The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
In a year dominated by pandemic, many other dramas unfolded
Not since World War II has a single phenomenon dominated the news worldwide as the COVID- 19 pandemic has in 2020. In the United States, a tumultuous presidential election and a wave of protests over racial injustice also drew relentless coverage.
Overshadowed, to an extent, were other dramatic developments. Among them: China’s crackdown onhong Kong’s democracy; an apocalyptic explosion in Beirut; the shocking helicopter- crash death of basketball icon Kobe Bryant and his daughter.
Some seemingly epic events early in the year now seemdistant, like President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial and the January announcement by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle that they were exiting their prominent roles in Britain’s royal family. Just a few
weeks later came the longawaited Brexit, Britain’s formal withdrawal from the European Union.
As most of the world battled COVID, armed conflicts broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan and in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Afghanistan’s seemingly endless war dragged on, even as the warring sides warily edged intopeace talks. Massive protests challenged the ruling powers in Belarus and Thailand.
Due to past instances of sexual assault and sexual abuse, Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein received a 23- year prison sentence and theboy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy protection.
Some othermajor events of 2020:
Iran: The year ended as it beganwith tensions between Iran and the U. S. inflamed by the killing of a top official. On Jan. 3, a U. S. drone strike killed Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Iran responded with amissile attack that injured dozens ofu. S. troops in Iraq. In December, a mysterious attack near Tehran killed a nuclear scientist whom the U. S. and others had identified as organizing Iran’s effort to seek nuclear weapons two decades ago. Iran blamedthat attackon Israel.
Immigration: Throughout 2020, the Trump administration pushed to extend a wall along the U. S.Mexico border, even as it implemented immigration policies that outraged human- rights advocates. The targets included unaccompanied children seeking refuge in the U. S.; hundreds were detained in hotels before being expelled. The administration also sought to suspend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programthat protects some young immigrants from deportation. But a federal judge ruled that new applications for the program must be accepted.
Hong Kong: China imposed a sweeping national security law in Hong Kong. The ensuing crackdown on dissent effectively voided China’s pledge to allow the city to maintain rights promised for 50 years following the 1997 handover from British colonial rule. The arrests of leading opposition figures and the expulsion of local lawmakers — prompting the entire opposition camp to resign — led numerous countries to curtail legal cooperation with Hong Kong. The U. S. imposed travel bans and financial sanctions.
Opioids: Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin, pleaded guilty to three criminal charges, formally taking responsibility for its part in an opioid epidemic that has contributed to the deaths of more than 470,000 Americans over two decades. Purdue admitted impeding efforts to combat the addiction crisis. The pleas arose from a settlement that includes $ 8.3 billion in penalties and forfeitures, but victims’ advocates worried that Purdue’s owners, the Sackler family, might emergewith their fortune largely intact.
Notabledeaths: For sports fans worldwide, 2020 was sadly bookended by the deaths of two popular superstars— basketball’s Kobe Bryant, 41, and soccer’s Diego Maradona, 60. Among those killed along with Bryant in the helicopter crash was his 13- year- old daughter Gianna, herself a promising athlete. Other revered figures who died included U. S. civil rights leader John Lewis, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, and actors Chadwick Boseman and Sean Connery. Many admirers of liberal U. S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg not only mourned her death, but deplored her replacement by a conservative, Amy Coney Barrett.