January

Joe Biden sworn in

The oldest ever US president formally takes office while Trump supporters storm Washington’s Capitol, and the UK officially splits from the European Union

1. Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States of America on January 20, in a smaller than usual ceremony because of the pandemic. Biden, the oldest American president, won the November 3, 2020 election against Donald Trump, at a time when the country faced health and economic crises.

2. Various groups of Donald Trump supporters broke into the US Capitol building in Washington DC on January 6 and rioted as the US Congress prepared to meet and ratify the results of the 2020 US Presidential election. Thousands clashed with the police, several people died, and many more were injured during the disturbances.

3. Brexit became effective in January, with the UK leaving the European Union on January 31, 2020 at 11pm, after 47 years. Brexit is expected to have a huge impact on work, study, trade, travel, immigration and security, among many other areas, with the changes affecting millions in the UK and the EU.

4. Despite the pandemic, the magic of the Three Kings took hold of Catalonia on January 6, with a variety of events the evening before to celebrate the day that Catalans receive their gifts. Although the traditional parades were limited due to Covid, the Kings still managed to deliver their gifts, to the delight of children everywhere.

January

Learning the lessons of the pandemic

Learning the lessons of the pandemic.

2021 began with mass vaccination campaigns against Covid-19, a turning point in the most serious health crisis experienced since the Spanish flu. But how has the pandemic affected our lives, and what lessons have we learnt from it?