The New York Times has published an excellent interactive map on the issues surrounding the border issues associated with the creation of a Palestinian state coexisting next to the state of Israel. I highly recommend the map for those of you who find the Israeli-Palestinian dispute intractable: once you break down the different parts of the dispute, none of the specific issues appears to be insurmountable.
The UN General Assembly has voted 138-9 to grant non-member observer state (a huge step up from having its current non-member observer entity). The status is still short of full membership, but it represents an important change. The composition of the majority was also significant since France, Spain, Italy and the Scandinavian countries were in favor of the resolution while Britain, Germany and the Netherlands abstained. The US and Israel were profoundly isolated in their opposition. We will await any possible repercussions.
Scientists have finally been able to make accurate measurements of the rates of ice melt in both Greenland and Antarctica, and, unfortunately, the ice is melting at a rate faster than that predicted by the climate change models. One would think that this new evidence would stimulate more effective action against greenhouse gas emissions, but such a result remains unlikely.
World Politics News 
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