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Afghanistan's political predicament dominated the news cycle in August, as the Taliban won city after city, and eventually toppled the U.S.-backed Afghan government.
Plus, the world said goodbye to a number of celebrities, the most renowned of whom is Britain's Prince Philip.
But we begin now with a short recap on the high-stakes Canada-China prisoner swap, which saw Huawei's Chief Financial Officer finally returning home after the political drama that lasted for 3 years.
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On September 25th, a hero's welcome for Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's CFO, as massive crowds flocked to the airport in Shenzhen to welcome home Meng, who was detained in Canada for 3 years.
The scene of her tearfully thanking everyone who helped her bring down the curtain on the Sino-U.S. political drama, in which Canada, the United States and China were embroiled, heralded the culmination of the drama that lasted for 3 years.
Back in 2018, Meng Wanzhou was detained in Canada at the behest of U.S. authorities. Meantime, Canadians Michael Spavor and Kovrig were detained in China as retaliation.
August marks the beginning of Afghanistan changing hands, after the Taliban contemplated the takeover of the country as attempts to depose then-Afghan President Ashraf Ghani were perennial.
At the outset, the Taliban was weaker than U.S. forces, and hence failed to topple the government. However, as time ticked away comes the story of the tables being turned, as the Taliban devised a few stratagems to regain control of the landlocked country.
In just a week's time, from just having one city seized, to the capital of Kabul being taken over, bespoke the complete takeover of the country by the megalomaniac Taliban military.
But the outcome is hardly surprising: Having gone whole hog, the Taliban once again regained control of the country as they hasten to say they're back anew.
Ashraf Ghani, before coming to grips with what just transpired, join the mass exodus from the embattled country. This literally stirred up a hornet's nest, with the Afghan President's nemeses and his citizens upbraiding him for shrugging off his responsibility for the entire country.
What's more, it was ignominy for Washington, who was conspicuously the loser in the Afghan war this year. As such, President Biden's U.S. troops evacuation plan bit the dust, as the haphazard evacuation of Afghans and U.S. troops was completely disorganised, rendering a lot of people stuck in Kabul's only international gateway on August 31, the deadline for evacuation.
A bomb attack that was intended to kill Taliban militants ended up slaughtering several civilians. However, no heads rolled in Washington as a result of the tragedy.
Malala Yousafzai, one of the most outspoken figures of girls' rights to be educated, said Afghan women should stay the course and continue fighting for what they believe in, and never buckle under pressure from the Taliban.
Despite having promised amnesty for women and encouraged women to join the Taliban government, despair has set in for Afghan girls and young women who yearn to enter a classroom again after a continuous oscillation between despair and hope, being that the Taliban has thus far forbidden them from going back to school. Malala said the Taliban's plan to allow women to get back to work appears satisfactory on paper, but denounced the Taliban's oppression on females as nefarious.
Needless to say, the Taliban do not espouse support for female reporters.
The Taliban's complete takeover of the country indeed bodes ill for Afghanistan in more ways than one.
The takeover also drove a wedge between some Democrats and U.S. President Joe Biden, as they banked on Biden fighting tooth and nail to reverse the outcome.
This year, we said goodbye to a number of celebrities, one of whom was the Duke of Edinburgh, Britain's Prince Philip.
Departing this life at the age of 99, just around a month before his birthday in June, Prince Philip was remembered most for his loyalty and extraordinary commitments to Queen Elizabeth II.
The nonagenarian and Queen Elizabeth II, who was the heir-apparent to the British throne at that time, got hitched in 1947.
Despite being the prince for the first time, he was literally the Queen's bedrock, as he used to provide support for his wife, and give advice when it came to decision-making.
Not only was he "renowned" for his impatience, and his grandchildren, Prince William, being a chip off the old block, but he was also well-known and credited with helping British schoolchildren participate in challenging outdoor adventures and founding several non-profit organisations.
After some 22,000 royal engagements since his wife's coronation, having been plagued by recurring heart problems and always convalescing, Prince Philip announced in May 2017 that he had planned to step back from royal duties.
The society's august patron, Prince Philip played an important role in European history, as his legacy spanned nearly a century of European history, beginning with his birth as a member of the Greek Royal family, and ending with him as the longest serving consort in British history.
The world also bid farewell to other famous names, one of which is former Philippine President Benigno Aquino.
Aquino battled poverty and dealt with many challenges during his presidency.
He also has an important place in Hong Kong's history as a result of the Manila tour bus hostage tragedy back in 2010. He was catapulted into the limelight after refusing to apologise for that tragedy, saying the perpetrator of that attack should be held solely accountable, and that the tragedy wouldn't define his administration.
He was also notorious for purposely stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, pitting the Philippines against China.
Despite all that, his greatest legacy was he successfully boosted the country's economic growth. During his 6-year tenure, the country's economy grew by 6.2 percent, the highest on record.
The world also lost one of the members of America's troika in the 20th century, the nation's first Black Secretary of State, Colin Powell. Despite being synonymous with a patriot and statesman, his failure to avert the bloodshed in the Iraq war took the gloss off his reputation.
But suffice it to say, with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration pulling out all the stops in the American Dream Journey, Powell will go down in the annals of American history as a never-before-seen trailblazer in that Journey, pursued by generations of leaders.
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And that was our lookback at some of the major events that helped shape 2021.
We hope you enjoyed the review.
Wishing you a safe, prosperous and less tumultuous 2022.
Bye for now.
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