Things that shook the World in 2018

US, The isolated superpower

American President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) in May, reversing the signature foreign policy success of his predecessor Barack Obama. As per the 2015 agreement, Iran agreed to monitoring of its nuclear programme in return for easing of years of economic sanctions that had crippled its economy.

While, in pulling the US out of the deal, Trump has been able to carry out a major election pledge and placate his white nationalist, Islamophobic voter base, it has left the US isolated internationally.

Much to the chagrin of the United States’ European allies which were also a party to the deal, Trump reintroduced sanctions on Iran in November, in a bid to hit its energy, shipping and financial sectors. The repercussions of the US decision were also felt back home in India, a major importer of Iranian crude and strategically invested in a warm water port in Chabahar. Taking into account India’s concerns, the US announced temporary waiver from major importers of Iranian crude.

No love lost, no love found…

Keeping at his impetuous ways, US President Donald Trump created history as he became the first occupant of the White House to shake hands with a North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. The summit in Singapore in June followed a round of brinksmanship on part of both the leaders, more noticeably Trump, who had threatened the Communist dictatorship with “fire and fury” if it didn’t mend its ways.

After the meeting happened, Trump changed his rhetorical tack, as he famously announced at one of his political rallies that they “fell in love.”

To what extent has the Singapore summit been able to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions is anybody’s guess at the moment. There appeared to have been a stalemate as Kim Jong-un declared that North Korea would only give up nuclear weapons if there were reciprocal gestures from the US, in essence, the decommissioning of American bases from the Korean peninsula. The prevailing sentiment between the two leaderships became clearer after North Korea pulled out of a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in November.

A precarious ceasefire

A temporary truce in the ongoing round of trade war between China and America, the world’s two biggest economies, was reached after Donald Trump met China’s President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Buenos Aires in November. But just how precarious the interim deal is was made known after the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, in Canada, on instructions from the US. Wanzhou has been charged with violating the ongoing round of US’ sanctions on Iran. As a retaliatory gesture, Chinese companies have rallied around Huawei as they boycott Apple. Measures range from incentivising purchases of Huawei products and punishing employees who make Apple purchases.

The trade was sparked after Trump imposed 30 per cent tariffs on solar panels and washing machines, triggering a complaint at the World Trade Organisation from Beijing and retaliatory tariffs on 128 American products. The most damaging shot from Beijing was perhaps the $110 billion in tariffs imposed by Beijing on several products, including soybeans. China’s tariffs reverberated in the US heartland, where a significant proportion of Trump’s supporters reside.

The Thai cave rescue

The Tham Luang caves in the north of Thailand became the cynosure of global media after 12 young footballers got stranded inside for 17 days, along with their coach Ekkapol Chantawong, over the months of June and July.

What followed was one of the most daring rescue operations, ably supported by international actors, which witnessed the lowering of the water levels through pumps, as almost a million litres of water were sucked out every hour.

While the trapped inmates of the flooded cave were eventually brought up to the surface safe and sound, a navy diver died in the rescue effort. The young footballers say that it were lessons in spirituality and meditation from their coach they helped them tide over the harrowing 17 days in the claustrophobic surroundings.

The cave now is one of the most visited spots in Thailand.

(with IANS inputs)

The bloody arrival of Crown Prince MBS

Saudi national Jamal Khashoggi -- a fierce critic of Riyadh’s human rights violations and of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s policies -- disappeared after entering the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2 for paperwork needed for his planned marriage.

What emerged in the coming weeks shook the collective conscience of world, as it became known that the Washington Post columnist was sawed alive by Saudi Arabia’s top forensic expert, who flew into Istanbul along with a team just to carry out the operation. As one would have expected, criticism from the US as fingers started to point towards the role of the Crown Prince in the grisly murder was muted at best.

While the US did impose sanctions on 17 individuals of Saudi Arabia for serious human rights abuse resulting from their roles in the killing of Khashoggi, Trump all but refused to pass the buck to the Crown Prince, apparently to not risk the wrath of Saudi Arabia at the time when economic sanctions on Iran risk hitting global crude supplies.

France goes Yellow

The Yellow-vest protests are turning into an umbrella movement for dissidents, annoyed at whatever is wrong with modern-day France, currently being led by a centrist President in Emmanuel Macron. Last heard, the fringes from both the Left and the Right are joining the protests in increasing numbers.

The reaction from police and authorities in France has been rather strong, if not excessive. Macron, in a cryptic message to the protestors, has had several meetings with the police manning the streets of Paris, in a show of solidarity with the security personnel.

Into its seventh week now, the protests were triggered after a hike in the prices of petrol and gasoline, prompting a video from a local ranting against the authorities. The video caught the pulse of the social media, and the French society, as it later turned out.