No deal | Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is backing a bipartisan bill that would create a $120 billion fund for restaurants, which have been ravaged by the pandemic, as senators head home until September without a broader accord for a new stimulus package. Talks between Republicans and Democrats over a comprehensive plan have collapsed, with the parties still more than $1 trillion apart. Transatlantic barbs | Twenty-four European Union countries lodged a complaint with the State Department this week over Trump's expansive use of tariffs to influence foreign policy goals. The demarche was based on a statement by the EU's top foreign policy official, Josep Borrell, in which he condemned the U.S. for what he called intimidation tactics. He specifically cited Trump's penalties aimed at halting construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which would link Russia and Germany. Lai speaks | Hong Kong media tycoon and activist Jimmy Lai told Bloomberg Television that he was arrested on "trumped up" charges under new national security legislation, days after images of his being led by police through the offices of his pro-democracy newspaper shocked the city. He said Hong Kong's future as a financial hub is uncertain if there's no respect for the rule of law. You're fired | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed the premier appointed about a year ago, perhaps to deflect blame from flooding that has hit major rice-growing areas and could lead to a poor harvest. His country was already headed for what could be its worst downturn in more than two decades before the torrential rains hit, and a weaker economy could decrease his leverage in nuclear negotiations, Jeong-Ho Lee and Seyoon Kim report. Racism reckoning | Former slave ports have taken center stage as the Black Lives Matter movement forces the U.K. to confront its historical demons. Yet the contrasting ways two of those cities, Bristol and Liverpool, have dealt with their painful history offer lessons for societies grappling with a legacy of racism.  Protesters throw a statue of Edward Colston, who was involved in the slave trade, into Bristol harbor during a Black Lives Matter protest. Photographer: Ben Birchall/PA Images What to WatchThe leaders of Serbia and Kosovo will try to resolve their longstanding dispute during talks planned to start Sept. 2 at the White House, a U.S. special envoy announced. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo plans to meet with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen today in Vienna as part of a tour of Eastern Europe. Thailand's pro-democracy protesters are gearing up for another gathering on Sunday that's expected to attract upwards of 10,000 demonstrators, with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha vowing to investigate those behind the movement.
Pop quiz, readers (no cheating!). Which country was the first to register a Covid-19 vaccine? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net. And finally ... Biden's selection of Kamala Harris to be his running mate sparked a frenzy to track down her connections to Chennai, the southern Indian city where her mother was born. Social media users unearthed every minute link, including her grandparents' home in the Besant Nagar neighborhood. Supriya Batra and Saritha Rai chronicle the frenzy of online activity.  A tweet from India's former foreign secretary N. Menon Rao captures the celebratory mood in India over Harris's nomination. | 
Post a Comment