2021 in pictures – POLITICO
January
January 6: Supporters of Donald Trump storm the United States Capitol.
-
Alex Wong / Getty Images -
Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images -
Jon Cherry / Getty Images
January 20: Joe Biden brings the United States back to the Paris Climate Agreement.
January 26: The world exceeds 100 million recorded COVID-19 cases.
Changing of the guard
-
Joe Biden is invested as 46th President of the United States on January 20 | Drew Angerer / Getty Images -
Mario Draghi becomes Italian Prime Minister on February 13 | Filippo Monteforte / AFP via Getty Images
-
Raúl Castro resigns, ending six decades of Castro rule in Cuba, April 19 | Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images -
Olaf Scholz wins elections in Germany to succeed outgoing Angela Merkel | John MacDougall / AFP via Getty Images
-
Austrian Sebastian Kurz resigns as Chancellor on October 9 | Hans Klaus Techt / APA / AFP via Getty Images -
Magdalena Andersson becomes Sweden’s first female Prime Minister on November 24 | Pontus Lundahl / TT News Agency / AFP via Getty Images
February
February 1: The world exceeds 100 million COVID-19 vaccines administered.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is sentenced to prison on February 2 and loses an appeal against the decision on February 20.
-
Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP via Getty Images -
Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP via Getty Images
In memory
-
Marielle de Sarnez, former MEP and French Minister for European Affairs, January 13 | Benjamin Cremel / AFP via Getty Images -
Prince Philip, April 9 | WPA Pool Photo by Yui Mok / Getty Images
-
Donald Rumsfeld, American politician, June 29 | Mark Wilson / Getty Images -
British MP David Amess, October 15 | Zoe Norfolk / Getty Images
-
Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State, October 18 | Stephen Chernin / Getty Images -
Archbishop of South Africa Desmond Tutu, December 26 | Scott Barbour / Getty Images
March
March 23: The ship Ever Given remains stranded in the Suez Canal for six days.
April
April 7: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is relegated to a sofa during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara.
Can
May 14: Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system (left) intercepts rockets (right) fired by Hamas into southern Israel.
May 23: Belarus forces a Ryanair plane carrying journalist Roman Protasevich to land in Minsk, where the activist is arrested.
June
UK hosts G7 summit in Cornwall.
July
Several European countries are affected by severe flooding.
-
Sascha Schuermann / Getty Images -
Sanne Derks / Getty Images -
Christof Stache / AFP via Getty Images
Tokyo will finally host the 2020 Olympic Games.
August
The Taliban are making quick wins in Afghanistan following the US withdrawal, which has prompted Western countries to scramble to evacuate embassy staff and civilians.
-
Wakil Kohsar / AFP via Getty Images -
Wakil Kohsar / AFP via Getty Images -
Taylor Crul / US Air Force via Getty Images
September
The German elections take place on September 26, with Olaf Scholz’s SPD winning 25.7% of the vote.
October
The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) kicks off in Glasgow on October 31.
November
Poland is stepping up security at its border with Belarus after hundreds of migrants made their way to the border.
December
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is sweeping the world and leading to new restrictions. Below, people sunbathe in Lima, Peru.
