The year 2025 was bloody. The year 2026, the way it has begun, promises to be even more dangerously bloody. From South America to Africa, Europe to East Asia and West Asia, major conflicts and wars are raging across continents, worsening by the day.
Ten Conflicts to be Extinguished
Let’s examine ten major wars and conflicts raging worldwide and explain why the time is now to halt them, and ultimately extinguish them. I will discuss each in detail later, but first, context is essential.
Context 1 – Like Never Before – John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor, wrote in his year-ender a few days ago:
“I have reported on more than 40 wars around the world during my career, which goes back to the 1960s. I watched the Cold War reach its height, then simply evaporate. But I’ve never seen a year quite as worrying as 2025 has been—not just because several major conflicts are raging, but because it is becoming clear that one of them has geopolitical implications of unparalleled importance.”
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Context 2 – The Doomsday Prophecy – The Doomsday Clock, a unique timepiece created seventy-nine years ago by scientists, attempts to gauge how close humanity is to destroying the world. In 2025, the clock was set at 89 seconds to midnight—the closest the world has ever been to that marker, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which established the clock in 1947, the Midnight represents the moment at which humanity will have made the Earth uninhabitable.
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Why is John Simpson so worried about the specter of World War III, and why have experts on the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists declared that the world is on the precipice of self-annihilation? To prove them wrong, the following ten wars must be halted immediately and extinguished soon thereafter.
First, War Monger Number 1 – Donald J Trump
During the last year, Trump has emerged as War Monger Number 1 on Planet Earth. Here is his roll call of “honour”:
As 2025 turned into 2026, Trump invaded Venezuela, a sovereign nation, captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in blatant disregard of international law, and decided to prosecute them in New York. Dozens of innocents were killed in the invasion, increasing military tensions between Cuba and the US.
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On January 6, 2026, Trump threatened direct military action against the Colombian government, telling reporters such an operation “sounds too good” to him. He crowed aboard Air Force One: “Columbia is very sick, too, run by a sick man, who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he is not going to be doing it very long.”
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Trump has openly declared his intention to use force if necessary in Canada and resource-rich Greenland. He bombed Iran alongside Israel and threatened fresh strikes if the Iranian government used force to contain public protests.
Trump has declared himself a messiah of Christianity, bombing Syria and more recently Nigeria.
The list is long and growing. Yet, this war monger also harbors ambitions to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for allegedly stopping eight wars, including the one between India and Pakistan. Only time will tell how quickly he pushes the world toward destruction.
Make no mistake: the first year of Trump in the White House has turned global politics and crisis management on their head, creating a specter that threatens to worsen fast.
Second, Cyber War
To date, damaging cyberattacks have mostly focused on financial gain or network access, causing major business disruptions but not life-threatening consequences. However, the cyberwarfare landscape is changing fast, threatening humanity’s survival.
In 2026, cyber warfare will be a leading strategic concern, driven by AI-powered attacks, sophisticated ransomware, identity-based threats, and expanding attack surfaces from cloud and SaaS adoption. These factors make cyber warfare a core business and national security issue requiring proactive defense and integrated strategies beyond traditional IT. AI integration by attackers (for scalable attacks like AI-driven phishing) and defenders (for threat hunting) defines the new threat landscape, alongside managing third-party risks and preparing for quantum computing.
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Key drivers of cyber warfare concerns in 2026:
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AI-Powered Threats: Advanced phishing, deepfakes, automated vulnerability exploitation, and social engineering.
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Identity-Led & Supply Chain Attacks: Compromising credentials and exploiting weaknesses in complex third-party ecosystems.
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Ransomware & Extortion: AI-enhanced attacks demanding higher ransoms.
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Increased Attack Surface: Hybrid work, cloud adoption, and interconnected platforms create vulnerabilities.
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Geopolitical Influence: State-sponsored actors target critical infrastructure and escalate global cyber tensions.
Third, Russia-Ukraine War
When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 22, 2022, experts predicted a one-week war ending with a Kremlin-backed government in Kiev. The bloody conflict has now lasted nearly four years with no end in sight.
With Nato backing Ukraine and China and North Korea supporting Russia, this war can be seen as a covert mini-World War III. Persistent nuclear sabre-rattling by Russia amid battlefield losses keeps the world on edge. If any war threatens to escalate into nuclear disaster, it is this one.
Fourth, Israel’s Middle East War
Israel’s Arab conflict began in 1948 with its first war of independence. Today, Israel fights not just for survival but for supremacy. It has effectively annexed the West Bank, flattened Gaza, neutralized Hezbollah and Houthis, and substantially weakened Iran.
Despite these actions, no just settlement exists, and frequent warfare has persisted—including 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982, 2006, ongoing Gaza operations since 2023, and 2025 strikes on Iran. The Middle East conflict could flare into a major war at any moment, despite Israel degrading Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran’s missile capabilities in 2025.
Fifth, The War in Sudan
Sudan has been in internecine war for 72 years. Civil wars from 1955-1972 and 1983-2005 led to South Sudan’s independence in 2011. Post-independence, South Sudan erupted into civil war in 2013, causing over 400,000 deaths.
Today, Sudan’s war pits the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over control of the transitional government. As of early 2026, SAF controls Khartoum and eastern regions, RSF dominates Darfur and western Sudan; fighting continues amid atrocities.
The humanitarian crisis is catastrophic: 12 million displaced, 28 million facing acute hunger, widespread famine, 20-30 million needing aid, and 150,000 deaths. Global powers arm both sides, worsening the conflict. A ceasefire, likely involving US mediation, is the first step toward eventual peace.
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Sixth, India-Pakistan Conflict
India and Pakistan have fought at least five declared wars. Operation Sindoor in 2025 marked a new phase, reflecting India’s zero tolerance for cross-border terrorist attacks. Any future Pakistani-sponsored terrorist attack could provoke a war Pakistan will never forget.
Seventh, Afghanistan-Pakistan Conflict
In October 2025, Afghanistan and Pakistan clashed after Islamabad attributed cross-border insurgent attacks to Afghan-based militants. A ceasefire holds, but Islamabad may respond aggressively to future strikes. The Taliban are badly outgunned, yet retaliation could be lethal. Both sides’ missile capabilities threaten major escalation.
Eighth, Conflict Over Taiwan
The Taiwan crisis remains serious, with China’s “Justice Mission 2025” drills simulating a blockade, escalating tensions after US arms sales and Taiwan’s defensive pledges. Xi Jinping views Taiwan as a core interest, readying invasion capabilities by 2027, though currently preferring gray-zone tactics like blockades and cyberattacks. The US, Japan, and Australia back Taiwan, but war remains possible.
Ninth, Korean Peninsula Conflict
North Korea’s 2025 constitutional shift labels South Korea its “principal enemy,” abandoning reunification rhetoric. Missile tests and artillery drills heighten risks. South Korea seeks de-escalation, but North Korea expands its nuclear arsenal, posing threats to Seoul and US bases. Despite US defense commitments, miscalculation could trigger pre-emptive strikes.
Tenth, Global Conflict Escalation
Finally, a series of conflicts across continents is rapidly worsening global security. High-tech warfare and unpredictable leaders like Trump have made the Earth an increasingly dangerous habitat, leaving the world’s trajectory in 2026 uncertain.
(The author is a multi-disciplinary thought leader with Action Bias and an India-based impact consultant. He is President of Advisory Services at BARSYL. Views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s position.)
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