A century-old territorial dispute deepened by the discovery of oil is boiling over between neighbors Guyana and Venezuela.
Potential military confrontation looms over Essequibo, a mineral-rich territory.
As China’s growth has slowed, tensions boiling over Taiwan, and the US continues to limit Chinese access to advanced technologies, the “new cold war” rhetoric has hardened.
Expect Washington and Beijing to woo the “middle powers” of the global south.
Voters, and the courts, will give their verdicts on Donald Trump.
But the consequences will be global, affecting everything from economy to military support for Ukraine.
One could say Vladimir Putin’s fate depends more on American voters than Russian ones.
Traditional thread from me. We've got enough negative news for 2023, here's some good news you've probably missed.
* For the first time, scientists detected low-frequency gravitational waves moving through the galaxy (Wired)
* Tyrannosaurus rex and other carnivorous dinosaurs likely had a different pucker than suspected, sporting lips that covered their formidable teeth (University of Portsmouth)
* Number of discovered planets rises past 5,500 (NASA)
* Phosphorus discovered on Saturn’s Enceladus, a crucial sign that life is possible (CBS News)
* The world’s first CRISPR-based gene therapy was approved by drug regulators in the UK and the US (Nature Journal)
During a match against Qatar last week, England’s 19-year-old Jude Bellingham became the first player born in the 21st century to score a goal in a World Cup match.
The Qatar tournament also features the first set of full siblings to compete for different teams, with Iñaki Williams representing Ghana and his younger brother, Nico Williams, making his World Cup debut for Spain.
Canadian coach John Herdman is the first manager in World Cup history to have led both a men's and a women's team at the tournaments, having previously coached the New Zealand women’s team in the 2007 and 2011 women’s World Cups.