This week, last year: 19th – 25th June

Our news highlights from 12 months past, for your weekly dose of Slow Journalism perspective…

Sun 19th June 2016
An estimated 65,000 people protest in Okinawa over the American military presence in Japan. The protests are sparked by the arrest of a US military base worker in connection with the rape and killing of a local woman.

Mon 20th June 2016
US lawmakers reject proposed restrictions aimed at curtailing gun violence. Four competing amendments to bolster background checks and stop suspected terrorists from purchasing firearms all fail to attract the 60 votes required to pass through the Senate.

Tue 21st June 2016
British woman Melissa Reid is released from prison in Peru and deported. Reid, from Glasgow, had been jailed in 2013 for cocaine smuggling and gained notoriety as one of the ‘Peru Two’, after she was arrested in Lima with fellow 20-year-old drugs mule Michaella McCollum Connolly, from Dungannon in Northern Ireland.

Wed 22nd June 2016
North Korea test-fires two suspected Musudan mid-range missiles. The ballistic missiles’ range means they could target much of Asia and the Pacific. According to South Korean intelligence at least one missile fails over the Sea of Japan.

Thu 23rd June 2016
The Colombian government and Farc rebels sign a ceasefire deal, signalling the end to a 50-year conflict that caused over 250,000 deaths and the displacement of more than six million people.

See amazing pictures of fighters of Farc and government fighters from a photographer who spent 15 years documenting the conflict

An armed man is shot dead by German police after taking several people hostage in a cinema. The man fires four shots on entering the Kinopolis complex in Viernheim, near Frankfurt, but no one else is hurt.

The UK goes to the polls to vote on whether the country should remain part of the European Union.

From our Brexit issue: What happened when Greenland left Europe; What withdrawal means for the Irish border; Gibraltar adrift after Brexit; The Leave/Remain voter breakdown

Fri 24th June 2016
The results of the EU referendum show the UK voted 51.9%-48.1% to leave. David Cameron says he will step down as prime minister, the pound suffers its biggest one-day drop in living memory and £2 trillion is wiped off global markets.

Sat 25th June 2016
The six founding members of the European Union meet for emergency talks in the wake of the UK’s Brexit vote. The foreign ministers of France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands demand that a new UK prime minister be installed quickly and that the country leave the union as soon as possible.

Posted on Monday, June 19th, 2017 - Categories: Extras, The week that was.