2022 facts for kids

Events

January

On 2 January, Prime Minister of Sudan Abdalla Hamdok resigns because of deadly anti-military coup protests

On 5 January, mass protests begin in Kazakhstan causing the country's government to resign

On 8 January, a rockfall in Capitólio, Brazil kills ten people

On 15 January, an eruption of Hunga Tonga happens in Tonga, becoming the largest volcanic eruption of the 21st century

On 18 January, MEP from Malta Roberta Metsola is elected the President of the European Parliament

On 23 January, President of Burkina Faso Roch Marc Christian Kaboré is arrested in a military coup d'état

On 27 January, former First Lady Xiomara Castro is inaugurated the 56th and first female President of Honduras

On 29 January, Sergio Mattarella is re-elected President of Italy

• January 1
  • The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the largest free trade area in the world, comes into effect for Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
• January 2
  • South Africa's Houses of Parliament in Cape Town is damaged by a major fire.
  • Protests begin in Kazakhstan because of a large increase in fuel prices.
  • Abdalla Hamdok resigns as Prime Minister of Sudan as anti-military coup protests in the country get deadly.
• January 3 – COVID-19 pandemic: The United States becomes the first country to pass one million daily infections, with a total of 1.08 million reported cases, mainly caused by the Omicron variant.
• January 4
  • China, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and France – all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – said a rare statement together saying that "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought".
• January 5
  • In the United States, an apartment building fire in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania kills 12 people and injures two others.
  • Prime Minister Askar Mamin and his government resign because of large protests in Kazakhstan and is replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Alihan Smaiylov. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev fires former President Nursultan Nazarbayev as chairman of the country's security council.
• January 6 – Bahamian-American actor Sidney Poitier, who was the first Black man to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, dies at aged 94.
• January 7
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The number of COVID-19 cases passes 300 million worldwide.
  • At least 22 tourists freeze to death in vehicles in Murree, Punjab, Pakistan.
• January 8 – A rock fall in Capitólio, Minas Gerais, Brazil kills at least 10 people and injures 32 others.
• January 9
  • In the United States, a fire in an apartment building in The Bronx, New York City kills at least 19 people and injures over 60 others.
  • The Africa Cup of Nations begins in Cameroon.
• January 10 – The first successful heart transplant from a pig to a human patient is reported in the United States. The patient was David Bennett Sr. from Baltimore, Maryland.
• January 11 – Italian MEP and President of the European Parliament David Sassoli dies in office at aged 65. MEP from Malta Roberta Metsola replaces him in an acting capacity.
• January 14 – Margrethe II of Denmark celebrates her 50th anniversary as Queen of Denmark.
• January 14 –15 – Bandits kill over 50 people in Dankade, Kebbi State, Nigeria.
• January 15
  • A large eruption of Hunga Tonga, a submarine volcano in Tonga, causing tsunami warnings in Australia, Canada, Chile, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand, Samoa, and the United States.
  • In the United States, a hostage crisis at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas ends with all hostages freed and the perpetrator, British citizen Malik Faisal Akram, shot dead.
• January 17
  • A 5.3 magnitude earthquake in Badghis Province of Afghanistan kills at least 26 people and injures five others.
  • A Houthi-led drone terrorist attack in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates kills three civilians and injures six others.
• January 18
  • The Parliament of Indonesia votes to officially change the capital of Indonesia from Jakarta to Nusantara.
  • Microsoft announces its plans to buy the video game company Activision Blizzard, making Microsoft the third largest gaming company (behind Tencent and Sony).
  • MEP Roberta Metsola from Malta is elected by the European Parliament as the next Parliament President, becoming the first Maltese person, the youngest person at aged 43 and the first woman since 2002 to be elected to the position.
• January 19
  • Protests in support of Prime Minister of Montenegro Zdravko Krivokapić begin.
  • Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley is re-elected in a landslide victory after the Labour Party wins every seat in the House Assembly.
• January 20
  • 19-year old Belgian-British pilot Zara Rutherford becomes the youngest female pilot to fly solo around the world.
  • The Battle of al-Hasakah begins as a prison riot to free members of the Islamic State in Al-Hasakah, Syria with possibly over 200 people killed.
• January 21
  • China, Russia and Iran have been training for war in the Indian Ocean.
  • A Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a prison in Saada, Yemen kills at least 87 people and injured more than 200 others.
• January 22
  • Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist Thích Nhất Hạnh dies at aged 95.
  • A mass protest in Canada, mainly by truck drivers protesting against the country's COVID-19 vaccine mandate begins in Ottawa.
• January 23
  • Tropical Storm Ana kills 88 people in Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique, days after a series of floods killed 11 people in Madagascar.
  • President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian resigns because of lack of presidential powers and is replaced by Alen Simonyan as Acting President.
  • President of Burkina Faso Roch Marc Christian Kaboré is arrested and removed from power by soldiers during a military coup d'état led by Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba in Ouagadougou.
• January 27 – Former First Lady Xiomara Castro is inaugurated as the 56th President of Honduras, becoming the country's first female president.
• January 28 – The number of COVID-19 vaccinations given worldwide passes 10 billion.
• January 29 – Sergio Mattarella is re-elected as President of Italy, becoming the country's second president to ever be re-elected.
• January 30
  • Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa is re-elected after the Socialist Party wins 117 seats in the Assembly of the Republic.
  • In tennis, Rafael Nadal and Ashleigh Barty win their respective singles at the Australian Open.

February

On 4 February, the 2022 Winter Olympics begin in Beijing, China

On 6 February, Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 70 years on the British throne

On 14 February, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau uses the Emergencies Act to stop the convoy protests across the country

On 15 February, mudslides and floods in Petrópolis, Brazil kills over 220 people

On 21 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin officially recognizes Luhansk and Donetsk as independent from Ukraine.

Consequences of a missile strike on Kyiv

On 27 February, Russia is criticized for civilian deaths and the use of cluster bombs and thermobaric weapons during the Battle of Okhtyrka

• February 3
  • India becomes the third country to pass 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 after the United States and Brazil.
• February 4
  • The 2022 Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China.
  • Zdravko Krivokapić is removed as Prime Minister of Montenegro in a motion of no confidence, however he will continue as acting Prime Minister until a replacement is elected.
• February 5 – Cyclone Batsirai kills a total of 13 people across Madagascar, South Africa, Mauritius, and Réunion two weeks after Tropical Storm Ana killed 115 people in the same region.
• February 6
  • Indian playback singer and composer Lata Mangeshkar dies of COVID-19 at aged 92.
  • Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Platinum Jubilee, becoming the first British monarch to reign for 70 years.
  • The Africa Cup of Nations ends, with Senegal winning their first championship.
• February 8
  • The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide passes 400 million.
  • A state of emergency is declared following protests in Ottawa, Canada against the country's COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
• February 9 – The biggest breakthrough in fusion energy since 1997 is reported at the Joint European Torus in Oxford, United Kingdom with 59 megajoules created in over five seconds (11 megawatts of power), double than the last record.
• February 13
  • Frank-Walter Steinmeier is re-elected President of Germany in a landslide victory of 71% of the vote.
  • The Los Angeles Rams defeat the Cincinnati Bengals with 23–20 to win Super Bowl LVI.
• February 14
  • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces he will use Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history in order to stop the Freedom Convoy, a nationwide protests and blockades in Canada against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions.
• February 15
• February 16
  • Cristina Calderón, the last living full-blooded Yahgan person, dies of COVID-19 at aged 93.
• February 20 – The 2022 Winter Olympics ends in Beijing, China with Norway winning a record number of 16 gold medals.
• February 21
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledges the Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic as independent from Ukraine, and begins to move troops into the region.
  • Over 100 billion financial documents relating to offshore investment connected to clients of Credit Suisse in Switzerland are leaked.
• February 22 – In response to Russia's actions in Ukraine, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is put on hold by Germany. In the United States, President Joe Biden places economic sanctions towards oligarchs and banks in Russia for the first time.
• February 24 – President Vladimir Putin announces the beginning of a "special operation" in Ukraine.
• February 25
  • Russia is stripped of the Champions League final, scheduled for May 28, with UEFA moving the venue from Saint Petersburg to Paris.
  • An earthquake in West Sumatra, Indonesia kills 12 people with over 380 injured.
• February 26 – The European Union, the United States and their allies announce their support in removing Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system.
• February 27
  • President Vladimir Putin orders Russia's nuclear deterrent forces to be on "special alert", their highest level, in response to what he calls "aggressive statements" by NATO. The move is condemned by the US.
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announces that the Ukrainian and Russian officials have agreed to meet, without conditions.
  • European nations announce a ban on Russian flights in their airspace.
  • In a referendum vote, Belarus votes to remove its non-nuclear status and to allow the country to host Russian forces permanently.
• February 28
  • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) releases the second part of its report on climate change saying that many impacts are now "irreversible".
  • The United Nations reports more than 500,000 refugees have left from Ukraine into nearby countries.
  • Football governing bodies FIFA and UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions.
  • Switzerland, Monaco, Singapore and South Korea place economic sanctions on Russia such as controlling exports and assets.
  • A Russian airstrike kills over 70 Ukrainian soldiers at a military base in Okhtyrka. The Russian offensive has been criticized for civilian deaths and the use of cluster bombs and thermobaric weapons which may be seen as war crimes.

March

On 2 March, Russia takes control of the Ukrainian city of Kherson, a major Black Sea port

On 3 March, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine is attacked by Russia and catches on fire

On 3 March, former Mayor of Yerevan Vahagn Khachaturyan is elected the 5th President of Armenia

On 9 March, conservative prosecutor Yoon Suk-yeol is elected the 13th President of South Korea

On 9 March, the wreckage of the Endurance which sank during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1915, is found in the Weddell Sea in Antarctica

On 11 March, Gabriel Boric is inaugurated as Chile's 36th President

On 16 March, an earthquake in Fukushima, Japan kills 4 people and injured over 190 people

On 18 March, the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge opens in Turkey, becoming the world's longest suspension bridge

• March 1
  • Belarussian troops enter Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine
  • World Athletics bans both Russia and Belarus from competing in all of its events.
  • In an emergency session, United Nations member states pass a resolution criticizing Russia's actions in Ukraine and calling for the quick withdrawal of its forces.
• March 2
  • Russia claims to have captured its first large city, the Black Sea port of Kherson, as fighting intensifies across many parts of Ukraine, including civilian areas.
  • The United Nations reports that over a million refugees have now fled from Ukraine to other countries.
  • The International Criminal Court begins an investigation into possible war crimes committed in Ukraine.
• March 3
  • The Echo of Moscow, the oldest independent Russian radio station, is closed because of the Russian 2022 censorship laws.
  • Former Yerevan Mayor Vahagn Khachaturyan is elected the 5th President of Armenia.
  • Russia attacks the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, the largest in Europe, which leads to a fire at the site. The fire was soon put out, but officials said the fallout could have been ten times larger than the Chernobyl disaster.
• March 4
  • The 2022 Winter Paralympics begin in Beijing, China, making it the first city to host both Summer Paralympics and Winter Paralympics.
  • Australian cricketer Shane Warne dies of a possible heart attack at his Ko Samui, Thailand home, aged 52.
  • Foreign news outlets including the BBC, CNN, and many others stop their reporting in Russia, after new legislation threatens 15-year jail terms for spreading "fake news".
  • An Afghan member of the Islamic State carries out an attack at a Shia mosque in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. He kills over 60 people and injures over 190 others.
• March 5
  • Russia announces a temporary ceasefire to allow civilians to leave the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha.
  • Visa and Mastercard, two of the world's largest payment processors, suspend their operations in Russia.
• March 6 – Vinnytsia International Airport is destroyed by Russian missiles, as President Zelenskyy calls for a no-fly zone to stop future attacks in Ukraine.
• March 7
  • Ukraine rejects a proposal by Moscow to open refugee passages, calling it "immoral" and "unacceptable", after the Russian defence ministry said refugees would only be allowed to reach Belarus or Russia.
  • The global death toll from COVID-19 passes 6 million.
• March 8
  • Opposition members of the National Assembly of Pakistan submit a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
  • Energy giant Shell promises to stop buying oil from Russia and to stop all current work in the country, which includes closing all service stations there.
  • The United States and United Kingdom announce a ban on Russian oil, while the European Union announces a two-thirds reduction in its demand for Russian natural gas.
  • Major global brands including McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Starbucks stop sales in Russia, in response to its attacks on Ukraine.
• March 9
  • Conservative prosecutor Yoon Suk-yeol is elected the 13th President of South Korea, beating liberal former Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung.
  • The wreck of the Endurance, the ship sunk during Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, is found 107 years later in Antarctica in "good condition".
  • Russia launches an air strike in Mariupol that destroys a hospital including a maternity and children's ward.
• March 11
  • Gabriel Boric is sworn in as President of Chile, becoming the youngest head of state in the nation's history and the first to be born during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
  • The Russian Air Force widens its attack to include Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk, two cities in the country's west, as well as Dnipro in the east.
• March 12 – Serdar Berdimuhamedow is elected the 3rd President of Turkmenistan by 73% of the vote, replacing his father Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.
• March 13
  • The Power of the Dog wins the BAFTA Award for Best Film and Best Direction for Jane Campion.
  • 30 Russian missiles hit the Yavoriv military base, used for NATO training and close to the border with Poland, killing 35 and injuring 134 others.
• March 15 – Russia announces new sanctions on several U.S officials, banning U.S. President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and others from entering the country; Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also banned.
• March 16 – A 7.3 magnitude earthquake strikes off Fukushima, Japan, killing at least 4 and injuring at least 194.
• March 17 – Cyclone Gombe, killed at least 53 people and injured 82 others, in Mozambique. Seven people died in Malawi and two died in Madagascar from the storm.
• March 18 – The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, the first bridge over the Dardanelles and the world's longest suspension bridge, opens in Turkey.
• March 23
  • American mathematician Dennis Sullivan wins the Abel Prize for his work in topology.
• March 24 – NATO announces that four new battlegroups totalling 40,000 troops will be sent to Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, along with enhanced readiness for potential chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.
• March 25 – Russia announces that the first phase of its military "operation" of Ukraine is almost complete, saying the country will focus on the "liberation" of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
• March 26 – Prime Minister Robert Abela is re-elected after his party wins 38 out of 65 seats in the House of Representatives of Malta.
• March 27 – CODA wins the Academy Award for Best Picture, Dune wins awards in six categories, Troy Kotsur, Jessica Chastain, Will Smith and Ariana DeBose win awards for acting at the 94th Academy Awards.
• March 29
  • Massive protests begin in Peru caused by the country's rising inflation, disapproval of President Pedro Castillo and failure to impeach Castillo a second time.
  • Russia's deputy defense minister says that Moscow has decided to "cut back" military activity near Kyiv and Chernihiv to increase mutual trust for future negotiations to agree and sign a peace deal with Ukraine".
• March 30
  • Earendel, the farthest known star, is discovered 12.9 billion light-years away from Earth by the Hubble Space Telescope.
  • In computing, Jack Dongarra won the Turing Award for his works towards supercomputing.
• March 31 – Expo 2020 closes in Dubai after a 6-month run; originally scheduled for April 10, 2021, it was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

April

On 3 April, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán is re-elected in a landslide victory

On 8 April, Russia attacks a train station in Ukraine with missiles that kills over 50 civilians

On 11 April, Shehbaz Sharif is elected Prime Minister of Pakistan by the National Assembly, replacing Imran Khan

On 14 April, the Russian cruiser Moskva is sunk by Ukrainian forces in the Black Sea

On 24 April, French President Emmanuel Macron is re-elected

On 25 April, Twitter accepts Elon Musk's offer to buy the company for USD $44 billion

• April 2 – Russia announces that it will not work with Western countries on the International Space Station until the "full and unconditional removal of illegal sanctions".
• April 3
  • As Russia's forces retreat from areas near Kyiv, it is accused by Ukraine of war crimes because of civilian killings such as for committing the Bucha massacre. U.S. President Joe Biden called for Putin to be tried for war crimes.
  • In Pakistan, President Arif Alvi dissolves the National Assembly on Prime Minister Imran Khan's advice, after a no-confidence motion fails.
  • President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić is re-elected in a landslide victory.
  • Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán is re-elected in a landslide victory as the Fidesz–KDNP party alliance wins 135 out of 199 seats in the National Assembly of Hungary. Katalin Novák is elected as the country's first female president.
  • Finance Minister Rodrigo Chaves Robles is elected President of Costa Rica winning 53% of the vote against former President José María Figueres.
• April 4 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) releases the third and final part of its report on climate change, warning that greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030, in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F).
• April 6 – The first known dinosaur fossil linked to the very day of the Chicxulub impact is reported by paleontologists.
• April 7
  • Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi resigns as President of Yemen and is replaced by Rashad al-Alimi to focus on peace talks between Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
  • The Supreme Court ruled that Prime Minister Imran Khan's move to call of early elections was illegal, meaning Khan would face a motion of no confidence by the National Assembly.
  • The United Nations votes by 93–24 to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, with 58 countries not voting.
  • HD1, the most distant galaxy candidate to date, is discovered 13.5 billion light-years away from Earth by the University of Tokyo.
• April 8
  • Russia is condemned by world leaders following a missile attack on a train station in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, which kills dozens of civilians trying to evacuate.
  • Global food prices increase to their highest level since 1990, with commodities such as wheat rising by nearly 20% as a result of the Ukraine crisis.
  • Flooding across KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, leaves over 300 people dead.
• April 10
  • Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan is removed from office after a motion of no confidence passes in the National Assembly, becoming the first prime minister in Pakistan to be removed from office by a vote of no confidence. Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif is elected by the National Assembly the next day as the country's 23rd prime minister.
  • The first round of the French presidential election is held with President Emmanuel Macron and National Assembly Marine Le Pen advancing to the run-off.
• April 13
  • The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases pass 500 million worldwide.
  • The Russian flagship cruiser Moskva, the largest naval vessel to be sunk since the end of World War II, sinks after an explosion off the Ukrainian coast.
• April 19
  • Former President of East Timor and Nobel Peace Prize winner José Ramos-Horta is elected president in a landslide victory winning 62% of the vote against incumbent President Francisco Guterres.
  • Kane Tanaka, supercentenarian who was Japan's oldest verified person ever and the world's second oldest verified person ever, dies at aged 119.
• April 20
  • Russian and Belarusian players are banned from the Wimbledon Tennis Championship.
  • A European Southern Observatory team announces the discovery of micronovae.
• April 21 – Mwai Kibaki, the 3rd President of Kenya who controversially manipulated his re-election in 2007, dies at aged 90.
• April 22 – The Large Hadron Collider begins full operations again, three years after being shut down for upgrades.
• April 24
  • The Freedom Movement party, led by Robert Golob, becomes the largest party in the National Assembly of Slovenia, winning 41 of 90 seats. They beat the sitting right-wing Prime Minister Janez Janša.
  • Emmanuel Macron is re-elected President of France beating Marine Le Pen with a 58.5% to 41.5% vote margin, becoming the first French president to be re-elected in twenty years.
• April 25 – Twitter accepts Elon Musk's offer to buy the company for USD $44 billion.
• April 27
  • The European Union accuses Russia of blackmail after gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria are halted by energy giant Gazprom.
  • The Central African Republic makes bitcoin as legal tender, becoming the second country in the world to adopt the cryptocurrency.
  • A court in Myanmar under the control of its military junta sentences former state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi to five years in prison for corruption charges.
• April 28 – Dritan Abazović is elected 7th Prime Minister of Montenegro by the Parliament, replacing Zdravko Krivokapić.
• April 29 – A building collapse in Changsha, China kills 53 people.

May

On 6 May, the global monkeypox outbreak begins in the United Kingdom

On 9 May, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns after two months of massive protests against his government

On 9 May, former Senator Bongbong Marcos is elected the 17th President of the Philippines in a landslide victory

On 14 May, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan becomes the 3rd President of the United Arab Emirates, after the death of Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

On 21 May, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is elected Prime Minister of Australia

• May 2
  • Ronnie O'Sullivan wins the World Snooker Championship, beating Judd Trump in the final.
  • Russia announces it may be pulling out of the International Space Station in two years.
• May 3 – A motion of no confidence is declared against Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa and his cabinet, in an attempt to remove him from power.
• May 5
  • President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro orders an audit on the country's voting machines, five months before the general election is held.
  • Sinn Féin, led by Michelle O'Neill, win the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
• May 6
  • A hotel explosion caused by a gas leak in Havana, Cuba kills 42 people and injures over 90 others.
  • An outbreak of monkeypox begins when the first monkeypox virus case is reported in London, the United Kingdom.
• May 8
  • John Lee is elected the 5th Chief Executive of Hong Kong, replacing Carrie Lam.
  • Alan Gagloyev is elected the 5th President of South Ossetia, beating incumbent President Anatoly Bibilov with a 56% to 41% vote margin.
• May 9
  • Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns because of massive protests against his government across Sri Lanka.
  • The Philippine presidential election is held to elect the country's 17th president and 15th vice president.
  • The Pulitzer Prizes are awarded, with The Washington Post winning a prize for its coverage of the 2021 United States Capitol attack.
• May 10
  • Yoon Suk-yeol is inaugurated as the 13th President of South Korea.
  • Leonid Kravchuk, the first President of Ukraine, dies at aged 88.
  • The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 begins in Turin, Italy.
  • Former Senator Bongbong Marcos, son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda Marcos, and former Davao City mayor Sara Duterte, daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, are declared the winners of the 2022 election, becoming the 17th President and 15th Vice President of the Philippines in a landslide victory.
• May 12
  • Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way, is directly imaged for the first time ever.
  • Ranil Wickremesinghe is chosen by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the next Prime Minister of Sri Lanka amid massive national protests.
• May 13 – President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan dies at aged 73 and is replaced by Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan the next day.
• May 14
  • Russian forces withdraw from Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv, in the north-east of the country.
  • The Kalush Orchestra of Ukraine wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with the song "Stefania".
  • Widespread shortages of infant formula continue in the United States following a major recall and plant shutdown.
• May 15
  • Former President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is elected president again, beating President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.
  • President of Finland Sauli Niinistö says Finland will apply for membership in NATO.
• May 16
  • Sweden confirms it will apply to join NATO, after years of supporting being neutral.
  • McDonald's announces that it will permanently shut down its fast food operations in Russia due to the "humanitarian crisis" and "unpredictable operating environment".
  • Prime Minister of France Jean Castex resigns and is replaced by Élisabeth Borne, making her the second female to ever become France's prime minister.
  • The Siege of Mariupol ends in a Russian victory as Ukrainian troops are evacuated from Mariupol.
• May 17 – Oscar winning composer Vangelis, who was an influential electronic musician, dies of COVID-19 at aged 79.
• May 18 – Germany's Eintracht Frankfurt wins the UEFA Europa League, beating Scotland's Rangers F.C..
• May 19 – The Boeing Starliner has docked with the International Space Station.
• May 20 – The World Health Organization (WHO) holds an emergency meeting to discuss the fast spread of the monkeypox outbreak in almost a dozen countries, as the number of reported monkeypox cases reaches 100.
• May 21 – The Australian Labor Party wins the most seats in the federal election, with Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese replaced incumbent Scott Morrison as the Prime Minister of Australia.
• May 22 – Manchester City F.C. win the 2021–22 Premier League.
• May 25
  • Italy's A.S. Roma beats the Netherlands's Feyenoord in the first UEFA Europa Conference League final.
• May 26 – Indian court sentences Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik to life in prison.
• May 28 – Spanish club Real Madrid beat English club Liverpool 1–0 to win the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League final played at the Stade de France in Paris, France.
• May 29
  • Tara Air Flight 197 crashed in Nepal with 22 people on board.
  • Marcus Ericsson wins the Indianapolis 500, becoming the second Swedish driver to do so.
  • In the first round of the Colombian presidential election, left-wing Senator Gustavo Petro and right-wing populist former Bucaramanga mayor Rodolfo Hernández Suárez advanced to the June run-off.

June

On 6 June, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson survives a motion of no confidence by a 59% to 41% margin

On 19 June, Senator Gustavo Petro is elected the 34th President of Colombia

On 28 June, Turkey drops their objections for Finland's and Sweden's application to join NATO

• June 1
  • Denmark votes to eliminate its opt-out of the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy, by a 66.9% to 33.1% vote margin.
  • Seventy-one nations, territories, and dependencies begin a week of celebration for the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
• June 4
  • A fire and explosions at a storage depot in Bangladesh, kill at least 41 people and injure more than 450 others.
  • Retired general Bajram Begaj is elected the 9th President of Albania by the parliament in the 4th round of voting.
• June 5
  • Voters in Kazakhstan pass a constitutional referendum to change 56 amendments following the January unrest earlier this year.
• June 6 – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson survives a motion of no confidence and remains Conservative Party leader by a 59% to 41% margin.
• June 10 – Former Bolivian president Jeanine Áñez is sentenced to ten years in prison for her role in the 2019 Bolivian political crisis.
• June 13 – A series of protests led by indigenous Ecuadorians, students and workers against President Guillermo Lasso's economic policies and raising fuel prices begin.
• June 14 – Canada and Denmark end their competing claims for Hans Island by dividing the island roughly in half.
• June 16 – The Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics to win the NBA Finals for the fourth time.
• June 19
  • Senator Gustavo Petro is elected President of Colombia beating right-wing populist Rodolfo Hernández Suárez by a 50.4% to 47.3% margin, becoming the first leftist elected to the presidency.
  • The second round of the French legislative election is held and President Emmanuel Macron's Ensemble political coalition wins the most seats, winning 245 out of 577 seats in the National Assembly, however, did not win an overall majority.
• June 20 – Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett announces he will dissolve the Knesset and schedules a new legislative election for November while also announcing his resignation as prime minister.
• June 22 – A 6.2 magnitude earthquake, kills at least 255 and injured 250 people in the Durand Line between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• June 23 – Dickon Mitchell's party wins a majority of seats in 2022 Grenada's general election, defeating Prime Minister Keith Mitchell's party. Dickon Mitchell is appointed Prime Minister of Grenada, following Keith Mitchell's resignation on June 24.
• June 24
  • At least 23 people die trying to cross the border in Melilla between Spain and Morocco.
• June 26
  • At least twenty-one people are found dead in a nightclub in East London, South Africa.
  • G7 leaders gather for a summit in Germany to support a ban on imports of Russian gold.
  • The Colorado Avalanche defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the Stanley Cup.
• June 27
  • In the United States, 51 dead migrants are found in a trailer in San Antonio, Texas.
• June 28
  • Turkey reaches a deal with Finland and Sweden to remove its veto on allowing them to join NATO.
  • A NATO summit is held in Madrid, Spain.
• June 29 – Several defendants are found guilty by a court in Paris, France for their roles in the November 2015 Paris attacks.
• June 30 – The Battle of Snake Island ends in Ukrainian victory as Russian military troops withdraw from the island.

July

On 7 July, Boris Johnson announces his resignation as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

On 8 July, former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe is assassinated while speaking in Nara, Japan

On 13 July, heat waves across Europe break high temperature records and cause wildfires

On 14 July, Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigns as President of Sri Lanka after leaving the country due to nationwide protests

On 21 July, Mario Draghi resigns as Prime Minister of Italy after failing to create a coalition government

On 23 July, the World Health Organization declares the ongoing monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern

• July 1
  • Yesh Atid Leader Yair Lapid becomes the 14th Prime Minister of Israel following Naftali Bennett's resignation and dissolution of the Knesset.
  • A deadly unrest begins in the autonomous region of Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan.
• July 3
  • A series of floods in New South Wales, Australia forces over 85,000 people to evacuate.
  • Russia and the Luhansk People's Republic take control of the entire Luhansk Oblast after seizing Lysychansk.
• July 5
  • Mathematicians Hugo Duminil-Copin, June Huh, James Maynard and Maryna Viazovska win the Fields Medal.
  • ​Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe declares country's bankruptcy.
• July 6
  • ​After being badly damaged in a bombing, the Georgia Guidestones in Elbert County, Georgia, are demolished.
  • The UEFA Women's Euro 2022 begins in England.
• July 7 – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson resigns after many members of his cabinet resign that created a lack of confidence in his government.
• July 8
  • Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe is assassinated while giving a speech in Nara, Japan.
  • José Eduardo dos Santos, who was Angola's president for nearly forty years and oversaw peace treaties and war, dies at the age of 79.
  • Elon Musk cancels his proposed acquisition of Twitter citing breach of contract.
  • Former President of Mexico Luis Echeverría, who was accused of genocide and human rights violations for his role in the Tlatelolco massacre, El Halconazo and the Mexican Dirty War, dies aged 100.
• July 9 – President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe agree to resign after protestors in Sri Lanka storm their homes in Colombo.
• July 10
  • A heat wave across Western Europe begins causing wildfires and the deaths of at least 600 people.
  • Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina win the men's and women's singles respectively at the Wimbledon Championships.
• July 11 – NASA releases the first operational image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.
• July 13 – President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa leaves the country by military plane to the Maldives and resigns the following day.
• July 14
  • Mario Draghi announces his resignation as Prime Minister of Italy, after the Five Star Movement withdraws from his national unity government; however his resignation is rejected by President Sergio Mattarella.
  • A Russian missile attack in Vinnytsia in central Ukraine, kills at least 22 people, including 3 children, and injures at least 100 others.
  • Former President of Peru Francisco Morales-Bermúdez, who led the country during a military dictatorship in the 1970s, dies at aged 100.
• July 20 – Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe is elected to replace President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
• July 21
  • Former Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu is elected the 15th President of India, becoming the country's second female and its first tribal president.
  • Mario Draghi resigns as Prime Minister of Italy for the second time after he is unable to create a government coalition, with President Sergio Mattarella accepting his resignation.
  • The Chinese paddlefish, one of the world's largest freshwater fish species, is officially declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
  • The European Central Bank raises its key interest rate for the first time in more than 11 years, from minus 0.5 per cent to zero, with plans for further increases later in the year.
• July 22 – Dinesh Gunawardena is named the 15th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
• July 23
  • Myanmar's military junta executes four people, including former Pyithu Hluttaw member and political prisoner Zayar Thaw, in its first use of the death penalty in decades.
  • The World Health Organisation declares the ongoing Monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
• July 24
  • Jonas Vingegaard wins the Tour de France, becoming the first Dane to win since 1996.
  • Emir of Kuwait Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah names his son Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah as the Prime Minister of Kuwait.
• July 25 – In a referendum, voters in Tunisia approve a new constitution which would expand the powers given to their president by making the country into a presidential system.
• July 26 – During a visit to Canada, Pope Francis apologizes for the Church's role in the Canadian Indian residential school system.
• July 27
  • Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr storm Baghdad's Green Zone and the Iraqi parliament.
  • In the United States, heavy rainfall causes statewide flooding in Kentucky that kills 25 people with many reported missing.
  • A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hits Luzon, Philippines, killing at least 10 people and injuring at least 320 others.
• July 28 – The Commonwealth Games begins in Birmingham, England.
• July 31
  • Former President of the Philippines Fidel V. Ramos, who helped remove Ferdinand Marcos from power, dies from COVID-19 at aged 94.
  • NBA Hall of Fame player and coach Bill Russell dies at aged 88.
  • The UEFA Women's Euro 2022 ends with England beating Germany in the final.
  • Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian terrorist who became the 2nd Emir of Al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden's death in 2011, is killed in a U.S.-approved CIA airstrike operation at aged 71.

August

• August 4
  • China conducts its largest ever live-fire exercise around Taiwan in response to a controversial visit by Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking U.S official to visit Taiwan since the 1990s.
  • Prime Minister of Peru Aníbal Torres, resigns during multiple criminal investigations against President Pedro Castillo, however Castillo rejected his resignation.
• August 5 – Israel launches Operation Breaking Dawn on the Gaza strip, killing 44 in the military operation against PIJ forces.
• August 7 – Israel and Palestinian militias agree to a ceasefire, ending three days of air and rocket strikes.

Images for kids

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  More than 10 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine were mass administered worldwide.

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  Richard Leakey

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  Sidney Poitier

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  Toshiki Kaifu

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  Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta

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  Thích Nhất Hạnh

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  Monica Vitti

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  Lata Mangeshkar

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  Luc Montagnier

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  Sir Manuel Esquivel

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  Shane Warne

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  Rupiah Banda

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  William Hurt

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  Eugene Parker

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  Leonel Sánchez

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  Sidney Altman

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  Mwai Kibaki

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  Leonid Kravchuk

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  Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

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  Vangelis

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  Valery Ryumin

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  Jean-Louis Trintignant

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  Robert Curl

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  Shinzo Abe

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  José Eduardo dos Santos

See also

In Spanish: 2022 para niños