This Week in Pictures: December 27 – January 02, 2017

There was no shortage of big news stories at the start of 2017 and in case you missed them here are some of the most important.

In the United States the government expelled 35 Russian diplomats in retaliation for alleged interference in the November election, last week, as part of a package of sanctions aimed at the Kremlin following their so-called “hack-&-release” of emails belonging to the Hillary Clinton campaign. The diplomats were described as intelligence operatives and given 72 hours to leave the country. Vladimir Putin said Russia would not retaliate, a move praised by President Elect Trump.

In Turkey New Years Eve celebrations were marred by an attack by a lone gunman on a nightclub in the Ortakoy district of Istanbul. Thirty nine revelers were killed in the attack on the popular Reina nightclub with another sixty nine injured. The gun man was urgently sought by authorities but eluded capture. “Turkey will stand together and not give passage to dirty games of terrorists.” Said strongman president Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the attack, vowing to fight terrorism “till the end”.

In the United States the world of Hollywood was rocked last week first by the news that Star Wars original Carrie Fisher, famous for her role as bun-haired Princess Leia, had died following a collapse on a flight back from London, and then completely stunned by the tragic news the following day that her mother, Debbie Reynolds, star of Singing In The Rain and The Unsinkable Molly Brown had also passed away. Tributes to both these very talented stars flooded in from around the world.

In sports Arsenal beating Crystal Palace 2-0 might not have defied the odds by Olivier Giroud’s neatly flicked back heel over his own head, a so-called ‘scorpion goal’ certainly defied belief with a deft touch that left the Palace keeper no where to look but the back of the net. The question is can Arsenal keep up these winning ways or will the pressure of the English Premier League get to them? You’ll have to read our daily news pages to find out, but in the meantime here’s a look a the big stories of last week.

1. Intertops now allows their members to bet on the stock market.

2. NHL fans can already place their bets on the Conference winners.

3. A number of online sportsbooks in the UK are allowing their members to bet on who loses the Premier League.

4. The United Kingdom recorded the most lottery millionaires of any country in 2016.

5. You can now place your bets on the winners and losers of the Scottish Premier League.

6. The biggest online poker tournament in January can be found at Vbet casino.

7. GamingZion breaks down the top 4 sports bets you can make in 2017.

Meanwhile in Hollywood new year’s celebrations were completed by a slight, and distinctly temporary, vandalism of the famous sign on the hills overlooking the tinsel town, by a single individual the police are trying to contact. The use of some tarpaulin strategically affixed gave the sign the appearance of “Hollyweed” from a distance, a replication of a similar stunt from the last time the people of California saw a change in the atttiudes to marijuana which is now being legalized across numerous states.