After the Syrian opposition overthrew the 61-year-long Baath regime, a new period started in the country. A transition government was established under the leadership of Ahmed al-Sharaa. As soon as the new government was established, it began to restructure and rebuild the state. Some critical steps were taken for the consolidation of the political system. There are many good signs that point to a bright future for Syria, but there are also some significant challenges that need to be overcome.

At the beginning of the week, the House of Representatives passed a temporary budget bill that will fund the federal government until September. After pushing the bill through without Democratic support, Republican representatives left Washington to return to their districts—signaling they are not open to further negotiations. Under normal circumstances, the Senate would amend the bill through negotiations and vote on a unified version. However, by refusing to consider any changes, Republicans are presenting Democrats with a stark choice: accept the bill as is or be blamed for shutting down the federal government.

Tensions between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda date back to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) took over power in Rwanda, while Hutu militias and extremists responsible for the genocide fled to the DRC. Rwanda intervened in the DRC in 1996 and 1998, viewing these Hutu groups as a security threat. Since then, the eastern part of the DRC has been a constant area of activity for the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group.

The heated debate between the United States and its trans-Atlantic allies reached a peak when U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the U.S. stake in Ukraine’s economy is “a better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years.” Although Vance later stated that he did not “even mention the U.K. or France,” his earlier comments had already drawn reactions in London and Paris; particularly, veterans in the United Kingdom accused him of being disrespectful to the memories of hundreds of U.K. troops who died alongside the U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the U.S. took place on Jan. 20, 2025. He said during his election campaigns, "There will be no war from Day 1 when I come to the office." It is too early to tell if he can achieve its objectives and commitments to ending wars in Europe and the Middle East, but it is obvious that Trump is more powerful than he was in his first term. He took the majority of both the House and Senate and will be in full control of the United States government for the next two years.

The rise of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) represents a paradigm shift not only in energy management but also in the trajectory of AI research and development (R&D). As the AI sector grapples with mounting challenges related to its enormous energy demands and carbon footprint, VPPs provide a potential solution by optimizing energy efficiency, stabilizing power supply and integrating renewable sources into AI-powered infrastructures. At the same time, China’s pioneering approach to VPP deployment highlights the increasing fragmentation of technological development, reinforcing the concept of a technopolar world, where geopolitical and economic divides shape the direction of innovation and competition.

Türkiye has been following a multidimensional and multilateral foreign policy for the last two decades of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) governments. While it has been trying to maintain its alliance with the Western states, Ankara has been trying to improve its relations with the non-Western world, including the Global South. Anchored in the principles of regionalism and minilateralism, Turkish foreign policy is shaped within the framework of the “Century of Türkiye” vision and the grand strategy called the “Türkiye Axis.”

Recently, many politicians and academics have been discussing the current status of the world system and its future. While some claim that the Western, read American, hegemony has come to an end, others claim that the United States has been trying to reclaim global hegemony.