Around the World in 5 – 7
“War is a bazaar where lives are traded like any other commodity: chocolate or bullets or parachute silk.”
Thursday, 22 May marked the final day of the 2025 G7 Finance Ministers’ Meeting in Banff, Canada. As a prelude to the Canadian-hosted G7 Summit in June, ministers gathered to discuss a wide range of issues, including tariff measures, financial crime, and the impact of artificial intelligence. A joint statement released by the ministers suggested criticism toward China’s practice of subsidising industries, overproducing, and offloading the surplus onto global markets. Notably, the statement made little mention of the impact of former President Trump’s trade war—measures that directly breach current G7 treaties. Canada’s Finance Minister, François-Philippe Champagne, who hosted this year’s meeting, reiterated the group’s call for unity, particularly in their continued commitment to supporting Ukraine, suggesting further sanctions against Russia.
In the UK, Thursday saw the historic return of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, despite last-minute injunctions. Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a £101 million-per-year lease allowing the continued use of the Diego Garcia military base. Under this agreement, the UK has committed to creating a trust fund worth approximately £40 million for Chagossians, alongside additional funding for Mauritian infrastructure projects on the islands. The Chagos Islands were separated from Mauritius in 1965 under British colonial rule and were initially purchased for £3 million.
The theme of unification extended to mainland Europe, where German Chancellor Friedrich Merz inaugurated a new German brigade station in Rudninkai, Lithuania. This move is part of efforts to bolster NATO’s eastern flank against Russian aggression in the Baltic region. Reports indicate the brigade will comprise of 4,800 troops and 200 civilian personnel, with nearly 700 German military personnel already deployed in the area. Lithuanian officials have confirmed the brigade will be fully operational, including infantry and tank battalions, by 2027.
In Sudan, renewed sanctions have been imposed by the United States after it was determined that chemical weapons were used in 2024, in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, to which Sudan is a signatory. US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced that sanctions, taking effect from 6 June, will include restrictions on US exports to Sudan and reduced access to US government lines of credit. A New York Times report from January 2025 alleged that Sudan’s military used chemical weapons on two occasions against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with whom it has been in conflict since 2023.
In a statement today, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that any Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites would render the United States responsible. This comes a day before both nations are set to hold a fifth round of diplomatic talks amid ongoing disputes over uranium enrichment. In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Araghchi wrote: “Iran strongly warns against any adventurism by the Zionist regime of Israel and will decisively respond to any threat or unlawful act by this regime.”
Meanwhile, continued Israeli strikes on civilian refugee settlements and medical warehouses in the Gaza Strip have raised the death toll by 51 in the past 24 hours according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Since the partial lifting of Israel’s blockade, only 90 aid trucks have entered Gaza. UN data now suggests that one in five people in the Gaza Strip is facing starvation, making the threat of famine increasingly imminent.
There is No One to Help Them (plate 60 from The Disasters of War), Francisco de Goya, c.1812-15.
