‘Golden’ makes history for K-pop

The Netflix animated film “Kpop Demon Hunters” scored two major wins : Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song for the track “Golden.”

Released in 2025, the film follows a fictional K-pop girl group that uses music to fight supernatural enemies. Its soundtrack has generated global hits, with “Golden” becoming the first K-pop song to win an Academy Award.

Singer Ejae , who performs the track and voices the singing parts of the film’s lead character Rumi, spoke about the significance of the moment.

“Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop,” she said during the acceptance speech. “But now everyone’s singing our song and all the Korean lyrics. I’m so proud.”

Director Maggie Kang also addressed the importance of representation when accepting the award for Best Animated Feature alongside Chris Appelhans and producer Michelle LM Wong.

“For those of you who look like me, I’m so sorry that it took so long to see us in a movie like this,” Kang said. “But it is here, and that means the next generations don’t have to go longing.”

“K-Pop Demon Hunters” had already won Golden Globe awards earlier in the season for both best animated feature and best original song.

Filipino-American breaks a century-long barrier

Filipino-American cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw made Oscars history by becoming the first woman to win Best Cinematography.

Arkapaw won the award for her work on Ryan Coogler’s film “Sinners,” ending a nearly century-long male stronghold in the category.

She also became the first Filipino, the first Black woman and the first Asian woman to receive the prize.

Arkapaw , whose family roots trace to Masantol, Pampanga in the Philippines as well as the American South, had already been widely recognised during awards season for her work on the film.

“Sinners,” a vampire horror film that explores race relations, received 16 Oscar nominations. Among its producers is Zinzi Coogler, who became the first Filipino nominated for Best Picture.

Arkapaw also set technical milestones during production, becoming the first woman to shoot on both IMAX film and Ultra Panavision, and the only cinematographer to use IMAX film stock developed by Kodak specifically for the film.

Michael B. Jordan honours African roots

“Sinners” star Michael B. Jordan won the Best Actor award for his role in the film, marking his first Academy Award.

During his acceptance speech, Jordan thanked director Ryan Coogler and acknowledged the Black actors who paved the way before him, including Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington and Halle Berry.

“I stand here because of the people who came before me,” he said.

Jordan also highlighted his family’s support, noting the global journey behind the moment.

“My dad came in from Ghana to be here,” he told the audience at the Dolby Theatre.

With the win, Jordan joins a small group of Black actors who have received the Best Actor Oscar, including Jamie Foxx, Will Smith, Forrest Whitaker, Poitier and Washington.

The victories across several categories underscored the growing influence of artists connected to the Global South at Hollywood’s biggest awards ceremony.

This shift reflects a broader change in listening habits. Where global hits were once dominated by English-language pop, audiences are increasingly embracing music from regional scenes across Latin America, Asia and other emerging markets.

Some of the fastest-growing genres are closely tied to non-English markets. Among music styles generating more than $100 million in Spotify royalties, the biggest gains came from Brazilian funk, which grew 36%, followed by K-pop (31%), Latin trap (29%), Latin urban (27%) and reggaeton (24%).

Over the past decade, Latin pop and Korean music have produced worldwide hits, mainly from boy groups such as BTS, and recently, from Puerto Rican star Bad Buny. But the new data indicate that the diversity of international sounds reaching mainstream listeners is continuing to expand.

Shift away from U.S.

Spotify’s report also highlights the widening geographic spread of successful artists. Eighty-five per cent of artists earning at least $100,000 annually on the platform are based outside the United States, reflecting the increasingly global nature of the streaming economy.

Streaming has helped accelerate this change by making music instantly accessible worldwide. Spotify said more than half of the royalties artists earn on the platform now come from listeners outside their home country, underscoring how international discovery is driving the industry.

Artists generating significant income are also emerging from a broader range of countries. In 2025, performers earning more than $500,000 on Spotify came from 75 countries, while artists making at least $10,000 annually represented more than 150 countries.

Streaming platforms argue that this global reach has helped expand the music business overall. Spotify said it paid more than $11 billion to the music industry in 2025, bringing total lifetime payouts from the platform to nearly $70 billion.

The company also highlighted the rise of a growing “middle class” of musicians. More than 13,800 artists earned at least $100,000 from Spotify last year, while over 1,500 generated more than $1 million.

But the widening mix of languages on the global charts may be the clearest sign of how listening is changing. As streaming connects audiences across borders, the world ’s biggest hits are increasingly coming from many more languages than ever before.

#16 – Carlos Slim Helu

Carlos Slim Helu remains the richest person in the Global South in 2026. The Mexican tycoon built his fortune through telecom giant América Móvil and a vast portfolio of investments under the conglomerate Grupo Carso.

Slim once held the title of the world’s richest person between 2010 and 2013 and continues to dominate business in Mexico and much of Latin America. His holdings stretch across telecommunications, infrastructure, retail and finance, reflecting decades of acquisitions across the Mexican economy.

#21 – Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani is the wealthiest person in India and one of Asia’s most influential business figures. As chairman of Reliance Industries, he oversees a conglomerate involved in petrochemicals, oil refining, telecommunications and retail.

Reliance has expanded aggressively into digital services through Jio, which transformed India’s telecom market by bringing affordable internet to hundreds of millions of users.

#26 – Zhang Yiming

Zhang Yiming, co-founder of ByteDance, built his fortune from the global success of TikTok and other digital platforms. The company’s rapid expansion turned him into one of China’s richest entrepreneurs.

ByteDance’s algorithm-driven content platforms have attracted billions of users worldwide, making it one of the most valuable technology firms to emerge from China.

#27 – Zhong Shanshan

Often dubbed the “Lone Wolf” of Chinese business, Zhong Shanshan founded bottled-water giant Nongfu Spring and later expanded into pharmaceuticals.

His companies have benefited from China’s vast consumer market, helping him rise to become one of the country’s richest individuals.

#30 – Germán Larrea Mota Velasco

Mexican magnate Germán Larrea Mota Velasco leads Grupo México, the country’s largest mining company and one of the world ’s major copper producers.

Under his leadership, the firm has expanded its mining and infrastructure operations across the Americas, cementing his position as one of Latin America’s richest businessmen.

Who dominates the top 10?

The very top of the global wealth rankings remains heavily dominated by US technology billionaires, according to the latest Forbes Billionaires data.

Elon Musk sits far ahead of the rest with an estimated $839 billion, making him by far the richest person in the world. His fortune is tied mainly to Tesla, SpaceX and artificial intelligence firm xAI.

The gap between Musk and the rest of the billionaire class is enormous. The next richest individuals have fortunes roughly one-third of his wealth or less.

Among them are several other US technology founders. Larry Page is worth roughly $257 billion, while fellow Google co-founder Sergey Brin has about $237 billion.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, holds an estimated $224 billion, while Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, has around $222 billion.

The top ranks also include figures outside the US technology sector. Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury group LVMH, remains Europe’s richest person with a fortune of about $178 billion.

Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny made headlines at the 2026 Grammy Awards after winning Album of the Year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos. The victory marked a historic moment for Latin music, with the project becoming one of the most prominent Spanish-language albums ever recognised in the ceremony’s top category.

He continued to host the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime show, which went on to become the most-watched and streamed since Michael Jackson's Super Bowl performance in 1993.

African artists also had a strong showing at the Grammys.

South African singer Tyla also won Best African Music Performance for her single Push 2 Start, adding to the global momentum of African genres such as Afrobeats and Amapiano. To add to her winning catalogue, she won the 57th NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding International Song of the Year with her hit single, "Is It".

The awards also paid tribute to one of Africa’s most influential musicians. Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti received a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming the first African artist to be honoured in that category.

Latin and African artists have increasingly moved beyond regional success to become mainstream global figures.

Additionally, Nigerian sensation Tems became the first African female artist to record seven entries on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in February 2026. She reached that mark after her song “What You Need” debuted at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100, bringing her total number of songs on the chart to seven.

With this total, Tems ties the record for the most Hot 100 appearances by any African act, alongside Burna Boy and South African band Seether.

Streaming platforms and social media have accelerated this shift, allowing audiences around the world to discover genres such as reggaeton, Afrobeats and Amapiano.

As a result, music from the Global South now regularly competes in major international categories rather than being confined to specialised genre awards.

The influence of Global South artists has also been visible across other international ceremonies in early 2026.

On February 28, Spanish star Rosalía , known for blending flamenco with contemporary pop and urban sounds, was among the artists recognised at the BRIT Awards, where she received the International Artist of the Year award.

The win reflects the broader diversification of global pop music, with non-English language artists increasingly recognised at traditionally Western-dominated ceremonies.

Despite the right to protest existing on paper, demonstrators in many democracies face violence or internet shutdowns. Harsch observed that the democratic story across Africa is not uniform. According to him, some countries have managed to institutionalise competitive politics in meaningful ways.

"Some democracies in Africa are functioning quite well. Your own country [Ghana] for the past thirty-odd years has had regular turnovers between ruling party and opposition. That’s not a small achievement. Senegal, until recently, had pretty free and fair elections. South Africa has gone so far that even the ruling party lost its majority in Parliament, and they allowed it to happen. They stuck to the Constitution. Botswana and a handful of others have also maintained stable electoral systems," he told Ismail Akwei on Global South Conversations.

Harsch reiterated that Africa does not lack democratic success stories, and the crises coexist with a broader continental pattern he describes as "electoralism". Referencing Cameroonian political thinker Achille Mbembe, he draws on the phrase “administrative multi-partyism.”

“What you have in many places is an administration that runs elections with multiple parties, but there’s no real choice for ordinary citizens. You can’t get genuine opposition voices in. Alternative visions are systematically squeezed out. The rituals of democracy are there, ballots, campaigns, observers, but the substance is limited,” he explained.

One of the structural problems, he argues, dates back to the 1990s when “elections became tied to neoliberal economic policies . People could occasionally change who was in office, but they couldn’t budge on the economic front. That disjuncture between political choice and economic immobility is at the heart of the frustration.”

Watch the full interview attached to the story above. 

The countries at greatest risk in Asia include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand , Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Asia’s large population , the study noted, makes the region particularly vulnerable. 

"Asia's scale means that when health systems fail, the human cost is immense, and in 21 countries across the region, decades of development gains are now at risk of being reversed," said Deepali Khanna, senior vice president and head of Asia at the Rockefeller Foundation.

“These outcomes are not inevitable, but avoiding them requires country-led financing and resilient, self-reliant systems that can protect the most vulnerable and save lives,” Khanna added.

Children most affected

Millions of lives, the study warned, could be lost if development gains achieved over the last two decades are reversed, with children being especially vulnerable to the effects of a potential aid pullback. 

Without sustained aid, around 5.4 million children under the age of five could die, according to the study.

Dr. Davide Rasella, study coordinator at ISGlobal, said that development assistance is “among the most effective global health interventions available,” adding that withdrawing support now could reverse decades of progress, leading directly to millions of preventable deaths.

Over the past 20 years, aid has saved millions of lives across the 93 countries analysed. 

Child mortality fell by 39%, deaths from HIV/AIDS by 70%, and deaths from malaria and nutritional deficiencies by 56%. Aid has also strengthened healthcare systems and improved preparedness for disease outbreaks.

The study models two scenarios for the period 2025–2030. A mild defunding scenario, with a 10.6 per cent yearly reduction, could result in 9.4 million preventable deaths, including 2.5 million children under five. A severe scenario could see the loss of 22.6 million lives.

The study builds on previous research showing the potential impact of dismantling USAID, which alone could have caused 14 million preventable deaths by 2030. The new analysis includes all OECD donor countries, offering a comprehensive assessment of global aid defunding.

The (mal)governance of raw materials such as these even led to the resources being seen as a ‘curse’. In the present day, the scramble for critical minerals has many of the same features – imperial powers seeking to take control of the resources for their own benefit. History seems to be repeating itself.

The US’s new proposed trading club for critical minerals, in conjunction with its more domestically-oriented Project Vault, albeit designed to protect technologies for AI, manufacturing and defence rather than green industries, is but the latest example of an imperial-centred approach.  Such an approach could reinstate previous and reinforce existing power structures instead of recalibrating or even dismantling these structures for a socially-just global transformation that does not mainly serve the interests of the US.

If the world is to undergo a green transition, how might it do so without repeating the colonial and imperial global structures of the past? In short, what might a Green New International Economic Order (GNIEO) look like and how might it come about?

As a first step, greater agency and voice for the Global South are a prerequisite. Notwithstanding the uneven global distribution of critical minerals, many of them are found in the countries of the Global South (for example, China and Brazil alone have over 70% of known rare earth reserves).

If they are to be extracted and used to meet progressive social, political, economic and ecological goals, then countries of the Global South will need to have control over their resources and have access to the technologies which will allow them to use these resources for their own industrial advancement. Ownership of resources and access to technology and finance were, in fact, key aspects of the Global South’s proposals for a New International Economic Order (NIEO) in the 1970s. 

The NIEO was a brave attempt to see an alternative future for global economic governance but it failed to deliver as countries in the Global North, especially the US under Kissinger, sought to divide the countries of the Global South by exploiting the differences of interests between oil exporting and oil importing countries while maintaining Northern unity as much as possible, and as the Global South’s agenda unravelled as a result of the underlying tensions in its goals.

If a GNIEO were to be forged now, it would face many of the same problems. The unity of the Global North might be strained, however, as the US under Trump alienates friend and foe alike. Notwithstanding this, many of the current global governance institutions designed to regulate extractive processes, such as the World Bank’s Climate Smart Mining Initiative and the OECD’s Responsible Business Conduct, are dominated by Northern countries.

A coherent Global South response would require two major features. Firstly, it would need to manage the inherent tensions between resource nationalism and collective action. Secondly, and relatedly, it would need China to be a powerful leader given its global dominance in the extraction and processing of critical minerals.

Resource nationalism - and its associated policy instruments such as industrial policy, the support of State-Owned Enterprises, local content regulations and export bans - has resurfaced in the Global South over the past decade or so. Many countries feel the pull of resource nationalism as a way to protect and secure their own economic destinies in the face of predatory external threats.

Of course, this has often led local elites to engage in predatory behaviour themselves as part of the global structures of extraction and accumulation. Resource nationalism – in the sense of sovereign control over resources - is a necessary but insufficient condition for progressive change. One of the problems, from a global perspective, is how resource nationalism can be made compatible with collective action by the Global South, that is, which parts of nationalism can be reasonably ceded for the greater power offered by the prospect of cooperation with other Global South countries.

This dilemma is especially acute for China in the case of critical minerals. It is faced with geopolitical and geoeconomic threats from the US, is blocked by many Northern countries from investing in key sectors and from purchasing some key technologies. China’s response, perhaps unsurprisingly, has been overwhelmingly nationalist.

An examination of resource policy documents reveals a strong emphasis on domestic regulation covering issues such as environmental mitigation, work safety, export quotas and industrial restructuring and upgrading. There are specific provisions for international cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative, for example, and in some bilateral agreements (with Russia, for example).

But there is conspicuously little which speaks to the global level, at how global governance structures could be forged to advance the interests of the Global South despite China’s insistence that it sees itself as a key member and supporter of the Global South. 

At present, we are therefore left with critical minerals, essential to the future well-being of the global population and planetary health, being governed by the anarchic interactions of rival powers. A Green New International Economic Order is needed urgently. 

The opinions and thoughts expressed in this article reflect only the author's views.

About the authors

Paul Bowles is Professor Emeritus at the University of Northern British Columbia, Canada. He has published widely on development, globalisation, and extractivism.

Nathan Andrews is an Associate Professor of International Relations at McMaster University whose research focuses on the global political economy/ecology of natural resource extraction and development.

Jing Vivian Zhan is a Professor in the School of Governance and Policy Science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her research focuses on comparative political economy, local governance, and natural resource management, especially in the Chinese context.

This opinion piece draws upon the analysis set forth in Nathan Andrews, Paul Bowles and Jing Vivian Zhan, “ Transforming Global Critical Minerals Governance: Is a Green New International Economic Order Possible?”, Third World Quarterly , 18 January 2026 (online first), DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2025.2608840. For extended analysis, see also Paul Bowles and Nathan Andrews (eds.), Extractive Bargains: Natural Resources and the State-Society Nexus , London: Routledge, 2024.

A historic night for global representation

Bad Bunny, representing Puerto Rico, also secured the award for Best Música Urbana Album and Best Global Music Performance for "EoO". In a poignant acceptance speech delivered in both Spanish and English, Bad Bunny, who is set to headline the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday, February 8, dedicated his win to "all the people who had to leave their homeland to follow their dreams". 

Other significant wins for the Global South included:

Main category winners and record-breaking achievements

Several industry giants continued to expand their legacies. Kendrick Lamar was the most-awarded artist of the night, winning Record of the Year for "Luther" (shared with SZA), Best Rap Album for GNX, and Best Rap Song for "TV Off". These victories allowed Lamar to surpass Jay-Z for the most career Grammys by a rapper, reaching a total of 27 awards.

Other major winners included:

Political statements and immigrant advocacy

The 2026 ceremony was defined by its political undertones, as many artists used the global platform to protest immigration enforcement. Billie Eilish, Kehlani, and Bad Bunny all voiced strong anti-ICE sentiments from the stage. Shaboozey, who won for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, dedicated his award to his immigrant mother and the cultural contributions of immigrants to the United States. Backstage, legendary Cuban singer Gloria Estefan expressed fear regarding the current political climate and children in detention centres.

Other notable winners

The evening also saw Leon Thomas win Best R&B Album for Mutt and Best Traditional R&B Performance for "Vibes Don’t Lie". Kehlani took home both Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song for "Folded". 

In the rock and alternative categories, The Cure won Best Alternative Music Album (Songs of a Lost World), while Turnstile swept multiple awards, including Best Rock Album and Best Metal Performance. Notably, director Steven Spielberg earned his first Grammy for the film Music for John Williams, officially making him the latest member of people to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards (EGOT).

Sardana contends that institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank remain largely shaped by Western interests, often advancing political priorities rather than addressing the development needs of the Global South. In this context, the dollar is increasingly viewed not just as a reserve currency but as a strategic tool that enables countries like the United States to impose sanctions and exert influence over nations that diverge from its policy positions.

Momentum for alternatives has been reinforced by reports that India’s central bank has proposed linking the official digital currencies of BRICS members to facilitate cross-border trade and tourism payments. Such a system, supporters argue, would reduce exposure to dollar-based transactions and enhance global financial stability. The idea builds on commitments made in the 2025 BRICS declaration in Rio de Janeiro, which called for greater interoperability between national payment systems.

Sovereignty beyond rhetoric

The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo framed sovereignty as action rather than declaration, calling for value addition and economic control over natural resources. It was a pointed reminder that resource ownership without control over value chains offers little real power.

Congo’s position mirrors that of many Global South countries: rich in strategic resources, yet dependent on external financing. As long as raw materials leave the continent unprocessed, sovereignty remains symbolic rather than structural.

A changing political tone

Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, openly challenged dependency, speaking not as a beneficiary of aid but as a stakeholder demanding agency. This shift in language is significant. It signals a move away from gratitude towards assertion, though assertion without coordination risks remaining performative.

Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama, went further, arguing that the failure lies not with African countries but with a global financial system that transformed temporary aid into a permanent fixture. Aid fatigue, in this context, is not frustration with donors, but with a system that discourages self-sufficiency.

When institutions acknowledge the inevitable

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo warned that the Global South cannot outsource its future, a statement that carries weight given his long involvement in aid negotiations. It reflects an emerging consensus among leaders who once operated comfortably within donor frameworks but now recognise their limitations.

Institutional voices echoed this unease. The Commonwealth Secretary-General spoke cautiously about reform and cooperation, while Global Fund Executive Director Peter Sands acknowledged that aid flows are shrinking and domestic financing will become unavoidable.

This admission matters. When institutions built around aid begin to question its sustainability, the era of predictable external support is effectively over.

The real test: unity or fragmentation

The Accra Reset ultimately exposes a deeper problem. While the Global South speaks of unity, its countries continue to negotiate trade, financing and policy individually, often in Western capitals, leaving them vulnerable to sanctions , protectionism and shifting geopolitical interests.

Fragmented economies are easy to discipline. Coordinated economies are harder to ignore.

The Accra Reset is not a declaration of independence. It is a stress test. One that asks whether the Global South is prepared to finance itself, trade with itself and defend its economic interests collectively.

Aid, as several speakers implied, will end whether the Global South is ready or not.

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Other members of the Presidential Council who will attend the side event include President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt, President William Samoei Ruto of Kenya , and President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nigeria will be represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, while Prime Minister James Marape will represent Papua New Guinea.

The Guardians Circle of the initiative, made up of former Heads of State, includes President Olusegun Obasanjo, Rt. Hon. Helen Clark, President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, and President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

The Davos meeting will mark the launch of priority programmes under the initiative. This follows its formal presentation at the 2025 United Nations General Assembly and endorsement at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg. The initiative comes at a time of increasing global power rivalries, a breakdown in traditional aid structures, growing trade conflicts, and the mounting effects of climate change, economic hardship, pandemics, and war.

The Accra Reset, spearheaded by President Mahama and his co-convenor, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, suggests a new framework based on sovereignty, practicality, and mutual benefits.

Click here to find out more about the Accra Reset: Davos Convening

At the heart of the trend is a simple calculation many households make every day: where can work actually pay enough to build a life? Wage gaps between African economies and popular destinations such as Europe, North America and the Gulf states continue to pull skilled and semi-skilled workers across borders.

But for others, travel is not a choice — it is survival. Conflict and instability in parts of the continent have pushed families to move quickly, sometimes with little more than what they can carry. As the report notes, wars and violence in places such as Sudan, South Sudan, the Sahel and the Horn of Africa have made migration a “survival strategy” for many. 

Climate change is also accelerating movement, especially from rural communities. Drought, desertification, flooding and falling agricultural yields are disrupting farming and pastoral livelihoods, making migration an increasingly necessary adaptation.

The impact of this growing diaspora is complex. Remittances sent home have become a financial lifeline for millions, helping families afford food, healthcare, education and housing. In some cases surpassing foreign aid. Yet the same trend can deepen “brain drain”, as countries lose professionals such as doctors, engineers and teachers, weakening essential services and long-term development. 

The UN-backed ranking places Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo among Africa’s largest migrant-sending nations, reflecting both economic ambition and forced displacement.

For Mercosur members — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay — the agreement offers expanded access to one of the world’s largest consumer markets. Reduced tariffs on agricultural goods, raw materials and manufactured products are expected to boost exports and attract foreign investment, particularly in sectors where South American economies hold competitive advantages. Supporters argue the deal could strengthen regional supply chains and provide developing economies with greater leverage in global trade negotiations traditionally dominated by the United States and China.

From a broader Global South perspective, the EU–Mercosur pact represents an alternative model of economic integration. Unlike extractive or narrowly strategic partnerships, the agreement includes provisions on labour standards, environmental commitments and regulatory cooperation. While critics question enforcement mechanisms, European officials frame the deal as a template for future agreements with developing regions seeking market access without abandoning multilateral norms.

However, the agreement also exposes long-standing asymmetries between developed and developing economies. Concerns persist that South American industries may struggle to compete with European manufacturers, potentially reinforcing dependency on commodity exports. Civil society groups in Latin America warn that environmental and indigenous protections could be weakened by increased pressure on land use, while European farmers fear intensified competition from lower-cost agricultural imports.

As ratification debates unfold on both sides of the Atlantic, the EU–Mercosur agreement is emerging as a test case for the Global South’s role in the evolving world economy. Whether it becomes a catalyst for inclusive growth and diversification — or deepens existing inequalities — will depend not only on trade flows, but on how both blocs balance economic ambition with social, environmental and geopolitical responsibility.

More than a century later, that line has become a frontline marked by soldiers, conflict and deep-seated tension. Historians and political analysts say these conflicts didn’t begin yesterday; they began the moment territorial borders were imposed without reference to local realities. Many of today’s borders were drawn by imperial powers that cared more about rivalry and resource control than about rivers, ethnic groups, or traditional land use.

Experts say many modern border tensions occur where artificial lines cut across ethnic and cultural territories or where they overlay natural resources and strategic interests. When boundaries were imposed by colonial powers with rulers instead of local voices, they often ignored rivers, trade routes, shared histories, and even livelihoods, planting the seeds for long-term conflict .

Today, defending a border is no longer just about territorial control, it’s about survival, leverage, identity and sovereignty. Courts and treaties can offer legal frameworks for settling disputes, but in many cases, the words on a page have been overshadowed by force on the ground.

In 2026, these lines drawn centuries ago still shape who eats, who profits and who holds power, even as local communities, national governments and international actors grapple with the unresolved legacy of maps made far from the realities they were meant to define.

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By 2026, few governments in the Global South publicly admit it, but many now operate as if the old model no longer applies. The language remains, growth targets, reform agendas, donor frameworks, but the behaviour has changed. Development is no longer about catching up. It is about coping, stabilising, and surviving in a world that no longer offers predictable rewards for doing things “the right way.”

This shift did not begin with a manifesto or conference declaration. It emerged from shock.

A world that broke the model

Between 2020 and 2025, the global system delivered a series of blows that exposed the fragility of development orthodoxy.

The COVID-19 pandemic showed how quickly global supply chains could collapse and how unevenly global solidarity functioned. Vaccines arrived late in much of Africa, despite years of participation in global health frameworks. Countries learned a hard lesson: integration did not guarantee protection.

Then came war-driven inflation, energy shocks, and food insecurity. Sanctions, once portrayed as targeted tools. became blunt instruments with spillover effects far beyond their intended targets. For many African economies, external crises they did not cause became domestic emergencies they had to manage.

Climate extremes added another layer. Floods, droughts, and heatwaves no longer appeared as future risks but as recurring costs. Adaptation replaced mitigation as the urgent priority, even as climate finance remained slow and conditional.

In this environment, the old development bargain began to look hollow. Play by the rules, open your markets, reform your institutions, and prosperity will follow. After 2025, fewer policymakers believed that sequence still held.

The quiet end of 'catching up'

Development thinking was long built around comparison. Income levels, infrastructure density, literacy rates, health outcomes, progress meant closing gaps with advanced economies.

But comparison assumes a stable destination. That assumption has eroded.

Western economies themselves now struggle with ageing populations, political polarisation, infrastructure decay, and fiscal stress. Their development path no longer looks universally desirable, let alone replicable. At the same time, the costs of reaching those benchmarks, environmental damage, social inequality, and external dependence are clearer than ever.

As a result, many countries have stopped measuring success by proximity to an external ideal. Instead, they ask narrower, more immediate questions: Can the lights stay on? Can food move from farms to cities? Can hospitals function under pressure? Can young people find some form of livelihood, even if it is informal?

This is not a resignation. It is recalibration.

Development as functionality

In 2026, development increasingly means functionality rather than transformation.

Power systems do not need to be world-class; they need to be reliable enough to support small businesses, clinics, and households. Healthcare does not need cutting-edge equipment everywhere; it needs trained staff, supply continuity, and referral systems that work under constraint. Transport does not need megaprojects; it needs roads that remain usable during the rainy season.

Across the Global South, especially in Africa , “good enough” solutions are quietly outperforming ambitious master plans.

Mini-grids expand energy access faster than national grid overhauls. Digital health platforms fill gaps left by overstretched public systems. Informal logistics networks move goods more efficiently than formal supply chains burdened by bureaucracy.

Who defines success now?

If development is no longer about meeting Western benchmarks or donor indicators, a deeper question emerges: who decides what progress looks like?

This question unsettles long-standing hierarchies. Global institutions still produce rankings and reports, but their authority is weaker than before. National governments, local communities, and regional blocs increasingly set their own priorities, even when these diverge from international advice.

This creates tension. Functionality may coexist with inequality. Stability may come at the cost of rapid reform. Pragmatism may override ideals.

The post-2025 development landscape does not offer moral clarity. It offers trade-offs.

Not the end, but a reckoning

To say that development has changed is not to say it has ended. People still want better lives, longer health, safer cities, and meaningful work. What has changed is the belief that there is a single, universal path to those outcomes.

In 2026, development is less about becoming something else and more about strengthening what already exists. Less about imitation, more about adaptation. Less about promises, more about systems that hold under pressure.

“There’s no such thing as a Collective West. There’s no such thing as a Global South. There are, but nations that can dialogue for their mutual interests,” Barrot said on January 7. His comments come at a time when India is positioning itself as a leader in the Global South. During a recent visit to Ethiopia , Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the “Global South is writing its own destiny.”

The debate followed the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores by US forces after strikes on Caracas and other areas, with Washington stating the operation was linked to narcoterrorism charges. Venezuelan authorities declared a national emergency, accusing the United States of attempting to seize strategic resources, particularly oil and minerals .

At the Security Council, the US rejected accusations of military aggression, describing the operation as a limited law enforcement action rather than an act of war. That explanation was challenged by several delegations, including Russia, China and Colombia . Russia’s UN ambassador said there was no justification for US actions in Venezuela, while China said it was “deeply shocked” by what it called bullying behaviour. The African A3 group also expressed serious concerns.

The operation has drawn condemnation beyond the UN chamber, with criticism from governments across Latin America, BRICS countries and other regions. European Union members and several European states called for respect for international law, though most avoided directly condemning the United States, highlighting divisions in the international response.

Together, these crisis zones will shape migration flows, global security , trade routes, and diplomatic alignments well beyond their borders.

Sudan

Sudan remains the most severe humanitarian emergency globally. The civil war that erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has devastated the country, displacing millions and pushing large populations toward famine. In the last year, the conflict showed little sign of resolution, with fighting increasingly fragmented and spilling into neighbouring states such as Chad, South Sudan, and Ethiopia. This year, the country could risk sliding further toward de facto partition, a scenario that would entrench instability across the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea corridor.

Yemen

In Yemen, the conflict is evolving rather than ending. While large-scale fighting has reduced in some areas, the country is increasingly divided between Houthi-controlled territories in the north and rival factions in the south backed by regional powers. This fragmentation weakens prospects for national reconciliation and carries global implications due to Yemen’s proximity to vital Red Sea shipping lanes. As maritime security concerns grow, Yemen’s instability in 2026 will remain tightly linked to regional geopolitics and global trade.

Myanmar

Myanmar enters 2026 locked in a protracted civil war following the 2021 military coup. Armed resistance groups now control significant territory, while the junta struggles to govern beyond major urban centres. Planned or proposed elections under these conditions risk deepening Myanmar’s legitimacy crisis rather than resolving it. The humanitarian toll continues to rise, with millions displaced and neighbouring countries such as Thailand, China, and Bangladesh absorbing the spillover effects.

DR Congo

In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, violence persists despite diplomatic efforts to stabilise the region. Armed groups, including M23, continue to challenge state authority, exploiting ethnic tensions, especially in Goma and competition over mineral resources. Peace agreements reached last year still face serious implementation challenges , and failure to consolidate them in 2026 could destabilise the wider Great Lakes region, where conflict has long crossed borders and drawn in neighbouring states.

Nigeria

Nigeria’s crisis heading into 2026 is defined by overlapping insurgency, criminal violence, and worsening economic pressure, with jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP continuing attacks across the northeast and northwest. In the Middle Belt and parts of the north, violence has increasingly targeted Christian communities, with deadly attacks in late 2025 killing dozens of civilians in Benue and Plateau states, particularly around the Christmas period.

The situation escalated internationally when the United States carried out airstrikes on December 24–25, 2025, hitting ISIS-linked camps in northwest Nigeria at the request of the Nigerian government. While the strikes disrupted militant operations, analysts warn that without addressing governance failures, poverty, and local grievances, Nigeria’s insecurity is likely to persist and deepen in 2026.

Taiwan vs. China

Beyond active war zones, strategic flashpoints are also reshaping risk in the Global South. Rising tensions between China and Taiwan, while centred in East Asia, carry global consequences that will be felt acutely across developing economies. Any escalation would disrupt trade , shipping routes, and semiconductor supply chains, forcing many Global South countries, deeply tied to both Chinese and Western economic systems, to navigate difficult diplomatic and economic choices.

Bangladesh — February 12

Bangladesh’s 2026 national election is one of the most significant tests of democratic resilience in South Asia. After mass student protests in 2024 toppled long-time leader Sheikh Hasina, the country has been governed by an interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

Scheduled for February 12, the election will determine all 300 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament) and will be accompanied by a constitutional referendum. Over 127 million voters are registered, making it one of the largest electorates in the world.

With the ruling Awami League previously barred from contesting and major opposition parties such as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) re-entering the fray, this election represents a dramatic realignment of political forces.

At stake are fundamental questions about civil liberties, judicial independence, and the role of the military in governance, issues highlighted by analysts who note deep public mistrust and the need for credible electoral processes to prevent renewed instability.

Nepal — March 5

Nepal is preparing for one of the most consequential elections against the backdrop of major political unrest. In September 2025, Gen Z-led protests spread nationwide, driven by discontent with corruption, authoritarian governance, and a controversial social media ban. The protests became the most intense political movement in years, leading to violent clashes and dozens of deaths.

Following the unrest, Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned, and the federal Parliament was dissolved. In response, President Ram Chandra Paudel appointed former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as interim prime minister, making her Nepal’s first female head of government. The interim government’s primary task is to oversee a stable transition toward the March elections.

Republic of the Congo — March 22

The Republic of the Congo will hold its presidential election on March 22, 2026, with long-time incumbent Denis Sassou Nguesso seeking another term after decades in power.

Nguesso, who has governed since 1997 and previously served from 1979 to 1992, remains a polarising figure. Critics argue his extended rule has eroded democratic norms, and freedom indices rate the polity among the lowest in political rights.

The election is significant for domestic governance, but also because Congo holds key natural resources and strategic importance in Central Africa. Opposition coalitions are attempting to unify against Nguesso’s longstanding rule, and the 2026 vote could signal either continuity or a breakthrough for alternative leadership.

Colombia — May 31

Colombia will hold its presidential election on May 31 , following parliamentary elections earlier in March. The contest comes at a critical juncture for the Andean nation as it tackles issues like narcotics-driven violence, economic inequality, and peace process implementation.

The 2026 vote will test the durability of reforms initiated under previous administrations and will shape Bogotá’s diplomatic posture toward neighbouring Venezuela and broader Western Hemisphere cooperation on security and migration challenges.

The country is also expected to elect a new leader as the incumbent President Gustavo Petro has been banned from recontesting.

Ethiopian General Election — June 1

Scheduled for June 1, 2026, Ethiopia’s general election will be the first major vote since ongoing internal conflicts deeply disrupted the nation’s political landscape.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party will seek to extend its hold on power in a country still grappling with security challenges, a fragile economy, and questions about electoral credibility.

As East Africa’s second-largest country by population, Ethiopia’s political direction will resonate across the region, particularly in how it handles ethnic tensions, federal governance, and economic reform been high in recent years.

Brazil — October 4

Brazil’s general election, set for October 4, will be closely watched across Latin America and beyond.

Brazil’s election will determine the presidency as well as the composition of both chambers of Congress. With Brazil being the largest democracy in Latin America, influential in regional trade, climate policy, and global diplomatic forums, political shifts here could affect Mercosur, climate cooperation (especially Amazon preservation), and relations with major powers such as the United States, China, and the EU.

Sitting President Lula da Silva is seeking a second term and will be going head-to-head with the son of jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro, Flavio Bolsonaro.

Here is a rundown of elections that made a difference in 2025:

Sri Lanka

One of the most consequential elections was Sri Lanka ’s parliamentary transition in early 2025, which followed the 2024 presidential election won by Anura Kumara Dissanayake after the country’s worst economic crisis since independence. Voters decisively rejected the long-dominant Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe political establishments, widely blamed for the 2022 debt default, instead backing parties and candidates associated with fiscal discipline, anti-corruption reforms, and continued engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recovery programme.

Crucially, the mass youth-led protest movement known as the “Aragalaya,” which had forced former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee in 2022, evolved into sustained electoral pressure in 2025.

Cameroon

In the October 12, 2025, presidential election, Cameroon’ s long-serving President Paul Biya, aged 92, was declared the winner with approximately 53.7% of the vote, extending his rule that began in 1982 into an unprecedented eighth term. The result sparked widespread protests in major cities such as Douala and Yaoundé, with opposition supporters rejecting the official outcome and accusing the government of electoral fraud and repression. The election and its aftermath underscored deep social tensions between entrenched political authority and a growing demand for democratic accountability among citizens and civil society groups.

Tanzania

Tanzania’s 29 October 2025 general election faced criticism over the exclusion of major opposition candidates and claims of suppressed dissent, fuelling public dissatisfaction with the electoral process and governance. Following the government’s declared victory, protests erupted in major cities, driven largely by young people contesting the outcome and broader political restrictions. Opposition groups and civil society alleged that thousands were killed during the unrest, with some estimates as high as 10,000. These claims have not been independently verified and were dismissed by the government as exaggerated. Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba’s administration described the figures as misinformation and announced investigations into the protests and any confirmed deaths. A presidential commission was subsequently established, though no official death toll has been released.

Chile

In the December 2025 presidential election in Chile , José Antonio Kast of the conservative Christian Social Front was elected president, defeating left-of-centre candidate Gabriel Boric and signalling a sharp political shift after years of social unrest and economic uncertainty. Kast’s victory reflected widespread voter concern over crime, public security, and economic challenges, with his campaign promising tougher law-and-order policies and market-oriented fiscal reforms. The result marked a substantive rightward turn in Chilean politics, underscoring a broader social realignment in Latin America as citizens adjusted priorities away from progressive agendas toward stability, security, and economic pragmatism in the aftermath of mass protests and constitutional debates.

Bolivia

In the 2025 Bolivian presidential runoff, Rodrigo Paz —a centrist and former mayor of La Paz— defeated his main rival to secure the presidency with a clear lead in the early official count, ending nearly two decades of dominance by the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party. Paz’s campaign focused on economic stability, reducing political polarisation, combating corruption, and restoring investor confidence after years of tension between MAS supporters and opposition groups, appealing to voters across the political spectrum. The election marked a significant social and political shift in Bolivia, reflecting widespread public desire for consensus leadership and pragmatic governance following periods of protests, contested elections, and economic uncertainty under previous administrations.

These two countries join a host of others, like Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Gabon, among others.

Madagascar

After weeks of violent and deadly protests powered by Madagascan Gen Z over alleged corruption, the country's Army Personnel Administration Centre (CAPSAT) seized the sovereign power led by Colonel Michael Randrianirina . The Gen Z demonstrations grew beyond service issues into a broader rejection of the leadership of then-President Andry Rajoelina, who became the world's youngest head of state at 34 through a coup in 2009. The situation reached a tipping point when an elite military unit defected and joined the protesters, refusing orders to fire on civilians, effectively cutting Rajoelina off from core state security support.

This shift in military allegiance significantly undermined his ability to remain in power. Facing explicit threats to his life amid the rebellion and the loss of military backing, Rajoelina left Madagascar for a “safe location,” later confirmed to be outside the country, while claiming an attempted illegal power grab was underway. Colonel Michael Randrianirina has been in power since declaring a two-year transition exercise.

Guinea-Bissau

Army officers in Guinea-Bissau announced on Wednesday, November 26, that they had deposed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló , accusing him of mismanaging the political crisis and undermining democratic stability. The officers declared that the existing government had been dissolved and pledged to restore order and constitutional governance, though details about a transition timeline were not immediately clear. The announcement came amid heightened tensions following contested elections on the 23rd and reflected longstanding military influence over the country’s political landscape.

On the same day, sustained gunfire erupted near the national election commission headquarters amidst tensions over a tightly contested presidential election, with residents fleeing the area as shots were heard near multiple government buildings. The outbreak of gunfire occurred just as provisional results were expected. However, protesters took to the streets in Guinea-Bissau on Friday, December 12, to denounce the military coup and demand the restoration of democratic governance , highlighting deep public frustration with the political instability that has plagued the country.

Benin could have become the third country, but for the swift intervention of Nigeria and the country's loyalist forces that protected President Patrice Talon's sovereignty. Armed soldiers went on national television on December 7 to declare they had taken power in a coup , but by evening, the situation had calmed, and everywhere was clear.

Since August 2020, Africa has experienced ten coups.

Governments struggled to contain protests that spread rapidly across cities, often forcing policy reversals or provoking heavy-handed crackdowns that drew international attention.

Together, these uprisings and many others made 2025 one of the most protest-heavy years the Global South has seen in recent memory.

Kenya’s Gen-Z protests

In Kenya, protests that began in 2024 spilt forcefully into 2025 after the government pushed through controversial tax hikes. Led largely by Gen Z activists mobilising online, demonstrations spread from Nairobi to major towns, with protesters storming Parliament and targeting symbols of state power. President William Ruto was eventually forced to withdraw key parts of the finance bill. Human rights groups warned that the state responded by weaponising digital tools to suppress dissent. Amnesty International said young activists faced coordinated online harassment, intimidation and disinformation aimed at silencing the movement. “Our analysis of online activity throughout several waves of protests in 2024 and 2025 and the interviews we’ve conducted with young human rights defenders, clearly demonstrate widespread and coordinated tactics on digital platforms to silence and suppress protests by young activists, including through online threats, intimidating comments, abusive language, smearing, and targeted disinformation,” Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General is quoted .

Bangladesh student-led uprising

Bangladesh’s student-led protest movement, which erupted in 2024 over public-sector job quotas, reignited in 2025 following the death of prominent student leader Sharif Osman Hadi, who succumbed to gunshot wounds. Demonstrators accused the government and foreign actors of targeting activists, triggering fresh waves of violence, arson and street battles. Universities and major cities were paralysed as protesters demanded accountability and an end to what they saw as systemic economic exclusion.

Mozambique’s post-election unrest

In Mozambique, disputed election results sparked months of unrest after the ruling FRELIMO party was accused of rigging the October 2024 vote. Protests continued into early 2025, culminating in a violent crackdown around President Daniel Chapo’s January inauguration. Civil society groups reported more than 300 deaths and over 3,000 injuries, while authorities put the toll far lower. Amnesty International documented the use of live ammunition, arbitrary arrests and internet shutdowns, raising alarm over democratic backsliding.

Venezuela’s protests over election credibility

Venezuela also saw sustained protests after President Nicolás Maduro secured a third term in a contested July 2024 election. Opposition supporters rejected the results, accusing authorities of manipulation and repression. Weeks of demonstrations were met with mass arrests. Rights groups said around 2,400 people were detained, though many were later released amid international pressure.

Nepal's Gen Z protests

In Nepal, Gen Z protesters led nationwide demonstrations against corruption, political nepotism and a sweeping ban on social media platforms. The unrest turned deadly in September 2025, with at least 22 people believed to have been killed and hundreds injured. The protests were fuelled by years of frustration with an ageing political elite and intensified by a viral online movement criticising the lavish lifestyles of politicians’ children. A sudden shutdown of 26 social media platforms only deepened public anger. “This is a revolution. This is the end of the corruption. It’s our turn now. The government was so corrupt. They used that money to improve their own lives, but there has been no change in the lives of normal people,” said Sujan Dahal, a young Nepali protestor. 

Tanzania's post-election chaos

In Tanzania, security forces used lethal and disproportionate force to suppress election-related protests between October 29 and November 3, 2025. Amnesty International and the UN documented cases of live ammunition being fired at protesters and tear gas being used indiscriminately in residential areas. While the government disputed casualty figures, UN officials said at least 10 deaths were confirmed by credible sources, with many more injured. "We are alarmed by the deaths and injuries that have occurred in the ongoing election-related protests in Tanzania. Reports we have received indicate that at least 10 people were killed," U.N. human rights spokesperson Seif Magango told Geneva reporters, citing "credible sources" in the country.

Togo's uproar

From June 26 to 28 , in Togo, thousands protested constitutional reforms critics say allow President Faure Gnassingbé to remain in power indefinitely. Demonstrations in Lomé were violently dispersed, with civil society groups reporting at least four deaths, dozens of injuries and mass arrests. Verified footage showed beatings and civilians being dragged away by plainclothes officers.

Madagascar's Gen Z rebellion

Madagascar saw deadly demonstrations organised by young protestors, angered by chronic power cuts and water shortages led to the ousting of former President Andry Rajoelina. Demonstrations that began peacefully in September quickly escalated after security forces intervened, leaving at least 24 people dead, including a baby exposed to tear gas. Protesters said years of neglect and hopelessness drove them into the streets, demanding dignity and basic services. Amnesty International called for independent investigations into the killings.“Every death on the streets of Madagascar is a painful reminder that the right to peaceful protest is under violent attack. The authorities must promptly launch thorough and effective investigations into these killings and hold perpetrators to account,” Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, is quoted . “Malagasy people need to unite, that’s what’s causing this movement,” one protester said . “We are tired, fed up and completely lost, so let’s fight for the good of the youth and the next generation,” he added.

The partnership was formally presented as part of Chile’s National Lithium Strategy, which seeks to increase state participation in the sector while maintaining cooperation with private capital. Nova Andino Litio will oversee the full lithium value chain in the Atacama, from exploration and extraction to production and commercialisation, with operations projected to extend until 2060, according to Codelco.

The launch ceremony brought together key figures from both companies, including Codelco chairman Máximo Pacheco and SQM chief executive Ricardo Ramos, alongside President Gabriel Boric, signalling strong political backing for the initiative. The presence of the head of state underlined the strategic importance the government assigns to lithium as a pillar of Chile’s future economic model.

Speaking at the event, Pacheco framed the alliance as a historic convergence between the country’s largest state-owned and private firms, arguing that it could reposition Chile at the top of global lithium production. Ramos, in turn, expressed confidence that combining the capabilities of both companies would generate greater value than operating separately, pointing to the scale and ambition of the project.

Nova Andino Litio is expected to reach an annual output of around 300,000 tonnes of lithium, a significant increase compared with national production levels in recent years. In a global context marked by rising demand for critical minerals and intensifying competition among producer countries, Chile’s move reflects a broader effort across the Global South to balance sovereignty, investment and long-term control over strategic natural resources.

Africa

Muhammadu Buhari (82) – Former Nigerian military ruler and president (2015–2023); died on 13 July 2025.

Sam Nujoma (95) – Founding president of Namibia, who led from 1990 to 2005; passed away on 8 February 2025.

Edgar Lungu (68) – Former president of Zambia (2015–2021); died on 5 May 2025 from complications during surgery.

Raila Odinga (80) – Former Prime Minister of Kenya; passed away on 15 October 2025 following a cardiac arrest.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (87) – Prominent Kenyan writer known for A Grain of Wheat ; died on 28 November 2025.

Daddy Lumba (60) – Known as one of the most prolific and influential musicians in Ghanaian history, whose birth name is Charles Kwadwo Fosu, passed away on 26 June 2025.

Asia

Khaleda Zia (80) – Bangladesh’s first female prime minister; passed away on 30 December 2025.

Kim Yong-nam (97) – Former head of state of North Korea; died on 3 November 2025 due to organ failure and colorectal cancer.

Queen Sirikit (93) – Queen Mother of Thailand; died on 24 November 2025 from a blood infection.

Aga Khan IV (88) – Spiritual leader of the Nizari Ismaili community and philanthropist; passed away on 4 February 2025.

Yang Chen-Ning (103) – Chinese theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate; died on 18 November 2025.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (85) – Malaysia’s former prime minister (2003–2009); died on 14 April 2025 due to organ failure.

Shigeo Nagashima (89) – Japanese baseball legend; passed away on 3 June 2025 from pneumonia.

Latin America

Pope Francis (88) – Argentine-born head of the Roman Catholic Church; died on 21 April 2025 from a stroke.

Mario Vargas Llosa (89) – Peruvian writer and Nobel laureate; passed away on 13 April 2025.

José Mujica (89) – Former Uruguayan president known for his modest lifestyle ; died on 13 May 2025 from oesophageal cancer.

Violeta Chamorro (95) – Nicaragua’s first female president; passed away on 14 June 2025.

Mauricio Funes (65) – Former Salvadoran president; died on 21 February 2025 due to complications from a heart attack.

Lalo Schifrin (93) – Argentine composer best known for the Mission: Impossible theme; passed away on 26 June 2025 from pneumonia complications.

Beyond the high-profile losses in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the year 2025 was marked by the passing of several monumental figures from America and Europe whose influence defined modern politics, cinema, and music. Here are some of the most notable deaths that shook the Western world :

America and Europe

Dick Cheney (84) – Former U.S. Vice President (2001–2009), known for his role in shaping post-9/11 foreign policy, died on 3 November 2025 from pneumonia and heart disease.

Ozzy Osbourne (76) – English Hall of Fame musician and Black Sabbath frontman, passed away on 22 June 2025 following a heart attack.

Robert Redford (89) – Academy Award-winning actor, director, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival; died on 16 May 2025.

Brigitte Bardot (91) – French actress and 1960s cultural icon who later became an animal rights advocate; passed on 28 December 2025.

Gene Hackman (95) – Two-time Oscar winner, known for The French Connection and Unforgiven , died on 18 February 2025 from heart disease and Alzheimer’s.

Val Kilmer (65) – American actor famed for roles in Top Gun and Batman Forever ; died on 1 April 2025 from pneumonia.

Jean-Marie Le Pen (96) – Founder of France’s National Front and long-time right-wing political figure; passed on 7 January 2025.

Jim Lovell (97) – U.S. astronaut and commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, who famously returned his crew safely to Earth, passed away on 7 August 2025.  

Diane Keaton (79) – Oscar-winning actress known for roles in Annie Hall and The Godfather series; died on 11 October 2025 from bacterial pneumonia.

Charlie Kirk (31) – American conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA; fatally shot on 10 September 2025 during a university debate event.

Giorgio Armani (91) – Italian fashion designer and founder of the Armani brand; died on 4 September 2025 due to liver failure.

Hulk Hogan (71) – American professional wrestling icon and WWF/WCW star; died on 24 July 2025 from a heart attack.

Diogo Jota (28) – The sporting world was shocked by the sudden death of Portuguese footballer for Liverpool on 3 July 2025 in a traffic collision in Spain.

Rest of the world

Sir Julius Chan (85) – A founding father of Papua New Guinea and former Prime Minister, passed away on 30 January 2025.

Max Romeo (80) – The world-famous Jamaican reggae musician known for hits like "Chase the Devil" died on 11 April 2025 of heart complications.

Ena Collymore-Woodstock (108) – Jamaica’s first female magistrate and legal pioneer; died on 2 January 2025.

Octavio Dotel (51) – Dominican MLB pitcher and World Series champion; killed on 8 April 2025 in the Dominican nightclub tragedy.

What follows is a region-by-region look at how leadership in the Global South has been reshaped, a narrative of elections, coups, handovers, and diplomatic realignments that together paint a portrait of a world in transition.

Global South leaders in Africa

Africa in 2025 witnessed dramatic power shifts alongside instances of continuity. A wave of military takeovers continued to roil West and Central Africa. In late 2025, Guinea-Bissau experienced a coup on the eve of the election results, soldiers arrested President Umaro Sissoco Embaló just as ballots were being tallied. The junta installed a military leader as head of a “Transitional Republic” the next day.

In Madagascar, President Andry Rajoelina was ousted after elite army units backed mass protests against his rule; he fled abroad as parliament impeached him, and Colonel Michael Randrianirina was sworn in as the new president

Even where leaders weren’t unseated by force, many elections were fraught. In Cameroon, 92-year-old President Paul Biya secured an eighth term, extending his four-decade rule.

Across the continent in Tanzania, the October 2025 general election saw violent crackdowns and an internet blackout as President Samia Suluhu’s ruling party claimed victory.

There were a few bright spots. Malawi’s September 2025 polls led to a peaceful transfer of power. Former President Peter Mutharika defeated incumbent Lazarus Chakwera in a hard-fought race – a democratic change ultimately accepted by all sides

Meanwhile, Africa’s longest-ruling heads of state clung to power through 2025. In Cameroon, Biya’s renewed mandate could see him nearing his 100th birthday in office. Uganda's Yoweri Museveni, in power since 1986 and Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang, Africa's longest-serving leader, in power since 1979, managed to remain firmly in control despite facing mounting questions about succession. Museveni is expected to continue his rule when the East African nation goes to the polls on January 15, 2026.

Latin America

In a region weary from economic stagnation and social unrest, voters and power brokers ushered in a new crop of conservative, and sometimes anti-establishment, leaders.

Chile witnessed a sharp ideological turn in its own 2025 presidential race . After a left-wing government under Gabriel Boric struggled to contain crime and economic anxieties, Chilean voters veered in the opposite direction. In December 2025, conservative firebrand José Antonio Kast clinched the presidency in Santiago, defeating a socialist opponent in a runoff and ending the Chilean left’s brief experiment in power

In Central America, too, political currents shifted in 2025. Nasry Asfura, the conservative candidate for Honduran president backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, was declared the winner on Wednesday, December 24, more than three weeks after the November 30 election, which was beset by delays, technical problems and allegations of fraud.

Amid these high-profile changes, other Latin American countries managed more subtle leadership shifts. Ecuador entered 2025 under a youthful new president, 35-year-old Daniel Noboa, who had won a snap election in late 2023. Though inexperienced, Noboa brought a technocratic style after years of bitter left-right polarisation in Quito.

Middle East

In the Middle East, 2025 did not usher in many new faces, but it did witness significant shifts in how those leaders engage with each other and the world.

A prime example is Saudi Arabia, where Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman continued to wield near-absolute power as the kingdom’s de facto ruler.

Meanwhile in Israel, the return of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to power at the end of 2022 set the stage for a tumultuous 2023 and beyond. By 2025, the Israeli leader was still in office (already the longest-serving PM in Israel’s history), but his government’s aggressive policies had deepened internal divisions and strained relations with Western allies.

Consider Iran: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remained the ultimate authority in Tehran as he has since 1989, and President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner aligned with him, stayed in office, focused on weathering U.S. sanctions and domestic unrest.

By 2025, the Middle East’s leadership tableau could be described as a kind of uneasy equilibrium. The old names – Assad, Netanyahu, Erdoğan, Khamenei, MBS (albeit formally still “Crown Prince”) – are still running the show.

Asia

The year began with India cementing a familiar face in power, and ended with Pakistan and Bangladesh facing uncertainty under caretaker regimes after unprecedented political convulsions.

In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered 2025 at the apex of his influence. Fresh off a landslide victory in the spring 2024 general elections.

By the dawn of 2025, Pakistan was finally gearing up for an election under a new Election Commission – one that opposition voices alleged tilted the odds in favour of the establishment-friendly Sharif camp. Regardless of the outcome, Pakistan’s next leader will inherit a nation in economic dire straits and a public cynical about governance.

Sri Lanka, slowly recovering from its financial meltdown and people-power revolt of 2022, continued under President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s stewardship. Wickremesinghe, initially installed by parliament after the Rajapaksa clan’s ouster, managed to secure a measure of stability by pushing through painful economic reforms to satisfy the IMF.

By 2025, Sri Lanka’s protests had quieted, but the public remained wary and weary, wondering if Wickremesinghe would call an election to legitimise his mandate or cling to the remainder of the term he inherited.

Malaysia spent 2025 under Anwar Ibrahim’s premiership, heading a rare multi-ethnic coalition that took power in late 2022. Anwar’s government, though unwieldy, survived constant opposition sniping and even won some key state elections, hinting that the era of volatile hung parliaments might stabilise.

Here is a recap of a few:

Sudan

From April 2023, Sudan has been stuck in turmoil, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of people and left women and children vulnerable. The conflict erupted over power struggles between rival military factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF. The conflict led to parts of the country facing famine. Millions were displaced, health systems collapsed, and reports of mass sexual violence mounted, yet funding and diplomatic engagement remained limited as donor fatigue developed. “Each passing day brings staggering levels of violence and destruction. Civilians are enduring immense, unimaginable suffering, with no end in sight,” Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the UN Khaled Khiari told ambassadors.

DR Congo

In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, fighting between armed groups intensified, particularly in North Kivu. Civilians faced killings, forced recruitment, and displacement, but the conflict received scant coverage outside Africa despite being a deadly one. The fighting resumed at the beginning of 2025 when the M23 rebel group made significant advances across the East. 

Haiti

Haiti continued to slide deeper into crisis as armed gangs expanded control over large parts of Port-au-Prince. Kidnappings surged, state authority eroded further, and humanitarian access shrank, yet international response stalled amid political paralysis. “Caught in the middle of this unending horror story are the Haitian people, who are at the mercy of horrific violence by gangs and exposed to human rights violations from the security forces and abuses by the so-called ‘self-defence’ groups,” Volker Türk, High Commissioner for Human Rights, is quoted .

Myanmar

In Myanmar, clashes between the military junta and ethnic armed groups were reported, with airstrikes hitting civilian areas. The conflict’s impact on women, children and minorities remained severe, even as global focus drifted elsewhere. Four years after the military seized power in 2021, Myanmar’s junta controls just 21% of the country, while rebel groups and ethnic armed forces hold about 42%, according to a 2024 BBC investigation.

Smaller but persistent conflicts in Ethiopia’s border regions, Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado, and Burkina Faso also worsened. While some of these were short-lived, they were mostly driven by a mix of insurgency and political instability.

Sudan — Cholera epidemic persists amid conflict | Africa

Sudan continued to battle one of its most severe cholera outbreaks in 2025, with more than 124,000 suspected cases and over 3,300 deaths reported. Ongoing conflict and mass displacement worsened the situation, damaging water and sanitation infrastructure and limiting access to healthcare. The epidemic stressed already fragile health services, forcing authorities and international organisations to implement emergency treatment centres and vaccination campaigns.

South Sudan — Cholera outbreak hits displaced populations | Africa

The cholera crisis in South Sudan, which began in late 2024, escalated in 2025, affecting almost 95,000 people and causing over 1,500 deaths. The outbreak primarily impacted displaced populations and communities with limited access to safe water and healthcare. Humanitarian organisations faced immense challenges in delivering treatment and preventive services in conflict‑affected regions, highlighting the intersection of displacement, poverty, and public health vulnerability.

Democratic Republic of Congo — Ebola outbreak in Kasai province | Central Africa

In September 2025, the DRC declared a new Ebola Virus Disease (Zaire strain) outbreak in Kasai Province. By the time the outbreak was contained in December, there were 81 confirmed cases and 28 deaths, including healthcare workers. The outbreak highlighted persistent weaknesses in surveillance, rapid response capacity, and community engagement in remote regions, underlining the challenges of controlling Ebola even in areas with previous outbreak experience.

Haiti — Cholera resurgence in Port‑au‑Prince | Latin America

Haiti experienced a resurgence of cholera in 2025, with 2,852 suspected cases, 186 confirmed infections, and 48 deaths, mostly among children under nine. The outbreak was concentrated around Port‑au‑Prince and the surrounding areas, exacerbated by weak sanitation infrastructure, poverty, and restricted access to healthcare. International agencies and local authorities mobilised emergency interventions, including treatment centres and water purification programmes, to limit further spread.

Vietnam — Measles epidemic hits children | East Asia

In Viet Nam, over 80,000 suspected measles cases were reported in 2025, amid declining routine vaccination coverage. Other countries in the region, including Cambodia, Mongolia, and the Philippines, also saw significant increases in measles infections, putting tens of thousands of children at risk. WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi warned that these outbreaks were reversing years of progress in immunisation, highlighting the urgent need for catch-up vaccination campaigns and improved access to preventive healthcare.

Bolivia — Measles emergency declared | Latin America

Bolivia declared a public health emergency in response to a measles outbreak that began in June 2025, resulting in 87 confirmed cases. National and international health authorities mobilised to contain the spread, particularly among children, through vaccination drives and awareness campaigns. The outbreak exposed gaps in routine immunisation coverage and underscored the ongoing challenges in maintaining herd immunity in low-resource settings.

Cuba — Dengue, chikungunya and arboviral epidemics strain healthcare | Latin America

In 2025, Cuba confronted a serious public health emergency marked by simultaneous outbreaks of dengue, chikungunya and other mosquito-borne viruses, with cases reported across most of the island and health facilities struggling to cope with demand. Official data and independent reports indicated tens of thousands of infections, with active transmission in multiple provinces and persistent challenges in diagnosis and treatment.

Local health organisations reported shortages of medicines, diagnostic reagents and hospital capacity, while civil society groups called for a formal public health emergency declaration amid overwhelmed clinics and limited resources. The outbreaks unfolded alongside broader systemic strains, including shortages of potable water and gaps in essential services that complicated public health responses.

India–Pakistan ceasefire agreement (South Asia)

In May 2025, India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire after a period of heightened military tensions along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. The agreement was welcomed as a significant diplomatic step toward reducing hostilities between two nuclear‑armed neighbours who have fought repeated clashes in the region for decades. However, in the weeks following the deal, there were reports of minor violations and exchanges of fire, illuminating the fragile and contested nature of the truce. Despite these challenges, the ceasefire created space for renewed diplomatic engagement and prevented further large‑scale escalation in 2025.

DRC–Rwanda peace agreement (Central/East Africa)

On 27 June 2025, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda signed a US‑brokered peace agreement aimed at stemming long‑running conflict and militia activity in eastern DRC. The accord outlined a timetable for the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and the creation of joint security mechanisms, along with broader frameworks for cooperation among Great Lakes states. Although widely seen as an important diplomatic breakthrough with the potential to stabilise the region, implementation has faced serious practical and security challenges. Militia activity, logistical obstacles, and mutual mistrust have slowed progress, and the agreement’s long‑term impact depends on sustained political will from both capitals.

Cambodia–Thailand ceasefire (Southeast Asia)

On 26 October 2025, Cambodia and Thailand signed the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord during the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia, establishing an interim ceasefire and steps to de‑escalate longstanding border tensions. The agreement was backed by regional leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump, who played a visible role in encouraging both sides to halt hostilities. The accord included provisions such as coordinated troop withdrawals, joint de‑mining operations, and international monitoring to reduce accidental clashes along disputed frontier zones.

The deal was built on earlier ceasefire efforts mediated by Malaysia as ASEAN chair and supported by Trump, after months of sporadic clashes and large-scale displacement. While the agreement was widely hailed as a diplomatic success, skirmishes and disagreements over implementation persisted in some sectors. Renewed fighting in December 2025 prompted a special ASEAN ministerial meeting to revive and reinforce the peace process originally supported by regional leaders and Trump. Despite its challenges, the accord marked a significant step in structured cooperation between the two governments.

United Nations high-level conference on the Two-State Solution (Middle East)

In July 2025, the United Nations convened the Palestine Two‑State Solution Conference, a high-level meeting aimed at reinvigorating international efforts toward a two-state resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The conference brought together representatives from countries across the Global South and other regions to discuss diplomatic strategies, coordinate international support, and identify concrete steps for sustained peacebuilding. The event fostered dialogue and strategic planning, it did not result in a binding agreement or a final political resolution, serving primarily as a forum to strengthen international coordination around the two-state solution framework.

Israel–Hamas ceasefire (Middle East)

In October 2025, Israel and Hamas agreed to a U.S.‑backed ceasefire to pause one of the most destructive phases of the Gaza conflict that began in October 2023. The first phase of the deal included Israel withdrawing forces to agreed positions inside Gaza and Hamas releasing hostages held since the 2023 attacks, while both sides pledged to reduce hostilities and allow increased humanitarian access across crossings. This agreement was hailed internationally as a significant step toward ending active large‑scale fighting after two years of intense conflict.

Despite the truce entering into force and creating periods of relative calm, the ceasefire has been fragile and contested. Both sides have accused one another of violations, and periodic exchanges of fire have occurred, complicating efforts to implement subsequent phases of the deal. Independent sources report that — even after the ceasefire — hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in incidents that local health authorities attribute to Israeli operations, and humanitarian conditions in Gaza remain severe, with disputes over aid delivery and access continuing to impede relief efforts.

The ceasefire has not yet resulted in a comprehensive political settlement to the broader Israeli‑Palestinian conflict. Negotiations over long‑term governance, security arrangements, and disarmament have stalled, and international pressure persists to ensure that the agreement holds and leads to expanded humanitarian and reconstruction initiatives.

Guyana–Venezuela — diplomatic talks over Essequibo dispute (South America)

In 2025, diplomatic engagement continued between Guyana and Venezuela over the long‑standing Essequibo territorial dispute. Regional organisations and international mediators worked to prevent escalation after a period of heightened tensions in prior years, and both governments engaged in dialogue to manage disagreements. Although no formal settlement was reached during this period, sustained diplomacy contributed to maintaining relative stability in northern South America. The case remains before the International Court of Justice, and continued negotiations have been viewed as crucial in preventing renewed conflict over the disputed territory.

Although many of these agreements and conferences did not result in final resolutions or full implementation, they represent important steps towards the peaceful management of complex conflicts. The persistence of tensions, implementation challenges, and the fragility of some accords demonstrate that diplomacy is an ongoing process, requiring sustained political commitment and international cooperation. The developments of 2025 underline the relevance of Global South participation and leadership in maintaining dialogue and coordinating international efforts to address geopolitical and humanitarian challenges that continue to affect millions of people worldwide.

Philippines — Super typhoons and flooding | Southeast Asia

In 2025, the Philippines endured another punishing typhoon season as warmer ocean waters intensified storms across the western Pacific. Several super typhoons made landfall within months, unleashing torrential rains, storm surges and widespread flooding. Coastal and low-lying communities were repeatedly displaced, while damage to crops, homes and transport networks accumulated with each successive storm. Authorities warned that recovery time between disasters is shrinking, leaving millions more exposed. Climate scientists continue to link the growing intensity of typhoons to rising sea surface temperatures driven by global warming.

Mexico — Floods and landslides | Latin America

Severe flooding and landslides struck parts of Mexico in late 2025 after days of relentless rainfall overwhelmed rivers and hillsides. Entire neighbourhoods were submerged as infrastructure collapsed, particularly in regions already affected by deforestation and rapid urban expansion. Emergency services struggled to reach isolated communities as roads and bridges were washed away. The disaster once again highlighted how climate change is amplifying rainfall extremes across Latin America. For many vulnerable communities, the impacts were worsened by long-standing social and economic inequalities.

Nigeria — Flash floods | West Africa

In late May, torrential rains along the Kaduna River triggered devastating flash floods in Nigeria’s Niger State. Villages around Mokwa and Minna were inundated within minutes, killing at least 151 people and displacing thousands more. Hundreds of homes were destroyed, while farmland and transport links were severely damaged. Beyond the immediate death toll, the floods wiped out crops during a critical agricultural period, threatening local food supplies. Relief agencies described the disaster as one of the worst flooding events Nigeria has seen in decades.

Nepal — Glacial lake outburst flood | South Asia

A sudden glacial lake outburst on the Nepal–China border in July sent a wall of water down the Bhote Koshi river, devastating border communities. The flood destroyed major bridges and hydropower facilities, killing dozens and leaving others missing on both sides of the frontier. Nearly eight per cent of Nepal’s electricity generation capacity was knocked offline overnight. Scientists pointed to accelerating glacial melt in the Himalayas as a key driver of the disaster. The event underscored the growing risks climate change poses to high-mountain regions.

India — Monsoon floods and landslides | South Asia

India’s northeastern states faced deadly floods and landslides in June as unusually intense monsoon rains overwhelmed rivers and unstable terrain. Assam, Manipur and Meghalaya were among the worst affected, with dozens killed and thousands forced into shelters. Entire districts were cut off as roads collapsed and communication lines failed. While monsoons are a seasonal reality, experts warned that climate change is making rainfall more erratic and destructive. The disaster exposed the fragile infrastructure of one of India’s most climate-vulnerable regions.

South Africa — Unseasonal flooding | Southern Africa

In May, heavy rainfall from an unseasonal cold-front system triggered deadly flooding in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. Rivers burst their banks, sweeping away homes, schools and vehicles. At least 49 people were killed, including schoolchildren whose bus was caught in floodwaters near Mthatha. Authorities declared a national disaster as emergency crews struggled to reach submerged communities. Climate specialists noted that shifting weather patterns are making extreme rainfall events more frequent, even outside traditional wet seasons.

Brazil — Wildfires in the Amazon | South America

The Amazon basin experienced a surge in wildfires during 2025 as prolonged drought and record temperatures dried out vast stretches of rainforest. Fires spread rapidly across Brazil ’s northern states, destroying ecosystems, displacing Indigenous communities and releasing massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Smoke from the blazes darkened skies hundreds of kilometres away, triggering health warnings in major cities. Scientists warned that climate change, combined with deforestation, is pushing the rainforest closer to a tipping point. The fires reinforced fears that the Amazon is losing its ability to act as a global carbon sink.

Argentina and Chile — Drought-driven fires | South America

Across the Southern Cone, extended drought conditions fuelled one of the most severe wildfire seasons in recent years. In Argentina and Chile, parched grasslands and forests ignited easily, allowing fires to spread across millions of hectares. Rural communities were forced to evacuate as livestock, crops and infrastructure were destroyed. Air pollution from the fires also affected urban centres, compounding public health risks. Climate change has lengthened fire seasons in the region, leaving authorities struggling to keep pace.

Horn of Africa — Drought and hunger | East Africa

In the Horn of Africa, prolonged drought conditions continued to drive severe food insecurity throughout 2025. Successive failed rainy seasons in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya devastated harvests and livestock, eroding livelihoods across rural areas. Millions faced crisis-level hunger as water sources dried up and food prices surged. While not always officially declared as a famine, humanitarian agencies warned that conditions resembled past hunger emergencies. Climate change has intensified drought cycles in the region, magnifying the risks for already vulnerable populations.

Southern Africa — Crop failures and food stress | Southern Africa

Large parts of Southern Africa entered 2025 grappling with the aftershocks of drought and extreme heat that reduced crop yields and strained water supplies. Countries such as Zambia and Malawi reported poor maize harvests, pushing more households towards food assistance. Climate-driven heat stress disrupted planting cycles and reduced agricultural productivity. As rural incomes fell, food insecurity deepened across the region. The crisis illustrated how climate change can quietly undermine food systems long before famine is officially declared.

In January 2025, Trump signed a sweeping executive order (“Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements”) instructing the U.S. to withdraw immediately from the Paris Climate Agreement and rescind all U.S. pledges under UN climate accords. In practice, this meant cancelling tens of millions in promised climate finance. By March 2025, the administration also pulled U.S. funding out of multilateral “Just Energy Transition” partnerships with emerging economies (e.g. South Africa, Vietnam, Indonesia). Analysts note this created a funding gap – South Africa, for example, lost about $56 million in grants and $1 billion in planned investments as its total international climate pledge fell from $13.8B to $12.8B. These moves undermined Global South clean-energy projects (even large renewables like South Africa’s Selemela solar plant) and forced poorer countries to seek new funding sources.

Trade and tariff measures

Trump dramatically expanded U.S. trade barriers in 2025. Using Section 232 authority , he hiked tariffs on steel, aluminium and copper imports to 50 % (and 25% on foreign autos). In April 2025, he also invoked emergency powers to impose a 10% “reciprocal” tariff on all imports not already covered by other sanctions. Critically, in July 2025, he signed an order suspending the longstanding “de minimis” duty exemption (which had let packages under $800 enter the U.S. duty-free). After August 2025, nearly all low‑value shipments (including small shipments of goods from China, Africa, or Latin America) began incurring duties. Economists warn these sweeping tariffs hurt exporters in the Global South (tariff conflicts even flared with neighbours like Canada and Mexico, raising costs on developing‑country goods and disrupting trade.

Cuts to foreign aid and development assistance

On Day 1 of his second term (Jan. 20, 2025), Trump ordered a 90‑day “realignment” of all U.S. foreign aid. In practice, this effectively dismantled USAID : many aid programs were merged into the State Dept or terminated, and the independent USAID agency was slated for elimination. By mid‑2025, the administration’s rescission budget proposal sought to claw back over $8 billion from foreign assistance (targeting global health, humanitarian, and development programs). The cuts hit Global South recipients hard: Africa alone had received roughly $12 billion in U.S. aid in FY2024. Loss of U.S. funding has forced many countries (e.g. in sub‑Saharan Africa and South Asia) to scramble for substitutes; public health campaigns, vaccine programs, and infrastructure projects previously backed by USAID are now under threat.

Migration and immigration restrictions

Trump tightened immigration rules affecting many in the Global South. In January 2025, he issued an order suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program indefinitely, halting refugee resettlement from regions like Africa, Asia and Latin America. Later in 2025 (via proclamations in June and December), he expanded travel bans on foreign nationals from numerous developing countries. For example, a Dec. 16, 2025, proclamation extended full entry bans to countries including Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Laos and Sierra Leone, and imposed new restrictions on citizens from Angola, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and others. These measures blocked many migrants and visitors from the Global South. Also in 2025, Reuters reported that the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to remove Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from Venezuelan migrants.

Military and diplomatic initiatives in the Global South

Trump also pursued new security ties in Latin America. In December 2025, the administration announced it would designate Peru as a major Non‑NATO Ally . This special status grants Peru expanded privileges (easier purchase of U.S. military equipment and joint training programs) intended to strengthen counternarcotics cooperation. More broadly, a “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine was unveiled in the 2025 National Security Strategy, declaring that “the American people – not foreign nations nor globalist institutions – will always control their own destiny in our hemisphere”. In practice, this has meant deeper U.S. military engagement in the Caribbean and Latin America (e.g. U.S. access to bases in the Dominican Republic, new Caribbean radar installations) to counter perceived threats. These moves signalled a reassertion of U.S. influence over Western Hemisphere nations.

In Coptic Christian communities in Ethiopia and Egypt, Christmas is not celebrated on December 25 but on January 7, following the Julian calendar. Known as Genna in Ethiopia and Eid al-Milad in Egypt, the day is preceded by a long fasting period and centred on prayer, church services, and community meals rather than gift-giving or consumer excess. Worshippers often attend all-night services, dressed in traditional white garments, underscoring the spiritual weight of the occasion.

In this episode, our guests from around the Global South candidly discuss celebrating amid economic hardship, political uncertainty, and conflict , reshaping Christmas into a moment of quiet resilience rather than a commercial celebration.

We also challenge how global media portrays Christmas, arguing that dominant narratives erase the diversity of experiences in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Stories of fasting, collective care, and local rituals rarely make it into global headlines, despite revealing how communities adapt faith to lived realities.

We want our audiences to rethink Christmas not as a single global event, but as many local experiences shaped by history , inequality, and culture.

Click here to watch our previous episodes

World Reframed is produced in London by Global South World, part of the Impactum Group. Its editors are Duncan Hooper and Ismail Akwei.

ISSN 2978-4891

This story is written and edited by the Global South World team. You can  contact us  here.

Participants said the congress aimed to reaffirm commitments to peace and to the sovereignty of Latin American nations. The event was framed by organisers as part of a broader international discussion on external pressure, geopolitical influence and the role of labour movements in defending national self-determination.

Venezuela’s foreign minister, Yvan Gil Pinto, used the gathering to draw attention to the scale of the US military presence in the Caribbean, which he described as the largest the region has seen. He accused Washington of pursuing policies rooted in colonialism and imperialism, arguing that military operations were driven by competition over strategic resources rather than by efforts to combat drug trafficking.

Similar concerns were raised by Said Gafurov, a professor at Moscow University, who placed Venezuela’s situation within a wider global context. “The Global North is trying to increase its control over all natural resources in the world,” he said, arguing that this dynamic extends beyond Venezuela to include Russia, the Middle East and other resource-rich regions.

Relations between Caracas and Washington deteriorated further after US President Donald Trump stated on social media that the military campaign in the Caribbean would continue until Venezuela returned assets he claimed had been taken from the United States. Following the comments, President Nicolás Maduro held a phone call with UN Secretary-General António Guterres to raise concerns over what the Venezuelan government describes as growing threats to the country and its population.

The son of a fried chicken seller, Chérizier was expelled from the police after a notorious massacre - one of many linked to him. From there, he gradually brought together dozens of gangland factions into a coalition that delivers him a small army capable of confronting international reinforcements brought in by the island’s government.

He has already shown he can topple presidents, but will he one day move from kingmaker to king?

Health authorities point to the uncertain long-term effects of inhaling e-liquids as a major factor behind these bans. Chemicals in vape liquids, including nicotine and other additives, have been linked to potential respiratory and cardiovascular issues. Governments are also concerned about the rising prevalence of vaping among young people , who may develop nicotine dependence early and transition to conventional smoking.

In addition to physical health, mental health risks have become a key concern. In Malaysia, for example, authorities have reported cases of drug-induced psychosis linked to adulterated vape liquids and synthetic substances. These incidents prompted the Health Ministry to establish a task force to monitor and address potential health crises associated with vaping.

Regulatory approaches differ across countries, but the overall aim is consistent: to protect public health and prevent addiction. Some governments have enacted total bans, prohibiting sales, imports, and marketing entirely. Others have introduced partial restrictions, such as limiting sales to minors or banning online advertising. These measures reflect a cautious approach in regions where healthcare systems may struggle to manage the long-term consequences of widespread vaping.

Malaysia is preparing one of the most comprehensive bans in the region. The government has announced plans to implement a nationwide prohibition on e-cigarettes by mid-2026, pending final legislative approval. Officials describe the decision as inevitable, framing it as a continuation of public health policy rather than a sudden intervention.

Medical organisations in the region have generally supported these measures. In Malaysia, the Malaysian Medical Association has backed the upcoming ban, highlighting the need for preventive action rather than reactive treatment of health crises. Across the Global South, similar reasoning underpins decisions to regulate or prohibit vaping.

The shift reflects a broader recognition that public health, particularly among vulnerable populations such as youth, must take priority over commercial interests. As more countries in the Global South move to restrict or ban e-cigarettes, they signal a commitment to preventing nicotine addiction and safeguarding both physical and mental health in the face of emerging global vaping trends.

“Africans are paying the price for a crisis they did not create. These extremes are becoming the new global normal,” he said.

The president revealed that Kenya declared a national drought emergency in 20 counties just days ago, leaving citizens facing severe hunger and water shortages.

Ruto also cautioned that rapid changes driven by artificial intelligence , digital technology, and electrification could deepen global inequalities if not aligned with environmental protection and human dignity.

“If this transformation is not aligned with environmental protection, equity, and human dignity, we risk building a new high-tech economy on the old foundation of extraction, exclusion, and pollution,” he warned.

He called for a stronger, more coordinated role for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), stressing that closer collaboration within the UN system is essential for “coherent, cost-effective, and inclusive” global environmental governance.

Ruto further highlighted Africa’s growing leadership in shaping climate solutions, noting the continent’s Climate Summits held in Nairobi (2023) and Addis Ababa (2025).

“[Africa] is not only a victim of the climate crisis, but a co-architect of global solutions,” he said.

More than 170 national delegations gathered in Nairobi for the UNEA session, held under the theme ‘Advancing Sustainable Solutions for a Resilient Planet.’

And around much of the world, that framing feels oddly narrow. After all, this was a meeting between the leaders of the world’s sixth- and ninth-largest economies, two pivotal actors in the dramatic transformation of global power over the past two decades. Arguably, only China’s Xi Jinping has played a larger role in reshaping the geopolitical landscape.

Yes, Ukraine is a defining issue for Putin. But for Modi, it is not. India is likely the only major power in the global top ten that genuinely refuses to choose sides between the United States and China. That alone makes this summit significant.

The operative word is multipolar .

The oil story

Let’s begin with the topic Western news outlets tend to foreground: Russia's oil exports.

India, which is now the world’s third-largest oil consumer, once imported just 2% of its crude from Russia. Today that figure sits at roughly one-third. This shift is not primarily an act of solidarity with Moscow. It is the product of market logic: Russian oil has become deeply discounted as Western states attempt to restrict it.

With the world’s largest population and enormous developmental demands, Modi cannot ignore cheap energy. But there is also a political message: India rejects the idea that any other power can dictate who it trades with.

That stance has hardened in recent years. When U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on certain Indian imports, the move was received in Delhi not as pressure but as a challenge and an opportunity to demonstrate strategic independence, even if the tariff did sting economically and has changed trade patterns.

India has long maintained a strong partnership with the United States, in large part because its principal rivals - Pakistan and China - traditionally aligned with one another. But that relationship is loosening for several reasons.

Four-dimensional chess

First, India no longer feels compelled to pick sides. It can share leadership with China in forums such as BRICS and the G20, institutions where member states have little appetite for lecturing one another on domestic politics or economic management.

Second, India has developed formidable domestic industries while cultivating global partnerships, including a durable relationship with Russia.

Third, the U.S.–India relationship has become strained by immigration tensions. Indians account for more than two-thirds of America’s H-1B visas for highly skilled workers. Recent U.S. proposals to raise visa processing fees dramatically—into the tens of thousands of dollars—have caused anxiety in India’s tech sector and frustration in Delhi.

The local spin

While Europe and the U.S. interpret the summit primarily through the lens of Ukraine, the leaders themselves clearly want to project a different message.

Putin’s travel options are severely limited by an International Criminal Court warrant, yet he remains a welcome guest in Beijing and Delhi. At his joint appearance with Modi, he emphasized Russia’s role in supporting the growth of its partners: not only with discounted oil but also through cooperation in nuclear energy, a sector crucial to sustaining India’s expanding and increasingly digital economy.

Modi, ever attuned to domestic priorities, focused on economic outcomes. For him, economic strength is both policy and political strategy—and it continues to deliver at the ballot box.

But the real significance of the meeting lies deeper.

Russia’s repositioning

Russia’s pivot toward Asia is no longer a temporary response to Western sanctions . It marks a structural shift.

For centuries, Russia oriented itself toward Europe because Europe oriented much of the world toward itself. Yet Europe is now preoccupied with internal technological, social, and environmental challenges. In the meantime, a fundamental change in global order has accelerated with too little recognition.

In 1990, the G7 accounted for nearly 70% of the world economy. Today, it is closer to 40%. The numbers are well known; the implications remain underappreciated.

When European policymakers reduce a Modi–Putin meeting to a referendum on Ukraine, what they are really saying is: “Our priorities still define the global agenda.”

But for much of the world, they no longer do.

What Multipolarity Really Means

Debates on multipolarity often revolve around a single question: When will China surpass the U.S.? Perhaps it already has by some measures; surely it soon will. But this is not a simple handover from one hegemon to another.

India, notably, is the only top-ten power that refuses to align fully with either Washington or Beijing. And many emerging powers - Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia-have no desire to replace American dominance with Chinese dominance.

They want a different system altogether.

Their priorities are clear:

Growth. Energy. Security.

These are the pillars that deliver domestic prosperity and secure a meaningful place on the global stage.

Beyond the handshakes

Here are three takeaways that frame the meeting in a global—not Euro-Atlantic—context:

A multipolar world is messier. It is less predictable. It is more transactional.

But it is also more representative of how the world truly operates in the 21st century.

Click here to watch our previous episodes

World Reframed is produced in London by  Global South  World, part of the Impactum Group. Its editors are Duncan Hooper and Ismail Akwei.

ISSN 2978-4891

While the clip showed members of the joint expedition, its caption omitted any mention of the Indonesian researchers who helped make the find.

Bengkulu conservationist Septian Andriki, Oxford botanist Chris Thorogood and BRIN researcher Joko Ridho Witono located the bloom with guidance from local forest ranger Iswandi. 

The work is part of the Community for the Conservation and Research of Rafflesia (CCRR), a global partnership that also includes Indonesian experts such as University of Bengkulu botanist Agus Susatya.

Oxford reposted footage originally shared by Septian and Thorogood, but the caption’s failure to credit the Indonesian team triggered criticism on social media . Viewers accused the university of marginalising local scientists and sidelining Global South partners. 

Thorogood and Septian said they were unaware of the backlash at first, as they were travelling without mobile reception. Once informed, Thorogood asked Oxford to update the post to acknowledge Septian, which the university did. 

He later emphasised that rafflesia research “is collaborative and celebrates everyone involved,” adding that institutions must communicate in ways that reflect shared ownership.

In a written statement, Oxford said it had worked with Indonesian partners since 2022 to document and conserve rafflesia species, describing its local collaborators as “conservation heroes."

On November 27, the university published a follow-up video explicitly thanking Indonesian researchers, in what appeared to be an effort to repair relations.

Cases of Global South researchers not receiving proper recognition remain common, according to Perdana Roswaldy of Monash University Indonesia. He noted that the issue forms part of a long-standing historical pattern in which Western scientists are foregrounded while local contributors are relegated to footnotes.

Indonesian scholars argue that breaking these patterns requires action at home as well as abroad. Sociologist Fathun Karib of the National University of Singapore said local researchers must recognise their own labour and challenge unfair arrangements. 

Many, he added, do not see themselves as workers within a global system of knowledge production, making it harder to contest imbalances.

Modi framed the initiative as a crucial tool not only for disaster risk reduction, but also for development. He highlighted India’s leadership in this area through its Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), emphasising that international cooperation must go beyond reaction to crises — it must support long-term planning and sustainable growth.

The proposal comes alongside his advocacy for fairer climate finance , including debt relief, blended financing and green-transition mechanisms for developing countries. He said that innovative tools like satellite data must be complemented by financial solutions that make the energy transition both ambitious and equitable.

Modi’s pitch at the summit reflects a growing call for space technology to play a central role in global sustainability, offering a way to use cutting-edge science to protect vulnerable populations and empower nations to take a more active role in shaping their own development path.

Workers at the Gokripa Dairy emphasise that Gujarat’s leadership in milk production is rooted in both history and the cooperative system that strengthened rural participation. “Gujarat has traditionally always been a very high milk-producing state. During Vedic times, this region… was said to be the land of milk and honey. The best milk breeds of India were developed in Gujarat, the Gir and the Kankrej,” said Dharbhashree Satyajit. “With the coming in of the co-operatives, and the farmers getting more interested, milk production… has increased, and today, Gujarat is the number one milk-producing state of India.”

According to Satyajit, the facility produces around 700 litres of milk daily from more than 250 well-bred cattle. He added that the quality of the milk reflects the state’s free-grazing tradition: “The Gir cow milk… is so sweet, because our cows are free grazing in our grasslands… the milk they produce is really like nectar.”

Local workers note that the cooperative model has enabled villages to expand production, make better use of natural resources such as grasslands and water , and maintain ownership of the value chain from procurement to processing. This structure helped encourage families to stay in rural areas and scale up livestock rearing. Today, Gujarat produces about 20 million tonnes of milk a year, while India accounts for roughly a quarter of global output, keeping the country firmly at the forefront of the global dairy industry.

Rakabuming Raka said global growth must be “strong, but also fair and inclusive,” insisting that efforts at the G20 should go further on adaptation, mitigation and a just transition. He argued that developing countries require financing that is “more accessible, predictable and equal,” calling for debt relief, innovative instruments, blended finance and mechanisms to support green transitions.

Indonesia , he noted, has sought to lead by example by allocating around US$2.5 billion annually, more than half of its national climate budget, to green MSMEs, agricultural insurance programmes and climate-resilient infrastructure.

Rakabuming Raka concluded by stressing that all nations must retain the right to define their own development paths, rejecting any suggestion of a single global model. “Cooperation must empower, not dictate. Cooperation must uplift, not create dependency,” he told leaders. The two-day summit, expected to bring together representatives from 42 countries and international organisations, runs from 22 to 23 November.

Romulo Batista, coordinator of Greenpeace Brazil’s Forest Solutions project, used the moment to issue one of the summit’s clearest demands. “Another extremely important point is our demand directed at polluters. They must pay the bill for climate change and, in particular, ensure the just energy transition of developing countries, so they do not have to go through a high-carbon economy to develop,” he said.

For Greenpeace, holding major emitters financially accountable is essential to prevent poorer nations from repeating the carbon-heavy development paths of richer countries.

COP30 itself has centred on protecting the Amazon and accelerating global climate action, particularly in regions most exposed to environmental degradation. Greenpeace’s intervention underscored a broader concern shared by many at the summit: that without binding commitments forcing the world ’s biggest polluters to pay for the damage they have caused, the promise of a just transition will remain out of reach.

Her words reflect a growing frustration among Indigenous and Global South leaders who argue that the energy transition and climate financing remain designed for the interests of the world ’s richest nations.

Pedro Zapata, consultant for the Chile Project at the Natural Resource Governance Institute, echoed this concern, highlighting the need for a truly inclusive transition. “We hope that this energy transition will be positive for the Global North but also for us in the South, as long as we can also see its benefits. And as has been said many times, this transition must include everyone and leave no one behind, especially the countries that are producers and also feel responsible for this energy transition.”

As negotiations continue, voices like theirs remind global leaders that climate action cannot be measured solely in investments or carbon credits, but in the protection of water, land, and life itself.

Addressing the role of powerful nations in climate debates, Boric directly criticised former US President Donald Trump for denying the existence of the climate crisis. In his speech, Boric stated: "These are times when voices arise that choose to ignore or deny the scientific evidence about the climate crisis. Not long ago, the President of the United States, at the last UN General Assembly, said that the climate crisis does not exist, and that is a lie."

Boric also drew attention to the disproportionate effects of climate change on vulnerable populations, including women, indigenous groups, and local communities, particularly in the Global South. He emphasised that addressing climate change requires acknowledging these inequalities and ensuring that solutions are inclusive and just.

The event, hosted in the Amazon, underscores the global significance of preserving critical ecosystems while addressing climate change. Countries from the Global South have consistently called on the Global North to take responsibility for historical emissions and to commit to tangible measures that mitigate ongoing climate impacts worldwide.

COP30 runs from November 10 to 21, offering a platform for nations to advance dialogue, forge commitments, and confront the climate emergency with renewed international solidarity.

In an interview with Global South World, the CEO of Spiro, Kaushik Burman, explained how the African company has found not just a market, but a mission.

“I love Africa,” he said. “I’ve already converted myself to Africa. I love the spirit of Africa.”

The African company is behind what is now Africa’s largest-ever investment in electric mobility. In October 2025, Spiro closed a US$100 million funding round .

Spiro began not in a boardroom, but in a field. Its founder, Gagan Gupta, who also leads the Equitane and Arise groups, was visiting an agricultural site in rural Togo when he witnessed how costly and difficult gasoline transport had become. The realisation sparked an idea: if the continent could leapfrog to mobile banking, why not leapfrog to electric mobility?

By 2022, Spiro had launched its first fleets in Benin and Togo, two West African neighbours whose bustling motorcycle taxi networks are the lifeblood of local economies. In less than three years, the company has expanded into six countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, Benin and Togo and is preparing to enter its seventh, Cameroon.

The overall African two-wheeler market is estimated at US $9.15 billion in 2025, and projected to reach US $11.11 billion by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 4.97%.

65,000 electric motorbikes have been deployed, nearly 2,000 battery-swap stations already operating, 20 million battery swaps and a target to double that to 4,000 by year’s end. Each station works like a miniature power hub. Riders pull in, exchange their depleted batteries for fully charged ones in under five minutes, and ride off.

“Think of it like filling up gas,” Burman explains. “Except this time, you’re filling up with clean power.”

Riders pay only for the energy they consume, eliminating the up-front battery cost that often makes EVs unaffordable.

According to Burman, a typical rider saves between US$1.50 and $2 a day compared to petrol bikes, a small figure that translates into life-changing relief for many in Africa’s informal transport sector.

“That’s school fees. That’s food on the table,” Burman said.

Spiro has already created over 10,000 jobs across its six markets, from factory workers and engineers to sales teams and swap-station operators. Its Spiro Academy, launched last year, trains local youth and women in assembly, servicing, and maintenance. Nearly 45 percent of the company’s workforce is made up of women.

“It’s not just about mobility,” Burman insists. “It’s about dignity. It’s about creating pathways into the financial ecosystem for people who were left out.”

Every Spiro bike on the road saves about two tonnes of CO₂ per year compared with a petrol motorcycle.

The environmental argument is matched by a macroeconomic one. Many African nations spend billions of dollars importing fuel each year. By reducing dependence on petrol, Spiro’s model helps conserve foreign exchange and stabilise local currencies.

Across the continent, electric mobility is accelerating. The Africa E-Mobility Alliance reports that electric two- and three-wheelers grew by 38 percent year-on-year in 2025. Research firm Mordor Intelligence projects Africa’s two-wheeler market to reach US $11 billion by 2029, with electric models leading growth.

For Spiro, the next phase is growth — in capital, markets, and impact. The company plans to raise more funds to scale its manufacturing footprint and extend its swap network. But the vision is long-term.

In a world too used to seeing Africa as a consumer of technology , Spiro is flipping the script — turning the Global South into the stage for the next industrial revolution.

The movement, mostly led by Gen Z, began in early August in Indonesia and has now spread across various Global South countries, including Nepal, Morocco, Peru, Madagascar, Bolivia and the Philippines.

While each country’s circumstances differ, the skull-and-straw-hat flag, once a fictional symbol, has now become a representation of dissent and a call for justice and freedom in these countries.

Countries once overlooked in global labour rankings are now setting bold new standards for paternity leave, offering fathers time to bond with their newborns and share caregiving responsibilities from day one.

According to the IRIS Global Parental Leave Index , Peru, Laos, Rwanda, Comoros, and Benin lead the way, granting some of the world’s longest paid paternity leaves among developing nations.

Peru tops the list with 21 weeks, followed by Laos with 17 weeks, Rwanda with 16, Comoros with 15, and Benin offering 12 weeks

These numbers stand out in a world where the average paid paternity leave remains under two weeks, and only about 53% of countries legally guarantee fathers any paid time off at all.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) notes that leave policies specifically designed for fathers can be a game changer in reducing gender inequality at work and home, improving child well-being, and reshaping social norms around caregiving

In countries like Rwanda, where gender equality is part of national development goals, expanding paternity leave reflects a deeper social commitment. Similarly, Peru’s 21-week provision—the highest in the Global South—signals that progressive family policy is not the preserve of wealthy nations.

In Laos, Comoros, and Benin, these reforms also highlight how smaller economies are prioritizing family welfare and gender balance despite limited resources.

Globally, the push for longer parental leave gained momentum during and after the COVID-19 pandemic , as workplaces grappled with new norms around remote work and caregiving.

In many high-income countries, cultural and professional barriers still limit men’s participation in parental leave. But in the Global South, legal reforms are moving faster than societal skepticism, showing that ambition, not affluence, drives change.

The £860 million (US$1.03 billion) investment marks the Chinese automaker’s first major production hub in South America, with an initial capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year — set to double in a second phase. The plant replaces Ford’s former factory, which shut down in 2021 after two decades of operations, leaving thousands jobless and dealing a blow to the regional economy .

BYD’s arrival has been framed as a major step in Brazil’s shift towards advanced manufacturing, with plans to produce up to 700,000 vehicles a year and expand exports beyond the domestic market to Latin America and Africa.

He also emphasised that Brazil aims to move beyond raw exports and become a hub for innovation. “We want to export knowledge, we want to export added value,” Lula said, adding that Brazil and China share a vision for the Global South built on equality and mutual respect. “We don’t accept anyone pointing a finger in our face. We want to be treated with dignity.”

The partnership underscores the deepening economic and political ties between Brasília and Beijing, as both nations seek to reduce dependence on Western markets. For Lula, BYD’s investment signals not only renewed industrial growth in Bahia but also a broader strategy: to position Brazil as a leading producer and exporter of clean energy technologies throughout the Global South.

On October 3, 2025, South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruled that the country’s existing parental leave laws are unconstitutional. Under the old regime, new moms were entitled to four months of maternity leave, while fathers got just 10 days of paternity leave.

The Court found that this disparity was discriminatory and violated principles of equality and human dignity.

As an interim remedy, the Court ordered that both parents may now share a total of four months and 10 days of parental leave. That means couples can divide the time however they choose, either sequentially, concurrently, or in other combinations.

Parliament has been given 36 months to amend the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) and related laws to align with the constitutional directive.

South Africa’s move joins a growing list of countries in the Global South that are already giving fathers’ leave entitlements.

In Peru, for example, fathers are entitled to 21 weeks of paid paternity leave, while in Laos, paternity leave is legally 17 weeks. In Benin, the statutory paternity leave is 12 weeks of paid leave. Rwanda continues with 16 weeks, and Comoros at 15 weeks.