Belfast’s warning

Follow Us Get the newsletter For British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, rioting on the streets in Northern Ireland is a reminder that once the pandemic fades, the U.K. will have to face up to the long-term consequences of Brexit. A crisis meeting of Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive is being held today after a night of clashes in the city of Belfast that saw police officers attacked, petrol bombs thrown and a bus set on fire. Beyond the immediate condemnation of the scenes, politicians in the region are divided over how to deal with the unrest. But all sides accept Brexit is at least partly to blame. The deal Johnson signed with the European Union put Northern Ireland in a unique and potentially uncomfortable position — legally part of the U.K. but still inside the EU's customs regime and much of the single market for the purposes of trade. Those tensions are now playing out, with the EU taking legal action against the U.K. after Johnson's government announced it will waive paperwork on food entering Northern Ireland, in defiance of the agreement. All the while, Johnson will be keeping a wary eye on the White House. President Joe Biden is proud of his Irish roots and recently described how his great-grandfather fled to America to escape "what the Brits had been doing." For the U.K., the prize of a post-Brexit trade deal with the U.S. has never seemed so far away. — Tim Ross A person looks on as debris burns during clashes in Belfast yesterday. Photographer: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images Check out all our biggest stories on the Bloomberg Politics web page here and tell us how we're doing or what we're missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Global Headlines Hosing down | Russia isn't planning to intervene militarily in Ukraine, according to Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, even as a troop buildup on the border and large-scale drills raise alarm in Kyiv and the West. "We don't have such plans," Patrushev said, when asked if Russia may get directly involved in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. "But we are carefully monitoring the situation." U.S. officials have completed an intelligence review of alleged Russian misdeeds including election meddling, setting the stage for retaliatory action soon, sources say. Tax changes | Biden's proposal for a global tax deal would let governments raise levies on corporate profits within their borders, sources say. His plan would apply to multinational companies across industries rather than just digital firms — a suggestion made by some nations that Washington regards as targeting U.S. tech giants such as Google, Amazon and Facebook. Biden is confronting an influx of migrants at the southern border without permanent leaders at key agencies that oversee immigration enforcement and shelters. Confidence test | The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has gone from favored to problem child in the family of Covid-19 shots, Stephanie Baker and Suzi Ring write. Yet the world needs it to help end the pandemic. "If people keep beating this vaccine up, nobody's going to have the confidence to use the darn thing," says John Bell, the professor of medicine overseeing relations between the university and AstraZeneca. India's fight against a record wave of infections is being hampered by vaccine shortages: The worst-hit state that houses financial capital Mumbai has only three days worth of stock. Students wait in line to enter a New York City public high school on March 22. Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg New infections from a more transmissible U.K. variant linked to youth sports across the U.S. have prompted fresh warnings from Biden's health advisers and added a headwind to his push to reopen classrooms. Tough sell | Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reminded Saudis who's in charge of the kingdom with a series of initiatives this year, Donna Abu-Nasr writes. But internationally the Saudi heir has two stains on his record — the war in Yemen and the 2018 murder of critic Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents — that threaten to undermine his economic transformation plan, which partly relies on western money. Gravy train | Deals with South Africa's indebted power utility, Eskom Holdings, have involved overcharging and inducements, including donations to the ruling party, a forensic probe has found. Loni Prinsloo and Antony Sguazzin report on the latest findings surrounding Eskom, which is at the center of a judicial investigation into alleged looting of state-owned companies, mainly by people linked to the African National Congress. What to Watch Biden will announce today he's taking executive actions to tighten gun restrictions, including stopping the proliferation of so-called ghost guns. Diplomats have been discussing the pros and cons of boycotting the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, though no country wants to be first to call for one. Voters in Ecuador face a stark choice when they pick their president in Sunday's runoff election. And finally ... Bangladesh's low elevation and high population density make it particularly vulnerable to climate change. So it's not good news that satellites have revealed Bangladesh to be among the world's biggest sources of methane, a greenhouse gas estimated to cause at least a quarter of today's global warming. The gas likely comes from waterlogged soil used for rice paddies and from landfill, according to the government, which says it's taking measures to mitigate the leaks. Methane concentrations identified over Bangladesh this year.     Like Balance of Power? Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters.   You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022