10 big global events in 2018

Here are 10 major events upcoming next year:

- Winter Games -

- 9 February, South Korea: Start of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang against the backdrop of tensions with North Korea over its nuclear missile programme. The Games close on 25 February.

- Fourth term for Putin? -

- 18 March, Russia: Presidential election at which Vladimir Putin will seek a fourth term.

- The end of the Castro era -

- April, Cuba: Raul Castro steps aside as president shortly after 19 April elections, ending nearly six decades of Castro leadership on the island.

- Voting in Iraq -

- 15 May, Iraq: Legislative and provincial elections, the first since the defeat of the Islamic State in the country.

- Royal wedding -

- 19 May, Britain: Prince Harry marries US actress Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle.

- Football finals -

- 15 July, Russia: The final of football's 2018 World Cup, which opens on 14 June in Moscow.

- Test for Trump -

- November 6, United States: Midterm elections, the first serious electoral test for President Donald Trump.

- Venezuela votes in crisis -

- December, Venezuela: Presidential elections with the country mired in political and economic crisis.

- Climate, the moment of truth -

- 3 December, Poland: Start of the COP24 environmental summit in Katowice, with key decisions expected on the implementation of the Paris climate accords.

- Delayed voting in DR Congo -

- 23 December, Democratic Republic of Congo: Presidential election two years after the expiry of the term of outgoing President Joseph Kabila.