Goodbye 2020: The world rings in the new year amid the coronavirus pandemic
01 January 2021
People around the world on Thursday held celebrations to end the year and welcome a new — and potentially better — one.
Why it matters: 2020, ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, economic upheaval and natural disasters, is finally behind us.
- While fireworks erupted over major cities worldwide, the streets were largely deserted due to coronavirus restrictions.
Police officers walk in a nearly empty Times Square due to COVID-19 restrictions on New Year's Eve in New York City. Photo: Corey Sipkin/AFP via Getty Images
A group of young Palestinians hurl scintillants to celebrate the new year during curfew amid the coronavirus pandemic in Gaza City. Photo: Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A drone photo shows empty view of Sihhiye Square in Ankara, Turkey, during a general curfew imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Mehmet Ali Ozcan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Fireworks and drones illuminate the night sky over London. Photo: Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images
Police patrols public spaces in Athens, Greece, on New Year's Eve to prevent people from gathering due to the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Milos Bicanski/Getty Images
People hold sparklers as they attend New Year's Eve celebrations in Kazan, Russia. Photo: Yegor Aleyev\TASS via Getty Images
People wear protective face masks while attending a public New Year's Eve countdown party in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: Linh Pham/Getty Images
New Year's Eve fireworks erupt over Ras al-Khaimah, UAE, one of the world's largest fireworks shows. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP via Getty Images
People wearing face masks watch a drone show during New Year's Eve celebrations in Manila, Philippines. Photo: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
A fireworks display is seen over the Sydney Harbour Bridge during New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney, Australia.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.