Some important issues of 2018 which were neglected

TANUSHREE: NP NEWS 24 ONLINE-  This year was all about MeToo movement, Trump-Russia probe and the historic meeting between leaders of the two Koreas, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping cemented their position in Russia and China respectively, German’s Angela Merkel announced that she would step down as the chancellor in 2021. In Australia, Scott Morrison became the prime minister, while Brazil saw the rise of right with Jair Bolsanoro being chosen as the President-elect. But there were many other events which were neglected.

A picture of a malnourished 7-year-old published in The New York Times turned the attention of the world towards the war-torn country, Yemen. Amal Hussain, died a week later in November. Considered to be one of the worst humanitarian crisis, over 50,000 Yemenis are said to have died because of the war-induced famine. Recently, the United States and Britain, Saudi Arabia’s biggest arms suppliers, called for a cease-fire in Yemen.

In the US, gun violence continued to remain the major concern. Gun Violence Archive report, there were about 334 mass shootings in the US in the last 365 days. After the Florida school shooting, a group of student survivors launched the March for Our Lives movement that organized massive walkouts and peaceful protests at schools across the country, demanding tough gun laws.

Hyperinflation, mass food shortage and astute poverty drove millions of people out of this once rich oil reserve country. Of the 2.3 million Venezuelans living abroad, more than 1.6 million have fled the country since the crisis began in 2015, according to the UN. The mass influx of people into neighbouring Columbia, China, Ecquador has triggered a humanitarian crisis.

Immigration was a dominant issue in the US where children split from parents, teargas fired on refugees and asylum seekers turned away from the border. a trail of migrants from Central America, some on foot and few by vehicles were forced to wait at the Mexico border. The Trump administration responded by narrowing who is eligible, declaring that neither those escaping gang violence or domestic abuse nor those who cross the border illegally qualify. Both changes have been blocked by federal courts.

2018 has seen its share of numerous aviation tragedies. Minutes after takeoff, a Lion Air flight with 188 passengers on board crashed into the Indonesian seas in October. In May this year, 110 of the 113 aboard were killed after a Boeing passenger jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Havana. At least 49 people were killed and 12 critically injured as a US-Bangla aircraft with 71 people including four crew members on board crash-landed in Kathmandu in April and erupted in flames.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena reinstated Ranil Wickremesinghe as the prime minister last week, bringing an end to the power struggle in the island nation. The tussle began after Sirisena sacked Wickremesinghe and instead named Mahinda Rajapakse as prime minister in October. Ranil refused to vacate the spot, leaving the country with two claimants to the prime minister’s post and no functioning government. Wickremesinghe’s dismissal was overturned after fierce opposition from the Sri Lankan court and legislature which called it “illegal.”