This Week in Pictures: October 10 – October 16, 2017

The world was awash with big news stories last week so we take a moment to look back at some of the most important that hit the headlines over the past seven days.

In the United States 45th President Donald Trump refused to certify that Iran was in compliance with the deal struck under the Obama administration to limit its development of nuclear weapons and cited numerous violations that justified his imposition of sanctions on the country of 82 million. In return President Hassan Rouhani of Iran said that his nation would remain within the boundaries of the deal and referred to Trump’s speech as “curses”. Numerous American allies are also standing by the accord.

In the United States large fires raged across California last week claiming over forty lives and razing some communities to the ground. With some 5,700 homes and businesses destroyed in the outbreak of fires that were swept on by unfavorable winds the Governor, Jerry Brown, described it as “a horror that no one could have imagined” The worst fires in living memory, the causes of which are unknown,were tackled by over 10,000 firefighters however by the end of the week only 50% of the fires were contained.

In the United States the disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of multiple counts of sexual assault and rape by numerous well known actresses. His lawyer quit, his wife left him and both US and UK authorities are investigating the sixty five year old who checked himself into rehab somewhere in Europe following his expulsion from the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences last last week. Weinstein was denounced by leading figures in Hollywood as well as politicians he had supported.

In sports a superb passing maneuver by Andrea Dovizioso on the last corner in the Japanese Moto GP put championship leader Marc Marquez into second place and closed the gap between them in the race for the title to just 11 points with only three races to go. Can the Spaniard hang on to his lead or will the Italian catch him up as they head to Australia? You’ll have to read our daily news pages to find out, but in the meantime here’s a look at some of the big stories we covered over the last seven days.

Who should you bet on to win the Puskas Award in 2017?

Check out the possible scenarios for Jone Jones’ future

Now is the perfect time to bet on the 2017 World Surf League online

Bet on three of the best boxing underdogs in 2017

We present you three of the newest bets on Melania Trump

Meanwhile one of the most remote places on Earth, St Helena, began receiving commercial air traffic for the first time last week. This brings additional communication to the island that previously had to rely on a boat from South Africa once every 21 days. The Island, population barely some 4,000 or so, is most famous for being where Napoleon was finally exiled in 1815 and died in 1821. It is hoped the SA Airlink service will bring tourists to this dramatic windswept speck of land in the South Atlantic.