2021

UK HEADLINES

COVID lockdown extended (winter restrictions roll into spring) – Sarah Everard murder (police officer jailed; sparks national safety protests) – Fuel crisis (panic buying hits petrol stations amid driver shortages) – England lose Euro 2020 final (defeat to Italy on penalties at Wembley) – NHS vaccine rollout (millions receive jabs via mass centres) – COP26 hosted in Glasgow (UK leads global climate summit in November) – Royal Family rocked (Harry & Meghan interview airs worldwide) – COVID ‘pingdemic’ hits (NHS app alerts cause staff shortages across sectors)

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

US Capitol riot (Trump supporters storm Congress on 6 January) – Taliban retake Afghanistan (Kabul falls as US troops withdraw) – COVID Delta variant surges (more contagious strain drives global wave) – Suez Canal blocked (Ever Given cargo ship halts global shipping) – Biden inaugurated (46th US president sworn in under tight security) – Tokyo Olympics held (delayed 2020 Games go ahead without spectators) – Haiti president assassinated (Jovenel Moïse killed in July) – Global vaccine inequality (wealthy nations race ahead in rollouts)