Since 2020 is soon coming to an end, it has become time to make a short recap of things that have happened during the year. While much of this year has been characterised by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, there have still been plenty of other notable news stories and events throughout the year. In this article, I will give you an overview of some of the most important happenings in 2020, going through every month and finally concluding with a look into what 2021, and the future, may bring.

At the beginning of the year, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, formally the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, announced that they would be stepping down from their positions as “senior” royals in order to live a more ordinary life. In Taiwan, the incumbent president Tsai Ing-wen won a landslide victory in the election, thus further consolidating support for democratic leadership, free from Chinese influence, in the country. On 30th January, after almost 8000 cases of illness connected to the new coronavirus had been reported in China and 18 other countries, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the virus a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern”. On the last day of the month, the UK formally left the European Union, beginning an 11-month transition period that was meant to ease the departure, giving the two parties time to negotiate a deal that would be in force from 2021. However, as of now, the UK and EU have been unable to reach an agreement, which means that it is likely that the UK will end up with a so called hard Brexit.

In Eastern Africa, huge swarms of locusts swept over the region at the beginning of the month, severely impacting several millions of people's access to food and threatening a humanitarian crisis in several countries. At the 92nd Academy Awards, the widely acclaimed South Korean film Parasite brought home four Oscars, including Best Picture, marking the first victory of a non-English language film in this category. On 11th February, WHO officially named the new coronavirus disease COVID-19. In the United States, February saw the conclusion of President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, which ended with him being acquitted of the charges by the Senate. In contrast, this month saw the conviction of former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who was sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault. The allegations brought toward him in this landmark case ignited the #metoo-movement in October 2017, sparking worldwide outrage and subsequent action to end the sexual abuse and harassment of women. On the last day of the month, Luxembourg became the first country in the world to make all public transport free for its inhabitants.

At the beginning of the month, Iran released 54000 people from prison in a bid to avoid the spread of the coronavirus. Exactly a month after the WHO launched the name COVID-19, it declared the virus outbreak a pandemic, as several countries were reporting an increasing number of cases. The US subsequently banned travel with 28 European countries, with European leaders following suit a few days later by proclaiming the closure of the EU's external and Schengen borders due to the pandemic. The following day, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that this year's edition of the Eurovision Song Contest had been cancelled, and the Summer Olympics Games, which were slated to be held in Tokyo in July-August this year, were postponed until next year. Lockdowns were instated in several countries, including Italy, France, India and South Africa. During this month, more than 2.6 billion people were facing coronavirus related restrictions, amounting to a third of the world's population. On the 27th of March, North Macedonia became the 30th country to join the military cooperation organisation NATO.

As in March, most of April was dominated by the coronavirus pandemic. In Wuhan, China, the government finally ended the citywide lockdown, allowing people to leave the city for the first time in 76 days. In Canada, a killing spree that occurred on 18-19th of April left 23 people, including the attacker, dead, marking the deadliest massacre in the modern history of the country. On these same dates, the Together at Home concert, put together by Lady Gaga and advocacy organisation Global Poverty Project to raise funds for coronavirus healthcare workers, was streamed worldwide, featuring celebrity appearances and performances by several artists. In Sudan, female genital mutilation, a widespread practice in the country, was made a criminal offence, punishable with up to three years in prison. In Germany, two former high-ranking members in the Syrian Army stood trial for war crimes related to the civil war in Syria, marking the first prosecution for war crimes in the conflict. At the end of the month, the Pentagon formally released three videos featuring “unidentified areal phenomena” encountered by US Navy pilots.

At the beginning of the month, astronomers announced the discovery of the first black hole located in a star system that can be seen without using binoculars or a telescope. On 12th May, 24 people were killed when gunmen stormed a maternity hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, while another 32 were killed in a suicide bomb attack the same day. On the 26th, protests against the police killing of African American George Floyd erupted, marking the start of the Black Lives Matter movement that quickly spread around the world, bringing millions of people together in demonstrations against racism and police violence. The same day, Costa Rica became the first country in Central America to legalise same sex marriage, bringing the total number of countries recognising same-sex marriage to 29. Three days later, 20000 tonnes of oil leaked into the Ambarnaya River near the city of Norilsk in Siberia, in an accident that is believed to be the second largest in Russia to date. The end of the month saw the launch of the first privately owned space shuttle, SpaceX Dragon 2, which took off from Florida with two crew members on the 30th, docking at the International Space Station less than 24 hours later.

On 15th June, the US Supreme Court ruled that lesbian, gay and transgender people cannot be discriminated against in the work place, marking an important decision in favour of LGBT+ rights in the country. On the 21st, an annular solar eclipse, that could be seen in several countries around the world, occurred. In Pakistan, 150 Pakistan International Airlines pilots were grounded after it was discovered that many had cheated in exams or held fake licenses. Just a month prior, one of the airline's planes had crashed shortly before it was scheduled to land, killing all but two of the 99 people on board. On the last day of the month, China introduced a new national security law in Hong Kong, severely limiting freedom of expression in the special administrative region. Actions deemed to be provoking hatred against the Chinese government are now punishable with up to life in prison, thus gravely restricting the pro-democratic protest movement that has been active in Hong Kong since June last year.  

At the beginning of the month, the Russian constitution was amended on several fronts, one of which would allow the current president Vladimir Putin, who has been in office since 2012, to keep his position until 2036, thus further consolidating his grip on power in the country. In Burkina Faso, mass graves containing at least 180 bodies, believed to be victims of extrajudicial killings performed by the military, were found in the town of Djibo on 8th July. In Turkey, president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the controversial decision to revert Hagia Sophia, the famous monument that has been a museum since 1934, to a mosque. On the 15th, several large Twitter accounts, including those of former president Barack Obama, media personality Kim Kardashian and tech company Apple, were hacked to facilitate a bitcoin scam. A few days later, a flooding of the Brahmaputra river caused a major catastrophe, killing 189 people and leaving four million homeless in India and Nepal. At the end of the month, both China and the USA successfully launched their Mars rover missions tasked with searching for signs of both current and ancient life, as well as collecting samples to be analysed back on Earth.

On 4th August, a huge explosion at the port of Beirut in Lebanon resulted in the deaths of more than 220 people, injuring over 6500 people and leaving 300000 people homeless. After the presidential election in Belarus, which saw the reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko, widespread protests that have continued over the rest of the year, erupted. The protests, which have largely been peaceful, have been met with arrests and huge amounts of violence perpetrated by the military. On the 20th, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny fell into a coma after being poisoned with the lethal nerve agent novichok. On a more positive note, the WHO was able to announce the whole continent of Africa as being free from wild polio during this month, after decades of sustained effort in providing vaccines for everyone. At the end of the month, Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving prime minister in Japan, announced his resignation due to health concerns.

At the beginning of the month, a sensational discovery of 200 mammoth skeletons was made in conjunction with the construction of the Mexico City Santa Lucía Airport, marking the largest such find to date. On 8th September, the Moria refugee camp in Greece, the largest in Europe, burnt down, leaving 13000 people without shelter. Six days later, the British Royal Astronomical Society announced the detection of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, which indicates a high likelihood of there being microbial life on the planet. On the 16th, the United Nations Human Rights Council formally accused the Venezuelan government, including President Nicolás Maduro, of crimes against humanity, after conducting an investigation detailing numerous cases of killings, torture, and disappearances performed by the state since 2014. Towards the end of the month, violent clashes erupted in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which has long been the subject of dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

At the beginning of the month, this year's Nobel Prize winners were announced. A notable mention is the Chemistry Prize, which was awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for their discovery of the Cas9 gene and their work on the CRISPR gene editing technique which enables the treatment of both genetic and other diseases. On 15th October, the Thai government declared a “severe” state of emergency and introduced a ban on gatherings of more than five people in an effort to curb the ongoing protests demanding reform of the government and monarchy, marking the beginning of a large crackdown on demonstrations and the imposition of media censorship. In the New Zealand general election, incumbent prime minister Jacinda Ardern won a landslide victory, securing a parliamentary majority for the first time under the current voting system. On the 29th, the International Organisation for Migration confirmed the deaths of at least 140 migrants who had been onboard a vessel bound for the Canary Islands, making it the deadliest shipwreck in 2020 so far. On the last day of the month, typhoon Goni hit the Philippines, displacing hundreds of thousands of people in the strongest landfalling tropical cyclone in history.

This month began with the US presidential election, which ended up becoming a drawn-out process. The votes in a number of key states took several days to be counted, but in the end, it was clear that Democratic candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris had won the election. That did not stop Trump from claiming that the election was a fraud and subsequently launching several unsuccessful lawsuits in an attempt to have the results overturned. On 13th November, Australian artist Kylie Minogue became the first woman to top the UK album chart over five consecutive decades with her latest album Disco. Towards the end of the month, farmers in India organised the largest general strike to date in response to the recession and austerity measures imposed on agriculture. The next day, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran's top nuclear scientist, was assassinated near Tehran in what is believed to be an attack organised by Israel.

At the beginning of the month, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs voted to remove cannabis from its list of dangerous drugs, thus opening up for a legalisation of the substance for medical use in more countries. On 7th December, breaking, that is, the competitive form of breakdancing, was confirmed as a new Olympic sport in the 2024 games that will be held in Paris. On the 11th, the EU made an ambitious agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions by 55% over the next ten years in an effort to combat global warming. Three days later, the US Electoral college voted 306-232 to officially affirm Joe Biden's election victory. During the month, a number of countries, including Russia, the UK and the US began vaccinations against COVID-19, including the vaccination of vice president Mike Pence on live television, with the rest of the world slated to follow suit during the coming year.

As these were just a few of the things that happened this year, it is clear that 2020 was indeed an eventful year, despite the major disruptions caused by coronavirus pandemic. As this year comes to a close, it seems appropriate to finish off with a consideration of what awaits us in 2021. For now, it seems like the coronavirus is still holding the world in a tight grip, but as vaccinations come underway in more and more countries, things are likely to get better, even though the situation will presumably remain bleak for months to come. Nevertheless, we can always hope that 2021 will be a better year that we can look back at with a greater sense of hopefulness for the future.