Emerging from the pandemic, farewelling Britian's longest-serving monarch, and returning to a mission to the moon.
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The past 12 months have been packed with action. Let's recap the biggest events and stories of 2022.
January
The year started with a scoop of drama when tennis world No.1 Novak Djokovic had his VISA cancelled.
The 21-time gram slam winning star was detained at Melbourne airport after failing to provide sufficient evidence of his COVID-19 vaccination exception.
The matter soon turned into a legal stouch that resulted in Serbian being deported. He was not able to defend his Australian Open title, so no doubt he'll be edging for his comeback in 2023.
In January, the world also marked a major milestone in its fight against COVID-19. It was estimated at the time that 10 billion vaccinations had been administered worldwide.
February
A major escalation of decades-long post-Soviet tensions came to a head on February 24 when Russia invaded Ukraine.
The Russo-Ukranian War, which has been brewing strongly since the 2014 annexation of Crimea, was one of the largest news events of the year. It has dominated headlines ever since February.
Meanwhile, in February, Australia competed on the world stage at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, winning five medals.
Britain celebrated the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, and the monarch herself made viral headlines after she hosted an audience at Buckingham Palace with the beloved children's character, Paddington Bear.
March
2022 might well be remembered as the year of many floods in Australia.
The first major flood event for 2022 began in March and have continued largely throughout the entire year. After three consecutive la ninas, the wild weather seems to have no end in sight.
World No.1 Ash Barty became the first Australian in 44 years to win an Australian Open women's singles title. Soon after the beloved tennis superstar announced her retirement from the sport.
The cricket world was left in mourning in March after the sudden death of Shane 'Warnie' Warne, while holidaying in Ko Samui, Thailand.
Meanwhile at the Oscars, it was a year of firsts. Troy Kotsur won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in CODA.
He was the first deaf actor to win such an award, and the first to give his acceptance speech entirely in sign language.
Unfortunately, Kotsur's major win was somewhat overshadowed by the unforgettable drama between Oscars host Chris Rock and actor Will Smith.
It would be impossible to forget, but just in case you have, here's a recap: After making an ill-advised joke at Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith's expense, Smith walked up on stage and dramatically slapped Rock in the face.
The slap ignited an online storm and brought the topic of alopecia and hair loss well and truly into the mainstream.
Oh, and Will Smith went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in King Richard too.
What a month!
April
After months of speculating over when a federal election would be called, on April 10, then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the inevitable journey to the governor general's lodging in Canberra to officially issue the writs.
And the nation buckled down in preparation for a six week election campaign.
In sport, the AFLW grand final was a major highlight to distract from the ceaseless shenanigans of politicians behaving badly. Melbourne snatched the victory from the jaws of the Brisbane Lions.
May
On May 21, the nation headed to the polls to vote and by that evening, Labor leader Anthony Albanese had emerged victorious. He was officially sworn in as the 31st Australian prime minister days later.
And while the world began to emerge from the worst of lockdowns and COVID-19 outbreaks, another virus was to take the centre stage in May.
The World Health Organisation officially declared monkeypox as a "global concern".
June
Climate activists around the world began making headlines in June when they began vandalising internationally recognised artworks.
It began in London on June 30 when Just Stop Oil activists Louis McKechnie and Emily Brocklbank risked 10 years in prison to glue themselves to Vincent Van Gogh's famous Peach Trees Blossom.
In other news from June, NSW won the State of Origin, snatching the victory from the Queenslanders, who have won 23 of the 41 full series so far!
And shockingly, after 40 years without a case, in June, it was announced that traces of the poliovirus had been found in London's wastewater.
July
Shocking events unfolded on July 8 when former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated.
The former leader of the Liberal Democratic Party had been the longest-serving prime minister in Japan's history.
He was speaking at an event outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara City, when he was shot from close range by a man holding a homemade gun.
He was transported by helicopter to Nara Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
August
While Australia continued to grapple with its own never-ending flood situation, nearly 10,000km away on the otherside of the world another flod event was wreaking havoc.
Thousands perished across Pakistan after floodwaters raged in an historic wet season.
Meanwhile, the world was captivated by the unfolding drama inside a Virginian courthouse as actors Amber Heard and Johnny Depp battled over allegations of defamation.
In other entertainment news, beloved Aussie singer and actress Olivia Newton John lost her battle with breast cancer on August 8. It was just days after The Seekers singer Judith Durham died on August 5.
September
Arguably the largest month on record in 2022, September was packed with globally significant events.
All eyes were on Britain in September after the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8. The monarch had been the longest-serving British ruler and had only just celebrated her Platinum Jubilee months before.
In the midst of the national mourning and commerations for the late Queen, a storm continued to brew inside Westminster.
After a scandal-filled year, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he would step down from the top job, and leave the Conservative Party.
His resignation was to lead to the 'year of the three prime ministers' in Britain.
Liz Truss took over from Boris Johnson as prime minister and leader of the UK's Conservative Party.
Holding her audience with Elizabeth II at Balmoral on September 6, Truss was to be the last Prime Minister sworn into the office by the late Queen.
Truss lasted just seven weeks as prime minister. Her controversial 'Trussonomics' reforms proved her downfall and she promptly resigned from the party on October 20.
Speaking of resignations, tennis superstars Roger Federer and Serena Williams bid tearful farewell to the court after announcing their retirements in September.
In other news, American billionaire and founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, attempted to launch the Blue Origin space mission.
Protests took over the streets of Iran from September 16 after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.
She was a 22-year-old woman who died in hospital under suspicious circumstances after she had been arrested by the morality police for not wearing her hijab according to the government's standards.
Meanwhile, Australia was rocked by the Optus hacks, which was revealled to be the largest data breach in the nation's history.
The events on September 22 led to 11 million customers losing their personal data to systematic leaks on the dark web.
October
After the resignation of Liz Truss on October 20, Rishi Sunak rose to take the UK's top job. He was the first prime minister to be sworn in by King Charles III and will be the first person of colour to serve the British public.
Following the Optus hack catastrophe, Medibank was also hit by hackers. Its portfolio of 3.9 million customers were left exposed with their personal data leaked.
In big tech news, US billionaire Elon Musk acquired Twitter, which promptly caused chaos!
American superstar Taylor Swift scored a 10 out of 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the release of her album Midnights in October.
She became the first artist in history to claim all Top 10 slots on the chart in the US.
November
The world's population officially reached 8 billion in November.
The launch of the Artemis I space mission returned NASA's focus to the moon. It spent 25 days, 10 hours, 53 minutes in space before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean again.
And, in preparation for the USA's return to the polls in 2024, former President Donald Trump announced he would indeed be running for re-election.
December
In its most successful FIFA World Cup bid, Australia made it all the way to the Round of 16 in Qatar.
The success, of course, owed almost entirely to Melbournian Mathew Leckie who scored the winning goal against Denmark on December 1.
Australia was, unfortunately, then knocked out of the competition by Argentina.
Indonesia's 'bonk ban' caused a siesmic shift in its tourism standing, with Australian travelers left feeling nervous they might be imprisoned by the morality police.
And in perhaps the most gruesome news of the year, Australia was left shocked with the death of two young constables after an ambush on a rural property in Queensland.
May Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow be remembered for their steadfast bravery in the face of absolute terror. The heroes of 2022.