Retrospective 2023 | Objects of the year

What do stratospheric balloons, cluster bombs and royal crowns have in common? They are all associated with hot elements of international news in 2023. Here are 10 objects that left their mark during the year which is ending.

The Spy Ball of Discord

On Saturday, February 4, an American F-22 fighter plane shot down a Chinese balloon in the sky over South Carolina. The United States considers the device to be a spy balloon, while China, dissatisfied, claims that it is a simple meteorological balloon lost. Canada is involved in this story, since the aircraft flew over part of the country before entering American airspace. A meeting between the Chinese and American leaders, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, in San Francisco on November 15, helped to warm up a little the tense relations between the two countries since this incident.

Controversial bombs

Antipersonnel mines, unexploded bombs and cluster munitions cover an estimated third of Ukrainian territory since the start of the Russian invasion. But the Ukrainians have also used cluster munitions supplied by the United States since July. These devices are very controversial because upon reaching the ground, they disperse lethal munitions over a wide radius, increasing the risk of civilians being injured or killed. However, if 123 countries around the world adhere to the convention banning these weapons, the United States, Russia and Ukraine have not signed it.

Lances to fight fires

At the beginning of June, smoke from forest fires in northern Quebec colors the Manhattan sky with a yellow-orange fog. Two months later, a fire of incredible force razed the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, devastating wildfires are being recorded in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Nova Scotia. A report from Copernicus, the European Union’s climate monitoring program, estimates that Canada emitted 410 megatonnes of carbon due to wildfires in 2023, a record for the country.

The white flag

Many objects (weapons) or structures (tunnels) could symbolize the Israel-Hamas war that began on October 7 with the attack by the Islamist movement after which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 240 people kidnapped. Israel’s response in the Gaza Strip left more than 21,000 dead, according to Hamas, including several thousand children. Through these exchanges of fire, many Palestinian civilians tried to surrender, white flag in hand, from the north to the south of the territory, then towards the Rafah border post. The UN estimates the number of Gazans displaced since the start of the conflict at some 1.7 million. And then, on December 15, three Israeli hostages were shot dead by mistake by the Israeli army, even though they were waving a white flag.

The presidential archives

The recovery of Donald Trump’s classified presidential archives from his Florida estate at Mar-a-Lago dates back to August 8, 2022. But they fueled the news of 2023, and photos of the crates piled up in his bathroom made the rounds of the globe. On June 9, 37 charges were filed against Mr. Trump in this case, including those of conspiracy to obstruct justice, corruptly concealing a document or record and willfully withholding information about national defense. The trial has not yet taken place. Note that the former president has also been criminally charged in three other cases in recent months.

Reservoirs with worrying water levels

The severe wildfires of 2023 have often been caused by drought in boreal forests. These extreme droughts also have an impact on the sharply declining levels of large rivers, such as the Colorado River in the United States. As a result, the environment, major crops and the quality of life of residents are threatened. As a result, the level of the Colorado River has fallen so much that hydroelectric plants powered by large reservoirs could stop operating.

The submarine Titan

On Sunday June 18, the little submersible Titan company OceanGate dives into the depths of the North Atlantic for a scientific tourism trip around the wreck of the Titanic. After two hours of descent, communications were broken. A failure of the pressurized hull led to an implosion of the vessel and the instant death of all five occupants. The same week, a migrant boat shipwrecked in the Mediterranean. There are around 750 victims.

The era of artificial intelligence

“Will ChatGPT spell the end of Google’s dominance? », asked The Press on January 6, a month after the launch of this conversational robot. In 2023, torrents of articles have been written on the subject. We attribute all intentions, good or bad, to artificial intelligence. Will she replace Hollywood actors? Replace humans to write books, articles and theses? Provoke an arms race? With the recent saga surrounding the dismissal and then rehiring of Sam Altman as head of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, we haven’t finished talking about it.

Her Majesty’s crowns

On May 6, Charles III was crowned King of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in the presence of numerous dignitaries, including Justin Trudeau. That day, his head actually wore two crowns. First, that of Saint Edward, made of more than two kilos of solid gold and semi-precious stones. It was last worn by Elizabeth II during her… coronation, in 1953. Then, Charles III wore the imperial state crown, worn by monarchs when leaving Westminster Abbey. Canada is still awaiting a first visit from Her Majesty since this grandiose event.

The Ozempic pen

If you have never seen an advertisement for the drug Ozempic, buy a 6/49 ticket! It is very difficult to escape these clips where individuals recommend this semaglutide. But why ? Fight diabetes or lose weight? The use of Ozempic for medical purposes is losing ground, in favor of weight loss. To the point that we are facing a shortage. In a recent press release, the Order of Pharmacists of Quebec referred to a “critical situation with numerous stock shortages”, particularly for the 1 mg dose. A return to normal is not expected before the end of March 2024.

Sources: The weatherABC News, Canada.ca, RTBF, Copernicus, The Canadian Encyclopediatoday.com, Associated Press