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Yearender 2020: From coronavirus to US elections, biggest headlines of the year
The year 2020 will go down in the history as the year of coronavirus when lakhs of lives were lost as the world fought a deadly pandemic. While lockdowns across the world and wait for the COVID-19 vaccine stalled most happenings this year, there were some major events like Galwan crisis, Beirut blast, Delhi riots and the US elections that brought key changes. Here are the global events that shaped 2020.
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The year 2020 will go down in the history as the year of coronavirus when lakhs of lives were lost as the world fought a deadly pandemic. While lockdowns across the world and wait for the COVID-19 vaccine stalled most happenings this year, there were some major events like Galwan crisis, Beirut blast, Delhi riots and the US elections that brought key changes. Here are the global events that shaped 2020.
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January 1: Australian Bushfires-A firefighter conducting back-burning measures to secure residential areas from encroaching bushfires in the Central Coast, some 90-110 kilometres north of Sydney.
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January 12: Taal volcano eruption in Philippines- An aerial view shows the Taal volcano in Batangas province, Philipines. The volcano erupted on the afternoon of January 12, 2020, 43 years after its previous eruption in 1977.
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January 16: Donald Trump impeachment trial begins- The impeachment trial of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, begins in the US Senate. He was acquitted on February 6.
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January 30: COVID-19 declared as public health emergency- A health worker performs a physiotherapy treatment on a COVID-19-infected patient at the intensive care unit of Anhembi emergency makeshift hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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February 22: Northeast Delhi riots- Riot police walk along a road scattered with stones following clashes between supporters and opponents of a new citizenship law, at Bhajanpura area of New Delhi, ahead of US President arrival in the capital.
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March 8: Italy places 16 million people in quarantine(over half its population): Two girls play tennis on rooftops of their house in Finale Ligure, Liguria Region, northwestern Italy during the country's lockdown aimed at stopping the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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March 24: : India goes into lockdown: Rickshaw pullers rest in front of closed shops during a state-imposed lockdown as a preventive measure against the surge in COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Siliguri, West Bengal
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May 6: Discovery of the first black hole: Astronomers announce the discovery of the first black hole located in a star system visible to the naked eye
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May 7: Styrene gas leak at LG polymers plant in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh- Smokes rise from an LG Polymers plant following a gas leak incident in Visakhapatnam. Eleven people died and over 5,000 fell ill from the ga leak
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May 8: Nathu la clash-Several Chinese and Indian soldiers are injured in a cross-border clash at the Nathu La crossing. About 150 troops participated in the face-off, which involved fistfights and stone-throwing.
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May 12: Kabul maternity ward attack- Nurses feed newborn babies rescued and brought to Ataturk Children hospital, after their mothers were killed during a gunmen attack on a maternity hospital, in Kabul on May 15, 2020. Gunmen who stormed a hospital in the Afghan capital this week had come to "kill the mothers" at the maternity ward, medical charity Doctors Without Borders has said.
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May 21: Cyclone Amphan- Cyclone Amphan made landfall in eastern India and Bangladesh, killing over 100 people and forcing the evacuation of more than 4 million others. It caused over US$13 billion in damage, making it the costliest cyclone ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean, shattering the record previously held by Nargis.
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May 26: George Floyd Protests- Protests caused by the killing of George Floyd break out across hundreds of cities in the US and around the world. These are followed by further protests and rallies on June 6 against racism and police brutality around the world
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June 15: Galwan valley clash- At least 20 Indian soldiers and over 40 Chinese forces were killed or injured in skirmishes in the disputed Galwan Valley, the largest escalation along the Sino-Indian border in five decades. (In Pic) Family members and villagers carry the coffin of soldier Satnam Singh who was was killed in a recent clash with Chinese forces in the Galwan valley area, during the cremation ceremony at Bhojraj village near Gurdaspur on June 18, 2020.
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July 30: Mars rover 2020- NASA successfully launched its Mars 2020 rover mission to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples for return to Earth. The mission included technology demonstrations to prepare for future human missions.
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August 4: Beirut blast- A helicopter puts out a fire at the scene of an explosion at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut. Two explosions caused by unsafely stored ammonium nitrate kill over 220 people, injure thousands, and severely damage the port in Beirut, Lebanon. Damage is estimated at $10–15 billion, and an estimated 300,000 people were left homeless.
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August 7: Kerala plane crash- Air India Express Flight 1344 crashed after overrunning the runway at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, India, killing 19 of the 191 people on board.
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August 11: Russia approves COVID-19 vaccine- Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia has approved the world's first COVID-19 vaccine.
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August 26: Jeff Bezos becomes richest man- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos became the first person in history to have a net worth exceeding US$200 billion, according to Forbes.
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August 28: Shinzo Abe resigns as Japanese PM- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving prime minister in the history of Japan, announced his resignation from office, citing ill health.
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October 15: Thailand protests- The Government of Thailand declared a "severe" state of emergency banning gatherings of five or more people, initiating a crackdown on demonstrations and imposing media censorship. (In Pic) Royalist supporters from the United Group to Protect Monarchy hold images of Thailand's royal family stage a rally against former opposition Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit’s who have attended anti-government protests, in Bangkok
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October 17: New Zealand election- Jacinda Ardern's Labour Party won a landslide second term in office, defeating the National Party led by Judith Collins and gaining the country's first parliamentary majority since the introduction of the MMP voting system
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November 7: US elections- Joe Biden was elected as the 46th President of the United States, after remaining vote counts come in from key states delayed by an influx of mail-in ballots caused by the pandemic, defeating the incumbent President Donald Trump. Kamala Harrs became the first woman vice-president in US history
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November 27: Iran nuclear scientist assassinated- Iran's top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was assassinated near Tehran.
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December 2: UK approves Pfizer vaccine- The United Kingdom approved Pfizer's BNT162b2 vaccine, being the first country in the world to do so.
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Photo of Day
High tidal waves in Mumbai delay Lalbaugcha Raja`s visarjan
The iconic Lalbaugcha Raja idol was shifted onto a raft on Sunday afternoon after delays since morning due to high tide and technical challenges, with final immersion, delayed by several hours, expected to take place around 11 pm, officials said.
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