Washington DC, United States. The House of Representatives (with a democratic majority) votes to continue with the impeachment of President Donald Trump, in the affair of pressure on Ukraine to investigate the son of presidential candidate Joe Biden.
The Chinese company Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing, which owns the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, launches a hostile takeover bid to buy the London Stock Exchange. The takeover bid is rejected, but the deed has a strong symbolic value: Hong Kong is now able to buy
US President Donald Trump signs new tariffs of 15% on a long list of Chinese products, covering $ 112 billion in imports.
The European Union and Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay) sign a historic free trade agreement, after 20 years of negotiations.
Notre Dame, Paris. The cathedral’s wooden ceiling ignites and burns completely within hours. The walls of the cathedral (from the 12th century) are not affected. The wooden ceiling is mostly of 13th century oak, while the wooden spire was rebuilt in the 18th century.
Rome. Italy and China sign a Memorandum of Understanding, an intergovernmental protocol that establishes the principles of a great understanding for the “Belt and Road”, or rather the new Silk Roads from China to Europe. Italy is the first major Western country to join this program, and
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, sentences two Khmer Rouge representatives to life imprisonment. They are the Cambodian head of state Khieu Samphan, 87, and Nuon Chea, 92, his right hand. They are sentenced on charges of genocide for the extermination of Cham Muslims and
Mid-Term elections in the United States. Democrats gain control of the House of Representative, the biggest gain since 1974 (just after the Watergate scandal), while Republicans retain control of the Senate.
American President Donald Trump announces the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the INF Treaty (Intermediate range Nuclear Forces) stipulated with the Soviets in 1987 by Reagan and Gorbachev, due to the repeated violation of this treaty by the Russian side, in recent years
After the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople recognizes the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from Moscow, the Russian Orthodox Church cuts off relations with that of Constantinople. The move obviously has a political reason, as the Russian Orthodox Church works side by side with Russian President
Hudson Institute, Washington DC. Vice President Mike Pence announces the new American doctrine towards China. It is derived from the analysis anticipated months earlier in a document on the National Security Strategy. It accuses China of violating WTO trade rules, imposing tariffs, forcing technology transfers, stealing intellectual property,
The Vatican and China sign an epochal agreement for the appointment of bishops: the Pope will have to approve the appointments. For the first time, China recognizes and accepts papal authority on its territory.
During a torrential rain, a 210m stretch (one of the arches) of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa collapses, dragging 35 cars and 3 trucks down. The cause is hypothesized in the corrosion of the steel cables inside the compressed concrete of the stays that support the
Sergio Marchionne, CEO of FCA, Ferrari, CNH dies. With the merger of Fiat and Chrysler, he is credited with saving both companies.
Helsinki. Summit meeting between American President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with more than two hours of private conversation.
Venezuela. The socialism of the Chavez-Maduro era brings the catastrophic ruin of the economy, accompanied by the human suffering of the population, despite the enormous wealth of oil (Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world). GDP collapsed by 35% from 2013 to 2017. This is
The giant Chinese telecommunications company ZTE (Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment) is the reason for a request by the Chinese Prime Minister Xi to the American President Trump, to suspend the American embargo against the ZTE, ordered by the Obama administration following commercial relations ZTE – North
Singapore. Meeting between North Korean President Kim Jong Un and the American Donald Trump. It is the first time since the 1950 Korean War.
South Korea. Kim Jong-un crosses the border (first time for a North Korean head of state since 1953) and has an official meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Moon Jae-in
Catalonia. The referendum for independence, considered outlawed and opposed by Madrid even by force, obtains 91% of the vote, with over 2.3 million voters out of 5.3 million registered.
Ferrari double in Montecarlo, where he hadn’t won for 16 years: Vettel Raikkonnen.
Emmanuel Macron becomes president of France. Only three years ago he was not in politics. His movement En Marche! he was just born. It is a centrist, pro-European, who wins over the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who in any case wins 35% of the votes.
Republican Donald Trump surprisingly wins the American elections, with 290 voters against Hillary Clinton’s 232.
The US Department of Justice is asking Deutsche Bank for a refund of USD 14 billion for the toxic derivatives traded between 2005 and 2007. For a similar cause, Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay USD 5.1 billion. JP Morgan and Citigroup have also already paid
Brazil. The Senate, with 61 votes in favor and 20 against, has made definitive the removal of the former Brazilian president after the start of the impeachment procedure: Michel Temer is the new president of Brazil. Rousseff has been in trouble since at least 2014, when his
The European Union is asking Ireland to recover EUR 13 BLN from Apple in unpaid taxes. This is an old agreement between the multinational and the island government to pay extremely low taxes on their profits, which is deemed unlawful by the European Union. The Irish government,
After the recent attacks and especially the last one in Rouen, tens of thousands of Muslims take up the appeal to participate with Christians in Sunday mass.
Krakow, World Youth Day. Pope Francis declares that, yes, there is a war going on but it is not a war of religion. All religions want peace.
Brexit. 51.9% of the British voting in the referendum are in favor of Britain’s exit from the European Union.
Brazil. The Senate votes for the impeachment of President Dilma Roussef for 180 days. The request is based on some elements including Dilma’s manipulation of public accounts to hide a hole in the state budget and thus ensure re-election in 2014. In addition to the recession, the
Sadiq Kahn officially became the first Muslim mayor of London by winning the elections with 56.8% of the vote: his victory marks the return of Labor after eight years in the capital. The son of Pakistani immigrants and a human rights lawyer, Khan, 45, a Labor
Havana, Cuba. First historic visit by an American president in 88 years. Barack Obama meets Raul Castro.
Libya. The first post-Gaddafi government of national unity asks for trust.
Venezuela. The right wins two-thirds of parliament in the elections, defeating Chavez’s party in power for 16 years. The country has 200% inflation and the economy in ruins, also due to oil at 40 USD per barrel, the lowest price in 6 years.
Regional elections in France: the populist far right of Marine le Pen’s Front National is the first party in France.