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On January 20, China announced it reached 139 cases of pneumonia caused by a new strain of coronavirus. So far, three people have died from the virus, which is mostly in Beijing. (CNN)
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On February 14, China revealed that over 1700 medics fighting the coronavirus have been infected themselves. This has created a crisis of its own in the country. Overall, 67,000 global cases of coronavirus have been documented, and the first European death from the disease occurred on February 15. The US revealed that it had its fourteenth documented case. (CNN)
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On March 22, a prison riot in Colombia, which was sparked by coronavirus fears, left 23 inmates dead and another 83 injured. After panicking, inmates attempted a mass escape attempt, leading to chaos. (CNN)
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On April 2, many countries adopted code words to help victims of domestic violence who are locked at home with their abusers. Victims can now head to drugstores and pharmacies and say the code word to let the pharmacists know they are in danger. On April 2, anger rose in Japan after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated he will supply each household with two reusable masks. Many citizens mocked Prime Minister Abe, claiming that he is not responding to the pandemic appropriately.
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On May 1, a few weeks after one of the country’s worst mass shootings, Prime Minister Trudeau announced an assault rifle ban in Canada. The new rules make it illegal to make, sell, or purchase over 1,500 types of ARs. (BBC)
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By June 6, as US protests entered their 12th consecutive day, various European countries and Australia participated in Black Lives Matter protests themselves. On June 5, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a knee during BLM protests in Canada. On June 6, after a court overturned the ruling that protests are illegal due to coronavirus, over 10,000 people protested for justice in Sydney, Australia. (CNN)
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On July 14, a bus driver killed 21 passengers and injured another 15 after deliberately crashing the bus. The driver allegedly had just learned his house had been demolished, causing him to intentionally drive across five lanes of traffic and into a body of water. The driver also died. (CNN)
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On August 4, a giant explosion in Beirut, Lebanon killed 135 people and injured another 5000. Many people are still missing after the explosion, and over 300,000 people have been displaced from their homes. On August 5, it was revealed that the blast may have been caused by stored ammonium nitrate. Many have blamed a fire at the firecracker warehouse. (CNN)
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On September 8, protests in South Africa erupted after a controversial TREsemme ad. The controversial advertisement compared black hair to blond, calling the blond hair normal while saying the black hair was “frizzy and dull.” The company has apologized for the advertisement and suspended all employees involved in publishing it. On September 12, various retailers in South Africa announced they were removing TRESemme products from their shelves due to the offensive ad. (CNN)
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On October 16, pro-democracy protests in Thailand entered their third night. Amidst the protests, two men were arrested for “attacking” Queen Suthida's motorcade. On October 14, the motorcade drove through protests, and many protesters held up the three finger salute from the Hunger Games trilogy. Many of the protesters have also been chanting and jeering at police to highlight their rights. (CNN)
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On November 8, Luis Arce was inaugurated as the president of Bolivia. Former President Evo Morales was ousted last year amid angry protests. The inauguration of Arce brings power back to the socialists. (CNN)
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On December 19, Nigeria announced that 344 Nigerian schoolboys were rescued after being kidnapped by bandits pretending to be the terrorist group Boko Haram. The boys were kidnapped December 11, and told tales of abuse and torture and starving for two days. (CNN)
