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Geopolitics

South Sudan Negotiations, Israel Shield, NYC Snow

New Madagascar President Hery Rajaonarimampianina
New Madagascar President Hery Rajaonarimampianina
Worldcrunch

CEASEFIRE NEGOTIATIONS OPEN IN SOUTH SUDAN
Representatives of South Sudan’s government have started negotiating a ceasefire with opposition forces in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, three weeks after the outbreak of violence in the world’s youngest nation, AFP reports.

ISRAEL SUCCESSFULLY TESTS MISSILE SHIELD SYSTEM
Israel carried out a successful test of its future missile shield system Arrow 3,The Jerusalem Postreports. The new shield, designed to intercept Iranian Shihab 3 missiles, among others, is expected to become operational in 2016.

NSA SEEKS QUANTUM COMPUTER TO BREAK SECURITY SYSTEMS
The U.S. National Security Agency is building a super machine — described as “a cryptologically useful quantum computer” — that could potentially break every kind of encryption system currently protecting banking, business, medical and government records, The Washington Post reports, citing material leaked by Edward Snowden.

EX-FINANCE MINISTER BECOMES NEW MADAGASCAR PRESIDENT
Madagascar’s former Finance Minister Hery Rajaonarimamapianina was declared winner of the presidential election, with 53.5% of the vote in the second round, according to Radio France Internationale. Earlier this week, rival Robinson Jean-Louis claimed the election had been rigged.

A TREATMENT FOR CANNABIS ADDICTS?
French scientists claim to have found a natural hormone that cancels out the effects of “mild euphoria” induced by cannabis, raising hopes of a future treatment against intoxication and addictions to the drug. Read more from France 24.

SNOW SLAMS EAST COAST

After blanketing Illinois with 18 inches of snow earlier, a U.S. snow storm is now hitting the Northeast. See our Foto here.

VERBATIM
India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced today he won’t seek re-election, and in the next breath slammed an opposition candidate as bad for the country. Read here what he said.

BY THE NUMBERS
As Formula One champion Michael Schumacher turns 45 today, fans prepare to gather for a vigil outside his hospital, where he is still in a coma following a ski accident.

SMASHING
Did you see this incredible shot from Roger Federer?

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FOCUS: Israel-Palestine War

After Abbas: Here Are The Three Frontrunners To Be The Next Palestinian Leader

Israel and the West have often asked: Where is the Palestinian Mandela? The divided regimes between Gaza and the West Bank continues to make it difficult to imagine the future Palestinian leader. Still, these three names are worth considering.

Photo of Mahmoud Abbas speaking into microphone

Abbas is 88, and has been the leading Palestinian political figure since 2005

Thaer Ganaim/APA Images via ZUMA
Elias Kassem

Updated Dec. 5, 2023 at 12:05 a.m.

Israel has set two goals for its Gaza war: destroying Hamas and releasing hostages.

But it has no answer to, nor is even asking the question: What comes next?

The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the return of the current Palestinian Authority to govern post-war Gaza. That stance seems opposed to the U.S. Administration’s call to revitalize the Palestinian Authority (PA) to assume power in the coastal enclave.

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But neither Israel nor the U.S. put a detailed plan for a governing body in post-war Gaza, let alone offering a vision for a bonafide Palestinian state that would also encompass the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority, which administers much of the occupied West Bank, was created in1994 as part of the Oslo Accords peace agreement. It’s now led by President Mahmoud Abbas, who succeeded Yasser Arafat in 2005. Over the past few years, the question of who would succeed Abbas, now 88 years old, has largely dominated internal Palestinian politics.

But that question has gained new urgency — and was fundamentally altered — with the war in Gaza.

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