The pandemic has sharply exacerbated pre-existent political polarization across the world. According to a new Pew survey, a median of 60 percent of people in 17 advanced economies say COVID has increased political polarization in their countries, in some by over 30 points, while just one-third feel more united. We compare the percentage of people who see more division in 2021 to their COVID deaths per capita.
The Republic of Kosovo held parliamentary elections on Sunday, with exit polls showing Prime Minister Albin Kurti's party, Vetëvendosje (Self-Determination Movement) leading with 42% of the vote – a drop from the 50% Kurti got in 2021, meaning that Vetëvendosje may need to form a coalition to stay in power.
Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami, hostages held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack, are released by Hamas militants as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel on Feb. 8, 2025.
Hamas released three Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners. But the return of Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami, and Or Levy sparked outrage in Israel due to their severely malnourished state.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday halting all “non-essential” assistance to South Africa. He also ordered American agencies to assist white South Africans fleeing racial discrimination and resettle them as refugees in the US.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl, on Feb. 9, 2025.
Spanish Vox party leader Santiago Abascal presided over the European Patriots Summit in Madrid over the weekend. The event brought together numerous conservative leaders from across Europe under the banner of "Make Europe Great Again."
Leaders of the far-right Patriots for Europe bloc addressed 2,000 supporters in Madrid on Saturday under the slogan “Make Europe Great Again.”
Listen: President Trump has already made sweeping changes to US public health policy—from RFK Jr.’s nomination to lead the health department to withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization. On the GZERO World Podcast, New York Times science and global health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli joins Ian Bremmer for an in-depth look at health policy in the Trump administration, and what it could mean, not just for the US, but for the rest of the world.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is poised to become the country’s most powerful public health official. What will his “Make America Healthy Again” movement mean for the future of US health policy? On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down RFK Jr.’s MAHA agenda and how it could reshape government agencies, medical institutions, and Big Pharma.
Elon Musk walks on Capitol Hill on the day of a meeting with Senate Republican Leader-elect John Thune (R-SD), in Washington, U.S. December 5, 2024.
As the deadline for federal employees to resign in exchange for eight months of pay closed in on Thursday, a federal judge in Massachusetts stepped in and temporarily blocked it. Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. ordered that a hearing be held on Monday afternoon. In response, the Office of Personnel Management – the agency Elon Musk has harnessed to carry out the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to downsize the government – has postponed the deadline until Monday.
Have you stayed atop GZERO’s news coverage this week? Here's your chance to prove it.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says his country will crack down on illegal migration to the United States.