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Hard Numbers: Saudi and Iran join regional summit, China limits kids' gaming, Bolsonaro's future, where are Afghan refugees welcome?

August 30, 2021

Gabrielle Debinski

5: For the first time in more than five years foreign ministers from longtime foes Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to attend a regional summit together held in Iraq focused on cooling tensions in the Middle East. It's unclear if the two sides met for one-on-one talks on the sidelines of the summit, but this development comes amid reports that the two countries might be willing to explore détente.

1: Chinese authorities have cut kids' online gaming hours to just 1 hour a day on Fridays and weekends only, as Xi Jinping's government tries to crack down on gaming companies that have become too big too fast for the state's liking.

3: Brazil's controversial President Jair Bolsonaro recently said that he sees only three possibilities for his future: death, prison or winning next year's presidential election. About the prospect of going to jail over corruption allegations, Bolsonaro said, "I'm certain that [it] won't happen. No man on Earth scares me."

98: Ninety-eight countries have pledged to take in Afghan refugees, though the Taliban remain cagey about whether they will allow Afghans with legitimate travel documents to depart after the US leaves on August 31. Neither Russia nor China have offered to accept any at-risk refugees (those who fear reprisal from the Taliban), offering instead to help the Taliban "rebuild" the country's infrastructure.

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Rebels advance, diplomacy stalls in the DRC

Health workers bring a patient for surgery, at the CBCA Ndosho Hospital, a few days after the M23 rebel group seized the town of Goma, in Goma, North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Feb. 1, 2025.

REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi

At least 700 people have been killed over the past week in Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC. Observers believe that M23’s war with government forces, which displaced 400,000 people in January alone, could quickly spiral into a regional war.

GZEROMEDIA

Trump ignites trade war. Will there be a legal response?

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is joined by Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly, and Minister of Public Safety David McGuinty, as he responds to President Donald Trump's orders to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, in Ottawa, Ontario, on Feb. 1, 2025.

REUTERS/Patrick Doyle

The US president has imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and threatened to escalate further if the countries retaliated, which they have already done. Is Trump’s move legal? What’s likely to come next?

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Hard Numbers: Saudi and Iran join regional summit, China limits kids' gaming, Bolsonaro's future, where are Afghan refugees welcome?

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Hard Numbers: Saudi and Iran join regional summit, China limits kids' gaming, Bolsonaro's future, where are Afghan refugees welcome?

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More from GZERO Media

As Trump returns to the White House, European leaders are reassessing their distaste for Trump, as well as their reliance on the US. In a wide-ranging conversation on GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sits with Finnish President Alexander Stubb on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

US airstrikes in Somalia’s northern Puntland region have reportedly killed key figures in the Islamic State group, aka IS.

At least 700 people have been killed over the past week in Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC. Observers believe that M23’s war with government forces, which displaced 400,000 people in January alone, could quickly spiral into a regional war.

The website for the US Agency for International Development, aka USAID, went dark without explanation Saturday following President Donald Trump’s freeze on foreign aid. Early Monday, Elon Musk said that he and the president had agreed to shut down the agency.

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Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

The US president has imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and threatened to escalate further if the countries retaliated, which they have already done. Is Trump’s move legal? What’s likely to come next?

Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: Trump’s latest tariffs hit Canada hard—harder than even China. What’s behind this decision, and how are Canadians fighting back? Ian Bremmer breaks down the economic and political implications in this Quick Take.

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The move throws a bomb into three of the world's biggest trading relationships, prompting retaliation. In short, the US has launched a trade war.

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