Buliding Network

 Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th US president, ending one of the most dramatic political transitions in American history. "Democracy has prevailed," he said after taking the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts. Donald Trump - who has not formally conceded the presidency to Mr Biden - snubbed the inauguration ceremony, in a departure from longstanding precedent. The new president swiftly signed a raft of measures reversing Trump policies. Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice-president ahead of Mr Biden. She is the first woman - and the first black and Asian-American person - to serve in the role, a heartbeat from the presidency. The inauguration took place at the US Capitol. There is extra-tight security after the building was stormed by violent pro-Trump protesters in a deadly riot on 6 January. Some 25,000 National Guards protected the ceremony, which missed the traditional hundreds of thousands of spectators because of the coronavirus pandemic. How is inaug

  Ugandans are voting in a general election following a campaign marked by violence which has killed dozens of people. President Yoweri Museveni is seeking his sixth elected term in office after 35 years in power. The 76-year-old faces 10 challengers, most notably Bobi Wine. Human rights groups have accused security forces of using excessive force to break up opposition rallies during the campaign. But the government says the strong measures are necessary to ensure people comply with a ban on large crowds imposed to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. Here are the five things you need to know about the crucial vote: 1. The man who wants 40 years in power President Museveni is one of the longest-serving presidents in Africa. He and his National Resistance Movement came to power in 1986 at the end of a five-year war, and have led Uganda ever since. His supporters praise him for bringing relative peace and prosperity to the country, and in particular for his policies on health. He helped lim

  The rapid spread of a new variant of coronavirus has been blamed for the introduction of strict tier four mixing rules for millions of people, harsher restrictions on mixing at Christmas in England, Scotland and Wales, and other countries placing the UK on a travel ban. So how has it gone from being non-existent to the most common form of the virus in parts of England in a matter of months? The government’s advisers on new infections now say they have “high” confidence that it is more able to transmit than other variants. All the work is at an early stage, contains huge uncertainties and a long list of unanswered questions. As I’ve written before,  viruses mutate all the time and it’s vital to keep a laser focus  on whether the virus’ behaviour is changing. Why is this variant causing concern? Three things are coming together that mean it is attracting attention: It is rapidly replacing other versions of the virus It has mutations that affect part of the virus likely to be important