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Hard Numbers: String of AfD candidate deaths, Another tragedy in Darfur, Trump seeks a Department of War, & More
A supporter of Germany's far-right Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) Party is seen during a campaign rally in Pforzheim, Germany September 6, 2017.
6: In what is a bizarre and tragic coincidence, six Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidates running in local elections in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia later this month have died in the last few weeks. Police said there’s no evidence of foul play, though questions are being raised on social media about the deaths.
1,000: In the latest tragedy to befall the people of Darfur, a landslide killed over 1,000 in western Sudan, wiping out the whole mountain village of Tarseen. Just one person from the village survived, according to a local rebel group. Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese, who already face civil war and possible ethnic cleansing, were affected by the rains that led to the landslide.5: Belgium said it would recognize Palestine as a state at the United Nations General Assembly at the end of September, making it the 5th western country to announce such a move following Australia, the United Kingdom (unless Israel meets certain conditions), Canada and France. Belgium also said it would put sanctions on Israel, including a ban on products from settlements and a review of public procurements with Israeli companies.
78: In 1947, some 78 years ago, then-US President Harry Truman merged the Department of War with the Navy and Air Force to create a new organization that would eventually be named the Department of Defense. Now, US President Donald Trump wants to resurrect the old name, saying that it has “a stronger sound.” He wants to do it without congressional help, though it’s not clear whether this is legal.
39: Aged just 39, Vogue podcast host Chloe Malle will replace Dame Anna Wintour as editor-in-chief of American Vogue. It’s a remarkable ascent for Malle, who started working at the magazine 14 years ago as a social editor. It’s not yet clear when the transition will take place.Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin speak during a meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, on September 1, 2025.
The leaders of China, India, Russia, and over twenty countries from the “Global South” gathered in Beijing yesterday, marking another milestone away from the US-led global order. Monday’s meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) saw China unveil a new, US-free vision for global development.
Xi’s plans include an SCO development bank that would lend in currencies other than the US dollar. Diminishing the dollar would make it harder for the US to use sanctions against rogue states, an outcome that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cautioned against in August. It would also limit the power of Trump’s “America First” strategy to draw countries and companies away from Beijing to invest in or relocate production to the US.
Beijing also pledged 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in loans to an SCO banking consortium and 2 billion yuan ($280 million) of free aid to member states in 2025. The sums are not insignificant, but are dwarfed by spending on Belt and Road Initiatives in the first half of 2025 alone, where China's investments and construction contracts across 150 countries totaled $125 billion.
Winning the “memory war”
But China’s ambitions are not purely economic. Xi also launched a challenge to US political influence, saying, “We must continue to take a clear stand against hegemonism and power politics, and practice true multilateralism.”
Those sentiments will be on full display Wednesday, at China’s upcoming military parade commemorating the country’s role in defeating Japan in World War Two. According to the Brookings Institution, China is seeking to win the “memory war,” countering the Western narrative of the Allies’ victory by emphasizing Beijing’s role in the fight against Axis powers. The goal? To reposition China as a defender of the rules of the post-war international order, rather than an authoritarian regime bent on geopolitical supremacy.
India is a lynchpin
As the most populous country on earth, India plays a key role in Xi’s plan. Fortunately for him, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the trip to Beijing this week, despite border clashes with Chinese troops in 2020 and a recent “near-war” between Pakistan and India involving Chinese-made fighter jets. After meeting Xi, Modi stated that “an atmosphere of peace and stability” had been restored between the two countries.
US President Donald Trump’s reaction? To call America’s relationship with India “a totally one sided disaster.”
Modi took advantage of the trip to also deepen ties with Russia “in all areas, including trade, fertilizers, space, security, and culture. He was clearly undeterred by Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian goods last week, which were putatively punishment for buying Russian oil. China is also further cementing relations with Russia, announcing this morning the signing of a memorandum of understanding to build the long-delayed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, which will ship 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year from West Siberia to northern China.
Mixed messages on parade?
Xi’s parade tomorrow will take place in Tiananmen Square, where authorities infamously massacred student protestors in 1989. What’s more, some of the highest profile leaders in attendance hail from the world’s most repressive regimes: North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The only Western leaders on the dance card? Slovakia’s Robert Fico and Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić, both of whom have been criticized for their own authoritarian leanings.What We’re Watching: Russia allegedly jams European leader’s plane, Ghana’s president fires the chief justice, Earthquakes devastate Afghanistan
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a press conference at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, in Mihail Kogalniceanu, near Constanta, Romania September 1, 2025.
Russia suspected of jamming von der Leyen’s plane
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s plane lost GPS navigation while approaching Plovdiv, Bulgaria, on Sunday. Pilots circled for an hour before landing manually with paper maps. Officials suspect Russian interference: GPS jamming and spoofing have surged along Europe’s eastern flank since Russia invaded Ukraine, raising fears of a potential air disaster. Brussels sees the incident as part of Moscow’s broader campaign to intimidate EU leaders and test NATO defenses. US President Donald Trump has not yet responded to the aggressive move against the EU’s leader.
Ghana’s chief justice fired in rare presidential move
Ghanaian President John Mahama has dismissed Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo after a commission found evidence of “misbehavior,” including misuse of public funds and interference in judicial appointments. Torkornoo, provisionally suspended since April, denies the claims, saying that they are politically motivated. Torkornoo is the first sitting chief justice in Ghana to be removed from office, a decision critics say threatens judicial independence and gives the executive branch outsized influence over the courts.
Taliban calls for help as earthquake death toll surpasses 1,400
The Taliban said that the death toll from Sunday’s devastating 6.0-magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan has now reached 1,411, with the United Nations warning that the total number will likely be much higher. The disaster has piled further misery in a country that is still recovering from the 20-year war that only ended in 2021. Making matters worse, another earthquake – this one hitting 5.5 on the Richter Scale – struck the area on Tuesday. The Taliban is calling for international help in what will surely be a test of the bonds they have been quietly building since seizing power four years ago.
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.
What We’re Watching: Killing further inflames Indonesian protests, India and Canada mend ties, El Salvador continues authoritarian drift
Protesters carry an Indonesian flag and a flag from Japanese anime 'One Piece' during a protest outside Jakarta police headquarters, in Jakarta, Indonesia, on August 29, 2025.
Protests erupt further in Indonesia
Demonstrations in the capital Jakarta have intensified after a police vehicle rammed into a taxi there on Thursday, killing the driver. The protests, which have now spread across the country, first came following reports that lawmakers had been receiving a monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah ($3,075) in addition to their salaries. This was especially irksome for Indonesia’s 280-million-plus population as many have been struggling to find jobs. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who has faced political challenges since coming into office last year, apologized for the excessive violence and urged calm.
India and Canada continue to mend ties after Sikh separatist killing
Nearly two years after the Vancouver murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a leading advocate for a Sikh homeland in India, Ottawa and New Delhi appear to be patching things up. The tension had spiked when Canada expelled India’s high commissioner last October amid allegations that New Delhi was involved in the killing of Nijjar. Now each side has appointed new high commissioners to the other country, though this has garnered criticism from the 770,000-strong Sikh community in Canada.
El Salvador schools enforce military haircuts
El Salvador’s new military-run education ministry is enforcing strict discipline in schools, including mandatory army-style haircuts, etiquette rules, and nationalistic rituals. Rights groups say it marks another step in President Nayib Bukele’s authoritarian drift, as he deepens military control over civilian life while maintaining strong popular support.
Hard Numbers: Modi to meet Xi, European bigwigs set to reimpose Iran sanctions, Egypt cracks down on influencers, & More
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 23, 2024.
7: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping this weekend in Tianjin in what will be his first visit to China in seven years, a sign that tensions between the two massive countries are easing. Border disputes, technological rivalries, and China’s support for Pakistan have aggravated the relationship, but the US’s tariff policies appear to be pushing them closer.
30: The three most powerful European countries – France, Germany, and the United Kingdom – have got the wheels moving on restoring sanctions on Iran that they had lifted as part of the 2015 nuclear deal. The action comes amid concerns that Tehran is expanding its nuclear arsenal again. The sanctions could retake effect within 30 days.
151: Egyptian authorities have been arresting TikTok influencers with millions of followers. One human rights organization has tracked 151 such people being charged in the past five years in connection with their TikTok videos – and the full number could be even higher. The arrests are part of a broader government effort to clamp down on speech they see as antithetical to the official definition of family values.
250: Seven US deportees arrived in Rwanda yesterday as a part of a deal the East African country has struck with the Trump administration to ultimately accept up to 250 deportees. It comes after Kigali made a similar deal with the United Kingdom in 2022.
3: Thailand’s Constitutional Court permanently removed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, dissolving her cabinet and deepening political turmoil in the country. She is the third of her family to be ousted from office, amid continued dominance by Thailand’s royalist-military establishment – despite her party taking electoral power from them in 2023.
Argentine President Javier Milei speaks to the media while standing on a vehicle with lawmaker Jose Luis Espert during a La Libertad Avanza rally ahead of legislative elections on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on August 27, 2025.
The campaign for Argentina’s legislative election officially launched this week, but it couldn’t have gone worse for President Javier Milei. A corruption scandal – one of the very things that he railed against during his successful campaign two years ago – burst into the news after a leaked recording appeared to implicate his sister.
The tapes suggest that Karina Milei, who is also a member of the administration, was involved in a kickback scheme at the National Disability Agency (ANDIS). Nothing has been proven, but the federal authorities stepped up their investigation in response to the leaked audio.
That’s not all for Milei: alongside the corruption scandal are a host of economic issues that have undermined his policy of fiscal “shock therapy.” Output has been stagnant this year, the peso is massively overvalued – this decreases competitiveness of Argentine exports – and public sector pay is down in real terms. Argentina’s central bank also increased its reserve requirements this week, which could further hit the economy. The concern for Milei is that these issues will overwhelm the success he’s had in bringing down inflation and balancing the budget.
“It won’t be a corruption scandal that does him in, it will probably be the economic problems,” said Eugenia Mitchelstein, a social sciences professor at the University of San Andrés in Buenos Aires. “The corruption scandal doesn’t help.”
The Oct. 26 midterm election, where a third of senators and half of the Chamber of Deputies are up for election, is a vital one for the president. The vote will not only be a bellwether for how Argentina feels about his economic approach, but also gives Milei’s La Libertad Avanza (LLA) party an opportunity to pick up seats in a Congress that has blocked many of the president’s proposed reforms.
What’s the current state of Argentina’s Congress? Milei only co-founded the libertarian LLA in 2021, so its representation in both chambers of the National Congress is paltry: only six of the 72 senators and 38 of the 257 deputies currently belong to LLA. What’s more, Argentina’s politics is heavily fragmented, meaning there are several different parties represented in the Congress – no single party has a majority. The Unión por la Patria (UP), a center-left Peronist grouping that is Milei’s main foe, has a plurality.
What does Milei want? Milei’s first target is to win a third of the seats so that he can gain veto power. Beyond that, the president hopes to enact tax, labor, and pension reforms that will structurally alter Argentina’s economy. So far he has been able to muscle some changes through the National Congress, such as the big omnibus bill passed in June 2024 to deregulate the economy and hand the president more power. But his party’s threadbare representation limited what he was able to achieve, forcing him to negotiate with his opponents from a weak position. That could change after the October election.
“Even if the government does extremely well, they won’t have their own majority in Congress, so they will still need to negotiate with the more moderate sectors of the opposition,” Juan Cruz Díaz, the managing director of Buenos Aires-based advisory firm Cefeidas Group, told GZERO. “But they will do it from a different standpoint, from a different legitimacy. They will have more leverage.”
Who’s leading the charge against Milei? UP may be the biggest opposition party, but they have a leadership crisis. Over 40% of Argentinians said they didn’t know who the leader of the opposition was, or said there was none, per a Pulso poll from earlier this month. Another 25% said it was former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the left-wing Peronist leader who is currently under house arrest for corruption, and is barred from politics for life.
“[The opposition] is not only fragmented, it is leaderless,” said Marcelo J. Garcia, Americas director at Horizon Engage consultancy. “Milei is the only national leader that controls his political space, his political party. So that really plays to his advantage.”
Why should I care about Argentina? The Latin American nation of over 47 million people is better known for its soccer stars, beautiful Patagonian mountain range, and delicious beef steaks. But Milei is creating his own level of fame. His brash brand of chainsaw politics has become something exemplary for right wingers across the globe, with libertarians proclaiming his premiership as a paragon of success.
This election gives Argentinians the chance to say how they feel about Milei’s leadership, and whether he’s done enough to stabilize the country’s turbulent economy. It could have major ramifications for how Milei governs going forward, according to Mitchelstein.
“If he does well, if he gets, say, 40-42% of the vote, it will confirm his intuition, and it will probably make him more Milei than ever,” Mitchelstein told GZERO. “If he doesn't get that many votes, say, 37-38%, it might actually lead him to rethink his government, and also the way he’s been ruling.”