Mōrena and welcome to your Monday summary of world business and political news.
First up, G7 finance ministers and central bankers are due to meet in Paris this week where the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and bringing the Middle East conflict to an end were high on the agenda, CNBC reported.
Eurogroup president Kyriakos Pierrakakis said the European economy had been resilient in the face of the energy crisis. “Yet, the global economy will feel the pressure – even if the conflict is resolved swiftly,” Pierrakakis cautioned.
The United States and Iran remained far apart on a deal to end the war and reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz, as a drone attack sparked a fire at a United Arab Emirates nuclear plant, highlighting the risks of the ceasefire, Bloomberg said.
Iran said US President Donald Trump’s threatening rhetoric and pressure tactics were unacceptable, and suggested the US engage with them with mutual respect, Al Jazeera reported.
Trump said the “clock is ticking” for Iran to make a peace deal and threatened “there won’t be anything left of them” if they fail to do so. “TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!” Trump did not detail on Truth Social what exactly the consequences would be.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing this week, less than a week after Trump’s meeting with Xi, CNBC reported.
“The Russian President’s visit is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation, which serves as the basis for interstate relations,” Putin’s office said.
The two leaders planned to discuss current bilateral matters, partnership and strategic cooperation, and views on key international and regional matters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Meanwhile, Ukraine launched more than 1000 drones at Russia in a 24-hour period, killing four people in Moscow and Belgorod regions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks were justified in response to Russian aggression, two days after strikes on Kyiv killed 24 people, the ABC and Reuters reported.
Social media platform X promised to review UK reports of suspected illegal hate and terrorist content within 24 hours, under commitments accepted by regulator Ofcom, the BBC said.
Ofcom's online safety director Oliver Griffiths said the commitments were a "step forward" and were of importance after recent religiously-motivated crimes targeting Jewish communities.
Griffiths said the regulator had evidence of terrorist content and illegal hate speech on some of the largest social media websites and Ofcom wanted firmer action.
Elon Musk.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, after the virus killed about 90 people, Al Jazeera said.
The variant has no approved vaccine or treatment. WHO did not declare a pandemic because it did not meet the necessary criteria.
Health authorities said the outbreak poses a high regional risk because infections had already been detected in Uganda and cases linked to the outbreak reached Congo’s capital, Kinshasa.
Finally, Sir David Beckham has become the UK's first billionaire sportsman, while Oasis brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher made it on the annual Sunday Times Rich List for the first time, the BBC said.
The collective wealth of Sir David and his wife, Victoria Beckham, was estimated at £1.2 billion ($2.7b) after doubling their wealth in the past 12 months, while the Gallaghers were worth £375 million ($856m).
At the very top, for the fifth consecutive year, were Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja with a combined fortune of £38b ($86.7b). The brothers run the Hinduja Group, with global interests in oil, gas, banking, and transport.
The Rich List calculated 157 UK billionaires, 20 fewer than four years ago.
