Brexit, US-Taliban deal, Putin critic poisoning, Pope on Gay rights, more
2020 was an unusual, uncertain, and unpredictable year. Decades from now, history will remember 2020 as a year of a blur with many losing their lives and jobs – courtesy of the coronavirus pandemic. The deadly new virus stylised our world for dramatic effect as masks and sanitisers became our new best friends. Isolation, quarantines, and lockdowns became the new normal. As much as we all want an instant catharsis from this long-lasting coronavirus tragedy, we might have to wait for some more time. Amid this raging pandemic, the world also seemed to be on fire politically with major global developments in the US, the UK, and Afghan politics, etc. As the year comes to an end, let us look back at some of the biggest stories that broke in 2020 across the world you need to know before you move on to 2021.
Brexit: UK says goodbye to EU, what’s next in 2021?
The United Kingdom finally said goodbye to the European Union on January 31, turning its back after 47 years on the post-World War II project that sought to build the ruined nations of Europe into a global power. As the deal was signed, both sides — UK and EU — agreed several things would stay the same for 11 months that would allow the leaders to reach an agreement on post-Brexit life — how to live, work and trade together. However, as of now, the post-Brexit trade and security deal is yet to be sealed even as time runs out on December 31.
In a historic move, the United States signed a peace deal with Taliban insurgents on February 29, 2020, that aimed at bringing US troops home from Afghanistan more than 18 years after they invaded in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. They struck a deal on the withdrawal of the remaining 12,000 US troops in exchange for Taliban security guarantees and a commitment to talk peace. The deal was signed in the Qatari capital Doha by US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on hand to witness the ceremony. At a parallel ceremony in Kabul, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signed a joint statement committing the Afghan government to support the US-Taliban deal. For millions of Afghans, the deal represented some hope for an end to years of bloodshed.
Months after the US-Taliban signed the peace agreement, the Afghan government and Taliban representatives reached a preliminary deal on December 2, their first written agreement in 19 years of war and welcomed by the United States as a chance to halt the violence. The agreement lays out the way forward for discussion but is considered a breakthrough because it will allow negotiators to move on to more substantive issues, including talks on a ceasefire. Despite the peace process, violence in Afghanistan has not ended.
As of now, the peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents are likely to resume in early January as the warring sides take a break after reaching an agreement on procedural ground rules for sustaining their dialogue to end the war.
Francis becomes the first Pope to voice support for same-sex civil unions
Pope Francis became the first pontiff to voice support for same-sex civil unions, sparking cheers from gay Catholics and calling for urgent clarification from conservatives given the Vatican’s official teaching on the issue. In his comments in a new documentary “Francesco” by Oscar-nominated director Evgeny Afineevsky that was released on October 21, Pope Francis signalled a softening stance on LGBT+ rights. “Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God,” Pope Francis said. “You can’t kick someone out of a family, nor make their life miserable for this. What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is a devout Catholic, described the pope’s remarks as “a very positive move.” “The Secretary-General has spoken out very forcefully against homophobia in favour of LGBTQ rights, that people should never be persecuted or discriminated against just for who they love,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict
A six-week war between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces erupted over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in September this year. Thousands of people on both sides were killed in the fighting which is believed to be the worst in the region since Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces went to war in the 1990s over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians. About 30,000 people were killed in a 1991-94 war in the region.
Biden is the next US President, Trump refuses to concede
The US Presidential Election results 2020 were out on November 7 with Joe Biden being the winner even as Donald Trump refused to accept defeat, claiming widespread “fraud”. Biden became the President-elect of the United States after winning the 20 Electoral College votes from Pennsylvania, going past the magic number of 270.
Since his loss, Trump and his campaign team have been making unsubstantiated allegations of massive voter fraud and electoral malpractice in the election with no proof to back his claim and even filed several legal suits. The United States Supreme Court ended Donald Trump’s bid to challenge the outcome of the November 3 polls by rejecting a lawsuit filed by 18 states, seeking to overturn the results of the presidential elections in several states won by Joe Biden. After the US Supreme Court dumped the lawsuit, Donald Trump bemoaned the decision and indicated that the fight will continue.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden was confirmed as the next US President as the Electoral College on December 14 officially affirmed his victory over Donald Trump. As Biden appealed to Americans to “turn the page” on the divisive contest, electors met across all US states to seal his win, with California pushing Biden over the majority of 270 votes – and clearing the way for him to take office on January 20. Trump on Nov 26 had said he will leave the White House if the Electoral College votes for Joe Biden. As of now, Donald Trump has still not accepted his loss and stands firm on his “fake election” stance. He is yet to concede.
Putin critic Alexei Navalny poisoning
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny fell ill on a Russian domestic flight in Siberia on August 20 and was subsequently airlifted to Berlin in Germany for treatment. He received treatment for what Germany said was poisoning by a potentially deadly nerve agent, Novichok, before being discharged in September. The German government confirmed that tests had shown “unequivocal proof that Navalny had been poisoned by a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group, which was developed by the Soviet Union and subsequently held by its successor state” Russia. Following this, the European Union and the UK imposed sanctions on top Russian officials close to Putin including FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov for Navalny poisoning.
Meanwhile, Russia maintains that it has seen no firm evidence Navalny was poisoned and denies involvement in any attack on him.
World embraces Black Lives Matter movement
This year also saw tens of thousands of people in the US and across the world protesting against the death of African American George Floyd, who was killed on May 25 when a white policeman kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes as he cried “I can’t breathe”. Floyd’s death triggered the “Black Lives Matter” movement in the US and spread across the world with a massive protest in the UK, Europe and Canada as people of all gender, colours, ages came out together in the streets to call out racism.
Banners and slogans have focused not just on George Floyd but on a string of other controversies in different countries as well as the mistreatment of minorities in general.
In Bangkok, activists avoided coronavirus restrictions by going online, asking for video and photos of people wearing black, raising their fists and holding signs, and explaining why they supported the Black Lives Matter movement.
Global market crash, US oil price crashes into negative for the first time in history
This year’s pandemic-induced meltdown in financial markets forced many out of their jobs. In February this year, worldwide markets plummeted as the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the global economy. The sweeping selloff pushed the benchmark S&P 500 down 4.4 per cent on February 28, its worst one-day drop since 2011. “Black Thursday” occurred on March 12, 2020, as major global stock markets registered the biggest single-day percentage fall since the 1987 stock market crash. The market crash continued till April as many countries imposed a lockdown.
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern secures second term in office with landslide victory
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern secured a second term in office with a landslide victory on October 17. Ardern’s liberal Labour Party won a historic mandate by securing 49 per cent of the vote in comparison to the 27 per cent bagged by its primary challenger, the conservative National Party. Labour won 65 of the 120 seats in the country’s unicameral parliament. Ardern’s new majority in parliament allowed her to form the first single-party government since New Zealand adopted a proportional voting system in 1996.
