Hard Numbers: A bold Russia prediction, China’s new FM goes to Africa, Bosnian Serbs buck a ban, Nigerians train station abductions, Biden's files

Russian President Vladimir Putin

46: A new Atlantic Council report says 46% of Russia hands think the country will be a “failed state” within the next decade. Could be, but it’s worth noting that experts have predicted at least 15 of the last 0 collapses of Vladimir Putin’s regime so far. So read this with interest, but a side of salt.

5: In his first trip to Africa since becoming China’s new foreign minister, Qin Gang will visit five countries on the continent this week: Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin, and Egypt. As China and the US increasingly eye opportunities in Africa, check out our recent Q&A with Eurasia Group Africa Director Amaka Anku, who says Washington is saying the wrong things and falling behind.

31: A parade of Bosnian Serb troops and police flouted a court ban in order to mark the 31st anniversary of their autonomous republic’s statehood over the weekend. Tensions have recently been rising between Bosnian Serbs, Bosniaks, and Croats in the country.

32: Unknown gunmen abducted at least 32 people in a southern Nigerian train station over the weekend. So far no group has claimed responsibility, but ahead of upcoming elections in February, the government’s inability to maintain basic security across the country is a major issue for voters.

10: That's how many classified documents were found at US President Joe Biden's former office at the Penn Biden Center, a Washington, DC-based think tank. The files — reportedly from Biden’s time as VP — have been handed over to the National Archives and the Justice Department is reviewing the case at the same time former President Donald Trump is under investigation for allegedly refusing to return some 300 classified documents that Trump took with him to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

Following a terrorist attack in Kashmir last spring, India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers, exchanged military strikes in an alarming escalation. Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Khar joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to discuss Pakistan’s perspective in the simmering conflict.

- YouTube

A military confrontation between India and Pakistan in May nearly pushed the two nuclear-armed countries to the brink of war. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the complicated history of the India-Pakistan conflict, one of the most contentious and bitter rivalries in the world.

A combination picture shows Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with Arkhangelsk Region Governor Alexander Tsybulsky in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region, Russia July 24, 2025.
REUTERS/Leah Millis

In negotiations, the most desperate party rarely gets the best terms. As Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska today to discuss ending the Ukraine War, their diverging timelines may shape what deals emerge – if any.