| Cash infusion | The U.S. House is set to send the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan to Biden for his signature, an economic boost that will last long after Americans receive their $1,400 stimulus checks. The legislation is far bigger than initial Wall Street expectations and is a template for a potential longer-term expansion of America's social-safety net. - Click here for more on how the stimulus money is benefiting Mexican exports and remittances.
- Elizabeth Warren may not have won over Biden to her trademark campaign proposal, a wealth tax, but nearly a dozen of her allies and former aides have joined his administration.
Taking shots | European Council President Charles Michel accused the U.K. of blocking exports of Covid-19 vaccines, a claim dismissed as "completely false" by British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. Vaccines are a flashpoint in post-Brexit relations, with about a third of Britons but only 6% of the European Union's population receiving a dose so far. - The U.K. test-and-trace program has failed to demonstrate it has contributed to a fall in infection rates, despite its "unimaginable" $30.6 billion cost so far, according to parliament's spending watchdog.
Coming unstuck | A ship that waited nine months is among a handful that China has let unload their cargoes of Australian coal, a reprieve for some seafarers and vessels caught by a trade war that at one point stranded more than 70 carriers. The Topas dropped anchor outside the port of Jingtang in June and finally discharged its cargo this month, shipping data compiled by Bloomberg shows. - Read how consumers in Asia are snapping up Taiwanese pineapples in political solidarity after China banned imports of the fruit from the democratically-governed territory.
 Brawling monks | Myanmar's generals are tapping religious nationalism in the Buddhist majority nation as they seek to gain legitimacy and quell post-coup demonstrations that have seen more than 60 people killed. As Philip J. Heijmans reports, that risks reinvigorating a movement with a history of sectarian violence in a country already split between military supporters and opponents. Legal uncertainty | After the Supreme Court on Monday annulled the 2017 convictions of Brazil's former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, it debated yesterday whether the judge in charge of the original investigation was biased in his rulings. As Simone Iglesias and Samy Adghirni report, the court could upend years of work by the Carwash anti-corruption task force that jailed political and business leaders. What to Watch -
The U.S. accepted a troop-funding increase from South Korea significantly less than demanded by the Trump administration, underscoring Biden's efforts to ease tensions with a key ally. -
After China's stock rout saw state-backed funds intervene to calm the market, searches for the Chinese equivalent of "stock market" generated no posts on Weibo today, suggesting the phrase was censored. -
South African Environment Minister Barbara Creecy warned the country's biggest polluters, Eskom and Sasol, must meet emission limits even if it costs them financially. -
Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu questioned President John Magufuli's whereabouts, as social-media speculation swirled that he's fallen ill and been admitted to hospital. -
The Pentagon extended the National Guard's deployment at the Capitol through at least May 23. And finally ... Hackers say they gained access to live feeds of 150,000 surveillance cameras inside prisons, hospitals, schools, gyms and companies including a Tesla assembly line, in a breach of security-camera data collected by Silicon Valley startup Verkada. Some of the cameras, including in hospitals, use facial-recognition technology. One of the hackers involved said it showed "just how broadly we're being surveilled, and how little care is put into at least securing the platforms used to do so."  Madison County Jail seen through a Verkada camera. Source: Bloomberg | 
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