2020 Recap

The year that made us open our eyes is finally coming to an end. The one that so mentioned in the Julian Calendar and in the prophecies about a year full of chaos. However, we shouldn’t just shove it off, pretending that it didn’t exist. As in real life, we do remember our happiest memories, but also the moments that were critical for our life and our evolution. And with 2020 it is the same. We learned much and the amount of information and action. That is why we thought that a short recap of this year on the international stage would also make us all acknowledge how much history we’ve surpassed in just 12 months, when, in other years counted up, we didn’t have that much action. Not to salt the wound, just to see what we’ve gone through.

January

● Starting off with January, just on the first day of the New Year, Australia bushfires killed about 500 million animals, as special forces are deployed to New South Wales in order to assist emergency evacuation.

● On January 3rd, a United States drone strike at Baghdad International Airport targets and kills Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. He was the commander of the Quds Force, considered a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and he was the second most important political figure in Iran, next to the Supreme Leader. Tensions between Iran and US raise as the planet is scared for the Third World War not to erupt.

● On 11th January, China reports its very first death from the coronavirus, a 61-year-old man. He had purchased food from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market where the disease was first identified.

● The next day, on January 12th, the Taal Volcano in Batangas, Philippines erupts, leaving 39 killed.

● On January 22nd, US, France, Australia and South Korea had all confirmed at least case in their country. China’s number of cases rose to 555 and 17 deaths.

● On January 23rd, Wuhan is isolated and enters lockdown.

● On January 24th, an earthquake with the magnitude of 6.7 struck Turkey, killing at least 22 people and wounding another 1.000.

● Only two days later, The Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant dies in a helicopter crash.

● On the 30th of January, the virus is labelled by the WHO organization as a public health emergency of international concern

● The next day, the first case of COVID appears in UK, as they formally leave the EU. A one year period of time for transit starts.

February

● The impeachment trial of Donald Trump, the president in-office of the United States, began in the U.S. Senate on January 16th, 2020, and concluded with his liberation on 5th February. The cause was alleged abuse of power.

● On February 6th, two avalanches hit Turkey mountainside, leaving 41 killed and 84 injured. The second one killed the rescuers from the first one.

March

● On the 3rd of March, two tornadoes swept through Tennessee, killing 24 people and damaging hundreds of homes and buildings

● On the 6th of March, heavy rains start in brazil, killing about 32 people. 5000 are displaced.

● March 9th, 16 million people in northern Italy are placed in lockdown, as the number of cases is increasing fast.

● On March 11th, WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic.

● On March 13th, Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, is shot eight times when officers enter her apartment, as they were executing a search of drugs. No drugs were found yet the process ended wrongly, with the use of unnecessary violence.

● On March 18th, Europe enters lockdown as well, in an attempt to stop the spread of the deadly virus.

● On the same day, but beyond the ocean, Utah is hit by an earthquake with a magnitude of about 5.7, which cuts power for thousands of people.

● On the 22nd, The Croatian capital is hit by 5.3 magnitude earthquake, the strongest the country has seen for 140 years.

● On March 25th, Boris Johnson, the incumbent prime minister of the UK tests positive for the COVID-19, just two days after the implementation of UK’s lockdown.

April

● Just on the first day of April, Singapore makes it illegal to leave the house without a mask. Unfortunately, there is no prank hidden in that.

● On the 6th April, as firefighters try to put out fire from forests near Chernobyl, the radiation levels rise above normal.

● On the 9th of April, an incident at the Tereos d'Escaudeuvre sugar refinery, near Cambrai, caused organic pollution in the rivers next to the factory. The phenomenon has been described as the "the biggest ecological incident in 20 years".

● On April 13th, deadly tornadoes and flooding have hit various US regions, leaving 900,000 households without power.

● On April 20th, the US oil goes negative for the first time, with their prices falling below 0$. This happens as a result of the pandemic that caused oil demand to drop so rapidly that the world is running out of room to store barrels

● On April 25th, rumours about Kim Jong Un’s state of health are released. They start after the Leader missed an annual commemoration for his grandfather for the first time ever since assuming power in 2011.

● On April 28th, Pentagon officially releases information and videos about UFOs.

May

● On May 19th, a heavy rain across Michigan is reported, leading to 10,000 people being evacuated.

● On 25th May, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in Minneapolis, Minnesota after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes.

● On the 27th of May, the number of COVID-19-related deaths reaches 100,000, while more than 1.7 million confirmed cases are counted.

● As of the 28th of May, 6.6 million Americans have filed for unemployment, after the Great Recession in October 2009, a direct cause of the global financial crisis from back then.

● In the last day of spring, on May 31st, five people in Congo die from Ebola, signalling a possible Ebola Outbreak

June

● On June 3rd, Cyclone Nisarga hits India. It is the strongest tropical cyclone since 1891. It lead in landfall on a surface of 95 km, making the number of fatalities 6.

● After the death of George Floyd, BLM protests start.The movement quickly starts to rise around the world, both physically and on social media.

● On June 7th, protesters in Bristol pull down a statue of the slave trader Edward Colston.

● On June 8th, New Zeeland declares itself COVID-free.

● On June 9th, the judge charged with the George Floyd case judge sets the bail at $1.25m for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who has been charged with second-degree murder for the killing of George Floyd.

● Around June 16th, COVID-19 has a hardly bearable breakout around the world, many hospitals reaching maximum capacity.

● On the same day, Beijing raises the COVID-19 Pandemic level from 2 to 3. As a result, underground places will be closed, whereas other public places such as museums and libraries will have a shorter program. Overall, stricter measures are awaited.

● World War 3 fears: India and Chinese border tensions erupt. The two nations are clashing over an undefined piece of land of 3440 km where rivers and lakes can shift, bringing soldiers at different parts from time to time, this leading in confrontations.

● On June 22nd, recorded coronavirus cases are beginning to rise sharply in Africa.

● On June 30th, New Zeeland is no longer COVID-free.

July

● On July 1st, China takes more control over Hong Kong by not giving the protesters a chance to celebrate their traditional day of protests, this year marking 23 years ever since Hong Kong was handed over from British rule to China. Protesters were hurt, out of whom 370 were arrested.

● On July 7th, the temperature averaged over all land in Arctic Siberia combined was more than 5 degrees above normal.

● On July 15th, floods in China escalate, with over 38 million people affected and 141 missing or supposedly dead.

● On July 27th, the first case of COVID-19 in an animal in the UK is confirmed. A pet cat tests positive for the virus after being directly in contact with his owner that had had COVID-19.

● On July 30th, the northern part of the UK is back in a stricter lockdown.

August

● On August 4th, a giant explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, killed 135 people and injured another 5,000. 300,000 people are displaced from their homes.

● On August 9th, protests in Belarus erupted after the election results came in. Current President Alexander Lukashenko beat opposition candidate Sventia Tikhanovskya after receiving 80% of the votes. The possibility of a fraudulent election is taken into consideration

● On August 11th, hundreds of people gathered in the capital, Warsaw, to defend LGBTQ activist Malgorzata Szutowicz's freedom.

On August 13th, Donald Trump announces an agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates that would

● pave the way for later improving the relations within the Middle East.

● On August 18th, California’s governor declares a state of emergency as a hardly bearable heatwave worsens the fires. As the pandemic is still at its peak, the state is seeing a shortage in firefighters with no close end of the wildfires. About 560 wildfires had burned 1 million acres 5 days later, President Donald Trump declaring that California is indeed in a crisis state.

● On August 29th, US defence officials reported that China has fired ballistic missiles into the South China Sea, considered military exercises.

September

● On September 7th, India reportedly alerted China that five civilians had been abducted by the People’s Liberation Army near the Himalayan border. The five Indian civilians were hunting before being taken by Chinese troops. The situation adds tension to the ongoing battle between Chinese and Indian forces.

● September 14th, the possibility of life on Venus is found. However, scientists advise that detection itself needs to be verified.

● Around September 24th, protests regarding the authenticity of the Belarus elections continue to be questioned, as many believe Lukashenko, who is entering his sixth term, has rigged the election.

● On September 25th, a Paris terrorist attack takes place, with two people being injured outside the Charlie Hebdo former offices.

October

● On October 1st, as a result of a survey, 61% of Americans think that the US is on the verge of a Civil War. It seems like the majority of them has utilities and essential survival items.

● Just on the 2nd day of October, Donald Trump tests positive for COVID-19, after allegedly claiming the invalidation of the pandemic.

● On October 23rd, protests around Poland rise. Thousands of women are going out in the streets against Poland's new abortion laws in cities across the country.

● On October 26th, NASA announces the existence of water on the moon.

● On October 29th, several terrorist attacks take place in Nice, France. Three people are killed and several others are injured.

November

● On November 3rd, the US presidential elections take place, between the incumbent president Donald Trump and the Democrats’ candidate, Joe Biden.

● On the same day, across the Atlantic, UK officials are scared because of previous attacks that have taken place in Nice, France. The terror threat level has been raised to severe.

● The next day, Trump declares premature victory. Seeing that the votes in-ballot continuously grow for Joe Biden, since Trump recommended his supporters to physically vote, he claims voter fraud.

● On November 9th, the possibility of a COVID-19 vaccine being approved until Christmas is announced.

● On the 25th of November, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission reported that at least 600 civilians were killed earlier this month due to their ethnicity. The crisis in there continues.

December

● On December 2nd, UK approves World’s first COVID-19 vaccine.

● On December 4th, the Bank of England is trying to track down £50bn of "missing" UK currency.

● On December 10th, Canada confirms that the vaccine will be free for all their citizens.

● On December 14th, the trade deal deadline for the Brexit is extended.

● On December 15th, Joe Biden officially claims his victory as the next president of the USA, the 46th, after the Electoral College gives their final verdict.

● In the last days of 2020, even if the Brexit deal has not yet been finished, the transit period of time ends, leaving the UK to enter solo in the new year.

It has been indeed a complex year that has had a huge impact in all the possible areas, from natural disasters, to diplomacy, to healthcare. In the end, they are all linked, as we are with them. However, we can still make the best out of them, to learn how to prepare ourselves better for future crises, as for the present, even if it might sound too optimistic, we should enjoy the moment by taking what was already done and trying to keep a comfortable routine for us. We will see what 2021 will bring us, but at least we are leaving with the lessons from everywhere taken from 2020.