January

January 1: The Australian bushfires of 2019, or "Black Summer", that have killed as many as 500 million animals so far continues into the new year.

January 3: A US drone strike at Baghdad International Airport kills Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

January 16: The impeachment trial of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, begins in the US Senate.

January 30: The World Health Organisation (WHO) declares the outbreak of coronavirus as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

January 31: The United Kingdom and Gibraltar formally withdraw from the European Union, beginning an 11-month transition period.

February

February 11: The World Health Organisation (WHO) names the disease covid-19.

February 23: Riots are reported in parts of Delhi, India, leading to 53 deaths and over 200 injuries. Over 2,000 people are arrested as a result.

February 29: A conditional peace agreement is signed between the US and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, leading the US to begin gradually withdrawing troops from Afghanistan on March 10.

March

March 11: The World Health Organisation declares the covid-19 outbreak a pandemic.

March 24: The International Olympic Committee and Japan suspend the 2020 Summer Olympics until 2021.

March 27: North Macedonia becomes the 30th country to join NATO.

April

April 8: China ends the lockdown in Wuhan, with people allowed to leave the city for the first time in 76 days.

April 10: The Democratic Republic of the Congo reports the first case of Ebola since February 2020.

April 14: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it expects the world economy to shrink three per cent, the worst contraction since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

April 14: US president Donald Trump announces that the US will suspend funding towards the World Health Organisation (WHO) pending an investigation of its handling of the covid-19 pandemic and its relationship with China.

April 19: A killing spree occurs in Portapique, Nova Scotia, leaving 23 people dead, including the perpetrator and a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer. It is the deadliest massacre in modern Canadian history.

April 20: Oil prices reach a record low, with West Texas Intermediate falling into negative values

April 23: 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 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.

May

May 6: Astronomers announce the discovery of the first black hole located in a star system visible to the naked eye.

May 14: The UN warns of a global mental health crisis caused by isolation, fear, uncertainty and economic turmoil.

May 21: Islamabad High Court ordered that the elephant Kaavan should be immediately relocated to a different sanctuary following a four-year campaign by popular pop singer Cher since 2016 demanding for the release of Kaavan from Islamabad Zoo.

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.

May 26: Protests caused by the killing of George Floyd break out across hundreds of cities in the US and around the world.

June

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 15: Tensions between China and India rose after violent clashes in the Himalayas.

June 21: An annular solar eclipse occurs.

June 29: Shots were fired at a Pakistan stock exchange in Karachi, killing five people.

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 15: The Twitter accounts of prominent political figures, CEOs, and celebrities are hacked to promote a bitcoin scam.

July 30: NASA successfully launches its Mars 2020 rover mission to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples for return to Earth.

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 4: Two explosions caused by unsafely stored ammonium nitrate kill over 220 people, injure thousands, and severely damage the port in Beirut, Lebanon.

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 13: Israel and the UAE agree to normalise relations, marking the third Israel–Arab peace deal.

August 25: Africa is declared free of wild polio, the second virus to be eradicated from the continent since smallpox 40 years previously.

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 29: US defense officials reported that China has fired ballistic missiles into the South China Sea.

September

September 4: Pope Benedict XVI becomes the longest-lived pope at 93 years, four months, and 16 days, surpassing Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903.

September 4: Bahrain and Israel agree to normalise relations, marking the fourth Israel–Arab peace deal.

September 16: Yoshihide Suga becomes the new Prime Minister of Japan, replacing Shinzo Abe.

September 16: The United Nations officially accused Venezuela authorities of crimes against humanity.

September 23: The United Nations announced that Libya’s Prime Minister Fayez will step down at the end of October.

September 25: A military plane crash in Ukraine killed 25 cadets, with two potential survivors in urgent care.

October

October 1: The EU launches legal action against the UK, accusing it of breaking international law by overriding sections of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

October 3: Mustapha Adib, Lebanon’s PM-designate, resigned from office after a political stalemate within the cabinet.

October 21: At least 11 people were killed and many more were wounded after a stampede at an Afghan stadium.

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: Israel and Sudan agree to normalise relations, marking the fifth Israel–Arab peace deal.

October 27: Eight students were killed in a bombing at a school in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan.

November

November 3 – November 7: 2020 United States presidential election – Joe Biden is elected as the 46th President of the United States, after remaining vote counts come in from key states delayed by an influx of mail-in ballots caused by the pandemic, defeating the incumbent President Donald Trump.

November 4: The United States formally exits the Paris Agreement on climate change.

November 17: The 2020 Pakistan Super League Final was held between the Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars.

November 18: Pfizer and BioNTech complete trials on their covid-19 vaccine, with an overall effectiveness rate of 95 per cent without adverse events.

November 22: The United States withdraws from the Treaty on Open Skies.

November 27: Iran's top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, is assassinated near Tehran.

November 30: A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs; the last of four total lunar eclipses in 2020.

December

December 3: The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs votes to remove cannabis from a list of dangerous drugs in recognition of its medical value, although some controls will remain.

December 12: Bhutan and Israel normalise diplomatic relations.

December 12: The number of confirmed cases of covid-19 passes 70 million worldwide.

December 14: The United States removes Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.