PARIS — In a
year of extraordinary upheaval, from the war in Ukraine to catastrophic natural
disasters, AFP compiled some of the words and phrases that have defined 2022.
اضافة اعلان
ArmageddonWith the war in
Ukraine and increasingly strident threats from Russian President Vladimir
Putin, the specter of nuclear warfare is stalking the globe for the first time
in decades.
"We have not
faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile
crisis" in 1962, US President Joe Biden said in October.
Experts warned of the
most dangerous situation they can remember, with fears not limited to Russia:
North Korean nuclear saber-rattling has reached new heights, with the world
bracing for a first nuclear test since 2017.
London BridgeAt 6:30pm on September
8, Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Elizabeth II had died, bringing to an
end the longest reign in British history and sending shockwaves around the
world.
For 10 days, Britons
paid respects to the only monarch most had known, following a carefully
choreographed series of ceremonies.
Protesters have burned posters of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and women have appeared in public without headscarves, in scenes scarcely imaginable before the uprising.
The program of events,
famously codenamed "London Bridge", set out in minute detail every
aspect of the protocol — down to BBC presenters wearing black ties.
In the event, she died
in Scotland, meaning special provisions came into force — Operation Unicorn.
Loss and damageWorld leaders and
negotiators descended on the Egyptian Red Sea port of Sharm Al-Sheikh for the
latest United Nations summit (COP27) on tackling climate change.
After a fractious
summit, widely seen as poorly organized, a deal was clinched on a fund for
"loss and damage" to help vulnerable countries cope with the
devastating impacts of climate change.
Behind the
institutional-sounding name lies destruction for millions in the developing
world.
The summit was hailed
as historic but many voiced anger over a lack of ambition on cutting greenhouse
gas emissions.
Woman. Life.
FreedomThe chant screamed by
protesters in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested by
the Tehran morality police.
Protesters have burned
posters of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and women have appeared in
public without headscarves, in scenes scarcely imaginable before the uprising.
The demonstrations
have lasted more than three months and appear to pose an existential challenge
to the 43-year rule of the clerical regime.
Blue tickThe tiny blue tick (it
is actually white on a blue background), which certifies users on Twitter,
became a symbol of the chaos engulfing the social media platform in the wake of
its $44 billion takeover by Elon Musk.
The mercurial Tesla
boss announced that anyone wanting the coveted blue tick would have to stump up
eight dollars, only to scrap the plan hours later — and then reintroduce a more
complicated system several weeks afterwards.
"You're not outright quitting your job but you're quitting the idea of going above and beyond," said the post which went viral, drawing nearly a half-million likes.
Nearly two months on
from the takeover, Twitter's future remains up in the air, with thousands of
staff laid off, advertisers leaving, and Musk himself vowing to step down as
CEO as soon as he finds someone "foolish" enough to take over, after an
online poll found a majority wanted him gone.
Roe v. WadeIn a historic ruling,
the conservative-dominated US Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973
"Roe v. Wade" decision that enshrined a woman's right to an abortion.
The Supreme Court
ruled that individual states could restrict or ban the procedure — a decision
seized upon by several right-leaning states.
Protests erupted
instantly in Washington and elsewhere, showing how divisive the topic remains
in the US.
The overturning of
"Roe v. Wade" became a critical battle in the US mid-terms, in which
candidates in favor of abortion rights won several victories.
Quiet quittingOne of the "words
of the year" in Britain and Australia, the phrase refers to doing the bare
minimum at work, either as a protest against your employer or to improve your
work-life balance.
The trend, which has
sparked debate about overwork, especially in the US, appears to have surfaced
first in a TikTok post in July.
"You're not
outright quitting your job but you're quitting the idea of going above and
beyond," said the post which went viral, drawing nearly a half-million
likes.
Wet lettuceAs Liz Truss
approached the end of her chaotic and short-lived tenure as British prime
minister, the Economist weekly mused that her effective period in office had
been "roughly the shelf-life of a lettuce".
The demonstrations became known in some quarters as the "A4" protests as protesters held up blank A4-sized sheets of white paper in a sign of solidarity and a nod to the lack of free speech in China.
The tabloid Daily Star
leapt on the idea, launching a live web cam featuring the said vegetable — complete
with googly eyes — next to a picture of the hapless Truss.
Her premiership lasted
just 44 days and featured a mini-budget that collapsed the markets and
generated extraordinary political upheaval. In the end, the lettuce won.
Tomato soupEnvironmental
protesters seeking to draw attention to the role of fossil fuel consumption in
the climate crisis hurled tomato soup at Vincent Van Gogh's
"Sunflowers" painting at London's National Gallery in October,
touching off a series of similar stunts.
Since then, activists
have smothered mashed potato on Claude Monet and glued themselves to works by
Andy Warhol, Francisco Goya and Johannes Vermeer.
For some, the
campaigners are heroes bravely drawing attention to the climate emergency. For
others, the attacks are counterproductive and lose force by becoming
commonplace.
A4Protests erupted in China,
initially over COVID restrictions but later widening to broader political
grievances, posing the greatest threat to the Beijing authorities since 1989.
The demonstrations
became known in some quarters as the "A4" protests as protesters held
up blank A4-sized sheets of white paper in a sign of solidarity and a nod to
the lack of free speech in China.
Read more Odd and Bizarre
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
