As peace talks in Egypt continue, the death toll in Gaza passes 1,000, approximately half of those being civilians.

A very worthwhile article from this week's Economist magazine regarding the long and torturous history of Arab-Israeli conflict in Palestine and why it continues to this day.

Another piece from the Economist concerning China's continued trade surplus in the face of declining exports. On a related note, the morning Post reported that China has now officially overtaken Germany for the world's third-largest GDP.

Finally, Sri Lanka this week made a significant breakthrough in its fight against the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Daily Update

- While the U.N. Human Rights Council drafted a resolution condemning Israel's military offensive against Hamas in Gaza, while Egypt and Jordan fear that the breakdown of the 2 State Plan, which proposes the peaceful coexistence of Israel and Palestine, will transfer the responsibility of providing Gaza with humanitarian aid to Egypt and Jordan; both states are reluctant to open their borders to an influx of refugees

- President-elect Barack Obama pledges to shut the Guantanamo Bay detention center down within the first week of his presidency; more than 200 prisoners remain detained (down from 700 at the height of George W. Bush's "War on Terror"), and they are likely to be released, transfered to other countries, or to the U.S. to stand trial

- The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), more commonly known as the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, are under siege by the Sri Lankan military, and the Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa expects victory over the separatists within the year

The Washington Post reports that Iranian operatives are employing subterfuge to obtain parts for IED's and bombs, some of which are turned right around for use against US forces in Iraq.

A report by Griff Witte on how the current Israeli war versus Hamas is being portrayed in Israel. Israelis see themselves as "the victims and the victor," with the Israeli media highlighting the damage Hamas has done to Israel while most of the world press denounces Israel's actions as being too destructive to the civilian population in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israel has issued warnings that its fight in Gaza may escalate, likely extending to operations within Gaza City proper and several refugee camps. Such operations would be militarily prudent for Israel but could have significant political costs in diminishing an already dim world opinion of its actions.

Luckily for much of western Europe, Russia and the Ukraine have agreed to restart the flow of gas from Russia through Ukrainian pipelines.