In pictures: 2020 in review

Why people have grown exhausted from the year and do not want to relive it.

A billboard is installed on an apartment building encouraging people to wear face masks in Cape Town, South Africa, Saturday, May 16, 2020, marking day 51 of a strict government lockdown in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
AP

A billboard is installed on an apartment building encouraging people to wear face masks in Cape Town, South Africa, Saturday, May 16, 2020, marking day 51 of a strict government lockdown in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

2020 is a year that no one is likely to miss anytime soon. Dominated by news about the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, it was a year filled with death, longing, separation, fear and frustration.

Here is a look back at what else also happened.

AP

This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Little did the world know at the time how much it would change our lives.

AP

Mourners step over US flags with pictures of President Trump, while waiting for the funeral of Iran's top general Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 4, 2020. Soleimani and Muhandis were killed in a US airstrike on Jan. 3, 2020.

Reuters

Relatives of the flight crew members of the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane that was shot down by Iran, mourn at a memorial at the Boryspil International airport outside Kiev, Ukraine January 8, 2020.

AP

Los Angeles Lakers’ legendary basketball player Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020 along with seven others, including the pilot. This file photo is from June 14, 2009.

Reuters

"He shredded the truth, so I shredded his speech." Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi ripped up the State of the Union Address delivered by President Trump in an act of protest to its contents on Feb. 4, 2020, a day before he would get acquitted of the impeachment charges against him.

AP

US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, left, and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban group's top political leader sign a peace agreement between Taliban and US officials in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. The peace agreement with Taliban militants is aimed at bringing an end to 18 years of bloodshed in Afghanistan and allowing US troops to return home from America's longest war.

Reuters

Nancy Allen and Brian Allen stand outside the house as high winds push smoke and ash from the Currowan Fire towards Nowra, New South Wales, Australia January 4, 2020. The fires decimated Australia from June 2019 to May 2020, causing much damage to the environment and property.

AP

In this Jan. 22, 2018 file photo, actor Irrfan Khan poses for a portrait to promote the film "Puzzle" during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Khan, who died on Apr. 29, 2020 in Mumbai, India, had appeared in films such as “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Jurassic World”.

AP

Six months after the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed during a police arrest in late May, criminal justice reform advocates gained multiple victories in the 2020 elections, such as decriminalisation of drugs in several states, increased funding to community groups, and election of more Black activists to Congress.

Reuters

Worshippers attend the afternoon prayer at Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, July 26, 2020, which was converted into a mosque after being a museum for 65 years on June 24, 2020.

Reuters

A person wearing a mask of Russian President Vladimir Putin, reacts during an opposition protest against amendments to Russia's Constitution on the last day of a weeklong nationwide vote on constitutional reforms in central Moscow, Russia July 1, 2020. The amendments took effect on July 4, 2020, and mean Putin could stay in power past 2024.

AP

Pilgrims walk around the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque, in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Friday, July 31, 2020. The global coronavirus pandemic has cast a shadow over every aspect of this year's pilgrimage. Only a very limited number of pilgrims were allowed to take part in the hajj amid numerous restrictions to limit the potential spread of the coronavirus.

Reuters

A view shows the site of the August 4th explosion at Beirut port, Lebanon December 9, 2020. The explosion killed at least 204 people and left an estimated 300,000 people homeless.

Reuters

Indian farmers began mobilising against the Modi government’s new agricultural policy in early August and three months later it became a massive campaign putting the government under scrutiny. Santokh Singh, 70, a farmer who was hurt by a tear gas shell and received stitches, poses for a picture at the site of a protest, at Singhu border near Delhi, India December 2, 2020.

Reuters

Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed sign the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and some of its Middle East neighbors, in a strategic realignment of ME countries against Iran, at the White House in Washington DC, US, Sept. 15, 2020.

Reuters

Armed conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region began in November 2020. Ethiopian refugees who fled the region, gather to receive food aid within the Um Rakoba camp in Al Qadarif state, on the border, in Sudan December 11, 2020.

Reuters

People take part in street celebrations after Lachin District reportedly came under the control of Azerbaijan's troops following a military conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh against ethnic Armenian forces and a further signing of a ceasefire deal, in Baku, Azerbaijan, December 1, 2020.

Reuters

Senegalese protest against the publication of a cartoon of Prophet Mohammad in France and French President Emmanuel Macron's comments, in Dakar, Senegal Nov. 7, 2020.

Reuters

A cab driver raises his fist as people celebrate Democratic US presidential nominee Joe Biden winning the 2020 US presidential election on Union Square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, US, Nov. 7, 2020. VP elect Kamala Harris becomes the first woman, first black person, and first person of South Asian descent to serve in the role.

Reuters

People mourn Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, who died on Nov. 25, 2020. A pizza in tribute to Diego Maradona is seen outside Stadio San Paolo, in Naples, Italy - Nov. 26, 2020.

Reuters

Groups of people gather near a Christmas tree on the beach as they watch the celestial phenomenon of the planets Jupiter and Saturn align so closely they almost appear as one single "star", known as a planetary conjunction, in the sky at Cardiff State Beach in California, US, Dec. 21, 2020.

Reuters

A healthcare worker holds a bottle of the Pfizer/BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine at Notre Dame home care, as the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak continues in Brussels, Belgium December 28, 2020. The vaccines that appeared towards the end of the year filled people with precarious hope after a dreadful 2020.

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