From a bloodthirsty pandemic to a global movement for racial justice, war, and natural disasters, the populace has certainly experienced a benevolent share of world-shifting events. While we are yet to recover from these devastating situations and the ugliest affairs, there are even more threats of destruction of life, property, and relationships. The certainty of balance has been lost to the fear of encountering more disasters deadlier than we have now. With the world affairs of 2020, it comes with a ray of hope to realize the efforts made by our frontline workers and governments to reverse the negative impacts from recent events around the globe. And the things that are beyond our control, we would have to learn to move on.

Here is a timeline of the major events that have left the world and its populace in awe since the year 2020.

Corona Virus Pandemic.

The coronavirus also called, Covid-19 was discovered as the year 2019 was closing its curtains. It has dominated the lives of people both directly and indirectly through fear of contracting the deadly virus. On December 31st, 2019, the World Health Organization was officially informed of the cluster cases of pneumonia in Wuhan city, China. Since then, the virus has spread greatly all over the world causing many deaths through mere human interaction. More than 20 million people were infected, resulting in at least 751,000 deaths globally. The nations of the world declared a lockdown which in turn had severe implications on the economy of governments and their most ugly affairs.

Australian Bushfires.

Bushfires in Australia have killed almost 800 people since 1851, and billions of animal species. The most destructive fires are usually followed by very high temperatures, low relative humidity, and strong winds which join forces to promote the conditions for the rapid spread of fire. This Most Ugly affair is From September 2019 until March 2020, when the final fire was extinguished, Australia had one of the worst bush fire episodes in history. This has caused heavy damage throughout the country. Over 47 million acres were burned displacing thousands of people and killed at least 34 people.

Stock Market Crash.

The coronavirus pandemic provoked a global recession as many countries went into lockdown. It started in February and ended in April. During the crash, there were multiple severe daily drops in the global stock market; the largest was on the 16th of March, nicknamed Black Monday II. The Covid-19 pandemic has had terrible aftermath on the economy beyond the spread of the virus itself and efforts to contain it.

Beirut Explosion.

There was a random detonation of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate which led to the homicide of more than 190 people and mutated thousands of others. It was a massive explosion at the Beirut portside warehouse sent shockwaves across the Lebanese capital on 4th August 2020. The cost of damages and insured losses is over $18 billion. Several hospitals were destroyed; hotels and markets too were not left out.

End SARS Protest in Nigeria.

Outrage started in the country after weeks of outrage and anger with videos and pictures exposing police brutality, harassment, and extortion. The protest was led majorly by Nigerian youths in different areas of the country supported by activists and celebrities. Coupled with the government’s unresponsiveness to the matter, the protest ended in the brutal killing of many young people in Nigeria on 20th October 2020.

The Killing of George Floyd.

One of the controversial issues raging in America is racism. Severally this has caused an uproar in the country and the larger world. The police involved the killing of George Floyd for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill, which sparked a wave of riots and negative emotions. The Black Lives Matter movement commenced and more protest went on when Jacob Blake, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor also became victims and were killed.

Iran Versus United States Tension.

The strive between Tehran and Washington persists after 4 decades. A U.S. drone struck at Baghdad International Airport killing General Qasem Soleimani in early January. The tension escalated in April when several Iranian speedboats assaulted the U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf which also left 176 people dead. The United States in response imposed new sanctions on Iran and ignored calls from European allies countries to ease its economic pressure in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The likeliness that Iran would soon override the 2015 nuclear deal set the stage for high-stakes diplomacy early in 2021.

The shutdown of Olympics and other Sporting Events.

On the account of the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Olympics scheduled to hold in Tokyo, Japan failed due to the need for social distancing to curb the spread of the deadly pandemic. It was rescheduled to July-August 2021. The tennis championships at Wimbledon, England were also put on hold for the first time since World War II. Notwithstanding, the NBA, NHL happened successfully by observing strict quarantine measures. The rest of the games were postponed as players tested positive for coronavirus.

Chadwick dies at 43.

In August 2020, the world received the sad news of the death of the Marvel superhero in Black Panther. Chadwick Boseman died after silently suffering from colon cancer. Other celebrities we lost to the year were Diego Maradona, Sean Connery, Eddie Van Halen.

Joe Biden Wins Historic Election.

American president Donald Trump faced an impeachment trial in January on charges that he proposed the investigation of former vice president Joe Biden and his son through Ukraine. Trump was acquitted by the Senate on February 5. Joe Biden emerged as the new president of the United States of America. He received more votes than any other presidential candidate in the history of America.

Meanwhile, Trump’s decision to make Jerusalem the capital of Israel stems from history for which Biden voted for when in the senate. When Biden came to power, he promised to approach the Israeli-Gaza conflict differently and also termed Trump’s tactics as short-sighted.

There has been a growing pressure awaiting his response on the matter.

So far in 2021, the world governments have sorted out new ways to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, recessions, and other consequences that the previous years have had on the populace. Olympic 2021 was held in Tokyo and reconnected the nations of the world once again. Gradually, industries are finding their feet again.