UN budget crisis. The United Nations faces “imminent financial collapse” as its regular operating budget stands to run out by July if members do not pay outstanding dues, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned in a letter obtained by multiple news outlets. The United States is the largest debtor, owing around $2.2 billion in regular dues and more than $2.4 billion for peacekeeping missions and international courts, an unnamed senior UN official told reporters. Guterres also urged the organization to overhaul a 1945 budget rule requiring it to return unspent money to members.
India’s manufacturing investments. India’s government announced plans Sunday to increase public spending on pharmaceutical and semiconductor manufacturing. Unlike last year, the government did not unveil big tax cuts for the middle class in its budget, focusing instead on boosting domestic industry in the face of steep U.S. tariffs. The International Monetary Fund expects India’s economy will grow more than 6 percent this year.
Attacks in Pakistan. Pakistani authorities carried out large-scale security operations over the weekend against separatist groups, following suicide and gun attacks in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province Saturday. A separatist group claimed responsibility for the initial suicide and gun attacks, which Pakistan’s military said killed thirty-three people. Subsequent antiterrorism operations by Pakistan killed an estimated 177 people Saturday and Sunday.
Costa Rica’s election. Conservative candidate Laura Fernández, from the incumbent Sovereign People’s Party, swept to victory in yesterday’s presidential election. Early results showed she received around half of the votes. Her opponent, who received about a third, conceded last night. During the campaign, Fernández pledged to continue her predecessor’s tough-on-crime policies.
Russia strikes Ukrainian miners. A Russian air strike killed at least twelve miners in southeastern Ukraine yesterday, the company that runs the mine said. The strike came after Trump said last week that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to temporarily halt strikes on Kyiv and other targets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media yesterday that a new round of trilateral peace talks is scheduled soon, urging the United States to help de-escalate tensions and reduce strikes.
Trump’s Cuba talks. Trump told reporters yesterday his administration is speaking with “the highest people in Cuba” and he believes the two sides will make a deal. His comments came after he threatened to impose tariffs on countries that send oil to Cuba last week. Mexico, one of Cuba’s top oil suppliers, recently cut off that supply but pledged over the weekend to send humanitarian aid to the country.
Yuan-denominated debt in Africa. After Kenya converted a group of Chinese dollar-denominated loans into yuan-denominated loans, its debt repayments fell by some $167 million, the country’s budget controller told Bloomberg. Separately, Ethiopia is in talks to convert some money it owes China into a yuan loan, while Zambia has allowed some Chinese companies to pay taxes and royalties in yuan.
Grok ban repealed. Indonesia yesterday became the latest country to reverse a ban on the artificial intelligence chatbot Grok after Elon Musk’s X Corp owed to take steps to address abuse of the platform. The ban was imposed over Grok’s spread of sexualized images; Indonesia has historically enforced strong curbs on pornography. Malaysia and the Philippines also banned access to Grok in recent weeks for the same reason, but reinstated it late last month.
