War in Ukraine to tech layoffs: A look at 10 events that defined 2022

business-standard.com:

As 2023 knocks at the door, it is time we looked at the year gone by. 2022 will be remembered as the year the world shifted permanently. From war, to the fall of an industry, people losing jobs, and nations standing up for human rights, here is a look at 10 highlights of 2022:

Putin's war in Ukraine

In February 2022, the world woke up to a rude shock, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the invasion of Ukraine. The war is still on and has killed thousands, and displaced millions.

In a globalised world, it is hard for any country to remain isolated from the conflict. The war has dragged on into its 10th month and has disrupted global supply chains causing inflation.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in March warned that both Russia and Ukraine are major commodity producers, and disruptions there will slow growth and increase inflation, especially for oil and natural gas.

Ukraine and Russia account for up to 30 per cent of the global exports for wheat, and food prices too jumped.

Following sanctions from the west and US, the European continent's worst fear came true. Europe finds itself stuck in winter without energy security and in a deep energy shortage. Russia's gas which is critical for industrial processes and power has been cut in supply by more than 80 per cent this year, according to the IMF.

Twitter Takeover

It all started in March 2022, when Elon Musk quietly acquired a 9.2 per cent stake in Twitter, without the company's knowledge and revealed himself as the biggest shareholder in the microblogging site in April.

After declining Twitter's proposal to join the Twitter Board, Musk launched a hostile bid for Twitter at a $44 billion valuation. After the initial fight, when Twitter finally agreed