| Glimmer of light | Biden vowed to accelerate vaccinations and offered Americans hope they would be able to start returning to a normal life by July 4, their Independence Day. In his first prime-time address since his inauguration, the president lauded the landmark $1.9 trillion stimulus package he signed earlier yesterday that will provide aid within days. Holding court | Donald Trump is building a political operation to lead the Republican Party from his Mar-a-Lago resort. But as Mark Niquette and Billy House report, the former president is clashing with others from the party who have tried to convince him — so far in vain — to put winning a majority in Congress in 2022 ahead of his desire to retaliate against those Republicans who voted to impeach him. Sputnik at large | Russia is ramping up overseas production of its Covid vaccine, pledging to supply 700 million people outside its borders this year. While Russians have been reluctant to sign up for Sputnik V shots, the head of the fund that backed their development said millions have been delivered to Latin America, while India, China and South Korea will lead production abroad. - When it comes to vaccines, Biden is basically following Trump's practice of making sure Americans are fully protected before sharing the doses around the world, and Russia and China have stepped into that breach.
 Importing discrimination | The government-funded Indian Institutes of Technology provide hundreds of graduates to Silicon Valley each year. But as Saritha Rai reports, the coders, programmers and engineers bring with them the troubled legacy of India's caste system, with students and workers from Scheduled Castes — also known as Dalits — facing open discrimination, bullying, and segregation. Brexit woes | U.K. importers cheered yesterday's decision to postpone border checks on goods coming from the European Union until next year. Yet, as Joe Mayes writes, for some exporters who have experienced shipping delays and already paid thousands of pounds in custom fees, it's a different story. - U.K. trade with the EU plunged almost 41% in January from December, signaling Brexit's damaging impact on trade relations.
What to WatchPop quiz, readers (no cheating!). Which African nation's prime minister died this week of cancer less than a year of being appointed following the death of his predecessor? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net. And finally ... Beijing's increasing grip on Hong Kong has done more than snuff out the pro-democracy movement: It's changed the city's physical landscape. From shuttered storefronts and barricaded buildings in the wake of protests in 2019 to a hotel converted into the headquarters of the new National Security Office, evidence of China's heavy hand is all around.  Buildings in Shenzhen on the horizon beyond Hong Kong on Dec. 7, 2020. The rise of the tech hub just across the city's border has exacerbated concerns over China's influence. Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/Bloomberg | 
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