| Agenda setting | Germany's forceful defense of the plan to open its spending taps reflects how Berlin has become more explicit and unapologetic about calling the shots in Europe. As Birgit Jennen reports, it's on display in its tightening of foreign-investment rules, its efforts to coordinate the response to a more assertive China, and its willingness to challenge Russia over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexey Navalny. - President Xi Jinping holds virtual talks today with Chancellor Angela Merkel as Beijing seeks to keep Europe from aligning more closely with the U.S. on a variety of issues.
Campaign 2020 There are 50 days until the election. Here's the latest on the race for control of the White House and Congress. As the campaign enters its closing stretch, Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden are locked in a battle over the best way to pull the the economy out of its pandemic slump. Meanwhile, prospects for a new relief bill before the vote are dwindling fast. 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. Abe's replacement | Yoshihide Suga, outgoing Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe's long-faithful right-hand man, was elected leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and is poised to be installed as prime minister on Wednesday. While Suga is expected to make continuity a key for his administration, particularly with ultra-loose "Abenomics" monetary policy, his reformist side could come to the fore on pet issues including reducing mobile phone charges and introducing casino resorts to boost tourism. TikTok tussle | Oracle edged out Microsoft in negotiations for the U.S. operations of TikTok, sources said, as the viral Chinese-owned app tries to avoid getting shut down amid U.S.-China tensions. A deal between TikTok owner ByteDance and Oracle would look more like a corporate restructuring than the outright sale Microsoft proposed, though it is likely to include a stake in a newly configured American business. Rising tensions | Turkey accused the U.S. of stoking tensions by planning to establish a military training center on Cyprus. Worried about Turkey's territorial ambitions in the eastern Mediterranean, Washington has already eased a longstanding arms embargo on the island, which is divided between the majority Cypriot south and a self-proclaimed Turkish-minority state in the north recognized only by Ankara. Decades of rot | In Zimbabwe, pregnant women are left alone in hospitals to give birth, water taps in major urban centers have run dry, and more than half the population needs food aid. Two decades of economic mismanagement have ruined a nation once considered one of Africa's shining stars. And there's no sign that President Emmerson Mnangagwa, now in his third year of rule, will keep his promises of economic reform and more political freedom.  A young Zimbabwean boy does his homework by candlelight in Harare on June 26. Photographer: Jekesai Njikizana/AFP via Getty Images What to Watch This Week - U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will put his plan to break international law over Brexit to its first parliamentary debate and vote today amid a growing rebellion from his lawmakers and further criticism from former premiers and European Union leaders.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin will host Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi today, tightening an embrace of his embattled Belarusian counterpart, who is ramping up violence against anti-government protests that show no sign of fading.
- Peruvian opposition leaders backed away from impeaching President Martin Vizcarra, who faces a decisive week after lawmakers alleged he tried to obstruct a graft investigation.
- Israel and the United Arab Emirates will sign a treaty tomorrow at the White House that won't normalize relations but will gradually increase economic cooperation, deepen security and intelligence ties and culminate in the exchange of ambassadors.
- EU President Ursula von der Leyen will set out her vision for the bloc in her first annual "state of the union" speech on Wednesday.
- Kremlin-backed candidates swept most major contests in Russia's regional elections over the weekend, but supporters of opposition leader Navalny claimed wins in two Siberian cities.
Thanks to all who responded to our pop quiz Friday and congratulations to Stephen Markscheid who was first to correctly name "Mulan" as the Disney live-action remake under pressure for filming in a sensitive region in China. And finally ... Fires are burning again across South America, Africa and Asia, bringing the familiar public outrage and government pledges to halt the ruin. Will it make a difference? The short answer is no. According to the Rainforest Action Network, forests are vanishing at a rate of about 1 acre every two seconds. In this deep dive using satellite images and data going back almost a century, Bloomberg reporters examine the human, geographical, and economic forces behind the destruction.  Fires burn in the Pantanal wetlands region in Mato Grosso state, Brazil, on Sept. 9. Photographer: Jonne Roriz/Bloomberg | 
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