From the storming of the US Capitol to the Taliban’s conquest of Afghanistan, from the most spectacular Olympic Games in Tokyo to unparalleled catastrophic weather occurrences throughout the planet. Whereas Covid-19 continued to wreak havoc on families and communities, governments hurried to vaccinate their citizens and underdeveloped nations struggled to get dosages. Live Enhanced takes a look back at the major scenarios that marked 2021 as a tumultuous year.
Covid Is Not Going Away
source: assets.tvo.org
Despite the fact that eight and a half billion vaccine doses were administered, more than five million people died as a result of the virus, with underdeveloped nations still unwilling to get doses. Borders slowly reopen, and the Olympics are held a year late in Tokyo to empty stadiums.
Late in the year, the globe witnessed a recurrence of the pandemic as the extremely contagious Omicron strain spreads at an unprecedented rate. As the initial vaccination tolerance wears off, governments try to combat the virus with booster injections and a return to limitations.
US: Chaos At Capitol
On January 6, hundreds of Trump fans stormed the Capitol, the center of American democracy, in an effort to stop the declaration of Joe Biden’s presidential election result over the tycoon two months earlier.
Two weeks later, Biden is sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, despite Trump’s refusal to attend the inauguration. On February 13, Trump is found guilty of encouraging a Capitol insurgency in a historic second impeachment trial, but only after Senate Republicans band together.
Navalny Jailed
source: nyt.com
Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin’s most outspoken opponent, is detained on his return to Moscow on January 17, five months after being diagnosed in Germany for poisoning he suspects of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Moscow has denied any participation in the incident. Navalny was sentenced to two and a half years in jail in February on previous embezzlement charges, which he claims are politically motivated.
A Year of Coups
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi is arrested on February 1 in a coup that brings the country’s decade-long democratic experiment to an end. Since then, more than 1,100 people have been killed and hundreds have been jailed in the harsh suppression of major rallies against military rule.
Suu Kyi was jailed for two years in prison in December for inciting public disturbance and breaking health laws, and she risks time behind bars if convicted in further trials. On May 24, Mali strongman Colonel Assimi Goita leads the country’s second coup in ten months.
In Tunisia, President Kais Saied assumed broad powers in July. On September 5, Guinea’s president, Alpha Conde, was deposed in a military coup. In Sudan, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was rehabilitated in November, but the army strengthened its power following the previous month’s coup.
Hamas-Israel War
source: pinterest.com
On May 3, Israeli-Palestinian violence erupts following riots in the East Jerusalem suburb of Sheikh Jarrah, precipitated by a years-long campaign by Jewish settlers to seize over Arab houses.
The fighting has moved to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the occupied West Bank. A week after the initial confrontations, the Islamist movement Hamas, which administers the Gaza Strip, shoots rockets at Israel, which responded with its own rockets, sparking an 11-day war in which 260 Palestinians are killed. Thirteen Israelis are killed.
On June 13, Israel had a new administration led by conservative Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, putting an end to Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year reign.
Taliban Return To Power
The Taliban retake Kabul on August 15, after a rapid onslaught obeying the withdrawal of US and NATO troops, 20 years after being pushed out by a US-led coalition. In a tumultuous evacuation, at least 123,000 diplomats, foreigners, and Afghans are flown out.
On August 30, the final surviving troops leave, signaling the sudden conclusion of the United States’ longest war.
Europe Shaken
source: foreignpolicy.com
Because of labor limitations, especially among truck drivers, Britain, which exited the European Union’s single market on January 1, fears bare shelves and a fuel problem. Brexit raises concerns in Northern Ireland, even between the UK and its neighbors, particularly France, the overfishing industry, and migrants.
Angela Merkel, Germany’s Chancellor, is stepping down after 16 years in power. On December 8, Social Democrat leader Olaf Scholz, who is partnered with the Greens and the Liberals, will take over. Poland’s Constitutional Court ruled on October 7 that European law may only apply in specified sectors, putting the country in conflict with the rest of the EU.
Extreme Climate Events
Prolonged global warming over the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.6 degrees Fahrenheit) limit agreed upon in Paris could have centuries-long and catastrophic repercussions.
Prolonged global warming over the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.6 degrees Fahrenheit) limit agreed upon in Paris could have centuries-long and catastrophic repercussions.
Extreme weather events are becoming more common over the world, ranging from disastrous floods in Germany and Belgium to destructive and long-soothing wildfires in the United States, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Russia, and Algeria. Hundreds are killed in June by a so-called “heat dome” across western Canada and the United States West.
The COP26 meeting in Glasgow in November promises to boost the war against rising temperatures. However, promises fall short of what experts believe is required to keep harmful spikes in check.
Hundreds of tornadoes ripped through six US states in December, killing at least 88 people.
Poland-Belarus Migrant Crisis
source: i.guim.co.uk
Thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, camped out in frigid weather on Belarus’ border with Poland in November, hoping to enter the EU.
The West accuses Minsk of orchestrating the inflow in retaliation to sanctions imposed following the savage crackdown of a protest movement opposing Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko in 2020.
Belarus and Russia deny causing the situation and accuse the EU of failing to help the refugees. According to relief organizations, at least a dozen migrants perish on both sides of the border. The West imposes more sanctions on Minsk.
Big Step on Tax
In October, G20 leaders reached a historic worldwide agreement to impose a minimum 15% company tax. The OECD-brokered agreement to tax multinational corporations more evenly is signed by 136 nations representing more than 90% of global GDP.
The new worldwide rule specifically targets US internet behemoths such as Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Apple, who are professionals at locating in low-tax jurisdictions.
Return of Inflation
Snarled supply chains and a global shortage of critical commodities such as semiconductors force up consumer costs in 2021. In the United States, the inflation rate rose 6.8 percent in November, the highest annual increase in 39 years. Inflation in the eurozone reached 4.9 percent, the highest rating in three decades, fueled by rising energy prices.
US-China Standoff
source: i.guim.co.uk
Context of increasing intrusions by Chinese jets into Taiwan’s air defence designation zone, Biden warns that Washington is vehemently opposed to any move that might “undermine stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait.”
In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Biden that backing Taiwanese autonomy would be “playing with fire.”
In early December, the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom declared a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February in reaction to China’s alleged human rights violations, particularly against the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.
Ukraine Standoff
In December, US President Donald Trump warned Putin that if tens of thousands of Russian forces massed on the Ukrainian border launch an invasion, Moscow will face severe economic consequences. The EU and NATO have also warned of “huge consequences” in the event of an invasion.
Putin seeks guarantees that the former Soviet republic would never be admitted to NATO. As a result of the tensions, gas prices have reached all-time highs.
Disclaimer: This News/Content is sourced from third-party websites & published on Live Enhanced for information purposes only, LE does not claim or guarantee the truth.
