Yearly News
1 Iraq. US attack on the Iranian forces On 3rd of January the USA launched a missile strike at the Baghdad International Airport. The missile strike killed the commander of the Al-Quds Special Forces of the ’Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’, Qasem Suleimani. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of the Iraqi Shiia militia ’Al-Hashd al-Shaabi’ died as well. The Pentagon later confirmed the death of Soleimani. The Pentagon stated that Soleimani "was actively working on plans to attack the American diplomats and military personnel in Iraq and other countries of the region". The Pentagon added that the missile strike was ordered by the US President, Donald Trump. In total, about 10 people died as a result of the missile strike. Iran called the US actions a "terrorism", and promised a "severe revenge" in response to the assassination of Soleimani. 2 Iran. A Ukrainian plane was shot down On 8th of January a Boeing-737 of the Ukrainian International Airlines was shot down in the sky over Iran. There were 167 passengers and 9 crew members on board. The event took place during an escalation between the USA and Iran. On 11th of January the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces admitted that the airplane was shot down by a mistake. The statement noted that "during the flight, the plane was in a close proximity to the important military facilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The shape and altitude of the airplane resembled an enemy object". According to the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the tragedy was caused by "a human mistake, made during the crisis period, caused by the American fault". The flight recorders were delivered to France for the decryption. Tehran stated that Iran will pay compensations to the relatives of the victims, based on the international norms and standards. 3 Russia. Pandemic The first case of a coronavirus infection outside of China took place in Philippines, in February. Russia has suspended the flights with China due to the coronavirus. Later the air traffic was stopped with other countries where cases of infection were identified. In March, the WHO announced a pandemic due to the spread of the coronavirus. In March, the Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, announced the creation of a coordination council, aimed to combat coronavirus in Russia. On 30th of March, Russia introduced a complete self-isolation for all citizens due to the threat of the spread of COVID-19. 3 vaccines against the coronavirus have been developed in Russia. In December, a mass vaccination of the population began in Russia. During the pandemic, Russia provided an aid in the fight against the coronavirus to Italy. The Russian President Vladimir Putin, after a request from the Italian government, offered the Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, his help to fight the COVID-2019. Serbia has applied for help in the fight against coronavirus, as part of an agreement between the two countries on a cooperation during humanitarian emergencies. Humanitarian aid was sent to the USA, China, Venezuela, North Korea, Mongolia, and the ex-USSR countries. 4 The USA. Protests Mass riots took place in the USA after the death of George Floyd. The incident took place on 25th of May, in Minneapolis, when police arrested 46-years-old George Floyd, by using a choke technique. George Floyd died a bit later in a local hospital. The police arrived after supermarket workers called them once they discovered that George Floyd paid with fake money. The video of the detention was published on the Internet. On 26th of May, mass protests began in Minneapolis. Later, the protests escalated into riots with arson and looting. Emergency situations and curfews were introduced in many cities due to the mass looting. The US National Guard was deployed in about 30 states in order to restore the order. 5 Lebanon. An explosion in Beirut On 4th of August, a strong explosion took place in the port of Beirut. According to the ’Al Arabiya TV’, the explosion killed 190 people and injured more than 6,500. About 4,000 city buildings were partially or completely destroyed. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Internal Affairs, the cause of the explosion was the ignition of over 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate during the welding work. The stock of ammonium nitrate was confiscated by the customs services 6 years ago. Seismologists from Jordan noted that the explosion was as strong as an earthquake of magnitude 4.5. The echoes of the explosion were heard in the capital of Cyprus, Nicosia, 250 km away from Beirut. The Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, stated that according to the preliminary estimates - the damage that Lebanon suffered exceeds $15 billions of dollars. 6 Belarus. Elections and protests Presidential elections took in Belarus on 9th of August. According to the official data, Alexander Lukashenko won with 80% of the votes. Presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya got 10% of votes. Protests began in the country after the presidential elections - they lasted for several months. Alexander Lukashenko stated that the protesters were controlled from Poland, the Czech Republic, and the UK. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya didn’t recognize the election results. She stated that she considers herself to be the elected president of Belarus. On 11th of August she crossed the border of Belarus and Lithuania, and left the country. The EU and the USA imposed sanctions against Belarus. The sanctions list also includes the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko. During the on-going protests, he announced the need to amend the constitution. On 2nd of October the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus began accepting proposals on changes to the constitution. The opposition refused to discuss the amendments, and continued to insist on holding new presidential elections. On 28th of December Lukashenko signed a decree on the convocation of the 6th All-Belarusian People’s Assembly, which is planned for 11th and 12th of February. On 29th of December the election of delegates to the 6th All-Belarusian People’s Assembly have started. 7. Nagorno-Karabakh. War On 27th of September there was an escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenia and Azerbaijan introduced martial law and announced mobilization. The parties blamed each other for the start of hostilities. Turkey openly supported Azerbaijan. Yerevan stated that Turkish military and terrorist mercenaries are taking part in the conflict on the side of Azerbaijan. Baku and Ankara denied those statements. 3 humanitarian truces failed to stop the conflict. The parties accused each other of violating the agreements. On 9th of November the Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the complete cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. Vladimir Putin explained that Azerbaijan and Armenia will stay on their positions. The Russian peacekeepers will be stationed in the region. On the morning of 10th of November, the first planes with Russian peacekeepers have arrived to the Nagorno-Karabakh region. On 11th of November, after the video talks between the Minister of National Defense of Turkey, Hulusi Akar, and the Minister of Defense of Russia, Sergei Shoigu, a memorandum was signed on the establishment of a joint Russian-Turkish center, aimed to control the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. The center will be located on the territory of Azerbaijan. It will monitor the compliance with the ceasefire. 8 The USA - Elections On 3rd of November the US presidential election took place. The American mass media almost immediately announced the victory of Joe Biden. Joe Biden also announced his own victory. Donald Trump didn’t admit the defeat. In late November, he announced that he would only leave the White House if the electoral college votes for Biden. This procedure, which is usually being considered a formality, has received a lot of mass media attention. Donald Trump has repeatedly reported numerous cases of fraud and irregularities during the voting. On 14th of December the US Electoral College approved the voting results. Joe Biden got 302 votes, Donald Trump got 232 votes. A US candidate needs 270 votes to win. The British newspaper ’Telegraph’ called the 2020 presidential elections "the most unpredictable elections in the American history". Constantine Reztsov, specially for ANNA NEWS.
Comment (0)