The year 2022 is approaching its end, and it brought with it exceptional events that will remain in the memory of those who lived through them, and history will remember them for generations.
Below we shed light on the most important and prominent three events that took place during the year.
Russian war on Ukraine
On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed a war on neighboring Ukraine, which seeks to join NATO, under the pretext that the latter's plans pose a constant threat to the security of Russia, which "cannot feel safe, develop and exist," according to the Russian leader. Vladimir Putin.
The initial goal of the Russian leader was to invade Ukraine and overthrow its legitimate government and thus eliminate any possibility of its joining NATO.
Putin told the Russian people his goal was to "demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine" to protect those who had been subjected to what he described as 8 years of bullying and genocide by the Ukrainian government.
However, Russia's goal changed later after it became aware that overthrowing the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was next to impossible from a military point of view, and it is now satisfied with its neutrality.
Russia and Ukraine: dead and wounded in a series of explosions rocking the city of Donetsk, which is under the control of the separatists
Russia and Ukraine: the Ukrainian army discovers "hundreds of corpses in a mass grave" in the city of Izyum liberated from Russian forces
The two sides incurred huge financial, human and military losses during the 10 months of the war, and many Ukrainian cities were subjected to widespread destruction millions of Ukrainians fled to Europe, and there are no signs on the horizon that the end of this war is near.
However, this war is not just a regional affair taking place between two neighboring countries. Rather, its impact extended to most of the countries of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa because of its great economic repercussions on these countries, causing a major economic crisis due to the suspension of Russia and Ukraine's exports of energy, fuel, and food supplies that they used to supply. world out.
Russia and Ukraine occupy an important position in the agricultural products market in the world, and their wheat exports represent 23 percent of the global market, while they supply a quarter of the world's grain production. The vast majority of Ukraine's grain exports are exported through the Black Sea.
Energy and fuel prices have risen in countries that depended on the exports of these two countries, and the standard of living of the residents of these countries has declined, which is still suffering from a shortage of products, high prices, and an increase in fuel prices.
There is no doubt that poor countries are more affected by food shortages than others, as supplies of wheat and corn declined sharply as a result of the war after Russia imposed a naval blockade on Ukraine and closed its ports.
In July, an agreement was reached under the auspices of the United Nations for the export of Ukrainian grain through the Ukrainian port of Odesa.
35 out of 55 African countries were affected, due to their dependence on wheat and other grain exports from Russia and Ukraine, and 22 countries import fertilizers from the two countries.
There is no doubt that the humanitarian crisis and its exacerbation in Europe due to the displacement of millions of Ukrainians are the largest ever in European modern history.
Iran Protests/Mahsa Amini
The Iranian authorities did not expect that the killing of the Kurdish young woman, Mahsa Amini, in September of this year, while she was being held by the "morality" police in Tehran, would lead to the anger of the Iranians and the outbreak of protests in all cities of the country within just days of the news of Amini's death spread.
Mahsa Amini, who hails from the city of Sanandaj, was on a visit to Tehran with her brother when the "morality police" encountered her and asked her to cover her hair completely without showing any strands. A short verbal altercation occurred that ended with her being dragged away by the police, beaten in the street, and arrested. The young woman died after three days in the detention center.
Her death, which began because of a lock of hair, angered the residents of Sanandaj, who went out in demonstrations to protest what the Kurdish young woman had been subjected to and the government's repressive policies, to spread their anger to the rest of Iran's cities.
Her death ignited the emergence of women and young women at the forefront of the demonstrations, and some of them began to cut their hair as an expression of anger, rejection, and solidarity with Mahsa Amini.
The authorities arrested hundreds of participants in the demonstrations, killed dozens with live bullets, and executed some, and there are still many behind bars waiting on death row.
The importance of these protests stems from the fact that they broke the barrier of people's fear of the authorities and spread the slogan "Women, Life, Freedom" , which sums up the goals of the protesters, which is that they will not surrender and will continue their demand for freedom, despite Iran's policy of intimidation and intimidation, especially after it executed two demonstrators for their participation in the massacre. protests.
The controversial Qatar World Cup
This is the first round of the World Cup to be held in a Muslim country in the Middle East, which has made it surrounded with a lot of controversy over a number of issues since the announcement of Doha hosting the tournament.
In 2010, Qatar overtook South Korea, Japan, Australia, and the United States, and FIFA accepted Doha's bid to organize the tournament. But that came amid allegations of corruption marred the selection process, which Qatar has since denied.
Among the most prominent cases is the death of 6,500 foreign workers while building and equipping stadiums and sports facilities in Qatar in preparation for the tournament, according to a report by the British newspaper, The Guardian, as it obtained these numbers from the embassies of the countries to which the workers belong in Qatar.
There is also the LGBT crisis, which dominated the pages of many newspapers during the period of the matches because the laws of Qatar are based on Islamic law, which prohibits homosexuality.
Alcoholic drinks were banned, with the exception of some places that were designated to sell alcohol to football fans, despite the ban.
Sepp Blatter, former FIFA president and the man who announced the award of the tournament to Qatar in 2010, said the decision was a "mistake".
But the day before the tournament, FIFA President Gianni Infantino accused the West of "hypocrisy" over Qatar's human rights record and spoke for nearly an hour in defense of Qatar and the tournament.
Qatar World Cup 2022: Did Western media really follow double standards?
Morocco defeats Portugal and advanced to the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar in 2022.
As for surprises and celebrations, Saudi Arabia achieved a heavy-caliber surprise by defeating the Argentine national team.
The Saudis and Arabs celebrated this historic victory, and King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia declared the day after the match an official holiday in the country after the Saudi national team won 2-1 against Argentina in its first match in the tournament.
The great joy came when the Moroccan Atlas Lions defeated the Portuguese national team, 1-0, in the quarter-finals, thus writing a new page in the history of African football.
Morocco's hopes of becoming the first African country to reach the World Cup final ended after their team lost 2-0 to France. But reaching the quarter-finals in itself is an achievement in African history that history will remember for generations, despite losing the match for third place against Croatia, with two goals to one.
