Top 10 global stories of year
It proved to be another year in which world peace was elusive, but amid the gloom there were a few positive glimmers. Here China Daily lists its top world news stories of 2017.
Grand idea with mankind at its center is enshrined
“A community of shared future for mankind” was enshrined by the United Nations Security Council, the Human Rights Council and the First Committee of the UN General Assembly, transforming the Chinese concept into an international consensus. After President Xi Jinping put the idea to the international community in a keynote speech at the UN Office in Geneva on Jan 18, the concept was incorporated into a resolution in the 55th UN Commission for Social Development on Feb 10.
Trump takes office, vows to ‘put America first’
Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on Jan 20 after having pledged to “make America great again” by, among other things, putting US economic and foreign policy interests above those of anyone else, thus bringing a strong redirection of the country’s foreign policy.
Trump said his country would pull out of the Paris agreement on climate change, which his predecessor Barack Obama had signed in 2015. The accord had given other countries an unfair advantage over US industry and destroyed American jobs, Trump said.
He also ended US involvement in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal with Australia, New Zealand, Japan and eight other Pacific nations.
European populist parties on the rise
Anti-European Union, anti-immigrant populist parties notched up electoral successes in Europe. In elections in the Netherlands in March, the far-right populist Freedom Party finished just behind the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, and Alternative for Germany emerged in Germany in September as the third-largest party, becoming the first right-wing populist party to enter the federal parliament since World War II.
Chancellor Angela Merkel fell short of obtaining a majority of seats, and by the end of the year was still struggling to form a government.
In France, the pro-EU centrist Emmanuel Macron became the country’s youngest head of state since Napoleon in May by emphatically beating his far-right rival Marine Le Pen. Several weeks later, Macron’s party, La Republique en Marche, won more than half the seats in legislative assembly elections.
Amid barbs, tensions on Korean Peninsula grow
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula rose after the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea tested nuclear devices and launched missiles including intercontinental ballistic ones, in February, April, May, July, September and November, and the United States and the Republic of Korea carried out joint military exercises.
Top DPRK leader Kim Jongun and US President Donald Trump traded rhetorical barbs, and world leaders warned that any miscalculation or misunderstanding could be disastrous. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the standoff as “the most tense and dangerous peace and security issue in the world today”.
Terrorist bombs, guns, vehicles take their toll
Terrorist attacks around the world left hundreds dead and injured. The attacks included a mosque being bombed and worshippers being fired on in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, leaving at least 305 people dead, including 27 children. In May, 23 people were killed and more than 500 injured at a pop concert in Manchester, England. In attacks elsewhere, terrorists intent on sowing mayhem used cars and trucks to kill and injure their victims.
In the US, gun violence continued to exact its toll. A gunman murdered at least 59 people and injured more than 520 others in Las Vegas on Oct 1, the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
Qatar shunned, and US complicates peace talks
On June 5, Saudi Arabia,
the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt announced they had severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed sanctions on the country, alleging that Qatar was “supporting terrorism” and “undermining regional security”.
Qatar strongly denied the charges, rejected conditions the countries set out for resuming diplomatic ties, including cutting off ties with Iran.
Wars in Syria and Yemen continued and efforts to find a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were further complicated when the US announced in December that it would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
World hails 19th CPC National Congress
The world congratulated the Communist Party of China for the success in holding its 19th National Congress from Oct 18 to 24.
The Party received more than 1,340 congratulatory telegrams and letters from more than 450 major political parties in 165 countries after the congress, which established Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and embarked on a new journey of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
The congress underlined China’s wisdom in handling international relations, an achievement hailed around the world.
Victory declared in war against Islamic State
The war against the Islamic State group was declared over as Iran, on Nov 19, and Iraq, on Dec 9, announced they had defeated IS in their countries. However, analysts said this did not mean the extremist group had been eradicated from the Middle East.
In July, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared full liberation of Mosul, the IS de facto capital. The recapture signaled the collapse of IS and a turning point in the threeyear anti-terrorism war.
At its peak, IS controlled vast expanses of territory on both sides of the Iraq-Syria border. Thousands of lives were lost, and homes and centuries-old artifacts in the two countries were destroyed as the group fought to conquer and retain territory.
Mugabe steps down as Zimbabwe’s leader
Robert Mugabe, 93, was forced to resign as Zimbabwe’s president on Nov 21, ending his 37-year rule. After deposing Mugabe, the ruling Zanu-PF party chose the vicepresident, Emmerson Mnangagwa, as the country’s second president since it became independent in 1980. Mugabe fired Mnangagwa, 75, for allegedly coveting the presidency, which triggered a military takeover of the government.
Global economy in good shape, data suggests
The world economy experienced stable recovery after its decadelong slump since the financial crisis, and the International Monetary Fund adjusted its growth projection to 3.6 percent for the year and 3.7 percent for 2018. Broad-based upward revisions in the eurozone, Asia, Europe and Russia have contributed to the rise.
China’s economic growth, expected to have been 6.9 percent in 2017, is still the biggest source of global economic growth. Other factors include the world’s relatively loose monetary fiscal policy and scientific and technological innovation.