Emergencies to start the year

Hardly anyone has asked about new year resolutions: we are now conditioned to adapt to changing circumstances.

THE new year was welcomed by humankind on the smallest scale for any new year’s countdown in generations, judging by images of cities around the world at the stroke of midnight. (It is a personal tradition to watch the London fireworks when I wake up, but this year’s edition was more explosive for its overt political messages than its actual pyrotechnics.)