In 2021, COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the world, according to the Global Burden of Disease study run by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Only cardiovascular disease and cancer killed more people that year. The ranking shows how much the pandemic reshaped global mortality, placing a new infectious disease above many long-established killers. Global Burden of Disease estimates combine death registrations, surveys and statistical models to compare causes of death across countries.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.