By Sosamma Samuel-Burnett, J.D.
Founder/President, G.L.O.B.A.L. Justice
G.L.O.B.A.L. Justice provides daily Global News summaries of key headlines of critical news stories. But at the end of the year, I review the Global News and determine our Top 10 news stories of the year. 2020 was a particularly “newsworthy” year, so it presented many challenges to limit the number of news stories for a Top 10 list, especially given many domestic issues and global events that marked the year. So with this unusual year, I opted for an unusual number for this year’s list. Here are my Top 11 Global News Stories of 2020 based on their reach, impact, and implications for justice worldwide.
11. Harvey Weinstein/Jeffrey Epstein/Ghislaine Maxwell Sexual Assault & Exploitation Scandals: Starting in 2017, Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was accused by numerous women of sexual misconduct and assault from several previous years. By 2018, he was arrested and charged with rape. And in 2020 Weinstein was found guilty and sentenced to 23 years in prison – bringing justice to the many women who were abused by him. Alongside this conviction, another highly notorious sex scandal involved New York billionaire Jeffrey Epstein and former British social Ghislaine Maxwell. They were involved in an extensive assault and exploitation of minors, creating a ring of exploitation with some of the highest-ranking officials, business leaders, and celebrities. Epstein reportedly took his life while in jail on charges and Maxwell remains behind bars with a multimillion-dollar bail. These sexual scandals not only highlight the abuse and exploitation of women and girls but the depth and breadth of this exploitation even among the highest echelons of society.
10. Royal and Economic shifts in Great Britain: 2020 marked a year when Great Britain saw key shifts in some of its key structures. Not only did Prince Harry and his wife Meghan previously make headlines for their mixed-race matrimony, but in 2020 they also stepped away from their senior roles as Royals – marking some historic shifts within the royal history of Great Britain. In addition, the European Parliament ratified the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, marking the United Kingdom’s formal withdrawal from the European Union (EU). The remainder of this year marked a transition period for Great Britain and Europe to determine their economic relations. Both of these shifts mark significant and historic changes for Great Britain with global implications.
9. Ukrainian plane crash: Early in 2020, a Ukrainian plane crashed in Tehran, Iran, shortly after take-off, killing 176 civilians. The Iranian government first denied then later admitted “unintentionally” shooting the plane, reportedly mistaking it for a cruise missile. The disaster resulted in mass protests in Iran calling for the removal of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
8. NASA-SpaceX ‘Launch America’: While much of the Global News this year featured stories of devastation, disparity, abuse, and loss, 2020 also had a remarkable highlight. Launch America, a joint initiative of NASA and Space X, was conducted in May. NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken took off for the International Space Station (ISS) in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Center. This launch marked the first time in nine years that astronauts left from the U.S. in a U.S. rocket to reach Earth’s orbit.
7. Hurricanes and fires in the U.S.: In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world also saw a range of natural catastrophes, especially in the U.S. Notable was Hurricane Laura that hit the Louisiana Gulf Coast in August – one of 12 record-making named storms hitting the U.S. this year. Similarly, the U.S. saw a range of historic fires in forests and mountains in Colorado, California, Oregon, and Washington State, with the devastating loss of millions of acres of land.
6. The Death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Justice Ginsburg was a judicial and social icon, particularly for many women’s rights advocates in the U.S. and around the world, and her death was significant. In addition, her passing marked a shift in the highest court of the U.S., opening the way for President Trump to nominate a more conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Despite the political concerns over the composition of the U.S. Supreme, Justice Coney Barrett also marks a historic addition of another woman to the high court.
5. Impeachment hearings for President Trump: At the beginning of this year and before COVID-19 took over media and public attention, all eyes and ears were on the impeachment of Donald Trump by the U.S. House of Representatives led by Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Later acquitted by the Senate, the President and the impeachment process reinforced the divide between the two parties and within the U.S. public.
4. U.S. Presidential Elections: In light of all the issues and concerns in our world and particularly in the U.S., this year’s presidential elections were one of the most divided in history. Through a divided process and divisive political exchanges, President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden had a campaign year that was distinct. Not only did this year’s elections garner the largest number of voters in many years (if ever) in the U.S., but it came in the midst of a global pandemic, with a backdrop of racial, cultural, social, economic, and political turmoil both domestically and internationally.
3. Racial conflicts in the U.S.: The killing of George Floyd by a police officer sparked a fire that figuratively and sometimes literally took flame not only in the U.S. but around the globe. A history of racism, police shootings against African Americans, and a media that captured significant aspects of the violence, together created a furor in many cities starting with Minneapolis. While the resulting protests were sometimes peaceful and other times violent riots, they all are emblematic of a deeper set of racial tensions that coincide with the concerns of systemic racism, police brutality, economic insecurity, and other disparities.
2. Impact of China on the Globe: Throughout the year, one of the constants of our Global News headlines was China. It’s political, economic, and social issues have made a substantial impact on the globe. From being the site of the first COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan to human rights abuses including gendercide, and economic and political power grabs, China stands as not only a world power but a central concern for the world.
1. COVID-19: There is no doubt that the new coronavirus and the resulting global pandemic has been the top headline throughout this past year. Starting in Wuhan, China, COVID-19 spread across the world, including the U.S.. The World Health Organization declared it a global pandemic, reaching well over 150 countries by March and expected to affect up to 70 percent of the world’s population. Starting in the Washington State, the U.S. has now become the center of many who are ill, hospitalized, or who have died as a result. The impact of COVID-19 included closing businesses, stores, restaurants, churches, and schools, raising wide-scale economic and social concerns. It required “pivoting” to online work, education, and events, requiring many to learn new modalities and face the challenges of them. It required cancellations and delays of sports, including the summer Olympics, as well as concerts, shows, and other arts events, changing how people recreating and interacted with one another, and it exacerbated many of the political, economic, and social ills of the world including increased poverty, displacement, exploitation, abuse, and suicide. The implications of COVID-19 go far beyond this year, but our global community will forever associate 2020 with this coronavirus.