The most memorable global headlines in 2022    

The year 2022 is about to end in a matter of four days. It is important to take stock and chronicle the biggest headlines and most burning issues that dominated the print and broadcast as well as digital media this year. The Russia-Ukraine War took over from the Covid-19 global pandemic as biggest news, topped the global headlines and until now continues to hug the multi-media, and even led to the Times Magazine declaring Volodimir Zelensky as its Man of the Year.

Vladimir Putin shocked the whole world when Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. It is commonly interpreted as Putin's preemptive strike against the enlargement of NATO with many NATO current and prospective member nations adjoining Russia. The Russian invasion was projected by Putin to last less than one month but unknown to him, the massive support of American and all NATO members, Zelensky was able to mount an effective defense. In fact, in many instances Ukraine scored decisive victories in some battles. However, such a Russian invasion resulted to a major refugee crisis and thousands of deaths including innocent and unarmed civilians. The UN condemned the invasion and considers Russia as the single worst threat to world peace.  

There is a war among various ethnic factions in Myanmar with casualties already numbering 13,646. There is ethnic violence in South Sudan. There is a civil war and terrorist insurgency in Afghanistan, in Libya, and Central African Republic, another terrorist insurgency in Burkina Faso, in Nigeria as well as in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a drug war in both Mexico and Colombia, a civil war in Ethiopia, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. There are terrorist insurgencies in Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Tanzania, Togo, Chad, Ghana, Tunisia and Uganda. The world is in trouble, and here we are with too many complaints about many things while our country is enjoying relative peace.

One of the most important milestones that we tend to ignore is that this year, the world's population has reached eight billion, compared to its population of only 7.089 billion ten years ago (2012) and 6..273 billion in 2002 or twenty years ago. It was only 2.5 billion in 1950 and 2 billion in 1900. At the current rate, the world population shall reach 9.8 billion in 2050, and 10.4 billion in 2100. Well, we shall no longer be around by that time. The honor of being given the distinction as human number 8 billion is a baby born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on November 15, 2022.  And while we celebrate births, the world also witnessed the passing of the longest reigning and perhaps most beloved monarch, Queen Elizabeth II on September 8 at the age of 96.

 Michael Gorbachev, former Soviet president, also died at age of 91. Chinese leader Jiang Zemin also died at age of 96. Keneth Starr, a high powered Washington DC lawyer who played a major role in both the Whitewater scandal and the Clinton impeachment trial also died at age 76. Former US Defense secretary Ashton Carter passed on at age 68. Some famous movie and TV personalities also died this year: Angela Lansbury of "The Manchurian Candidate" and "The Beauty and The Beast" died at the age of 96. Bernard Shaw, CNN's chief anchor of the famous ABC's World News Tonight also passed on. Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane, passed on at age 72. Famous US TV actor Leslie Jordan is gone at age of 76.

New heads of states and of governments came into power. Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia, Dina Baluarte of Peru, Mohammad Shia Al Sudan of Iraq, Risni Sunak of UK, Georgia Meloni of Italy, Ulf Kristerson of Sweden, Muhammad Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, Charles III of England, Gustavo Petro of Columbia, Dinesh Gunawardena of Sri Lanka, Yair Lapid then Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Lula da Silva of Brazil, Albert Rosti of Switzerland, Leo Varadkar of Ireland. The world is undergoing many changes in the political, economic and technological realms. It has been a year of many disruptions and turbulence.