A year of war: 2023 sees worst-ever Israel-Hamas combat as Russian attacks on Ukraine grind on

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — From the Israel-Hamas war to Russia’s grinding battles against Ukraine, 2023 has shown the dangers of armed conflicts breaking out into region-wide combat. But behind their long shadows, the world faces strife in countries stretching both the globe and the alphabet from Afghanistan all the way to Yemen. Coups and violence across Africa upended life in nations there. Myanmar in Southeast Asia faces what some experts describe as a slow-burning civil war. And drug-trade-fueled violence continues in Central and South America. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan remain suspicious of each other. North Korea’s atomic arsenal continues to grow. And Iran now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.