Israel began an offensive in Gaza three weeks ago with the hope of ending Hamas' ability to fire rockets into Southern Israel. A week later Israel sent in tanks and ground troops, but Hamas has continued to fire rockets and mortars into Israeli territory. Palestinian medical officials say more than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed during the military action. Under mounting diplomatic pressure from the international community, the two parties have agreed to a cease-fire and Israeli troops are withdrawing from Gaza. For more we turn to the BBC's Jonathan Marcus.

As the nation prepares for a new President, Washington, D.C. is filling up with excited Inauguration attendees from across the country. We check in with Femi Oke who is roaming the streets of the Capitol city talking to anyone and everyone she comes across. She joins us now for a report on the scene in the city.

For more on the Inauguration, check out the voices you have heard on The Takeaway.

Masdar City is a planned city in Abu Dhabi that promises to be the world’s first carbon neutral metropolis. This week, it is home to the second World Future Energy Summit, a conference that promises to be a who’s who of global energy politics. But can a carbon neutral community really exist? What does it take to construct and support one? Jesse Fox, an urban planner and contributing writer for Treehugger.com joins The Takeway from the Summit along with Andrew Revkin, writer of the New York Times Dot Earth blog.

Want a tour of Masdar City? Watch the video for an aerial fly through:

It’s out with the old in with the new. Barack Obama takes power tomorrow, along with a host of new cabinet secretaries about to be confirmed and a new Congress. Documenting the transfer of power from Republicans to Democrats is The Takeaway’s Andrea Bernstein, who joins John and Adaora from Washington.

For more on the Inauguration, see your take on the Inauguration.



Here is one person's vision of things to come:

It’s said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. For Ryan Bowen, it began with a single thought: I’m too broke to fly from Los Angeles to D.C. for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama. Undeterred, Bowen decided to bike across the country. And he’s made it. The Takeaway is joined by writer and cycling activist Ryan Bowen.

Follow Ryan's journey on his video blog:

President-elect Barack Obama has taken care to draw parallels between himself and Abraham Lincoln. From appointing a “team of rivals” to choosing to share the same bible for his presidential swearing in and being tall and from Illinois. But did you know that come lunch time tomorrow the 16th and the new 44th president will have shared a meal? Well, not exactly, but the President-elect's first lunch as president is inspired by Lincoln's favorite foods. We are joined by New York Times food writer Melissa Clark who has whipped up some of the recipes from Barack Obama's first lunch as president.

Want to share a meal with Lincoln and Obama? Here are the recipes.

The Israeli army reports that there was a second night of peace after Israel and Hamas reached a tentative cease-fire. Israeli troops have started pulling out of Gaza, although the army isn't saying how long the process will take. In Gaza, residents are beginning to pick up the pieces after being bombarded for more than three weeks. For more on this situation, we turn to BBC Correspondent Bethany Bell.

Watch Al Jazeera's report on the behind-the-scenes diplomacy that lead to this cease-fire.

After a celebratory concert at the Lincoln Memorial, President-elect Obama offered words of inspiration and notes of caution to the nation. He said he needed time to show positive change in the country. Once the pomp of inauguration is done, Congress has a long and strategic list to get through. Here with a look at that list is Todd Zwillich, reporter for Capitol News Connection in Washington.

Barack Obama has explicitly credited the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of elite African-American World War II pilots, for helping to pave the way for his presidency. Their performance in combat encouraged President Harry Truman to desegregate the military in 1948. All the surviving members of the group were invited to the inauguration and over two hundred are expected to attend. Val Archer, a Tech Sergeant with the Tuskegee Airmen, will tell John and Adaora what this occasion means to him.

For more on the Tuskegee Airmen, watch a clip of them in action courtesy of Youtube user Historystartsnow:

During the election the cheers of Alaskan Obama voters were muffled by the commotion surrounding Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. But there were many thousands who supported the President-elect in the predominantly Republican state, and some of them have made the long trip to Washington to celebrate the inauguration. Long time Obama fan Kerynn Fisher is one Alaskan who’s here in town. She joins John and Adaora now with Alaska Public Radio’s Libby Casey.

For more on the Inauguration, re-visit voices heard on The Takeaway.

The World Famous Lawn Rangers are among the many organizations participating in tomorrow’s 56th Inaugural Parade. Hailing from Arcola, Illinois, the group is famous for their fancifully embellished lawn mowers and madcap ways. Tomorrow will be their 116th parade in the Lawn Ranger’s nearly 30-year career and they say it will be the most memorable. Joining us for a sneak preview of the Lawn Rangers line-up is co-founder Pat Monahan.

Yes, that is the president-elect holding a plunger as a participant in the Lawn Rangers antics in Chicago.

Senior advisers to Barack Obama have confirmed that in his first days as president, he will issue an executive order laying out his plans to close the infamous detention center at Guantanamo Bay. However the signing of an executive order is unlikely to be followed by the immediate closure of Guantanamo, so it is still business as usual there. This week the alleged masterminds behind the attacks of September 11th are expected to appear before a special military court and the docket is full of pre-trial hearings for the other detainees. We turn to Rob Watson from the BBC for more on the closing of Guantanamo.

There is a two-day old cease-fire in Gaza and everyone is hopeful that that the fragile peace will hold. As Israeli troops withdraw, Gaza residents begin to rebuild. The borders to Gaza have just opened to the foreign press and we now turn to Charles Levinson, the Jerusalem Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal, who joins us from Gaza.