"Despite meeting regulatory design and safety standards of the 1970s, the Baltimore Key Bridge may not have been equipped to handle the scale of ship movements seen today. However, modern navigation technologies should have prevented the ship from striking the pier. Investigating what failed on the ship to cause the fatal impact will be a priority."

"The issue of age and cognitive abilities has also emerged as a major focal point in the campaign over the last few days, with both Trump and Biden facing scrutiny over their mental acuity. A Trump-appointed Special Counsel characterised Biden as a 'well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory' in a report that otherwise exonerated him of wrongdoing for taking home classified files after being Obama's Vice President."

The USA is planning a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, due to concerns over human rights violations in China. Professor Shaun Breslin, a leading expert on Chinese politics from the Department of Politics and International Studies, offers his view.

Dr Georg Löfflmann of the Department of Politics and International Relations reflects as the United States marks the inauguration of Joe Biden as President.

"Usually by a couple of days into the counts you do have a clear idea of which candidate will win which states. This year it’s much more difficult to call because of the time it’s taking to get through some of these really quite substantial numbers of ballots, of postal votes especially, in some of the crucial states - so we don’t yet have either candidate at the magical 270 Electoral College votes needed for a win."