| Prove it | Many of the 40 leaders at Biden's two-day virtual climate summit have a clear message for the U.S. president: show you can lead. It was a sign of how far expectations have shifted since he took office that Biden's pledges to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 and double spending toward international climate goals fell flat with some. - Environmental activists say Biden's vow to spend $5.7 billion annually helping developing nations deal with climate change isn't near enough.
Next salvo | As President Xi Jinping targets China's tech giants, a big question is how he'll get them to share key data as part of a plan to transform the economy. Some hardliners have suggested seizing the data outright, though most analysts view that as unlikely — while Xi has a history of knocking down billionaires, he also wants to find a way to ensure growth is more evenly distributed among China's 1.4 billion people. Web worries | The freedom and security of the internet is at risk from the competing world views of China and Russia, and Western nations must adapt to face the threat, a U.K. spy chief warns in a speech today. Foreign adversaries could threaten the security of future technologies such as smart cities, says Jeremy Fleming, director of GCHQ, which deals with intercepts. Hidden toll | Bodies piling up at crematoriums and burial grounds across India are sparking concerns the death toll from a ferocious new Covid-19 wave is being under-reported. Upmanyu Trivedi and Sudhi Ranjan Sen spoke to relatives of the dead and workers and eyewitnesses at crematoriums in at least five cities, who indicate the real number may be well above the official records of around 187,000.  Funeral pyres burn on the Gomti riverfront in Lucknow on April 15. Source: Hindustan Times Low pressure | The dim outlook for democracy in Myanmar following February's military coup will dominate this weekend's special summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Indonesia. Even with more than 700 protesters killed by the military, expectations are low that the bloc, which has a history of non-interference in members' internal affairs, will act decisively, David Wainer and Philip Heijmans report. What to Watch -
Japan is set to declare a new state of emergency from Sunday to May 11 in Tokyo, Osaka and two other prefectures, imposing some of its toughest anti-virus measures yet. -
New Zealand distanced itself from Australia, a partner in the Five Eyes along with the U.S., U.K. and Canada, over whether the intelligence-sharing pact should admonish China on its human-rights record. -
Russia said it began pulling back thousands of troops from areas near the Ukrainian border today, a move that could ease tensions with the West. - An ongoing volcanic eruption could cost St. Vincent and the Grenadines 50% of its GDP, Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves said.
Pop quiz, readers (no cheating!). The president of which country died this week from injuries the army says he suffered during a battle between his army and rebels? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net. And finally ... Isabel dos Santos was once Africa's richest woman. Now, as Angolan authorities crack down on her multibillion-dollar business empire, she is watching it all crumble from self-imposed exile in Dubai. Prosecutors accuse her of causing more than $5 billion of losses to the southwest African nation's economy during her father's 38-year rule, Ben Bartenstein and Henrique Almeida report. She denies wrongdoing. "Being the daughter of a president I'm always subject to a huge amount of scrutiny," she said in an interview.  Isabel dos Santos at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Dubai on April 11. Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg | 
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