2013 Top 6 predictions - Must read

 1. "axis of evil"?

 

 

Remember that infamous phrase "axis of evil"? This year tough decisions will be made on Syria, Iran, and North Korea.

2012 ended with strong statements by some Western leaders that they will accelerate support to Syrian rebels. This will be the year of a post-Assad order but "transition" looks set to be bloody.

What is the "or else" if negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme don't succeed by the Spring? 

2. US and China co-operate or clash ?

In news terms it will continue to be the Arab uprisings, but I am more interested in whether the US and China co-operate or clash in the Pacific.

The US economy will come back strongly and, surprisingly, manufacturing will play an important role. This will be largely based on growing US energy independence. Europe will slip further back, with crisis as the new normal. 

3. economic strategy

 

 

Markets will decide that the eurozone is going to pull together, but Europe will still be a big story thanks to worries about Spain and Italy and a tussle between the French president and German chancellor over economic strategy.

Confidence is likely to return to European markets raising questions why the feel-good factor hasn't crossed the Channel, and growing momentum in favour of Britain leaving the EU.

4. Syria's civil war

 

 

Syria's civil war deepens, spreading the poison of sectarian and ethnic violence. The Assad regime will fall.

Iran moves closer to the ability to make a nuclear weapon. There will not be outside intervention in Iran in 2013, but it will be close-run.

Prospects for a negotiated settlement between Israelis and Palestinians continue to fade.

5. The web will go truly mobile

 

The web will go truly mobile, with more people getting online via mobile devices than PCs - and the battle for control will get even fiercer.

Google's Android system and Apple's iPhones and iPads will continue to carve up the market. Microsoft's Windows 8phones, and RIM's Blackberry 10 out in January, will battle for third place - though neither will make much of an impression on the big two.

6. Londonderry's year as the UK City of Culture

 

Londonderry's year as the UK City of Culture hopes to generate much international interest. It features home-grown shows such as Teenage Kicks: A Punk Musical, and the Turner Prize, which will be awarded outside England for the first time. Also receiving attention will be Manet at the Royal Academy, Glastonbury, Tarantino's Django Unchained, and the reopening of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum.

Courtesy: BBC & Google Pics

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