Top shockers of 2016

1. Turkey coup

On July 15, Turkey saw its first attempted coup in 36 years. It briefly looked like the government would fall before President Recep Tayyip Erdogan got a message out, calling for his supporters to take to the streets. The toll of the coup attempt was devastating.

Over 300 died when tanks started shelling the crowds, and another 2,100 were injured. The backlash was arguably worse. Erdogan loyalists arrested over 6,000 people, dismissed another 36,000 from their jobs, and tortured and raped hundreds more. Not everyone is convinced this was a true coup. Many have alleged it was plotted and carried out by Erdogan himself to smooth his path toward dictatorship.

2. Iraq, France and Germany devastated by ISIS attacks

July 3 saw ISIS start the month by carrying out their deadliest attack yet. A truck bomb in the heart of Baghdad exploded shortly after midnight, killing 292 people. It was the deadliest attack in Iraq since 2007 and the deadliest ever carried out by a single bomber.

Unfortunately, even this carnage would soon be overshadowed by yet more attacks. Only 11 days later, an ISIS supporter drove a 19-ton truck through the Bastille Day crowds at Nice, killing 84. Barely had France recovered from its latest bout of grief when ISIS attackers struck again, murdering a Catholic priest in his church.

In comparison, Germany got off almost lightly. Two refugees inspired by ISIS separately carried out axe and bomb attacks. Although nearly 20 were injured, only the attackers themselves died.

3. Germany, Japan rocked by rampage killings

Besides ISIS attacks, two developed nations also suffered their deadliest mass-killings in years. In Germany, a German-Iranian teenager went on a rampage in a McDonald’s, killing nine and wounding 35. He was a loner obsessed with school shooters, and police found evidence he’d used Facebook to lure his teenage victims.

The gunman had expressed support for Adolf Hitler and was a fan of Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik. As a result, police are now investigating if this rampage shooting was actually Germany’s first major far-right attack in decades.

There was no such ambiguity about Japan’s worst mass-killing since World War II. The murderer, Satoshi Uematsu, had a clear and pathological hatred of disabled people and expressed that hatred in the vilest way possible. On July 26, Uematsu broke into a care home and stabbed 19 people to death. Police said he showed no remorse.

4. Trump becomes US president

After that depressing cavalcade of death, it was almost a relief when the news returned to the US elections. In late July, the two parties formally coroneted Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. In doing so, they kicked off a contest between the two least popular candidates in US history.

Overwhelming all the odds and statistics, Donald Trump emerged victorious in the race for White House when poll results came out in November.

5. Brexit

The United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union is widely known as Brexit, a portmanteau of "British exit". The terms of withdrawal have not yet been negotiated; in the meantime, the UK remains a full member of the European Union.

6. US rocked by targeted cop killings

When the shots rang out across Dallas on July 7, sending people running for cover, it marked the point that anti-cop resentment in the States finally boiled over. 2016 was already a bad year for cop killings: Prior to Dallas, 26 had died, compared to 18 by that point in 2015.

The sniper attack, by an ex-member of the New Black Panthers, added another five bodies. It was the deadliest single day for law enforcement since 9/11.10 days later, another black supremacist ambushed and gunned down three more officers in Baton Rouge.

In between these two attacks, four officers were shot and injured in ambush attacks, and two former cops working as courthouse bailiffs were shot and killed. All these incidents have combined to make 2016 exceptionally bloody for cops. More worryingly, they show black supremacism may be emerging as America’s newest domestic terror threat.

7. International court’s collision course with China

The South China Sea has long been a potential flashpoint for World War III. In July 2016, that hypothetical conflict got even closer. After years of tension, the international court ruled against China’s incursions into the sea, saying they violated Philippine sovereignty. Beijing predictably went ape. Just after the ruling, China published a white paper saying the UN had been influenced by US lies.

The government swore to increase militarization in the region. The US responded by reiterating its right to keep sailing in the South China Sea. Russia then jumped in on the dispute, saying it would hold drills there, thereby ensuring that three of the world’s nuclear powers are now caught in a game of naval chicken.

Thankfully, the likelihood of a full-blown war is currently small. Whether that’ll still be the case in a year’s time, though, is anybody’s guess.

8. Dhaka attack

On July 1, 20 hostages mostly foreigners were slain during a 12-hour long siege at an upscale eatery in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone Gulshan in Bangladesh. Additionally, two police officers were also killed by gunmen who were allegedly of the Islamic State.

9. Death of Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary leader who built a communist state on the doorstep of the United States and for five decades defied US efforts to topple him, died on November 25 at the age of 90. The world poured their hearts out at the news and said goodbye to the leader in respect.