PARIS:From the war in Ukraine to devastating natural disasters, 2022 was a year of extraordinary upheaval. AFP examines some of the terms and phrases that have defined the year.
For the first time in decades, the threat of nuclear war is looming over the world in light of the conflict in Ukraine and the increasingly belligerent threats made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.In October, US President Joe Biden issued a warning that "we have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis" in 1962.The most perilous scenario they have ever seen was the subject of experts' warnings, and these concerns extended beyond Russia:The world is anticipating North Korea's first nuclear test since 2017 as its nuclear sabre-rattling has reached new heights.
On September 8, at 6:30 p.m., Buckingham Palace made the shocking announcement that Queen Elizabeth had passed away, ending the longest reign in British history.Following a carefully orchestrated sequence of ceremonies, Britons paid their respects to the only monarch most people had ever known for ten days.Every aspect of the protocol, right down to BBC presenters wearing black ties, was laid out in great detail in the famous program of events, which was codenamed "London Bridge."She ultimately passed away in Scotland, triggering Operation Unicorn, a special set of measures.World pioneers and arbitrators dropped on the Egyptian Red Ocean port of Sharm el-Sheik for the most recent Joined Countries culmination (COP27) on handling environmental change.A deal was reached on a fund for "loss and damage" to assist vulnerable nations in coping with the devastating effects of climate change after a fractious summit that was widely regarded as poorly organized.Millions of people in developing countries face destruction behind the institutional-sounding name.The COP culmination was hailed as notable yet many voiced displeasure regarding an absence of desire on cutting ozone harming substance emanations.
Following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was detained by the Tehran morality police, protesters in Iran chanted this.Posters of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have been burned by protesters, and women have shown up in public without their headscarves in ways that were unheard of prior to the uprising.The three-month-long demonstrations appear to be an existential threat to the clerical regime's 43-year rule.
After Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, the tiny blue tick—actually white on a blue background—that certifies users became a symbol of the chaos that was engulfing the social media platform.The erratic CEO of Tesla said that anyone who wanted the coveted blue tick would have to pay eight dollars, but hours later, he scrapped the plan.With thousands of employees laid off, advertisers leaving, and the "free speech" platform's future still in doubt a month after the takeover,
The landmark 1973 "Roe v. Wade" decision, which established a woman's right to an abortion, was overturned by the conservative-dominated United States Supreme Court in a landmark decision.Several right-leaning states took advantage of the Supreme Court's decision that states could restrict or prohibit the procedure.In Washington and elsewhere, protests broke out right away, demonstrating how contentious the issue is still in the United States.During the US midterm elections, the repeal of "Roe v. Wade" became a pivotal issue, with several victories for pro-abortion candidates.
In Britain and Australia, the phrase "doing the bare minimum at work" is one of the "words of the year." You can use it to protest your employer or improve your work-life balance.A July TikTok post appears to have been the first mention of the trend, which has sparked debate regarding overwork, particularly in the United States.The post, which went viral and received nearly 500,000 likes, stated that "you're not outright quitting your job but you're quitting the idea of going above and beyond."
The Economist weekly remarked that Liz Truss's effective term as British prime minister had "roughly the shelf-life of a lettuce" as her chaotic and brief tenure came to an end.A live webcam featuring the vegetable, complete with googly eyes, was launched by the tabloid Daily Star alongside a picture of the helpless Truss.She was in office for just 44 days, and her budget was a meager one that sank the market and caused huge political upheaval.The lettuce prevailed in the end.
In October, environmental protesters at London's National Gallery hurled tomato soup at Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers," initiating a series of similar stunts to raise awareness of the role that fossil fuel consumption plays in the climate crisis.Since then, activists have stuck themselves to paintings by Andy Warhol, Francisco Goya, and Johannes Vermeer and smothered Claude Monet with mashed potatoes.For some, the activists who bravely brought attention to the climate emergency are heroes.Others argue that the attacks are ineffective and lose their impact as they become routine.
The largest threat to Beijing's authority since 1989 was posed by protests in China, initially over Covid restrictions but later expanding to include broader political grievances.Some people referred to the demonstrations as the "A4" protests because protesters held up sheets of white paper the size of an A4 in solidarity and as a reference to China's lack of freedom of speech.