8: The UN office in Afghanistan has closed eight aid centers set up to support Afghan refugees returning to the country, because the Taliban government is preventing female UN staff from entering the facilities. Afghanistan is suffering a refugee crisis as Pakistan and Iran have begun deporting hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghan migrants.
17: Russia’s central bank cut interest rates by a single point, but they are still at a staggering 17%. The central bank is in a tight spot: cautiously trying to prop up flagging economic growth even as inflation remains sky high due to Ukraine-related sanctions and military spending.
32: The WHO says it is still confident that an ebola outbreak in Congo can be contained, but only if prompt action is taken. The country has recently registered 32 suspected cases and 16 deaths. It is the country’s 16th outbreak of the deadly disease.Wall Street Journal Beijing bureau chief Jonathan Cheng says China has already won the tariff standoff, and the upcoming Trump-Xi Summit is a chance to project something bigger: that Beijing, not Washington, is the world's reliable partner.
The 10-day ceasefire negotiated between Israel and Lebanon took effect last night – one that the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah acknowledged but hasn’t said whether they’d abide by – has added some momentum to the US-Iran ceasefire talks.
At the 2026 World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, former Egyptian Minister of Planning, Economic Development & International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat speaks with GZERO’s Tony Maciulis about a global economy increasingly shaped by geopolitical fragmentation and rising uncertainty.