The war between Israel and Hamas, the rise of artificial intelligence and the hottest recorded year in human history – here is a look back at the significant events that defined 2023.
WATCH: Looking back on 2023
Hamas declares war: 7 October 2023
More than 5,000 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Saturday, Hamas’ armed wing said, declaring it had started “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”.
“We decided to put an end to all the crimes of the occupation (Israel), their time for rampaging without being held accountable is over,” the group said.
“We announce Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and we fired, in the first strike of 20 minutes, more than 5,000 rockets.”
Wagner group leader dies: 23 August 2023
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner group that led a mutiny against Russia’s army in June, was on the list of passengers of a plane that crashed.
“The plane that crashed in the Tver Region listed Yevgeny Prigozhin among its passengers, (Russia’s aviation agency) Rosaviatsia said,” TASS news agency reported, with RIA Novosti and Interfax issuing similar reports.
“There were ten people on board, including three crew members. According to preliminary information, all those on board died,” Russia’s Ministry for emergency situation had said shortly before.
Around 1700 GMT, the ministry announced that a “private Embraer Legacy aircraft travelling from Moscow to Saint Petersburg crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino in the Tver Region.”
It said it was conducting search operations.
Videos on Telegram channels linked to Wagner posted footage — that AFP could not independently confirm — showing the wreckage of plane burning in a field.
In June, Prigozhin led a short-lived rebellion against Russia’s conventional army, with thousands of mercenaries taking up weapons and marching from southern Russia towards Moscow to topple the country’s military leaders.
The mutiny ended with a deal, mediated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, under which Prigozhin was expected to move to neighbouring Belarus with some of his men.
Since then, he has refused to cede command of Wagner but mostly stayed out of the public eye.
On Monday, a video circulated showing him apparently in Africa, which he vowed to make “freer”.
Ukraine – Russia war
The war between Ukraine and Russia has been ongoing since February 2014, with the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine beginning on February 24, 2022.
The invasion was the largest attack on a European country since World War II and has resulted in significant casualties, both civilian and military.
By June 2022, Russian troops occupied about 20% of Ukrainian territory, and the conflict has led to the displacement of millions of people. The frontlines have remained relatively stable, with Ukraine recapturing 54% of the previously occupied territory, while Russia still occupies 18% of the country.
The number of military casualties is estimated to have climbed to half a million. The conflict has its roots in the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 and the subsequent armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. The war has had a devastating impact on both countries and has drawn international attention and concern.
Open AI/Chat GPT
A detailed study by Writerbuddy.ai unveils the “50 Most Visited AI Tools of 2023” – a comprehensive guide that dives deep into the AI tools shaping our digital interactions today.
Recent findings spotlight ChatGPT’s supremacy in the AI tool sector, boasting a colossal 14 billion visits and seizing 60% of traffic within the top 50 AI platforms.
Meanwhile, rising stars like Character AI, Google Bard, and Perplexity AI collectively hold a noteworthy 18.69% of the chatbot market’s monthly visits, underscoring a fierce rivalry in AI innovation.
India successfully lands on the dark side of the moon
India’s unmanned spacecraft Chandrayaan 3 landed on the moon’s south side.
While a new world order unfolded during the 15th BRICS Summit hosted in South Africa, India’s Space Research Organisation made history.
It was the third time lucky for India after two failed missions.
Russia had also hoped to land on the moon’s Southside, but its spacecraft crashed on Sunday. Chandrayaan means moon craft in Hindi.
America, Russia and China have completed lunar missions on the moon’s near side – which faces Earth, making this landing a world first.
The sinkable case of the Titan Submersible
Titanic history buffs with $105 000 (R1.4 million) to spare may be interested in an expedition that takes guests to the depths of the earth’s oceans and to the watery grave of history’s most famous ship wreckage.
A five man crew aboard the Titan submersible descended towards the Titanic wreck June, but the vessel lost contact with its support ship on the surface just two hours later.
The sub was carrying British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions Stockton Rush, and French submarine operator Paul-Henri Nargeolet. The entire crew was killed during the expedition.
Goodbye Twitter, hello X
In July, Twitter owner Elon Musk revealed the new X logo. The new logo and name took over the identity of Twitter, replacing both its name and the iconic whimsical blue bird symbol across online platforms and the company’s San Francisco headquarters. Musk announced on the platform, “Farewell to the Twitter brand and, in due course, to all the birds.”
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Turkiye earthquake
In February 2023, a devastating pair of earthquakes struck southern Turkey and northern Syria. The initial earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8, occurred near the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, close to the Syrian border.
This was followed by a 7.5 magnitude aftershock nine hours later. The impact was severe, with an estimated 50,783 deaths, 297 missing, and 107,204 injured across 11 affected provinces in Turkey.
Additionally, about 15.73 million people and 4 million buildings were affected, with approximately 345,000 apartments destroyed. The economic impact was estimated at US$163.6 billion, and the earthquakes resulted in over 30,000 aftershocks.
The affected region faced significant humanitarian challenges, with millions of people struggling to rebuild their lives, and widespread damage to infrastructure and agricultural facilities.
The earthquakes had a profound and lasting impact on the region, with millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
