Syria’s government says it has cleared Bedouin fighters from the predominantly Druze city of Suwayda and declared a halt to the deadly clashes there, hours after deploying security forces to the restive southern region.
The announcement on Saturday came after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa ordered a new ceasefire between Bedouin and Druze groups, following a separate United States-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military intervention in the clashes.
Shortly before the government’s claim, there were reports of machinegun fire in the city of Suwayda as well as mortar shelling in nearby villages.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Nour al-Din Baba, a spokesman for the Syrian Ministry of Interior, said in a statement carried by the official Sana news agency that the fighting ended “following intensive efforts” to implement the ceasefire agreement and the deployment of government forces in the northern and western areas of Suwayda province.
He said the city of Suwayda, located in the province’s west, has now been “cleared of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city’s neighbourhoods have been brought to a halt”.
Israeli intervention
The fighting broke out last week when the abduction of a Druze truck driver on a public highway set off a series of revenge attacks and resulted in tribal fighters from all over the country streaming into Suwayda in support of the Bedouin community there.
The clashes drew in Syrian government troops, too.
Israel also intervened in the conflict on Wednesday, carrying out heavy air attacks on Suwayda and Syria’s capital, Damascus, claiming it was to protect the Druze community after leaders of the minority group accused government forces of abuses against them.
Syrian government troops withdrew from Suwayda on Thursday.
At least 260 people have been killed in the fighting, and 1,700 others have been wounded, according to the Syrian Ministry of Health. Other groups, however, put the figure at more than 900 victims.
More than 87,000 people have also been displaced.
The fighting is the latest challenge to al-Sharaa’s government, which took over after toppling President Bashar al-Assad in December.
Al-Sharaa, in a televised statement on Saturday, called on all parties to lay down arms and help the government restore peace.
“While we thank the [Bedouin] clans for their heroic stance, we call on them to adhere to the ceasefire and follow the orders of the state,” he said. “All should understand this moment requires unity and full cooperation, so we can overcome these challenges and preserve our country from foreign interference and internal sedition.”
He condemned Israel’s intervention in the unrest, saying it “pushed the country into a dangerous phase that threatened its stability”.
After the president’s announcement, the Syrian government began deploying troops to Suwayda and Bedouin groups said they would withdraw from the city of Suwayda.
“Following consultations with all members of Suwayda’s clans and tribes, we have decided to adhere to the ceasefire, prioritise reason and restraint, and allow the state’s authorised institutions the space to carry out their responsibilities in restoring security and stability,” the Bedouin factions said in a statement.
“Therefore, we declare that all our fighters have been withdrawn from the city of Suwayda,” they added.
Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, reporting from Damascus said the Druze, too, seemed to have accepted the truce despite some opposition within the community.
“Hikmat Al Hajri, a prominent spiritual leader, has called for all Bedouin fighters to be escorted safely out of Suwayda. Security forces from the interior ministry have been deployed to help separate rival groups, and oversee the implementation of the ceasefire. But there are still reports of ongoing fighting in the city, with some Druze leaders voicing strong opposition to the cessation of hostilities,” he said.
Vall added that while “there is hope” of an end to the hostilities, “there is also doubt that this conflict is over”.
World welcomes truce
Jordan, meanwhile, has hosted talks with Syria and the US on efforts to consolidate the ceasefire in Suwayda.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shibani and the US special envoy for Syria, Thomas Barak, “discussed the situation in Syria and efforts to consolidate the ceasefire reached around Suwayda Governorate to prevent bloodshed and preserve the safety of civilians”, according to a readout by the Jordanian government.
The three officials agreed on “practical steps” to support the ceasefire, including the release of detainees held by all parties, Syrian security force deployments and community reconciliation efforts.
Safadi also welcomed the Syrian government’s “commitment to holding accountable all those responsible for violations against Syrian citizens” in the Suwayda area, the statement said.
Countries around the world have also called for the truce to be upheld.
The United Kingdom’s foreign secretary, David Lammy, said in a post on X that he was horrified by the violence in southern Syria and that “a sustainable ceasefire is vital”.
France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs stressed the need for “Syrian authorities to ensure the safety and rights of all segments of the Syrian people”, and called for investigations into abuses against civilians in Suwayda.
Japan also expressed concern over the violence, including the Israeli strikes, and called for the ceasefire to be implemented swiftly.
It added that it “strongly urges all parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint, preserve Syria’s territorial integrity and national unity, and respect its independence and sovereignty”.
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Daily posts on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) mark a striking departure from his previous, occasional presence.
But Biya’s attempts to win over young people ahead of October’s election may be falling flat, analysts tell the BBC.
“Cameroon has over 5.4 million social media users, but 95% of young people rely on WhatsApp – a platform where presidential communication is nearly non-existent,” says Rostant Tane, the director of Media Intelligence Sarl and author of the Cameroon 2024 Multimedia Audience Study.
“There’s no regional segmentation, no interactivity, and very little effort to speak the digital language of young people,” he adds.
Another stumbling block is authenticity.
“Many know that it is not Paul Biya himself who is writing – which creates distance and limits trust,” says Hervé Tiwa, a lecturer in communication sciences.
“Their communication remains very top-down without any real interaction – comments ignored or deleted, a lack of personalised responses… This gives the impression of a strategy that is more cosmetic than participatory.”
Why does this matter?
Cameroon’s population is overwhelmingly young. Over 60% of the population is under 25, with more than half the electorate being under the age of 30, meaning they could potentially decide the outcome of the election.
“Political communication must serve democracy and transparency, and not just be used as a marketing tool,” says 27-year-old communications specialist Ulrich Donfack.
Young people want to see concrete action on issues that affect them, agrees Falone Ngu, who is also 27.
“Cameroon’s youth are not just looking for flashy graphics or slogans on the media! They want opportunities, change and hope,” says the social enterprise founder, who did reserve some praise for the president’s social media team for realising that “leadership and digitalisation go hand in hand”.
Courtesy of Falone Ngu
Young people need more than flashy graphics and slogans, says Falone Ngu
Unemployment is high in Cameroon, with even the most qualified young people in possession of multiple university degrees struggling to find work. Corruption and security are also key concerns.
But instead of focusing on those issues, many posts on Biya’s social media accounts emphasise his track record during 43 years in power – a time before much of the population was even born.
According to communication strategist Aristide Mabatto, Biya’s team is now publishing excerpts in French and English from more than 300 speeches the president has delivered over the decades.
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This somewhat staid approach does not appear to have ignited much enthusiasm, but is still an improvement on what went before.
“His communication used to be limited to official decrees and state addresses. The shift to frequent digital messaging shows a deliberate effort to reclaim the narrative and appear more present,” argues Tiwa.
Supporters have praised these latest efforts, with state media like Cameroon Tribune highlighting Biya’s digital outreach as a sign of vitality and leadership.
But scepticism and sarcasm are in greater evidence online. Comments below recent posts on Paul Biya’s X and Facebook accounts include:
“It looks like he’s discovering the internet in 2025, but it’s primarily an electoral market test,” says a user called Cynthia.
“Finally he’s talking to young people!”, comments Jean-Pierre.
“Cameroonians want roads, not hashtags,” writes a user called Mireille.
“Personally, I’m not at all convinced,” 32-year-old entrepreneur Che Arnold tells the BBC of the Biya camp’s strategy to appeal to young voters.
“It needs to go beyond tweets, Facebook messages and a simple online presence to promote political reforms but also solve real social problems.”
Biya will have to wait until the election in October to see if these efforts will translate into more young people voting for him.
So you’re planning a trip and someone asked you if you have travel insurance. Wait, what? Yes, at this point, it’s perfectly reasonable to ask yourself (and the internet): what is travel insurance?
For years, I didn’t know anything about travel insurance, and I went without it. Knowing what I do now, I’ve come to believe that if you can’t afford a travel insurance policy, you can’t afford to travel.
Essentially, travel insurance covers expenses from unforeseen events like a canceled trip, lost bag, or medical treatment.
It’s important to understand how it works so you can pick the right plan. Ready? Let’s dive right into the details of travel insurance.
How Does Travel Insurance Work?
If you’re just here for a quick and dirty answer, let’s get right down to it.
When you travel, you take on risk, whether you know it or not. You put down a lot of money on flights, hotels, rental cars, and more. But what if your trip gets canceled? Oops, looks like you’re out a lot of cash.
Plus, did you know that regular health insurance plans usually don’t provide any coverage outside your home country?
Travel insurance protects you from unexpected events like these. You pay a relatively small up-front fee to a company in exchange for a guarantee that they will pay for expenses that are covered by a specific policy.
Travel insurance policies typically include two different categories of protection: trip coverage and emergency medical coverage.
Trip insurance includes protection for the expenses of your trip. If your trip is canceled or interrupted (for a covered reason), the company will reimburse you for the cost. Trip coverage can also include reimbursements for lost baggage, delayed flights, rental car damage, and more.
Emergency medical insurance is exactly what it sounds like. If you are injured or become ill overseas, your regular health insurance may not pay for your care. Travel medical coverage includes overseas care or emergency medical evacuation if needed.
There you have it. That’s the basics of how travel insurance works, and no, it isn’t that complicated. If you want to get into more details, let’s keep going.
Different Types of Travel Insurance
Did you know that there’s more than one type of travel insurance?
Yep, it can be broken up into several categories, from single trip insurance to long-term healthcare designed for digital nomads. The type of insurance you need will depend entirely on your trip, your destination, how often you travel, and your personal preferences.
Single-trip comprehensive coverage is most often the best choice, but not always. Here are the most important types of travel insurance so you can pick the right coverage type for you.
Comprehensive Travel Insurance covers every aspect of your travel, from luggage to trip cancellations to emergency medical bills. For most people most of the time, this is what I recommend. I’ll dive deeper into every aspect of comprehensive travel insurance soon.
Travel Medical Insurance only covers medical expenses, so you don’t get any of the trip expense coverage. Travel medical plans range from emergency coverage to full-fledged health care for living abroad.
Single Trip Travel Insurance Insurance is exactly what it sounds like: insurance for a single trip. You enter your destination and travel dates to get covered during your trip.
Annual Travel Insurance is, again, pretty straightforward. Rather than covering a single trip, annual plans include all your travels for an entire year. Note that there are often limits on how many days abroad in the year are covered.
Nomad Travel Insurance (like the Nomad Insurance Plan from SafetyWing) is designed for people living long-term outside their home country. It typically renews monthly.
What Does Travel Insurance Cover?
Any travel insurance policy has a lot of pieces to it, and sometimes the legalese terminology can be difficult to understand. The most important thing to understand is what is covered, and what isn’t. After all, you want to know what you’re paying for, right?
There are many varieties of travel insurance; essentially, they all just mix and match different coverages. Here are the most common things that a plan covers, and how that coverage works.
Trip Cancellation Coverage
If you have a lot of prepaid nonrefundable trip costs, the idea of having to cancel your trip can be scary. You’ve put hundreds or thousands of dollars into your upcoming trip, and you would lose all that money if your travel plans change.
Life happens though, and there’s always a chance that you get sick, a natural disaster happens, your house floods, you get called in for jury duty, or something else bad happens that causes you to cancel your trip.
That’s where trip cancellation coverage comes in. If you have a travel insurance plan, you can file a claim, and the company will refund the total trip cost.
Yep, that’s pretty cool.
It’s important to know that you can’t just cancel for any reason you want and expect to have your trip’s price refunded. Most insurance policies only pay out reimbursements for a “covered reason.” Covered reasons include things like serious illness to yourself or a family member, losing your job, a natural disaster or terrorist attack in your destination, or other unpredictable events.
Reasons that aren’t covered typically include things that could be predicted ahead of time, like ongoing civil and political unrest, severe weather due to a predicted tropical storm, or “because I want to.”
Also, cruises are not always covered under typical trip cancellation insurance, so make sure your plan covers cruise lines if that’s what you need.
Cancel For Any Reason
If you want the greatest peace of mind, you’ll want to look for Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage. CFAR is exactly what it sounds like, you can cancel your trip for any reason, and the insurance company will pay you for any non-refundable expenses from hotel stays, flights, and more.
Just know that CFAR insurance costs more.
Trip Interruption Coverage
Trip interruption is similar to trip cancellation insurance, but it covers travel expenses in case you have to cut your trip short after you’ve already departed (while trip cancelation is for before you leave).
Trip interruption coverage typically has similar rules and limits, so you can just think of it as an extension of trip cancellation.
Good trip interruption coverage also includes coverage for travel costs to return home. That’s a great benefit so you don’t have to pay your own way home if anything goes wrong.
Trip Delay Coverage
Beyond trip cancellation and interruption, comprehensive travel insurance policies also typically have coverage for trip delays. That means they’ll help pay for inconveniences and extra expenses caused by flight delays, cancellations, missed connections, and other delays.
Usually, this is a per-day amount while your trip is delayed to pay for unexpected hotel stays or transport costs to rejoin your trip itinerary.
Medical Emergency Coverage
No one wants to think about having a medical emergency overseas, but it’s always a good idea to be prepared.
In my opinion, emergency medical protection is the most important travel insurance coverage. If you have to pay for a canceled trip, that’s a bummer, but you’ll get over it. If you become seriously ill or get injured on your trip, having insurance to pay for emergency hospital costs can be life-saving. At the very least, it can save you tens of thousands of dollars in medical expenses.
Travel medical coverage will cover costs up to a specific dollar amount stated in the policy. I recommend getting at least $50,000 of coverage, though $100,000 or more is better.
And yes, pretty much every travel insurance policy covers COVID-19 just like any other illness.
Most plans also include accidental death or dismemberment protection. Essentially, this is a sort of life insurance policy that pays out a certain amount if you die or have a disabling injury on your trip. I don’t want to think too much about “accidental death or dismemberment” either, but it’s good to know it’s there.
Pre-Existing Conditions
Many travel insurance plans have strict limits regarding previously existing medical conditions. If you have a condition like diabetes, heart disease, or some other chronic illness, it may not cover related healthcare costs.
If you have a chronic condition, I recommend looking for a plan with a pre-existing condition waiver (like the Travelex Select Plan) to make sure you have full coverage.
Secondary vs Primary Coverage
If you’re looking to purchase travel insurance, you may have come across the terms secondary and primary coverage. Those terms sound confusing, but the difference is pretty simple.
Primary coverage pays for medical bills before anything else.
Secondary coverage only kicks in after your normal health insurance pays whatever they will cover.
Emergency Evacuation
For severe injuries or illnesses, travel insurance plans typically cover emergency medical evacuation. That can include transport costs to the nearest medical facility or evacuation to your home country for care.
Again, I’d look for the highest coverage limits possible here. Air ambulances can cost into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and you don’t want to be stuck with that bill.
Baggage Loss or Delay
I have recurring nightmares of losing my checked bag on a long international flight. It hasn’t happened to me yet, but I usually fly carry-on only anyway. Few things sound worse than getting stuck in a foreign country without my personal belongings.
Baggage loss coverage reimburses the cost of lost luggage—up to a specific dollar amount. You will just need to file a claim accounting for the value of the lost personal items.
Many policies will also include coverage for a baggage delay or damage to personal property.
Other Travel Insurance Benefits and Options
Beyond medical protection, trip cancellation insurance, and lost baggage coverage, most travel insurance coverage includes a range of other benefits that either come standard with your plan or that you can add on for an extra cost. Here are some of the most common benefits you may want to look for:
Rental car insurance in case you scratch up that BMW you rented
Adventure sports coverage so your medical expenses are still paid for even if you’re participating in “risky” activities like skydiving, skiing, or rock climbing.
Vacation rental protection, because accidents happen
Electronic equipment coverage for all you gear-laden photographers
Cruise and tour operator cancellation coverage, because you don’t want to be stuck with that bill if your trip is canceled.
How Much Is Travel Insurance?
In general, plans from good travel insurance providers will cost about 5-6% of your total trip cost. It can seem annoying to pay for something you might not need to use, but it’s way better than losing tens of thousands of dollars if anything goes wrong. Standard plans range from well under $100 to a few hundred dollars depending on your trip.
Of course, the price will depend on the specific insurance provider and plan you choose. I recommend shopping around to find the best travel insurance for your money.
If you really can’t stomach paying for a full insurance policy (and aren’t worried about losing non-refundable expenses), at the very least you should buy a travel medical plan. Heymondo has a great medical plan that’s so cheap, it would be stupid not to get it. This insurance can help give you peace of mind on your travels.
One thing to note: some credit cards come with some form of travel insurance. It’s worth checking with your credit card company to see if any coverage comes with your credit card.
Is Travel Insurance Worth It?
I’ll make this answer short: yes, travel insurance is worth it.
For the peace of mind and financial protection you get, the cost of travel insurance is a low price to pay, especially when you consider what you could lose if something bad happens. I don’t like the idea of losing thousands in non-refundable costs or tens of thousands in medical bills.
Still not convinced? We’ve got a full article explaining why travel insurance is worth it. It’s worth a read if you’re still on the fence.
How Do You Buy Travel Insurance?
Fortunately purchasing travel insurance is easy—no need to deal with pushy travel agents. You just go to a travel provider’s website, enter your destination, travel dates, and age, and they will instantly give you a quote for different plans for your trip. It’s also worth checking with your credit card provider because some credit cards include trip insurance!
I highly recommend shopping around a bit to find the best travel insurance plan and price for you. SquareMouth is a fantastic website that gives you quotes from dozens of different providers so you can compare different plans all in one place. They don’t search every single company out there though, so it’s worth checking a few other places.
Our list of the best travel insurance companies is a great place to start. We’ve listed out what each company is best at to help you find the option that fits you best.
Antarctica—one of the most remote and extreme environments on Earth—remains both a land of mystery and scientific discovery. In its vast frozen expanse, natural phenomena like iceberg calving can have lasting and profound effects on the planet’s delicate environmental balance. Now, iceberg A-68a—one of the largest ever recorded—has become the focus of a groundbreaking study that gave scientists a rare opportunity to witness its disintegration up close, thanks to an advanced underwater robot.
What may appear to be nothing more than a drifting mass of ice has, in fact, revealed crucial insights into how climate change is reshaping not only Antarctica’s geography but also the ocean systems and marine ecosystems that rely on it. Read on to discover how the final journey of these ice giants is helping to redraw the map of the planet’s ecosystems.
In this article, you will read about:
Robotic exploration in Antarctic waters
Before discussing the technologies used, it is important to consider the magnitude of the original object of study. A-68a was equivalent to 12% of the Antarctic ice shelf. In other words, 5,800 square kilometres broke away from the main mass in July 2017. Officially, this marine iceberg was considered to have completely disintegrated in April 2021.
But just two months earlier, in February 2021, a team from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) set out on a unique mission to investigate this Antarctic colossus before its final break-up. From aboard the RRS James Cook, scientists deployed two autonomous underwater gliders—Doombar–405 and HSB–439—operating them remotely from over 12,000 kilometres away with the help of satellite data.
For 17 days, the gliders navigated the waters beneath the iceberg, collecting vital data on the environmental effects of its melting. Despite technical setbacks, including the loss of one glider and difficulties manoeuvring beneath the ice, the team managed to gather valuable findings that have significantly advanced our understanding of iceberg-ocean interactions.
Impact of Antarctic icebergs on ocean layers and marine life
El análisis de los datos reveló que el A-68a se estaba desintegrando desde su base, lo que alteró una capa de agua fría conocida como winter water. Esta capa desempeña un papel crucial en la estabilidad del océano al actuar como barrera y evitar que los nutrientes más profundos, como el hierro y el sílice, lleguen a las capas superficiales.
El derretimiento del iceberg permitió que estas aguas ricas en nutrientes ascendieran y fertilizaran la zona, lo que potenció la productividad primaria, especialmente el crecimiento de fitoplancton. Este incremento beneficia directamente a organismos marinos como el krill, que constituye la base de la cadena alimentaria antártica. A su vez, el krill favorece el desarrollo de especies más grandes como peces, ballenas y pingüinos, lo que puede afectar al ecosistema local de maneras imprevisibles.
The links with climate change
El derretimiento del A-68a pone de manifiesto un fenómeno creciente vinculado al cambio climático: la ruptura de grandes icebergs. Estos eventos alteran las condiciones oceánicas y tienen un impacto directo en la circulación de nutrientes, el intercambio de calor y carbono entre el océano y la atmósfera. Este fenómeno puede modificar la dinámica de las corrientes oceánicas de tal forma que los ecosistemas marinos y la biodiversidad de la región antártica se vean afectados. Al comprender mejor estos procesos, los científicos pueden prever cómo los océanos reaccionarán a los efectos del calentamiento global.
Technology’s role in understanding a changing climate
Research in Antarctica has taken a major step forward with the arrival of robotic technologies that make it possible to study remote, hard-to-access areas. In this case, underwater robots enabled scientists to gather critical data on climate impacts in ways that would have been unimaginable just a few decades ago.
These new technologies not only allow safer and more efficient access to one of the least-explored parts of the world, but they also generate more precise and timely data for understanding environmental change. The combination of real-time data and autonomous exploration is transforming how climate science is conducted in extreme environments.
As more missions of this kind are launched, researchers will gain an increasingly detailed picture of the forces shaping Antarctica—and how they interact with a warming planet.
Of course, visiting Antarctica is no easy feat—unless, of course, you are an underwater robot. But virtual reality can bring us closer. Check out this article on an immersive experience that transports you to a scientific research station on the sixth continent.
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Whether it’s reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, Times Video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world.
Whether it’s reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, Times Video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled in 2019 that he would rather go down with the ship than save his own skin and compromise the independence of the central bank.
As President Donald Trump continues to put pressure on Powell, an earlier standoff between the two men could offer clues on how their current one might play out.
In 2019, like today, Trump demanded the Fed hurry up and cut rates amid a trade war he had launched, raising questions about Powell’s future as Fed chief and whether he would step down.
During a House Financial Services Committee hearing in July of that year, Powell was asked by then-Chairwoman Maxine Waters, “If you get a call from the president today or tomorrow and he said ‘I’m firing you. Pack up and it’s time to go.’ What would you do?”
“Of course I would not do that,” Powell replied.
“I can’t hear you,” Waters said, prompting laughter in the chamber.
“The answer would be ‘no,’” Powell reiterated.
“You think the president doesn’t have the authority. Is that why you would not leave?” Waters asked.
“The law clearly gives me a four-year term, and I fully intend to serve it,” Powell said.
According to the 2022 book Trillion Dollar Triage by Wall Street Journal reporter Nick Timiraos, he was even more adamant in private about not stepping down early.
“I will never, ever, ever leave this job voluntarily until my term ends under any circumstances. None whatsoever. You will not see me getting in the lifeboat,” Powell told a reporter that spring. “It doesn’t occur to me in the slightest that there would be any situation in which I would not complete my term other than dying.”
For Powell, who was first appointed Fed chief by Trump, the top priority was to ensure the U.S. economy continued to expand but also to preserve the Fed as an institution, including its independence, according to the book.
Weeks after that House hearing, the Fed lowered rates a quarter point, but Trump kept haranguing and insulting Powell, calling for even more easing.
Given that history, Powell’s tenure became an issue again after Trump was re-elected. In November, Powell was asked whether he would step down if asked by Trump. He replied no, adding later that it’s “not permitted under the law” for the president to fire or demote him or any other Fed governors in leadership positions.
Months later, Trump imposed sweeping tariffs across U.S. trading parters, raising fears of stagflation—weak economic growth coupled with high inflation. While inflation hasn’t spiked yet and growth remains intact, the Fed has held off on lowering rates, drawing the ire of Trump.
On Wednesday, Trump said it was “highly unlikely” that he would fire Powell, while confirming that he had discussed the “concept” of dismissing him with House Republicans during a White House meeting Tuesday night.
Still, Trump and other White House officials have continued to attack Powell over renovations at the Fed’s headquarters, accusing him of mismanagement.
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a longtime critic of Powell, suggested the renovation issue was “a pretext to get him fired.” Meanwhile, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and other chiefs at top banks said this past week that central bank independence is crucial to the economy and financial markets.
Historically, the board chair has also been FOMC chair, but the law allows the FOMC to determine its own internal organization. So it’s possible one person could serve as Fed board chair, and a different person could serve as FOMC chair.
On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said moves to replace Powell are under way and suggested that he should consider stepping down from the Fed entirely once his chairmanship ends.
“Traditionally, the Fed chair also steps down as a governor,” he told Bloomberg. “There’s been a lot of talk of a shadow Fed chair causing confusion in advance of his or her nomination. And I can tell you, I think it’d be very confusing for the market for a former Fed chair to stay on also.”
MBW’s World’s Greatest Managers series profiles the best artist managers in the global business. Chris Woltman is the long-serving manager of Twenty One Pilots, one of the biggest alternative rock bands of the last 15 years. He talks about breaking the band, staying at the top, building a roster at his Element1 management company, and launching a new label, ARRO. World’s Greatest Managers is supported by Centtrip, a specialist in intelligent treasury, payments and foreign exchange – created with the music industry and its needs in mind.
Chris Woltman takes a call from his artist.
It’s 2015 and Woltman’s management clients, Twenty One Pilots, are the hottest band on the planet, enjoying a massive breakthrough hit with Stressed Out, taken from their fourth album, Blurryface. The song is No.2 on the US Hot 100, it’s all over the radio, it’s going gangbusters on this new-fangled thing called streaming and it’s a Top 10 hit around the world. Which is why Tyler Joseph, back in his Ohio hometown of Columbus, is calling.
“Everywhere I go, I hear my voice,” says the somewhat bewildered frontman.
Some managers might have pushed for the band to squeeze last every drop from this moment. But Woltman – secure in the knowledge that he had already helped build the band to arena level before Stressed Out’s ubiquity – chose a different path.
“It was an interesting moment,” says Woltman, with trademark laidback, deadpan cool. “Like, maybe the strategy here is not to push and push and push, but to shut it down. At that point, there was enough music in the market, so the fanbase that was coming in had to dig deeper. It really helped to spread the success of all that music. There might have been a bit of magic in that moment.”
And magic moments have been a specialty for Twenty One Pilots – and Woltman’s Element1 management agency – ever since. Despite rock’s issues with gaining traction in the streaming age, TOP have consistently remained one of the biggest draws in the genre.
Their Clancy tour, which concluded its most recent leg with two spectacular sold-out dates at London’s cavernous O2 Arena in May, shifted over 1.1m tickets across a run that included the band’s first stadium headline show in South America, as well as huge gigs across North America, Europe and Australasia. Another tour kicks off in North America in September.
The Clancy album went Top 3 on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world, amazing more than one billion streams, while the follow-up, the band’s eighth album Breach, is due in September. Lead single, The Contract, has already racked up more than 20 million streams on Spotify alone.
It’s an old-school tale of long-term artist development and slowburn success, and Woltman’s own path to the top has been a similar story of constant incremental upwards momentum.
Although now based in California, Woltman – like his most famous charges – hails from Ohio. Indeed, he started his career promoting shows at Columbus’ legendary 1,700-capacity Newport Music Hall, the very venue that TOP once dreamed of selling out (a feat they managed in 2011).
From there, he moved into the label world, first as a college rep for Sony, then in increasingly senior roles at Columbia Records. Clive Davis headhunted him for J Records and he eventually became SVP of Rock for RCA, working with the likes of Foo Fighters, The Strokes and Kings Of Leon.
But, with the wider recorded music business burying its head in the sand over the post-Napster slump, he saw the potential for digital music and left Sony, setting up Element1, initially as a label and management company, before concentrating on management from 2011. As well as TOP, Element1 now also looks after platinum-selling rapper NF, rising rockers The Band Camino and various other artists, songwriters and producers.
“Making sure everything is marching to the beat of the same drum is an amazing challenge every day. But it’s exciting…”
Woltman is also making a return to the label business with ARRO, co-founded by him and Joseph. They have partnered with Atlantic on Balu Brigada, the opening act on Twenty One Pilots’ world tour, who have scored a No.1 US alternative airplay hit with So Cold.
“It’s excruciatingly hard work!” Woltman laughs as he contemplates his growing roster. “Making sure everything is marching to the beat of the same drum is an amazing challenge every day. But it’s exciting…”
There’s a big year ahead for all of Woltman’s clients. But before all that, he sits down with MBW to talk AI, A&R and TOP’s long road to the top…
WHAT’S THE SECRET TO MANAGING A SUCCESSFUL ROCK BAND IN 2025?
In the last 15 years, the ability for new bands to have success has proven to be a big challenge. That’s what makes it that much more fulfilling, to look at it and say, ‘Wow, somehow we’ve been able to thread the needle’.
But the more things change, the more they stay the same. In this industry, if your vision is for long-term, sustainable careers, what it’s always been about is still what it’s all about: make great bodies of work – a real record not just a single – get out on the road and really understand and stay committed to the idea of what community and fandom can be for your brand proposition. It isn’t about making a big break for a TikTok moment – if that comes, that’s great, but it’s an additive.
Look at Twenty One Pilots and NF. You don’t get 14 years into a career by skipping any steps. If you skip steps on years one, two or three, you’re probably going to put your business at risk. Even if you can take the jump, you don’t. It’s a lot of discipline!
WAS THAT DIFFICULT TO STICK TO WHEN TWENTY ONE PILOTS HAD A MASSIVE HIT WITH STRESSED OUT?
I could not be more proud of the fact that, when they were thrust into the zeitgeist of popular culture, we didn’t even really follow that up. In the US, before Stressed Out became a hit, we were already on an arena run that was 72% sold out. I love to put that out there; for people who really understand what that means, it’s a ‘Wow!’ statistic.
In Europe at that stage, the guys were at 5,000 or 6,000 tickets everywhere and we were able to ride through the success of all that. We did something really interesting coming out of that phase: we shut it all down, the website went dark, the guys came offline, we went dark for a year. There was a philosophy behind that as well, because there was all the success before there was all the success.
DID YOU ALWAYS EXPECT TOP WOULD BE THIS BIG?
The short answer is yes, but there’s more to it than that. Early on with the guys it was a conversation about, ‘Do you want to be the biggest band in the world or one of the most important bands in the world?’ And it was always [the latter].
The idea being that becoming one of the most important bands in the world would lead to a long-term career and to a global fanbase that was as passionate as this fanbase has now proven to be.
I don’t want to sound like, ‘Oh, we knew 14 years later it was going to be as big as this’ – you don’t know that. But when I look back, everybody showing up every day and putting all their effort into it, gave a sense of confidence that this was going to be something really special.
HOW IMPORTANT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE AT LABELS WHEN IT CAME TO BECOMING A MANAGER?
Being in the label world for those years has proven to be invaluable when it comes to forming my philosophy. I was really fortunate to work for people at Columbia Records in particular, who gave me a chance to put some of those philosophies in play and build careers along the way.
Even working in concert promotion, I was exposed to things like settlements, load-in and catering – whatever it was, I saw it all on the ground and in real time. As I moved across to the label side, I touched on so many different categories of what it takes to run a business.
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At the time, I don’t think I knew it, but I look back and think, ‘How lucky was I that people would share what they do and allow me a deep dive into their view on it?’ It led to a career which went through radio promotion, distribution, marketing, A&R and even a little bit of finance – it put me in the best position to have as much knowledge as I possibly could.
To say it was invaluable and that it formed the pillars of everything that has helped me along the way, is an under-statement.
WHY DID YOU LEAVE THE LABEL WORLD?
I’m not going to call it a crystal ball vision, but I’d gotten to the point where management always intrigued me; the idea of sitting within the center of an artist’s career and working with the stakeholders that actually have a hand on the wheel was always intriguing.
There was an era when a lot of a manager’s job was just to get an artist signed to a major label and then let the major label do whatever they were going to do. But when you get to the early 2000s, the recorded sector was cratering on every level. They had not, as an industry, looked down the road to see what their role could be or should be.
Management has taken on a greater functionality; you sit within the core of the brand and you work with your agents, your promoter partners, your label and music publishing partners, and others within the totality of the business.
And, most importantly, a manager’s job at its very core is to be the last guard at the gate for the artists that they work with in terms of their art. That’s a pretty deep responsibility; you have to make sure you protect that, because that’s the most important piece of the puzzle.
MANY MAJOR LABELS ARE RESTRUCTURING: DO YOU WORRY THEY’RE STEPPING AWAY FROM ARTIST DEVELOPMENT?
Well, they have stepped away from it. The distribution part is now so significant for new artist signings, it has changed the economics of a label.
We’re in the midst of this economic restructuring relative to what an artist position is and what the artist gets out of a record. The days of the 14-point royalty filled with all sorts of recoupables is winding down. Which is going to add an additional challenge: if the upside for a label is now not as significant as it was in the past, then how does all of this heavy lifting play itself through and what does it take to do that?
“artist and management have to set the pace and have to be prepared to re-invest in their careers because, ultimately, it is their career.”
There are some labels that do understand the importance of building a career. Does it mean that you can’t have quick hits and there aren’t artists and songs that come and go? No. But that, coupled with a commitment to artist development, ultimately makes the most robust roster in the world.
But artist and management have to set the pace and have to be prepared to re-invest in their careers because, ultimately, it is their career.
SO, DO ARTISTS STILL NEED LABELS?
Yes. Because there’s something about the magic of a label, whether that is a traditional label set-up or a distribution model. However it defines itself, when you get up to the starting line and you hit go, the idea of being able to corral a global partner and the level of communication and push that goes into that… There is tremendous value in that moment.
The flip side of that is, you can’t rely on the label to fund your business and drive those core principles of making great records, getting out on the road and touring and building a community.
There are very defined pieces of the puzzle that labels do and still do very well. And then there are things that labels don’t do very well and that’s where you need to make sure you’re doing them.
IT’S BEEN A TOUGH FEW YEARS FOR ROCK MUSIC. IS IT COMING BACK NOW?
Some people are arguing that the pendulum is swinging back because, while hip-hop was so dominant, now you’re looking at country, which is working all around the world, including parts of the world where it never worked in the past.
So hopefully the pendulum is going to swing back – I look at TOP’s streaming numbers every week, and the numbers are massive.
On this tour, Tyler does this thing on the song Ride, where he brings a fan up and they get to sing part of the hook with him out on the B-stage. Every single one of the kids he has brought up wasn’t born when the first Twenty One Pilots record came out. But there they are with the mask or the make-up, the yellow tape or the red tape. At 12, 13 or 14, they’re the next generation of fandom. It’s fascinating to see that.
TWENTY ONE PILOTS ARE A BIG STREAMING SUCCESS. BUT DO THEY MAKE ENOUGH MONEY FROM STREAMING?
No. When you look at the economics of streaming and what an artist brings to the table, feeling the artist deserves more of that revenue is a valid argument to continue to have. Whether it’s the platform or the label or whoever, it all starts with what these artists do. Music is the lifeblood of it all.
“On the recorded side, the economics are clearly shifting, so it will be interesting to see where it lands in the next couple of years.”
On the recorded side, the economics of that world are clearly shifting, so it will be interesting to see where it lands in the next couple of years. Those economics are changing for the betterment of the artists and that’s going to prove to be valuable.
Any way you cut it, it starts with the people who are making these songs and have that vision and see those songs through. Making sure that they are compensated properly is an on-going quest. We’re in the middle of that sea change but it’s moving in the right direction.
DO YOU WORRY ABOUT WHAT AI WILL DO TO ARTISTS’ CAREERS?
I’m not worried. The emotion of a great song, an artist delivering that great song in a studio, writing lyrics that are about the human condition and then getting out on the road and delivering that experience every night… Those things still require extremely talented people.
They can press a button and it can sound like Twenty One Pilots, but it’s not. Whether it’s a fine line or a massive gap between being able to press that button and sound like [an artist] versus sitting down, writing those lyrics, getting into the studio, struggling through how those lyrics, the melody and the production come together in the studio – those things still hold true.
THERE ARE STILL A LOT OF ACQUISITIONS HAPPENING IN THE BUSINESS. HAVE YOU HAD ANY OFFERS FOR ELEMENT1?
Yes. I can’t say I’m not interested at all, but the idea of being able to run your business how you want to run it, even if you’re involved in a partnership, is key.
I like to run where I’m at independently. I’ve got some partnerships that are part of it, but I run my business how I run my business and that part is good, so I’m happy with where it’s at.
HOW BIG DO YOU WANT YOUR NEW LABEL TO BE?
When the potential to sign something feels right, then we will. And there are so many moving parts in the idea of something feeling right.
There’s no mad rush to go out there and have this big roster. If an artist comes along tomorrow that fits into the total picture, then we’d be in that conversation. It’s not that dissimilar to how the roster has developed on the management side – it will come when it comes.
