Time is rolling on. It is the frequency of endless life. As each new year passes us by, certain events in this world leave a special place in our minds. However, with the tide of new information flowing every hour, even important events are easily lost in our minds. Let’s see some of the major world events of 2022 that have had an impact on us.
It is inevitable that people from Western countries, mainly Europe and America, travel abroad for at least two to three weeks every year. The tourism sector was paralyzed for the two years due to Covid-19 restrictions were revoked has increased significantly the numbers of tourists from America and Europe in 2022. And it has to be said that wage growth has been dampened by a shortage of workers as related industries make the challenges more in 2022. Due to this everything became very challenging till the handling of passengers and their luggage. Due to this, in the first three months of 2022 alone, 684,000 luggage’s of the passengers were lost or damaged on major US airlines, causing serious inconvenience to tourists.
The people of Great Britain have met three prime ministers in the year 2022. Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost his position after the news that he gave a Christmas party to his friends at the Prime Minister’s official residence 10 Downing Street while the Covid-19 restrictions were in force. Successive Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned as Prime Minister in just 50 days after instilling hope in the country that she would revive the economy. Rishi Sunak, the current Prime Minister of the Christian-majority UK, is a Hindu. This is an amazing fact. Not only is time running, but also the people of Britain’s mindset are changing fast.
Reports about Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan as expected are not comforting us. The people of Afghanistan are facing economic problems, safety of children and women, education, employment, medical etc. And in 2022, terrorist attacks are going on in many places. Places of worship are not spared. However, it is worth noting that the Taliban have issued a statement from their ministry of external affairs that Russia and Ukraine should return to the negotiation table to make a peaceful resolution.
If we are a country of immigrants, then the world’s only superpower, the United States, will come to our memory. For the past 50 years, abortion has been an individual fundamental right of women. This law has now been overturned by the US Supreme Court in 2022. In addition, the debate about whether former President Donald Trump will contest for the presidential election again has started to blow fire in American politics. Additionally, amid unconfirmed reports of whether current Pope Francis will resign like Pope Benedict XVI because of health issues, he has expressed his respect for the US Supreme Court’s ban on abortion.
The majority of people in Iran are Shia Muslims. The law requires women in Iran to cover their heads with a cloth (wearing a hijab) while in public. A 23-year-old woman named Massa Amini was arrested for wearing a loose hijab on her head, He died in police custody. Following this, the women of the country came out in public and took off their hijab and started protesting, inviting the world’s attention. The time has yet to change for Bharatiyar’s dream of equality between men and women to be fulfilled in Iran.
It should be noted that the Sri Lankan political crisis is between former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa cum family regime and the people of Sri Lanka who voted for them. To tell the truth, they were subjected to the hardships of the unprecedented crisis in Sri Lanka. Availability of three meals a day and fuel became a question mark. But when the general public saw that the president’s family was enjoying a life of luxury, they took to the streets and protested. As a result of the continuous struggle, the president fled the country and sought refuge in Singapore. Social media showed the world how people entered the President’s residence and took away their belongings. Sri Lanka’s domestic politics in 2022 has given a stern warning to the anti-people regime around the world.
Russia’s war on Ukraine can be said to be the smoke of a long-burning bonfire. For more than 300 years, Ukraine has been a part of the Russian Empire. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine became an independent country. Since then, debates on joining the European Union and NATO have had a major impact on the country’s politics. Russia says that if Ukraine joins NATO, the US military will stand guard at its door, which is a threat to their security. The inability of both countries to come out of their positions led to this war. The European Union, the United States and Canada continue to provide financial and military assistance to Ukraine. Women, senior people, children and the common people of Ukraine are suffering tremendously in addition to loss of life and material damage. War is never over. This war is just the beginning of an endless war for Russia and Ukraine in 2022.
Now we are all in acceptance that climate change and global warming are not myths. The debate on the importance of controlling it has been proposed by the international community since 1945. Since the growth centred economy has started to revolve, disturbances to nature have started silently. The arrival of multinational companies should not harm the future human welfare. A gathering of world leaders and scientists in the city of Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt in 2022 as a continuation of the action to control climate change received the attention of the world. According to the United Nations Scientific Committee, the conference called for limiting global warming to 1.5°C and avoiding its severe impacts, the Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone gas emissions should be reduced by 45% by 2030.
Ethiopia has had no relations with neighbouring Eritrea for more than 20 years. The international community welcomed Abiy Ahmed’s open-minded talks with the Eritrean president. He was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for recognising his efforts to defuse tension between the two countries. But it is noteworthy that before this award, international human rights organizations and European Union Human Rights watchers did not support the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Abiy Ahmed. Now social media is commenting that the Nobel Prize should not have been awarded to him due to his actions, which is causing great controversy in 2022.
Pakistan’s world-renowned former cricketer and former Prime Minister Imran Khan was recently removed from office. Meanwhile, he was shot while participating in a political rally. But luckily, he survived the assassination attempt. The execution and killing of prime ministers, overthrowing the democratic elected governments and establishing military regime are not conducive to the future in Pakistan. In addition, it will pose a major challenge to sustain peace in South Asia. The world expects peace in Pakistan.
Human rights watchdogs have been vocal about the dark side of the World Cup football tournament held at Qatar in 2022. It is the prime duty of the Government of Qatar not only to answer about the allegations of immigrant’s workers’ death, but also to take full responsibility and provide them with humanitarian compensation. So that the social media reports about the deaths of construction workers do not leave an indelible stain on the country of Qatar.
China has a population of 1.4 billion and its president can only serve two terms. President Xi Jinping is in office for a third consecutive term. He is also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, the only party in China. After becoming the president for the third time, Xi’s announcement of zero-Covid restrictions triggered mass protest across China. The protests have been described as the first in Chinese history since the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protests. President Xi Jinping, who did not expect this at all, was shocked and bowed down to female protesters. At this juncture many international relations experts voice that China may send troops to sooner rather than later to invade Taiwan. And finally in 2022, Dr Andrew Huff’s new book “The Truth about Wuhan”, shocking the world revealing that the Covid virus leaked from the Wuhan lab.
