The Economist: From Gaza to Ukraine, wars and crises are piling up

These are not happy times.

An Israel-Hamas war in Gaza threatens to spread across the Middle East, with America and Iran facing off in the background.

The Ukraine war, Europe’s largest since 1945, shows no sign of ending.

And Chinese jets and warships now menace Taiwan in growing numbers and with increasing frequency, with looming elections on the island likely to bring more tumult.

Civil conflict in Mali, Myanmar and Sudan has worsened in recent weeks, too.

Adversaries such as China and Russia are more assertive, and working more and more together. So too are non-aligned powers, including India and Türkiye, which have growing clout to shape distant events and believe that a new and more favourable order is emerging.

And the possibility of a war directly between major powers hangs over the world, forcing countries to keep one eye on the future even as they fight fires today.