- In Hyderabad, India, from October 10–14, 2022, the Second United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC 2022) was held. The theme of the UNWGIC 2022, which was organized by the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management and hosted by the Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India, was “Geo-Enabling the Global Village: No one should be left behind.” In 2018, Deqing, Zhejiang Province, China hosted the inaugural World Geospatial Information Congress of the United Nations.
- The Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S), mounted on a Long March-2D carrier rocket, was launched by China on October 9, 2022, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. ASO-S from China is known as Kuafu-1. It is the first near-Earth satellite telescope in the world to observe the sun’s magnetic field, coronal mass ejections, and solar flares all at once. The observatory is equipped with a magnetograph to investigate the magnetic field of the Sun, an X-ray imager to study the high-energy radiations emitted by electrons accelerated in solar flares, and a coronagraph to see the Sun in the visible and ultraviolet spectrums.
- In October 2022, US President Joe Biden presents Indian-born General Atomic Global Corporation Chief Executive Vivek Lall with the Lifetime Achievement Award with the citation “With Grateful Recognition.” AmeriCorps, an organization that works to encourage activities that unite Americans in order to “serve communities,” presented the citation to Dr. Lall. Dr. Lall, the CEO of General Atomics, is a pioneer in his field. The business has created cutting-edge Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) including the Predator, Reaper, and Guardian drones, and is a world leader in the specialized sectors of nuclear technology.
- The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka was named the winner of the 2022 Booker Prize for Fiction, which was presented to him in London by Britain’s Queen Camilla on October 17, 2022. Following Michael Ondaatje, whose book “The English Patient” won the Booker Prize in 1992, Karunatilaka is the second Sri Lankan-born author to receive the award since it was established in 1969. The second book written by Shehan is titled “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.” As prize money, he won 50,000 pounds ($56,810).
- In recognition of “the daring and clinical clarity with which she discovers the origins, estrangements, and collective restrictions of personal memory,” French novelist Annie Ernaux was given this year’s Nobel Prize in the literature on October 6. She achieved enormous literary acclaim because of her ground-breaking novel “The Years.” After abortion rights were restricted in the US, her 2001 book “Happening,” about her illegal abortion in the 1960s, gained attention.
- In a meeting of the FATF held in Paris on October 22, 2022, under the Presidency of Singapore, the Money Action Task Force (FATF) put Myanmar on a list of high-risk nations known as the “black list” due to its inability to make sufficient progress in tackling illicit financial flows. Along with Iran and North Korea, which have been on the high-risk list since 2020, Myanmar is the third nation to be added.
- The Plain Language Bill, which mandates that administrators use straightforward, readily understandable language when dealing with the public, was approved by the New Zealand Parliament on October 19, 2022. The Plain Language Bill’s passing aims to increase democracy’s inclusivity, particularly for non-native English speakers, individuals with impairments, and those with low levels of education. The United States Plain Writing Act of 2010 served as the foundation for the legislation, which mandates that public papers produced by the US Federal Government be “clear, succinct, and well-organized.” The Bill defines simple language as being “clear, succinct, and well ordered” and “suited to the intended readership.”
- The Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index, or CRI Index, 2022, which was published in October 2022, placed Norway at the top. The CRI Index, which is based on data from 161 nations worldwide, is in its fourth edition. Germany and Australia are the top two countries in the CRII, followed by Norway. The CRII is a collaborative effort of Development Finance International and Oxfam International to assess how well governments are doing in three areas that have been shown to have a significant influence on decreasing inequality. The three sectors are taxes, workers’ rights, and public services (health, education, and social protection). India moved up six positions to 123rd place on the CRII 2022 from 129th place in the 2020 edition.
