| Tit-for-tat | China's government won't accept an acquisition of TikTok's U.S. operations by Microsoft and may take action against Washington if a sale is forced, the state-run China Daily said today. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to ban the company unless a deal is struck by Sept. 15 to sell TikTok's American business to a U.S. entity and repeatedly insisted any sale must include a substantial payment to Washington. - By going after TikTok, the U.S. is expanding a fight against Beijing using Chinese-style restrictions on tech companies, a move that could potentially have enormous ramifications for the world's biggest economies.
- Peter Martin, Gordana Filipovic and Alan Crawford explain how Serbia's purchase of Chinese-made attack drones underscores Beijing's broadening strategic footprint on NATO's doorstep.
Glimmer of hope | U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin head into another round of negotiations on a new virus relief package. Talks yesterday yielded "a little bit" of progress, Mnuchin said. But a wide gap still remains between Republicans and Democrats, including over an extension of expired supplemental unemployment insurance. - Trump said he may take executive action to impose a moratorium on evictions and enact a payroll-tax holiday.
Trump's finances | Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. suggested his office may be investigating potential bank and insurance fraud by the Trump Organization, as it seeks access to the president's tax returns and other financial records. Vance asked a federal judge to throw out Trump's latest effort to block a subpoena for documents from his accounting firm. Trump called the investigation "Democrat stuff." Drug problem | Once known as pharmacy to the world, Germany now has its work cut out to supply medicines to its own citizens in the coronavirus era after years of cost-cutting sent the production of active ingredients to cheaper locations such as India and China. The challenge Berlin is prioritizing is how to ensure a supply of cheap generic drugs — from painkillers to antibiotics — when few companies in the region make them anymore. Corruption obstacle | While President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to clamp down on endemic corruption in South Africa, his efforts have been stymied by a lack of support from his ruling ANC party. Now his tenuous control of ANC is being laid bare after its leaders shot down a proposal to probe allegedly tainted state contracts for equipment to fight Covid-19. That leaves Ramaphosa in a tough position, with his term as party leader running until 2022 and as president until 2024.  A funeral at the Olifantsvlei cemetery in Soweto on July 21. Photographer: Michele Spatari / AFP What to Watch -
Bolivia can't afford to risk financial chaos by tampering with its 12-year currency peg, Carlos Mesa, one of the nation's presidential candidates, said in an interview with Bloomberg. -
China could take aim at American journalists in Hong Kong if the U.S. doesn't renew visas for their Chinese counterparts, Global Times Editor-in-Chief Hu Xijin said. Hu's tweets are closely watched after he accurately forecast previous moves by China's government. -
Argentina moved closer to ending a months-long standoff with investors, announcing a deal backed by its largest creditor groups to restructure $65 billion of debt. -
The U.S. agreed with Poland to send an 1,000 additional U.S. personnel to the eastern European country on a rotational basis after Washington announced plans to withdraw about 12,000 troops from Germany. And finally ... Now we're living on a hotter planet, researchers are asking: How many of us will die from extreme heat in the decades ahead? The answer is determined mostly by where you live and the impact of economic inequality. As Eric Roston, Paul Murray and Rachael Dottle show, people in poor regions who benefit less from air conditioning, protective infrastructure, and elder care will die at much higher rates, emphasizing the life-saving power of income growth and investment in climate adaption.  A camel herder during a sandstorm near Sudan's capital Khartoum in 2013. Photographer: Ian Timberlake/AFP/ via Getty Images | 
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