The year 2020 will go down in history as the year that saw more misery than cheer. Lives were lost, disrupted and brought to a standstill as the world grappled with a deadly pandemic. Millions lost their jobs, countries shut down their borders and restricted citizens to their homes, billions were pushed into poverty, businesses were hit and millions died. As we wrap up a rather grim year, here’s a look at the  biggest headlines of 2020:

Kamala Harris: US’ first female Vice President

In a historic mandate, Kamala Harris became America’s first female vice president. Democratic candidate Joe Biden won the US Presidential election with Kamala Harris as his deputy. Kamala Harris is also the first black person and the first person of South Asian descent to hold the post.

Joe Biden creates history

US President-elect Joe Biden became the first person in America’s history to surpass 80 million votes in a US presidential election. With this, Biden has also shattered a previous record for the most votes cast for a president set by Democrat Barack Obama in 2008. Notably, Obama had received 69,498,516 votes when he beat John McCain, the late Republican senator.

Killing Of George Floyd

George Floyd, 46-year-old African-American man, died as a white policeman pressed his knee on his neck for over nine minutes. His death triggered global anti-race protests that spanned across over 60 countries. Political leaders, actors, sportsmen and activists “took the knee” as the cries of Black Lives Matter echoed the world over. Companies like Hindustan Unilever renamed their skin lightening creams while JP Morgan dropped the terms “master” and “slave” from internal tech code following the anti-race protests.

 

 

 

Coronavirus, Lockdown And Migrants Exodus

As the coronavirus pandemic infected billions worldwide, countries struggled to keep their citizens safe. Borders were closed down, curfews were imposed and nations were put under lockdown. As millions lost their lives and livelihoods to the deadly pandemic, efforts to stop its spread in India saw the biggest migrant movement in decades. Labourers across the country began their journey home even as buses, trains and flights were grounded. While some walked, some cycled and some hitch-hiked their way home, the less fortunate ones died on their arduous journey back home.

Namaste Trump

India hosted outgoing US President Donald Trump, who was accompanied by his wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, during his two-day visit even as the country erupted in bloody violence over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. Greeted by PM Modi with a hug as he landed in Ahmedabad, Donald Trump and his family were welcomed by a waving crowd. The outgoing US President and PM Modi addressed a packed stadium, teeming with millions who had shown up for the event, amid growing coronavirus scare.

India-China Galwan Face-Off

20 Indian soldiers were killed in a “violent face-off” with Chinese troops in Ladakh in June that led to months of border escalation between the two countries. In the months following the border violence, China and India have held multiple talks at all levels to resolve the conflict but with very little success. China has also carried out massive constructions along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. India has since banned 59 Chinese Apps, including TikTok.

Delhi Anti-CAA Protests

Supporters and protesters of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act clashed in Delhi killing 53 people and injuring over 200. Homes were set on fire, schools were vandalised and public property was destroyed in the communal violence that jolted the national capital. Protesters resorted to throwing stones at the security personnel who responded with lathicharge and tear gas shelling.

Prince Harry, Wife Meghan Step Down As Royals

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced this year they will step back as “senior” royals and work to become financially independent. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle officially transitioned out of their roles as “senior members” of Britain’s royal family on March 31.

Ram Mandir Bhoomipujan

PM Modi, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and senior BJP leaders attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on August 5 – exactly a year after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. The ceremony was held with all Covid protocols in place – barring relaxation of the restrictions on gathering of more than 50 people – as 175 people attended the groundbreaking ceremony amid the pandemic.

Hong Kong Security Law Passed

China passed a sweeping national security law for Hong Kong in June – a historic move that critics and many western governments fear will smother the finance hub’s freedoms and hollow out its autonomy. Beijing and Hong Kong’s government said the laws will only target a minority of people, will not harm political freedoms in the city and will restore business confidence after a year of historic pro-democracy protests. Millions had taken to the streets in 2019 while a smaller hardcore of protesters frequently battled police in often violent confrontations that saw more than 9,000 arrests.

Farmers’ Protest

For nearly three weeks, lakhs of farmers are camping at the entry points to Delhi, protesting the three new farm laws. Farmers, braving the cold Delhi winters, lathicharge and tear gas shelling by the security forces, have refused to budge until the laws are repealed. Talks have been held between the Centre and farmers but with no success.

Tania Shergill: 1st woman Republic Day parade adjutant

On January 26, 2020, Captain Tania Shergill became first Indian woman parade adjutant for the Republic Day parade. She led an all-man contingent during the ceremonial Republic Day parade at Rajpath, New Delhi. An officer with Army’s Corps of Signals, she was the first woman parade adjutant for the Republic Day parade. A parade adjutant is responsible for the parade. Shergill is the first woman army officer to become parade adjutant for Republic Day.

Parasite wins best picture

Parasite became the first non-English language film to win best picture in the 92-year history of the Academy Awards. Bong Joon Ho’s masterfully devious class satire also won best director, best international film and best screenplay.

Bong Joon Ho’s masterfully devious class satire took Hollywood’s top prize at the Oscars on Sunday night, along with awards for best director, best international film and best screenplay. In a year dominated by period epics — “1917,” “Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood,” “The Irishman” — the film academy instead went overseas, to South Korea, to reward a contemporary and unsettling portrait of social inequality in “Parasite.”

True to its name, “Parasite” simply got under the skin of Oscar voters, attaching itself to the American awards season and, ultimately, to history. The win was a watershed moment for the Academy Awards, which has long been content to relegate international films to their own category.

UN Security Council

The UN Security Council on March 24 met for the first time in its history via videoconference due to the coronavirus crisis — but diplomats said the meeting was not without technical difficulties. On March 31, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted four resolutions, voting for the first time remotely as diplomats and United Nations staff work from home due to the coronavirus outbreak in New York. For the first time, it adopted resolutions without the UNSC members being present in the Council chamber at the UN headquarters and voting or casting a veto by raising their hands.

Katerina Sakellaropoulou: Germany’s 1st female prez

Greece elected its first-ever female president, Katerina Sakellaropoulou. The swearing-in ceremony for Sakellaropoulou, a former high court judge, took place in a nearly empty parliament as a preventative measure to try to stop the spread of the coronvirus. Prior to her election as President of Greece, she served as President of the Council of State, the highest administrative court of Greece. Sakellaropoulou is the first female president of Greece.

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A Doudna

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna became the first two women to ever jointly win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Charpentier, who is French, and Doudna, an American, were awarded the prize for developing the CRISPR-cas9 genetic scissors.

Gitanjali Rao: Kid of the year

Inventor and scientist Gitanjali Rao was named Time magazine’s first-ever “Kid of the Year”. Time Magazine in its cover of December 14, 2020 issue, featured a 15-year-old Colorado high school student and young scientist who has been named the magazine’s first-ever “Kid of the Year.” Gitanjali Rao has used artificial intelligence and created apps.

Selected from more than 5,000 nominees as Time’s first-ever ‘Kid of the Year’, 15-year-old Gitanjali Rao was chosen for her “astonishing work” and using technology to tackle issues from contaminated drinking water to opioid addiction and cyberbullying. Time said Rao, a sophomore at STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado’s Denver, stood out for creating a global community of young innovators and inspiring them to pursue their goals. Rao told The Associated Press in a Zoom interview from her home that the prize is “nothing that I could have ever imagined. And I’m so grateful and just so excited that we’re really taking a look at the upcoming generation and our generation since the future is in our hands.”

Margaret Keenan

Margaret Keenan became the first person to receive a COVID-19 vaccine approved for the general public. The grandmother who was 90 when she got the shot, received it at University Hospital Coventry in the U.K. on December 8.