Year Ender 2020: A leap year worth forgetting forever

Year Ender 2020 world: 2020! It will take a long time for mankind across the world to come to terms with this leap year. A single pandemic – Covid-19 - united the citizens across countries and continents, each one of them horrified at death and uncertainty staring at them day after day, despite restrictive and largely preventive measures taken up by them.

As governments all over scrambled to combat the deadly spread of the virus and the resultant piling up of fatalities, the presence of cases, which were found to be more in developed, better-administered nations continued to shock and alarm policymakers and health experts.

While reports of a second wave and the availability of vaccine are the latest developments, none is absolutely sure when the world can breathe freely and move around across the borders with no worries and restrictions.

The stunning verdict in US elections, with Joe Biden pipping the controversial President Donald Trump which a few felt was very much on the cards, alongside the 'Black Lives Matter' movement had its reverberations all over the globe.

The election of Kamala Harris, the first Black woman and the first Asian woman to the post of Vice-President was greeted with delirious joy in India, especially Tamil Nadu where her maternal roots lie. Floods, terrorist attacks, stock market crashes, bushfires and many other catastrophes rocked many parts of the world all through this year, which many would like to forget as they await the birth of 2021 with optimism and hope. A collection of highlights of 2020 chronologically presented here is surely a recollection of the harrowing days that we all have been through.

January

Australian bushfires: country faced one of its most devastating wildfire seasons as the blazes continued from December 2019 into the new year and burned a record 47 million acres, displaced thousands of people and killed at least 34 people.

Fatal strike: January 3: A U.S. drone strikes Baghdad International Airport and kills Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force on January 3, sparking tensions between U.S. and Iran. Days later, 56 people are killed in a stampede at Soleimani's funeral.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle quit royal family: January 8: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex shocked both sides of the pond on Jan. 8 when they announced they were stepping down as "senior" royals.

COVID-19 pandemic: January 9: The World Health Organization announced that a deadly coronavirus had emerged in Wuhan, China. In a matter of months, the virus has spread across the globe to more than 20 million people, resulting in at least 751,000 deaths.

February

Harvey Weinstein verdict: February 24: The disgraced Hollywood kingmaker was convicted of raping an aspiring actress and sexually abusing a TV and film production assistant. The verdict was celebrated by his dozens of accusers and their supporters as a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement.

'Parasite' sweeps the Oscars: February 9: Bong Joon Ho's film took home the most awards, landing Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film. It marked the first time a non-English-language movie won Best Picture.

March:

Stock market crash 2020

March 9: The coronavirus pandemic triggered a global recession as numerous countries went into lockdown. The Dow Jones industrial average suffered its worst single-day point drop ever on this day.

March 24: The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo are suspended until 2021. India and United Kingdom go into lockdown. Trump tweets that the "cure" cannot be "worse than the problem itself" and calls for country to reopen on Easter Sunday. FBI agents shoot dead man suspected of plotting attack on Missouri hospital treating coronavirus patients. New York passes 20,000 coronavirus cases.

March 26: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson diagnosed with coronavirus. Global cases pass 500,000. The U.S. passes China and Italy in number of cases and passes 1,000 deaths.

May

Kim Jong Un death rumours, May 5: The North Korean supreme leader fuelled speculation that he was either gravely ill or dead after he missed events commemorating his grandfather Kim Il-sung on April 15. He reemerged 20 days later in photos released by state media at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The despot, however, faced a new wave of scepticism over his health in August when a South Korean official claimed all of the appearances were faked and he was in a vegetative state.

Black Lives Matter protests, May 25: The police-involved killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor this year sparked a wave of peaceful — and sometimes violent — demonstrations and riots across the world to demand an end to police brutality and racial injustice. More protests erupted in August when 29-year-old Jacob Blake was shot by a Kenosha, Wisconsin, cop and paralysed from the waist down.

July

Twitter hack, July 15: A group allegedly spearheaded by a Florida teen Graham Clark took over the Twitter accounts of prominent business and political figures — including Joe Biden, Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Kanye West — in a bitcoin scam.

August

Kamala Harris chosen as Democratic VP candidate, August 11: Joe Biden announced that he selected the California senator as his running mate, making her the first black woman and the first Asian woman on a major party's presidential ticket.

Chadwick Boseman's death, August 28: "Black Panther" actor Chadwick Boseman died at age 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer. His death on Aug. 28 shocked fans, since he had completed several blockbuster films while keeping his diagnosis private.

October

Trump tests positive for Covid-19, October 2: President Trump announced on October 2 that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus. He was hospitalised for three days at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center before he was discharged to continue his recovery at the White House.

November

Joe Biden becomes President-elect, November 7: Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States, defeating President Trump with a critical assist from his birth state, Pennsylvania, which delivered the votes to propel him to victory and end one of the most contentious elections in recent memory.

December

More news revealed behind scientist's death, December 2: In late November, Iran's top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was killed in what appeared to be an assassination. On December 2, a top US official reported that the assassination was carried out by Israel. The official has refused to say whether the Trump Administration knew about the attack or helped support it.

Coronavirus vaccine rollout, December 5: On December 2, the UK officially approved the Pfizer vaccine, announcing that the first shots will be given out starting next week. The vaccine is 95% effective in preventing the worst of coronavirus. On December 5, Russia began its vaccination program in Moscow.