The last few years might have had several lows, but there were also a whole lotta highs. As we come to the close of the 2010s, let’s take a look back at some of the best news stories that came out of these 10 crazy years.
1. Section 377 was scrapped in 2018, decriminalising homosexuality.
2. In 2011, India won the Cricket World Cup after 28 years.
3. In 2005, South Korea recycled 2% of its food waste. In 2013, it recycled 95% of its food waste.
4. Global child deaths dropped from 13.77 million in 1990 to 6.64 million in 2017.
5. While scientists thought bird flu would kill millions world-wide, there were only 3 infections recorded in 2018, and none in 2019.
6. Finland got the world’s youngest prime minister – Sanna Marin, 34.
7. In 2015, Canada got its first cabinet with equal number of men and women. It was also ethnically diverse.
8. Suicide rates among the LGBTQ+ community in Denmark and Sweden fell by 46% from 2003 to 2016.
9. In 2010, the non-profit Love Commandos was founded to help and protect couples from harassment and honour killings.
10. In 2019, scientists created an artificial leaf that sucks CO2 and makes fuel. This can potentially solve the problem of rising greenhouse gas levels.
11. In 2018, Ireland finally legalised abortions.
12. In 2018, Milan launched a program where students move in with elderly people to save money and help them fight loneliness.
13. In 2018, the Uttarakhand High Court ruled that all animals should enjoy the same rights as human beings.
14. In 2019, Dutee Chand came out as India’s first openly gay athlete.
15. In 2018, Hima Das became the first Indian sprinter to win a gold medal at an international track event.
16. Ravish Kumar won the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award for journalism.
17. In 2014, Mangalyaan became the cheapest inter-planetary mission ever to be undertaken anywhere in the world.
18. In 2011, Osama bin Laden, founder of Al-Qaeda, was shot and killed.
19. In 2017, Serena Williams played while pregnant at the Australian Open. And won.
20. In 2019, ISRO launched Chandrayaan-2, our second lunar exploration mission.
21. 32-year-old Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce broke Usain Bolt’s record and became the world’s fastest woman.
22. In 2016, Bhawana Kanth, Mohana Singh, and Avani Chaturvedi became the first female fighter pilots of India.
23. In 2019, Indian-American economist Abhijit Banerjee got the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
24. In 2015, Sundar Pichai became the CEO of Google.
25. In 2014, Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft.
26. In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that women of all age groups can enter Sabarimala temple.
27. In 2013, the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was passed to protect women from sexual harassment at their place of work.
28. In 2012, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was passed.
29. In 2018, Mary Kom became the most successful boxer in the history of Women’s World Championships by winning her 6th gold medal.
30. In 2018, Kenya Installed a solar water plant that turns ocean water into drinking water for 35,000 people a day. This could be the solution to the global water scarcity.
31. In 2019, 93% of households in rural India were found to have access to toilets.
32. Deaths from terrorism have dropped by 70% in Europe in the last 4 years.
33. In 1990, more than 36% of the world’s population lived in abject poverty; in 2015, the number had dropped to 10 percent.
34. In 2019, Period. End of Sentence. won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film.
35. In 2017, the Indian Women’s Cricket Team made it to the finals of the World Cup for the first time.
36. In 2016, the Paris Agreement was signed to deal with climate change. While it was a historic move however, the countries involved are still far from achieving its goals.
The 2010s have been a pretty wild ride. Let’s see what the next decade has in store for us!
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