A new beginning: how international headlines reported Joe Biden's inauguration

The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States was historical for a number of reasons: the first female vice president, and the first inauguration to take place during a global pandemic.

For many however, Wednesday, January 20 will be remembered as the end of the bizarre and divisive era of Donald Trump.

Over the past four years, much of the world watched as the US largely retreated from the global stage, pulled out of multilateral and bilateral agreements, pushed away many of its traditional allies and turned inward.

For Mr Trump's supporters, this was exactly what they desired, sensing that the US had been short-changed as "the world's policeman" after decades-long military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, and often paying the bill for defending allied nations.

The Trump presidency was also marked by domestic turmoil and a rise in nationalism and, to many, what seemed to be a degradation of truth and democracy.

On January 20 newspapers around the world hailed the inauguration of the incoming president as a win for democracy – and perhaps a step forward on the path to unity. This was perhaps inevitable, given the turbulent relationship Mr Trump had with what he called the "lamestream media".

In Canada, a country that spent four years going back and forth with Mr Trump on tariffs and trade deals, The Toronto Star printed the title "Unpresidented", calling the Trump presidency nothing less than chaos.

Over in the UK, which through the course of the Trump era began to see its special relationship with the US begin to crack and crumble, newspapers welcomed the departure of Mr Trump and celebrated the fortitude of democracy. Meanwhile, in Spain, the newspaper El Pais printed a simple headline, "Democracy has won".

And in the US, nearly two weeks after an insurrection at the Capitol, The New York Times printed its front page for the inauguration: Democracy has Prevailed: Biden Vows to Heal Nation.