Diplomatic wrangling | Secretary of State Michael Pompeo notified the United Nations of the U.S. demand to reinstate global sanctions against Iran and accused European allies who oppose the move of appeasing Tehran. France, Germany and the U.K. said they remained committed to the 2015 nuclear deal, while diplomats from several nations indicated they saw no need for further steps because the U.S. action was void of meaning. Under arrest | After former top Trump aide Steve Bannon joined the online campaign We Build the Wall to raise private funds for the construction of a barrier along the Mexico border, he made clear there'd be "no deals I don't approve." That's according to an indictment unsealed in federal court yesterday after Bannon was arrested aboard a yacht in Long Island Sound and charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and launder money in the project. Campaign 2020 There are 74 days until the U.S. election. Here's the latest on the race for control of the White House and Congress. The Republican National Convention will feature a number of rising stars, including former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Senators Tim Scott and Joni Ernst, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. Other developments: Sign up to receive daily election updates as a direct mobile notification on Twitter. Simply click on this link and like the tweet. Medical fight | A doctor at the Siberian hospital where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is in a coma after a suspected poisoning said today that tests showed no traces of toxins. Aides to the Kremlin critic insist he was poisoned and have blamed President Vladimir Putin. They say the hospital is refusing to release Navalny for medical treatment abroad after a plane arrived ready to transport him to Germany. Navalny speaks with journalists during a rally in Moscow on July 19. Photographer: Maxim Zmeyev/AFP via Getty Images After Lukashenko | While Putin is publicly supporting his besieged ally Alexander Lukashenko after disputed elections, some around the Kremlin leader are starting to imagine life without Belarus's longtime ruler, Irina Reznik and Evgenia Pismennaya write. Lukashenko may not survive the backlash against him and Russia may gain more by reaching an understanding with the opposition than by intervening to prop up his regime, according to people with access to Putin's inner circle. Food security | As China confronts the pandemic, devastating floods, locusts and tensions with its biggest trading partners, a new campaign to prevent Chinese citizens from wasting food is raising questions about the country's ability to feed its population of 1.4 billion. However, experts suggest President Xi Jinping's "Clean Plates" campaign could be focused on reducing China's dependence on food imports in preparation for possible Covid-19 related supply disruptions. What to Watch Pop quiz, readers (no cheating!). The president of which African nation was overthrown this week in a military coup? Send us your answers and tell us how we're doing or what we're missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. And finally ... The church at the center of South Korea's new coronavirus outbreak has proved key to boosting South Korean President Moon Jae-in's approval rating. His popularity rose for the first time in three months after he confronted the Sarang Jeil Presbyterian Church — which has been connected to the surge in infections — calling for those who illegally act against the government's quarantine measures to be arrested. Government officials wearing protective clothing stand at a temporary checkpoint to restrict access to the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul on Aug. 17. Photographer: Jung Yeon-je / AFP via Getty Images |
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