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Can You Remember What Happened In The World In 2018?

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Can You Remember What Happened In The World In 2018?

Time flies when everything is awful.

By Matthew Champion

Picture of Matthew Champion Matthew Champion BuzzFeed News Reporter

Last updated on December 21, 2018, at 8:38 a.m. ET

Posted on December 21, 2018, at 7:10 a.m. ET

  1. Black Panther was released.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    It did happen this year!

    Black Panther had its worldwide premiere in January.

    Via YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty

  2. The US recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    This did not happen this year.

    While an official ceremony marking the new embassy opening was held in May this year, President Donald Trump formally signalled the switch in recognition in December 2017.

    Via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

  3. A governing coalition of populist and hard-right parties was formed in Italy.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    It did happen this year!

    Ninety days after the general election in March, a coalition government between the League and Five Star Movement was formed.

    Via ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images

  4. After four decades in power, Robert Mugabe was deposed as president of Zimbabwe.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    This did not happen this year!

    While Zimbabwe did hold its first elections without Mugabe on the ballot in almost four decades this July, Mugabe was forced from office in 2017.

    Via Jekesai Njikizana / AFP / Getty Images

  5. The UK left the European Union.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    This hasn't happened!

    LOL.

    Via Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

  6. Donald Trump threatened North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Twitter, writing "I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!"

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    This did happen this year!

    Trump sent this tweet on Jan. 3 — five months later he and Kim Jong-un met at a surreal summit in Singapore.

    Via SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

  7. Vladimir Putin was elected for a third term as Russian president.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    This did not happen!

    Sorry to do this, but while Putin was reelected in March, it was for his fourth term. He was elected as president for the third time in 2012.

    Via Sean Gallup/Getty Images

  8. Argentina, led by captain Lionel Messi, won the soccer World Cup.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    This has never happened!

    Messi's Argentina was eliminated in the last 16 of the World Cup in Russia. Messi — regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time — will be 35 by the time of the next World Cup.

    Via Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

  9. The last male northern white rhino died, making the species functionally extinct.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    This did happen this year.

    The death of Sudan at the venerable age of 45 in March left his daughter and granddaughter as the only remaining northern white rhinos alive.

    Via AP

  10. Catalonia unilaterally declared independence from Spain.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    This did not happen this year!

    Following an unrecognized referendum, Catalonia declared independence in October 2017 (it's still part of Spain).

    Via Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

  11. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won the Democratic primary in New York's 14th congressional district.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    This did happen!

    Ocasio-Cortez beat Joe Crowley, one of the most powerful Democrats in the House of Representatives, in June.

    Via Rick Loomis/Getty Images

  12. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got married.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    This did happen this year!

    They got married in May.

    Via REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

  13. Saudi Arabia issued its first driving licenses to women.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    It happened this year.

    The first licenses were issued in June. But the news was overshadowed by the detention of activists who had led the campaign to let women drive.

    Via FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images

  14. India decriminalized gay sex.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    It did happen!

    In September India's highest court struck down a colonial-era law that made gay sex illegal.

    Via REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa

  15. President Trump, against advice, looked directly at the sun during a total solar eclipse.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    It didn't happen this year!

    The so-called "Great American Eclipse" took place in August 2017.

    Via NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

  16. Mosul was liberated from ISIS by the Iraqi army.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    This didn't happen this year.

    Iraq's prime minister declared Mosul liberated in July 2017.

    Via FADEL SENNA/AFP/Getty Images

  17. Twelve junior soccer players and their coach were rescued after spending 18 days in a flooded cave in Thailand.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    It did happen this year!

    Members of the Wild Boars soccer team, aged 11 to 17, entered the Tham Luang cave in June, and were rescued in July.

    Via Linh Pham/Getty Images

  18. President Trump was filmed pushing his way past other world leaders to the front of the queue at a NATO summit.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    This didn't happen this year!

    Trump pushed past Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic in May 2017.

  19. Arkady Babchenko, a prominent Russian journalist, faked his own death in Ukraine.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    This happened this year.

    Babchenko was "murdered" in May, only to appear before shocked journalists at a press conference days later. He said he staged his death with the help of Ukrainian security services to help catch a would-be assailant.

    Via Valentyn Ogirenko / Reuters

  20. A mysterious 2,000-year-old sarcophagus was opened in Egypt.

    Correct! 
    Wrong! 

    It did happen this year!

    The sarcophagus was opened in July. It didn't unleash any curses, but people did say they wanted to drink the red goo inside.

    Via Ministry of Antiquities
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