October 1-31, 2017 -- Graphic shows news events in October 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump certifies to Congress whether or not Iran is complying with the nuclear agreement, China’s Communist Party Congress convenes, and separatists in Catalonia plan to hold a referendum on independence from Spain. Kenya is scheduled to hold a rerun of its presidential election, the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments related to President Trump’s travel ban, and around 18m people around the world take part in a drill that teaches citizens how to protect themselves against earthquakes. Iconic Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara was killed 50 years ago, and Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to the 1982 classic, opens in cinemas.

WORLD AGENDA: October 2017 interactive (Interactive)
GN35814 Graphic shows news events in October 2017.
(640px wide by 600px deep )

September 27, 2017 -- Plagued by recent corruption scandals, Brazil is seeking to attract a new wave of investment to its energy sector by auctioning off large numbers of oil and gas exploration blocks across the country.

BRAZIL: Oil and gas auction (Graphic)
GN35812 Graphic shows oil and gas exploration blocks up for auction.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

October 1-31, 2017 -- Graphic shows news events in October 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump certifies to Congress whether or not Iran is complying with the nuclear agreement, China’s Communist Party Congress convenes, and separatists in Catalonia plan to hold a referendum on independence from Spain. Kenya is scheduled to hold a rerun of its presidential election, the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments related to President Trump’s travel ban, and around 18m people around the world take part in a drill that teaches citizens how to protect themselves against earthquakes. Iconic Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara was killed 50 years ago, and Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to the 1982 classic, opens in cinemas.

WORLD AGENDA: October 2017 (Graphic)
GN35813 Graphic shows news events in October 2017.
()

September 20, 2017 -- Russia’s Kalashnikov Group has unveiled the Chukavin SVCh family of semi-automatic sniper rifles, designed to engage individual targets at a range of up to 1,500 metres, depending on the round.

According to Kalashnikov, a subsidiary of Russia’s Rostec state corporation, the SVCh is accurate to one MOA (minutes of angle) at a distance of 100m, placing a group of shots within 26-27mm at 100m, or within 270mm at 1,000m -- the size of a watermelon.

The rifle can be chambered to accept 7.62x54Rmm, 7.62×51mm NATO or .338 Lapua Magnum cartridges.

Military snipers in Afghanistan use Lapua Magnum cartridges. British sniper Corporal of House Craig Harrison established a record for the longest confirmed sniper kill in combat, at a range of 2,475m in Helmand Province in November 2009.

MILITARY: Kalashnikov Chukavin SVCh sniper rifle (Graphic)
GN35811 Graphic shows features of new SVCh sniper rifle.
(107mm by 133mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 20, 2017 -- Spain’s Guardia Civil police have detained a dozen senior Catalan officials and raided regional government ministries ahead of a planned referendum on independence, which Madrid insists is illegal. Following the raids, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont accused the Madrid government of "de facto" suspending the region's autonomy and imposing a state of emergency.

POLITICS: Spain steps up raids to halt Catalan vote (Graphic)
GN35810 Graphic shows timeline of main events in the political conflict between Catalonia and Spain.
(107mm wide by 129mm (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 20, 2017 -- Rescuers are searching for earthquake survivors throughout central Mexico, where the death toll has risen above 200.

DISASTERS: Search for Mexico earthquake survivors (Graphic)
GN35807 Graphic shows areas most affected by the earthquake and locations of buildings collapsed in Mexico City.
(107mm wide by 142mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 24, 2017 -- Star Trek, the iconic science fiction franchise created more than 50 years ago by Gene Roddenberry, returns with a new television series, Star Trek: Discovery, set to premiere on CBS.

ENTERTAINMENT: Star Trek Discovery TV series (Graphic)
GN35805 Graphic shows a timeline of Star Trek TV shows and movies.
(107mm by 224mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 19, 2017 -- More than 225 people have died in Mexico City and the surrounding states of Puebla and Morelos after a powerful earthquake struck central Mexico on Tuesday afternoon.

At least 4.5 million homes, businesses, and other facilities lost electricity, according to national power company Comisión Federal de Electricidad.

Tuesday's earthquake took place on the anniversary of a devastating earthquake that killed thousands in Mexico City in 1985.

DISASTERS: Mexico earthquake (Graphic)
GN35806 Graphic shows location of earthquake.
(107mm by 98mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

October 1, 2017 -- The Catalan regional government intents to hold a referendum on independence from Spain, a ballot that Madrid has vowed to stop.

ECONOMICS: Catalonia in figures (1) (Graphic UPDATED Sep 19)
GN35804 Graphic shows percentage of Catalonia’s share of Spain, as well as a ranking of the Catalan economy among EU countries.
(107mm wide by 157mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

October 18, 2017 -- China’s five-yearly congress of the ruling Communist Party will start on October 18th. Some 2,300 hand-picked delegates will select 200 members of the 400-member Central Committee, which will, in turn, choose roughly 10 of the 25-member Politburo.

Most attention will focus on who makes it into the Politburo’s Standing Committee. Five of its seven members are due to retire, including Xi’s supporter Wang Qishan.

For President Xi, this is an opportunity to install loyalists and shore up his legacy. Who gets promoted and who doesn't could have a significant global impact, as the world's second-largest economy posts its slowest pace of growth in a quarter of a century.



CHINA: Communist Party Congress (Graphic)
GN35803 Graphic shows process of selecting China’s top officials and names of possible Politburo Standing Committee candidates.
(107mm wide by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 18, 2017 -- Government forces and U.S.-backed militia are racing to control the oil-rich province of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria as so-called Islamic State militants continue to retreat from their former strongholds.

SYRIA: Race for Deir al-Zour province (Graphic)
GN35802 Graphic shows areas of control and oilfields.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 18, 2017 -- A second powerful storm in as many weeks is bearing down on a string of battered Caribbean islands, with forecasters saying Maria would strengthen into a major hurricane as it ripped into the Leeward Island.

WEATHER: Hurricane Maria (Graphic)
GN35801 Graphic shows projected path of Hurricane Maria.
(107mm wide by 110mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 24-30, 2017 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.This week features the first powered airship, nine black students starting at a previously segregated school in Arkansas, the damage of Greece’s Parthenon by mortar bombs, the life of Edgar Degas, Shimon Peres winning the Nobel Peace Prize, and the life of artist Roy Lichtenstein.

September 24, 1852: French engineer Henri Giffard made the first powered flight in a dirigible. The steam-powered airship travelled 27km (17 miles) from Paris to Trappes

September 25, 1957: U.S. National Guardsmen led nine black students into an Arkansas school after state militia stopped them entering the racially segregated school

September 26, 1687: Ancient Greece’s famous temple, the Parthenon, was badly damaged by mortar bombs fired by Venetian forces besieging the Turkish-held Acropolis in Athens

September 27, 1917: French artist Edgar Degas died. Regarded as one of the founders of the Impressionist movement, he is best known for his studies of ballet dancers

September 28, 2016: Shimon Peres, Nobel Peace Prize-winning former Prime Minister and President of Israel, died at the age of 93, two weeks after suffering a stroke

September 29, 1997: U.S. artist Roy Lichtenstein died. A founder of the Pop Art movement of the 60s, his work was heavily influenced by popular advertising and comic books

September 30 2016: The Rosetta spacecraft ended its mission by crash-landing on comet 67P/CG. In 2015 its probe Philae became the first ever spacecraft to land on a comet

ON THIS DAY: September 24-30, 2017 (week 39) (Graphic)
GN35779 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(Each 52mm wide by 118mm deep, packaged as a set)

September 25, 2017 -- Iraq's Kurds plan to hold an independence referendum for their enclave in the country's north, a step toward their long-held dream of statehood. The outcome, almost certain to be “yes,” will further rattle a region still engulfed in the fight against the so-called Islamic State group.

IRAQ: Kurdish referendum vote (Graphic)
GN35793 Graphic shows areas of Kurdish control and population.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 15, 2017 -- Three men shown celebrating with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un following successful missile launches are believed to be the top people in the country’s rapidly advancing missile and nuclear programme.

Ri Pyong-chol
One of Kim’s closest aides. Former air force chief was elected to National Defence Commission – most powerful government organization – in 2014. Now runs Workers’ Party Munitions Industry Department, developing conventional and nuclear weapons.

Jang Chang-ha
As President of Academy of National Defence Science, Jang’s staff procure foreign technology and equipment for weapons programmes. Promoted in July to a four-star colonel general after successful test of KN-20, using Soviet-era RD-250 engine, built in Ukraine.

Kim Jong-sik
Rocket scientist and general at Munitions Industry Department. Mastermind of Kim’s missile programme since successful launch of Unha-3 rocket – which put satellite into low earth orbit – in 2012.

NORTH KOREA: Kim Jung-un’s rocket men (Graphic)
GN35797 Graphic shows factbox on Ri Pyong-chol, Jang Chang-ha, Kim Jong-sik, plus Kim’s current missiles.
(107mm by 163mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 15, 2017 -- North Korea has fired a ballistic missile across Japan, its second such move in weeks. The missile flew over a distance of about 3,700km, far enough to reach the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

MILITARY: North Korea fires new missile over Japan (Graphic)
GN35795 Graphic shows approximate missile trajectory and comparison with previous test.
(107mm by 143mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 15, 2017 -- An explosion on a Tube train in south-west London is being treated as terrorism, according to police. Passengers were injured following the blast and fire at Parsons Green station.

TERRORISM: Explosion on London underground train (Graphic)
GN35796 Graphic shows location of incident.
(107mm by 116mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 15, 2017 -- Porsche’s Panamera 4 E-Hybrid Sport Turismo is heir to the marque’s 918 Spyder electro-supercar, combining plug-in hybrid technology with fuel efficiency, producing a luxury five-seat station wagon.

Visitors to the biennial Frankfurt Auto Show will expect to see the latest, showroom-ready, mass market electric cars. They will be disappointed.

Apart from the latest versions of the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe, the biggest carmakers are falling behind in the race. Tesla Motors of the U.S. won’t be showing its new Model 3, which is just as well given that it would underline the fact that Europe lags. There will be plenty of concept cars like the Mini Electric, and an improved BMWi3S, but nothing yet to match the acknowledged ground-breaker, the Model 3.

The Germans are falling behind in the pure electric car race. But they are impressive with plug-in hybrid technology. The Porsche Panamera E-Hybrid Turismo combines an electric motor and a gasoline engine for sizzling performance, but this is hardly going to be a big seller.

Many of the world’s highest profile manufacturers have snubbed the show, including Tesla, Fiat and its Jeep, Maserati and Alfa Romeo subsidiaries, Infiniti, Mitsubishi and its owner Nissan, Peugeot and its DS subsidiary, and Volvo.

Europe’s biggest auto show of the year should be a noisy, brash affair where industry leaders point out how wonderful their products are. But this time the show coincides with Germany’s general election and the industry has been subjected to a merciless grilling by politicians over diesel skulduggery, possible monopoly law violations, and most wounding of all, a failure to keep in touch with the latest electric technology. The CEOs will likely be hiding from the spotlight at this show. That will be a first.

The show will overflow with new SUVs, led by the Citroen Aircross small SUV, the BMW X3, the Opel-Vauxhall Grandland, the Jaguar E-Pace and the Porsche Cayenne. Volkswagen is showing its new version of the big selling little Polo and small SUV, the T-Roc. Mercedes is launching its first pickup, the X class.

The impossibly expensive debutants include the Bentley Continental GT, the “entry” level V-8 592 hp Ferrari Portofino, and the Rolls Royce Phantom.

As usual there is a long list of concept cars. This usually means cars which manufacturers have no intention of making but are trying to show how adventurous and cool they are. The Smart Vision EQ is a cute 2-seater aimed at the autonomous, car-sharing market, which will drive itself to the user’s location. A concept indeed.

Professor Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer from the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Duisberg-Essen in Germany is not impressed.

“The most important car of 2017, the Tesla Model 3, will not be present at the show,” Dudenhoeffer said, adding that car shows are in danger of becoming an expensive waste of time.

“The concept of classic auto exhibitions shows significant fatigue phenomena. Weeks before the Frankfurt show new models like the VW T-Roc have been shown on YouTube. And where are the electric cars available with Tesla range? It will be 2020 before pure electric cars from BMW and Mercedes are available,” Dudenhoeffer said.

MOTORING: Porsche Panamera PHEV interactive (Interactive)
GN35790 Responsive interactive graphic shows facts and figures about the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid saloon.
(800px wide by 600px deep)

September 24, 2017 -- Chancellor Angela Merkel looks likely to emulate her mentor, the late Helmut Kohl, by winning a fourth term in office. The leader of the Christian Democrats has seen her ratings boosted by steady economic growth, low unemployment and, crucially, the slowing influx of migrants.

POLITICS: Parties standing in German election (Graphic)
GN35792 Graphic shows profiles of the top parties in Germany’s general election and a recent opinion poll conducted by the INSA Institute.
(107mm wide by 162mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 13, 2017 -- Russia's military claims that Syrian troops have liberated about 85 percent of the war-torn country from militants, a major turn-around two years after Moscow intervened to lend a hand to its embattled long-time ally.

MIDEAST: Russia says much of Syria won back (Graphic)
GN35791 Graphic shows Syrian areas of control.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 12, 2017 -- Ten years on from the release of Apple’s seminal iPhone, the American tech giant has unveiled its latest update — the iPhone X.

As widely expected, the high-end phone has an “edge-to-edge” screen and dispenses with the traditional home button.

The iPhone X (pronounced “ten” rather than X) uses a facial recognition system to identify its owner rather than a fingerprint-based one.

It is Apple’s most expensive phone to date. When it goes on sale on November 3 buyers will have to part with $999 for a 64 gigabyte capacity model, while the 256GB version will be priced at $1,149.

The iPhone X was unveiled in the Steve Jobs Theater at the firm’s new state of the art 70-hectare Apple Park facility in Cupertino, California.



TECH: Apple iPhone X revealed (Graphic)
GN35773 Graphic shows details of the upcoming iPhone X.
(107mm by 142mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 12, 2017 -- Pressure is mounting on Myanmar to end violence that has sent nearly 400,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh, with the U.S. calling for protection of civilians and Bangladesh urging safe zones to enable refugees to go home. UN human rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein said on Monday that the security operation in Rakhine appeared to be "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing".

MYANMAR: Rohingya refugee exodus grows (Graphic)
GN35787 Graphic shows number of refugees fleeing to Bangladesh since Aug 25.
(107mm wide by 156mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 12, 2017 -- A new natural gas pipeline will be launched in Poland as part of the North-South Gas Corridor, which is planned to link liquefied natural gas terminals in Poland and Croatia by 2022.

ENERGY: North-South Gas Corridor (Graphic)
GN35788 Graphic shows route of North-South Gas Corridor, and major pipelines carrying Russian gas.
(107mm by 132mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 11, 2017 -- North Korea’s recent nuclear weapons test is fuelling concerns over a potential high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack which could cripple power supplies and electronic systems across a wide area.

NORTH KOREA: Nuclear EMP threat (Graphic)
GN35783 Graphic shows how an EMP attack works.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 14-20, 2017 -- Baltic defence officials are urging NATO allies to deepen security
co-operation as Zapad-2017, a joint military exercise involving Russian
and Belarusian forces, gets underway. NATO’s four multinational battle groups in the Baltic states and Poland are now fully operational.

Observers say that while there is little chance of Russia using the exercise as cover for an actual invasion, there are concerns about what troops and equipment it will leave behind afterwards.

Moscow has said about 12,700 Russian and Belarusian troops will take part in the exercises, to be held in Belarus and Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad, but Lithuania and Estonia have put the figure as high as 100,000.

MILITARY: Russian war games raise tensions (Graphic)
GN35782 Graphic shows location of Zapad military exercises, and NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence battlegrounds.
(by 140mm deep (print) and 2 (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 8, 2017 -- North Korea has an estimated 13,000 Hardened Artillery Sites (HARTS) in concrete bunkers, caves, and tunnels, including 4,000 near the DMZ (demilitarized zone) and 200-300 within range of Seoul.

The North Koreans have built a coast-to-coast system to protect their military hardware. Airfields with aircraft parked under mountains and submarine and missile boat bases in tunnels hewn out of rock all reduce their vulnerability to air strikes and artillery fire from South Korean and U.S. forces.

If Pyongyang launched a conventional artillery and missile barrage on the South, experts say long range weapons such as Koksan 170mm self-propelled guns and 240mm rocket launchers could reach Seoul.

To counter this threat, South Korea has nearly 19,000 bomb shelters throughout the country. In Seoul, the capital of 10.3 million people, there are more than 3,200 underground shelters.

MILITARY: North Korea conventional weapons (Graphic)
GN35776 Graphic shows locations of HARTS, range of North Korean artillery, U.S, military bases and Koksan M-1989, 170mm self propelled gun.
(107mm wide by 159mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 7, 2017 -- Satellite imagery indicates that North Korea is moving an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) towards test facilities at Panghyon Airbase or Sohae Satellite Launching Station, suggesting a launch during Saturday’s founding day celebrations.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has conducted 84 missile tests since taking power in 2011. Of 18 test launches this year alone, five failed.

In July, Kim observed a successful KN-14 (Hwasong-14) ICBM launch from Panghyon Airbase which flew a high-altitude trajectory of 2,784km (1,730 miles) and a distance of about 928km (577) miles, landing in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

On August 28, the launch of a missile, believed to be a KN-17 (Hwasong-12), from Pyongyang flew 2,682km (1,667 miles) over Northern Japan before breaking into three pieces – consistent with the failure of a reentry vehicle.

NORTH KOREA: Missile tests interactive (Interactive)
GN35774 Responsive interactive graphic shows the ranges of North Korea’s principal missiles and launch facilities plus details of all 18 missile launches so far in 2017.
(480px wide by 600px deep)

September 7, 2017 -- The United States could use its Ground-based Midcourse Defence (GMD) system – designed to intercept incoming warheads in space – if threatened by a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

MILITARY: U.S. ICBM defence system (Graphic)
GN35772 Graphic shows how the U.S. Ground-based Midcourse Defense system works.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 1-30, 2017 -- Graphic shows news events in September 2017. Angela Merkel looks likely to win a fourth term in office in Germany’s federal election, the leaders of the five BRICS nations meet in China, and President Trump expects to view prototypes of his controversial border wall with Mexico. A vote on an independent Kurdistan takes place in several Iraqi regions, and EU leaders focus on the bloc’s Digital Single Market (DSM). Pope Francis visits Colombia, India lays the foundation stone of its first high-speed rail line, and a hearing begins in Spain in the Salvador Dali paternity case.

WORLD AGENDA: September 2017 interactive (1) (Interactive UPDATED Aug 30)
GN35678 Graphic shows news events in September 2017.
(640px wide by 600px deep )

September 1-30, 2017 -- Graphic shows news events in September 2017. Angela Merkel looks likely to win a fourth term in office in Germany’s federal election, the leaders of the five BRICS nations meet in China, and Apple is expected to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its iconic iPhone by revealing the iPhone 8.

A vote on an independent Kurdistan takes place in several Iraqi regions, and EU leaders focus on the bloc’s Digital Single Market (DSM). Pope Francis visits Colombia, India lays the foundation stone of its first high-speed rail line, and a hearing begins in Spain in the Salvador Dali paternity case.

WORLD AGENDA: September 2017 (Graphic)
GN35677 Graphic shows news events in September 2017.
(163mm wide by mm deep)

September 12-20, 2017 -- Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are to lay the foundation stone for India’s first high speed rail line that could see trains run at 350 kilometres an hour.

The project is part of a 'Diamond Quadrilateral' of high speed trains over 10,000km of track that India wants to set up connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

TRANSPORT: India first bullet train (1) (Graphic UPDATED Aug 4)
GN35670 Graphic shows the E5 Series Shinkansen Bullet Train, route of the Mumbai - Ahmedabad high speed rail, and map of India’s potential high-speed rall lines.
(107mm by 156mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

October 1, 2018 -- BepiColombo is a joint European-Japanese initiative that will send two satellites to the planet Mercury, where they will separate to conduct different but complementary observations.

Scheduled to launch in October 2018, the mission includes a carrier spacecraft called the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) — which supplies electrical power during interplanetary cruise — and two separate orbiters. The European Space Agency’s Mercury Planet Orbiter (MPO) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO).

When approaching Mercury in late 2025, the MTM will separate from the orbiters just before Mercury orbit is achieved. Then, the two spacecraft will then move into their orbits to make measurements of Mercury's interior, surface, exosphere and magnetosphere

Only NASA’s Mariner 10 and Messenger have visited Mercury so far. Messenger, which orbited the planet from 2011 to 2015, discovered that the planet has a magnetic field, indicating a molten interior. BepiColombo will make measurements designed to reveal the planet’s internal structure in greater detail.

The mission is expected to last for one Earth year, which is the equivalent of four Mercury years.

Link to ESA’s BepiColombo mission

SPACE: Dual satellite mission to Mercury (Graphic)
GN35585 Graphic shows how the unusual mission works.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))