Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pays tribute to the 309 victims of the earthquake that struck, in L'Aquila, Italy, on 5 April 2009.
Hard Numbers: Harris goes into Fox’s den, Italy’s international surrogacy ban, Nigeria’s fuel tanker explosion, Hong Kong tries to get the party started, Jimmy Carter casts his 21st presidential ballot
200 million: Kamala Harris went into conservative territory to appear on Fox News on Wednesday night. In a pre-taped, 30-minute interview with network host Bret Baier, the vice president was grilled on immigration and her history of supporting taxes used to fund gender-affirming care for federal prisoners and detained immigrants. The interview was contentious, with the two repeatedly talking over one another. Fox News, which reaches nearly 200 million people each month, was just the latest stop on Harris’ media blitz – and was likely an attempt to reach independents and moderate Republicans.
1.25: Surrogacy has been banned in Italy for 20 years, but Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’sconservative government has just gone a step further and criminalized seeking surrogacy abroad. Conservative lawmakers argued that they passed the law because they believe surrogacy is exploitative of women. Critics argued it would deprive gay or infertile couples of a way to have children and noted that the legislation targets a relatively small number of families in a country that already has a low birth rate.
100: A massive fuel tanker explosion in northern Nigeria killed 100 people and left 50 injured on Wednesday. The tanker exploded after veering to avoid colliding with a truck in the town of Maja. Fuel tanker explosions are common in Africa’s most populous nation, where roads can be poorly maintained. Complicating matters, residents often rush toward the tanker to siphon off fuel following accidents amid the country’s worst economic crisis in a generation.
10: Hong Kong has slashed its booze tax, one of the highest in the world, as the Chinese territory seeks to boost nightlife and revive its struggling economy. Until now, spirits with an alcoholic content of more than 30%, including brandy, whisky, and gin, had been subject to a 100% duty in Hong Kong. But the financial hub has been hit hard by China’s slowing economy and the fall in tourist numbers, leading the Beijing-backed government to slash the duty rate to 10%.
21: Former US President Jimmy Carter, who turned 100 this month, voted by mail on the first day of Georgia’s early voting on Tuesday. Although he did not reveal who he voted for, he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in August that, even more than making it to his 100th birthday, he was “only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris.” At 19, Carter likely cast his first vote in the 1944 presidential election, as a part of the first cohort of voters made eligible to vote by Georgia lowering its voting age to 18, making this his 21st presidential election.
Indian Army soldiers participate in a mock drill exercise during the Army Day parade in New Delhi, India, January 15, 2016. India celebrated the 68th anniversary of the formation of its national army with soldiers from various regiments, and artillery on display on Friday.
Hard Numbers: Indian weapons find their way to Ukraine, Colombia halts peace talks with ELN, Trump and Harris tie in national poll, canoe operators soak folks in flood-hit region of Nigeria
11: For more than a year now, European countries have been buying Indian weapons and sending them to Ukraine for use against Russian invaders, according to 11 Indian and European defense officials interviewed in a Reuters exclusive. The juiciest bit? New Delhi – which has otherwise maintained good ties with Moscow – has refused Russia’s repeated requests to stop this from happening.
2: The Colombian government suspended peace talks with the Marxist rebels of the National Liberation Army, known by its Spanish acronym ELN, after an attack by the group killed two soldiers. Calling off talks with the ELN – which sat out the historic 2016 peace deal between the government and the larger FARC group – is another blow to leftist President Gustavo Petro’s promise of reaching “total peace” in the country. In July he was forced to scrap negotiations with another large faction of holdout militants.
47: With less than two months until Election Day, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are in a dead heat, tied at 47% apiece in a new national poll. In Pennsylvania, a key swing state, polls gave Harris an advantage of between one and four points. The margin of error in the state polls was just under 4 points.
80,000: People in the flood-battered northeastern Nigerian state of Borno are reeling at the price of canoe rides, with operators charging as much as 80,000 naira (about $50) for a short journey. To put that in perspective, that single ride would cost more than the local monthly minimum wage. Borno has suffered severe floods, and a related prison break, since a dam burst amid unusually heavy rains in Central and Eastern Africa.Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin Wall on the Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 23, 2023.
Hard Numbers: Putin eyes more troops, Liberals lose in Montreal riding, Beijing frees American, Deadly clashes in New Guinea, Gazan children vaccinated, Nigerian prison escape
180,000: Uncle Vladimir wants … more troops. The Russian president on Monday ordered that his country’s army be enlarged to 1.5 million active troops, an increase of 180,000 soldiers. If successful, the growth would make Russia’s military the second largest worldwide, with China in the No. 1 spot.
28: Canada’s Liberal Party lost another big byelection on Monday in Montreal’s LaSalle-Émard-Verdun riding. Between this loss to Bloc-Québécois and a June loss to Conservatives in Toronto-St. Paul’s, PM Justin Trudeau’s party has seen a summer bookended by major losses in so-called Liberal strongholds. Preliminary results from Monday’s vote show it was so close that the BQ beat the Liberals by less than a percentage point, 28% to 27.2%. But don’t expect Trudeau to step down: He said before the polls opened that he would stay on as party leader whatever the result.
18: On Sunday, Beijing releasedDavid Lin, an American pastor who had been wrongfully detained in China for 18 years, partially fulfilling the White House’s repeated requests to hand over detainees. Washington is also seeking the release of Kai Li and Mark Swidan, who have been detained in China since 2016 and 2012, respectively. Their detentions are scheduled for a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
50: Up to 50 people have died in ongoing fighting among illegal mine operators in Papua New Guinea’s Porgera Valley, the UN announced Monday. Security forces have reportedly started deploying in the valley, which was also the site of a landslide that killed up to 2,000 people in May, but violence, especially inter-tribal violence, is a growing problem that New Guinea has few resources to address.
90: UN health authorities in Gaza announced on Monday that they have vaccinated 90% of the 640,000 children with their first dose against polio, a major humanitarian accomplishment amid the ongoing fighting. UNRWA says it’s now focused on getting the vaccine to the remaining children and setting up for the second dose in about two months.
274: At least 274 inmates in a Nigerian prison in Borno state have escaped after major floods caused walls in the facility to collapse. Around 4 million Nigerians have been affected by the floods, and at least 1,000 people across West and Central Africa have died.Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra attends a press conference at the Pheu Thai party headquarters after the royal endorsement ceremony. Paetongtarn Shinawatra become the 31th Prime Minister and the second female Prime Minister of Thailand after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra.
Hard Numbers: New PM in Bangkok, New elections in Kashmir, New copper in Afghanistan, New kidnappings in Nigeria, New fines for X in Brazil
37: Thailand now has its youngest-ever prime minister, with 37-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter and niece of former PMs Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra, respectively, at the helm. Paetongtarn – who received the royal endorsement on Sunday – faces a tough road ahead, with Thai voters struggling amid a sluggish economy and chaffing after nearly a decade of military meddling in politics, including for her appointment.
10: Voters in Indian-controlled Kashmir will vote for a state assembly for the first time in 10 years starting next month, Indian authorities announced Friday. But the news isn’t going over well in Srinagar, with one local politician saying “This isn’t democracy, it’s a mockery.” The new local assembly will only have nominal control over education and cultural policy, while all other legislation will continue to come from New Delhi. Kashmiri militants, with backing from Pakistan and international terrorist networks, have resisted Indian occupation since 1989, and Kashmir lost its state status in 2019 during a massive crackdown.
16: A joint copper mining venture in Afghanistan between China and the Taliban reportedly broke ground last month after 16 years of delay. Kabul is hanging major economic hopes on the project, which aims to exploit the second-largest untouched copper reserve in the world. But it has also accused Beijing of reneging on key elements of the deal.
20: Nigerian authorities are urgently working to secure the release of 20 medical students who were abducted in Benue State late Thursday. The national police have deployed drones and helicopters in their search, and the Nigerian Medical Association indicated it had received ransom demands. But paying them would be illegal under an anti-kidnapping law passed in 2022.
100,000: Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered X, formerly known as Twitter, to pay 100,000 reais (~$19,774) per day for each account of far-right figures it re-opened in violation of court orders while those figures are under investigation. Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes also placed X CEO Elon Musk under investigation for charges including obstruction of justice. The order has prompted X to close its offices in Brazil, but Brazilians can still access the platform.
A man holds a Russian flag, as Nigerians protest in the streets during anti-government demonstrations against bad governance and economic hardship, in Kaduna state, Nigeria August 5, 2024.
Hard Numbers: Nigeria hems in tailors over Russian flags, Thailand's Move Forward disbanded, EU-Mercosur nears trade deal, Scorched China turns off the lights, Foreigners stoke Portugal’s housing crisis
4: Measure twice, arrest once, they say. Nigeria has detained several tailors and their “sponsors” for making the Russian flags that protesters were seen waving during recent anti-government demonstrations in four northern states. Unrest surged nationwide last week in response to subsidy cuts and soaring inflation. Nigerian authorities say waiving a foreign flag during protests is a “treasonable offense,” but the move comes amid heightened concern about Russian influence in sub-Saharan Africa, where Moscow-friendly forces have recently carried out several coups.
10: A Thai court on Monday banned the anti-establishment Move Forward party’s current and former executives from politics for 10 years over its opposition to laws that protect Thailand’s royal family from criticism. The rank-and-file members will be allowed to keep their seats in parliament and are likely to form a new party, albeit without the same leadership that secured the most votes in the 2023 election.
780 million: Negotiators are in the homestretch on a free trade deal between the EU and Mercosur, a trade group comprising South American heavyweights Brazil and Argentina, along with Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia. If inked, it would create a single market of 780 million people and save EU companies more than $4 billion a year in tariffs. The talks took a hit recently when France objected on environmental grounds, but a new draft will include climate change commitments. To ratify, the EU needs only a simple majority of its 27 members.
12.5 million: The Chinese tech capital of Hangzhou has ordered its 12.5 million residents to stop using any “non-essential lighting” to relieve power grids as a record heat wave scorches large swathes of eastern and southern China. The soaring temperatures have not only tested power generation, but they’ve also raised concerns about adequate irrigation for rice farmers in the middle of the early-season harvest.
94: Rental prices in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon have soared 94% over the past decade, while home prices have risen twice as much as that. Experts blame the shortage of affordable housing on an influx of wealthy foreigners lured by tax breaks, a growing number of economic immigrants (especially from Brazil) seeking employment, and the rise of short-term rentals that cater to the country’s tourism industry.
Members of civil society groups are holding a peaceful protest over economic hardship and unfriendly government policies to mark Nigeria Democracy Day in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, on June 12, 2024.
Nigeria braces for nationwide protests
Activists in Nigeria have called for 10 days of protest, set to start Thursday, over the debilitating cost-of-living crisis in the country, which previously boasted Africa’s largest economy.
The US, UK, and Canada have issued travel alerts over the protests, warning of the potential for violence. But unless there is a forceful response from security forces, the demonstrations are unlikely to turn violent, says Amaka Anku, head of Eurasia Group’s Africa practice.
The protests come as Nigerians face crippling inflation and struggle to afford basic goods, including food. Demonstrators are also incensed over President Bola Tinubu’s move to scrap a popular fuel subsidy, which cost the government roughly $10 billion.
The Nigerian demonstrations were inspired by recent protests in Kenya, which were sparked by a finance bill that would’ve raised taxes and was ultimately scrapped. But Anku says the protests in Nigeria don’t have a specific demand like those in Kenya and are “more about expressing general frustration with economic conditions.”
Tinubu recently approved a wage hike, which was seemingly an effort to appease people, but “obviously it’s not enough,” says Anku. “In the end, nothing can make you feel better about your currency losing 70% of its value in a year.”
We’ll be watching to see how Tinubu’s government responds to the demonstrations in the days ahead, and whether the protests prompt any policy shifts.
Ugandan police officers detain protestors during a rally against what the protesters say are rampant corruption and human rights abuses by the country's rulers in Kampala, Uganda July 23, 2024.
Kenyan-inspired protests spread across Africa
Kenyan President William Rutonominated four opposition ministers to his new “broad-based” cabinet on Wednesday to appease growing government dissatisfaction – a move that's already being labeled a corrupt bribe by protesters. Earlier this month, Ruto fired most of his cabinet after weeks of student-led protests against proposed tax hikes and government corruption led to 50 deaths and calls for his resignation.
Wednesday's move came after last week’s appointment of 11 ministers – six of whom had been in the previous cabinet – drawing concerns that Ruto’s pledges for radical change were just words and that he will continue to choose personal politics over national interests. Protesters have been urged to accept Ruto’s concessions and engage in constructive dialogue, but demonstrations continue as Ruto refuses to step down.
New Kenyan-inspired protests. These calls for change are now being echoed across the continent. In Uganda, youths inspired by their Kenyan counterparts have taken to the streets in anti-corruption protests – a move authoritarian President Yoweri Museveniwarned was “playing with fire.” Ugandan forces besieged the activists’ headquarters on Monday, and authorities arrested more than 40 people – including three opposition lawmakers – at banned protests the following day.
Hoping to mirror the successes of Kenyan protests, young Nigerians have also taken to social media to organize a demonstration on Aug. 1 against the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has called on youths not to join the “sinister” protests, as the government begs for more time to address economic hardships.
Hurricane Beryl makes its way to the Caribbean's Windward Islands, in a composite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) GOES-East weather satellite June 30, 2024.
Hard Numbers: Beryl barrels toward land, Deadly bombings hit Nigeria, Incumbent leads in Mauritania, India beats South Africa at cricket
1st: Hurricane season’s first big storm has a name: Beryl. Strengthening into a Category 4 storm on Sunday, Beryl is rolling into the Caribbean with 130-mph winds and is expected to reach the Windward Islands in the West Indies early Monday.
18: Suicide bombings have killed at least 18, and possibly as many as 30, people in northeastern Nigeria. No group has claimed responsibility yet, but police say that female bombers struck a wedding and a funeral in Gwoza, in Borno State on Saturday. The region is home to Boko Haram’s Islamist insurgency, which has displaced more than two million people, and Islamic State West Africa Province has carried out similar bombings in Borno state.
55: The West African nation of Mauritania also went to the polls on Saturday, and by Sunday, President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani had was leading with 56% of the vote, according to results from more than 90% of polling stations. His closest rival had garnered just 23% of the vote, so the pro-Western Ghazouani – whose election in 2019 was the country’s first peaceful transition of power since independence in 1960 – looks set for another five-year term.
13: Indian cricket fans are celebrating after the country’s triumph Saturday in the Cricket World Cup, where it beat South Africa by seven runs to end a 13-year dry spell, in a dramatic display of bowling and fielding. This was India’s second T20 World Cup win – the last time it won was in 2007 – and its first international cricket win since clinching the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup.