2020

Health

The outbreak of COVID-19 began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It spread to other areas of Asia, and then worldwide in early 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on 30 January, and assessed the outbreak had become a pandemic on 11 March.

Events

January

• January 1
  • Croatia begins its term in the presidency of the European Union.
  • Flash floods struck Jakarta, Indonesia, killing 66 people in the worst flooding in over a decade.
• January 2 – The Royal Australian Air Force and Navy are deployed to New South Wales and Victoria to assist mass evacuation efforts amidst the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season.
• January 3 – A United States drone strike at Baghdad International Airport kills ten people, including the intended target, an Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
• January 5
  • Second Libyan Civil War: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announces the deployment of Turkish troops to Libya on behalf of the United Nations-backed Government of National Accord.
  • 2019–20 Croatian presidential election: The second round of voting is held, and Zoran Milanović of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia defeats incumbent president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović.
• January 8
  • Iran launches ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. soldiers, injuring over 100 personnel.
  • Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down by Iranian forces shortly after takeoff from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, killing all 176 people on board.
• January 9
  • A rare, circumbinary planet called TOI 1338-b is discovered.
  • Islamic State militants in the Greater Sahara assaulted a Nigerien military base in the battle of Chinagodrar, killing at least 89 Nigerien soldiers.
• January 10 – Haitham bin Tariq succeeds Qaboos bin Said as the Sultan of Oman.
• January 11 – Presidential and legislative elections are held in Taiwan. Incumbent president Tsai Ing-wen is reelected, and the Democratic Progressive Party wins a majority of 67 out of 113 seats in the Legislative Yuan.
• January 12 – The Taal Volcano in the Philippines has had its first major eruption since 1977.
• January 16 – The first impeachment trial of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, begins in the U.S. Senate. He was acquitted on February 5.
• January 18 – Yemeni Civil War: 111 Yemeni soldiers and five civilians are killed in a drone and missile attack on a military camp near Maʼrib.
• January 20 – COVID-19 pandemic: Chinese authorities publicly confirm human-to-human transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
• January 22 – The Hellenic Parliament elects Katerina Sakellaropoulou as president of Greece.
• January 23 – COVID-19 pandemic: The Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the initial COVID-19 outbreak, is quarantined, with all scheduled public transport services and intercity flights halted.
• January 26
  • The 2020 Peruvian parliamentary election is held to elect all 130 members of the Congress of the Republic of Peru.
  • 2020 Calabasas helicopter crash: Nine people are killed in an accident in Calabasas, California, including retired basketball player Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna; cause later attributed to heavy fog.
• January 29 – U.S. President Donald Trump signs the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, a North American trade agreement set to replace NAFTA.
• January 30 – COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the outbreak of the disease a public health emergency of international concern, the sixth time that this measure has been invoked since 2009.
• January 31 – The United Kingdom and Gibraltar formally withdraw from the European Union, beginning an 11-month transition period.

February

• February 6 – Livraga derailment: A Frecciarossa high-speed train traveling from Milan to Salerno derailed in Livraga, Lombardy, Italy. Two people were killed, and 31 were injured.
• February 8 – The 2020 Irish general election is held to elect 160 members of the 33rd Dáil, the lower house of the Oireachtas.
• February 11 – The COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization (WHO) names the disease COVID-19.
• February 13 – NASA publishes a detailed study of Arrokoth, the most distant body ever explored by a spacecraft.
• February 19 – Hanau shootings: Eleven people are killed and five injured in a terrorist shooting spree by a far-right extremist targeting shisha bars in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Germany.
• February 24 – The Pakatan Harapan coalition government of Malaysia collapses and is replaced by the Perikatan Nasional coalition. Muhyiddin Yassin becomes the eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia on March 1.
• February 27 – 2020 stock market crash: Triggered by fears of the spreading of COVID-19, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) plunges by 1,190.95 points, or 4.4%, to close at 25,766.64, its largest one-day point decline at the time. This follows several days of large falls, marking the worst week for the index since the 2008 financial crisis.
• February 28 – Syrian Civil War: NATO expresses solidarity with Turkey after 34 Turkish soldiers were killed in an airstrike by pro-Syrian government forces.
• February 29
  • A conditional peace agreement is signed between the United States and the Taliban. The U.S. begins gradually withdrawing combat troops from Afghanistan on March 10.
  • Barquisimeto shooting: During a demonstration, pro-government colectivos shoot at disputed President and Speaker of the National Assembly Juan Guaidó and his supporters in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, leaving five injured.

March

• March 2 – The Yahoo! Time capsule, dating from 2006, is opened.
• March 5 – The International Criminal Court authorizes the Afghanistan War Crimes inquiry to proceed, reportedly allowing for the first time for U.S. citizens to be investigated.
• March 9
  • COVID-19 pandemic: Italy becomes the first country to implement a nationwide quarantine in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
  • International share prices fall sharply in response to a Russo-Saudi oil price war and the impact of COVID-19. The DJIA plunges more than 2,000 points, the largest fall in its history up to that point. Oil prices also plunged by as much as 30% in early trading, the biggest fall since 1991.
• March 11
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization declares the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
• March 12 – Global stock markets crashed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the United States travel ban on the Schengen Area. The DJIA goes into free fall, closing at over −2,300 points, the worst loss for the index since 1987.
• March 13 – COVID-19 pandemic: The government of Nepal announces that Mount Everest will be closed to climbers and the public for the rest of the season due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia.
• March 16 – The DJIA falls by 2,997.10, the single largest point drop in history and the second-largest percentage drop ever at 12.93%, an even greater crash than Black Monday (1929). This follows the U.S. Federal Reserve announcing that it will cut its target interest rate to 0–0.25%.
• March 17
  • COVID-19 pandemic:
    • The European Union's external and Schengen borders are closed for at least 30 days in an effort to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • The Euro 2020 and 2020 Copa América association football tournaments are postponed until the summer of 2021 by UEFA and CONMEBOL, respectively.
• March 18
  • COVID-19 pandemic:
    • The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 is cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19 in Europe, the first cancellation in the contest's 64-year history.
    • The Solidarity Trial, a WHO-sponsored clinical trial dedicated to finding a cure against COVID-19, is announced.
• March 20
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 10,000 as the total number of cases reaches a quarter of a million.
  • The Bhadla Solar Park is commissioned and becomes the world's largest solar park.
• March 24
  • COVID-19 pandemic:
    • India and the United Kingdom go into lockdown to contain COVID-19. The total number of people in the world facing some form of pandemic-related movement restriction now exceeds 2.6 billion, a third of the global population.
    • Chinese Premier Li Keqiang reports that the domestically transmitted epidemic is now under control. Two days later, China temporarily suspends entry for foreign nationals with visas or residence permits, effective midnight on March 28.
    • The International Olympic Committee and Japan postpone the 2020 Summer Olympics to 2021. On March 30, the Summer Olympics will be rescheduled from July 23 to August 8, 2021.
• March 26
  • COVID-19 pandemic:
    • Global COVID-19 cases reach 500,000, with nearly 23,000 deaths confirmed. The U.S. surpasses China and Italy in the total number of known COVID-19 cases, with at least 81,321 cases and more than 1,000 deaths.
    • Militants in the Philippines, Syria, Yemen, and Libya agree to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres' call for a ceasefire; some accept medical aid for themselves and civilians in their communities. Colombia and Venezuela discuss a common response to the global pandemic, and the UAE airlifts aid to Iran.
• March 27 – North Macedonia becomes the 30th country to join NATO.
• March 30 – 2020 Russia–Saudi Arabia oil price war: The price of Brent Crude falls 9% to $23 per barrel, the lowest level since November 2002.

April

• April 1
  • COVID-19 pandemic:
    • China reports 130 asymptomatic cases of COVID-19, its first reported asymptomatic cases.
    • Yemen's internationally recognised government releases more than 470 of its prisoners amid concerns of the spread of the virus in Yemen's overcrowded jails. The United Nations Human Rights Council has called for the release of all political prisoners.
• April 2 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 1 million worldwide.
• April 5 – COVID-19 pandemic: The first case of COVID-19 in a zoo animal is reported: a four-year-old female Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City.
• April 6 – The United States designates the Russian Imperial Movement as a terrorist organization and imposes sanctions on its leaders; it is the first white supremacist group the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization.
• April 7 – COVID-19 pandemic: Japan declares a state of emergency in response to COVID-19 and finalises a stimulus package worth 108 trillion yen (US$990 billion), equal to 20% of the country's GDP.
• April 8 – COVID-19 pandemic: The Saudi–led coalition declares a unilateral ceasefire in its operations against Houthi forces in Yemen in accordance with United Nations-led efforts.
• April 10
  • Kivu Ebola epidemic: The Democratic Republic of the Congo reports the first case of Ebola since February 2020. The outbreak has killed more than 2,200 people since August 2018.
  • The ESA/JAXA space probe BepiColombo makes its final gravity assist around Earth and begins to depart for Venus, where it will make several gravity assist maneuvers before finally arriving at Mercury in 2025.
  • COVID-19 pandemic:
    • The death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 100,000 globally, a ten-fold increase from March 20.
    • EU finance ministers agree on a €540 billion loan package to alleviate the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
• April 12
  • COVID-19 pandemic: Pope Francis livestreams the Urbi et Orbi blessing for Easter; it is the second blessing in a month, with the first taking place on March 27 during a special prayer service for the end of the pandemic.
  • OPEC and allies strike a deal to cut oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day, the largest such cut agreed upon, starting May 1.
• April 14 April 14
  • COVID-19 pandemic
    • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it expects the world economy to shrink 3%, the worst contraction since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
    • U.S. president Donald Trump announces that the U.S. will suspend funding towards the World Health Organization (WHO) pending an investigation of its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship with China.
• April 15
  • COVID-19 pandemic:
    • The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 2 million worldwide.
    • The 2020 Tour de France is delayed until August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • The 2020 South Korean legislative election is held to elect all 300 members of the National Assembly of South Korea and the Democratic Party of Korea-Platform Party alliance wins 180 out of 300 seats.
• April 17
  • The China Securities Regulatory Commission approves a transaction in which Switzerland's Credit Suisse will take a majority interest in a China securities firm, making Credit Suisse the first foreign bank to own a majority of such a company since the easing of foreign ownership rules in 2018.
  • COVID-19 pandemic:
    • China revises the COVID-19 death toll in Wuhan upward, adding 1,290 more fatalities to bring the country's reported COVID-19 deaths to 4,632.
    • Europe surpasses 100,000 COVID-19-related deaths.
    • The U.N. Human Rights Office accuses Myanmar of carrying out daily airstrikes in the Rakhine and Chin states and that at least 32 civilians have been killed since March 23. The separatist Arakan Army unilaterally declared a month-long ceasefire to fight the pandemic, but the military rejected the ceasefire claiming a previous ceasefire had been reneged by the insurgents.
• April 18 – 44 suspected Boko Haram members are found dead, apparently due to poisoning, inside a prison in N'Djamena, Chad.
• April 19 – COVID-19 pandemic: Unrest breaks out in Paris, Berlin and Vladikavkaz as opposition to COVID-19 lockdowns continues.
• April 20
  • Oil prices reach a record low, with West Texas Intermediate falling into negative values.
  • The Industrial Bank of Korea agrees to pay US$86 million and will enter a two-year deferred prosecution agreement to settle lawsuits with the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of New York over a 2011 scheme to help transfer US$1 billion to Iran.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White Alliance leader Benny Gantz agree on a deal to form a unity government, thus ending more than a year of political deadlock. As part of the deal, Netanyahu will hold onto his position for 18 more months, with Gantz replacing him afterwards.
• April 21 – Mozambique police say 52 male villagers were killed by Islamist militants earlier this month in Muidumbe District, Cabo Delgado Province, after they refused to join their ranks.
• April 22 – Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deploys the country's first military satellite, using a new satellite carrier called "Ghased" ("Messenger").
• April 23
  • Syrian Civil War: Two former high-ranking members of the Syrian Army go on trial in Koblenz, Germany, for alleged war crimes committed during the civil war. It is the first time that Syrian military officials are prosecuted for their roles in the conflict.
  • COVID-19 pandemic: Facebook removes "pseudoscience" and "conspiracy theory" as options for targeted ads as criticism mounts against social media for its role in spreading misinformation about COVID-19.
• April 25
  • Yemeni Civil War: The Southern Transitional Council (STC) announces the establishment of a self-rule administration in southern Yemen and deploys forces in Aden. Governors of multiple southern Yemeni Governorates and Socotra island reject the STC's claim to self-rule and declare their loyalty to President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Months later on July 19, the STC accepts a Saudi-brokered peace deal and abandons its self-rule aspirations.
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 200,000. The UK becomes the fifth country to report 20,000 deaths.
• April 26 – King Salman issues a royal decree, declaring that people will no longer be executed in Saudi Arabia for crimes they were convicted of when they were minors.
• April 27 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases passes 3 million worldwide, while the number of confirmed cases in the U.S. passes 1 million.
• April 28
  • A fast radio burst is detected from the Magnetar SGR 1935+2154, the first ever detected inside the Milky Way, and the first to be linked to a known source.
  • Colombia formalizes its membership with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), becoming the 37th nation of the organization.
  • The Indian Ministry of External Affairs condemns the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom after its annual report recommends placing India on the "countries of particular concern" blacklist over the Citizenship Amendment Act, the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status, and controversial comments made by Home Minister Amit Shah, among others.
• April 29 – (52768) 1998 OR2, a near-Earth asteroid that is 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) wide, makes a close approach of 0.042 AU (6.3 million km; 16 LD) to Earth. It will not approach closer than this until 2079.
• April 30
  • NASA officially selects SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics to build its next-generation lunar lander to carry American astronauts to the Moon by 2024.
  • Bulgaria applies for ERM II (the "waiting room" for the Eurozone), due to join along with Croatia in July 2020.

May

• May 1
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The total number of recovered COVID-19 patients reaches 1 million worldwide, according to data from The Johns Hopkins University.
  • Guanare prison riot: A riot and attempted escape attempt leaves 47 dead and 75 injured in the Centro Penitenciario de los Llanos in Guanare, Venezuela.
• May 2 – The United Nations publishes a report stating that Russia's indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Syria constitutes a war crime.
• May 3–4 – Venezuelan dissidents and a North American-based private military company, Silvercorp USA, unsuccessfully attempt to infiltrate Venezuela and forcibly remove President Nicolás Maduro from office.
• May 4 – A team of British and Kenyan scientists announce the discovery of Microsporidia MB, a parasitic microbe in the Microsporidia fungi group that blocks mosquitos from carrying malaria, potentially paving the way for the control of malaria.
• May 5
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The U.K. death toll from COVID-19 becomes the highest in Europe at 32,313 after exceeding the death toll of 29,029 in Italy.
  • The biggest television network in the Philippines, ABS-CBN, ceased operations for the first time in almost five decades because of the loss of its franchise.
• May 6
  • Astronomers announce the discovery of the first black hole located in a star system visible to the naked eye.
  • COVID-19 pandemic: New evidence indicates that an Algerian-born French fishmonger, who had not traveled to China and did not have contact with any Chinese nationals, was treated for pneumonia from an unknown source on December 27, 2019, now identified as COVID-19.
• May 8 – The Aurangabad railway accident occurred in India. 17 migrants were sleeping on the trains when a freight train collided and killed 16 people and injured 1.
• May 9 – 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.
• May 10
  • The Iranian Navy frigate Jamaran accidentally strikes the Iranian support vessel Konarak with a missile, killing nineteen sailors. This is the first friendly fire incident since February 2019, when an Indian Mil Mi-17 helicopter was mistakenly shot down by Indian air defense forces.
  • COVID-19 pandemic: Wuhan reports its first coronavirus cases in more than a month. An 89-year-old man is confirmed positive, but his wife and several members of the community are recorded as asymptomatic cases.
• May 11 – The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology publishes the result of radiocarbon and DNA analysis from the fossils that has been found in the Bacho Kiro cave, Bulgaria. The result, showing that the fossils belong to Homo sapiens instead of Neanderthal, indicates that modern humans may have arrived in Europe thousands of years earlier than previously thought.
• May 12 – Gunmen storm a maternity hospital and kill 24 people, including two newborn babies, in Dashte Barchi, a majority-Shia neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan. In a separate incident in Kuz Kunar, 32 people are killed at a funeral by a suicide bomber.
• May 14
  • COVID-19 pandemic:
    • The global death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 300,000.
    • The UN warns of a global mental health crisis caused by isolation, fear, uncertainty and economic turmoil.
  • NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the military alliance is "ready to support" the UN-recognized Government of National Accord in Libya while Greece, a member state of NATO, strongly criticizes Stoltenberg's remarks, saying his recognition of the "Muslim Brotherhood government" does not reflect the positions of the military alliance.
• May 15 – Researchers announce a 2.5 cm millipede fossil belonging to the Kampecaris genus, discovered on the island of Kerrera in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, is the world's oldest-known land animal, which lived 425 million years ago in the Silurian period.
• May 16 – Félicien Kabuga, a Rwandan businessman responsible for supporting the Rwandan genocide, is arrested in Asnières-sur-Seine, France, after 26 years as a fugitive.
• May 18
  • The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announces that nearly 1 million people are affected and at least 24 people have died in flash floods that have hit Beledweyne and Jowhar, Somalia.
  • In a historic move, the World Health Organization holds its annual World Health Assembly using video conferencing instead of in-person meetings.
• May 19 – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announces the termination of all agreements, including security ones, with Israel and the United States in response to Israel's plans to annex the Jordan Valley.
• May 21
  • Cyclone Amphan makes landfall in eastern India and Bangladesh, killing over 100 people and forcing the evacuation of more than 4 million others. It causes 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.
  • The U.S. announces it will withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty within six months, alleging continuous violations by Russia.
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 5 million worldwide, with 106,000 new cases recorded over the past 24 hours, the highest single-day figure so far.
• May 22
  • Flight PK8303, a Pakistan International Airlines passenger aircraft, crashes in a residential area near Karachi, in Pakistan, killing 97 of the 99 total people on board and injuring dozens on the ground.
  • COVID-19 pandemic: Brazil overtakes Russia to become the country with the second highest number of COVID-19 cases, with over 330,000 reported. President Jair Bolsonaro continues to dismiss the threat of the virus.
• May 23 – COVID-19 pandemic: China reports no new cases for the first time since the pandemic began, according to the National Health Commission.
• May 24
  • Mining corporation Rio Tinto admits to blowing up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge caves in the Pilbara area of Western Australia. The firm later issues an apology to the two Aboriginal peoples who are the traditional owners of the site.
  • Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi pardons 3,157 prisoners to celebrate Eid al-Fitr and, two days later, President of Zambia Edgar Lungu pardons nearly 3,000 inmates to commemorate Africa Freedom Day.
• May 25
  • The 2020 Surinamese general election is held to elect all 51 members of the National Assembly of Suriname.
  • Euroleague Basketball announces that it has cancelled the 2019-20 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• May 26
  • Protests caused by the murder of George Floyd break out across hundreds of cities in the U.S. and around the world. These are followed by further protests and rallies on June 6 against racism and police brutality around the world.
  • Costa Rica becomes the first Central American country to legalise same-sex marriage.
  • LATAM Airlines, the largest air carrier in Latin America, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• May 27
  • The Chinese National People's Congress votes in favour of national security legislation that criminalizes "secession", "subversion", "terrorism" and foreign interference in Hong Kong; the legislation grants sweeping powers to the Chinese central government to suppress the Hong Kong democracy movement, including banning activist groups and curtailing civil liberties. The U.S. government responds by declaring Hong Kong is "no longer autonomous" under the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act.
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The U.S. death toll passes 100,000 – more Americans than were killed in the Vietnam War and Korean War combined, and approaching that of the First World War, where 116,000 Americans died in combat. The total number of cases continues to rise, although the rate is slowing.
• May 30 – The first crewed flight of the SpaceX Dragon 2 (initially scheduled for May 27 but delayed due to weather) is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the first crewed spacecraft to take off from U.S. soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011.

June

• June 1 – Kivu Ebola epidemic: The World Health Organization reports six new cases of Ebola, and UNICEF reports five deaths, in a renewed outbreak of the disease in Mbandaka, Équateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• June 2 – A US$5 billion class action lawsuit is filed against Alphabet Inc. and Google, alleging the company violates users' right to privacy by tracking them in Chrome's incognito mode.
• June 3
  • Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the UK will change immigration laws to offer a pathway to UK citizenship for all Hong Kong citizens who are eligible for BN(O) status if the government of China imposes new security laws on the territory.
  • SpaceX successfully launches and deploys 60 Starlink satellites into a low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, bringing the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to 482.
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin declares a state of emergency after 20,000 tons of oil leaked into the Ambarnaya River near the Siberian city of Norilsk within the Arctic Circle on May 26, 2020. The World Wildlife Fund said the accident is believed to be the second-largest in modern Russian history.
• June 4
  • Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) says they are in full control of the capital, Tripoli, after forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA) retreat from the territory following months of intense fighting in the city.
  • Hong Kong's legislative council passes the controversial National Anthem Ordinance.
• June 5 – The 2020 Saint Kitts and Nevis general election is held to elect 11 members of the National Assembly of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
• June 7 – COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 400,000.
• June 8 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 7 million worldwide.
• June 9 – COVID-19 pandemic: A Harvard University study suggests that COVID-19 may have been spreading in China as early as August 2019, based on hospital car park usage and web search trends.
• June 15
  • At least 20 Indian soldiers and over 40 Chinese forces are killed or injured in skirmishes in the disputed Galwan Valley, the largest escalation along the Sino-Indian border in five decades.
  • Turkish and Iranian forces commence air and artillery strikes against Kurdistan Workers' Party forces in Iraqi Kurdistan. Turkey launches a land operation in the region on June 17.
• June 16
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 8 million worldwide.
  • North Korea demolishes the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in Kaesong, established in 2018 to improve relations.
• June 21
  • An annular solar eclipse occurs.
  • The 2020 Serbian parliamentary election is held to elect all 250 members of the National Assembly of Serbia. The ruling For Our Children coalition wins 188 out of 250 seats.
• June 22
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 9 million worldwide.
  • The 2020 Kiribati presidential election is held and incumbent president Taneti Maamau is reelected.
  • The 2020 Malawian presidential election is held and Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party is elected president.
• June 24 – The 2020 Mongolian legislative election is held to elect the State Great Khural and the ruling Mongolian People's Party wins 62 out of 76 seats.
• June 27
  • Micheál Martin succeeds Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach of Ireland, with Varadkar becoming Tánaiste in a historic three-party coalition government.
  • The 2020 Icelandic presidential election is held and incumbent president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson is reelected.
• June 28
  • COVID-19 pandemic:
    • The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 10 million worldwide. The U.S. continues to report the highest number of any country as it reaches 2.5 million, a quarter of all cases globally.
    • The global death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 500,000.
    • The first round of voting of the 2020 Polish presidential election is held.
• June 30 – China passes the controversial Hong Kong national security law, allowing China to crack down on opposition to Beijing at home or abroad.

July

• July 1 – Russian voters back a constitutional amendment that, among other things, enables Vladimir Putin to seek two further six-year terms when his current term ends in 2024, potentially allowing him to remain in power until 2036.
• July 5
  • The 2020 Croatian parliamentary election is held to elect all 151 members of the Croatian Parliament.
  • 2020 Dominican Republic general election: Modern Revolutionary Party candidate Luis Abinader is elected president of the Dominican Republic, the Modern Revolutionary Party wins 17 out of 32 seats in the Senate and 86 out of 190 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
• July 7
  • Protests begin throughout Bulgaria with the goal of removing Borisov's cabinet and Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev from office.
  • COVID-19 pandemic: Thousands of people rally outside the House of the National Assembly of Serbia in Belgrade in response to stricter lockdown measures proposed by President Aleksandar Vučić following an increase of cases in the city.
• July 8 – At least 180 bodies are found in mass graves in Djibo, Burkina Faso, where soldiers are fighting jihadists. It is suspected that government forces were involved in mass extrajudicial executions.
• July 10
  • The ECB accepts Bulgaria and Croatia into ERM II, a mandatory stage for countries wishing to adopt the euro. This is the currency union's first major expansion in half a decade.
  • Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan orders the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to be reverted to a mosque following a supreme court annulment of a 1934 presidential decree that made it into a museum.
  • The 2020 Singaporean general election is held to elect all 93 members of the Parliament of Singapore and the People's Action Party, led by prime minister Lee Hsien Loong wins 83 out of 93 seats.
• July 12 – The second round of voting for the 2020 Polish presidential election is held and incumbent president Andrzej Duda is reelected.
• July 15 – The Twitter accounts of prominent political figures, CEOs, and celebrities are hacked to promote a bitcoin scam.
• July 19 – Flooding of the Brahmaputra River kills 189 and leaves 4 million homeless in India and Nepal.
• July 21 – COVID-19 pandemic: European leaders agree to create a €750 billion (US$858 billion) recovery fund to rebuild EU economies impacted by the pandemic.
• July 22 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 15 million worldwide.
• July 25 – COVID-19 pandemic: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un convenes an emergency meeting, declares a state of emergency, and orders the lockdown of Kaesong after a person suspected of having COVID-19 returned from South Korea. If confirmed, it would be the first case to be officially acknowledged by North Korea.
• 28 July – Former Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak is found guilty of all seven charges in the first of five trials on the 1MDB scandal, being jailed 12 years and fined RM210 million as a result.
• July 30 – NASA successfully launches its Mars 2020 rover mission to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples for return to Earth. The mission includes technology demonstrations to prepare for future human missions.

August

• August 1 – The Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE becomes operational following delays since 2017. It is the first commercial nuclear power station in the Arab world.
• August 2 – COVID-19 pandemic: In rare talks, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hold a video call to discuss various regional issues, including combating COVID-19 in their respective countries.
• August 4 – An explosion caused by unsafely stored ammonium nitrate kills at least 218 people, injures thousands, and severely damages the port in Beirut, Lebanon. Damage is estimated at $10–15 billion, and an estimated 300,000 people are left homeless. The following day, the Lebanese government declares a two-week state of emergency.
• August 5 – U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar travels to Taiwan, the highest U.S. official visit to the country in 40 years. The PRC condemns the visit.
• August 7 – Air India Express Flight 1344 crashes after overrunning the runway at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, India, killing 19 of the 191 people on board.
• August 9 – A presidential election in Belarus which led to incumbent Alexander Lukashenko's reelection sparks protests throughout the country after major opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya rejected the results. Seven days later, the largest political march in Belarusian history takes place, with an estimated 300,000 people in Minsk and 200,000 in other Belarusian cities and towns.
• August 10
  • An intense derecho kills 4 and brings widespread damaging wind to much of the Midwestern United States in what becomes the costliest thunderstorm event in US history.
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 20 million worldwide.
  • The 2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election is held to elect all 41 members of the House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago, the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago and the People's National Movement party, led by prime minister Keith Rowley won 22 out of 41 seats.
• August 11 – COVID-19 pandemic: Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that Russia has approved the world's first COVID-19 vaccine.
• August 13 – Israel and the UAE agree to normalise relations, marking the third Israel–Arab peace deal.
• August 15 – The Japanese bulk carrier Wakashio, which stranded on a reef in Mauritius last month, breaks in half. Approximately 1,000 tonnes of oil are spilled into the ocean, becoming the largest environmental disaster in the history of Mauritius.
• August 18 – A mutiny in a military base by soldiers of the Malian Armed Forces develops into a coup d'état. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and Prime Minister Boubou Cissé, among other senior governmental and military officers, are arrested. The next day, Keïta announces his resignation on state television.
• August 19 – The Special Tribunal for Lebanon convicts in absentia Salim Ayyash, a senior member of Hezbollah, for the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.
• August 22 – COVID-19 pandemic: The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 800,000.
• August 23 – Bayern Munich wins the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League by beating Paris Saint-Germain in the final 1–0.
• August 25 – Africa is declared free of wild polio, the second virus to be eradicated from the continent since smallpox 40 years previously.
• August 26 – Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos becomes the first person in history to have a net worth exceeding US$200 billion, according to Forbes.
• August 27 – Hurricane Laura makes landfall in Lake Charles, Louisiana with winds of 150 mph, making it the strongest hurricane to ever strike the state in terms of windspeed, tied with the 1856 Last Island Hurricane.
• August 28 – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving prime minister in the history of Japan, announces his resignation from office, citing ill health.
• August 30 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 25 million worldwide. India continues to record the highest daily increase of cases.

September

• September 2
  • Intel introduces a new logo and its slogan "What's inside has never mattered more.", which was later changed to "Do something wonderful.".
• September 3
  • Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Abdelaziz al-Hilu, the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM–N), sign an agreement to transition the country into a secular state. The agreement comes three days after the signing of a peace deal between Sudan's transitional government and the Sudan Revolutionary Front, which the SPLM–N opted out of. Weeks later on October 3, the transitional government signed a peace deal with the main rebel groups, including the SPLM–N, which had refused to engage in previous talks.
  • The skeletons of 200 mammoths and 30 other animals are unearthed at a construction site for the Mexico City Santa Lucía Airport. It is the largest find of mammoth bones to date, surpassing The Mammoth Site in the U.S. which had 61 skeletons.
• September 4
  • Pope Benedict XVI becomes the longest-lived pope at 93 years, 4 months, and 16 days, surpassing Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903.
  • The La Línea highway tunnel, the longest road tunnel in South America at a length of 8.65 kilometres (5.37 mi), is opened in Colombia after 14 years of construction and several delays.
  • Kosovo and Serbia announce that they will normalize economic relations. The two countries will also move their Israeli embassies to Jerusalem, becoming the third and fourth countries to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
  • Bahrain and Israel agree to normalise relations, marking the fourth Israel–Arab peace deal.
• September 6 – Typhoon Haishen makes landfall on Japan and then South Korea as a strong category 2-equivalent typhoon. It later makes landfall on North Korea where widespread flooding occurs.
• September 14
  • Former Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak is listed on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) online database of corruption offenders convicted locally. His name at the top of the first page of the MACC Corruption Offenders Database.
  • The Royal Astronomical Society announces the detection of phosphine in Venus' atmosphere, which is known to be a strong predictor for the presence of microbial life.
  • The first discovery of the perfectly preserved remains of a cave bear, believed to be 22,000 to 39,500 years old (Late Pleistocene), is made in Lyakhovsky Islands, Siberia in the thawing permafrost.
• September 16
  • A United Nations Human Rights Council fact-finding mission formally accuses the Venezuelan government of crimes against humanity, including cases of killings, torture, violence against political opposition and disappearances since 2014. President Nicolás Maduro and other senior Venezuelan officials are among those implicated in the charges.
  • Yoshihide Suga becomes the new Prime Minister of Japan, replacing Shinzo Abe.
  • Hurricane Sally makes landfall on the Alabama coast as a high-end Category 2 hurricane, causing over $8 billion in damages and killing 8 people.
• September 17
  • France, Germany, and the United Kingdom issue a joint note verbale to the United Nations rejecting China's claims to the South China Sea, and supporting the ruling in Philippines v. China that said the historic rights per the nine-dash line ran counter to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. However, the statement says that on "territorial sovereignty" they "take no position".
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 30 million worldwide.
• September 19 – A 1634 edition of The Two Noble Kinsmen, the last play by English playwright William Shakespeare, is discovered at the Royal Scots College's library in Salamanca, Spain. It is believed to be the oldest copy of any of his works in the country.
• September 20 – BuzzFeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) release the FinCEN Files, a collection of 2,657 documents relating to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network describing over 200,000 suspicious transactions valued at over trillion that occurred from 1999 to 2017 across multiple global financial institutions.
• September 21 – Microsoft agrees to buy video game holding company ZeniMax Media, including Bethesda Softworks and their following subsidiaries for US$7.5 billion, in what was the biggest and most expensive takeover in the history of the video game industry.
• September 27 – Beginning of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War: deadly clashes erupt in Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Republic of Artsakh introduce martial law and mobilize forces.
• September 29
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 exceeds one million.
  • The Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Sabah dies at the age of 91. Crown Prince Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is named his successor.

October

• October 1 – The EU began legal proceedings against the UK after it ignored their deadline to drop controversial sections from its internal market Bill.
• October 5 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 35 million worldwide. The news coincides with the World Health Organization estimating that total worldwide cases may be around 760 million; roughly a tenth of the global population.
• October 6 – Serious floods affected in Central Vietnam, lasted nearly 3 months and killed at least 249 people.
• October 15
  • 2020 Thai protests: The Government of Thailand declares a "severe" state of emergency banning gatherings of five or more people, initiating a crackdown on demonstrations and imposing media censorship.
  • President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov resigns from office after weeks of massive protests in the wake of the October 2020 parliamentary election; opposition leader Sadyr Japarov assumes office as both the acting president and Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan.
• October 17 – 2020 New Zealand general election: Jacinda Ardern's Labour Party wins 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.
• October 19 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 40 million worldwide.
• October 20 – NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touches down on Bennu, becoming the agency's first probe to retrieve samples from an asteroid, with its cargo later successfully returning to Earth on September 24, 2023.
• October 21 – Heavy rains brought by tropical storm Linfa caused landslides at the Rao Trang 3 hydroelectric plant in Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam, killing 17 construction workers and 13 soldiers who were on a rescue mission.
• October 22 – The Geneva Consensus Declaration on Promoting Women's Health and Strengthening the Family is signed by government representatives from 34 countries.
• October 23
  • At the end of an 11-year demining process, the Falkland Islands are declared free of land mines, 38 years after the end of the 1982 war.
  • Israel and Sudan agree to normalise relations, marking the fifth Israel–Arab peace deal.
• October 26 – NASA confirms the existence of molecular water on the sunlit side of the Moon, near Clavius crater, at concentrations of up to 412 parts per million.
• October 29 – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirms the death of at least 140 migrants who drowned off the coast of Senegal on a vessel bound for the Spanish Canary Islands, making it the deadliest shipwreck of 2020.
• October 30
  • 2020 Aegean Sea earthquake: A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits Turkey and Greece, killing 119 people and injuring over 1,000.
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 45 million worldwide.
• October 31 – Typhoon Goni makes landfall in the Philippines, becoming the strongest landfalling tropical cyclone in history, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and killing dozens of people in the region.

November

• November 1 – 2020 Moldovan presidential election: Former Prime Minister and Minister of Education Maia Sandu is elected as the 6th President of Moldova, becoming the first woman to ever hold the post.
• November 3 – 4
  • 2020 United States presidential election: The election of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States is called by many news media organizations after remaining vote counts (November 7) come in from key states delayed by an influx of mail-in ballots caused by the pandemic, defeating incumbent President Donald Trump.
  • 2020 United States elections take place, ending in an overall success for the Democratic Party and securing a trifecta.
  • The United States formally exits the Paris Agreement on climate change.
  • Beginning of the Tigray War: Ethiopia launches an offensive in Tigray following an attack on Ethiopian military bases by the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
• November 7 – Hurricane Eta makes landfall in Nicaragua, killing over 100 people in Central America as a category 4.
• November 8 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 50 million worldwide.
• November 9
  • Second Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia sign a ceasefire agreement, formally ending the war.
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The first successful phase III trial of a COVID-19 vaccine is announced by drug companies Pfizer and BioNTech, which is 90% effective according to interim results.
• November 10 – Apple releases the first Mac computers (a new MacBook Air, Mac mini and MacBook Pro) powered by Apple silicon chips.
• November 11 – COVID-19 pandemic: The Sputnik V vaccine is proven to be 92% effective against COVID-19 according to interim results.
• November 12 – 13
  • Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers resign en masse, in response to four lawmakers' disqualification made by the government.
  • Typhoon Vamco makes landfall in Vietnam, after crossing the Philippines and killing at least 69 people. The storm causes the worst floods in the region since Typhoon Ketsana in 2009.
  • Western Sahara conflict: fighting erupts between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic when Moroccan forces launch a military operation to capture the town of Guerguerat, located in a UN-monitored buffer zone.
• November 15
  • The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries to form the world's largest free-trade bloc, covering a third of the world's population.
  • NASA and SpaceX launch the SpaceX Crew-1 mission from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A to the ISS, the first operational flight of the Crew Dragon capsule.
  • Lewis Hamilton wins his seventh Formula One World Drivers' Championship at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, equalling the record set by Michael Schumacher in 2004.
• November 16
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is proven to be 94.5% effective against COVID-19 based on interim results, including severe illnesses. The vaccine has been cited as being among those that are easier to distribute as no ultra-cold storage is required.
  • Hurricane Iota makes landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane just two weeks after Hurricane Eta made landfall, devastating the same areas.
• November 17 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 55 million worldwide, with around a million cases recorded every two days on average.
• November 18 – COVID-19 pandemic: Pfizer and BioNTech complete trials on their COVID-19 vaccine, with an overall effectiveness rate of 95% without adverse events.
• November 19
  • The Brereton Report into Australian war crimes during the War in Afghanistan is released.
  • Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart wins the 2020 Booker Prize.
  • The PlayStation 5 is released worldwide.**
• November 22 – The United States withdraws from the Treaty on Open Skies.
• November 23 – COVID-19 pandemic: AstraZeneca's AZD1222 vaccine, developed in collaboration with Oxford University, is shown to be 70% effective in protecting against COVID-19. The efficacy can be raised to 90% if an initial half dose is followed by a full dose a month later, based on interim data.
• November 25 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 60 million worldwide.
• November 27 – Iran's top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, is assassinated near Tehran.
• November 28 – Koshobe massacre: Boko Haram terrorists attack a village in Borno, Nigeria, killing 110 people and wounding 6 people.
• November 30
  • A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs; the last of four lunar eclipses in 2020.
  • Protein folding, one of the biggest mysteries in biology, is solved by AlphaFold, an artificial intelligence algorithm developed by DeepMind.
  • COVID-19 pandemic: Moderna files an application for Emergency Use Authorization in the United States after its vaccine achieved an efficacy of 94.1% from full trials without safety concerns. It also plans to do the same in EU soon.

December

• December 1
  • COVID-19 pandemic: Pfizer and BioNTech announced an Emergency Use Authorization application to the European Medicines Agency.
  • The Arecibo Telescope of the Arecibo Observatory collapses, just weeks after the announcement of its planned demolition.
• December 2
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The United Kingdom approves Pfizer-BioNTech's BNT162b2 vaccine, being the first country in the world to do so.
  • Three activists in Hong Kong were jailed for their roles in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, with Joshua Wong getting the heaviest at 13.5 months.
  • The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs votes to remove cannabis from the treaty list of dangerous drugs in recognition of its medical value, although some controls will remain.
• December 4
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 65 million worldwide, with the global death toll exceeding 1.5 million. Figures reflect that, in the last week, over 10,000 people worldwide have died on average every day, with one death every nine seconds. According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 had caused more deaths in 2020 than tuberculosis in 2019, as well as four times the number of deaths than malaria.
  • Somali Civil War: The United States announces its withdrawal from the conflict over the next month.
• December 5 – COVID-19 pandemic: Russia begins mass vaccination against COVID-19 with the Sputnik V candidate.
• December 6 – The 2020 Venezuelan parliamentary election takes place.
• December 8
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The United Kingdom becomes the first nation to begin a mass inoculation campaign using a clinically authorised, fully tested vaccine, Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Margaret Keenan, 90, becomes the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer vaccine after trials.
  • Nepal and China officially agree on Mount Everest's actual height, which is 8,848.86m.
• December 10
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The United States and Saudi Arabia approve the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, while Argentina approves Sputnik V.
  • Western Sahara conflict, Arab–Israeli conflict: Israel and Morocco normalise diplomatic relations. Simultaneously, the United States reaffirms its previous recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara and announces plans to build a consulate there.
  • The Nicolas Sarkozy corruption trial concludes in France.
• December 11 – The European Union agrees to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% over the next decade.
• December 12
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 70 million worldwide.
  • Bhutan and Israel normalise diplomatic relations.
• December 14
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The United States and Canada begin mass vaccination with the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, Singapore approves the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, with other companies to provide vaccines progressively.
  • Sudan–United States relations: The United States removes Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
  • Turkey–United States relations: The United States places sanctions on Turkey in retaliation for their purchase of a S-400 missile system from Russia, marking the first time they have sanctioned a NATO ally.
  • A total solar eclipse is visible from parts of the South Pacific Ocean, southern South America, and the South Atlantic Ocean.
• December 18
  • Media outlets report that astronomers have detected a radio signal, BLC1, apparently from the direction of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun. Astronomers have stated that this and other, yet unpublished, signals, are thought to likely be "interference that we cannot fully explain" and that it appears to be among the two strongest candidates for a radio signal humanity received from extraterrestrial intelligence so far.{{cite web | access-date=December 19, 2020
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 75 million worldwide.
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The United States approves Moderna's vaccine for emergency use, the second brand available there.
• December 20 – COVID-19 pandemic: A highly infectious new strain of SARS-CoV-2 spreading in Europe and Australia provokes international border closures.
• December 21
  • COVID-19 pandemic: 36 cases are reported on the Base General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme in the Chilean Antarctic Territory, marking the first infections in Antarctica, the last continent to report infections.
  • A great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurs, with the two planets separated in the sky by 0.1 degrees. This is the closest conjunction between the two planets since 1623.
• December 24
  • The United Kingdom and the European Union agree to a comprehensive free trade agreement prior to the end of the transition period.
  • COVID-19 pandemic: Sinovac's vaccine reached a rate of 91.25% efficacy in trials in Turkey.
• December 27 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 80 million worldwide.
• December 29 – The 2020 Petrinja earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 strikes Croatia, killing seven and injuring more than 20.
• December 30 – COVID-19 pandemic: The United Kingdom approves AstraZeneca-Oxford's vaccine, the second one available. The vaccine is easier to store as it only requires normal fridge temperatures, making distribution easier.
• December 31 – The transition period following the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union on January 31, 2020, expires.

Births and deaths

Main article: :Category:2020 births, Deaths in 2020

Nobel Prizes

• Chemistry – Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna
• Economics – Paul Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson
• Literature – Louise Glück
• Peace – World Food Programme
• Physics – Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea M. Ghez
• Physiology or Medicine – Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice

References

References

1. IMFBlog. (April 14, 2020). "The Great Lockdown: Worst Economic Downturn Since the Great Depression".
2. Datta, Anusuya. (October 11, 2020). "Here's why 2020 is the worst year so far in terms of Climate Change".
3. "2020 Report: Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals {{!}} Knowledge for policy".
4. Zacharek, Stephanie. (December 5, 2020). "2020 Tested Us Beyond Measure. Where Do We Go From Here?".
5. (2020). "The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2021". World Almanac Books.
6. (2019). "The EESC's Activities During the Croatian Presidency: January–July 2020". EESC.
7. (January 6, 2020). "66 people now killed by flooding in Jakarta, and more rain appears to be on the way". CNN.com.
8. "Military moves in to help mass evacuation from Australian bushfires". CBC News.
9. (January 1, 2020). "Half a billion animals perish in bushfires". News.com.au.
10. (January 2, 2020). "Iraq Militia Officials, Iran's QUDS Force Head Killed in U.S. Drone Strike". [[Newsweek]].
11. (January 5, 2020). "Turkish troops deploy to Libya to prop up embattled government". [[The Guardian]].
12. (January 6, 2020). "Croatia elects centre-left challenger Zoran Milanovic as president". BBC News.
13. (January 17, 2020). "Pentagon denies trying to underplay injuries from Iran attack".
14. (January 8, 2020). "Boeing 737 plane crashes in Iran". CNN.
15. Pereira, Ivan. (January 9, 2020). "New York teen discovers new planet while interning with NASA". ABC News.
16. (January 14, 2020). "Islamic State claims responsibility for Niger army base attack". Reuters.
17. (January 11, 2020). "Sultan Qaboos of Oman dies aged 79". [[BBC News]].
18. (January 11, 2020). "Oman's new ruler Haitham bin Tariq takes oath: newspapers". Reuters.
19. (January 11, 2020). "Taiwan election: Tsai Ing-Wen wins landslide in rebuke to China".
20. (January 11, 2020). "Taiwan opposition candidate admits defeat in presidential election". Reuters.
21. "Election Result By Parties Votes For The 10th Regional Legislators Elections (National Level Public Officials Election-Taiwan, 2020".
22. (January 12, 2020). "PHIVOLCS warns of 'hazardous explosive eruption' of Taal Volcano soon".
23. Ewing, Philip. (February 5, 2020). "'Not Guilty': Trump Acquitted On 2 Articles Of Impeachment As Historic Trial Closes".
24. (January 20, 2020). "Yemen war: Death toll in attack on military base rises to 111". BBC News.
25. McMullen, Jane. (January 25, 2021). "Covid-19: Five days that shaped the outbreak". BBC.
26. (January 16, 2020). "Progressive judge to become Greece's first female president".
27. "Greece elects its first female president".
28. "直击武汉天河机场："封城"前有96架航班飞往全国".
29. (6 March 2020). "The effect of travel restrictions on the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak". Science.
30. "Peru election: Crushing blow for president's opponents Popular Force". BBC News.
31. Harvey, Austin. (2023-09-23). "Inside The Sudden Death Of Kobe Bryant — And The Helicopter Crash That Caused It".
32. (Jan 29, 2020). "Trump signs US Mexico Canada Agreement".
33. . (January 30, 2020). ["Coronavirus declared global health emergency"](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51318246). *BBC*.
34. (January 29, 2020). "European Parliament approves Brexit agreement". BBC News.
35. (June 4, 2023). "Off to the Side: The 2020 Livraga (Italy) Train Derailment".
36. (April 20, 2021). "Irish election produces an earthquake as Sinn Fein tops poll".
37. (February 11, 2020). "Irish general election: Sinn Féin celebrate historic result". BBC News.
38. (February 11, 2020). "Coronavirus disease named Covid-19".
39. (February 13, 2020). "'Not just a space potato': Nasa unveils 'astonishing' details of most distant object ever visited". The Guardian.
40. (February 20, 2020). "German gunman calling for genocide kills 9 people".
41. (February 24, 2020). "Pakatan Harapan govt collapses".
42. (February 27, 2020). "Dow plunges 1,100 points as the coronavirus sends the market tumbling into correction territory". CNBC.
43. "NATO expresses strong solidarity with Turkey at special meeting of the North Atlantic Council".
44. (February 21, 2020). "US, Taliban truce takes effect, setting stage for peace deal".
45. (March 9, 2020). "Afghanistan conflict: US begins withdrawing troops". BBC.
46. Singer, Florantonia. (March 1, 2020). "El ataque a una concentración de Juan Guaidó deja al menos cinco heridos". El País.
47. (February 29, 2020). "Colectivos chavistas atacaron una concentración convocada por Juan Guaidó en Barquisimeto".
48. (2020-02-02). "Next month Yahoo!'s time capsule will reveal the distant past… of 2006".
49. (2020-03-03). "Time to party!".
50. (March 5, 2020). "I.C.C. Allows Afghanistan War Crimes Inquiry to Proceed, Angering U.S.". The New York Times.
51. (March 8, 2020). "Coronavirus: quarter of Italy's population put in quarantine as virus reaches Washington DC".
52. (March 9, 2020). "As Virus Spreads, Italy Locks Down Country". The Wall Street Journal.
53. (March 9, 2020). "Black Monday: Shares face biggest fall since financial crisis".
54. "Oil prices plunge as much as 30% after OPEC deal failure sparks price war".
55. Tan, Weizhen. (March 30, 2020). "Oil prices fall to 17-year low as Saudi Arabia-Russia standoff continues, coronavirus hits demand".
56. (March 11, 2020). "Coronavirus confirmed as pandemic by World Health Organization".
57. (March 12, 2020). "Wall Street and FTSE 100 plunge on worst day since 1987 – as it happened". The Guardian.
58. (March 13, 2020). "Mount Everest closed over coronavirus fears". CNN.
59. (March 15, 2020). "Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement".
60. (March 17, 2020). "Coronavirus: What's happening in Europe".
61. (March 17, 2020). "Euro 2020 postponed until summer 2021; domestic leagues, UEFA competitions to be completed by June 30". [[Sky Sports]].
62. (March 17, 2020). "Coronavirus: Copa America postponed until 2021 due to outbreak". ESPN.
63. (March 18, 2020). "Official EBU statement & FAQ on Eurovision 2020 cancellation". [[European Broadcasting Union]] (EBU).
64. (March 18, 2020). "UN health chief announces global 'solidarity trial' to jumpstart search for COVID-19 treatment".
65. (March 20, 2020). "Global coronavirus deaths pass 10,000".
66. (March 19, 2020). "With 2,245 MW of Commissioned Solar Projects, World's Largest Solar Park is Now at Bhadl".
67. "A third of the world under virus lockdown, as Olympics delayed".
68. (March 24, 2020). "China deploys measures to curb imported COVID-19 cases, rebound in indigenous cases". State Council Information Office of China.
69. (March 26, 2020). "China to temporarily bar entry of foreigners to stop spread of coronavirus". Axios.
70. (March 24, 2020). "Tokyo Olympics postponed to 2021 due to coronavirus pandemic".
71. Pavitt, Michael. (March 20, 2020). "Rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics to open on July 23 in 2021".
72. (March 26, 2020). "500,000 Coronavirus Cases Reported Worldwide". Forbes.
73. (March 26, 2020). "The U.S. Now Leads the World in Confirmed Coronavirus Cases". The New York Times.
74. (March 26, 2020). "Trading handguns for handwipes".
75. Mehta, Aaron. (March 24, 2020). "North Macedonia to officially join NATO on Friday".
76. Sillars, James. (March 30, 2020). "Coronavirus: Oil costs hit 2002 low as markets digest surge in infections".
77. (April 1, 2020). "China Reports 130 Asymptomatic Cases of Coronavirus in One Day".
78. (April 2020). "Hundreds of prisoners in Yemen freed amid coronavirus pandemic".
79. (April 3, 2010). "Coronavirus: Confirmed global cases pass one million". BBC News.
80. Bryner, Jeanna. (April 5, 2020). "Bronx Zoo tiger infected with COVID-19".
81. (April 6, 2020). "In a first, US slaps sanctions on Russian white supremacists".
82. (April 7, 2010). "Japan declares a state of emergency after rise in cases in Tokyo". The Guardian.
83. (April 9, 2020). "Ceasefire begins in Yemen to help combat virus". BBC News.
84. (April 10, 2020). "Ebola patient dies in Congo, first case in 50 days". Reuters.
85. Amos, Jonathan. (April 10, 2020). "BepiColombo Mercury mission bids farewell to Earth". BBC News.
86. (April 10, 2010). "Global toll tops 100,000 as Trump holds briefing". BBC News.
87. (April 9, 2020). "E.U. Officials Agree to Deal to Soften Coronavirus's Economic Blow". The New York Times.
88. (April 12, 2020). "On an Easter under quarantine, Pope calls resurrection a 'contagion of hope'".
89. (April 12, 2020). "Record deal to cut oil output ends price war". BBC News.
90. (April 14, 2020). "IMF: Global economy will suffer worst year since Depression".
91. "Trump halts World Health Organization funding over handling of coronavirus outbreak".
92. "Global coronavirus cases exceed two million: Live updates".
93. Church, Ben. (April 15, 2020). "Tour de France delayed amid coronavirus pandemic".
94. (April 16, 2020). "South Korea election: Ruling party wins amid coronavirus outbreak". BBC News.
95. (April 17, 2020). "Credit Suisse gets approval to take majority stake in China JV". Reuters.
96. (April 17, 2020). "Coronavirus: China outbreak city Wuhan raises death toll by 50%".
97. (April 19, 2020). "Europe reaches grim milestone, surpasses 100,000 coronavirus deaths".
98. (April 17, 2020). "U.N. says mostly women and children among 32 killed as insurgents, Myanmar military clash". Reuters.
99. AFP. (April 18, 2020). "44 suspected Boko Haram members found dead in Chad prison". The Guardian.
100. Harding, Luke. (April 20, 2020). "Germany opens some shops as Merkel warns of second wave of coronavirus". The Guardian.
101. (April 20, 2020). "Oil prices fall to historic lows". The Guardian.
102. (April 21, 2020). "Industrial Bank of Korea settles U.S., New York criminal probes over $1 billion Iran transfer". Reuters.
103. (April 20, 2020). "After impasse of over a year, Netanyahu and Gantz agree to form a government".
104. (April 21, 2020). "Islamist insurgents kill 52 villagers in Mozambique, police say". Reuters.
105. Welle (dw.com), Deutsche. "Iran launches military satellite amid tensions with US {{!}} DW {{!}} 22.04.2020".
106. "World's first Syria torture trial opens in Germany".
107. (April 24, 2020). "Facebook gets rid of 'pseudoscience' ad-targeting category". Reuters.
108. (April 26, 2020). "Yemen separatists announce self-rule in south, complicating peace efforts". Reuters.
109. "Yemen southern provinces reject separatists' claim to self-rule".
110. (July 29, 2020). "Yemen's separatists to give up self-rule, push peace deal".
111. (April 25, 2020). "Coronavirus death toll tops 200,000 globally". [[New York Post]].
112. (April 25, 2020). "Europe's Virus Deaths Slow While U.K. Fatalities Pass 20,000".
113. (April 26, 2020). "Saudi Arabia scraps execution for those who committed crimes as minors: Commission". Reuters.
114. (April 27, 2020). "3 million coronavirus cases have now been reported worldwide".
115. (April 27, 2020). "U.S. set to become first country with 1 million reported coronavirus cases". [[NY Daily News]].
116. "ATel #13681: A bright millisecond-timescale radio burst from the direction of the Galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154".
117. "Global OECD welcomes Colombia as its 37th Member - OECD".
118. "India should be placed on religious freedom blacklist: US panel".
119. "Mile-wide asteroid skims past Earth at 19,000mph".
120. (May 1, 2020). "Musk's SpaceX, Bezos' Blue Origin land contracts to build NASA's astronaut moon lander". Reuters.
121. (March 31, 2020). "Bulgaria economy briefing: Bulgaria Changes Legislation to Join ERM2 Exchange Rate Mechanism – China-CEE Institute".
122. (May 1, 2020). "More Than 1 Million People Have Recovered From COVID-19 Worldwide". [[NPR]].
123. (May 3, 2020). "Familias de reos muertos en penal de Guanare acusan a autoridades de masacre".
124. (March 2, 2020). "Russia committed war crimes in Syria, finds UN report".
125. "OHCHR | UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria: Unprecedented levels of displacement and dire conditions for civilians in the Syrian Arab Republic".
126. (July 22, 2019). "Russia and Syria step up airstrikes against civilians in Idlib".
127. (May 6, 2020). "From a Miami condo to the Venezuelan coast, how a plan to 'capture' Maduro went rogue". The Washington Post.
128. (May 4, 2020). "A microsporidian impairs Plasmodium falciparum transmission in Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes". Nature Communications.
129. (May 5, 2020). "UK coronavirus death toll rises above 32,000 to highest in Europe". The Guardian.
130. Cabato, Regine. (May 5, 2020). "Philippines orders its largest broadcaster off the air as nation fights virus". [[The Washington Post]].
131. information@eso.org. "ESO Instrument Finds Closest Black Hole to Earth - Invisible object has two companion stars visible to the naked eye".
132. (May 6, 2020). "Emergence of early COVID-19 case in France may hold new clues to pandemic's spread".
133. (2020-05-08). "Aurangabad train accident: 16 migrant workers run over, probe ordered".
134. (May 11, 2020). "Indian and Chinese soldiers injured in cross-border fistfight, says Delhi".
135. (May 11, 2020). "Iranian sailors killed in 'friendly fire' incident". BBC News.
136. (August 23, 2019). "Indian Air Force probe finds friendly fire caused February 27 Budgam chopper crash, 5 officers in dock".
137. (May 10, 2020). "Wuhan reported its first new coronavirus case in more than a month". [[Business Insider]] US.
138. Welle (dw.com), Deutsche. "Bulgarian fossils suggest Homo sapiens arrived in Europe earlier than previously thought {{!}} DW {{!}} 12.05.2020".
139. "Babies among 24 killed as gunmen attack maternity ward in Kabul".
140. (May 14, 2020). "Coronavirus global death toll passes 300,000 as countries wait in lockdown".
141. (May 14, 2020). "U.N. warns of global mental health crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic".
142. (May 14, 2020). "NATO is ready to support GNA in Libya, the bloc's Chief says {{!}} The Libya Observer".
143. Besser, Robert. (May 15, 2020). "Greece Sharply Rebukes NATO Secretary-General's Support of Muslim Brotherhood in Libya {{!}} GreekReporter.com". Greekreporter.com.
144. (May 15, 2020). "Myriapod divergence times differ between molecular clock and fossil evidence: U/Pb zircon ages of the earliest fossil millipede-bearing sediments and their significance". Historical Biology, An International Journal of Paleobiology.
145. (May 16, 2020). "Mechanism fugitive Félicien Kabuga arrested today".
146. Guled, Abdi. (May 18, 2020). "Nearly 1 million people affected by Somalia floods: UN".
147. (May 17, 2020). "Unprecedented World Health Assembly Convenes Online As Pandemic Rages". NPR.
148. "President Abbas declares end to agreements with Israel, US; turns over responsibility on occupied lands to Israel".
149. (May 20, 2020). "Cyclone Amphan wreaks deadly havoc". BBC News.
150. (May 21, 2020). "US to withdraw from 'Open Skies' arms control deal". BBC News.
151. (May 21, 2020). "Coronavirus live news: global cases pass 5m as EU health chief warns of second wave". The Guardian.
152. (May 22, 2020). "Pakistan International Airlines passenger plane crashes in Karachi". BBC News.
153. (May 23, 2020). "Brazil now has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world after US". CNN.
154. (May 23, 2020). "China reports no new coronavirus cases for first time since pandemic began". Reuters.
155. (May 31, 2020). "Mining firm sorry for destroying Aboriginal caves". BBC News.
156. "Egypt pardons former policeman jailed for murder of pop singer Tamim".
157. (May 26, 2020). "Zambian president pardons gay couple jailed for 15 years". Reuters.
158. (May 31, 2020). "Suriname opposition parties near power following election".
159. (May 30, 2020). "George Floyd protests: man killed in Detroit as demonstrations rage across US – as it happened". The Guardian.
160. (June 6, 2020). "From Murals To Tweets: The Global South Shows Solidarity With George Floyd Protests". NPR.
161. (June 7, 2020). "As George Floyd is mourned, the world stops to say 'enough'". Sydney Morning Herald.
162. (May 26, 2020). "Costa Rica latest country to legalize same-sex marriage".
163. (May 26, 2020). "Latam Air Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Stymied by Lockdowns".
164. (May 28, 2020). "Hong Kong security bill backed by China's parliament". BBC News.
165. Keith Bradsher. (May 28, 2020). "China Approves Plan to Rein In Hong Kong, Defying Worldwide Outcry". The New York Times.
166. Nick Wadhams and Ben Bartenstein. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-27/pompeo-finds-hong-kong-is-no-longer-autonomous-from-china U.S. Says Hong Kong's Autonomy Is Gone, Sowing China Trade Doubt] {{Webarchive. link. (July 20, 2020 , Bloomberg (May 27, 2020).)
167. (May 28, 2020). "US passes 100,000 coronavirus deaths as states relax lockdown measures".
168. (2020-05-27). "U.S. coronavirus deaths top 100,000".
169. (February 14, 2020). "Rocket Report: Demo-2 launch this spring, concerns about Firefly's backer".
170. Fox, Maggie. "Five dead in newest Ebola outbreak in Congo, UNICEF says".
171. (June 3, 2020). "Google in $5bn lawsuit for tracking in 'private' mode". BBC News.
172. (June 3, 2020). "UK to offer citizenship 'route' to HK residents". BBC News.
173. Thompson, Amy. (June 4, 2020). "SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites and lands rocket in dazzling nighttime liftoff".
174. (June 4, 2020). "Vast Arctic oil spill prompts state of emergency". BBC News.
175. (June 4, 2020). "Eastern forces quit Libyan capital after year-long assault". Reuters.
176. (June 4, 2020). "Hong Kong passes controversial bill to make disrespecting China's national anthem a crime". Business Insider.
177. (August 13, 2020). "Elections 2020 {{!}} WINNFM 98.9".
178. (June 7, 2020). "Global coronavirus death toll tops 400,000 as protesters continue to defy lockdowns". NBC.
179. (June 8, 2020). "Coronavirus latest: Global infections top 7 million". DW.
180. (June 9, 2020). "Coronavirus may have been in Wuhan in August, study suggests".
181. (June 16, 2020). "Updates: 20 Indian Soldiers Killed; 43 Chinese Casualties In Ladakh, Says ANI".
182. (June 17, 2020). "Turkey launches major attack on Kurdish militants in Iraq". The Guardian.
183. (June 16, 2020). "Global coronavirus cases pass 8 million as outbreak expands in Latin America". ABC News.
184. "North Korea blows up liaison office as tensions rise with South".
185. (July 13, 2020). "21 June 2020 Annular Solar Eclipse".
186. (June 22, 2020). "Serbian parliamentary elections well run, but ruling party dominance and lack of media diversity limited voters' choice, international observers say".
187. EWB. (June 22, 2020). "Serbian parliament left without clear opposition as the ruling party wins partially boycotted elections".
188. (June 22, 2020). "COVID-19 cases worldwide surpass 9 million". ABC Action News.
189. "Ministry of Justice added a new photo. - Ministry of Justice".
190. (June 23, 2020). "Kiribati's pro-China leader wins re-election in blow to Taiwan". Reuters.
191. "Lazarus Chakwera wins Malawi presidential election".
192. (April 20, 2021). "Opposition wins historic rerun of Malawi's presidential vote".
193. (June 25, 2020). "Malawi presidential election: Chakwera leading - MBC". BBC News.
194. (June 27, 2020). "Malawi opposition leader wins presidential election re-run". Reuters.
195. "МОНГОЛ УЛСЫН СОНГУУЛИЙН ЕРӨНХИЙ ХОРОО".
196. "УИХ-ын 2020 оны сонгуулийн ҮР ДҮН".
197. (April 29, 2021). "Mongolian People's Party retains strong parliament majority".
198. (June 25, 2020). "Ruling Mongolian People's Party wins landslide election". Reuters.
199. (June 27, 2020). "Micheál Martin elected Taoiseach as head of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green coalition". Irish Times.
200. "Presidential election 27 June 2020".
201. (June 28, 2020). "Iceland's president re-elected with 92 percent of the vote".
202. (June 28, 2020). "Global coronavirus cases exceed 10 million". Reuters.
203. (June 27, 2020). "U.S. Coronavirus Cases Surpass 2.5 Million: Reuters Tally".
204. (June 28, 2020). "Coronavirus: Covid-19 death toll hits 500,000 worldwide". BBC News.
205. (April 20, 2021). "Exit poll: Polish presidential vote headed for runoff".
206. "Poland's Duda leads in presidential election first round".
207. (June 28, 2020). "Poland's Duda ahead in presidential election first round". Reuters.
208. (June 28, 2020). "Polish President Duda faces tough run-off vote July 12, according to exit polls".
209. (June 29, 2020). "New Security Law Gives China Sweeping Powers Over Hong Kong". The New York Times.
210. (July 1, 2020). "Russian voters overwhelmingly back a ploy by President Vladimir Putin to rule until 2036". CNN.
211. (April 22, 2021). "Croatia's ruling conservatives win big in parliamentary vote".
212. (July 5, 2020). "Croatia's centre-right HDZ party wins most seats in parliament: exit poll". Reuters.
213. (July 5, 2020). "Croatia's ruling conservatives win parliament vote".
214. Chadwick, Lauren. (July 4, 2020). "Croatia's ruling conservatives win parliamentary election".
215. (July 6, 2020). "Change in Dominican Republic as opposition wins presidency". BBC News.
216. "Dominican opposition declares victory in coronavirus-hit election".
217. (July 5, 2020). "Opposition declares victory in Dominican Republic's virus-scarred vote". Reuters.
218. (July 6, 2020). "Dominican Republic's ruling party candidate concedes defeat". Reuters.
219. "Протест пред президентството".
220. (July 7, 2020). "Protest over weekend lockdown turns violent after tear gas fired".
221. (July 8, 2020). "'Killing field' had 180 bodies in Burkina Faso". BBC News.
222. (July 10, 2020). "Bulgaria, Croatia take vital step to joining euro". Reuters.
223. (July 10, 2020). "Turkey's Erdogan orders the conversion of Hagia Sophia back into a mosque". CNN.
224. "ELD {{!}} 2020 Parliamentary General Election Results".
225. (July 10, 2020). "Singapore ruling PAP party wins elections, but support falls". BBC News.
226. (July 10, 2020). "Singapore's ruling PAP cedes ground to opposition in pandemic poll". Reuters.
227. Chadwick, Lauren. (July 13, 2020). "Five takeaways from the Polish presidential election".
228. (July 13, 2020). "Poland's Duda narrowly beats Trzaskowski in presidential vote". BBC News.
229. (July 13, 2020). "Duda narrowly re-elected in Poland in boost for ruling nationalists".
230. (July 16, 2020). "Major US Twitter accounts hacked in Bitcoin scam".
231. (July 19, 2020). "Floods in India, Nepal displace nearly 4 million people, at least 189 dead {{!}} India News - Times of India".
232. (July 21, 2020). "EU leaders strike 'historic' $2 trillion deal to rebuild Europe's economy".
233. (July 22, 2020). "Global coronavirus cases exceed 15 million: Reuters tally".
234. (July 26, 2020). "North Korea declares emergency in border town over first suspected COVID-19 case". Reuters.
235. (July 28, 2020). "Ex-Malaysian PM Najib gets 12 years' jail in 1MDB-linked graft trial".
236. (July 30, 2020). "NASA, ULA Launch Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission to Red Planet".
237. (August 2, 2020). "Barakah: UAE starts up Arab world's first nuclear plant". BBC News.
238. "In rare talks, Iran and UAE foreign ministers discuss COVID-19".
239. (August 4, 2020). "Beirut blast: Explosion rocks city injuring many and made over 300,000 people homeless".
240. (August 5, 2020). "Beirut explosion: death toll rises to 135 as about 5,000 people are wounded – as it happened". The Guardian.
241. "Lebanon gov't declares emergency in Beirut after deadly explosion".
242. (August 5, 2020). "U.S. health chief to be highest-ranking official in decades to visit Taiwan, angering China". Reuters.
243. (August 16, 2020). "Мінск. А вось сколькі людзей прыйшло да Стэлы, каб дамагчыся перагляду вынікаў выбараў. Па адчуванням, іх тут разы ў чатыры больш, чым было на лукашэнкаўскім мітынгу. То бок, тут ужо 200-300 тысяч чалавек, і людзі працягваюць падыходзіць!".
244. Kopelman, Rebecca. (August 10, 2021). "Iowa Derecho is among the strongest in U.S. history".
245. (August 6, 2021). "August 10, 2020, Midwest Derecho".
246. Rourke, Alison. (August 11, 2020). "Global report: coronavirus cases pass 20m as WHO points to 'green shoots of hope'". The Guardian.
247. "Report of the Elections Boundaries Commission on the Parliamentary Elections held on Monday 10th August 2020".
248. "Trinidad and Tobago: House of Representatives".
249. (August 11, 2020). "Trinidad and Tobago PM claims election victory for ruling party". Reuters.
250. (August 11, 2020). "Coronavirus: Putin says vaccine has been approved for use".
251. (August 13, 2020). "Israel and UAE strike historic deal to normalise relations".
252. (August 16, 2020). "Japanese ship involved in Mauritius oil spill breaks apart". Reuters.
253. "Gunfire heard at Mali army base, warnings of possible mutiny".
254. (August 18, 2020). "Mali president 'seized by mutinying soldiers'". BBC News.
255. (August 18, 2020). "Mali's president announces resignation after armed mutiny".
256. (August 18, 2020). "Rafik Hariri tribunal: Guilty verdict over assassination of Lebanon ex-PM". BBC News.
257. (August 22, 2020). "Global Death Toll From Virus Surpasses 800,000". The New York Times.
258. "Bayern beat PSG to win Champions League". BBC Sport.
259. (August 25, 2020). "Africa declared free of wild polio in 'milestone'".
260. (August 25, 2020). "Africa eradicates wild poliovirus".
261. (August 26, 2020). "Jeff Bezos Becomes The First Person Ever Worth $200 Billion". Forbes.
262. Jason Hanna, Madeline Holcombe and Theresa Waldrop. "Hurricane Laura smashes parts of Louisiana and Texas, killing 6 and leaving widespread wind damage".
263. UTC, Bill Karins98d ago / 10:39 AM. (August 28, 2020). "Laura strongest hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana in 164 years".
264. (August 28, 2020). "Japan PM Abe announces his resignation at press conference". Kyodo News.
265. (August 30, 2020). "Coronavirus: Global cases pass 25 million as India records record spike".
266. "Sudan, major rebel group agree to resume peace talks".
267. Dumo, Denis. (October 3, 2020). "Sudan and main rebel groups formalise peace deal". Reuters.
268. (September 4, 2020). "At least 200 mammoth skeletons found at Mexico City airport construction site".
269. "Benedicto XVI es ya el papa más anciano de toda la historia". DW News.
270. (September 5, 2020). "Colombia opens South America's longest road tunnel". Reuters.
271. Agencies. (September 4, 2020). "Kosovo, Serbia normalize economic ties, improve Israel relationship in US-brokered talks".
272. (September 4, 2020). "Serbia, Kosovo to open Israel embassies in Jerusalem". Reuters.
273. (December 16, 2018). "Bahrain foreign minister defends Australia's decision on Jerusalem". Reuters.
274. (September 7, 2020). "Typhoon Haishen batters South Korea after slamming Japan".
275. (September 8, 2020). "North Korea dispatches troops to rebuild after Typhoon Haishen". Nikkei Asian Review.
276. Lim, Ida. (September 14, 2020). "Najib makes MACC's online list of corruption offenders after SRC conviction".
277. (September 14, 2020). "Hints of life on Venus".
278. (September 14, 2020). "Perfectly preserved Ice Age cave bear found in Arctic Russia".
279. (September 16, 2020). "Venezuela: UN investigators accuse authorities of crimes against humanity". BBC News.
280. (September 16, 2020). "Yoshihide Suga elected Japan's new prime minister succeeding Shinzo Abe". BBC News.
281. "France, Germany, UK recognize PH win vs. China in South China Sea row".
282. (September 17, 2020). "Coronavirus cases top 30 million worldwide".
283. Alderson, Reevel. (September 19, 2020). "Shakespeare play found in Scots college in Spain". BBC News.
284. (September 19, 2020). "About the FinCEN Files investigation".
285. (September 21, 2020). "Microsoft to Buy Bethesda for $7.5 Billion to Boost Xbox".
286. (September 27, 2020). "Azerbaijan's parliament approves martial law, curfews – president's aide". Reuters.
287. (September 29, 2020). "Coronavirus: Global Covid-19 death toll passes one million". BBC News.
288. (September 29, 2020). "Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah dies aged 91". BBC News.
289. (September 29, 2020). "Kuwait names Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah as new emir". Al Arabiya.
290. (October 1, 2020). "Brexit: EU starts legal action against UK over Brexit deal". BBC News.
291. Schnirring, Lisa. (October 5, 2020). "Pandemic tops 35 million cases, disrupts mental health services".
292. Smith-Schoenwalder, Cecelia. (October 5, 2020). "WHO Estimates Coronavirus Has Infected 10% of Global Population".
293. (October 15, 2020). "Twenty protesters arrested, planned Thursday rally prohibited".
294. Merz, Theo. (October 16, 2020). "Ex-prisoner Sadyr Japarov confirmed as Kyrgyzstan president". [[The Guardian]].
295. (October 17, 2020). "Jacinda Ardern eyes majority as New Zealand votes". BBC News.
296. Schnirring, Lisa. (October 19, 2020). "World's COVID-19 cases top 40 million".
297. (October 20, 2020). "NASA's OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Successfully Touches Asteroid". NASA.
298. (2023-03-07). "NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission to Asteroid Bennu".
299. (October 16, 2020). "Rescue forces find body of worker at Rào Trăng Hydro-power Plant".
300. (October 12, 2020). "Heavy Rains, Flooding Kill at Least 17 People in Central Vietnam".
301. (October 22, 2020). "US signs anti-abortion declaration with group of largely authoritarian governments".
302. (October 23, 2020). "Falklands community invited to 'Reclaim the Beach' to celebrate completion of demining".
303. Jennifer Hansler. (October 23, 2020). "Trump announces that Israel and Sudan have agreed to normalize relations".
304. (October 23, 2020). "Trump Announces Sudan Will Move to Normalize Relations With Israel". NYT.
305. (October 26, 2020). "NASA's SOFIA Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon". NASA.
306. (October 29, 2020). "2020's deadliest shipwreck so far, sees 140 migrants perish off Senegalese coast".
307. (October 31, 2020). "Turkey-Greece quake: Search for survivors under rubble". BBC News.
308. (October 31, 2020). "Powerful earthquake jolts Turkey and Greece, killing at least 27". CNN.
309. Schnirring, Lisa. (October 30, 2020). "WHO extends COVID-19 emergency as global total tops 45 million".
310. (October 31, 2020). "Super Typhoon Goni Kills 10 in the Philippines". Weather.com.
311. Necșuțu, Mădălin. (March 19, 2020). "Rule-of-Law Problems Undermine Moldova's Economy: IMF". Balkan Insight.
312. (November 7, 2020). "Joe Biden elected president". CNN.
313. (November 7, 2020). "US Election 2020: Joe Biden wins the presidency". BBC News.
314. (January 6, 2021). "Georgia Highlights: Democrats Capture the Senate as Ossoff Defeats Perdue". The New York Times.
315. (November 3, 2020). "U.S. Officially Leaving Paris Climate Agreement". NPR.
316. Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Ethiopia: A timeline of the Tigray crisis {{!}} DW {{!}} 17 November 2020".
317. (November 7, 2020). "Storm Eta death toll rises to 100 after devastating mudslides".
318. (November 8, 2020). "Covid-19: Global coronavirus cases pass 50 million". BBC News.
319. (10 November 2020). "Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia sign Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal". [[BBC News]].
320. (November 9, 2020). "Covid vaccine: First vaccine offers 90% protection". BBC News.
321. "Apple Events - November 2020".
322. (November 11, 2020). "Russia says its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is 92% effective".
323. (November 12, 2020). "Pro-Democracy Hong Kong Lawmakers Resign en Masse After 4 Disqualified".
324. Ropero, Gillan. (November 14, 2020). "Typhoon Ulysses deaths climb to 67: disaster council".
325. {{Cite PAGASA. (November 11, 2020). link
326. Lederer, Edith M.. (13 November 2020). "Morocco launches military operation in Western Sahara". [[Associated Press]].
327. Dahir, Abdi Latif. (13 November 2020). "Morocco Launches Military Operation in Western Sahara Buffer Zone".
328. (November 15, 2020). "Asia-Pacific countries sign one of the largest free trade deals in history".
329. Heiney, Anna. (August 14, 2020). "NASA, SpaceX Targeting October for Next Astronaut Launch". [[NASA]].
330. (November 16, 2020). "Moderna says its vaccine is 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19".
331. "Hurricane Iota makes landfall in Nicaragua as Category 4 major hurricane".
332. Schirring, Lisa. (November 17, 2020). "US COVID-19 surge triggers flurry of new response steps". CIDRAP.
333. (November 18, 2020). "Pfizer and BioNTech say final analysis shows coronavirus vaccine is 95% effective with no safety concerns".
334. (November 19, 2020). "Key findings of the Brereton report into allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan".
335. Flood, Alison. (November 20, 2020). "Douglas Stuart wins Booker prize for debut Shuggie Bain".
336. (2020-09-16). "PlayStation 5 launches Nov. 12 for $499.99".
337. (November 22, 2020). "United States formally withdraws from Open Skies treaty".
338. (November 23, 2020). "Covid-19: Oxford University vaccine is highly effective".
339. (November 23, 2020). "AZD1222 vaccine met primary efficacy endpoint in preventing COVID-19".
340. Schirring, Lisa. (November 26, 2020). "Pace of global COVID-19 rise slows, but deaths still climbing".
341. (November 27, 2020). "Iran's top nuclear scientist killed in apparent assassination, state media reports".
342. (November 27, 2020). "Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran's top nuclear scientist, assassinated near Tehran".
343. (November 29, 2020). "Farm workers killed in 'insane' Nigeria attack".
344. Strickland, Ashley. (November 30, 2020). "Lunar eclipse will be visible during the full beaver moon on November 30, 2020".
345. (November 30, 2020). "One of biology's biggest mysteries 'largely solved' by AI". BBC News.
346. (November 30, 2020). "DeepMind AI cracks 50-year-old problem of protein folding". The Guardian.
347. (November 30, 2020). "AlphaFold: a solution to a 50-year-old grand challenge in biology". DeepMind.
348. (November 30, 2020). "Moderna files for US authorisation, will seek EU nod after study shows Covid-19 vaccine 94.1% effective".
349. (December 1, 2020). "Pfizer, BioNTech apply for Covid vaccine approval in Europe".
350. Ashley Strickland. "Arecibo Observatory collapses ahead of planned demolition".
351. (December 2, 2020). "Covid Pfizer vaccine approved for use next week in UK". BBC News.
352. (December 2, 2020). "Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong jailed for 13 and a half months for 2019 anti-government protest".
353. (December 3, 2020). "The UN removes cannabis from a list of the most dangerous substances".
354. (2020). "Commission on Narcotic Drugs Report on the reconvened sixty-third session (2–4 December 2020) – Economic and Social Council Official Records, 2020 Supplement No. 8A [E/CN.7/2020/15/Add.1]". [[United Nations]].
355. (January 22, 2021). "The International Drug Control Conventions Schedules of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol, as at 22 January 2021 [ST/CND/1/Add.1/Rev.7]".
356. (December 2, 2020). "UN commission reclassifies cannabis, yet still considered harmful".
357. Kwai, Isabella. (December 2, 2020). "U.N. Reclassifies Cannabis as a Less Dangerous Drug". The New York Times.
358. Campbell, Lucy. (December 4, 2020). "Covid: 1.5 million dead globally as vaccination schemes set to begin".
359. Linnane, Ciara. (December 4, 2020). "Coronavirus tally: Global cases of COVID-19 top 65 million, U.S. adds 216,548 new cases in a single day".
360. (December 5, 2020). "Trump orders withdrawal of US troops from Somalia".
361. (December 5, 2020). "COVID-19: Moscow starts mass vaccination amid record cases".
362. "Venezuela to hold parliamentary elections in December".
363. (December 8, 2020). "Britain rolls out the Pfizer vaccine, a huge task but a sign of hope.".
364. (December 8, 2020). "'Go for it,' says grandmother who got world's first Pfizer COVID vaccine in Britain". Reuters.
365. (December 8, 2020). "Covid will be with us forever despite Pfizer vaccine, claims Van-Tam".
366. (December 8, 2020). "Mt Everest grows by nearly a metre to new height".
367. (December 10, 2020). "FDA Panel Recommends COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use".
368. Radwan, Rawan. (December 10, 2020). "Saudi Food and Drug Authority approves registration of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine".
369. (December 10, 2020). "Argentine president says he'll get Russia vaccine to dispel fears".
370. (December 11, 2020). "Morocco, Israel normalize ties as US recognizes Western Sahara".
371. (December 10, 2020). "French Court To Rule In Ex-president Sarkozy's Corruption Trial". www.barrons.com.
372. Petrequin, Samuel. (December 12, 2020). "EU leaders agree to reduce emissions after all-night talks".
373. (December 12, 2020). "Global Covid-19 cases cross 70 million mark: Johns Hopkins".
374. Harkov, Lahav. (December 12, 2020). "Israel normalizes ties with Bhutan".
375. Pereira, Ivan. (December 15, 2020). "US administers 1st doses of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine".
376. (December 14, 2020). "Canada turns a corner in pandemic as first COVID-19 vaccines administered".
377. (December 14, 2020). "Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine approved by Singapore, first shipment expected by end-December".
378. Abdelaziz, Khalid. (December 14, 2020). "United States takes Sudan off terrorism list after 27 years".
379. Lee, Matthew. (December 14, 2020). "US sanction NATO ally Turkey over Russian missile defense".
380. "Total solar eclipse of 12/14/2020".
381. (December 18, 2020). "Scientists looking for aliens investigate radio beam 'from nearby star'". The Guardian.
382. Overbye, Dennis. (December 31, 2020). "Was That a Dropped Call From ET? - A spooky radio signal showed up after a radio telescope was aimed at the next star over from our sun.". [[The New York Times]].
383. Schirring, Lisa. (December 18, 2020). "New COVAX agreements renew vaccine hopes for developing countries".
384. (December 18, 2020). "FDA approves second Covid vaccine for emergency use as it clears Moderna's for U.S. distribution".
385. (December 21, 2020). "Covid: WHO in 'close contact' with UK over new virus variant". BBC News.
386. (December 21, 2020). "Reportan brote de coronavirus en base chilena en la Antartida".
387. "See the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, 21 December 2020".
388. (December 24, 2020). "UK and EU agree post-Brexit trade deal". BBC News.
389. (December 25, 2020). "Turkey says China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine 91.25% effective in late trials".
390. (December 26, 2020). "December 26 coronavirus news".
391. (December 29, 2020). "At least seven killed as strong earthquake rattles Croatia". [[Al Jazeera English.
392. (December 30, 2020). "Covid-19: Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine approved for use in UK".
393. Edgington, Tom. (December 20, 2019). "Brexit: What is the transition period?". BBC.
394. "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020".
395. . (October 12, 2020). ["The Prize in Economic Sciences 2020"](https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2020/09/press-economicsciences2020.pdf). *Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences*.
396. "The Nobel Prize in Literature".
397. "The Nobel Peace Prize 2020".
398. "The Nobel Prize in Physics 2020".
399. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2020".