2020: The pictures that defined a torrid year | ITV News – ITV News

Future historians may well look back on 2020 as a dark time for humanity.

The Covid-19 pandemic has left virtually no part of the world untouched and will infect 2021, despite incredible scientific efforts to develop vaccines.

But for millions around the world, even the spread of a deadly disease was not the worst thing to happen this year.

Conflicts broke out in Ethiopia and between Armenia and Azerbaijan, while the Syrian civil war continued to devastate a nation, as did the Yemen crisis.

There were also uprisings against oppression in Belarus and Nigeria and, of course, a global movement demanding equality for black people after the killing of yet another African-American.

It meant that moments of compassion and togetherness were even more precious in 2020.

Marcus Rashford and Captain Sir Tom Moore inspired millions, while a 90-year-old woman became the first to receive a Covid-19 vaccine in the UK, followed by a man called William Shakespeare.

Here, we've tried to document the lows and few highs from a torrid year with images that defined 2020.

January

2020 began for millions the same way 2019 ended - with an invasion of locusts.

The desert locust crisis that swept large parts of east Africa put food supplies for millions at great risk.

There are fears a another wave yet to come could be even worse or at least match the scale seen here in Kenya, which saw its first locust invasion in 70 years in January.

2020 was the year justice finally caught up with Hollywood giant Harvey Weinstein, who was jailed for 23 years in March after he was found guilty of rape in the third degree in February.Here he was in January, leaving court with the help of a zimmer frame.

Thousands of homes were destroyed as wildfires, which began in 2019, burned through Australia through the early weeks of 2020.

The devastation left 113 animal species in need of "urgent intervention" after months of fires left their habitats destroyed.

The year's first month ended on a tragic note with the death of Basketball icon Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, 13, who were both among nine killed in a helicopter crash.

The Los Angeles Lakers - the team Bryant played for during his entire career - would go on to win the NBA championship for the first time since Bryant himself led the franchise to victory in 2010.

They dedicated the win to Bryant.

February

Children were particularly devastated by the ongoing civil war in Syria, with more than 6,000 taken from Idlib to refugee camps every day in the early parts of the year.

The suffering was unrelenting as forces of President Bashar Assad and his Russian allies focused on Idlib, inflicting suffering and death on thousands.

An average of two children were killed per day at one stage, according to the UN, one of whom was found here in Idlib after an air strike.

Storm Ciara caused widespread flooding in the UK, resulting in this picture of a Tesco in Carlisle.

From one force of nature to another - Tyson Fury roared to victory over champion Deontay Wilder for the WBC Heavyweight title.

He dominated the match from start to finish, 14 months after a controversial draw between the fighters.

Popular TV presenter Caroline Flack was found dead in her flat in east London in the middle of February.

March

This month would be remembered for the beginning of the end of normal life for the year but there was also a huge shift in royal life.

Harry and Meghan officially left the royal family - in a move dubbed 'Megxit' - to pursue a new life in California.

This was one of the last photos taken of the Sussexes on royal duty.

Then came the lockdown.

On March 23, Boris Johnson announced the country would head into a lockdown the next day as it became clear to the government just how serious the Covid-19 outbreak was becoming.

This was what Westminster, usually packed with people and traffic, looked like on the morning of March 24 - the first day of lockdown.

April

Appreciation for health workers, nurses and doctors grew in 2020 and this picture sums up why it was so deserved.

Many worked to the point of exhaustion to save lives, despite the obvious personal risk, as this picture shows.

Boris Johnson was taken to hospital after his coronavirus symptoms persisted into April.

He was moved into intensive care later in the month but was back speaking in front of 10 Downing Street before May.

April saw one of the highlights of the year as 99-year-old Captain Sir Tom Moore (now 100) raised tens of millions of pounds for the NHS with sponsored walks.

The former British Army Officer was knighted by the Queen in July.

May

One of the more grim images to surface from the pandemic surfaced in May.

This woman died on the street in Ecuador and she wasn't the only one.

Rescue workers and local residents search for survivors in the wreckage of a plane that crashed with nearly 100 people onboard in a residential area of Karachi, Pakistan on May 22.

The footage showing a white police officer kneel on black man George Floyd, who died as a result, shocked the world.

Transcripts from the body-cam footage of the arrest confirm unarmed Mr Floyd said "you're going to kill me, man" as police officerDerek Chauvinknelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.

His death, for which four police officers have been charged, sparked protests around the world as Black Lives Matter campaigned for true racial equality.

Property was damaged during some of the subsequent protests in the US, in the wake of the killing of Mr Floyd.

Here, an Arby's fast food restaurant was torched.

In Minneapolis at the end of May, some were ordered to lie face down on the ground during a protest.

June

An emotional embrace was caught on camera as a protester and police officer - both black - shook hands in the midst of demonstrations.

This picture of an elderly couple kissing and hugging through a screen would not be the only poignant image to come out of Barcelona in the pandemic.

This was as close as they could get to each other in a nursing home.

Donald Trump's June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma was billed to be a sell-out event, with crowds overflowing outside the arena.

A million had expressed interest in tickets, Republican claimed, but in the end large sections of the audience were empty and the rally was a flop.

A grim-faced Trump was pictured ambling across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington after stepping off the helicopter that brought hum back from the failed rally.

The year wouldn't get much better for the president.

Liverpool FC ended a 30-year wait for the league title in style, finally lifting the elusive Premier League trophy after a dominant campaign was paused by Covid-19.

Because of coronavirus restrictions, the squad celebrated in an empty stadium, but that didn't stop fans from setting off fireworks and celebrated a momentous occasion for the city.

Marcus Rashford's campaign for an extension to the free school meal voucher scheme through the summer holidays was widely praised.

The Manchester United and England forward became a figurehead for the movement against child hunger, even forcing a government u-turn on the matter.

July

Donald Trump delivered a divisive speech at Mount Rushmore, warning over the rise of 'far left fascism' and taking aim at Black Lives Matter on July 3 - the day before what is supposed to be a unifying date in the US calendar.

Later reports suggested Trump had asked about the possibility of adding his face to landmark, which he has denied.

Later in July, England World Cup winner Jack Charlton died aged 85.

The former Leeds United player had been diagnosed with lymphoma in the last year and was also battling dementia.

It may feel like masks and face coverings have been with us for a long time, but they only became mandatory in shops on July 24.

The so-called 'new normal' was now complete.

But before masks became so widespread, 'Super Saturday' was welcomed by punters up and down the country as a taste of normal life finally returned after months of lockdown.

On Saturday, July 4, pubs and bars reopened under strict measures.

August

Around 200 were killed and thousands more injured during the huge explosion in a port in Lebanon's capital city, Beirut.

One of those to lose their life was Alexandra Naggear, who was just 3.

ITV News spoke to her father, who called it a "murder of incompetence."

Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994, denied the August 9 election was rigged despite widespread claims to the contrary.

Millions have since taken to the streets in protest in the country, despite reports of a brutal crackdown, and one of the enduring moments was captured at the end of the month in Minsk.

Two women were pictured kissing during a protest - in a country where LGBT+ rights have regularly been oppressed.

A 'Wakanda Forever' tribute sits next to a mural of the actor Chadwick Boseman's character T'Challa from the 2018 film Black Panther.

Mr Boseman died aged 43 in August after a four-year battle with colon cancer.

September

Months after massive fires spread across Australia, California was dealing with its own crisis.

Large parts of the state were lit up, resulting in this Hollywood-style image at the Bidwell Bar Bridge.

Francisco Espana had spent weeks in intensive care with Covid-19 in Barcelona and his doctors felt the need to provide him with a small mercy.

He was wheeled out from his ward to overlook the Mediterranean sea in the outdoors from his bed.

A reminder of normal life during a weeks' long battle with death.

ITV News witnessed a brazen display of militia in Louisville in September. Civilians were armed with guns and rifles and looked like their own little army.

You can watch the full, shocking report here.

In the same month, ITV News uncovered chilling testimonies from Uighurs in China, including forced abortions and sterilisation.

The Chinese government has detained an estimated one million in Xinjiang, holding them in internment camps and prisons where they are subjected to ideological discipline, forced to denounce their religion and language and physically abused.

You can read more here.

October

The brutal war fought over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan cost at least 5,000 lives.

Many of those deaths were military but dozens of civilians were also killed, including a seven-year-old girl in Azerbaijan, Aysu Isgandarova.

Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and ex-girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, awaits trial in a high-profile case in the US.

She is charged with facilitating the sexual abuse of underage girls by Epstein.

In October, formerly sealed documents in which Maxwell was asked about her knowledge of Epstein's sex trafficking operations were published in the US for the first time.

November

Saudi Arabia's bombardment of Yemen - backed by the US and UK - has devastated the country for years and 2020 saw the emergency come to the fore once again.

Two-thirds of Yemen's population of about 28 million people are hungry, and nearly 1.5 million families currently rely entirely on food aid to survive.

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2020: The pictures that defined a torrid year | ITV News - ITV News