By Alexandra Sharp
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at G-7 efforts to stabilize the global market, Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, and an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
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French Finance Minister Roland Lescure (left) greets U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent prior to a meeting of G-7 finance ministers and central bank governors in Paris on May 18.Julien de Rosa/AFP via Getty Images
More than a year after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on virtually all U.S. trading partners, the White House is now asking these same allies for help stabilizing the fraught global market.
G-7 finance ministers and central bank governors convened in Paris on Monday for two days of meetings to discuss the economic fallout of the Iran war, including rising crude prices and growing bond market volatility.
Among the group’s biggest concerns is that disruptions to oil markets could slow growth, increase inflation, and ignite a possible global recession. “When oil prices hover above $100 and there is already impact of this war baked in, inevitably there would be a response,” Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the International Monetary Fund, said on Monday, regarding the global bond market sell-off that has transpired in recent days.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is hoping to promote economic unity within the G-7 to combat some of these risks. However, heading into the Monday meeting, his focus appeared to be on rallying allies to tighten international sanctions on Iran. “We call upon all our G-7 and indeed all of our allies and the rest of the world to follow the sanctions regime, so that we can crack down on the illicit finance that is fueling the Iranian war machine and get this money back to the Iranian people,” Bessent said.
However, such unity may be difficult for Washington to come by after Trump spent the better part of his second term criticizing and even threatening the United States’ closest allies.
“These discussions are not easy,” French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said. “I’m not going to tell you that we agree on everything, including, of course, first and foremost with our American friends.”
G-7 finance ministers also discussed ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, reduce reliance on China for critical minerals, bolster support for Ukraine, and develop alternative supply chains to prevent future resource monopolies from forming. Ministers from Brazil, India, Kenya, South Korea, and Ukraine also attended the conference.
This week’s meetings are largely seen as preparation for a three-day G-7 leaders’ summit next month in the French spa town of Evian. But several ongoing issues threaten to hinder any progress during this week’s high-level conference.
In February, the European Union paused work on implementing a trade deal with the United States after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s sweeping tariffs. In response, the White House has threatened to increase duties on European vehicles by 10 percentage points, and it gave the EU until July to finalize the agreement.
Meanwhile, European nations are frustrated with Washington’s decision to grant sanctions exemptions for some purchases of Russian crude. “Now is not the time to release sanctions pressure against Russia,” said Valdis Dombrovskis, who serves as the European commissioner for economy and productivity. “Instead, we actually need to enforce and strengthen that pressure.” U.S. exemptions expired last Saturday, but the White House could still choose to reinvoke them in the future.
Tuesday, May 19: Russian President Vladimir Putin begins a two-day trip to China.
NATO’s chiefs of defense convene in Brussels.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hosts Swiss President Guy Parmelin.
Wednesday, May 20: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosts Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
European Council President António Costa visits Guatemala.
Irish President Catherine Connolly concludes a three-day trip to the United Kingdom.
Friday, May 22: The eighth EU-Mexico summit is held in Mexico.
APEC trade ministers begin a two-day meeting in China.
EU trade ministers convene in Brussels.
Sunday, May 24: Cyprus holds parliamentary elections.
Italy begins two days of municipal elections.
Israel’s naval blockade. Israeli forces intercepted 39 aid vessels en route to Gaza on Monday, writing on X that “Israel will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza.” The ships, part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, were in the eastern Mediterranean Sea (roughly 250 nautical miles from Gaza) when they were apprehended. According to the aid group, the 54-vessel flotilla involves 426 people from 39 countries.
Israel has repeatedly blocked aid ships from bringing humanitarian supplies to the war-torn region. Israel’s foreign ministry accused the Global Sumud Flotilla of being a publicity stunt that aims to “serve Hamas, to divert attention from Hamas’s refusal to disarm, and to obstruct progress on President Trump’s peace plan.”
However, foreign leaders and rights activists have condemned Israel’s actions, arguing that vital supply deliveries to Gaza remain insufficient despite Israel and Hamas reaching a cease-fire last October. Turkey’s foreign ministry denounced the ship seizures as a “new act of piracy,” citing how far the vessels were from Israel’s maritime control when they were apprehended.
Ebola outbreak. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency on Sunday concerning the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Although the agency said the outbreak does not qualify as a pandemic, it stressed that there is a high risk that the disease could spread to neighboring countries. Already, Ebola has killed at least 80 people in eastern Congo.
Ebola is a severe and often fatal viral illness that causes flu-like symptoms, including fever, body aches, vomiting, and diarrhea. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is spread through contact with the body fluids of an infected sick or dead person or, very rarely, from contact with an infected animal, such as a bat or nonhuman primate. First identified in 1976, this is Congo’s 17th outbreak of the virus. Scientists warn that this strain is particularly concerning, as it is caused by the Bundibugyo virus; there are no approved Bundibugyo virus-specific vaccines like there are for Ebola Zaire strains, which were the cause of previous outbreaks.
As of last Saturday, at least 246 suspected cases of Ebola have been reported in Congo across three health zones. However, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Sunday that the high positivity rate of samples collected indicates that the outbreak is potentially much larger than what is currently being detected and reported.
Beef and poultry. China has agreed to buy $17 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products per year through 2028, the White House announced on Sunday. Increasing purchases of U.S. beef and poultry exports was one of Trump’s goals during talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week.
In the initial days after the summit, experts noted that Trump had secured few trade wins. Although Beijing had agreed to restore beef trade with Washington ahead of Trump’s two-day trip—issuing new import licenses for hundreds of U.S. slaughterhouses to resume shipments to China—the U.S. president failed to immediately secure other major economic concessions from his counterpart.
Sunday’s announcement, though, offers new hope for U.S. farmers who have suffered from the fallout of Trump’s sweeping tariffs as well as the supply chain crisis caused by the Iran war. Although Beijing has yet to confirm the deal, China’s commerce ministry said on Saturday that both sides had vowed to “actively work” to address each other’s concerns.
The world’s most internet-famous monkey received some surprise visitors this weekend. According to Japanese police on Monday, two U.S. nationals visiting Ichikawa City Zoo were arrested after one of them climbed into Punch’s enclosure while the other filmed it. The baby macaque became a global sensation earlier this year for his reliance on a stuffed plush toy to help him overcome social anxiety. Both U.S. citizens have been charged with forcible obstruction of business, which they deny. And as of Tuesday, the zoo will install “intrusion prevention nets” alongside other measures to restrict viewing access.
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