| Navigating hurdles | Democrats begin planning today how to maneuver Biden's $2.25 trillion spending and tax proposal through both houses of Congress with their razor-thin majorities. In addition to that program, Biden is expected to ask for another massive investment in initiatives focused on health and families. - Administration officials meet today with chief executives from companies ranging from General Motors to Google to figure out how to relieve a shortage of semiconductors that's idled automakers worldwide.
Brexit boost | An increasing number of British voters view the European Union as acting like a bitter ex in clashes with the U.K. over Covid-19 vaccines in the 100 days since Britain completed its divorce from the bloc. A Bloomberg poll shows support for Brexit has grown since the 2016 referendum, with almost two-thirds of adults believing that being outside the EU aided the U.K. vaccination program. Horse race | Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union signaled its broad support for party chairman Armin Laschet as the candidate for Germany's conservative bloc in September's election. The move sets up a potential clash with its smaller Bavaria sister-party, the CSU, whose chairman Markus Soeder also wants to be a contender to replace Merkel.  Anti-coup protesters shoot slingshots and throw stones at security forces on March 28 in Yangon. Source: Getty Images Myanmar's economy is in free fall after a group of generals seized power on Feb. 1, with the World Bank projecting it will shrink 10% in 2021, by far the worst in Asia. The junta has killed hundreds of civilians, driving away foreign investors as western nations put on new sanctions.
Looming large | When diplomatic emissaries of the Group of Seven nations met virtually last month to prepare the ground for the leaders summit in June, one problem cropped up over and over again: what to do about China? As Alberto Nardelli reports, officials discussed issues including human rights, trade and climate change and, according to a diplomat's account of the meeting, Beijing was a factor in almost all of it. Shaky transition | Heng Swee Keat's decision to step aside as designated successor to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong — he cited his age as a factor — is testing Singapore's reputation for predictable political handovers. Faris Mokhtar exclusively reports that party insiders privately expressed concerns about Heng after last year's election, worrying he lacked the charisma to rally the country during one of its most challenging periods even as they viewed him as a brilliant administrator. What to Watch This Week - Career banker Guillermo Lasso won Ecuador's presidential election runoff after a late surge in the polls, reassuring bondholders in the default-prone country.
- Peru is heading to a runoff in June after early results showed no presidential candidate got anywhere close to the votes needed to win outright.
- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will meet Biden on Friday in Washington, the first foreign leader to see the president in person since he was inaugurated in January.
- Eastern European countries are easing lockdown measures to mollify their citizens, even as the region remains the world's most deadly area for the coronavirus pandemic.
- India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address election rallies in the state of West Bengal Friday, even as health officials warn against mass gatherings as Covid-19 cases surge to record levels.
Correction: We gave the wrong figure for Biden's $2.25 trillion infrastructure program in Friday's newsletter. Apologies for the error. Thanks to the more than 70 people who answered our quiz on Friday and congratulations to Floris Francesco, who was the first to name Greenland as the territory where voters ousted a government that was planning to welcome foreign companies eager to tap its rare-earth metals. And finally ... Imagine Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook saying thank you to regulators if they faced penalties on Facebook or Apple. But that's exactly what happened when Chinese authorities imposed a record antitrust fine on Alibaba. As Coco Liu reports, it's a sign of how China's crackdown on the power of big tech is out of the ordinary.  | 
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