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Joe Biden's presidency starts on a challenging note

The controversy-free, scaled-down inaugural ceremony of the 46th president of the United States may have offered the impression that normal service was being resumed in the world’s sole superpower. Coming just two weeks after the 45th president attempted a coup, this would be a misleading notion. The benign aspect of the brave new America was on display in the swearing in of the country’s first black/South Asian woman vice-president, Kamala Harris, and from the multicultural performances at the ceremony. And Joseph Biden sought to underline the return to normalcy by insisting on holding the ceremony outdoors, as is customary, despite