Putin-Xi Pact, India-Pakistan Crossfire, Netanyahu’s Push

VIDEO SERIES World Review with Ivo Daalder
Anton La Guardia, Elise Labott, and Lee Hockstader join Ivo Daalder to discuss the week's top news stories.
Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 8, 2025. Play Video
Pavel Bednyakov / AP

About This Episode

This week, Chinese leader Xi Jinping visits Moscow for a Victory Day parade and meetings meant to showcase and strengthen a strategic alliance. Both Xi and Russian President Putin have taken aim at US economic and military policies and are presenting themselves as a counterbalance to Western influence. Meanwhile, India launches airstrikes against Pakistani targets after a deadly Kashmir attack, prompting Pakistan to down multiple Indian aircraft and raising fears of wider conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals. And in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveils plans for a sweeping military operation in Gaza, involving a large-scale ground offensive, forced relocations of Palestinian civilians, and indefinite control of contested territories. Anton La Guardia, Elise Labott, and Lee Hockstader join Ivo Daalder this week on World Review to offer insights and analysis on major global developments. 

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About the Panelists
Anton La Guardia
Diplomatic Editor, The Economist
Anton La Guardia
Anton La Guardia is the diplomatic editor of The Economist, based in Washington, DC. Prior to this role, he was the digital editor, deputy foreign editor and Middle East and Africa editor
Anton La Guardia
Elise Labott
Edward R Murrow Press Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations & Host of Cosmopolitics on Substack
Headshot of Elise Labott.
Elise Labott is an adjunct professor at American University’s School of International Service and the founder and CEO of Zivvy Media, a digital platform to engage youth on global issues.
Headshot of Elise Labott.
Lee Hockstader
European Affairs columnist, Washington Post
Headshot of Lee Hockstader
Lee Hockstader has been The Washington Post's European Affairs columnist, based in Paris, since 2023. Prior to his current assignment, he was a member of the paper's Editorial Board for 19 years and, before that, a Post reporter for 20 years.
Headshot of Lee Hockstader
Ivo H. Daalder
CEO, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Headshot of Ivo H. Daalder
Ivo H. Daalder served as the US ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013. He joined the Council as president in 2013 and took on the new role of CEO in 2023. Previously, he was a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution and served as director for European affairs on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council. He is the author or editor of 10 books.
Headshot of Ivo H. Daalder
Issues Global Politics
Regions China Eastern Europe Middle East and North Africa
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