The UK chooses to leave the European Union (Photo: BBC) Hanoi (VNA) ♊– The Vietnam NewsAgency has selected 10 most outstanding world events in 2016 as follow:
1. ThePermanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, the Netherlands, rejectsChina’s claim in the East Sea: On July 12, the Tribunal, constituted underAnnex VII to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),issued the final ruling on the Philippines’s lawsuit against China on a disputein the South China Sea (known as the East Sea in Vietnam).
Theruling clarified that there was no legal basis for China to claim historicrights to resources within the sea area enclosed by the so-called “nine-dashline”, and the “nine-dash line” drawn by China was contrary to the UNCLOS. Thiswas the first international ruling related to East Sea disputes, which wassupported by the international community.
2.Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro passes away: The great revolutionaryleader of the 20th century and a close friend of Vietnamese people died onNovember 26 at the age of 90.
FidelCastro gathered and led revolutionary forces of Cuba and founded the firstsocialist state in the Western Hemisphere. His funeral was held at nationallevel in nine days. A number of commemorating activities were also organised indifferent places in the world.
3. TheUK chooses to leave the European Union: The majority of UK voters opted for thecountry’s separation from the EU during the referendum on June 23. The eventshocked the world and completely changed the political situation in the UKwhich was considered one of the key pillars of the EU. It also changed theworld’s geopolitics, bringing with it great risk of instability for the EU interms of politics, security and economy.
4. Thesurprise triumph of Donald Trump in the US presidential election: On November8, Donald Trump, a populist without any political experience, won anoverwhelming victory during one of the most dramatic elections in the country’shistory. For the first time, the US has a businessman president. Trump’sstrategy is controversial, making it hard to predict the new USadministration’s policy.
5.Security instability continues to obsess entire Europe: A series of bloodyterrorist attacks in many European countries including Germany, France, Belgiumand Turkey with increased brutality shocked the world, showing security gapsand poor cooperation in the continent.
Alongwith the ghost of terrorism, the prolonged migration crisis, the politicaldisorder after Turkey’s failed coup d’état and worries about the new USadministration’s policies are posing the greatest security challenges since theWorld War II to the European Union.
6.Paris agreement on climate change takes effect: Adopted by nearly 70 countriesand territories, including those with highest green house gas emission such asthe US, China and India, the Paris agreement officially took effect on November11, much earlier than expectation. This showed the stronger awareness ofclimate change threats. One of the typical examples is the El Nino phenomenonwhich lasted from late 2015 to 2016 and caused extreme weather conditions suchas record heat in South Asia, forest fire in Southeast Asia and serious floodsin Latin America.
7. Amajor turning point in Syria conflict: With the support of Russian army, inlate December, the Syrian Government forces took control of almost all thestrategic Aleppo city, the second largest city of Syria and capital of theopposition. The development marked an important watershed in the conflictlasting over the past nearly six years among supporting forces of SyrianGovernment and the opposition and terrorist groups.
8.Colombia reaches historic peace deal: After almost four years of negotiation,on September 26, the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces ofColombia (FARC) signed a peace agreement, ending 52 years of conflict andopening up opportunities for peace and national conciliation in the country.
Afterbeing rejected in a referendum, the deal was revised and signed on November 24.It was passed by the Colombian parliament on December 1. It is considered amodel for the settlement of conflict in many other countries such as Syria,Yemen and South Sudan. With his contributions to the signing of the historicagreement, Colombia President J.M.Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in2016.
9.Zika virus spreads in the world: Since early 2016, Zika virus, a cause of manyfatal diseases, has spread in many Latin American and Caribbean countries andterritories, forcing the World Health Organisation to declare a globalemergency. The virus has encroached upon the US, Canada, a number of Europeancountries, and many Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam. Currently, nopreventive vaccine as well as effective medicine against the virus has beenfound.
10.“Panama papers” shake the world: The largest ever data leak of over 11 milliondocuments shed light on a series of tax evasion and money laundering activitiesbeginning from the mid-1970s and relating to hundreds of thousands of companiesover the world. The case shocked the entire world, forcing administrations andauthorised agencies of many countries to launch investigations and causing manyofficials and politicians to step down.-VNA
Theruling clarified that there was no legal basis for China to claim historicrights to resources within the sea area enclosed by the so-called “nine-dashline”, and the “nine-dash line” drawn by China was contrary to the UNCLOS. Thiswas the first international ruling related to East Sea disputes, which wassupported by the international community.
2.Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro passes away: The great revolutionaryleader of the 20th century and a close friend of Vietnamese people died onNovember 26 at the age of 90.
FidelCastro gathered and led revolutionary forces of Cuba and founded the firstsocialist state in the Western Hemisphere. His funeral was held at nationallevel in nine days. A number of commemorating activities were also organised indifferent places in the world.
3. TheUK chooses to leave the European Union: The majority of UK voters opted for thecountry’s separation from the EU during the referendum on June 23. The eventshocked the world and completely changed the political situation in the UKwhich was considered one of the key pillars of the EU. It also changed theworld’s geopolitics, bringing with it great risk of instability for the EU interms of politics, security and economy.
4. Thesurprise triumph of Donald Trump in the US presidential election: On November8, Donald Trump, a populist without any political experience, won anoverwhelming victory during one of the most dramatic elections in the country’shistory. For the first time, the US has a businessman president. Trump’sstrategy is controversial, making it hard to predict the new USadministration’s policy.
5.Security instability continues to obsess entire Europe: A series of bloodyterrorist attacks in many European countries including Germany, France, Belgiumand Turkey with increased brutality shocked the world, showing security gapsand poor cooperation in the continent.
Alongwith the ghost of terrorism, the prolonged migration crisis, the politicaldisorder after Turkey’s failed coup d’état and worries about the new USadministration’s policies are posing the greatest security challenges since theWorld War II to the European Union.
6.Paris agreement on climate change takes effect: Adopted by nearly 70 countriesand territories, including those with highest green house gas emission such asthe US, China and India, the Paris agreement officially took effect on November11, much earlier than expectation. This showed the stronger awareness ofclimate change threats. One of the typical examples is the El Nino phenomenonwhich lasted from late 2015 to 2016 and caused extreme weather conditions suchas record heat in South Asia, forest fire in Southeast Asia and serious floodsin Latin America.
7. Amajor turning point in Syria conflict: With the support of Russian army, inlate December, the Syrian Government forces took control of almost all thestrategic Aleppo city, the second largest city of Syria and capital of theopposition. The development marked an important watershed in the conflictlasting over the past nearly six years among supporting forces of SyrianGovernment and the opposition and terrorist groups.
8.Colombia reaches historic peace deal: After almost four years of negotiation,on September 26, the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces ofColombia (FARC) signed a peace agreement, ending 52 years of conflict andopening up opportunities for peace and national conciliation in the country.
Afterbeing rejected in a referendum, the deal was revised and signed on November 24.It was passed by the Colombian parliament on December 1. It is considered amodel for the settlement of conflict in many other countries such as Syria,Yemen and South Sudan. With his contributions to the signing of the historicagreement, Colombia President J.M.Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in2016.
9.Zika virus spreads in the world: Since early 2016, Zika virus, a cause of manyfatal diseases, has spread in many Latin American and Caribbean countries andterritories, forcing the World Health Organisation to declare a globalemergency. The virus has encroached upon the US, Canada, a number of Europeancountries, and many Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam. Currently, nopreventive vaccine as well as effective medicine against the virus has beenfound.
10.“Panama papers” shake the world: The largest ever data leak of over 11 milliondocuments shed light on a series of tax evasion and money laundering activitiesbeginning from the mid-1970s and relating to hundreds of thousands of companiesover the world. The case shocked the entire world, forcing administrations andauthorised agencies of many countries to launch investigations and causing manyofficials and politicians to step down.-VNA
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