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Over the course of 2025, these newsletter notes have returned time and again to matters of war – be it the destruction of Gaza, the grinding conflict in Ukraine or the threat of U.S. military action in Venezuela.
No doubt all three areas will continue to feature in the twice-weekly “global highlights” email, once they return in early January from a two-week hiatus. But today, I wanted to focus on two wars – one real, one metaphorical – that have simmered throughout the year and deserve attention.
The first is the civil conflict playing out in Sudan. Since April 2023, brutal fighting in the African nation has resulted in the deaths of about 150,000 people and the displacement of around 13.5 million. Both sides in the confict – the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – have been accused of war crimes relating to the targeting of civilians, medical centers and food systems.
Conflict is being fueled by outside countries that, for various reasons, are supplying one side or the other with money and arms. And seemingly things are only getting worse. Just yesterday, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, unveiled a report depicting the mass execution, rape and torture of displaced people in Sudan. “The world must not sit back and watch as such cruelty becomes entrenched,” Türk said. To help readers through this complicated conflict, our interactive team worked with Christopher Tounsel, a historian of modern Sudan, to provide a visual guide to the conflict, its participants and the impact it has taken on the
people of Sudan.
The other “war” I wanted to touch on as the year heads to a close is the one said to be being waged by the Trump administration on scientific research. Billions of dollars of federal funding have been axed since January, undermining – and ending – research projects across all scientific disciplines. To understand the impact this is having, our team of science editors in the U.S. reached out to their authors to reflect on how 2025 has affected their work. “This year nearly broke me as a scientist,” one explained.
That’s it for these newsletters for the year. We will be back on Jan. 6, 2026, with a recap of events and news from over the break.
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Matt Williams
Senior International Editor – New York
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Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency via Getty, Ebrahim Hamid, Getty, Hussein Malla/Getty, Anadolu/Getty, The Conversation
Christopher Tounsel, University of Washington
Since fighting broke out in April 2023, some 150,000 people have been killed in Sudan and an estimated 13.5 million displaced.
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U.S. researchers are seeking the light at the end of a rough year for science.
Westend61/Getty Images
Carrie McDonough, Carnegie Mellon University; Brian G. Henning, Gonzaga University; Cara Poland, Michigan State University; Nathaniel M. Tran, University of Illinois Chicago; Rachael Sirianni, UMass Chan Medical School; Stephanie J. Nawyn, Michigan State University
US science lost a great deal in 2025, including tens of billions of dollars of federal funding, entire research agencies and programs, and a generation of researchers.
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Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro has been preparing for a potential US military operation.
Miguel Gutierrez/EPA
Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Listen to Pablo Uchoa, an expert in Venezuelan military scenario planning, on The Conversation Weekly podcast.
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Nick Kyrgios’ showdown with Aryna Sabalenka may be entertaining. But for women’s sports, it seems like a lose-lose.
Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images
Jaime Schultz, Penn State; Kyle R. King, Penn State; Molly McCreedy, Penn State; Sydney Johnson-Aguirre, Penn State
Billie Jean King’s 1973 match was about social change. The upcoming Sabalenka-Kyrgios event – with its rules tweaks and its participants’ questionable politics – may leave women’s tennis worse off.
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Yao-Tai Li, UNSW Sydney
In the years since the 2020 introduction Hong Kong’s National Security Law, press freedom has slowly been limited. Lai’s conviction symbolises its end.
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Nolan Fahrenkopf, University at Albany, State University of New York
North Korea was behind a $1.5 billion digital bank heist in February 2025. Other countries are similarly stealing crypto to fund nefarious activities.
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Matthew L. Druckenmiller, University of Colorado Boulder; Rick Thoman, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Twila A. Moon, University of Colorado Boulder
The 20th anniversary of the annual report tracks how sea ice, snow cover and many other vital signs of the Arctic have changed, and the impact that’s having on people and wildlife.
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Paul Onanuga, Federal University, Oye Ekiti
Nigerian pop stars are often accused of singing about love and money and ignoring social issues. Falz isn’t one of them.
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Alexander Howard, University of Sydney
A century on, Battleship Potemkin’s vision of oppression, courage and collective resistance still crackles with an energy that reminds us why cinema matters.
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Adam Taylor, Lancaster University
Behind the festive comedy lies a catalogue of head trauma, spinal injuries and burns that few humans could survive.
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