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Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner arrives at 10 Downing Street for a weekly Cabinet meeting in London, United Kingdom, on Sept. 2, 2025.
Hard Numbers: UK’s deputy PM resigns, US jobs market stagnates, Another earthquake hits Afghanistan, & More
£40,000: Deputy UK Prime Minister Angela Rayner has resigned from her role after it emerged that she legally avoided £40,000 ($54,000) in stamp duty – the tax incurred on buying a house – when she purchased a second home. Rayner also quit her roles as housing secretary and deputy Labour Party leader, which has prompted a major reshuffle: Foreign Secretary David Lammy replaces Rayner as deputy PM, and also becomes justice secretary. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper replaces Lammy at the helm of the Foreign Office.
22,000: The US economy added just 22,000 jobs in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Further, the rise in nonfarm payroll employment for June and July combined was revised down 21,000. The stagnant labor market will put extra pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at a faster pace.
3: A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Afghanistan Thursday, the third quake to hit the country this week. At least 2,205 people have now died as a result. Rescue efforts remain hampered by landslides and rough terrain, with helicopters delivering aid. The Taliban has appealed for international aid as aftershocks continue to rattle the quake-prone region.
102: At 102, Kokichi Akuzawa became the oldest person to summit Mount Fuji, climbing with family and friends. Akuzawa broke his own record, having set the last one when he scaled Fuji at 96.
370: Rescue workers have now recovered 370 bodies from a remote mountain village in Darfur, per a local leader, after landslides battered this area of western Sudan on Sunday. Meanwhile, aid workers are using donkeys to deliver aid to those who are still living. Heavy rains and floods continue to batter the area.Here’s what you missed while you were away
As summer winds down this weekend, here are the geopolitical stories you may have missed while your inbox was on “out of office” — the ones we expect will have the biggest impact this fall.
In Sudan, the skies have turned deadly
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: Sudan.
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.
Is Sudan a sign of future of warfare? Read more here.
A surge of political violence has revived Colombia’s worst fears
When a gunman shot Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe in June, it sparked memories of the deadly decades-long internal conflict from late last century when political assassination attempts were a common occurrence.
Fast forward nearly three months, Uribe is now dead, and the violence between dissidents and the military has intensified – there have been multiple reports of mass kidnappings of government soldiers. Left-wing President Gustavo Petro has pledged to clamp down on the violence, but he can’t seem to put a lid on things: the number of kidnappings and killings of human rights activists have soared over the last few years.
This will likely cost the left, politically speaking. The rising violence is prompting more and more Colombians to seek a tough-on-crime leader, damaging Petro’s hopes that a socialist candidate will win next year’s presidential election – the incumbent leader can’t run again.
The shift in Colombia’s politics is also something of a proxy for the rest of South America. Other countries with left-wing leaders, like Bolivia and Chile, have also tilted right, seeking leaders who will keep them safe. Bolivians ousted the socialists from power for the first time in decades. Chile’s elections in November will be the next test for the South American left, before Colombia’s election next May.
Will the rising violence hurt the Colombian left? Read more here.
Is MAGA bailing on Bibi?
In early July, there were some rumblings of discontent within the Trump administration at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. An Israeli shell had struck a church in Gaza, settlers had attacked a Christian Palestinian village, and the Israeli Defense Forces had bombed the Syrian Defense Ministry in Damascus – against the White House’s wishes.
But the disquiet was only the tip of the iceberg: Trump supporters, especially younger ones, are becoming more and more critical of Israel, questioning the US’s support for the Jewish State. Though younger Republicans aren’t nearly as critical as younger Democrats, this trend is a concerning one for Israel, as the country has relied heavily on US military aid. Republicans have been particularly sympathetic toward Israel in recent history, so to lose their backing would be drastic.
Soon after the piece was published, US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene – a MAGA firebrand – became the first House Republican to label Israel’s actions in Gaza as a “genocide,” affirming that the GOP is no longer united behind supporting Israel. Read the original GZERO report here.
Is AI why college grads can’t find jobs?
The kids are not alright. Since we opened the Pandora’s Box of chatbots, new grads have faced higher unemployment than the national average for the first time in decades. Which raises the question: are they the canaries in the coal mine that AI-driven job disruption has begun?
“It just seems like there’s not any more entry-level roles,” reports James Kettle, a 25-year-old Columbia University graduate who’s been on the job hunt since May. His experience is echoed in a new Stanford study, which found hiring in AI-exposed occupations for early-career workers is down 13%.
Even if we can’t be certain AI is totally to blame for stealing young people’s existing jobs (yet), it’s making it harder for them to get hired in the first place. Delia Thompson, a 23-year-old University of Virginia graduate who’s been on the hunt for seven months, describes the job process today as “shouting into the void,” as she and other candidates send thousands of AI-assisted resumes through LinkedIn, only for companies to use their own algorithms to sift through the pile – a loop of bots talking to bots. “It makes it feel like a total lottery,” says Thompson.
This is reshaping their political views and how many young people are viewing AI overall. Read more here.
The global refugee crisis is at breaking point
The global refugee population is at historic highs, driven by war in Ukraine, violence in Sudan, state collapse in Venezuela, Taliban rule in Afghanistan, and a worsening humanitarian disaster in Gaza. On GZERO World, David Miliband, president & CEO of the International Rescue Committee joins Ian Bremmer to discuss the refugee crisis, the rise of forcibly displaced people around the world, and the crumbling humanitarian aid system amid the cancellation of USAID. What happens when the poorest countries are left to solve the hardest problems? And who–if anyone–is stepping up to help?
Miliband says that in 20 countries in crisis, there are more than 275 million people in humanitarian need, people that depend on international aid and organizations like the IRC to survive. There have been some recent positive developments—hundreds of thousands of refugees returning to Syria after the fall of the Assad regime, the potential for progress in the Eastern DRC, new technologies improving aid delivery. Still, Miliband says the world is facing a humanitarian crisis of historic proportions and unless the international community steps up, tens of millions will suffer.
“We face a new abnormal. 10 years ago, there were 50 to 60 million internally displaced people and refugees. Now, there's 120 million,” Miliband says, “The scale of impunity, the loss of international engagement is epic.”
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.
Rethinking the refugee crisis and global aid system, with David Miliband
Listen: The number of people forced to flee their homes because of war, persecution, humanitarian disaster or political collapse topped 123 million people in 2024. That’s double what it was just 10 years ago. Yet just as the need has exploded, the global aid system is unraveling. On the GZERO World Podcast, David Miliband, president & CEO of the International Rescue Committee sits down with Ian Bremmer to discuss the growing crisis as the number of refugees continues to rise and the US, once the anchor of the global aid system, shuts down USAID and drastically pulls back foreign funding.
Miliband says we’re facing “a new abnormal,” with 275 million people facing humanitarian emergencies in 20 countries in crisis. The vast majority of displaced people are hosted in low and middle income countries, meaning the world’s poorest and most under-resourced places are shouldering a disproportionately high share of the burden. Miliband and Bremmer discuss the worsening humanitarian situation in places like Sudan and Gaza, the impact of US aid cuts, whether any nation or group of nations can fill the void, and where Miliband sees glimmers of hope amid so many intractable problems.
Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published
The broken system behind the refugee crisis
Who bears the cost of the world’s refugees? As wars, state collapse, and humanitarian crises from Ukraine to Sudan to Gaza drive millions from their homes, the number of forcibly displaced people around the world is at record highs. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the worsening global humanitarian crisis, the broken aid system, and where refugees actually go.
Contrary to widespread opinion in wealthier countries, the vast majority are hosted by low and middle income nations. Millions of forcibly displaced people never cross an international border at all. That imbalance isn’t just unfair—it’s dangerous. What happens when the poorest countries are left to solve the hardest problems?
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.
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.
In Sudan, the skies have turned deadly
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.”
U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping arrive for a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, November 9, 2017.
Hard Numbers: US extends trade truce with China, Finland charges Russian-linked tanker over subsea sabotage, Smuggler stuffs turtles in socks, and more
90: President Donald Trump on Monday delayed the US’s tariff deadline with China by another 90 days – hours before a previous agreement was set to expire. Beijing responded Tuesday by suspending additional retaliatory tariffs on US goods. The move follows bilateral talks last month in Stockholm, where both sides had signaled a likely extension of the status quo amid fears of a wider trade war.
5: In a first for any NATO country, Finland brought charges against the captain and crew of a Russian-linked oil tanker for suspected subsea cable sabotage, after the vessel cut five cables by dragging its anchor along the Baltic Sea floor in late 2024. While subsea cables are vital for internet connectivity and electricity infrastructure, prosecuting foreign interference is notoriously difficult, as deliberate damage is often indistinguishable from accidents.
40: On Monday, 40 people were killed in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, after rebels from the Rapid Support Forces attacked Abu Shouk, a famine-hit displacement camp which houses at least 200,000 people. Darfur has witnessed some of the worst violence in Sudan’s two-year-long civil war, which has claimed an estimated 150,000 lives and displaced at least 12 million.
850: A Chinese man pleaded guilty on Monday of attempting to illegally smuggle 850 protected turtles to Hong Kong from the United States. The turtles – worth around $1.4 million – were reportedly wrapped in socks and labeled in boxes as “plastic animal toys.”
A Sudanese man smiles while carrying his luggage, as families displaced by conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) crowd at Cairo's main station to board a free train with a voluntary return coordinated by the Egyptian government to Aswan, where buses will take them back to their homes in Khartoum, in Cairo, Egypt July 28, 2025.
Hard Numbers: Sudanese return home, Earthquake in the Pacific, US economy rebounds, Poland arrests multinational spies
190,000: Thousands of Sudanese refugees are returning home from Egypt after the army recaptured territory from RSF paramilitaries in Khartoum. Over 190,000 crossed back since January 2025, five times 2024's total. Despite ongoing fighting elsewhere in Sudan, families are boarding free transit from Cairo to Khartoum, hoping for stability.
8.8: An 8.8-magnitude earthquake – the sixth-most powerful ever recorded – struck off the eastern coast of Russia, sending shockwaves through buildings in Siberia and Japan, and injuring several people. The quake also prompted tsunami warnings in Japan, the state of Hawaii, and the US West Coast, but, thankfully, only modest tsunami waves arrived ashore, with no initial reports of damage.
3%: The US economy rebounded in the second quarter of 2025, growing at an annual rate of 3% after it contracted 0.5% in the first quarter. The recovery defied the recession warnings that followed the introduction of widespread tariffs, although that threat may return as the White House prepares to finally impose its larger “reciprocal” rates on Friday.
32: Poland announced the arrest of 32 people for allegedly spying for Russia on Tuesday – including Poles, Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, and a Colombian. The Colombian allegedly conducted two arson attacks on construction warehouses in May 2024 following Russian intelligence instructions, including how to make Molotov cocktails.