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A tank on display at a park in Washington, D.C., on June 12, 2025, two days ahead of a military parade commemorating the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary and coinciding with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday.
What We’re Watching: Trump’s parade prompts protests, Kenya protests turn deadly, Mongolia picks new leader
Trump’s military parade sparks backlash
The official reason for this weekend’s military parade in Washington DC is to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the US Army – but the occasion also just happens to fall on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday. That coincidence has raised alarm among Trump critics worried about his perceived authoritarian inklings. Hundreds of “No Kings” protests are planned across the country for the same day. Meanwhile, the courts are still trying to decide whether Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles was legal. The decision will set an important precedent for Trump’s handling of protests going forward.
Protests erupts in Kenya after blogger dies in custody
Protests erupted in Nairobi, Kenya, this week over the death of a 31-year-old political blogger in police custody. Albert Ojwang was arrested last week on charges of criticizing the country’s deputy police chief. While police originally claimed that his death was caused by self-inflicted injuries – authorities said he hit “his head against a cell wall” – doctors later determined that it was more likely the result of an assault. Ojwang’s death has only added to the population’s long-held anger at Kenya’s security services.
Mongolia gets a new prime minister
After protests toppled his predecessor ten days ago, Zandanshatar Gombojav became Mongolia’s new prime minister on Thursday in a near-unanimous parliamentary vote. The former head of Mongolia’s largest bank takes power amid political unrest over the belief that the country's rich mineral wealth has only lined the pockets of the elite. He says his first priority is to increase taxes on luxury consumption, but also to decrease government spending. Let’s see if he can get the protesters onside.Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks to the crowd during a commemoration ceremony held to mark the first anniversary of the death of former President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage in Tehran, Iran, on May 20, 2025.
What We’re Watching: Iran rejects US nuclear offer, Musk-Trump divorce goes public, Mongolian PM resigns
Iranian leader pours cold water on nuclear deal
US President Donald Trump’s hopes of clinching a quick and easy nuclear deal with Iran appear to be dashed, after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the White House proposal – sent on Saturday – as “rude and arrogant.” The rejection comes days after a UN nuclear watchdog reported that Iran’s uranium is approaching weapons-grade levels. Even so, “Iran isn’t rejecting diplomacy and talks are likely to continue,” says Eurasia Group’s Iran expert Gregory Brew.
A Big Beautiful ‘Abomination’
“A disgusting abomination” – that’s how Tesla owner Elon Musk described the House Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill” on Tuesday afternoon, as his divorce from Trump grows increasingly public. Following Musk’s comment, some of the very people who passed the House bill are also now expressing buyer’s remorse. It looks like the chainsaw-wielding Musk has instead turned to throwing wrenches…
Mongolian PM steps down
Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene has resigned following protests about alleged corruption. Mongolia is a sprawling, resource-rich former-Soviet satellite surrounded entirely by Russia and China. Unlike anyone else in the neighborhood, it has maintained a functioning multiparty democracy since the early 1990s, but this resignation marks a setback. A successor to Oyun-Erdene will be named within 30 days.A carcass lies on a grassland in Oendor-Bayan county in central Mongolia, 03/29/2000
Mongolians are reeling as their herds starve
Mongolia’s government is scrambling as catastrophic weather is killing animals so quickly that a quarter of the national herd may starve. Thousands of families face destitution after losing nearly all their livestock, which drives 80% of the country’s agricultural output and 11% of GDP.
What’s the problem? A nasty weather phenomenon known as dzud or “disaster,” a combination of dry summers and harsh winter storms that create layers of ice on the ground. Arid conditions leave animals underfed going into winter, and then they can’t crack through the rock-hard ice to forage. The resulting images are heartbreaking: lifeless, emaciated sheep, yaks, camels, and horses stacked high on pickup trucks for disposal.
Dzuds are nothing new, but scientists say climate change has made them more frequent. Six of the last 10 years have seen the dzud phenomenon in Mongolia, and this winter saw the heaviest snowfall since 1975. The government predicts that nearly 15 million animals may die in a country with just 3.3 million people.
What can be done? International aid has been grossly inadequate, with even a modest $5.5 million appeal from the Red Cross in March going 80% unfulfilled. The ancient lifestyles of the steppe may need to change permanently, as overreliance on herding has accelerated desertification, which worsens the dzud. Ulaanbaatar aims to expand the rich minerals sector as a more stable and sustainable economic pillar.
Mongolia: the democracy between Russia and China
After a peaceful revolution in 1990, Mongolia established a democracy that remains strong today. Freedom House, a nonprofit devoted to promoting democracy globally, rates Mongolia as “free,” with high marks for both political rights and civil liberties.
Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj is one of the founders of Mongolia’s democracy and served as both President and Prime Minister of his nation. As he continues to advocate for freedom globally, he’s speaking out about the importance of supporting Ukraine’s struggle against Russian aggression.
At the Munich Security Conference, President Elbegdorj sat down with GZERO’s Tony Maciulis to talk about a country sandwiched between Russia and China, what Vladimir Putin is really like, and this vulnerable moment for democracy.
More about our Global Stage interviews.
Mongolia records first local coronavirus transmission
ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA (REUTERS) - Mongolia recorded its first domestic coronavirus transmission on Wednesday (Nov 11) following hundreds of imported cases, the country's health minister said during a briefing.
Mongolians vote in shadow of coronavirus
ULAN BATOR, MONGOLIA (AFP) - Mongolians headed to the polls on Wednesday (June 24) with a host of coronavirus safety restrictions in place as debate raged over whether the elections should have been postponed.
Toxic air in city tears apart families in Mongolia, as parents send their children to countryside
BORNUUR, MONGOLIA (AFP) - In the world's coldest capital, many burn coal and plastic just to survive temperatures as low as minus 40 deg C - but warmth comes at a price: deadly pollution makes Ulaanbataar's air too toxic for children to breathe, leaving parents little choice but to evacuate them to the countryside.