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Politics
What We’re Watching: Zelensky’s turn to meet with Trump, Israelis protest against Bibi again, Hong Kong media mogul faces trial
Metropolitan Police Department officers secure 16th Street near the White House, ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meeting to discuss the war in Ukraine, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 17, 2025.
Zelensky heads (back) to the White House
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is back in Washington today, meeting with US President Donald Trump to discuss a potential end to the Russia-Ukraine war and hoping for a better outcome than his last visit to the Oval Office earlier this year. This time he’s bringing friends, European leaders including France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, and the UK’s Keir Starmer, who are offering their support as he attempts to keep his country intact.
The confab follows Trump’s Alaska meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, which produced very little by way of a ceasefire in Ukraine. While Zelensky will hope that this visit is more cordial than his last, he is likely still feeling the pressure: Trump reportedly told European leaders yesterday that he supports Putin’s offer to pause fighting if Ukraine relinquishes the Donbas region, even though Russian forces don’t currently hold this land. Zelensky has ruled out such a land swap. The US president also said on social media last night that his Ukrainian counterpart should forget about regaining Crimea or joining NATO.
Is there any timeline for peace here? With the White House now pushing for a peace deal rather than just a ceasefire, don’t expect an imminent pause in fighting, says US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Washington is nonetheless trying to strike a positive tone, with US special envoy Steve Witkoff declaring on Sunday that Russia had agreed to “robust” security guarantees, including a collective defense of Ukraine by American and European forces should Russia try to invade again.
Anti-Netanyahu protests growing in Israel
Is Israel’s anti-Bibi wing back to pre-October 7 levels? Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv – and other parts of Israel – on Sunday to implore Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a deal to return the remaining hostages. The crowds were roughly the same size as the rallies against Netanyahu’s judicial changes in early 2023. The protests came after the Security Cabinet approved a plan to conquer Gaza City two weeks ago, a possible signal that the Knesset is prioritizing rooting out Hamas over returning the hostages.
In latest setback for Hong Kong’s democracy, a media mogul faces trial
Closing arguments are underway in a landmark trial against Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai, one of the city’s most prominent pro-democracy figures. Lai ran the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, which China has criticized for spreading “fake news” and instigating “Hong Kong Independence”. After being held in solitary confinement for around 1,700 days, he is being charged under the controversial National Security Law for conspiring to collude with foreign forces and publishing so-called “seditious” articles. If convicted, the 77-year-old could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.Enaam Abdallah Mohammed, 19, a displaced Sudanese woman and mother of four, who fled with her family, looks on inside a camp shelter amid the ongoing conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, in Tawila, North Darfur, Sudan July 30, 2025.
Drones have become the new face of modern warfare, dominating headlines as Russia and Ukraine trade near-daily aerial strikes.
But unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) are wreaking havoc in another of the world’s deadliest, and least covered, conflicts.
In Sudan, a country of 50 million people in the Sahel region of Africa, a brutal civil war is taking place between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Now drones are exacerbating the crisis.
Back up a second: how did this war begin? The Sudanese Civil War pits two army leaders – Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed “Hemedti” Dagalo – against each other. While the pair were once allied in ousting Sudan’s long-time dictator Omar al-Bashir, a bitter rivalry between them erupted in 2023, plunging the country into an all-out civil war that has claimed as many as 150,000 lives and left an estimated 14 million displaced. Half of the country is in desperate need of food assistance, and there are reports of an ongoing genocide in the western region of Darfur.
“It’s really the full set of a catastrophe,” says Sarra Majdoub, a Sudan analyst for the UN Security Council’s Panel of Experts. “Everyone is really struggling, the humanitarian needs are huge.”
A growing disaster. With drones now entering the fray, the conflict risks escalating into a dangerous new phase, allowing both sides to keep inflicting damage with minimal risks to themselves.
Ever since the SAF recaptured the capital Khartoum in March, the two sides have been locked in a strategic stalemate, with drones enabling both groups to carry out precision strikes hundreds of miles behind enemy lines.
“There’s this race for militarization and getting more and more weaponry,” says Majdoub.
In May, the RSF launched several drone strikes on the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, where thousands had sought refuge from fierce fighting in Khartoum. The following month, five members of a UN aid convoy were killed in an aerial strike while delivering life-saving assistance to the famine-stricken North Darfur.
How did high-tech drones make it to Sudan? “Drones are often delivered in pieces, disguised as civilian goods or humanitarian aid, and reassembled,” says Dr Andreas Krieg, a Middle East and North Africa expert at King’s College London.
But understanding why UAVs ended up in the hands of SAF and RSF fighters requires a broader look at the region – and the external powers fueling the war.
Situated along the Red Sea, Sudan occupies a strategic geographic position with access to valuable natural resources, including fertile agricultural land and precious minerals like gold. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have invested billions in Sudan’s agriculture sector, while Egypt – which shares a 793-mile border with Sudan – sees its own security as closely linked to its southern neighbor.
“The conflict is geopolitically embedded,” Majdoub adds.
Despite a partial UN arms embargo on Sudan, foreign weapons continue to play a significant role in the conflict.
High-impact UAVs are especially attractive because they can be produced at scale, are low cost, and are easily smuggled through clandestine supply networks.
While analysts like Krieg accuse Turkey, Iran, Egypt, and Russia of helping build up the SAF’s aerial capabilities, several reports suggest the RSF is receiving covert support from the UAE – a claim Abu Dhabi denies.
“We’re seeing the emergence of a new kind of warfare – one in which surrogate forces can be armed and equipped to wage high-tech battles, without ever having to be officially recognized or formally allied,” adds Krieg.
Caught in the crossfire. As foreign powers appear to advance their competing agendas, and drones flood the zone, it is Sudan’s civilians who are bearing the costs.
“Drones have made the war feel omnipresent. They strike without warning, often in places that were once considered safe,” says Krieg. “This sense of constant, inescapable threat has become part of daily life in many parts of Sudan.”
What We’re Watching: Haiti turns to foreign fighters, China’s economy slumps, protests flare-up in Serbia
Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, attends a police and military presentation, in Guayaquil, Ecuador April 5, 2025.
Haiti turns to foreign guns as gangs tighten grip
Blackwater founder Erik Prince is ramping up his private security firm’s presence in Haiti, deploying hundreds of fighters from the US, Europe, and El Salvador to battle gangs controlling much of the country. Prince’s Vectus Global, active there since March, says it’s working under a 10-year deal with Haiti’s government, including a role in tax collection. The move — involving snipers, helicopters, and drones — comes after gangs toppled the government in February, causing ongoing chaos in Port-au-Prince.
The stakes of China’s economic slowdown
China’s economy stumbled in July, with factory output hitting an eight-month low, though still 5.7% higher year-over-year than the previous July. The relative slowdown reflects weakening domestic demand, property sector woes, extreme weather, and fierce market competition — compounded by uncertainty over Donald Trump’s trade policy. Beyond the economic hit, analysts note that prolonged weakness could limit Beijing’s ability to come into impending trade talks on strong footing.
Tension in Serbia flare
Tensions in Serbia escalated this week after supporters of President Aleksandar Vučić and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) hurled flares at anti-government protestors late Wednesday. The violence follows nine months of demonstrations sparked by the deadly collapse of a train canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 last year – an incident which protestors have blamed on state corruption and mismanagement. With Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević having already resigned earlier this year, we’ll be watching to see if Vučić can outlast this growing political crisis.
US President Donald Trump’s upcoming summit with Putin has cast a spotlight on oil exports, a key source of revenue for Russia’s war in Ukraine. The White House has been threatening Russia with so-called “secondary sanctions”, while punishing buyers — slapping a 50% tariff on India, the largest buyer of Russian crude in 2025 (more on that here). Here’s a look at the biggest buyers of Russian oil via boat in 2025.
Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay (photo) died on August 11, after being the victim of an attack last Saturday, June 7, while attending a political rally in the Modelia neighborhood of Bogotá.
39: At the age 39, center-right presidential candidate Miguel Uribe died on Monday, nine weeks after he was shot by a 14-year-old boy during a campaign rally in Bogota, the Colombian capital. Before his death, the shooting had catapulted Uribe to the top of the polls for next year’s election. The incident has revived fears in Colombia of a return to political violence, which was endemic in the 1980s and 1990s – read more here.
5: Five Al Jazeera journalists – and one freelance reporter — were killed in an Israeli strike on al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Sunday, including prominent Arabic-language correspondent Anas al-Sharif. The Israeli military accused al-Sharif of leading a Hamas cell, a claim that Al Jazeera, the Committee to Protect Journalist and a UN expert have denied.
20%: South Korea’s paltry birthrate is now affecting the size of its military ranks, which have dropped 20% in the past six years to 450,000 troops. This is less than half of North Korea’s military, which numbers 1.2 million. South Korea has conscription – even soccer star Son Heung-min had to complete a military training, albeit a shortened one.
3104: There was some friendly fire, so to speak, in the South China Sea on Monday, as a Chinese warship accidentally rammed a Chinese coast guard ship – Coastguard Vessel 3104 – as it was chasing after a Philippine boat. The South China Sea has been a major area of dispute between Beijing and Manila, ever since China seized the Scarborough Shoal area in 2012.
Harvard Law professor Noah Feldman doesn’t downplay the reality of antisemitic violence in the US: “These things are real and they have to be taken very seriously.” But he draws a sharp line between legitimate concern and political opportunism.
“There is a flavor of using antisemitism as an excuse to go after Harvard,” he says. Feldman recounts a colleague whose science funding was cut due to alleged antisemitism on campus—despite being part of an all-Jewish research team. “It just makes no sense at all.”
As part of a wide-ranging conversation in the latest episode of GZERO World, Feldman argues that this kind of approach isn’t about fighting hate—it’s about making universities the enemy.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube.Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
American universities have long been engines of innovation, global leadership, and critical thought. But now they’re in the political crosshairs. Under the Trump administration, elite schools like Harvard and Columbia are facing lawsuits, funding threats, and mounting pressure to crack down on perceived antisemitism and “woke” culture. White House allies say it’s about protecting students. Constitutional scholar Noah Feldman says it’s about power.
On GZERO World, Feldman joins Ian Bremmer to argue that President Trump’s campaign against higher education is a broader attack on independent institutions—and the role they play in shaping public truth. Feldman warns that cutting federal science funding, punishing international students, and politicizing speech on campus are part of a strategy to delegitimize universities and assert control over what they teach and who they admit.
“No one at Harvard...wants to knuckle under to Trump,” Feldman says. “The university doesn’t have any value if it can’t be independent.”
Feldman also discusses rising antisemitism, Harvard’s legal battle with the Trump administration, and why standing up now could set the precedent for how all US universities respond in the future.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.