2022 World Events Trivia Quiz

RCEP was signed 15 November 2020 in Hanoi and came into effect on 1 January 2022. RCEP is the largest free trade area for 15 countries: Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Philippines.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an official document to declare the Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic as independent from Ukraine. On 24 February 2022, Russian launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, despite international condemnations.

On 8 March 2022, the US and UK announced a complete ban on supply of Russian oil. On the same day, the EU also announced a two-third reduction in its demand of Russian gas. This was in response to the Russian attack on Ukraine.

On 14 April 2022, the Russian guided missile cruiser, Moskva, was sunk by two Ukrainian R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles in the Black Sea. Moskva, with a crew of 510, was the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet and the most powerful warship in the region.

On 6 May 2022, the first case of monkeypox, an infectious viral disease which can spread to humans and some other animals, was detected in London, involving a patient who traveled to Nigeria where the disease is endemic. On 16 May, another four new cases were reported by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) with no link to the country where the disease is endemic, which confirmed all four cases were infected in London. From 18 May onward, an increasing number of cases was reported in Europe, Americas, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.

A NATO summit was held in Madrid from June 28 to 30. The aim of the summit was to boost the resilience and the cyber defense of NATO after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and to protect the threats over the territorial integrity of other countries.

On 8 July 2022, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated during his speech at a political event outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara City. During the speech for a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidate, he was shot from behind at close range by Tetsuya Yamagumi with a homemade firearm.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at Nara Medical University Hospital. The 41-year-old killer was immediately arrested at the scene of the murder. Yamaguchi told the investigators he had a grudge with Abe in relation to the Unification Church, with which Abe and family had political ties, that led to his mother's bankruptcy in 2002.

On 5 August 2022, in response to Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, China carried out its largest-ever military exercises in the waters around the island of Taiwan. 71 fighter jets took part in the exercise. 7 naval ships were detected near Taiwan. The US deployed 4 naval ships and an aircraft carrier to the east of Taiwan before Pelosi's visit.

Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) passed away on 8 September 2022 at the age of 96. She was the longest serving British monarch, with a reign of 70 years and 214 days. She was succeeded by her eldest son, who became King Charles III. The state funeral was held in Westminster Abbey on 14 September.

On 5 October 2022, OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, made an official statement to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day, which was equal to 2% of the global supply. This announcement caused a lot of controversies with the US and the West. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman stated the production cut shall continue until the end of 2023. As of January 2020, there are 13 member states in OPEC, which accounted for about 81.5% of the world oil reserves.

The 22nd edition was hosted by Qatar from 20 November to 18 December for the first time in the Middle East. After a month of competition, Argentina beat France on penalty kicks following a 3-3 score after 120 minutes of play. This was considered by pundits to be the best ever final in the history of the World Cup. Argentina won their third world title after 1978 and 1986.

On 7 December 2022, Chinese president Xi made an official visit to Saudi Arabia. After touching down in Riyadh airport, he was received by Saudi Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, governor of the Riyadh region, and Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Saudi foreign minister. The visit included a "Saudi-Chinese summit," a China-Arab and a China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit. Beijing is working to grow their influence in the Middle East.