How many people have walked into 2023 with hope and longing: the new crown epidemic is gradually receding, masks and lockdowns are no more, and the world seems to be returning to the way it was three years ago.
However, after the new crown has receded, the "common enemy" of mankind, the world has not fully turned as expected, with two large-scale conflicts in Europe and the Middle East continuing, the global economic recovery is weak, and extreme weather is intensifying, and the challenges facing humanity are still intensifying. On many issues such as regional conflicts, the climate crisis, economic recovery, and global governance, the whole world still needs to work together to deal with them.
What extraordinary years have the world experienced in 2023?
January. On January 1, 2023, the 77-year-old Lula was officially sworn in Brazil**. This is Lula's third tenure and he has pledged to "rebuild Brazil" and change the mess left by his predecessor, Bolsonaro.
A week later, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil's Congress, the Federal Supreme Court and the government, leaving the capital Brasilia in chaos.
This scene is like a replica of the riot on Capitol Hill two years ago - on January 6, 2021, there was a riot on Capitol Hill in the United States, and former Trump supporters broke into Capitol Hill in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 results. Two years later, the turmoil in the United States was evident from the beginning of the year.
From January 3 to the early morning of January 7, the House of Representatives of the United States Congress finally reached an agreement on the post of speaker after five days and 15 votes, setting a record for the number of votes for a speaker in 100 years.
Who would have thought that McCarthy, who was hard-fought to be elected Speaker, would become the first sitting Speaker of the House of Representatives to be removed from office in U.S. history after only 9 months. The U.S. House of Representatives then fell into a three-week paralysis before finally electing Johnson as the new speaker on October 25, ending the mess.
On October 18, 2023 local time, in Washington, USA, the U.S. House of Representatives held a second round of voting on the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Fig. ic photo
In January, the world has actually gradually recovered from the pandemic, with many countries lifting COVID restrictions. However, on January 30, the WHO issued a statement following its assessment that the outbreak constituted a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern" (PHEICs) despite the pandemic approaching a turning point.
It wasn't until 5 May that the WHO announced that the pandemic no longer constituted a PHEIC, signaling a crucial step towards ending the pandemic.
The cost of the pandemic is undoubtedly enormous. Since the new crown epidemic spread around the world in early 2020, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of new crown in the world is 7700 million, with a cumulative total of 6.98 million deaths. And today, the new crown has not died out, and there is still the possibility of a comeback.
This year, there has been several surges in coronavirus cases around the world. Since December, the surge in new crown cases in many Asian countries has been particularly obvious, and some countries have restarted the epidemic prevention measures of wearing masks and reopening "square cabins". The WHO also designated the new coronavirus variant on December 191 is listed as "Variants of Concern".
However, experts pointed out that the pathogenicity of the new variant has not increased significantly, and the cases reported in many countries are mainly mild, so there is no need for the public to panic too much.
February. In early February, a powerful earthquake struck the Middle East, causing a devastating disaster, and the international community rushed to help.
On February 6, there was a succession of 7Level 8 and 7A magnitude 7 earthquake was followed by tens of thousands of aftershocks in the months that followed. ** Caused more than 50,000 deaths in Turkey and more than 8,000 deaths in Syria. To this day, many people have not recovered from the nightmare.
Initially, the earthquake could adversely affect Turkey's Erdogan, who is about to face the test, but he finally won re-election in the second round of the election on May 28.
On March 1, 2023 local time, in Adiyaman, Turkey, after the ** incident, the building collapsed and the victims walked in front of the rubble. Fig. ic photo
February 24 marks the first anniversary of the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. At this critical juncture, China issued the "China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis", calling for a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities and the start of peace talks.
But the crisis remains intractable and the fighting continues. On December 14, Putin said at his annual press conference that he would "continue to fight", saying that "Russia's goals in the special military operation have not changed." ”
March. Entering March, the former Trump of the United States once appeared on the global hot search.
On March 30, a grand jury in Manhattan, New York, USA, decided to launch a criminal indictment against Trump, accusing him of paying "hush money" to star Daniels during the 2016 ** election, allegedly for the felony of falsifying business records. Trump thus became the first American ex-** in U.S. history to face criminal charges.
There is one, and there are two, three, four. In the six months since, Trump has been criminally charged three times. In June, Mr. Trump was accused of mishandling hundreds of classified documents. In August, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Trump with allegedly trying to overturn the 2020** results, and Georgia subsequently sued Trump for allegedly overturning the state's 2020** election results.
In total, Trump faces 91 charges in these four cases. Outside analysts believe that this has added many obstacles to Trump's attempt to return to the White House after the 2024 ** election.
Former ** Trump in the United States. Fig. ic photo
In the South Asian country of Pakistan, former Prime Minister Imran Khan is also in danger of being arrested. On March 14, Pakistan** came to Imran Khan's home to try to arrest him, but met with fierce resistance from his supporters, and then halted the arrest.
Imran Khan was subsequently charged with illegal state gifts in April last year. He himself denied this. However, due to his refusal to appear in court to attend the hearings, Pakistani courts issued arrest warrants against him on several occasions.
Until August this year, the Islamabad District Court sentenced Imran Khan to three years in prison and deprived him of his ability to hold public office for five years in a corruption case. But in the same month, the Islamabad High Court suspended the verdict. There are reports that Imran Khan, who is still in prison, plans to run in the National Assembly elections scheduled for February next year.
In addition to the dramatic developments, there are also new changes in the field of artificial intelligence. On March 31, Italy announced a ban on the use of ChatGPT, becoming the first Western country to ban ChatGPT.
Since the end of last year, ChatGPT has grown rapidly, setting off a wave of generative AI. However, it has been accompanied by concerns about the loss of control of artificial intelligence, with many experts in the field of artificial intelligence calling for a moratorium on large-scale artificial intelligence experiments, and the topic of artificial intelligence regulation is gaining more and more attention.
At the beginning of December this year, the European Union agreed on the Artificial Intelligence Act, which is considered the world's first comprehensive law on AI regulation.
In early March, Saudi Arabia and Iran achieved a historic rapprochement in Beijing, and the two countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and representative offices.
April. Conflict is undoubtedly a global keyword for 2023, and this was shown in April.
On 15 April, armed clashes broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital Khartoum and elsewhere in the country due to difficulties in reaching agreement on issues such as military power and political power. Since then, the situation in Sudan has intensified, with the UN Secretary-General warning in early July that Sudan is on the verge of a "full-scale civil war".
CCTV News reported on December 25 that fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues, but it is reported that the leaders of the two sides are expected to hold face-to-face peace talks at the end of December.
On April 26, 2023 local time, in Khartoum, Sudan, armed clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces continued, pictured with a burned vehicle. Fig. ic photo
Also in April, the global demographic landscape changed. According to United Nations estimates, India's population surpassed China's in April this year, making it the world's most populous country.
In recent years, as the growth rate of the Chinese population has slowed, it has long been expected that India's population will surpass that of China. But for India, whether this is a new development opportunity or a new demographic problem remains a question.
In fact, in the face of social pressures such as population aging, many countries are introducing reforms. In Europe, France** unveiled a reform plan for the retirement system in January this year, which includes raising the retirement age. This sparked a general strike that lasted for months, affecting production and life in many parts of France.
Look back to the United States. The United States will hold ** elections in 2024, and many Republicans, including Trump, have announced their candidacy. But on the Democratic side, the outside world has always been concerned about whether the 81-year-old incumbent Biden will seek re-election.
On April 25, Biden confirmed the news, and he officially announced that he will participate in the 2024 ** election. The analysis believes that Biden is unlikely to face competition from within the Democratic Party, and considering that Trump still enjoys a high approval rating in the Republican Party, it is very likely that 2024 will repeat the scene of the showdown between Biden and Trump in 2020. However, as Trump's legal disputes continue to increase, there are still big uncertainties in the United States next year.
May. In May, a ** in the Southeast Asian country of Thailand attracted much attention. This is Thailand's second since the 2014 military coup** and is considered the most important in Thailand in the last 20 years**.
In this event, the Move Forward Party, which called for the military to cut off, reform and laws related to the royal family, won a historic victory and became the largest party in the lower house of Thailand. However, Pita, the leader of the Move Forward Party, who was originally expected to challenge for the prime minister's position, was ultimately not elected due to military opposition.
Until August, after a compromise between all parties, Saitha, the Pheu Thai Party's candidate for prime minister, was elected Thailand's new prime minister. Also on the same day, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who had been in exile for 15 years, returned to Bangkok and was subsequently sentenced to eight years in prison by a court. On September 1, Thaksin received a pardon from the King of Thailand and reduced his sentence to one year.
On May 14, 2023 local time, Bangkok, Thailand, ** On the same day, Pita, the leader of the Thai Forward Party and candidate for prime minister, waved to the crowd at a press conference. Fig. ic photo
Also in Asia, there were a number of catastrophic events in May. On May 19, a severe sandstorm and blizzard struck Mongolia, wreaking havoc in the eastern part of the country, leaving hundreds of people missing but eventually found.
At the same time, Tropical Cyclone Mucha swept through Myanmar, causing heavy rainfall and flooding. As of May 19, the disaster had killed more than 140 people in Myanmar and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes.
In the South American country of El Salvador, on May 20, 12 people were killed and more than 500 injured in a football stadium in the country's capital, San Salvador.
June. In June, a rebellion in Russia captured the world's attention.
On June 23, local time, the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which had made great contributions on the battlefield between Russia and Ukraine, launched a rebellion, and Wagner, led by Putin's former "cook" Prigozhin, once occupied the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and marched to Moscow, the capital of Russia.
But the "rebellion" lasted only one day. On June 24, under the coordination of Belarusian Lukashenko, the Wagner group halted its advance and returned to its field camp, while the Russian Federal Security Service dropped charges against Prigozhin and members of the Wagner group. Prigozhin and some of the Wagner fighters then went to Belarus.
It all ended with Prigozhin's death in a plane crash. On August 23, Prigozhin and almost all of the top leaders of the Wagner Group were killed in a crash on their way from Moscow to St. Petersburg, leaving behind a series of unsolved mysteries.
On June 24, 2023 local time, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner, was evacuated from the command of the Southern Military District of Russia. Fig. ic photo
And in the depths of the Atlantic, there are now not only the "Titanic" cruise ships, but also the fragments of a deep-sea sightseeing submarine called the "Titan".
On June 18, the "Titan" small sightseeing boat carrying 6 people went missing after setting off to explore the wreckage of the "Titanic", and it was later confirmed that a catastrophic implosion occurred, and all 6 people on board were killed.
This month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China, becoming the first cabinet to visit China since Biden took office. Since then, there have been frequent high-level exchanges between China and the United States, with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, US Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry, US Secretary of Commerce Raimondo, a bipartisan delegation from the US Senate, and California Governor Newsom visiting China successively, injecting vitality into the warming of bilateral relations.
On November 15, the heads of state of China and the United States met in San Francisco, USA, opening up the "San Francisco Vision" for the future of bilateral relations.
July. Entering July, the earth is "boiling".
With the official start of El Niño on July 4, global temperatures are rising. UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement at the UN headquarters at the end of July on the record global temperature in July, saying that "the era of global warming is over, and the era of global boiling has arrived".
2023 was the hottest year on record on Earth, with July being particularly noticeable, with record-breaking daily temperatures on Earth. July 6 is considered the hottest day on record on Earth, with an average global surface temperature of 1708 degrees Celsius.
On December 16, 2023 local time, in Sydney, Australia, the local area was hit by a heat wave, and people gathered on the beach to cool off. Sydney residents are reported to have experienced the hottest early summer on record. Fig. ic photo
At a time when the temperature is in record time, extreme weather is intensifying in many parts of the world, with heat waves, wildfires, floods, and hurricanes continuing. South Korea's heavy rains in July, which killed more than 40 people, were also shocking.
At the end of July, a coup d'état occurred in the African country of Niger, Bazoum was detained, and the military announced that it would take over the country's affairs, and the situation was quite tense. On August 10, the Nigerien military announced the formation of a new **.
After the military coup in Niger, France announced the recall of its ambassador to France and the evacuation of all French troops in Niger. According to Xinhua News Agency, the last French troops stationed in Niger withdrew on December 22, thus marking the end of years of military cooperation between France and Niger.
Also this month, the SCO expanded for the second time, officially accepting Iran as a member state. Currently, the SCO has nine member states.
August. In August, Japan's controversial plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea was officially launched, which was opposed by people in many neighboring countries.
On August 24, Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Company officially launched the plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water from the Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. After that, Japan carried out two rounds of emissions on October 5 and November 2. According to Japanese media reports, the fourth round of discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea will begin in late February 2024.
On August 24, 2023 local time, in Okuma Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and a container containing radioactive water in Japan. According to reports, Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has started discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the sea. Fig. ic photo
It remains to be seen how much impact the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water will have on the sea, but the August "fire" has already caused untold suffering in many countries.
In early August, a large-scale wildfire disaster broke out in Maui, Hawaii, and other places in the United States, and Biden subsequently declared a "state of major disaster" in the state. The wildfire, which killed nearly 100 people, was the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaii since its founding in 1959 and the deadliest wildfire disaster in the United States in recent years.
To the north of the United States, Canada has experienced its worst wildfire season on record this year. Due to the dry and warm spring this year, Canada entered the wildfire season early in May. Since then, wildfires have spread, and as of August 18, Canada's wildfires have burned 13.7 million hectares so far this year, nearly double the previous record for wildfires burned in a whole year.
Another international hotspot at the end of August was the theft of nearly 2,000 artefacts from the British Museum, which led to the resignation of director Fischer. The case is still under investigation, but several countries have urged the British Museum to return looted artefacts.
In addition to this, in the wake of Niger, the African country of Gabon was coup d'état on August 30, with Bongo placed under house arrest and the commander of the country's guard, Nguema, appointed as the transitional leader.
According to the analysis, the successive coups in African countries have exposed the fragility of the governance system established by colonists, and also highlighted that Africa is in a period of change.
Also in Africa, at the 15th BRICS Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 24, the BRICS mechanism was expanded for the first time in 12 years, inviting Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Iran and Ethiopia to join the BRICS family, whose membership will take effect on January 1, 2024.
September. Entering September, another **miserable** attack. It happened in Morocco late on September 8 in the middle of the nightLevel 9**, with a death toll of nearly 3,000. It was reported that this was the strongest ever recorded in the Moroccan mountains**.
In Africa, Hurricane Daniel struck, followed by severe flooding in Libya. The Libyan Red Crescent Society said on September 14 that the number of people killed in Drna, the worst-hit party, was more than 110,000 people. Data released by the WHO on September 17 showed that the death toll from the floods in Libya was 3,958, and more than 9,000 people were missing.
Aerial photo: On September 20, 2023 local time, in Derna, Libya, Hurricane "Daniel" made landfall in Libya on the 10th and caused floods, and the city of Derna was the most severely affected, with serious damage to buildings. Fig. ic photo
In addition to natural disasters, there are also new changes in the international arena. At the G20 summit in September, the African Union was invited to become a full member of the G20, thereby strengthening the voice of developing countries internationally.
It was also during the G20 that diplomatic friction between the host countries, India and Canada, became prominent. Earlier, due to the Canadian side's accusation that India was suspected of assassinating a Canadian Sikh, the Indian side accused Canada of "harboring the two countries."
In mid-September, India and Canada expelled diplomats from each other, and India suspended visa services for Canadian citizens. It was not until the end of October that India gradually resumed its visa services in Canada.
October. The first week of October is still "Nobel Prize Week", and the world is watching the progress made by mankind in the fields of physiology and medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, peace, and economics.
However, at the beginning of the second week, the "powder keg" of the Middle East was ignited again, and a new large-scale conflict broke out between Palestine and Israel.
On 7 October, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) fired thousands of rockets into Israel and entered Israel to carry out military operations, taking more than 200 hostages. Israel then launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Israel a "state of war."
More than two months after the conflict began, Israeli forces have entered the Gaza Strip and are still fighting Hamas there. During this period, the Gaza Strip has suffered a serious humanitarian crisis, and Guterres has called Gaza a "children's cemetery". So far, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has exceeded 210,000, and the death toll on the Israeli side is more than 1,100.
Despite repeated calls by the international community for an end to the fighting, Israel renewed its military offensive after a brief ceasefire and prisoner exchange. Netanyahu inspected Israeli forces fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on December 25 and made a strong statement that he would continue to fight Hamas.
On December 27, 2023 local time, southern Israel is close to the Gaza border, and the Israeli army is heading towards Gaza**. Fig. ic photo
And just when the world's eyes were focused on Palestine and Israel, a series of ** events occurred in the South Asian country of Afghanistan in early October, resulting in more than 1,000 deaths. According to the UNHCR, Afghanistan faces a dire humanitarian crisis, with more than 29 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
Another highlight in October was the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation hosted by China. The forum attracted representatives from 151 countries and 41 international organizations to China, and finally reached 369 practical cooperation outcomes.
November. Late at night on November 3, a 6Category 4** struck the western part of Nepal, killing hundreds of people, in what is considered the deadliest in Nepal since 2015.
And in Europe, the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland has 240,000 small**, triggering the risk of volcanic eruptions. The country** then declared a state of emergency and evacuated residents of a nearby town on November 11.
On the evening of December 18, a volcano south of Iceland's capital, Reykjavík, began to erupt. Iceland has 33 active volcanic systems, making it the most active volcano country in all of Europe.
On the other side of the world, the South American country of Argentina has ushered in a new ** Milley, who is known as the "Argentine Trump". Milley, from the far-right electoral coalition Freedom Forward Party, won the second round of voting in Argentina's ** election on 19 November and was officially inaugurated on 10 December.
Milley proposed a number of radical reforms, including the closure of Argentina's ** banks, the end of currency controls, the replacement of Argentina's official currency, the peso, with the US dollar, and the closure of more than a dozen ** departments. According to the analysis, this brings more uncertainty to the future of Argentina.
On December 27, 2023 local time, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, people held a large-scale demonstration against the economic reform policies launched by the new ** Milley. Fig. ic photo
Not only South America, but Europe is also witnessing the rise of the far right. On November 22, elections for the House of Representatives were held in the Netherlands. The results show that for the first time, the far-right Liberal Party became the largest party in the House of Representatives. Outside, the new Dutch **right-leaning is inevitable, and the Netherlands will be more conservative on issues such as immigration and climate change in the future.
At the end of November, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger died at the age of 100. Kissinger, known as an "old friend of the Chinese people," visited China again in July this year at the age of 100 and continued to make his own contribution to the development of Sino-US relations.
December. Heading into the last month of 2023, the international community has had some good news on climate change.
On December 13, the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) concluded in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The conference has produced a number of breakthroughs, including an agreement to "transition away" from fossil fuels and a start-up of loss and damage**, contributing to humanity's response to the climate crisis.
However, some people believe that the current action of the international community is still insufficient, and the future of global climate governance is still a huge challenge.
On December 13, 2023 local time, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, COP28 reached a consensus on the first global inventory of the Paris Agreement. Fig. ic photo
This month, two large-scale conflicts in Europe and the Middle East continue. And in Asia, Mount Malapi in Indonesia's West Sumatra province erupted twice, killing dozens of people;In Europe, at least 14 people were killed in an incident at Charles University in the Czech Republic, ...... death
I still remember that on December 20, 2022, Guterres said at the annual press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York that he wanted to make 2023 a "year of peace and action". Now, 2023 has come to an end, and peace has not yet arrived, and action has been blocked. Perhaps we can only hope that in 2024, the world can accelerate its actions and move towards peace.
As Guterres said in his 2024 New Year's message: "2024 must be the year to rebuild trust and rekindle hope." We must transcend our differences, unite and seek common solutions. ”
Reporter |Xie Lian
Edit |Bai Shuang.