The Covid-19 pandemic began last year in a city in central China, but has since grown to affect nearly every country on earth. The virus has put world leaders in hospital while exposing inequality. It has asked major questions of governments and encroached on the daily lives of billions. And it shows no signs of ending any time soon. As the number of deaths passes one million, we take a look at some of the landmarks along the way. 9 January 2020 – First reported death January was a big month for news – it saw the US assassinate an...

Armenia says one of its fighter jets was shot down by a Turkish jet in a major escalation of the conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Armenian foreign ministry said the pilot of the Soviet-made SU-25 died after being hit by the Turkish F-16 in Armenian air space. Turkey, which is backing Azerbaijan in the conflict, has denied the claim. Nearly 100 people, including civilians, have died in three days of fighting over the disputed mountainous region. The enclave is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but has been run by ethnic Armenians since a 1988-94 war between the...

South Africa’s economy lost 2.2 million jobs in the second quarter of 2020 during the country’s coronavirus lockdown, the authorities say. It is the biggest fall in job numbers since the employment survey began in 2008. Restrictions were brought in to try and prevent the spread of the virus and the economy subsequently shrank at an unprecedented level. Most businesses were shut for five weeks from 27 March. It was one of the strictest lockdowns in the world. The national statistics office’s figure for the number of people who have not been economically inactive indicated an even more dramatic economic...

Operations of South African Airways (SAA), the country’s national carrier, have been suspended with immediate effect. “This means SAA will complete repatriation flights that have already been scheduled but will not schedule any further flights,” Business Day news site reports. Administrators said they were putting the struggling state-owned carrier under “care and maintenance” until funding for a restructuring plan was found. The airline was put in bankruptcy protection in December after heavy financial losses in the past few years, which have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The government has not come up with more than 10.5bn rand ($621m; £483m)...

Donald Trump paid just $750 (£587) in federal income tax both in 2016, the year he ran for the US presidency, and in his first year in the White House, the New York Times says. The newspaper – which says it obtained tax records for Mr Trump and his companies over two decades – also says that he paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years. The records reveal “chronic losses and years of tax avoidance”, it says. Mr Trump called the report “fake news”. “Actually I paid tax. And you’ll see that as soon...

US President Donald Trump has nominated Amy Coney Barrett, a favourite of social conservatives, to be the new Supreme Court justice. Speaking by her side at the White House Rose Garden, Mr Trump described her as a “woman of unparalleled achievement”. If confirmed by senators, Judge Barrett will replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died recently, aged 87. The nomination will spark a bitter confirmation fight in the Senate as November’s presidential election looms. Announcing Judge Barrett as his nominee on Saturday, President Trump described her as a “stellar scholar and judge” with “unyielding loyalty to the constitution”. Democratic...

The Nigerian military says 18 people have been left dead after an ambush on a government convoy in the north-east of the country. It said four soldiers, 10 police officers and four civilians were killed in the attack targeting Borno state officials on Friday. The Islamic State (IS) group said it was behind the attack, claiming 30 people had been killed. The military has been battling Islamist militants for more than a decade. The militants planted improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on the road from the town of Monguno to the fishing town of Baga, said Maj Gen John Enenche, the...