Hard Numbers: Indian workers strike, Shanghai lockdown makes oil market jittery, Biden’s budget plan, EU targets Lebanese laundering

Indian workers strike, Shanghai lockdown makes oil market jittery, Biden’s budget plan, EU targets Lebanese laundering
Demonstrators in Kolkata block a passenger train during a two-day long strike to protest against what they say are "anti-people" policies of the central government.
REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

2: Indian workers began a two-day nationwide strike on Monday to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic policies. The strikers oppose the government’s attempt to privatize some state-owned assets, which they say will boost prices. They are also calling for a greater safety net for workers in the informal economy, who account for 80% of Indian workers.

4.50: Global oil prices fell $4.50 a barrel on Monday after Shanghai entered a city-wide lockdown to contain a COVID-19 outbreak. Traders were concerned about further supply chain disruptions and a drop in demand as China’s financial capital – home to 25 million people – prepared to shut down.

5.8 trillion: The Biden administration unveiled a $5.8 trillion budget plan Monday that aims to reduce the national deficit in part by introducing a new tax on those worth more than $100 million. The White House’s recent focus on fiscal responsibility comes amid fears that still-high inflation will hurt Democrats ahead of midterm elections this November.

120 million: The European Union has seized assets worth 120 million euros ($130 million) linked to alleged money laundering activities by Lebanese officials. These include properties in Germany, France, and Luxembourg. Though it's unclear which individuals the operation was directed against, high-ranking Lebanese officials have for decades embezzled public funds while the country descended further into economic and political crises.

More from GZERO Media

South Korean presidential candidate Lee Jae Myung of the Democratic Party speaks at a campaign rally in Seoul on May 29, 2025.
Kyodo via Reuters Connect

South Koreans head to the polls this Tuesday, June 3, to elect a new president. They’ll face a choice between two candidates with sharply contrasting visions for the country’s future — and its foreign policy.

A serviceman of the 43rd Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a 2S7 Pion self-propelled gun toward Russian positions, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the front line in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, on May 30, 2025.

REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov

A roundup of three major storylines that we’re keeping an eye on this week.

The world has its first (North) American pope. Now what? On a new GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Jesuit priest and bestselling author Father James Martin to talk about the historic ascendancy of Pope Leo XIV and what his papacy means for the Catholic Church, American politics, and a world in search of moral clarity.

US President Donald Trump is joined by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Vice President JD Vance while announcing a trade agreement with the United Kingdom in the Oval Office on May 8, 2025.
Emily J. Higgins/White House/ZUMA Press Wire

On Wednesday evening, the US Court of International Trade ruled that President Donald Trump could not impose his “reciprocal” tariffs. GZERO spoke to Eurasia Group’s top analysts to assess what could happen next.