Then and Now: South Africa, Algeria, Ukraine

We at GZERO are old enough to remember a time when there was some story about the US president trying to buy Greenland… last week. The news cycle moves fast. In fact, since you started reading this piece, it's already moved on.

As an antidote to the news cycle madness, we are creating a little time machine. Every so often we'll fire it up to check on, and update, stories that we've covered in the past.

For our inaugural voyage, we look back at South Africa's elections, Algeria's protests, and a scary near miss between Ukraine and Russia.

Three months ago – A South African reformer struggles: Cyril Ramaphosa's triumph in South Africa's May elections was seen as a reformist rebuke to his African National Congress (ANC) party's corrupt old guard. Now, three months into the job, he is dealing with two main issues: a corruption row and land reform. When Ramaphosa took over as party chief from Jacob Zuma — who was forced out amid widespread corruption allegations — he pledged to bring "ethics" into politics. But for much of his short tenure, Ramaphosa has been fighting a campaign finance scandal. Meanwhile, one of Ramaphosa's first moves as president was to spearhead a controversial land reform that would expedite land transfers to the black majority. This, too, has split public opinion over how, exactly, it will help the poor or speed the country's economic progress.

Six Months ago – Algeria's unfulfilled protests: In February, hundreds of thousands of Algerian protesters hit the streets to call for the ouster of the country's long-serving and functionally-deceased strongman Abdelaziz Bouteflika. He resigned in April but since then the government has been run by the same military cronies who kept Bouteflika in power. That doesn't sit well with protesters, who continue to flood the streets every weekend to demand more than just a cosmetic change to a repressive and corrupt system. They want fresh elections and a civilian government, but no new ballot is on the calendar yet. It's a stalemate in which the military is trying to outlast the streets. A reminder that while popular protests can succeed in ousting specific leaders (think Egypt's Mubarak or Sudan's Bashir) the systems behind those leaders are often much harder to displace.

Nine Months ago – Ukraine and Russia on the brink: For a few days last November, it seemed Moscow and Kyiv's simmering conflict over Eastern Ukraine might escalate into outright war on the high seas, when the Russian navy fired on Ukrainian ships in a contested waterway. Since then things have cooled – and Ukraine has elected a comedian as president. In recent days there has been talk of a major prisoner swap between Ukrainian forces and the Russian-backed rebels who control large swathes of eastern Ukraine. That would be a step forward in resolving the conflict, which is now in its fifth year. But the crux of it remains unresolved: Moscow wants Kyiv to grant the separatist provinces more autonomy than Ukraine's parliament can stomach.

More from GZERO Media

Across North America and Europe, blackouts are becoming more common, often hitting when the demand peaks or when the weather turns extreme. The surging demand for power and new energy sources are putting pressure on the energy systems. Meeting today’s energy needs takes a flexible, pragmatic, “all-of-the-above” approach — drawing on all fuels and technologies. Learn how Enbridge is delivering reliable, affordable energy in uncertain times.

Amir Seaid Iravani premanent representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran speaks during the UN Security Council on June 24, 2025 in New York City.
John Lamparski via Reuters Connect

It’s not clear yet how much the US attack on Iran's nuclear sites this weekend set back the Islamic Republic's ability to develop atomic weapons, but experts say the airstrikes almost certainly threw a bomb into something larger: the global nuclear non-proliferation regime.

A pie graph showing the percentage of Americans in favor of having a third major political party.
Ico Oliveira

Remember when Elon Musk threatened to start his own political party during his spat with Donald Trump? It’s unclear how many Americans would switch their political affiliation to a Musk-run party specifically, but a plurality agree that they’d like another major political party to rival the Democrats and Republicans.

Open Call is the heart of Walmart’s $350 billion commitment to US manufacturing, supporting products made, grown or assembled in America. The pitch event represents a unique opportunity for selected entrepreneurs to meet face-to-face with Walmart merchants and earn a chance to get their products on store shelves nationwide. Last year, finalists from across the country represented 48 states, with entrepreneurs from over half these states receiving deals. It’s all a part of Walmart’s investment in American jobs and communities. Learn more about Walmart’s annual Open Call.

Last week, Microsoft released its 2025 Responsible AI Transparency Report, demonstrating the company’s sustained commitment to earning trust at a pace that matches AI innovation. The report outlines new developments in how we build and deploy AI systems responsibly, how we support our customers, and how we learn, evolve, and grow. It highlights our strengthened incident response processes, enhanced risk assessments and mitigations, and proactive regulatory alignment. It also covers new tools and practices we offer our customers to support their AI risk governance efforts, as well as how we work with stakeholders around the world to work towards governance approaches that build trust. You can read the report here.