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Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have become full members of BRICS as from 1 January. Iran's membership brought BRICS to Armenia's doorstep, making Yerevan an immediate neighbour of the group. Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed for commonspace.eu says that given that currently, Armenia is in the painstaking process of re-assessing and re-evaluating its foreign policy. Armenia should carefully look into ways to expand its cooperation with BRICS member states: "first of all in the economic area, inviting BRICS investments into the infrastructure and other projects in Armenia. Armenia is in active discussions with Iran, India, and UAE to bring their investments into Armenia, and there is potential to have Chinese involvement through the Belt and Road Initiative. The possibility of receiving funding from the BRICS New Development Bank for various projects, which can be implemented by BRICS member companies, should be studied too."

The world on Sunday marked the 100th day of the war in Gaza. Thousands took to the streets across the world, many supporting one side or the other in the conflict. For the Palestinian people in Gaza the anniversary is simply another opportunity to count the dead and injured, not to speak of other untold suffering that they have to endure. And there seems to be no end in sight. Also Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck targets in Lebanon following a Hezbollah missile attack that killed two Israeli civilians — an older woman and her adult son — in northern Israel. The exchange of fire underscored concerns that the Gaza violence could trigger wider fighting across the region. The war in Gaza, launched by Israel in response to the unprecedented 7 October attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israeli territory, has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians, devastated vast swaths of Gaza, driven around 85 percent of the territory’s 2.3 million residents from their homes and pushed a quarter of the population into starvation. In a sign of widening rift in the positions of Israel and the US, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaking to the CBS TV channel on Sunday (14 January) said the US has been speaking to Israel “about a transition to low-intensity operations” in Gaza.“We believe it’s the right time for that transition. And we’re talking to them about doing that".

The United States and the United Kingdom have conducted overnight a series of strikes on territory in Yemen controlled by the Houthi Movement. Other countries, including Australia, Bahrain, The Netherlands and Canada provided support. Saudi Arabia allowed overflight over its territory by the attacking aircraft. The strikes were led and coordinated by the US. The Pentagon said they were intended to disrupt and degrade the Houthis' military capabilities – specifically drone and missiles sites which they’ve been using in Yemen to target international shipping in the Red Sea. In the early hours of the morning, jets from a US aircraft carrier already in the region - backed up by a tomahawk fired from US warships hit more than 12 sites - including in the capital Sanaa and the port of Hudaydah. President Biden defended the action saying the strikes were in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international shipping. The British contribution in the attack was in the form of four Typhoon jets that flew from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus - a round trip of several thousand miles - which required refuelling. They used paveway bombs to hit 2 targets – a site said to be used for launching drones and an airfield from where the Houthis have fired missiles. In a statement soon after the strikes, Rishi Sunak said Britain would always stand up for the freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade. The Houthis were defiant before the threat of airstrikes – and also now after. One of its officials posted “the battle will be bigger and beyond the imagination and expectation of the Americans and British”. “Our country was subjected to a massive aggressive attack by American and British ships, submarines and warplanes,” Houthi Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Al-Ezzi said, according to official rebel media. “America and Britain will have to prepare to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences of this blatant aggression,” he said. US Central Command described military strikes against Houthi sites as a ‘success’ in a statement on Friday morning.  The US Central Command said they hold the Iranian-backed Houthis responsible for attacks on international shipping over the past few weeks. These strikes aimed to undermine the Houthi ability to carry out more attacks. Sixty targets at 16 Houthi locations were hit by more than 100 precision-guided munitions, it said.

From The Hague, the city of peace and justice, the Editorial Team of commonspace.eu extend their sincere best wishes for a Happy New Year 2024 to all our contributors, supporters, readers and subscribers. 2023 ends with war raging in many parts of the world - from Ukraine to Yemen, from Gaza to Sudan, and beyond. We hope 2024 will bring just peace to all across the world, but we also understand that this can only happen if we all work towards this objective. For 2024 also has the risk of widening further the cycle of violence, engulfing even more countries and people. We hope for a good start for the year, and that this will continue throughout 2024. Happy New Year!

At the end of his weekly General Audience, Pope Francis prays for those suffering from violence in Palestine, Israel and Ukraine, and asks for prayers for an end to all war. Speaking at the end of his General Audience on Wednesday (27 December), Pope Francis renewed his appeal for peace in the Holy Land and Ukraine. “Please, do not forget to pray for those suffering the terrible consequences of violence and war,” he said. “Let us pray especially for martyred Ukraine and for the populations of Palestine and Israel. War is an evil. Let us pray for an end to war.” Pope Francis has been calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza since 29 October. In his traditional Urbi et Orbi message on Christmas Day, the Pope pleaded for "an end to the military operations with their appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims" and called for "an opening to the provision of humanitarian aid" in Gaza. He also said that his "heart grieves for the victims of the abominable attack of 7 October," and he repeated his "urgent appeal for the liberation of those still being held hostage.” The Pope expressed his hope that sincere dialogue with strong political will and international support might lead to a resolution of the "Palestinian question." In his Urbi et Orbi address, Pope Francis also prayed for an end to the war in Ukraine. “Contemplating the Baby Jesus,” the Pope said, “I implore peace for Ukraine.” “Let us renew our spiritual and human closeness to its embattled people,” he urged, “so that through the support of each of us, they may feel the concrete reality of God’s love."

The editorial team of commonspace.eu extends its best wishes for Christmas and the festive season to all our contributors, supporters, readers and subscribers. We wish all the best to all of you, but foremost we wish you peace. The accompanying picture has been circulating on the internet in the last days, and it shows the tragedy of war, during the festive season, in this case in Gaza. The message of Christmas is the message of peace. We hope everyone will have a peaceful and happy Christmas.

The United States has announced the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an important new multinational security initiative under the umbrella of the Combined Maritime Forces and the leadership of its Task Force 153, which focuses on security in the Red Sea. A Pentagon statement said that "Operation Prosperity Guardian is bringing together multiple countries to include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity.” The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza has spilled over into the Red Sea as Houthi rebels in Yemen, who control parts of the country including its capital and some of its Red Sea coastline, intensify their attacks on shipping passing through the Red Sea. BP on Monday, became the latest of a number of global companies that announced the suspension of use of the vital Red Sea route which connects the Gulf region and the Indian Ocean to Europe through the Suez Canal. The United States has condemned the attacks and promised decisive action to deal with them.  The Pentagon announced on Monday the formation of a new international mission focused on countering attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.