2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Background
From the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies the seat incorporates the electoral wards (since the 2010 general election) of:


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Background
In the EU referendum, Manchester voted in favour of remaining in the EU. As Gorton was only part of the Manchester counting area, the exact result in the constituency is unknown, but through demographic modelling the Remain share in the constituency has been estimated to be 62% by Chris Hanretty of the University of East Anglia, and 61% by Number Cruncher Politics.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Background
The constituency's population is 29% Asian, mainly of Pakistani origin.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Candidates
Labour Party: The local Constituency Labour Party (CLP) has been under special measures since 2004, so candidate selection was run by the national executive committee. The Manchester Evening News reported that a debate had been taking place for many years within the Gorton CLP over who would succeed Kaufman, and that the party was experiencing severe internal conflict as a result, with many local figures considering putting themselves forward. A selection panel of Keith Vaz, Glenis Willmott, Shabana Mahmood, Andi Fox and Claudia Webbe interviewed potential candidates on 20 March.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Candidates
Vaz, Willmott and Mahmood were seen as representing the "moderate" wing of the party, and allies of party leader Jeremy Corbyn described the inclusion of Vaz on the panel instead of Corbyn's preferred choice of Rebecca Long-Bailey as an "ambush" arranged by deputy leader Tom Watson. The Labour longlist, announced on 17 March, included eight local authority councillors, Member of the European Parliament Afzal Khan, and Sam Wheeler.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Candidates
The NEC panel shortlisted five candidates, all of South Asian ethnicity: Nasrin Ali, a solicitor; Yasmine Dar, a social worker; Khan; Amina Lone, who contested Morecambe and Lunesdale for Labour in the 2015 general election; and Luthfur Rahman, the chair of the CLP. The omission of Corbyn's reportedly favoured candidates drew complaints from the left-wing of the party. Khan was reported to have the support of the Unite, Usdaw, GMB and CWU trade unions, while Dar was backed by the local branch of the Corbyn-supporting Momentum organisation.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Candidates
Afzal Khan was selected as Labour's candidate on 22 March 2017. It was reported that Yasmine Dar came second, with Luthfur Rahman in third place. The other two candidates were eliminated in the first round of voting, under the Labour Party's alternative vote system.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Candidates
Green Party: On 16 March 2017, the Green Party of England and Wales announced their candidate to be entrepreneur Jess Mayo, a member of Trafford Green Party branch who stood for election in Wythenshawe and Sale East at the 2015 general election.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Candidates
Conservative Party: Dr. Shaden Jaradat, a student recruitment officer at the University of Manchester and deputy chairman of the Manchester Conservative Federation, was selected as the Conservative Party candidate on 30 March 2017.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Candidates
UKIP: Phil Eckersley, also the UKIP candidate for Manchester Gorton at the 2015 general election, was appointed to stand in the by-election.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Candidates
Liberal Democrats: On 4 March 2017, the Liberal Democrats announced their candidate as Dr. Jackie Pearcey, a former councillor for Gorton North ward, who stood in the constituency in general elections in 1997 and 2001. After early speculation, John Leech, MP for Manchester Withington from 2005–2015, ruled himself out, saying he was a "one-constituency-man. ".


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Candidates
Other candidates: On 21 March 2017, former Labour, and later Respect, MP George Galloway announced his intention to stand as an independent candidate. He was critical of Labour's candidate shortlist only including people of South Asian ethnicity. Upon Galloway's announcement, both the Liberal Democrats and Greens criticised him for his strong support for Brexit. The Communist League announced that Peter Clifford would be their candidate at the by-election. Clifford previously contested the 2012 by-election in the neighbouring constituency of Manchester Central, coming last out of twelve candidates, with 64 votes. Kemi Abidogun was to contest the seat for the Christian Peoples Alliance. "The Irrelevant" Johnny Disco was standing for the Monster Raving Loony Party. Two other independent candidates, David Hopkins and Sufi Khandoker, would also have been on the ballot.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Candidates
The full list of eleven candidates was published by Manchester City Council on 6 April 2017.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Candidates
The candidates at the general election were the same, except for Sufi Khandoker and The Irrelevant Johnny Disco, who did not stand.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Campaign
On 15 April 2017, according to Dave McCobb, the Liberal Democrat Deputy Director of Campaigns and Elections, private polling suggested that the Liberal Democrats had returned to 31% support in the constituency versus Labour's 51%, similar to the results of the 2010 general election, in which the Liberal Democrats polled 32.6% of the vote and Labour polled 50.1% of the vote in the constituency.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Campaign
Tim Farron, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, later told The Observer that he believed that Jackie Pearcey, the Liberal Democrat candidate, would have won the seat from Labour had the poll gone ahead; Farron affirmed that he still expected her to take the seat in the 2017 general election. In the event, Pearcey finished in fourth place.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Campaign
A husting arranged by Levenshulme Community Association on 22 April went ahead despite the postponement of the vote, and was attended by seven of the candidates, not including the Conservative candidate.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Cancellation
On 18 April 2017, the Prime Minister Theresa May announced a plan to seek an early parliamentary general election on 8 June 2017, meaning that Parliament would be dissolved at the time the by-election was scheduled to take place. The Leader of the House of Commons told MPs that there was no statutory power to cancel a by-election when a general election was in progress, but that there was a precedent from 1923 when a by-election writ was regarded as having been superseded. His expectation was that the Acting Returning Officer would regard that as being the case.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Cancellation
There was doubt as to whether the by-election would or would not go ahead, however, with the Acting Returning Officer saying that she had no legal power to cancel the poll. MPs were then asked to overturn the writ for the poll, cancelling the by-election, which they did on 20 April, leaving the seat vacant until the general election.


2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, Cancellation, General Election Result
At the general election on 8 June, Afzal Khan won with a majority of 31,730 to become the new constituency MP.


2017 Manipur Legislative Assembly election
A Legislative Assembly election was held in Manipur on 4 March and 8 March of 2017 to elect the 60 members of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, as the term of the previous Assembly was to end on 18 March 2017. Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines were used along with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in four assembly constituencies in Manipur.


2017 Manipur Legislative Assembly election, Background
In the last election, held in 2012, the Congress won 42 seats and incumbent Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh was re-elected. In 2014, the Manipur State Congress Party, with its five Members of Legislative Assembly, joined the ruling Congress.


2017 Manipur Legislative Assembly election, Government formation
On 15 March 2017, N. Biren Singh was sworn as the Chief Minister, having formed a coalition with National People's Party, Naga People's Front and the Lok Janshakti Party. This marked the first time that the Bharatiya Janata Party has formed a government in Manipur. The Indian National Congress remained the single largest party in the legislature.


2017 Manitoba Liberal Party leadership election
The Liberal Party of Manitoba leadership election of 2017 was held on October 21, 2017, at the Victoria Inn Conference Centre in Winnipeg. The election was called as a result of the party leader Rana Bokhari's announcing her pending resignation on May 7, 2016 (she resigned on September 24, 2016), following the April 19, 2016, Manitoba general election.


2017 Manitoba Liberal Party leadership election, Rules
To be nominated, a candidate must have collected the signatures of at least 100 party members, at least 10 from each of the party's six regions, submitted a valid police record check and tax return for the most recent year, and paid a non-refundable deposit of $5,000 or have sold an equivalent number of memberships in the party. The deadline for nominations was 30 days prior to the October 21, 2017 convention. All individuals who were members in good standing of the Manitoba Liberal Party for at leaste 30 days prior to the convention were eligible to vote.


2017 Manitoba Liberal Party leadership election, Rules
Voting took place at the convention in Winnipeg and at regional polling places across the province. Advance voting by mail was only permitted in some remote constituencies and for members who required accommodation for medical or religious	reasons. Votes were counted by constituency and weighted so that each constituency had an equal share, regardless of how many ballots were cast.


2017 Manitoba New Democratic Party leadership election
The New Democratic Party of Manitoba leadership election of 2017 was called as a result of the resignation of Manitoba NDP leader Greg Selinger following his government's defeat in the April 19, 2016, Manitoba general election.


2017 Manitoba New Democratic Party leadership election, Rules
The rules and format of the leadership election were decided by the party in March 2017 where no major changes to the status quo were approved. The party decided in favour of holding a traditional delegated leadership convention rather than a One Member One Vote election. In the 2015 race, labour unions had been allotted 31 per cent of delegate slots.


2017 Manitoba New Democratic Party leadership election, Candidates, Steve Ashton
Steve Ashton, 65, former MLA for Thompson (1981–2016), Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation and Minister responsible for Emergency Measures (2015–2016), Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation (2009–2014), Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs (2006–2009), Minister of Water Stewardship (2003–2006), Minister of Labour and Immigration (2003), Minister of Conservation (2002–2003), Minister of Transportation and Government Services (2001–2002), Minister of Highways and Government Services (1999–2001). Runner-up in the 2009 leadership election and third place candidate in the 2015 leadership election. Father of federal NDP MP Niki Ashton.


2017 Manitoba New Democratic Party leadership election, Candidates, Wab Kinew
Wab Kinew, 39, is the MLA for Fort Rouge (2016–present), former broadcaster, musician, author, and professor.


2017 Manitoba New Democratic Party leadership election, Withdrawn, Michelle McHale
Michelle McHale, is a staff representative for the United Food and Commercial Workers union and social activist. She gained national prominence for organizing a pride parade in Steinbach, Manitoba, a conservative town in the province's Bible Belt.


2017 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The 2017 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the provincial women's curling championship of Manitoba, was held from January 25 to 29 at the Eric Coy Arena in Winnipeg. The winning Michelle Englot team represented Manitoba at the 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in St. Catharines, Ontario, finishing second.


2017 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The event was most notable for the defeat of the defending Olympic champion Jennifer Jones rink in the semifinal. Jones lost to Darcy Robertson who proceeded to lose to the Michelle Englot rink in the final. Englot, who is a resident of Regina, Saskatchewan had won seven provincial titles in her home province, but joined her new Winnipeg-based team in the 2016 off season, replacing their previous skip Kristy McDonald who had lost in the final of the 2016 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts. It was the first provincial title for Englot's third, Kate Cameron, while second Leslie Wilson-Westcott and lead Raunora Westcott won their third provincial titles.


2017 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts
Jennifer Jones' loss in the semifinal would mark the first time since 2004 that she would not win a provincial tournament she had participated in. Jones cited a number of factors for her team's loss stating "the ice was tricky today ... draw shots were harder and it was a struggle with draw weight for everybody". Jones' semifinal loss was her second in a row, after having won all seven of her round robin games.


2017 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts
After the event, Jones was awarded as the tournament's all-star skip, Cameron was named all-star third, Vanessa Foster (Team Robertson) was named all-star second and Mariah Mondor (Team Birchard) was named all-star lead.


2017 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Teams
The defending Olympic champion Jennifer Jones rink was the top seed ahead of the event. They had not played in the 2016 provincial Scotties, as they had an automatic berth to the 2016 Scotties Tournament of Hearts as Team Canada for having won the 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. 2016 provincial champion Kerri Einarson was given the second seed, while eventual-winner Michelle Englot was given the third seed.


2017 Manly state by-election
A by-election was held in the state electoral district of Manly on 8 April 2017. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Mike Baird (Liberal) after he also resigned as Premier of New South Wales. It was held on the same day as the North Shore and Gosford state by-elections.


2017 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season
The 2017 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles season was the 68th in the club's history since their entry into the then New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership in 1947.


2017 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season
The 2017 Sea Eagles was coached by former Australian international Trent Barrett. With the retirement of long time captain Jamie Lyon, the team captain was Daly Cherry-Evans with Jake Trbojevic named as vice-captain. The club competed in the National Rugby League's 2017 Telstra Premiership and played its home games at the 23,000 capacity Brookvale Oval, which for the first time was known as Lottoland due to a sponsorship agreement.


2017 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season, Squad list, 2017 signings/transfers
Note: The "Out" column is from the players who were with the team as of the end of the 2016 NRL season. Players who left the club before the end of the season (e.g. Tom Symonds) are not included.


2017 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season, Squad list, 2017 signings/transfers
* Seeking medical retirement as of 10 February 2017. * Nate Myles released on 8 June


2017 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season, Fixtures, Regular season
* 13 May - Manly home game despite playing Brisbane Broncos in Brisbane. Match played as part of an NRL double header at Suncorp Stadium. * 1 July - Manly home game played in Perth.


2017 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season, Player statistics
Note: Games and (sub) show total games played, e.g. 1 (1) is 2 games played.


2017 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season, Representative Players, International
* Akuila Uate selected in Fiji squad for their game against Tonga, but did not play.


2017 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season, Representative Players, State of Origin
* Tom Trbojevic named as 20th man for Games 2 and 3 of the State of Origin series.


2017 Marathon County spree shooting
The 2017 Marathon County spree shooting occurred in Marathon County, Wisconsin in the towns of Schofield and Rothschild, on March 22, 2017. The perpetrator, Nengmy Vang, upset following a dispute with his wife, fatally shot two employees at the bank where she worked, his wife's lawyer, and a police officer. After a three-hour standoff, Vang was shot by police officers and later died from his wounds.


2017 Marathon County spree shooting
The shooting resulted in the Wisconsin legislature passing "Sara's Law", named after Sara Quirt Sann, one of the victims. The law "makes it a felony to harm or threaten a lawyer, corporation counsel or guardian ad litem for work on a family law case".


2017 Marathon County spree shooting, Family background
According to a Wausau Daily Herald interview with Naly Vang, her marriage to Nengmy had been fraught with trouble over its 25-year tenure. Naly Vang, a Laotian immigrant, met Nengmy when she was 16, and married a year later when Naly was 17 and Nengmy was 21. She had their first of seven children shortly after the marriage began.


2017 Marathon County spree shooting, Family background
Around 2007, according to Naly, Nengmy began spending more time away from home, drinking heavily and leaving Naly to run the household. According to family friends, Nemgmy began dancing with other women at these parties, and after checking his phone bills (Naly dealt with the family's finances), she noticed several calls to another woman. According to court records obtained by the Herald, Nengmy was the target of frequent legal action over unpaid credit card balances, and Naly had attempted to rein in her husband's spending, to no avail. In May 2008, Nengmy called the police to report that his wife had broken several appliances while confronting him about a suspected affair. Police arrested Naly on a charge of noncriminal disorderly conduct, and she served no jail time.


2017 Marathon County spree shooting, Family background
Though the Vangs' marriage was not especially violent, Nengmy was extremely emotionally abusive, according to Mao Khang, a social worker at a Wausau-based domestic violence organization. Nengmy moved out of the family's house in 2015 and filed for divorce shortly after, hoping for a quick settlement. Nengmy wanted to use the Hmong clan system to resolve the divorce, but Naly wished to use the court system, as she felt it would give her more security towards receiving custody and child support payments.


2017 Marathon County spree shooting, Family background
Naly believed that Nengmy was pursuing a relationship with a woman in Laos, as he told her he was planning on moving there after attempting to cash out some of his assets. According to Nengmy Vang's brother, he began acting "crazy," and hit their mother after his separation from Naly; he also believed his brother to have a "serious mental illness." Police were called to the Vang residence 5 times in late 2015, when Nengmy attempted to remove his belongings, but no arrests resulted. Nengmy threatened that "something bad would happen" if Naly continued to request alimony payments.


2017 Marathon County spree shooting, Incident, Marathon Savings Bank
Nengmy Vang phoned his wife, Naly, and demanded that she sign divorce papers within 24 hours, or he would kill her. He arrived at the bank a short time later, and asked Naly to sign the papers, saying "Do you want to die now?" in Hmong before exiting the bank to go to his car. According to Naly Vang, she knew that her husband kept a handgun in the car, and fearing for her life, fled to a nearby Subway restaurant. From there, she called police around 1 PM to report her husband's confrontation at the bank. Nengmy Vang then returned to the bank with a black bag, loaded his gun, and shot MSB employees Dianne Look and Karen Barclay, who later died from their wounds.


2017 Marathon County spree shooting, Incident, Law offices of Tlusty, Kennedy & Dirks
After shooting the bank tellers, Vang drove to the law offices of Tlusty, Kennedy and Dirks, where his wife's attorney, Sara Quirt Sann, worked. He held two people at gunpoint and demanded to be led to Quirt Sann's office, where he briefly confronted Quirt Sann before killing her.


2017 Marathon County spree shooting, Incident, Standoff at Nengmy Vang's apartment
Vang's final act was to return to his apartment in the town of Weston. As the police set up a safety perimeter around Vang's apartment, a shot rang out, killing Detective Jason Weiland. Weiland's killing began a three-hour standoff, where police and dispatchers attempted to coax Vang out of his apartment, but he refused. Vang called 911 twice during the standoff, expressing remorse for the murders  and requesting that news stations send reporters so he could explain his actions.


2017 Marathon County spree shooting, Incident, Standoff at Nengmy Vang's apartment
Police turned off power in the apartment, and tore down part of an exterior wall with an armored car, causing Vang to fire a warning shot. Claiming they saw Vang with a gun, an officer fired "more than two dozen rounds" into Vang's apartment, wounding him. Vang later died of his wounds at a Wausau hospital.


2017 Marathon County spree shooting, Aftermath
The shooting led to the passage of Wisconsin Assembly Bill 825, colloquially known as "Sara's Law." Introduced by Schofield assemblyman Patrick Snyder and 8 other assemblypersons (6 Republican, 2 Democrat), the bill reworded a Wisconsin stature with regard to protections against harm for judges, prosecutors and court bailiffs. The revised statute extended the law's protections to family lawyers, guardians ad litem, and corporate lawyers, making the act of threatening any of the named professions a felony punishable by a fine of $10,000 and six years in prison.


2017 Marathon County spree shooting, Aftermath
The bill passed the Wisconsin legislature with no debate, and governor Scott Walker signed the bill into law in February 2018. According to legal scholar Stephen Kerson, the law, which was the first of its kind in the country, could provide a case study into providing better protections for family lawyers.


2017 Marbella Cup
The 2017 Marbella Cup was held on 3 January 2017 in Marbella, Spain.


2017 Marbella Cup
Marbella and Internazionale finished the triangular tournament tied with four points, but Inter claimed the trophy on goal difference.


2017 Marburg Open
The 2017 Marburg Open was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the eighth edition of the tournament which was part of the 2017 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Marburg, Germany between 3 and 8 July 2017.


2017 Marburg Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2017 Marburg Open – Doubles
James Cerretani and Philipp Oswald were the defending champions but chose not to defend their title.


2017 Marburg Open – Doubles
Máximo González and Fabrício Neis won the title after defeating Rameez Junaid and Ruan Roelofse 6–3, 7–6(7–4) in the final.


2017 Marburg Open – Singles
Jan Šátral was the defending champion but lost in the first round to Benjamin Bonzi.


2017 Marburg Open – Singles
Filip Krajinović won the title after defeating Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 6–2, 6–3 in the final.


2017 March for Justice
The March for Justice (Turkish: Adalet yürüyüşü) was a 450 km (280-mile) march from Ankara to Istanbul to protest against arrests that were made as part of the government crackdown following the July 2016 coup d'état attempt. After the coup attempt, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government declared a state of emergency. Since then at least 50,000 people have been arrested and another 140,000 people have been removed from their positions.


2017 March for Justice
The protest was led by opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, in response to a lengthy prison sentence that Enis Berberoğlu received for allegedly giving the press a video that shows Turkish intelligence smuggling weapons into Syria. The march concluded in Istanbul on 9 July with a rally attended by hundreds of thousands of people, during which Kılıçdaroğlu spoke at length about the effect that the government purge has had on the judiciary and rule of law in Turkey.


2017 March for Justice
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared the protest march illegal. During the march, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and President Erdoğan compared the march to the July 2016 coup attempt, and accused the participants and Kılıçdaroğlu of supporting the Gülenist Hizmet movement organization that the government says was behind the coup attempt. Counter-demonstrations have been held by AKP supporters. Police officers provided security for the marchers, and the march concluded peacefully at Maltepe, Istanbul (where Berberoğlu is imprisoned).


2017 March for Justice, Background
A "state of emergency" was declared in Turkey following the failed coup attempt in 2016. Over 50,000 Turks were jailed in the aftermath of the failed coup. Another 140,000 were removed from their jobs in a number of fields, particularly the civil service, military, judiciary, academia and the media. The government has said that it is targeting those who are suspected of supporting Fethullah Gülen, who the government believes was behind the coup attempt.


2017 March for Justice, Background
The Guardian reported that interviews with people involved with the Turkish judiciary and various experts on the topic has shown:


2017 March for Justice, Background
a broad and systematic attempt at intimidating and reshaping Turkey's judicial branch in an effort to further consolidate power in the hands of the ruling AKP and Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan."


2017 March for Justice, Background
Experts have commented that the Turkish justice system was "crippled" following the 2016 coup attempt. Four thousand prosecutors and judges lost their jobs after the coup attempt. Kılıçdaroğlu commented that judges wait for orders from the presidential palace before making decisions.


2017 March for Justice, Background
In an opinion piece published in The New York Times, opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu stated that he and others were marching for "democracy, justice and freedom from fear and authoritarian rule in Turkey." Kılıçdaroğlu listed democracy, rule of law, freedom of expression, the jailing of parliament members, and dysfunctional courts as reasons for the march.


2017 March for Justice, Background
The march began in Ankara on June 15, 2017 after CHP member Enis Berberoğlu was sentenced to 25 years in prison for providing the opposition paper Cumhuriyet with a video that showed Turkish intelligence agents smuggling weapons into Syria. Turkish government officials have confirmed the authenticity of the videos, but have maintained that the videos were published by FETÖ members. Cumhuriyet's editor in chief Can Dündar was sentenced to five years in prison, and fled to Germany after surviving an assassination attempt outside the Courthouse.


2017 March for Justice, Background
A law which stripped immunity from members of Turkey's parliament made Berberoğlu's imprisonment possible when it was passed in May 2016. Though dozens of pro-Kurdish HDP members have since been jailed, including HDP chairman Selahattin Demirtaş, Berberoğlu is the first CHP member to be imprisoned in 15 years of AKP rule.


2017 March for Justice, March
The protest was led by opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, with the march being compared to Gandhi's 1930 Salt March. Thousands of protesters participated in the march, carrying signs that read adalet (the Turkish word for "justice") and chanting "rights, law, justice".


2017 March for Justice, March
A diverse group of citizens participated, including members from different political parties, trade unions, as well as ordinary citizens. On July 6, 2017 Bloomberg reported that 30,000 protestors were participating in the march. Marchers have reported difficult conditions, including walking 20 kilometers a day, hot weather and rain. At least one elderly protester has died of cardiac arrest during the march.


2017 March for Justice, March
Protestors gave many different reasons for participating in the March, including a court decision permitting a mining project in Artvin that was opposed by many local residents and other citizens throughout the country. In the aftermath of the July 2016 coup attempt, the government declared a "state of emergency" in which 50,000 Turks have been arrested and a further 140,000 people have been fired or suspended from their jobs, including the chairman of Amnesty International Turkey.


2017 March for Justice, March
Judge Aydin Sefa Akay, a member of the United Nations war crime panel, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for suspected involvement in the coup attempt. Some who participated in the march had been directly affected by the purges, including a former political science professor who was fired by government decree in April 2017. He was one of the 1,100 academics who were investigated for signing a petition calling for an end to violence in Turkey's southeastern conflict with the Kurdish people. Counter-demonstrations have been held by AKP supporters.


2017 March for Justice, March, Maltepe rally
The march reached Istanbul on July 9, 2017 with a mass rally attended by hundreds of thousands of people in Maltepe, where Berberoğlu is imprisoned – the biggest opposition gathering since the protests in Gezi Park in 2013. Kılıçdaroğlu spoke at the rally. During his speech Kılıçdaroğlu said that the state of emergency declared by Erdoğan and his government in response to the 2016 coup attempt had suspended the powers of the national parliament and the judiciary. He said: "We marched for justice, we marched for the rights of the oppressed. We marched for the MPs in jail. We marched for the arrested journalists. We marched for the university academics dismissed from their jobs."


2017 March for Justice, March, Maltepe rally
He read a list of demands which included an end to the state of emergency, an independent judiciary, and the release of imprisoned journalists, politicians, and others who were arrested during the purges that followed the coup attempt. He said that "subjecting the judiciary to partisan politics is a betrayal of democracy." He also said that the rally was only the beginning, adding: "This is a rebirth for us, for our country and our children. We will revolt against injustice."


2017 March for Justice, March, Maltepe rally
He said that the April constitutional referendum that had eliminated the post of prime minister and greatly expanded the powers of the presidency was "unlawful" (the changes take effect in 2019). Because the state of emergency was in place when the referendum was carried out, Kılıçdaroğlu said that "all public resources were exploited to manipulate the outcome".


2017 March for Justice, Reactions, Domestic
President Erdoğan has said that the marchers are supporting terrorism: "If you are launching a march for terrorists and for their supporters, something which you have never thought about doing against terrorist groups, you can convince no one that your aim is justice." He said that the opposition party's actions exceeded the scope of political opposition and said that they were "acting with terrorist organisations and the forces inciting them against our country". Erdoğan likened the march to the coup attempt: "The coup soldiers had their F-16s and tanks; Kılıçdaroğlu has his march."


2017 March for Justice, Reactions, Domestic
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım called the march "non-national" saying: "Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu, you should give up. You can go nowhere with separatists and FETÖ but a dead-end street." On June 16, the second day of the march, Yıldırım said that Kılıçdaroğlu should have marched against the coup: "Those who did not take to the streets that day [July 15] are now marching from Ankara to Istanbul. If you will march, you should march against coup. Justice cannot be sought in the streets." He mocked the protestors, saying they should have taken a high-speed train to Maltepe instead of walking in the hot summer weather.


2017 March for Justice, Reactions, Domestic
AKP Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said that Kılıçdaroğlu's comments that the Turkish judiciary was "worse than the police force" and subject to manipulation by the governing AKP were slander against Turkish courts, judges and prosecutors.


2017 March for Justice, Reactions, Domestic
After Erdoğan said that the march was only being allowed as a government favor, former AKP official Abdüllatif Şener said that the comment "should ring warning bells for democracy," adding that it "comes to mean that you can do nothing if we (the government) do not want you to." Some commentators at the pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper have written that the march "is an attempt to release some pressure emerging from intra-party dissident voices".


2017 March for Justice, Reactions, Domestic
Devlet Bahçeli, chairman of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said that the march "aimed at anarchy". Bahçeli said that Kılıçdaroğlu's actions were equivalent to supporting FETÖ.


2017 March for Justice, Reactions, Domestic
The government did not try to stop the rally from taking place. Fifteen thousand police officers were deployed to provide security for the crowd gathered at Maltepe, Istanbul.


2017 Marine Harvest National Division
The 2017 Marine Harvest National Division was the 4th season of the National Division since its reinstatement in 2014. The National Division is the 2nd tier in Shinty. The season begun on 4 March 2017 consisting of 8 teams from across Scotland.


2017 Marine Harvest National Division
The 2017 Cup competitions competed were the Camanachd Cup, Macaulay Cup, MacTavish Cup (North District teams only) and the Glasgow Celtic Society Cup (South District teams only).


2017 Marine Harvest National Division
Any team winning all 4 major trophies for which they are eligible to take part in will achieve the coveted Shinty Grand Slam.


2017 Marine Harvest National Division
The 2017 Marine Harvest National Division champions were Skye Camanachd who were promoted to the Marine Harvest Premiership along with Caberfeidh Camanachd Club who finished runner up.


2017 Marine Harvest Premiership
The 2017 Marine Harvest Premiership was  the 21st season of the Premier Division, the highest division in Shinty. The season began on 4 March 2017 consisting of 10 teams from across Scotland. The 3rd season with Marine Harvest as title sponsors saw reigning champions Newtonmore challenging for their 8th Premiership title in a row.


2017 Marine Harvest Premiership
The 2017 Cup competitions competed will be the Camanachd Cup, Macaulay Cup, MacTavish Cup (North District teams only) and the Glasgow Celtic Society Cup (South District teams only).


2017 Marine Harvest Premiership
Any team winning all 4 major trophies for which they are eligible to take part in will achieve the coveted Shinty Grand Slam.


2017 Marine Harvest Premiership
The 2017 Marine Harvest Premiership champions were Kinlochshiel Shinty Club. This was their first Premiership title.


2017 Marine Le Pen presidential campaign
Marine Le Pen, as leader of the National Front ran for President of France in the 2017 French presidential election, receiving 21.30% of the vote in the first round, and 33.90% in the second round, losing to Emmanuel Macron of La République En Marche!.


2017 Marine Le Pen presidential campaign, Campaign
Le Pen launched her presidential campaign on 5 February 2017. In her speech, she condemned Radical Islamism and Globalization, and outlined her 144 campaign commitments as part of the policy platform. Her campaign found particular resonance among members of the working class, who were upset with France's unemployment rate and were drawn to Le Pen's opposition to elitism, immigration, and the European Union.


2017 Marine Le Pen presidential campaign, Campaign
On April 29, in advance of the second-round vote, Le Pen announced that if elected, she would select Nicolas Dupont-Aignan for her Prime Minister; Dupont-Aignan had received almost five percent of the vote in the first-round vote and expressed views on globalization similar to Le Pen's own.


2017 Marine Le Pen presidential campaign, Policies
Her policies included; lowering the retirement age, halting free trade agreements and reindustrialization in France.


2017 Marist Red Foxes football team
The 2017 Marist Red Foxes football team represented Marist College in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 26th-year head coach Jim Parady and played their home games at Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field. They were members of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 4–7, 3–5 in PFL play to finish in a tie for eighth place.


2017 Marseille stabbing
On 1 October 2017, a man killed two women at the Saint-Charles station in Marseille, France. The women, 20-year-old and 21-year-old cousins, were attacked by an illegal immigrant from Tunisia using a knife. Patrolling soldiers shot him dead at the scene. The brother of the attacker was later arrested and faced preliminary charges of suspicion of involvement in the train station attack. French police were cautious as to whether it was a terrorist attack, but it was later classified as jihadist terrorism by Europol.


2017 Marseille stabbing, Attack
Surveillance video showed the perpetrator sitting on a bench for a few minutes outside the station, then rising and stabbing a woman several times then running away while screaming Allahu akbar, before returning to attack the second woman. A female passerby attempted to intervene. The perpetrator then attempted to attack two soldiers patrolling the station, but was shot dead with two bullets. Police described the weapon used as a knife approximately 20 cm long. The victims were cousins, a 20-year-old medical student at Aix-Marseille University and a 21-year-old studying nursing in Lyon; one was stabbed while the other had her throat cut. The Prosecutor of France, François Molins, later confirmed that the perpetrator twice shouted "Allahu akbar".


2017 Marseille stabbing, Attack
French prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation for "murders in connection with a terrorist enterprise" and "attempted assassination of persons holding public authority", but investigators remained cautious about the nature of the incident. Central, rather than anti-terrorist, police handled the investigation. French interior minister Gérard Collomb said: "It might be a terrorist act, but at this point we can’t say so with certainty".


2017 Marseille stabbing, Perpetrator
On 30 September, the day before the attack, the perpetrator had been arrested in Lyon on suspicion of shoplifting. He was held overnight; however, he was not on the terror watch list and police released him. The perpetrator was found to have used multiple identities, but his real identity was established using fingerprints which matched those taken in seven previous incidents registered by French police since 2005. Authorities in Lyon had considered deporting him, but hesitated due to the uncertainty of his identity.


2017 Marseille stabbing, Perpetrator
He was carrying a Tunisian passport when arrested in Lyon on the day before the attack, but not carrying any ID at the time of the attack. He was in France illegally. Tunisian authorities have identified him as Ahmed Hanachi; he had been arrested for various offences there and a dozen times in France, and had admitted to police that he was addicted to drugs. French authorities said there was no outward evidence that the attacker had been radicalised.


2017 Marseille stabbing, Perpetrator
The investigators announced that no ties were found between the perpetrator and any terror group, though it was later classified as jihadist terrorism by Europol. The ISIS-related Amaq News Agency claimed that the perpetrator was a "soldier" of the Islamic State. The perpetrator's friends and family dismissed the notion that he was radicalised, saying that he was a drug addict who had lost his way. Investigators found jihadist videos on the attacker's phone.


2017 Marseille stabbing, Perpetrator, Other arrests
On 8 October, Italian police arrested a younger brother of the attacker, identified as 25-year-old Anis Hanachi in the town of Ferrara, after an international arrest warrant had been issued by France. He was being held on suspicion of complicity in the attack and of membership in a terrorist group. He had reportedly fought in Syria, and had previously been expelled from Italy in 2014 after arriving in Sicily illegally on a smuggler boat.


2017 Marseille stabbing, Perpetrator, Other arrests
On 10 October, Swiss police detained two Tunisians in the town of Chiasso near the Swiss-Italian border, including another brother of the attacker who was "known to foreign police services for his links to jihadist terrorist movements". The couple, a man and a woman who were seeking asylum in Switzerland were due to be sent back to Tunisia. The man's role in the Marseille attack, "if any, is not clear", Swiss police said.


2017 Marseille stabbing, Perpetrator, Other arrests
Tunisian authorities said two other siblings of the attacker living in Bizerte had been held for questioning.


2017 Marseille stabbing, Reactions
Both French President Emmanuel Macron and local politician Samia Ghali praised the efficiency of the Opération Sentinelle soldiers who stopped the attack, with Ghali telling local radio "If the military had not been there, we would have had a lot more deaths."


2017 Marshall Thundering Herd football team
The 2017 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Thundering Herd played their home games at the Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by eighth-year head coach Doc Holliday. They finished the season 8–5, 4–4 in C-USA play to finish in a three-way tie for third place in the East Division. They were invited to the New Mexico Bowl where they defeated Colorado State.


2017 Marshall Thundering Herd football team, Schedule
Marshall announced its 2017 football schedule on January 26, 2017. The 2017 schedule consists of 6 home and away games in the regular season. The Thundering Herd will host CUSA foes FIU, Old Dominion, Southern Miss, and Western Kentucky (WKU), and will travel to Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Middle Tennessee, and UTSA.


2017 Marshall Thundering Herd football team, Schedule
The Thundering Herd will host two of the four non-conference opponents, Kent State and Miami of Ohio, both from the Mid-American Conference and travel to Cincinnati of the American Athletic Conference and NC State of the Atlantic Coast Conference.


2017 Marshallese Constitutional Convention election
Constitutional Convention elections were held in the Marshall Islands on 21 February 2017.


2017 Marshallese Constitutional Convention election, Background
A constitutional convention is used in the Marshall Islands to consider proposed constitutional amendments that have been endorsed by the Legislature. The convention cannot propose new amendments and can only debate those approved by the parliament. Previous conventions had been held in 1977–78, 1989 and 1995.


2017 Marshallese Constitutional Convention election, Electoral system
The 45 members of the Constitutional Convention consisted of 33 directly-elected delegates elected from the 33 Legislature districts, and 12 Iroijs (chiefs). Postal voting was not allowed.


2017 Marshallese Constitutional Convention election, Campaign
A total of 119 candidates contested the 33 directly-elected seats, whilst 24 ran for the 12 seats reserved for the Iroijs. All but seven of the thirty-three members of the Legislature ran for election to the convention.


2017 Marshallese Constitutional Convention election, Aftermath
The Constitutional Convention opened in April 2017. Kessai Note was elected as the body's President, defeating Christopher Loeak by a vote of 22–21.


2017 Marvellous 12
The 2017 Marvellous 12 (Chinese: 2017地表最强12人) was a qualifying event organized by the Chinese Table Tennis Association, Tencent Sports and Shenzhen Municipal Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. It was held in Shenzhen, China from 3 to 10 March, 2017. It was the first edition of the tournament. Winners of Phase 1 and Phase 3 of the men's and women's singles event, namely Fan Zhendong, Lin Gaoyuan, Liu Shiwen, and Ding Ning, were each guaranteed a spot to represent China in the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships.


2017 Marvellous 12, Format and Participants
Each event consists of three phases. In Phase 1, twelve players of each event compete in a Round-Robin format and the winners qualify to the World Championships. In Phase 2, an additional player will replace the qualified player. The players would then be divided into 3 groups of 4 players. Each group plays in single-elimination format. In Phase 3, three group winners of Phase 2 compete in a Round-Robin format and the winner qualifies to the World Championships.


2017 Maryland Terrapins football team
The 2017 Maryland Terrapins football team represented the University of Maryland during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Terrapins played their home games at Maryland Stadium in College Park, Maryland and competed in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. Maryland celebrated their 125th anniversary of the program that was established in 1892, when the University of Maryland, College Park was still known as the Maryland Agricultural College. They were led by second-year head coach D.J. Durkin. They finished the season 4–8, 2–7 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for sixth place in the East Division.


2017 Maryland Terrapins football team, Schedule
Maryland announced its 2017 football schedule on July 11, 2013. The 2017 schedule consisted of 6 home, 5 away and 1 neutral site game in the regular season. The Terrapins hosted Big Ten foes Indiana, Michigan, Northwestern, and Penn State, and traveled to Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. Maryland played Rutgers in Bronx, New York at Yankee Stadium.


2017 Maryland Terrapins football team, Schedule
The Terrapins hosted two of the three non-conference opponents, Towson from the Colonial Athletic Association, Central Florida (UCF) from the American Athletic Conference and traveled to Austin, Texas to face Texas from the Big 12 Conference.


2017 Maryland Terrapins football team, Game summaries, at Texas
Maryland spoiled Texas coach Tom Herman's debut by upsetting the Longhorns, 51–41. The Terps got off to a rough start, with quarterback Tyrell Pigrome throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown on the Terps' first offensive drive of the game. But after that, Maryland scored 27 unanswered points. Texas did come back and got to within three points, but were never able to regain the lead.


2017 Maryland Terrapins football team, Game summaries, at Texas
Maryland's Ty Johnson rushed for 132 yards on 12 carries, while D.J. Moore caught seven passes for 133 yards. Johnson, Pigrome, Kasim Hill, and Jake Funk all had rushing touchdowns, and Moore and Taivon Jacobs each had a receiving touchdown. The game also featured several non-offensive touchdowns. In addition to the pick-six by Texas, each team returned a blocked kick for a touchdown, and Texas also returned a punt for a touchdown.


2017 Maryland Terrapins football team, Game summaries, at Texas
While Pigrome had to leave due to an injury in the third quarter, true freshman quarterback Kasim Hill took over for Maryland and performed well, leading the Terps to two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. When it was all finished, Maryland had completed its first win over a ranked opponent since 2010.


2017 Maryland Terrapins football team, Game summaries, at Texas
During the game, Maryland lost two key players to injury. Starting quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome was lost for the season after tearing his ACL, and senior defensive end Jessie Aniebonam will miss "several months" due to a fractured ankle.


2017 Maryland Terrapins football team, Game summaries, Towson
Maryland's first home game of 2017 saw the Towson Tigers, Maryland's lone FCS opponent this season, visiting College Park. This game marked the first start of true freshman QB Kasim Hill, and he performed very well, completing 13 of 16 passes for 163 yards with no interceptions. Maryland jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead after the first quarter and ended up scoring nine touchdowns against Towson. It was the first time in Maryland history that the team has started a year by scoring at least 50 points in each of its first two games.


2017 Maryland Terrapins football team, Game summaries, Towson
Ty Johnson rushed for 124 yards on only five carries, including two long runs for touchdowns (74 and 46 yards). Javon Leake, Jake Funk, Max Bortenschlager, and D.J. Moore also had rushing touchdowns. Moore led the receivers with 97 yards on seven catches, including two passes caught for touchdowns. Darnell Savage added a touchdown after he intercepted a pass thrown by Towson's Ryan Stover.


2017 Maryland Terrapins football team, Game summaries, Towson
Maryland had big plays all afternoon. Six of Maryland's eight touchdowns by the offense were for at least 20 yards, including two that were over 60 yards. Maryland also had a 75-yard touchdown on an interception return. Moore and Johnson, who both had big games against Texas and also against Towson, combined for five of the nine touchdowns. Freshman tailback Javon Leake make his debut for the Terps and also got in on the big play action, scoring a touchdown after a 61-yard rush.


2017 Maryland Terrapins football team, Game summaries, Towson
In the end, Maryland was far too much for Towson to handle, and the Terps ended up with a 63-17 victory.


2017 Maryland Terrapins football team, Game summaries, UCF
Maryland's last non-conference game of the season saw Central Florida visiting College Park. The previous year, Maryland and UCF had met in Orlando, with Maryland winning in double-overtime.


2017 Maryland Terrapins football team, Game summaries, UCF
Kasim Hill made his second start at QB for the Terps, but he would not stay in the game for long. In the first quarter during a QB scramble, Hill was injured, and was unable to put any weight on his right leg as he hobbled off the field with assistance. Sophomore QB Max Bortenschlager replaced Hill, but was unable to lead the Terps to victory. He finished 15 for 26 with 132 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.


2017 Maryland Terrapins football team, Game summaries, UCF
UCF lead 14-3 after the first half. Maryland's offense ended up being outgained 428-197 and was not able to mount any serious threat against UCF. Maryland converted only 2 out of 13 third down attempts. The scoring was capped for the day when a Bortenschlager pass was picked off and returned for a TD by Mike Hughes. Central Florida ended up defeating Maryland by a final score of 38-10.


2017 Maryland Terrapins men's soccer team
The 2017 Maryland Terrapins men's soccer team represented the University of Maryland, College Park during the 2017 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 72nd season of the university fielding a program. The Terrapins were led by 25th year head coach, Sasho Cirovski.


2017 Maryland Terrapins men's soccer team
The season took a downturn towards the end as the Terrapins, then-ranked third in the nation went on a five match losing streak, that saw them fall out of the national rankings, and suffer a quarterfinal-bounce from the 2017 Big Ten Conference Men's Soccer Tournament. Nevertheless, the Terrapins qualified via an at-large for the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament for the 17th consecutive season. In their sole NCAA Tournament match this season, the Terps hosted Albany, where they lost in penalties.


2017 Maryland Terrapins men's soccer team, Background
During the 2016 regular season, Maryland finished as the winners of the regular season as well as the Big Ten Tournament. However, the team lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Providence.


2017 Maryland Terrapins men's soccer team, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2017 Marylebone Cricket Club University Matches
The 2017 Marylebone Cricket Club University Matches were a series of first-class cricket matches played between the eighteen County Championship teams and the six Marylebone Cricket Club University teams (MCCU) of England and Wales. Each county side played one fixture against a MCCU side ahead of the start of the 2017 County Championship. Following Leicestershire's match against Loughborough MCCU, bowler Charlie Shreck was found guilty of using obscene language or gestures. This was Leicestershire's fifth fixed penalty in 12 months, resulting in them being deducted 16 points for the 2017 County Championship season.


2017 Masters (darts)
The 2017 Unibet Masters was the fifth staging of the non-ranking Masters darts tournament, held by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). It was held from 27–29 January 2017 at the Arena MK in Milton Keynes, England.


2017 Masters (darts)
Michael van Gerwen was the defending champion by beating Dave Chisnall 11–6 in 2016, and successfully defended his title, winning his third Masters title in a row, after defeating Gary Anderson 11–7 in the final.


2017 Masters (darts), Qualifiers
The Masters only features the top 16 Players in the PDC Order of Merit. The following players comprised the top 16 of the PDC Order of Merit after the 2017 PDC World Darts Championship:


2017 Masters (darts), Prize Money
The prize money is £200,000 in total. The prize money is the same as in 2016.


2017 Masters (snooker)
The 2017 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from 15 to 22 January 2017 at Alexandra Palace in London, England. It was the 43rd staging of the Masters and the second Triple Crown event of the 2016/17 snooker season following the 2016 UK Championship.


2017 Masters (snooker)
The defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan won his seventh Masters title, defeating Joe Perry in the final 10–7. By winning the event, O'Sullivan broke the record of the most Masters titles, which he had jointly held with Stephen Hendry before the tournament. This was also the first time that the title had been successfully defended since Paul Hunter won the event in 2001 and 2002. Marco Fu compiled the highest break of the tournament, scoring a 141 in his semi-final match against O'Sullivan.


2017 Masters (snooker), Prize fund
The event saw identical prize money to that of the previous year's event, with a total of £600,000 total prize pool. The "rolling 147 prize" for a maximum break stood at £10,000, but went unclaimed. The breakdown of prize money is shown below:


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary
The 2017 Masters tournament was an invitational non-ranking event held at Alexandra Palace from 15 to 22 January 2017, and saw the 16 highest ranked players in the snooker world rankings compete, with no qualification round. As defending champion, Ronnie O'Sullivan was awarded number one seed with World Champion Mark Selby seeded second. The remaining places allocated to players were based on the world rankings after the 2016 UK Championship. The event was the second Triple Crown event of the 2016/17 snooker season following the UK Championship and the 43rd staging of the Masters. The event was sponsored by sports betting company dafabet, who had sponsored the event since 2014.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary
Ranked 21st, Stephen Maguire failed to secure entry to the tournament for the first time since 2004. Maguire later qualified to play in the 2019 event. The event saw one debutant, Kyren Wilson who was seeded 16th. All matches, excluding the final were played as best-of-11-frames, whereas the final was played as a best-of-19-frames match played over two sessions.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, First round
The first round of the competition was played from 15 to 18 January 2017. Defending champion O'Sullivan drew Liang Wenbo (seeded 12) in the first round. Wenbo had made his debut in the competition the previous year, losing 4–6 to John Higgins in the first round. This time he fought back from 2–4 behind, to lead 5–4, and required the final black ball in frame 10 to win the match, but he missed the shot, allowing O'Sullivan to tie 5–5. O'Sullivan then made a break of 121 in the deciding frame to win the match. Afterwards, O'Sullivan claimed that he felt ill during the match, and had been looking forward to "a nice week off".


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, First round
The 2012 Masters champion Neil Robertson (8) played Ali Carter (13), with the winner to face O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals. In a low-scoring match, Robertson took a 4–1 lead, before Carter claimed the next two frames to reduce his deficit to 4–3. Robertson took the next two frames, scoring a break of 117 in the ninth, to win the match 6–3. Fifth seed Judd Trump played 2011 runner-up Marco Fu (14). Trump took leads of 3–0 and 4–2 over Fu, and later led 5–4, but Fu took the last two frames to claim the victory. The match, which saw fourteen 50+ breaks, was described by 1991 World champion and snooker pundit John Parrott as "an absolutely wonderful spectacle"; he also commented that 39-year-old Fu was "playing the best snooker of his career".


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, First round
Two-time champion John Higgins (4) played Mark Allen (10), with the victor meeting Fu in the second-round. Higgins, who last won the title in 2006, had been eliminated in the first round on twelve occasions prior to this year's tournament. He took the first two frames of the match, including a break of 111, but the score later tied at 4–4 with Allen securing a break of 104. In the ninth frame, Allen lost a 67-point advantage by missing a blue into the middle pocket, allowing Higgins to build a break of 67 thus forcing a re-spotted black. Allen potted the black from a long-range shot to take a 5–4 lead, but a 77 break from Higgins in the next frame drew them level at five all. Both players missed shots in the final frame, until Allen compiled a break of 44 to eventually win the match 6–5.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, First round
World number two Stuart Bingham (3) met Joe Perry (9) in the fifth of the first round matches. Despite being the lower seed, Perry inflicted a 6–1 defeat on Bingham, who had become a father for the second time two days before the match. Perry won the first frame of the match, before clinching the second on a respotted black. Bingham made a 132 break in the third, to win his only frame of the match, before Perry took the next four frames for the victory.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, First round
Ding Junhui (6) was drawn against Kyren Wilson (16), who was making his debut appearance at the Masters. Since winning the 2011 title, Ding had failed to progress beyond the first round in the five intervening Masters tournaments. He defeated Wilson 6–3, to set up his first Masters quarter-final match in six years, which would be against Perry in the next round.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, First round
Former Masters champion, Shaun Murphy (7) drew Barry Hawkins (11) in the first round. Hawkins "thrashed" Murphy 6–1, according to the BBC. In the last of the first round matches, reigning UK and world champion Mark Selby (2) drew two-time Masters winner Mark Williams (15). Prior to the tournament, Selby had commented on the prospect of holding all three Triple Crown titles simultaneously, a feat that has only been achieved on four previous occasions.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, First round
He took a lead of 3–1, before Williams later tied the match at 3–3; the two players shared the next four frames to level the score again at 5–5, leading to a final-frame decider. Despite gaining an advantage in the last frame, Williams experienced a kick on the blue ball, allowing Selby to make an 89 clearance to win the match 6–5. Pundit John Parrott later expressed sympathy for Williams, and commented that a kick "is a horrible way to lose" a match.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, Quarter-finals
The quarter-finals of the competition, played on 19 and 20 January 2017, saw the remaining eight players compete in best of 11 frame matches. In the first quarter-final, Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated Neil Robertson 6–3. Robertson won the first frame with a break of 74, before O'Sullivan took frames 2 and 3 with two 50+ breaks, later moving into a 4–3 lead. He fluked a red ball in frame eight and clinched the frame; he then secured the win with a 68 break in frame nine. Despite winning, O'Sullivan commented that he had not played well, and accused himself of "missing too many easy balls".


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, Quarter-finals
Marco Fu defeated Mark Allen 6–2, to set up a semi-final encounter with O'Sullivan in the next round. Fu took a 3–0 lead, with breaks of 83 and 74. Allen won frames four and five with two more 50+ breaks, but Fu took the next three frames to win the match. He made a 140 break in the winning frame, which was the highest break of the tournament up to that point. In the third quarter-final, Joe Perry defeated former champion Ding Junhui 6–1, after making a 127 break in frame seven. The BBC described the result as a "shock win".


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, Quarter-finals
Barry Hawkins defeated Mark Selby 6–3 in the last quarter-final. Hawkins took an early 3–1 lead, and then led 4–2, before Selby scored a break of 101 to reduce his deficit to one frame, at 4–3. Hawkins, however, took both frames eight and nine to win the match. He commented afterwards that his first round victory over Shaun Murphy had given him the confidence to win his quarter-final, and defeat the world number one.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, Semi-finals
The semi-finals took place on 21 January 2017. The first semi-final saw Ronnie O'Sullivan reach a record 12th Masters final by defeating Marco Fu 6–4. The two players shared the first two frames, before Fu made a break of 110 in frame three. O'Sullivan's cue tip was damaged during this third frame, so the match headed into an early mid-session interval (usually held after the fourth frame) to allow him to replace the tip. With his cue repaired, O'Sullivan made a break of 95 in the next frame to tie the match at 2–2.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, Semi-finals
In the fifth frame of the match, Fu compiled the tournament's highest break, a 141, to take a 3–2 lead. O'Sullivan won frame six with a break of 122 for a 3–3 tie, and the pair remained tied after the next two frames, at 4–4. O'Sullivan won frames nine and ten to win the match and secure his place in the final.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, Semi-finals
After his victory, O'Sullivan referred to the match as "probably the best match [he had] won", while Fu commented that it was "a joy to be involved in a match like this." BBC Sport pundit, and six-time world champion Steve Davis called it a "magnificent performance", and commented that Fu's performance was "fantastic".


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, Semi-finals
The second semi-final saw Joe Perry reach his first Triple Crown tournament final by defeating Barry Hawkins 6–5. Perry led the match at 2–1, but then lost four frames in a row to trail 2–5. Going into frame eight, Perry hit a double kiss from the break off shot, allowing Hawkins to gain a lead in the frame, eventually scoring 64 points. At 64–20 in the frame and with 43 points remaining, Perry required a snooker to avoid losing the match.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, Semi-finals
He potted a red and black, and played the snooker on the last red; Hawkins missed the shot, and left a free ball. After potting a brown as his free ball, Perry cleared the table to win the frame, now trailing 3–5. He then also won frames nine and ten with two 50+ breaks, to level the match at 5–5, thus forcing a deciding frame. Hawkins made a break of 50 in the final frame, but ran out of position and attempted a double to continue the break, which he missed. Perry then made a break of 70 to win the match.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, Semi-finals
By winning the semi-final, Perry booked a place in the first major championship final of his career, having previously won only one ranking event, the 2015 Players Tour Championship Grand Final. He called the match the "best win of [his] career", while Hawkins said that he was "devastated" by the result.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, Final
The final was played on 22 January 2017, as a best of 19 frames match, and was spread over an afternoon session and an evening session. Joe Perry was making his debut in a Triple Crown event final, whilst O'Sullivan had won the event on six previous occasions. Perry won the first two frames of the final, and later took a 4–1 lead, scoring four 50+ breaks, including a 115 break in frame five. In the next frame, he missed a shot on a relatively easy red ball that would have clinched the frame, but O'Sullivan won the frame to trail 4–2. He also took the remaining two frames of the session to tie the match 4–4.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, Final
In the evening, O'Sullivan took a commanding lead, winning the first four frames of the session (thus winning seven frames in a row overall) to lead 4–8, thanks to three 50+ breaks. With O'Sullivan two frames away from the championship, Perry won the next two frames with breaks of 117 and 92, to trail 6–8. Frame 15 gave O'Sullivan a 6–9 lead, with a break of 112, taking him one frame from victory. Perry won the next frame, but O'Sullivan took frame 17 to win the match, and his seventh Masters championship title.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, Final
After winning the tournament, O'Sullivan praised Perry, saying: "Joe played a brilliant tournament, a really good match and he should've beaten me. I got lucky – I stole it." O'Sullivan also broke the record for most Masters wins, previously tied (at six) with Stephen Hendry. O'Sullivan commented, "It is great to get some records, I still have the World Championship one to get", referring to Hendry's superior seven world championship titles.


2017 Masters (snooker), Tournament summary, Final
In winning the event, O'Sullivan was presented with the Paul Hunter Trophy, named after three-time winner Paul Hunter who died of cancer in 2006. World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn commented that they had "made a mistake" in not naming the trophy after Hunter previously, despite the German Open having been renamed to the Paul Hunter Classic in 2007.


2017 Masters (snooker), Main draw
The full match results are shown below. Players shown in bold denote match winners, whilst numbers to the left of players' names was the players seeding for the event.


2017 Masters (snooker), Century breaks
A total of 26 century breaks were made during the tournament, the highest of which being a 141 made by Marco Fu. The full list of century breaks are below:


2017 Masters Tournament
The 2017 Masters Tournament was the 81st edition of the Masters Tournament and the first of golf's four major championships in 2017. It was held April 6–9 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.


2017 Masters Tournament
Sergio García defeated Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff, after they both completed the 72 holes in nine-under-par. This was his first major title, which came in his 74th attempt. Previously, García had 22 top-ten finishes in majors (including three at the Masters, the best a tie for fourth in 2004). He was the first Spaniard to win at Augusta in eighteen years, since José María Olazábal in 1999.


2017 Masters Tournament, Field
The Masters has the smallest field of the four major championships. Officially, the Masters remains an invitation event, but there is a set of qualifying criteria that determines who is included in the field. Each player is classified according to the first category by which he qualified, with other categories in which he qualified shown in parentheses.


2017 Masters Tournament, Field
Golfers who qualify based solely on their performance in amateur tournaments (categories 7–11) must remain amateurs on the starting day of the tournament to be eligible to play.


2017 Masters Tournament, Field
Ángel Cabrera, Fred Couples, Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson (3,18,19), Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Phil Mickelson (3,14,17,18,19), Larry Mize, José María Olazábal, Mark O'Meara, Charl Schwartzel (17,18,19), Adam Scott (17,18,19), Vijay Singh, Jordan Spieth (2,12,16,17,18,19), Bubba Watson (17,18,19), Mike Weir, Danny Willett (12,18,19), Ian Woosnam


2017 Masters Tournament, Field
Daniel Berger (16,17,18,19), Paul Casey (17,18,19), Matthew Fitzpatrick (18,19), J. B. Holmes (14,17,18,19), Søren Kjeldsen (18), Hideki Matsuyama (15,16,17,18,19), Brandt Snedeker (17,18,19), Lee Westwood (18)


2017 Masters Tournament, Field
Sergio García (18,19), Adam Hadwin (19), James Hahn, Russell Henley, Charley Hoffman, Mackenzie Hughes, Billy Hurley III, Kim Si-woo (17), Russell Knox (17,18,19), Marc Leishman (19), William McGirt (17,18), Ryan Moore (17,18,19), Rod Pampling, Pat Perez, Jon Rahm (19), Patrick Reed (17,18,19), Brendan Steele, Brian Stuard, Hudson Swafford, Justin Thomas (17,18,19), Jhonattan Vegas (17)


2017 Masters Tournament, Field
Roberto Castro, Kevin Chappell (18,19), Emiliano Grillo (18,19), Kevin Kisner (19), Matt Kuchar (18,19), Kevin Na (18), Sean O'Hair, Gary Woodland (18,19)


2017 Masters Tournament, Field
An Byeong-hun, Rafa Cabrera-Bello (19), Bill Haas (19), Tyrrell Hatton (19), Yuta Ikeda (19), Francesco Molinari (19), Alex Norén (19), Louis Oosthuizen (19), Thomas Pieters (19), Andy Sullivan, Bernd Wiesberger (19), Chris Wood


2017 Masters Tournament, Field
All five amateurs were appearing in their first Masters, as were fourteen professionals: Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Hadwin, Tyrrell Hatton, Mackenzie Hughes, Billy Hurley III, Kim Si-woo, William McGirt, Alex Norén, Thomas Pieters, Jon Rahm, Brian Stuard, Daniel Summerhays, Hudson Swafford, and Wang Jeung-hun. All the professionals, and Scott Gregory, had previously appeared in a major.


2017 Masters Tournament, Par 3 contest
Heavy rain forced the cancellation of the Par-3 contest for the first time in its history. Mike Weir recorded the only hole-in-one before play was suspended.


2017 Masters Tournament, Round summaries, First round
After being one-over after five holes, Charley Hoffman birdied eight of his next twelve holes for 65 (−7). His four-stroke advantage after the first round was the largest at the Masters since 1955.


2017 Masters Tournament, Round summaries, Second round
Charley Hoffman fell back to the pack with 75 and into a four-way tie for the lead at 140 (−4). Rickie Fowler had four birdies and an eagle on his way to a round of 67 (−5), the lowest score of the round, and tied for the lead along with Sergio García and Thomas Pieters. García was originally credited with a triple-bogey seven on the 10th, but his score was later corrected to a five. Fifteen players were within five shots of the lead, including past champions Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, and Jordan Spieth. Amateur Stewart Hagestad became the first U.S. Mid-Amateur champion to make the cut at the Masters since the winner of that tournament was granted entry in 1989.


2017 Masters Tournament, Round summaries, Second round
Amateurs: Hagestad (+3), Luck (+6), Dalke (+9), Gregory (+13), Gana (+17)


2017 Masters Tournament, Round summaries, Third round
Justin Rose birdied five of his final seven holes for 67 (−5), the lowest of the round, and tied Sergio García for the lead. Charley Hoffman held solo possession of the lead before a bogey at 14 and double-bogey at 16 after hitting his tee shot in the water, finishing two shots behind. Jordan Spieth was five-under on his round and within a shot of the lead until a bogey at 18 tied him with Hoffman.


2017 Masters Tournament, Round summaries, Final round, Summary
Sergio García birdied two of his first three holes to open up a three-shot lead. Starting at the 6th, Justin Rose recorded three consecutive birdies to tie; with bogeys by García at the 10th and 11th, Rose went ahead by two shots. At the 13th, García was forced to take a drop when his tee shot found the trees, but was able to get up and down to save par while Rose missed his birdie attempt. García made birdie at the 14th to get within one and hit his approach to the par-5 15th to fourteen feet (4.3 m).


2017 Masters Tournament, Round summaries, Final round, Summary
After converting the eagle attempt, he once again tied Rose, who made birdie. On the par-3 16th, both hit approaches to within eight feet (2.4 m), and Rose made his birdie from 7 feet, while García missed his gimme three-footer. At the 17th, however, Rose found the greenside bunker and suffered a bogey while Garcia two-putted for par, once again tying for the lead heading to the last hole. Rose missed a seven-footer for birdie, while García missed from three feet (0.91 m) to win the championship, forcing a sudden-death playoff.


2017 Masters Tournament, Round summaries, Final round, Summary
Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 champion, had four birdies on the back-nine for 68 (−4) and third place, three shots behind García and Rose. Thomas Pieters also shot 68 after making four straight birdies on holes 12–15 and tied for fourth place. Matt Kuchar birdied three consecutive holes on his final nine, then made a hole-in-one at 16 to equal the lowest score of the round with 67 and tied Pieters.


2017 Masters Tournament, Round summaries, Final round, Summary
Rickie Fowler began the round a shot out of the lead, but seven bogeys yielded a  76 (+4) and dropped him to eleventh, while 2015 champion Jordan Spieth, two back at the start of the round, shot 75 and tied Fowler. (He was six-over for the round and then birdied three of the last four.) Charley Hoffman carded 41 on the final nine for 78 and tied for 22nd place.


2017 Masters Tournament, Round summaries, Final round, Summary
After García took his drop on 13, some TV viewers reported the possibility that he caused his ball to move while removing some pine straw near his ball. Prior to the conclusion of the round Masters Officials determined there was no penalty. Per Rule 18-2 (Decision 18/4) even if high definition TV camera evidence shows movement, there is no penalty if it is deemed that the movement was not reasonably discernible to the naked eye at the time.


2017 Masters Tournament, Round summaries, Playoff
The sudden-death playoff began at the par four 18th; Rose's drive found the trees and he was forced to chip out. García's drive was in the fairway and he hit his approach to twelve feet (3.7 m), while Rose was fourteen feet (4.3 m) away for par. Rose missed the putt, giving García two putts to win the championship, but he converted the birdie to win his first major championship. The win came in García's 19th Masters appearance and 74th major, the most by any player before their first title.


2017 Masters of Curling
The 2017 Masters of Curling was held from October 24 to 29, at the Lloydminster Centennial Civic Centre in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. This was the second Grand Slam and first major of the 2017–18 curling season.


2017 Masters of Curling, Qualification
The top 14 men's and women's teams on the World Curling Tour order of merit standing as of September 19, 2017 qualified for the event, along with the winners of the 2017 GSOC Tour Challenge Tier 2 event (Jason Gunnlaugson and Kerri Einarson respectively). One team, the Steffen Walstad rink from Norway declined their invitation, and were replaced with the next best team on the WCT OOM ranking (Pat Simmons).


2017 Mastung suicide bombing
On 12 May 2017, a suicide bombing targeted the convoy of the Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, a JUI (F) member, on the N-25 National Highway in Mastung District, Balochistan, Pakistan. At least 28 people were killed; 40 others were injured, including the Senator. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack was an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Haideri.


2017 Mastung suicide bombing, Bombing
The bombing took place as the suicide bomber targeted Haideri's convoy on the N-25 National Highway. The bomber rammed the motorcycle he was riding into the vehicle carrying Haideri. The vehicle was severely damaged in the blast. The attack occurred shortly after Haideri left Jama Masjid Hammadia, after attending a graduation ceremony and offering Friday prayers. Haideri, who was sitting in the front seat, survived but received injuries on his arms, leg and ear. His driver and another aide in the same vehicle were killed. Many vehicles and motorcycles, including a police car, were destroyed in the explosion.


2017 Mastung suicide bombing, Bombing
Ghazanfar Ali, District Police Officer, Mastung, suggested after an initial probe that "a suspected suicide bomber hit Maulana Haideri's car". The Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, Raza Rabbani, said that it was a suicide attack that targeted Haideri. After the attack while talking to the media Haideri said, "I am alive, Allah has saved my life… broken pieces of the windscreen hit me. I am injured but safe."


2017 Mastung suicide bombing, Bombing, Victims
Maulana Hafiz Qudratullah, Naib emir of JUI (F)'s Quetta district chapter; Iftikhar Mughal, director staff of the Senate; Haideri's driver and Abdul Waheed, an Anti- Terrorism Force official, were among those killed in the bombing. Seven volunteers of the JUI-F who were escorting Haideri as guards, including Mohammad Adil, Mohammad Imran, Abdul Ghaffar, Zahoor Ahmed and Abdul Karim, were also among the victims. Several bodies could not be identified.


2017 Mastung suicide bombing, Bombing, Victims
Dr Faisal Manan, a National journalist, was among the injured, as were a young girl and a child.


2017 Mastung suicide bombing, Initial response and investigation
Survivors of the blast, several of whom were covered in blood, began picking up body parts that were lying scattered on the road. Immediately after the blast, security forces rushed to the site along with rescue workers. A state of emergency was declared at hospitals in Mastung and Quetta. The injured and the deceased were shifted to the District Hospital and the Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Raisani Memorial Hospital in Mastung. At least 10 seriously injured were shifted to the Trauma Centre of Civil Hospital, Quetta. While, after initial treatment Haideri along with three other injured was moved to the Combined Military Hospital in Quetta.


2017 Mastung suicide bombing, Initial response and investigation
After collecting evidence from the scene, an official of the bomb disposal squad confirmed that it was a suicide attack. He added that around ten kilogrammes of explosives were used for the explosion. Evidence found at the blast site included ball bearings and parts of the motorcycle. A search operation began after Levies personnel cordoned off the entire area.


2017 Mastung suicide bombing, Reactions
The President of Pakistan, Mamnoon Hussain, condemned the attack and expressed the state's resolve to protect the public by completely eradicating terrorism from the country. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, strongly condemned the attack and expressed his concern for the well-being of Maulana Haideri. The Chairman of Senate, Raza Rabbani, and the Interior Minister, Nisar Ali Khan, also condemned the attack, with Rabbani saying "terrorists cannot deter [the] nation's resolve against militancy through such coward attacks". The Speaker and the Deputy speaker of National Assembly also condemned the attack. Chief Minister Balochistan Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, while condemning the attack, directed the IG police to submit a report on the attack within 24 hours.


2017 Mastung suicide bombing, Reactions
Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai also condemned the attack. In a message, Malala wrote: "I strongly condemn Mastung blast, I and my family are praying for the speedy recovery of Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and others injured, prayers for the martyrs, terrorists want to weaken Pakistan through their heinous acts but Pakistanis stand united against terrorism and extremism."


2017 Mastung suicide bombing, Reactions
Speaking to Geo News, JUI (F)'s Emir (chief) Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman condemned the attack on Haideri before adding that Friday's attack was not the first on the party. "Many of our dear companions have been martyred [in this attack]," he said further, adding that, "We have to continue to work for this country and the stability of Islam." Maulana Fazlur Rehman expressed his condolences to the families of the martyrs terming the attack a very painful incident for the nation and particularly the JUI. He added that "such incidents will not stop us in our cause". The JUI-F chief also said such incidents occur "because we [JUI-F] stand with Pakistan, its law, and its Constitution".


2017 Mastung suicide bombing, Reactions
Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari condemned the attack saying, "controlling the menace of terrorism was collective responsibility". Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan condemned the attack calling it "worst terrorism incident", and added that terrorist want to create unrest.


2017 Mastung suicide bombing, Reactions
On 13 May, a strike was observed in Quetta to mourn the death of the victims of the blast. JUI-F's party workers and supporters also held a demonstration in Quetta in protest against the suicide attack.


2017 Mastung suicide bombing, Reactions
The militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al Alami's spokesman also condemned the suicide attack, adding that the two groups have now split due to "policy changes".


2017 Mastung suicide bombing, Reactions, Local newspapers
The editorial of The News International noted that the attack "is a reminder that the internal challenges we face are even greater and cannot be blamed on other countries". An editorial in The Nation also mentioned that "the narrative will soon turn towards blaming the 'foreign hand' that feed terrorists in Pakistan, it must be remembered that many of our terrorist groups are entities that are very much based in Pakistan".


2017 Mastung suicide bombing, Reactions, Local newspapers
The editorial in Dawn also echoed that "the country's civil and military leaderships will unite to condemn the attacks and bemoan them as an attempt to sabotage CPEC by outside forces. While there may be some truth to those allegations, the twin attacks in Mastung and Gwadar almost certainly have very local roots".


2017 Match des Champions
The 2017 Match des Champions (English: 2017 Champions Game) was the 12th edition of the Match des Champions. The game was played between Élan Chalon, the winner of the 2016–17 Pro A season, and Nanterre 92, the winner of the 2016–17 French Cup.


2017 Match des Champions
Nanterre 92 won the game 95–69 over Élan Chalon and won its second title in club history.


2017 Matsumoto Yamaga FC season
The 2017 Matsumoto Yamaga FC season is Matsumoto Yamaga' 2nd consecutive season in the J2 League after losing at the promotion playoffs at the end of the 2016 season.


2017 Matsumoto Yamaga FC season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2017 Maui Invitational Tournament
The 2017 Maui Invitational Tournament was an early-season college basketball tournament that was played for the 34th time. The tournament began in 1984, and was part of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Championship Round was played at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii from November 20 to 22. Opening round games previously played at campus sites were discontinued.


2017 Maui Invitational Tournament
Notre Dame defeated Wichita State in the championship game to win the Tournament.


2017 Mauritanian constitutional referendum
A two-part constitutional referendum was held in Mauritania on 5 August 2017, having initially been planned for 15 July. Voters were asked whether they approve of proposed amendments to the constitution. Both proposals were approved by 86% of voters with a voter turnout of 54%.


2017 Mauritanian constitutional referendum, Proposed amendments
The referendum was split into two questions on different proposed reforms. One covered abolition of the indirectly-elected Senate and its replacement with regional councils, as well as merging the Islamic High Council and the national Ombudsman into a 'Supreme Council of the Fatwa'. The second question covered national symbols, including a proposal to change the national flag by adding a red band at the top and bottom to symbolize "the efforts and sacrifices that the people of Mauritania will keep consenting, to the price of their blood, to defend their territory", as well as modifying the national anthem.


2017 Mauritanian constitutional referendum, Proposed amendments
A proposal to allow President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to run for a third term was dropped after protests in Nouadhibou.


2017 Mauritanian constitutional referendum, Proposed amendments
Although 141 of the 147 members of the National Assembly voted in favour of the changes, they were rejected by the Senate in March 2017, with 33 of its 56 members voting against, including 24 members of the ruling Union for the Republic.


2017 Mauritanian constitutional referendum, Campaign
Former President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi called for voters to oppose the changes, claiming it would be a "constitutional coup". The opposition coalition, the National Forum for Democracy and Unity, also rejected the changes. The official campaign began on 21 July.


2017 May Day protests
The 2017 May Day protests were a series of protests that took place on May Day (May 1, 2017) over worker and immigrant rights, throughout the United States and around the world. Protests became violent in Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. Many demonstrators were protesting against the policies of President Donald Trump, specifically those related to immigration.


2017 May Day protests, Locations, United States
The protests occurred in several major cities, including Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Protesters against deportation held a sit-in at the office of Texas governor Greg Abbott in Austin, and blocked the driveway of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in San Francisco. In New York City, twelve protesters were arrested for civil disobedience after blocking the entrance to the Manhattan  JPMorgan building. In Oakland, California, four people were arrested for trespassing at an Alameda County government building.


2017 May Day protests, Locations, United States
In Denver, a rally began in the city's Civic Center Park before a vigil occurred outside of a for-profit detention center in Aurora owned by GEO Group, which at the time was the second-largest operator of for-profit prisons and facing lawsuits representing 62,000 of their detainees for being threatened with solitary confinement.


2017 May Day protests, Locations, United States
The protests in Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon turned violent and were classified as riots by police. In Portland, protesters allegedly threw lead balls, smoke bombs, paint, glass bottles, and cans of Pepsi at officers. There were multiple cases of property damage and arson. This resulted in 25 arrests and the cancellation of the protest permit. In Olympia, black-clad protesters shattered windows, and threw smoke-issuing devices and rocks at police. Some of the 50 protesters in Olympia had signs reading "delete the port" and broke windows in the Downtown Historic District. Several storefronts suffered damage. Nine police officers were injured by thrown rocks, and nine protesters were arrested.


2017 May Day protests, Locations, Outside the United States
International protests occurred in Havana, Cuba; Istanbul; Moscow, Russia; Paris, France; the Philippines; Pristina, Kosovo; Saint Petersburg, Russia; and Tbilisi, Georgia. The protests in Paris, which were held over immigration and labor rights, as well as the 2017 French presidential election, turned violent when Black Bloc protesters joined the protests and began clashing with police, throwing rocks, bricks, concrete, Molotov cocktails, and firebombs. French police clashed with the violent rioters throughout the day, and at least six officers were injured, with some suffering severe burns from firebombs and Molotov cocktails.


2017 Mayadin offensive
The 2017 Mayadin offensive was a military offensive launched by the Syrian Arab Army against members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, following the breaking of the three-year siege of the city of Deir ez-Zor. The Mayadin offensive, conducted by Syrian Army troops, was conducted with the aim of capturing ISIL's new de facto capital of Mayadin, and securing the villages and towns around it.


2017 Mayadin offensive
The offensive was concurrent with the Raqqa campaign conducted by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ISIL's former de facto capital city and stronghold in Syria, as well as the Western Anbar campaign in Iraq.


2017 Mayadin offensive, The offensive
The Syrian military advanced within 10 kilometers of ISIL's stronghold of Mayadin on 4 October. Concurrently, pro-opposition monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that Russian or Syrian airstrikes killed between 38 and 67 civilians who were crossing the Euphrates by boat near Mayadin. The next day, the Republican Guard, 4th Mechanized Division and 5th Legion made more steady advances, putting them within six kilometers of the city.


2017 Mayadin offensive, The offensive
Syrian soldiers pushed into the city on 6 October from the west. The following day, government sources claimed roughly half of Mayadin was taken by the Syrian Army, while the airport was also taken. Throughout the day, a wave of Russian airstrikes against ISIL positions near Mayadin and close to the Iraqi border reportedly killed 180 ISIL militants, including a large number of foreign fighters. By 8 October, ISIL forces were reportedly encircled within the city. However, the next day, an ISIL counterattack managed to push back Syrian Army troops from Mayadin, with 38 soldiers being killed.


2017 Mayadin offensive, The offensive
On 10 October 2017, fighting began in the suburbs in preparation to storm the city, according to a source citing SANA. On 11 October, the Syrian Army started encircling Mayadin, with the city surrounded by the following day. The Syrian Army then pushed into the western and northern parts of the city, capturing four neighborhoods.


2017 Mayadin offensive, The offensive
On 14 October 2017, the Syrian Army captured Mayadin city. On the next day, elite Syrian Tiger Forces pushed through much rural territory of Mayadin and made advances towards town of Al-Asharah, reaching its outskirts. By 17 October, all besieged land between Deir ez-Zor and Mayadin along the Euphrates was captured by the Tiger Forces.


2017 Mayadin offensive, Aftermath
By 20 October, Syrian Army had crossed the Euphrates, capturing the village of Dhiban, just hours later reaching the outskirts of massive Al-Omar Oil Field complex, the largest such in Syria, which in pre-war era contributed to one-quarter of Syria's oil production. In a surprise move ISIL fighters defending Al-Omar Oil Field, launched a powerful counterattack on the Government bridgehead at Dhiban, forcing Government Forces to retreat back to the west bank of the Euphrates. During the same day Syrian Army advanced southwards from Mayadin, capturing the city of Al-Quriyah.


2017 Mayo Intermediate Football Championship
The 2017 Mayo Intermediate Football Championship is the 53rd edition of the Mayo GAA's second-tier gaelic football tournament for intermediate clubs in County Mayo, Ireland. Sixteen teams compete with the winner representing Mayo in the Connacht Intermediate Club Football Championship. The championship starts with a group stage and progresses to a knock out stage.


2017 Mayo Intermediate Football Championship
Westport were the 2016 champions after defeating Kiltimagh in the final. In March 2017, they claimed the All-Ireland Club IFC title, defeating Meath champions St. Colmcille's.


2017 Mayo Intermediate Football Championship, Group stage
All 16 teams enter the competition at this stage. The top 2 teams in each group go into the Quarter-Finals while the bottom team of each group will enter a Relegation Playoff. This year, all teams will play one home match, one away match and one match at a neutral venue.


2017 Mayo Senior Football Championship
The 2017 Mayo Senior Football Championship was the 116th edition of the Mayo GAA's premier gaelic football tournament for senior clubs in County Mayo, Ireland. Sixteen teams competed with the winner representing Mayo in the Connacht Senior Club Football Championship. The championship started with a group stage and progressed to a knock out stage. The winners received the Paddy Moclair Cup.


2017 Mayo Senior Football Championship
Castlebar Mitchels were the defending champions after they defeated Knockmore in the 2016 final. They successfully defended their title to claim a "3-in-a-row" and their 31st title overall when they defeated Ballintubber on a scoreline of 0–15 to 0–13 in McHale Park on 22 October 2017.


2017 Mayo Senior Football Championship
The year saw Westport's return to the senior grade after just two seasons outside of the top-flight following relegation in 2014. In March 2017, they claimed the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship title, defeating Meath champions St. Colmcille's in the final.


2017 Mayo Senior Football Championship, Clubs
The 2017 Championship was contested by 16 clubs: 5 from South Mayo, 4 from North Mayo, 4 from West Mayo, 3 from East Mayo.


2017 Mayo Senior Football Championship, Group stage
All 16 teams entered the competition at this stage. The top 2 teams in each group progressed to the Quarter-Finals while the bottom team of each group entered a Relegation Playoff. All teams played one home match, one away match and one match at a neutral venue. In the event of two teams finishing on the same points total, placings were decided by head-to-head record between the teams, then by scoring difference.


2017 Mayo Senior Football Championship, Knock-Out Stage
The top two teams in each group progressed to the knock-out stage. Group winners were drawn against group runners-up, and all games were played at neutral venues.


2017 Mayo Senior Football Championship, Relegation Playoffs
The four teams who finished bottom of their groups entered the relegation play-offs, with the two losers of the semi-finals meeting in the relegation play-off final. All games were played at neutral venues. Ballinrobe, as losers of the final, were relegated to the Intermediate Championship for 2018.


2017 Mayo Senior Football Championship, Connacht Senior Club Football Championship
Castlebar Mitchels went forward to represent Mayo in the Connacht Senior Club Football Championship. In the quarter-final they defeated Mohill of Leitrim by five points. They played Tourlestrane of Sligo in the semi-final, winning by seven points. The Connacht final took place in Tuam Stadium, where Castlebar faced reigning champions Corofin. A tightly fought contest ended level at full time, with Corofin eventually winning on a scoreline of 2–13 to 1–12 after extra time.


2017 Mayo Senior Football Championship, Awards
The Club Stars, sponsored by The Mayo News, AIB and O'Neills, honoured the best 15 players in the Senior Championship in 2017. The team was selected by Sean Rice (The Mayo News), John Casey (RTÉ Radio analyst), Eamon Clarke (former Knockmore manager) and Austin Garvin (The Mayo News). Awards were also presented for Footballer of the Year, Young Player of the Year, Manager of the Year and Personality of the Year.


2017 Mayo county football team season
The following is a summary of Mayo county football team's 2017 season.


2017 Mayors and Independents leadership election
A leadership election for the Mayors and Independents (STAN) in 2017 was held on 25 March 2017. The incumbent leader Petr Gazdík was the only candidate. Gazdík received 135 of 145 votes and was elected for another term.


2017 Mazda Raceway California 8 Hours
The 2017 Mazda Raceway California 8 Hours was the first Mazda Raceway California 8 Hours race held on Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on 15 October 2017. The race was contested with GT3-spec cars, GT4-spec cars and MARC cars. The race was organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO).


2017 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout
The 2017 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout was the second edition of the Road to Indy Shootout. The event was held at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park on December 9 and 10. The winner, Irishman Keith Donegan, received a $200,000 scholarship to compete in the 2018 U.S. F2000 National Championship.


2017 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout, Entry list, Notes
Karting news website eKartingnews.com chief editor Rob Howden and managing editor David Cole selected Jake Craig as up and coming talent. He was selected to compete in the 2017 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout. Craig was selected out of a short list of finalists, namely Jake French, Brandon Jarsocrak, Braden Eves, Ryan Norberg and Billy Musgrave.


2017 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout, Entry list, Notes
Williams won the FormulaSPEED championship, the fastest of the three Formula Car Challenge West Coast and Triple Crown championships.


2017 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout, Entry list, Notes
iZone Driver Performance hosted a sim racing shootout. Drivers who were nominated for Quantum Racing Suspension Driver of the Race in Formula Ford 1600 races organised by James Beckett Motorsport or MSVR were selected. These drivers were Jack Kemp, Ross Martin, Seb Melrose, James Roe Jr. and Jamie Thorburn. Oliver White also qualified for the shootout but he chose not to compete as he already qualified for the 2017 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout. Irish driver Niall Murray also opted not to participate.