I have to regard the victory of Imran Khan in Pakistan's elections as the event of the month. Khan is like Trump in that he is a celebrity turned politician, who beat two traditional political dynasties (Sharif and Bhutto); though unlike Trump, he wasn't also fighting against factions of the "deep state". At the crossroads between Iran and the Gulf Arabs, China and India, Afghanistan and America; possessor of the Islamic bomb (and a former proliferator), and the country where Osama bin Laden spent his last years in hiding; and with a population of 200 million that is 98% Muslim... Imran's Pakistan is potentially one of the key ingredients in a sovereign Muslim bloc of nations, should such an alliance truly take shape.
The month also saw Trump meet Putin in Europe. At the same time, Obama was in Africa to honor Mandela; and shortly afterwards, Putin, Xi, and Modi came to town (and also Brazilian president Temer) for a BRICS meeting whose themes included Africa and the "fourth industrial revolution". Elsewhere in Africa, Ethiopia continues its radical reform, Nigeria remains divided by religion, and Zimbabwe had its first post-Mugabe election.
Trump remains a political whirlwind, presiding over economic feuds with China and the EU, and fending off critics and scandals with his tweets, while preparing for the mid-term elections in November, and also preparing to escalate pressure on Iran. America wants to drive Iranian oil off the international market by sanctioning anyone who buys it; Iran in turn could make it hard for Saudi oil to get out, by further arming its allies in Yemen, who have already carried out little-reported missile attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
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