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Three years ago the 11m people of Wuhan, a Chinese city, were the first to be locked down to stop the spread of a strange new virus. Covid-19 had actually emerged weeks earlier, but authorities played down its dangers, allowing millions to leave before the city and its surrounding province were sealed. But in 2023, after China abruptly dropped strict pandemic controls, the country’s rulers are intent on promoting a return to normality. Celebrations of the lunar new year holidays began over the weekend.

For unknown numbers of Chinese it is a more sombre new year. Official death tolls stand at around 70,000 between December 8th and January 19th. The true number is far higher, according to exhausted funeral workers and doctors. Millions heading to home towns and villages hope they will not infect elderly relatives, though it may help that many villagers have already had the virus. An exhausted country is ready to move on.

In 2022, Europe’s consumers presented economists with a puzzle. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, consumer confidence—measured through surveys on households’ financial situation and their overall economic outlook—tanked. Europeans worried about the war’s impact on the rest of Europe, high energy costs and potential economic hardship. Economic forecasters feared a recession.

Yet spending in shops held up fairly well. That was because the labour market remained strong, the post-pandemic spending boom still had legs and governments transferred billions to households to help pay energy bills. Since then, prices for gas, power and fuel have come down to pre-war levels and a severe energy crisis has been avoided. The release of new data on consumer sentiment on Monday should reflect that and show that Europeans are bullish. The European consumer is not exactly known for pushing the world economy forward, but has nonetheless proved remarkably resilient in this crisis.

As the West promises more heavy weapons to Ukraine, rumours abound that Vladimir Putin will soon announce a second wave of mobilisation. Russia has not deployed all of the roughly 300,000 men recruited in the first drive, yet a new call-up would still be needed to sustain another large-scale offensive, which Ukraine reckons will begin in the coming weeks. The recent appointment of Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s senior general, to take command of the invasion may also signal that a fresh attack is coming.

For the offensive to stand a chance, claims Ukraine, Russia would have to call up half a million more men. That would be politically difficult. The first mobilisation sparked widespread protests in September; an estimated 700,000-800,000 men fled the country in one month. Families have become only more unsure about sending their loved ones off to war. Mr Putin is committed to his fight. His people will have to consider the costs—not that anyone is asking their opinion.

For years India’s economic growth was hindered by a rotten banking sector, plagued by bad loans and shoddy management. Now that constraint is easing. Banks’ credit growth rose to a ten-year high in December. Earlier in 2022, the share of bad loans fell to a seven-year low. The turnaround is a consequence of several factors. Government reforms to clean up balance-sheets have worked. A popular mobile-payments platform has brought more funds into the banking system.

Private banks are flourishing. On Saturday ICICI, the country’s second-biggest private bank, reported a 34% year-on-year increase in profits for the last quarter of 2022. Axis Bank, the third biggest, posted an increase of 62% as it reported results on Monday. A global economic slowdown will hurt momentum, but the central bank is not too worried. It predicts that, in the worst possible scenario this year, Indian banks will remain resilient. In the best case, they will thrive.

With its famous undulating roof line, the Canopy Terminal at Jeddah airport is often the first view that pilgrims enjoy when they land in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj. From Monday, it will also be home for three months to the first Islamic Arts Biennale, featuring an indoor exhibition that focuses on qiblah or the “sacred direction” and an open-air show about hijrah, or migration, that began with the journey that the Prophet Muhammad took from Mecca to Medina in 622. Forty-four artists have created works that examine how Islam’s most sacred sites give Muslims around the world a sense of community and belonging.

Politically, the Biennale is the latest expression of soft power by the crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, and his cousin, Badr bin Farhan Al-Saud, the culture minister. They are keen to use art to project a gentler image for the kingdom after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist, and a huge increase in public executions in 2022.