Inventory of Major Events That Will Shock the World in 2020
The COVID-19 epidemic has cast a strong shadow on 2020 and President Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden in the ups and downs and downs of the U.S. election in this year, the “Black lives are also important” movement. Shake the whole world. The report took stock of some major events this year:
Coronavirus ravages the world
On January 11, less than two weeks after the discovery of clustered “unexplained” pneumonia cases, Beijing reported the first fatal case of what was later known as “COVID-19”.
By March, the disease was recognized as a pandemic; a month later, half of the world’s population was locked down, and governments were scrambling to stop the spread of the epidemic.
Countries launched large-scale rescue programs to protect jobs, and the International Monetary Fund predicts that the global economy will shrink by 4.4% and fall into recession.
In November, some pharmaceutical companies announced that multiple vaccines had achieved positive results, and a second wave of epidemics broke out worldwide.
Less than a month later, vaccination began, but by this time about 1.6 million people had died, the worst outbreak in the United States.
Tensions on the Iranian issue have increased
On January 3, days after pro-Iran protesters attacked the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the world held its breath when Iran’s top commander Qassem Soleimani was killed by a U.S. drone.
Iran fired several missiles at bases stationed in Iraq in return for tit. On the same day, it “mistakenly” down a Ukrainian airliner just after taking off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board.
At the end of November, Mohsin Fahrizad, Iran’s most important nuclear scientist, was assassinated, and Tehran accused Israel of being behind the scenes. Tensions have increased again.
Brexit enters the countdown
The United Kingdom held a Brexit referendum in 2016, becoming the first country to leave the European Union on January 31 this year.
However, negotiations around Britain’s future links and trade with the EU have lasted for months, and the deadline has been delayed again and again. Negotiators tried their best to avoid a hard Brexit from the UK on December 31.
Meita reached a peace agreement.
On February 29, the United States and the Taliban signed an agreement in Doha. After nearly 20 years of war, all foreign troops will withdraw from Afghanistan by May 2021.
In September, the Afghan government and the rebels began negotiations, but the fighting continued due to repeated attacks by the Taliban.
By January 15, 2021, the Pentagon will evacuate 2,000 of the 4,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
“Black people’s lives are also important”
On May 25, George Freud, a 46-year-old African-American, died in Minneapolis by white police brutal law enforcement. This incident has provoked protests and anti-racist rallies all over the world.
The “Black Lives Matter” movement sparked a great discussion about race, with many statues of people related to slavery or colonization being pushed down.
Thai anti-government protests continue
Thai students launched pro-democracy protests in July and continue to this day. They called for a new constitution, reform of the monarchy, and asked Prime Minister Prayut Chan Ocha to resign.
The Big Bang broke out in Beirut
The big explosion on August 4 destroyed most of Beirut’s port, and a large area of the capital was devastated, killing more than 200 people and injuring at least 6,500.
The accident was caused by a large explosion of ammonium nitrate in the warehouse, which severely damaged the already faltering Lebanese economy and the prestige of the ruling class.
Fire hurricanes hit many places
Heavy forest fires ravaged Australia, bringing “black summer” to the country. In September, San Francisco and other parts of the West Coast of the United States were in flames, and the sky was dyed orange.
In November, two hurricanes swept through Central America, killing more than 200 people.
Russian opposition politicians are poisoned
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalline fell ill after drinking tea on a domestic flight to Moscow, and was sent to Berlin after a medical coma.
Tests showed that he was poisoned by the Soviet era nerve agent “Novichok”. Navaline once accused Russian President Putin of wanting to kill him.
Political crisis in Belarus
President Alexander Lukashenko, an iron-fisted Belarusian, won the election on August 9. The election process was controversial and triggered four months of anti-government protests, focusing on his main opponent, Svetlana Tihanovskaya, a political newcomer.
Opposition leaders are either imprisoned or forced into exile.
Israel made new friends
On September 15, relations between the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and Israel normalized, which Palestinians condemned as “spoking in the back”.
The following month, Donald Trump announced that Sudan had joined them; in November, unconfirmed reports of a secret visit to Saudi Arabia by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led to speculation that Saudi Arabia would follow.
In addition, Morocco “restored relations” with Israel on December 10 in exchange for the recognition of the United States’ claim to sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Biden won the U.S. election
In November, the United States held a presidential election, with Republican Donald Trump and Democratic Joe Biden. The number of Americans voting reached an all-time high, and there were serious differences of opinion.
After four days of intense waiting, Biden entered the White House with an additional 7 million votes. Trump has made fraud accusations without evidence, and has not yet admitted defeat.
The Karabakh conflict lasted for many days.
The fierce fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh (Naka) lasted for 45 days. The inhabitants of this area are mainly Armenians and broke away from Azerbaijan in the 1990s after a war.
On November 9, the Kremlin brokered a peace agreement. Thousands of people were killed in the conflict, and the Azerbaijani army took large areas of land from Armenians.
Military conflict broke out in Ethiopia
After the attack on the federal army camp in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abi Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, ordered troops to intervene.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which has dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly 30 years, denied launching the attack, calling the so-called attack an excuse for “invasion”.
On November 28, federal troops captured the capital of Tigray.
