Chennai: A year after the lockdown was lifted in many countries and they started experiencing the new normal after the pandemic, people welcomed the new year 2021 with the hope of getting access to COVID-19 vaccination. Just as expected, the vaccines were rolled out for mass inoculation, but the pandemic was far from over. The world witnessed the outbreak of a deadlier Delta variant of the novel coronavirus, even as several other unexpected events started to shake up the globe one after the other throughout 2021.
From important political developments such as former US President Donald Trump refusing to accept his defeat in the general elections and the Taliban taking over Afghanistan within days of the US-NATO forces leaving the country, to the almost unprecedented situation of the Suez Canal remaining blocked for days together, and natural calamities wreaking havoc across the world — the year was nothing short of a roller-coaster ride.
Here is a list of some of the major unexpected events that took place in 2021.
1. US Capitol Attack: The supporters of former US President Donald Trump stormed the United States Capitol building and damaged government property to overturn the defeat of their leader. The pro-Trump crowd had taken out a “Save America March” to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and things got out of hand when the protesters breached police security and vandalised the building.
The violence led to the death of five persons.
On January 13, Trump was impeached for a second time by the House of Representatives, for “abuse of power”.
2. Harry & Meghan’s Exit From UK Royal Family: In a first for the British royal family, Duke of Sussex Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markel, the Duchess of Sussex, announced their decision to step back as senior members of the royal family and become financially independent. The announcement was made on January 8 and their decision was widely reported as ‘Megxit’.
After the couple’s announcement on social media, Buckingham Palace confirmed the decision on February 19, 2021, and said that the Duke and Duchess would relinquish their royal titles and duties.
3. Suez Canal Obstruction: In a historic event, the traffic flow of container ships came to a grinding halt for six days in the Suez Canal. A 400-metre-long vessel went out of control on March 23 due to the strong winds and got stuck vertically between the two banks of the canal. Ever Given, a large 2000 TEU container ship, blocked the southern section of the channels and left no place for cargo traffic to move.
The obstruction hit trade worth $9.6 billion in Europe, Asia and Middle East.
After continued efforts, Ever Given was partially re-floated and the services in the canal resumed on March 29.
4. Taliban Take Over Afghanistan: With the turn of events that began earlier this year, the world had anticipated that the Taliban would take over the government in Kabul, but the reality struck earlier than anticipated. As the US troops started to withdraw from Afghanistan, the Taliban forces began their operation from May 1 to overthrow the Ashraf Ghani government and take control of the country.
By August 15, the Taliban had captured all major capitals and their forces entered Kabul without much opposition from the Afghan government held by former President Ghani. The Taliban also seized control of the country and a transfer of power was ensured as Ghani fled the country.
The Taliban immediately after gaining control of the country started implementing their fundamentalist ideologies and even changed the name of the country to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
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5. Renewed border crisis between Armenia and Azerbaijan: After a six-week armed conflict killed thousands of people and ended in November 2020 with a truce brokered by Russia, it was expected that the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh border region claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan would stay quiet for some time — though the region has seen conflict since the 1920s. Fresh flare-ups started in May this year. Hostilities continued and casualties were reported throughout the year until Russia mediated again and brokered yet another ceasefire in November.
6. Pegasus snooping row: Another development shocked everyone when an international investigative journalism initiative reported in July that military-grade spyware made, Pegasus, by the Israeli firm NSO was used for spying on journalists, activists, opposition party leaders across the world — including in India. It was alleged that Pegasus spyware was used by the governments to target 50,000 phone numbers in all. In India, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored probe into the reports.
7. Cumbre Vieja volcanic eruption: 2021 was a year of natural calamities, with storms, cyclones and tornadoes wreaking havoc across the world amid climate change worries. Among the most shocking natural disasters reported this year included a volcanic eruption in the Spanish island of La Palma that continued for close to three months. The volcanic eruption that started on September 19 continued until December 13, leading to the evacuation of over 7,000 people. The lava covered 1000 hectares of land across the Spanish island.
8. Omicron Outbreak: Even as countries still struggled with the Delta variant of the coronavirus and tried their best to bring back normalcy, a new variant detected in South Africa on November 24, 2021, sent the world into panic mode once again.
Fresh outbreaks have been reported in many countries across the globe, with the UK and some countries in Europe reporting a record increase in numbers.
The Omicron variant was first detected in a lab of Botswana and South Africa on November 22 and was notified to the World Health Organization on November 24. In a month since, the fast-spreading virus has almost the entire world under its grip, with health authorities claiming it spreads several times faster than the dreaded Delta. While it was initially claimed that people testing positive for the virus are showing mild symptoms of the disease, WHO has cautioned that there is no evidence yet to believe that Omicron is milder than the previous strains detected across the world.
(Image courtesy: AFP)
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