Top News That Grabbed Headlines in 2022

January :COVID-19 third wave in India 

The year 2022 begin with the third wave of coronavirus resulting in breakthrough infections across the country. As per the estimates, the maximum infections from the dominant Omicron variant of the coronavirus in the third wave were reported in the month of January. The third wave of coronavirus remained between January 2022 to March 2022 in the country. 

February: Russia- Ukraine War 

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An estimated 8 million Ukrainians were displaced within their country by late May and 7.8 million fled the country by 8 November 2022, while Russia, within five weeks of the invasion, experienced its greatest emigration since the 1917 October Revolution.

March: Assembly Elections in Five states 

Assembly polls in five states including Uttar Pradesh along with Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa, and Manipur. While the Bhartiya Janata Party clinched Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur, the debutant Aam Aadmi Party swept Punjab polls.

April:Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Ousted  

Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf chief and former cricketer Imran Khan was ousted from the post of Prime Minister. On March 28, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) chief and present Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tabled a no-confidence motion against Khan backed by other Opposition parties. In voting that was followed by high-voltage political drama, Khan was ousted with 174 members voting in favour of the no-confidence motion. 

May: Gyanvapi Mosque Dispute  

After a petition was filed in the Varanasi Court by five Hindu petitioners in August 2021 seeking permission to worship deities in the Gyanvapi mosque complex, a video survey of the complex was conducted on May 6. The survey was halted after Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee alleged advocate Ajai Mishra of biasedness, but the Court refused to remove him and the survey was resumed. 

Economic And Political Crisis In Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa Resigns  

The crisis in Sri Lanka started with Mahinda Rajapaksa declaring a temporary state of emergency on April 1 and escalated with anti-government protestors storming his residence in Colombo forcing him to flee the country. 

On May 9, Rajapaksa resigned and was replaced by Ranil Wickremesinghe. 

The political crisis started in April and stretched till July till the election of a new President. 

June: Maharashtra Political Crisis, Eknath Shinde took oath as Chief Minister 

The Maha Vikaas Aghadi government alliance led by Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray, along with Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress, went into trouble after Eknath Shinde and 37 MLAs declared Shinde the leader of the Shiv Sena legislature party on June 23. The Shiv Sena was divided among two factions with Uddhav Thackeray's faction naming the party Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Shinde faction named 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena'.  

July: Japan PM Shinzo Abe Assassinated

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead on the morning of July 8 while he was campaigning in the western Japanese city of Nara. Abe was the longest-serving Prime Minister of Japan who stepped down from the post in 2020 citing health reasons.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian PM Anthony Albanese along with other leaders attended his State funeral in Tokyo on September 27. 

August: Nancy Pelosi Visits Taiwan 

The US-China conflict and China's assertion on Taiwan took a new turn in August this year after US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi visited the island nation which Beijing claims to be their own. Pelosi's visit, a first by the highest-ranking elected US official in more than 25 years, was viewed as an offence by China as she is being seen as third in line for the presidency in the US after Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris.

Nitish Kumar Joins Mahagathbandhan

After a two-year of the ruling alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar, Janata Dal-United Chief Nitish Kumar broke ties with the party after suspicion of an 'MVA-like game' in the state and joined hands with the 'Mahagathbandhan' alliance comprising Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress and Left parties. 

With this Nitish Kumar took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the 8th time.  

September: Queen Elizabeth II Dies

The longest-reigning monarch of Britain and the nation's figurehead for seven decades, Queen Elizabeth passed away on September 8 at the age of 96. She was laid to rest on September 19, after 10 days of official mourning and her coffin had been in view to the public in Westminster Hall since September 14. 

President Droupadi Murmu and Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra formed the official Indian delegation at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. 

October: Morbi Bridge Collapse

135 people including women and children were killed after a British-era suspension foot-bridge over the Machchu river collapsed in Gujarat's Morbi city on October 30. Personnel from the Indian Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the NDRF, the SDRF, the local fire department as well as the police department launched search and rescue operations which went on for five days.

Nine persons were arrested in connection with the tragic incident. 

Twitter  taken over by Elon Musk 

The Twitter-Elon Musk feud came to an end on October 28 with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO taking charge of the microblogging site and firing the social media company’s four top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal and legal executive Vijaya Gadde.

G20 Bali Summit

Leaders of several nations shared the world stage during the 2022 G20 Summit in Indonesia's Bali province including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak among others. 

The Bali G20 Summit 2022 was important as Joe Biden and Xi Jinping shared the stage after a series of war of words on several issues including Hong Kong, Covid-19, and Taiwan. 

The Summit was also important as the G20 Presidency was passed to India which will be hosting the Summit next year in September in New Delhi. 

November: Shraddha Walkar Murder Case

The country was shaken as a gruesome murder case came to light in November this year. Aftab Amin Poonawala, who was in a live-in relationship and lived with his partner Shraddha Walkar in Delhi's Chattarpur area, strangled and killed her in the flat. He later dismembered the corpse into 35 pieces and stacked them in a refrigerator, especially bought for the purpose, and disposed of them in various parts of the city at midnight. 

December: Fifa World Cup 2022 

The year ended with a high zeal and sporty spirit with the FIFA World Cup 2022 hosted by Qatar. Lionel Messi-led Argentina beat two-time world champions France 4-2 on penalties in a high-octane FIFA World Cup 2022 finals.