While 2020 proved to be an extremely difficult year with all the unexpected and unforeseen events; Headline8 takes a look back on the various events that defined this year.
Tensions in Western Asia-
With the US-led killing of Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani and an escalation of the Persian Gulf crisis, Western Asia began this year observing ruckus in several countries in the region. The Yemeni civil war continued and death of Arab’s world longest-serving ruler, Sultan Qaboos of Oman added up to the existing tensions and raised questions regarding stability in the region.
Withdrawal of UK from the European Union-
After the European Parliament approved ‘Brexit’ and an 11-month transition period, in January the UK withdrew from the European Union.
World Health Organisation named the disease COVID- 19-
On February 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation formally announced an official name for the disease that is causing the 2019 coronavirus outbreak. The name of this disease is COVID-19.
Beginning of lockdown-
For the first time, international travel came to a suspension and the entire world started going into lockdown due to the virus and related deaths rapidly spreading. In March 2020, people all over the globe locked themselves indoors and no one was to be seen on streets. The Government of India announced a 21-day lockdown, one of the strictest in the world.
Black Lives Matter movement-
In May, after the killing of George Floyd in the US, there were vigorous and widespread protests against police violence, brutality, racism, discrimination, and injustice across the country, and the Black Lives Movement speeded up. Similar protests started taking place in countries across Europe, UK, Australia, and even in Asia.
National security law in Hong Kong-
Hong Kong protests led to an increasing desire to legislate Article 23 of the Basic Law. In May, the legislation was enacted by Beijing to publicize a national security law in Hong Kong. According to the law, it may set up the legal framework to prevent and punish subversion, terrorism, separatism, and foreign interference. Following this, the US had stated that Hong Kong was no longer an autonomous territory.
Largest protests in Belarus’ political history-
There were widespread protests during presidential elections in Belarus in August after Alexander Lukashenko unilaterally declared himself President. The elections were disputable with many reports of election fraud and opposition candidates and protestors calling for the votes to be disproved. Activists and international observers reported cases of violence, intimidation, and suppression. Many countries including the European Union did not accept the election results.
Israel- Arab peace deal-
In a process facilitated by the US under the Trump administration, the Israel- Arab peace deal helped countries like the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan to normalize relations with Israel. The UAE was the first country to engage in this process in August.
Monumental victory of Biden over Trump-
The presidential elections of USA led to the election of Joe Biden as 46th President of the US, the most controversial elections in the history of the country. Donald Trump claimed elections to be fraud, refused to accept the election results, and took this matter to the Supreme Court.
Pfizer and BioNTech comes up with a vaccine for coronavirus-
After the rapid spread of coronavirus and killing at least 1.7 million people around the world, Pfizer and BioNTech announced an Emergency Use Authorisation of a Covid-19 vaccine. The United Kingdom became the first country to begin a mass inoculation campaign on December 8 using a tested vaccine.
