Coronavirus, Trump and China: What made 2020 an unforgettable year

A gut-wrenching pandemic, a worldwide movement, a humongous presidential election, and a nation's policy and polity wreaking havoc on the entire world -- year 2020 has been a gamut of misplaced tragedies. While we are happy the cursed year is finally ending, we cannot help but look back at the travesty of over 300 days this unforgettable year has been -- in this yearender series.

A gut-wrenching pandemic, a worldwide movement, a humongous presidential election, and a nation's policy and polity wreaking havoc on the entire world -- year 2020 has been a gamut of misplaced tragedies. While we are happy the cursed year is finally ending, we cannot help but look back at the travesty of over 300 days this unforgettable year has been -- in this yearender series.

2020 is the year of Covid. That's it. That's the statement. What broke out in the month of December of 2019 in China burgeoned into a worldwide tragedy. Millions of people were stuck in their respective houses due to restrictions imposed by governments to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus; economies across the world suffered; and thousands died -- all due to the wretched virus. It's been a year, and the world still is awaiting a cure or vaccine for the virus. Little progress has been made, but nobody knows how this stands to proceed to help the entire population of the planet.

A protest in support of Black Lives Matter movement (file photo)

Australian government has been examining new legislation to tackle the problem of online trolls

The outgoing US president was the ultimate newsmaker of the year -- be it ill-timed or no major response on the pandemic that has killed almost 300,000 people in his nation, or his continual refusal to concede defeat in the November 3 presidential race. Donald Trump has been unabashedly himself in 2020 -- wreckless, careless and shameless (not in any particular order). And while US media networks might not have been too fond of him, Trump was the toast of the social media all year long (read: in memes.)

Joe Biden achieved many a feat when he declared the winner of the November 3 vote. He named Kamala Harris as his running mate -- making her the first vice-president elect of the United States. But the US election 2020, as a whole, took an interesting turn when Trump continually refused to concede defeat. He said the election was rigged, and made the transition process for Biden and his cabinet difficult as days passed.

New Zealand was one of the nations which fared much better than other nations when it came to handling the coronavirus pandemic-induced crisis -- all credit to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's intelligent leadership. Also, Ardern’s message of empathy and kindness married with skillful crisis management won her Labour Party its biggest share of the vote in more than 70 years. Ardern is a role model.

(File photo) Chinese President Xi Jinping

Talking of China, it's neighbouring nation India suffered a major brunt of its expansionism. In June, a bloody clash between the Indian and Chinese soldiers at the Galwan Valley amidst the tense standoff between the two countries along the Line of Actual Control at eastern Ladakh. 20 Indian soldiers were martyred in the incident, while several Chinese soldiers went missing or were killed. Under the Chinese influence, Nepal redrew its map, showing a few Indian territories as its own. And well, Pakistan has always played havoc with India's security. It continued the tradition in 2020 as well.

Talking of India, what wreaked havoc on the nation -- apart from its border tensions -- was the coronavirus pandemic. The outbreak started slow but then grew leaps and bounds to make India the second-most affected country in the world -- after the United States. Not only did the lockdown cripple the economy, it also rendered many people unemployed. The pandemic has so far infected more than 9.4 million people in India, and has killed over 137,000.

India might have been suffering from a lot of issues, but what ruled the prime time news in the later half of the year was the probe into drug use and abuse in the entertainment industry. The investigation had several layers -- it was prompted by the sudden death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, was carried out by the Narcotics Control Bureau, and spearheaded by the Indian media. It has been months, but no real progress has been made in the actual, original case -- Rajput's death.

Stay tuned to this space for WION's yearender series.