Race to the finish.

"The attacks on crucial shipping traffic in the Red Sea straits by a determined band of militants in Yemen, a spillover from the Israeli-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip." In addition, "The risk of escalating conflict in the Middle East is the latest in a string of unpredictable crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine." Also, "More than 2 billion people in roughly 50 countries, including India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, the United States and the 27 nations of the European Parliament, will head to the polls." "The biggest election next year is in India." DH. Yesterday, "The US Navy has destroyed Houthi 'small boats' whose crew attempted to board a container ship in the Red Sea." Helicopters from nearby US warships responded to a distress call - and, after being fired upon, sank three boats 'in self-defence'." "The crews were killed and the fourth boat fled the area." "An American destroyer shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Yemen Saturday (30 December) as it responded to a call for help from a container ship that was hit in a separate strike, the US military said." The Houthis, Hamas, Hezbollah are all proxies for Iran. "A drone attack by an Iran-affiliated terrorist group on a military base in Iraq...left three service members wounded...and prompted President Biden to order retaliatory strikes. The attack on the Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq was conducted by Ketaib Hezbollah militants." CBS. In April, "Iran's army said it had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman after it had collided with an Iranian boat, injuring several crewmen, Iranian state media reported." Reuters. In July, "Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz...opening fire on one of them," but, "the Iranian vessels backed off after the US Navy dispatched a guided-missile destroyer to the scene." AP. The US is trying to avoid a direct conflict with Iran but how long can it protect the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf and support Israel's war against Hamas, which is causing large numbers of civilian casualties, without going for the source of the problems? But the US is stretched already. "The White House recently approved another tranche of US military aid to Ukraine worth some $250 million. The latest package includes air defence, artillery and small arms ammunition, and anti-tank weapons, US officials say." BBC. Will Xi Jinping attack Taiwan to divert attention from "Deflation in China accelerated in November," as "The consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, fell 0.5% year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics." TNIE. Although Chinese President Xi Jinping bluntly warned President Joe Biden that China will reunify Taiwan with the mainland, possibly implying force (NBC), except that, "A sweeping purge of Chinese generals has weakened the People's Liberation Army, exposing deep-rooted corruption," (Reuters) or perhaps an attempted coup against Xi. The coronavirus came from China in  2019. Boston University. China is racing to build killer robots. As if there are not enough dangers already. 2024 may decide who wins.