Retirement of Federer and Williams:   

This month, two tennis greats, Roger Federer, and Serena Williams, announced they will retire from tennis. Federer won 20 grand slam singles titles, 8doubles titles and had a record 237 consecutive weeks as world number one. At his peak from 2005-2010, Federer reached 18-19 grand slam finals, and won 12 of them. He will be missed on the tennis court by many tennis fans around the world.   

Another tennis great who announced her retirement is Serena Williams. Serena Williams is known for her powerful, attacking style. Serena has 14 doubles grand slam wins, 23 grand slam singles titles, four Olympic gold medals and hundreds of weeks at the number one ranking. The retirement of these two greats truly marks the end of an era.   

Death of Queen Elizabeth II, future of the Monarchy :

The death of Queen Elizabeth marks an end of an era for the British Monarchy. The queen ruled from 1952-2022, a reign of 70 years. With the passing of Queen Elizabeth, the monarchy passes to her son, King Charles. With the royal family mired in scandals, King Charles will have to find a way to unite Great Britain under the monarchy like his mother did. With the reign of a new monarch. conversations are now starting about the necessity of the monarchy and whether the time has come for the monarchy to end.  

Russia-Ukraine War:  

Russia and Ukraine have been at war with each other since February 24, 2022. Ukraine held its ground against Russia and with the help of Western allies, has now started to retake areas in the Eastern Donbas region that have been occupied by Russia since 2014. The U.S has invested 15.2 billion dollars in aid for Ukraine since January 2021. Soldiers in Ukraine have also been reverse-engineering spare parts. Additionally, more mass graves have been discovered, furthering allegations of war crimes and human rights violations by the Russian military. Mass protests have erupted in Russia, and according to the latest numbers, around 1400 people have been detained by the police. These protests were a response to Putin’s call for reserve forces to fight in Ukraine.   

Climate Change (Pakistan and Italy):  

Climate change is an issue that has been widely accepted by scientists around the world as something that’s worst effects are yet to come. Massive floods in Pakistan, which have affected more than 33 million people, show how climate change will make natural disasters worse in the coming years. According to Pakistan’s Meteorological department, August rainfall in the Sindh region was 726% higher and in Balochistan was 590% higher. Water levels are still extremely high across Pakistan. Floods have also affected central Italy in the Marche region, killing at least 10 people. Around 15.75 inches of rain fell within 2-3 hours according to the civil protection agency. Again, the signs point to climate change with many advocates pointing to both incidents as a sign of what could come for the world if climate change is not appropriately addressed.   

Inflation:  

Inflation became a huge issue over the past year. Everyone around the world has felt the price of inflation. Gas prices have especially been high, partly affected by the war in Ukraine, soared to a record high of $4.33 per gallon of crude oil. The inflation rate in August was 8.3%.  

Inflation is what happens when prices rise due to an increase in production costs. The consumer price index is around 8.3%. To combat this inflation, the Federal Reserve raises the federal fund interest rate. This federal fund rate affects every other kind of interest rate. The reason for this rise is multifold: the COVID-19 pandemic led to many lockdowns and created supply chain disruptions. With the recent invasion of Ukraine by many countries heavily sanctioned Russia and its oil and gas. This led to a decrease in supply and people were willing to pay more for gas. The effects of inflation have been felt by many around the world, and if inflation levels continue to rise, the Federal Reserve might have to put the U.S economy into a recession.