If 2016 has to be summarised in a single sentence, undoubtedly it was a year of surprises in the global arena.
From Donald Trump’s victory in the US election to Narendra Modi’s surgical strike against Pakistan and then demonetisation and Britain voting to exit from the European Union there were enough surprises in store for the world.
These were events that hogged the headlines and are bound to have an impact that may well resonate in the New Year.
While in the US, no pundit predicted a victory for Trump, under the new US President Donald Trump the world may see a bold new US foreign and economic policy where economic diplomacy may play a pivotal role.
In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surgical strike against Pakistan earned him the title of the iron man, while the PM’s move was high on optics it also ensured that for the first time India managed a game changer by making its response unpredictable and signaling to Pakistan that there will be heavy cost attached to its continued support to terrorism.
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Given the signals from South Block, expect a continuation of this policy in 2017.
Another key move was the PM’s November 8th announcement on demonetisation to announce the withdrawal of old Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes. While the move has been hailed as historic, the implementation has been tardy which needs to be fixed.
Then in the sporting arena, it was the sporting icon Messi who got into a tax tangle with the Spanish authorities, and Olympics had its own set of surprises with India’s PV Sindhu shining with silver at the games and Sakshi Malik bagging a bronze.
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The British were surprised as the rest of the world when a referendum led to a vote for Britain’s exit from the European union, Brexit as it was popularly known also led to the call for a larger analysis of the economic and political impact of the move.
In the world of entertainment it was finally an Oscar for Leonardo DiCaprio which came as a big surprise for many, for now as the years comes to an end.
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Here is a quick wrapup of 2016, do watch our video and send your comments to editor@newsmobile.in.
Here is a list of big surprises of 2016.
Donald Trump became the president of USA
Donald John Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States in a stunning culmination of an explosive, populist and polarizing campaign. The surprise outcome, defying late polls that showed Hillary Clinton with a modest but persistent edge, threatened convulsions throughout the world, where sceptics had watched with alarm as Mr. Trump’s unvarnished overtures to disillusioned voters took hold.
PM Narendra Modi’s surgical strike against Pakistan and his surgical strike against corruption, his demonetisation drive
And then he conducted another surgical strike this time against black money when Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on November 8, 2016 to announce the withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. It was unambiguously clear from the Prime Minister’s speech that the primary motivation for the sudden withdrawal of nearly 86% of the country’s currency was the evil of black money. While the move was bold the implementation was tardy and will be the biggest challenge for the government as it enters the new year 2017.
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Leonardo DiCaprio won the Oscar for Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio finally won his first Oscar for survival epic, The Revenant, after six nominations. He was named best actor at the 88th Academy Awards, with Brie Larson named best actress for Room. People went absolutely ballistic over the award for Leo, as he deserved it all along but never won the award.
Britain exited EU after Referendum
The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union is widely known as Brexit (British exit). Following a referendum held on 23 June 2016 in which 52% of votes were cast in favour of leaving the EU, the UK government intends to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, the formal procedure for withdrawing, by the end of March 2017. This, within the treaty terms, would put the UK on a course to leave the EU by March 2019.
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Orlando nightclub shooting
An American-born man, Omar Mateen who’d pledged allegiance to ISIS
killed 49 people and wounded 53 others at a gay nightclub in Orlando,
the deadliest mass shooting in the United States and the nation’s
worst terror attack since 9/11.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt divorce
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt broke hearts the world over when Jolie filed for divorce on Sept. 19, 2016. The couple has been together 12 years, though only married for two, and share six children. On top of that, they were the most beautiful pairing on the planet. Apparently, Brad cheated on her. Jolie is now asking for physical custody of all their children.
Brussels terrorist attack
Two suicide bombers struck the departure lounge of Brussels Airport in Zaventem about 37 seconds apart, killing at least 10 people. The blasts took place outside the security checkpoints for ticketed passengers and near the airline check-in counters, according to an airline official briefed on the situation. Belgian authorities released an image of three suspects believed to have carried out the airport attack. About an hour after the airport explosions, Khalid El Bakraoui, a Brussels-born 27-year-old, detonated a suicide bomb on the Brussels subway at the end of rush hour. ISIS claimed responsibility. Three days of coordinated terrorist attacks killed 31 people and injured 300 more in Brussels.
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Russian Ambassador killed on television
Mevlut Mert Altintas, a police officer who killed Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, could handle a firearm with ease. His first of multiple shots was a direct hit, piercing the back of Andrey Karlov as he spoke about the exhibit. The ambassador fell to the floor. After firing multiple rounds, the gunman shouted: “Allahu akbar (God is greatest). Do not forget Aleppo! Do not forget Syria! Do not forget Aleppo! Do not forget Syria!”
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