With the European landscape already in flux, Italy is preparing for an unexpected general election in September that could see the nation’s first far-right government since the war.

The winter of 2020, during the peak of the pandemic, was a terrible time for Europe, which faced its worst health emergency in decades. Yet, the end of 2022 could be an even more troubled period, with the prospect of an energy emergency and a possible resurgence in the coronavirus crisis.

Conservative MPs in the UK on Wednesday selected their final two candidates to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister, in a contest that increasingly has an “Alice in Wonderland” fantasy quality to it.

Turkey, the UN, Ukraine and Russia may be nearing an agreement to reopen Black Sea shipping ports closed since Moscow’s invasion began in February. However, a food catastrophe is looming and the only question now is whether it gets even worse.

Following hot on the heels of the fall of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi tendered his resignation on Thursday.

This year’s G20 is being held in Indonesia, but it is developments some 9,500 km away in Ukraine that have been most influential in shaping the multilateral body’s 2022 agenda.

World Population Day, which will again be marked next week, has long been a moment to celebrate human progress. But it comes this year against the backdrop of a grim milestone, with a record 100 million people now displaced.

Boris Johnson may have resigned as Conservative leader on Wednesday, but the UK ruling party’s troubles are far from over.