United States – A league of its own
This nation concludes the last five of major world headlines for 2018.
Government shutdown
The US government began a Christmas shutdown on Dec 22, after Congress adjourned without passing a federal spending bill or addressing President Donald Trump’s demand for money to build a border wall. Operations for several key agencies ceased at 12:01am on Dec 22, despite last-ditch talks that continued on Capitol Hill between White House officials and congressional leaders in both parties. Trump has dug in on his demand for US$5 billion for construction of a wall on the US border with Mexico. The shutdown was the third this year and it remained unclear how long it would last. Trump had expressed hope that ‘it would not last long’.
Diversity rules in US midterm polls
The 2018 US midterm elections was seen as a historic one – perhaps as significant as, if not more than, the presidential election. A diverse set of candidates won big late Nov 13 night after citizens voted at record levels for a midterm election. The individuals who made history in the 2018 midterm elections include — Rashida Tlaib (Michigan’s 13th District) and Ilhan Omar (Minnesota’s Fifth District) became the first two Muslim women elected to Congress; former high-school teacher Jahana Hayes, first black woman elected to represent Connecticut in the House of Representatives; Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts’ first black congresswoman; Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland, first two Native American women elected to Congress; Sylvia Garcia and Veronica Escobar, Texas’ first Latina women in Congress; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, youngest woman (under age 30) ever elected to Congress; Jared Polis of Colorado, the first openly gay man to be elected governor of a US state; Marsha Blackburn, the first woman elected to the Senate for Tennessee; Democrats Cindy Axne and Abby Finkenauer, the first women ever in House of Representatives in Iowa; and Kristi Noem and Janet Mills, the first female governors in South Dakota and Maine, respectively.
US-China trade war
US President Donald Trump said on Nov 26 that he expected to move ahead with raising tariffs on US$200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 per cent from the current 10 per cent, and repeated his threat to slap tariffs on all remaining imports from China. Trump had earlier said that it was ‘highly unlikely’ for him to accept China’s request to hold off on the increase, which is due to take effect on Jan 1.
Trump, Kim meet in Singapore
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump reached the venue of their historic summit in Singapore on June 12, after both sides sought to narrow differences over how to end a nuclear standoff. Trump was committed to providing security guarantees to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Kim had reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
US Embassy in Jerusalem
The US opened its embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, moving it from Tel Aviv – a move that reversed decades of US policy, delighted Israel and infuriated the Palestinians. The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest obstacles to forging a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, who with broad international backing, wanted East Jerusalem – captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War – as their capital. On the day the US opened its new embassy, Israeli troops killed 60 Palestinian demonstrators near the border in Gaza. Israel said the violence was incited by Hamas, the Islamist group that runs Gaza. Hamas had denied blame. — Agencies