Ryan Bridge: A lot going on in the world

The Prime Minister’s jetting off on a diplomatic mission this week and he’s heading into a very undiplomatic world. Israel and Iran are going at it. Netanyahu says Tehran is close to producing a nuclear weapon. As missiles and drones fly across the Middle East, talks for a nuclear deal with Iran’s leadership in Oman are on hold. The UK is mobilising fighter jets in the region as Iran warns it will strike western targets if they dare support Tel Aviv.  Israeli’s blockade of Gaza continues despite protests from this country and most others through the UN and sanctions. Talks in Turkey to end the war in Ukraine haven’t stopped the violence. Diplomacy has so far failed.  China continues buying oil from Russia and tacitly keeping its war in Europe alive. The US continues supporting Israel, keeping its wars on Gaza and Iran alive. China and the US themselves are doing direct battle of a different kind on trade. We’ve got politically motivated assassinations in America. Marines and national guard troops on the streets of Los Angeles. All this as the global economy splutters along under the weight of it all and I haven’t even mentioned Pakistan and India.  As Luxon prepares to meet with Xi Xinping and then attend a NATO leaders meeting in the Netherlands, the big question is not what to do, but where to start? New Zealand's influence in all of this is, is course, is limited. Most of these conflicts date back further than the birth of our nation. We rely on the United Nations - who's P5 VETO power renders is about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike. Utterly useless. This no the first time the world has faced a collision of crisis involving wars backed by competing global superpowers. While diplomacy has failed to prevent them, history tells us it's also the best and only way to eventually solve them. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.