Seven things to know about Joe Biden’s inauguration

1) The Holy family heirloom

Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president by Chief Justice John Roberts using a 127-year-old, 12.7-centimetre-thick Biden family bible. While the use of a bible is not mandated, and some opted to not use one, most presidents have typically chosen a family bible for the event.

Vice President Joseph Biden receives the oath of office in 2013, administered by The Honorable Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, at the opening of the 57th Presidential Inaugural ceremony at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Getty

2) Trump is not the first absent POTUS

While it is the first time in more than 150 years that a sitting president has skipped his successor's inauguration, Donald Trump is not the first outgoing commander in chief to snub the ceremony. He joins the ranks of Andrew Johnson, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren and Woodrow Wilson who all did not attend. But most of those former presidents reportedly had good reason, according to the White House Historical Association. For example, presidents Wilson and Van Buren were signing important last-minute legislation.

Only Andrew Johnson is thought to have abstained from going to Ulysses S Grant's inauguration in 1869 – the two men were reportedly bitter rivals.

3) This is not the first lockdown inauguration

This is the second inauguration to take place in a locked-down Washington. After Abraham Lincoln's death – the civil war-era president was assassinated in 1865 – Andrew Johnson was sworn in amid a manhunt for suspected assassin John Wilkes Booth, which restricted travel in and out of the city.

4) Not all new presidents make a big opening speech

Joe Biden is the 46th president but only the 40th to give an inaugural address. Presidents who were sworn in during times of emergency often did not give an inaugural address – in most cases these were vice presidents who were sworn in after the sudden death of their predecessor. Perhaps the most famous example of this is Lyndon Johnson, whose inauguration took place on Air Force One after the assassination of John F Kennedy in 1963.

Of note, president Gerald R Ford did not give an address upon taking office after Richard Nixon's resignation during the Watergate scandal. Spiro Agnew, who was vice president at the time, would have taken office – but also resigned because of the scandal, which involved a bungled plan to steal information from the rival Democrat party's offices.

5) No after-party this time

Unlike most years, because of Covid-19 there will be no parade through the city or any inaugural balls for the new president. The tradition of inaugural balls dates back to 1809 and since then, they have grown vastly in scale and grandeur.

Barack Obama's inaugural balls in 2009, for example, are thought to have cost $45 million, although many attendees paid steep prices to get a ticket and the bulk of funding came from donors. Mr Trump's inauguration was similarly expensive, thought to have cost more than $107 million, an astonishing $6.5 million of which was spent on hotel space, about half of which went unused.

6) But there will be, kind of ...

The absence of large crowds has not stopped organisers from putting on entertainment. On Wednesday night, Tom Hanks will present a 90-minute programme, Celebrating America, which will feature comments from Mr Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris. On the day, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and country singer Garth Brooks are all lined up to perform hits.

7) Troops mobilised

About 25,000 members of the National Guard are now in Washington, three times the number of troops normally used for inaugurations, after fears that ardent supporters of Mr Trump will try to disrupt proceedings – on January 6, five protesters and a policeman were killed after a large mob of demonstrators stormed Capitol Hill. "We're not taking any chances," said Maj Gen William Walker, the commanding officer in charge of security in the capital.

An astonishing 2,300 US Marshalls also travelled to the capital to be sworn in for duty, bolstering security for the event. This was captured in stunning images on the official twitter account of the US Federsl Marshalls.

Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.

The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?

My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.

The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.

So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.

IF YOU GO

The flights

FlyDubai flies direct from Dubai to Skopje in five hours from Dh1,314 return including taxes. Hourly buses from Skopje to Ohrid take three hours.

The tours

English-speaking guided tours of Ohrid town and the surrounding area are organised by Cultura 365; these cost €90 (Dh386) for a one-day trip including driver and guide and €100 a day (Dh429) for two people.

The hotels

Villa St Sofija in the old town of Ohrid, twin room from $54 (Dh198) a night.

St Naum Monastery, on the lake 30km south of Ohrid town, has updated its pilgrims' quarters into a modern 3-star hotel, with rooms overlooking the monastery courtyard and lake. Double room from $60 (Dh 220) a night.

While you're here

Layla Mashkoor: How policing has changed since the US protests began

Gavin Esler: The uniquely threads that tie Rodney King to George Floyd

Colin Randall: Police suicides on the rise in France after months of protests

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed

Rating: 1/5

Profile

Company: Justmop.com

Date started: December 2015

Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan

Sector: Technology and home services

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai

Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month

Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.

Brief scores:

Juventus 3

Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'

Frosinone 0

Transgender report

'I pretend I'm dumb so they can't hear my voice': Transgender Emirati on posing as a woman for work

'The person in the mirror was not me': Emirati tells of gender struggle from childhood to adulthood

Tuesday's fixtures

Group A

Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm

Iran v Uzbekistan, 8pm

N Korea v UAE, 10.15pm

Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”

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Important questions to consider

1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?

There are different types of travel available for pets:

Manifest cargo
Excess luggage in the hold
Excess luggage in the cabin

Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.

2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?

If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.

If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.

3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?

As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.

If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.

If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.

4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?

This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.

In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.

5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?

Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.

Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.

Source: Pawsome Pets UAE

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

The specs

Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo

Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm

Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km

On sale: December

Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)