Stories That Shaped the World in 2022

As December comes to a close, it’s important to take a look back at the 10 stories that changed the world in 2022.

10) U.S. scientists achieved a historic fusion energy breakthrough.

In December, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory produced more energy in a fusion reaction than was needed to ignite it for the first time.
This development was a scientific breakthrough of enormous consequence for the future of national defense and clean energy.

9) The U.S. took out some of the world’s top terrorists.

ISIS Leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi blew himself up during a U.S. special forces raid on his compound in Syria, making him the third consecutive leader of ISIS to die in a U.S. raid.
Five months later, a U.S. drone strike killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Ladin’s successor as head of al-Qaeda, on his balcony in Kabul.

8) Ex-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated.

Abe, Japan’s longest-serving postwar prime minister, was assassinated at a campaign rally in July.
Shinzo Abe was a staunch ally of the United States, and his death was mourned by U.S. leaders of both parties.

7) Latin America turned left.

Left-wing former president Lula’s victory in Brazil’s presidential election, defeating incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro, cemented the trend of left-wing victories across Latin America.
At the dawn of 2023, every major Latin American country will have a left-wing government.
However, Peru’s ongoing protests after the ouster of their power-grabbing leftist president leaves the survival of at least one left-wing government in doubt.

6) Governments across the west buckled amid the challenges of Covid-19, the War in Ukraine, and inflation.

Canada’s Freedom Convoy protests in February shut down Ottawa before Justin Trudeau’s government took unprecedented measures to suppress the protests.
Israel’s governing coalition collapsed in June, opening the door for the return to power of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Italy’s right-wing roared back to power in September under new prime minister Giorgia Meloni after her technocratic predecessor Mario Draghi’s coalition collapsed.
In December, German police disrupted an extremist coup plot to put a pro-Russian prince in power.

5) The world mourned the death of the Queen.

Queen Elizabeth II died in September at the age of 96 after a historic 70-year reign.
World leaders converged on London to mourn the last head of state to serve in World War II who presided over Britain’s decline as a great power.
Her son King Charles III assumed the throne during a challenging time for Britain and for the Royal Family.

4) Britain’s Conservative government collapsed into chaos during the “Year of the Three Prime Ministers.”

2022 dawned with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson facing an inquiry into boozy parties held at his official residence at the height of Britain’s strict lockdowns.
Johnson’s government limped on until it finally imploded in July amid yet another scandal and mass resignations from his ministers.
Liz Truss took over in September, only for her government to collapse just six weeks after her botched tax-cut plan spooked markets and wrecked the British economy.
Rishi Sunak, the runner-up to Truss, stepped into the breach and saw off a brief comeback attempt by Johnson to become Britain’s third PM of the year.

3) Anti-regime protests shook Iran’s Islamist government.

Massive protests swept Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in October.
The still-ongoing women-led protests have proved to be a credible threat to the Islamic Republic and hundreds have died in protests across the length and breadth of Iran.

2) Xi Jinping secured a third term amid domestic unrest and rising tensions in East Asia

Paramount leader Xi Jinping secured a historic third term leading the People’s Republic of China in October.
Xi faces challenges at home and abroad.
Anti-lockdown protests forced the PRC to abandon its “zero-Covid” strategy that had sent shocks through global supply chains.
China’s bellicosity towards Taiwan grows by the day – including a notable spike in tensions in August after Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island – and the crisis in the South China Sea seems guaranteed to continue into 2023.

1) Russia invaded Ukraine, launching Europe’s largest land war since 1945.

After months of saber-rattling, Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February.
What was once expected to be a quick Russian victory stalled in the face of heroic Ukrainian resistance led by President Volodymyr Zelensky, forcing Putin to mobilize conscripts and threatening his regime.
Russian occupiers have terrorized Ukrainians with strikes on civilian populations and widespread torture in occupied areas.
The brutal conflict has reshaped geopolitics, pushing Sweden and Finland to apply for NATO membership and forcing Germany to finally abandon its Russian energy dreams.
Ukraine’s stunning Fall counteroffensive threw Russian forces out of vast swathes of Ukrainian territory, and both sides are gearing up for a grinding war of attrition in Ukraine’s Russian-held east.

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