I read the news today; oh boy!

Right now the contents of any respectable newspaper make the Book of Revelation look about as scary as Three Men in a Boat.

Front and centre is, of course, the political unravelling in the Middle East. After the relatively bloodless protests in Tunisia and Egypt, it was surprising and dismaying to find that the authorities in Bahrain resorted quickly to strong-arm tactics when demonstrations began there. It's less surprising to see the same happening, on a much more gruesome scale, in Libya, where something not far short of civil war seems to be kicking off. Last night's extraordinary broadcast by Colonel Gadhafi's son, Saif, was proof of the old adage that the apple -- or in this case, perhaps, the nut -- never falls far from the tree. If this sort of thing can happen in Libya, no regime in the region can be regarded as immune.

Iran has chosen this exact moment to send a warship through the Suez Canal into the Med, the first time it has done this since the Shah was deposed in 1979. Supposedly the vessel, a frigate, will be spending a year doing anti-piracy training with those well-known experts in the field, the Syrians. Israel has described the move as a "provocation", something that could, of course, never be said about the submarines that Israel keeps permanently on station just off the Iranian coast.

Meanwhile in Iceland, another volcano is making threatening noises. This one apparently makes our old friend from last year, Eyafjallawhatever, look like a pimple.

And in Washington, the Federal Government is set to run out of money on March 4, as the new Republican majority in the House engage in a show of strength with the Obama administration over spending cuts. A shutdown of the government, and potentially a failure to repay the country's debts as they fall due, looms ever closer, with unforeseeable effects for the global financial system.

Even the sun is getting in on the act. A massive solar flare has raised fears over disruptions to power and communications grids, and more of the same is expected through 2012 as the sun emerges from its recent period of relative dormancy.

Feel like turning to the sports pages for relief? There you'll find these extraordinary words: "Leyton Orient 1 - Arsenal 1". So not all the news is bad, then -- though come to think of it, if you wanted just one story to prove that the world has spun right off its gimbals, that might be the one to choose.