Events that defined 2022. The year had its own share of wins and losses. In spite of some resilience built in after the pandemic, many events shook the world this year be it the war, rise in food prices, higher interest rates, civic unrest, and more.
Here is a look back at month-wise events.
January
Australia cancelled Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic’s visa on “health and good order” grounds, deporting him before he could play in the Australian open – as he wasn’t vaccinated against Covid-19.
The world lost two renowned artists – critically-acclaimed actor and director Sidney Poitier, who was the first African American actor to win an Academy Award. The world also lost Indian classical dancer and singer Pt Birju Maharaj.
In good/bad news, doctors successfully transplant a heart from a pig to a human in Baltimore, USA. However, the man who received the transplant died two months after the surgery.
February
Just when the world started settling down from the effects of the Covid pandemic, Russia invaded Ukraine to “demilitarise and de-Nazify” the country.
India also lost two of its most popular artists – singer Lata Mangeshkar, fondly referred to as India’s Nightingale, and music composer Bappi Lahiri aka the ‘disco king’ of the Indian music industry.
March
For the first time in three years the US Federal Reserve announced a 0.25% hike in its benchmark short-term interest rate to combat rising inflation.
The US, EU, and UK placed sanctions on more than 1,000 Russian individuals and businesses. This led to oil prices rising to over $110 per barrel. Responding to the international sanctions, Russia halted gas deliveries to Germany.
Actor Will Smith publicly slapped comedian and actor Chris Rock at the Oscars, after Rock cracked a joke on Smith’s wife, actor Jada Pinkett Smith.
April
During the emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly, Russia was suspended from the UN Human Rights Council with 93 votes in favour. India abstained from voting.
Apart from the energy crisis, the Russia-Ukraine war disrupted the global supply chain so much that most of the world faced shortage of a basic food staple, wheat. As per the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Russia and Ukraine were major exporters of commodities like wheat, sunflower seeds, etc.
May
The world was sent into the throes of another virus – Monkeypox – a case of which was reported in London.
The untimely demise of Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds in a car crash left the world shocked. Indian singer KK, aged 53, also died of a cardiac arrest. Popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, aged 28, became the victim of a gang war. Gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar claimed responsibility for the attack.
In response to inflationary pressures, RBI increased interest rates by 40 basis points to 4.4%.
June
Massive floods wreaked havoc in Pakistan, leading to widespread devastation. As per a World Bank assessment report, the floods (that lasted till October) led to damages exceeding $14.9 billion.
The infamous and well-publicised trial between actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, which began in April, ended in favour of Depp.
July
NASA revealed the first full-colour images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. The images included the “deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe so far”. According to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, “Webb will help to uncover the answers to questions we don’t even yet know to ask.”
Back on Earth, Sri Lankan protesters–who were protesting for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa since March–occupied the President’s house in Colombo.
Shockingly, former President of Japan Shinzo Abe was assassinated while speaking at a public event. The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, was arrested on the scene and charged with murder.
Droupadi Murmu was elected the 15th President of India. Murmu is the youngest person to be elected to the office and also, the first tribal woman to hold the position.
Multiple rate hikes by central banks across the world, fear of recession and slowdown kickstarted a funding winter.
August
India lost its own Warren Buffet Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who is also called the Big Bull. Jhunjhunwala died due to multiple organ failure, aged 62. At the time of his death, Jhunjhunwala was the 438th richest person in the world, with a net worth of $5.8 billion, according to Forbes.
September
After a 70-year-reign, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms, died on September 8, passing on the crown to her son Charles III.
Sports legend Roger Federer announced his retirement from tennis, leaving behind millions of heartbroken fans and also rivals – like longtime competitor and friend, Rafael Nadal.
Iran witnessed widespread civil unrest and protests, following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Reports state that Amini was arrested by Iran’s morality policy and allegedly, beaten to the point of death in custody, for violating the mandatory hijab law.
With a net worth of $135.4 billion, industrialist Gautam Adani surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to grab the third spot on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people.
October
The UK appointed Rishi Sunak as its PM – the first British Asian and Hindu to hold the office. Elon Musk took over as the CEO of Twitter, and proceeded to introduce new policies, announce layoffs, and reinstate formerly suspended accounts.
Another key event of the year was the great tech meltdown in the US where three tech majors companies – Tesla, Amazon and Facebook-parent Meta slipped out of the elite $1 trillion club.
November
The 2022 Football World Cup started in Qatar. Qatar, which spent a whopping $220 billion on the World Cup and promptly set the dubious record of being the first host team to exit the FIFA world cup in 92 years.
Almost consecutive layoff announcements were made by tech giants Twitter (4400), Meta (11000), and Amazon (10000). Over 1 lakh people have been laid off in 2022 alone.
After Binance backed out of acquiring the cash-strapped cryptocurrency exchange FTX, founder and former FTX CEO Sam Bankman Fried resigned from his post, and FTX filed for bankruptcy, leading to an international cryptocurrency crash.
The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference ended with a decision to create a loss and damage fund for “vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters”. India’s proposal for a phase down on all fossil fuels was not included in the final outcome.
As per the IMF projections, India surpassed the UK to become the fifth largest economy. On November 15, the world population also reached 8 billion.
December
India assumed the G-20 presidency for the next year on December 1, 2022. India will host over 200 meetings in over 50 cities across 32 different workstreams.
After over 2 months of widespread protests, in which 200 people lost their lives, Iran abolished its morality police. Additionally, after unprecedented protests against its Covid restrictions, China eased restrictions in various cities including Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi, where the protests first started.
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