The World in 2023

What will go down in history from this year?

Unfortunately, the Ukrainian war was not the only war this year. Israel was attacked by the Palestinian terrorist organization, Hamas, in October. Since then – with the exception of brief ceasefires – fighting has raged. Civilians have suffered the most in these attacks.

The USA had problems again with police violence. And in Serbia a horrific school shooting made the headlines when a student shot his peers.

Not even nature spared us:

• an earthquake hit Turkey and Syria in the winter,
• fires raged across Greece in the summer, and
• in autumn floods affected Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Libya.

At the 28th Climate Conference (COP28) for the first time, there was a call to abandon fossil fuels in order to prevent the consequences of climate change.

In 2023 there were no major changes in politics. In Russia there was a moment it looked like the President, Vladimir Putin, would be brought down by a private army rebellion led by Evgenij Prigozhin.

Prigozhin died a few months later in a plane crash.

There were some turning points in our culture – for the first time the Oscar for the leading female role was awarded to a woman of Asian origin.

Hollywood experienced the longest strike of screenwriters and actors, yet in the movie theaters two phenomena thrilled audiences: Barbie and Oppenheimer.

The singer, Beyonce, received four Grammys, thus winning a record total in her career. Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time, making her the first female singer in history to do so.

In the United Kingdom Charles III and his wife, Camilla, were crowned at a grand ceremony.

The animal kingdom also had some interesting headlines: two giraffes were born without spots, and a female crocodile created offspring without a male.

Points to Consider

1. Which event do you remember the most?
2. Were there any headlines you missed in 2023?
3. Is there not enough good news?

***

The original version of this article was published on 28^th December.