The future of Gaza and the West Bank may hinge in part on whether Donald Trump returns to the White House - as may the outcome of the war in Ukraine. China will be locked in a race against time as its population ages. And the natural world will reach a new series of tipping points. As well as gloomy forecasts, there are some reasons for cautious optimism.
Gaza conflict could spread to the West Bank
The fifth and bloodiest Gaza war has not shown any sign of slowing or stopping. What "the day after" in Gaza will look like is unclear.
Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out allowing control of Gaza to revert to the West Bank's corrupt Palestinian Authority, which is in any case deeply unpopular with the Palestinian public. Israel's far-right coalition government is unstable, but Netanyahu is determined to stay in office.
The fighting could spread to occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, where Hamas has active cells and higher levels of popular support. The risk of escalation between Israel and the formidable Iran-backed Shia faction Hezbollah to the north in Lebanon remains high. Bethan McKernan, Jerusalem correspondent
Crisis points for the natural world
Alongside increasingly alarming warnings about the state of Earth's climate, the natural world is reaching a new series of crisis points. Wildlife populations have plunged by an average of almost 70% since 1970. Climate tipping points are approaching and our planet is on course to breach the 1.5C climate threshold by 2027.
Humans are driving the largest loss of life since the time of the dinosaurs, and governments have repeatedly failed to take action, never meeting a single UN target on biodiversity loss.
Esta historia es de la edición January 05, 2024 de The Guardian Weekly.
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Esta historia es de la edición January 05, 2024 de The Guardian Weekly.
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Finn family murals
The optimism that runs through Finnish artist Tove Jansson's Moomin stories also appears in her public works, now on show in a Helsinki exhibition
I hoped Finland would be a progressive dream.I've had to think again Mike Watson
Oulu is five hours north from Helsinki by train and a good deal colder and darker each winter than the Finnish capital. From November to March its 220,000 residents are lucky to see daylight for a couple of hours a day and temperatures can reach the minus 30s. However, this is not the reason I sense a darkening of the Finnish dream that brought me here six years ago.
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I see you
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Rumbled How Ali ran rings around apartheid, 50 years ago
Fifty years ago, in a corner of white South Africa, Muhammad Ali already seemed a miracle-maker.
Trudeau faces 'iceberg revolt'as calls grow for PM to quit
Justin Trudeau, who promised “sunny ways” as he won an election on a wave of public fatigue with an incumbent Conservative government, is now facing his darkest and most uncertain political moment as he attempts to defy the odds to win a rare fourth term.
Lost Maya city revealed through laser mapping
After swapping machetes and binoculars for computer screens and laser mapping, a team of researchers have discovered a lost Maya city containing temple pyramids, enclosed plazas and a reservoir which had been hidden for centuries by the Mexican jungle.
'A civil war' Gangs step up assault on capital
Armed fighters advance into neighbourhoods at the heart of Port-au-Prince as authorities try to restore order
Reality bites in the Himalayan 'kingdom of happiness'
High emigration and youth unemployment levels belie the mountain nation's global reputation for cheeriness
