The World in Focus, 2018

The future of the European Union (E.U.) remains uncertain after a 2016 vote in the United Kingdom (U.K.) to exit the loose federation of 28 nations. The U.K. faces hard choices as it negotiates its departure, known as Brexit. Many of the countries in the E.U. have free trade and open borders. Experts predict that the U.K. may lose billions of dollars a year in trade with E.U. nations as a result of leaving the union.

War and poverty in the Middle East and Africa continue to drive a flood of refugees across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. More than 1.5 million have crossed since 2015, many in rickety boats. Thousands more have drowned while attempting the journey. Fearing problems with security and the burden of caring for so many desperate people, some countries, including Hungary and Austria, have closed their borders to migrants. This has stranded more than 50,000 in overcrowded Greek refugee camps—and created another humanitarian emergency. 

After 18 years in power, President Vladimir Putin (left) retains an iron grip on the Russian government. But protests in dozens of cities in 2017 show signs of growing dissatisfaction with “Putinism.” Relations with the U.S. remain strained by Russia’s apparent interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and by Russia’s aggression abroad. Putin continues to back the government of dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s bloody civil war.

Twenty-three years after a genocide that killed an estimated 800,000 people in just a few months and devastated the country, Rwanda has made a remarkable comeback. It has one of the fastest growing economies in Africa, the percentage of people living in poverty has declined, and life expectancy, literacy rates, and school enrollment have all improved. Rwanda also has a thriving luxury tourism industry, with visitors coming from all over to see gorillas in their rain forest habitat and other exotic wildlife.

When South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, people in the world’s newest country took to the streets in celebration. But just two years later, South Sudan erupted into a civil war that still rages today. The conflict, in which the government is battling rebel groups, has killed tens of thousands of people, devastated the fragile economy, and caused life-threatening food shortages. Earlier this year, parts of South Sudan were experiencing a famine, and millions there continue to starve.

Illegal hunting has put Africa’s elephants at risk of extinction. Tens of thousands are killed every year for their ivory tusks, which sell for about $330 per pound. Most of this ivory ends up in China, where it’s made into jewelry and other luxury items. But now the Chinese government is on a mission to halt its ivory trade. The country recently started shutting down its ivory factories and shops and aims to close them all by the end of 2017.

Since 2011, almost 500,000 people have been killed in the civil war pitting various rebel groups, as well as terrorist groups like ISIS, against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. To escape the violence, about 5 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries and to Europe. Another 7 million have lost their homes within Syria.

President Hassan Rouhani, who supports reforms and reconciliation with the West, was re-elected in a landslide in May 2017. But President Trump still considers Iran a major threat to the United States, and he’s criticized the 2015 nuclear accord that the U.S. and five other nations struck with Iran. Under the deal, Iran was to curtail its nuclear activities and get relief from economic sanctions that had crippled its economy. Trump fears that the deal won’t keep Iran from getting the bomb.

The U.S.-led campaign to reclaim territory from the radical Islamist group ISIS (the Islamic State) continues to make progress in Syria and Iraq. But ISIS, which wants to establish a state governed by strict Islamic law, has been widening its reach, gaining a foothold in places such as Afghanistan and the Philippines, and launching deadly terrorist attacks in Europe. It also continues to find new recruits online.

Under its young dictator Kim Jong Un (above, center), North Korea has stepped up its testing of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, including ones capable of reaching the United States. Kim also continues to threaten neighboring South Korea and the more than 28,000 American troops stationed there.

U.S. troops have been fighting a war in Afghanistan since 2001, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the U.S. But after 16 years, the country remains unstable. The Taliban, a radical Islamist group ousted from power early in the war, continue to battle U.S. and Afghan forces and lately have seized the offensive. President Trump plans to send more troops to try to stabilize the situation. 

Although China’s economy has slowed, it’s still the second-largest in the world (after the U.S. economy). Many U.S. companies have moved factories to China, where labor is cheaper, and President Trump has sharply criticized the loss of American jobs. The Trump administration has also vowed to counter China’s aggressive stance in the South China Sea, where China claims sovereignty over islands also claimed by nations such as Vietnam and the Philippines.

Tensions between the U.S. and Mexico are at their highest in decades. President Trump has promised to build a wall along the entire 2,000-mile border to prevent illegal immigration. And he has vowed to make Mexico pay for its construction—something Mexico flatly refuses to do. Trump is also threatening to pull out of the NAFTA trade deal (between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada), which he says has hurt American workers. Supporters of NAFTA say it has benefited both American trade and all three economies.

The debate over U.S. policy toward Cuba has heated up again. Former president Barack Obama restored relations with Cuba, which had been frozen for more than 50 years. But President Trump says that policy, which prompted an increase in travel and trade between the two countries, rewarded an oppressive Communist dictatorship. He’s reversed course and tightened restrictions on both travel and trade.  

The U.S. territory is trying to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria. Click here for more about the island and its complicated relationship with the rest of the U.S.

After four years of increasingly autocratic rule by President Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela is near economic and political collapse. Because of the plummeting price of oil—the country’s main source of revenue—the government can’t afford to import enough food, medicine, and other basics. Severe shortages have led to long lines at stores, looting, and violence. As the country slides toward dictatorship, hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets, calling for Maduro to step down.

South America’s largest country remains in turmoil following years of political scandals and an economic recession. The nation’s unemployment rate is nearly 14 percent—a record high. Meanwhile, Brazil continues to struggle with an outbreak of Zika—a virus spread by mosquitoes that’s been linked to birth defects. The virus has been reported in several dozen countries, including the U.S.

A 52-year civil war against a rebel group called the FARC ended in 2016 when President Juan Manuel Santos negotiated a peace deal. Since then, thousands of rebels have given up their weapons. But many Colombians oppose the agreement, saying that it lets the FARC off too easily. With Santos’s term in office set to end in 2018, the future of the peace agreement is uncertain.