Covid roars back with a vengeance: Weekend Reads

Covid-19 is back with a vengeance. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( The resurgent pandemic raised the specter of a [deadly]( winter in the northern hemisphere as governments rushed to distribute booster shots to fight the omicron variant of Covid-19 spreading across the globe. U.S. President Joe Biden traveled to the state of Kentucky and pledged federal assistance for communities [ravaged]( by tornadoes last week. Boris Johnson suffered a huge political [upset]( as his ruling Conservatives lost a key parliamentary election, a result that will heap intense pressure on the U.K. prime minister and may even call his position into question. Chinese President Xi Jinping [hailed]( relations with Russia in a video call with President Vladimir Putin, as the two leaders made a show of solidarity amid rising tensions with the West. Delve into these and more of Bloomberg’s biggest stories from the past seven days in this edition of Weekend Reads. — [Karl Maier]( People line up for Covid-19 vaccinations at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Click [here]( for this week’s most compelling political images and share this newsletter with others too. They can sign up [here](. Global Headlines Inside South African Virology Labs: Hunting for the Next Variant The discovery of the omicron variant by South African and Botswanan scientists last month has lent [urgency]( to efforts to isolate the strain and test its ability to evade vaccines. An Africa Health Research Institute laboratory in Durban, [Janice Kew]( reports, is working around the clock. Unvaccinated Covid Patients Push Hospital Systems Past the Brink The decision on whether to get vaccinated against Covid-19 is often framed as a personal choice. But as [Drew Armstrong]( reports from Kentucky, low inoculation rates are [straining]( entire communities and pushing hospitals to the brink. - Bloomberg News’s tracker shows in nearly half of U.S. states, Black and Hispanic [vaccination]( rates lag White ones by 10 percentage points or more. Six Reasons Why Wounded Boris Johnson Can Still Hang On Boris Johnson’s leadership is under the microscope after a [humiliating]( defeat for his Conservative Party in a special parliamentary election. [Joe Mayes]( and [Kitty Donaldson]( explain why he may survive. Starmer, speaking on the BBC’s “Andrew Marr Show,” was commenting on the [troubles]( of Johnson, whose authority has been dented by weeks of scandal and mismanagement at a time when soaring Covid-19 infections threaten to overwhelm the U.K.’s health system. London Suffers as Omicron Surge Fears Turn City Into Ghost Town Britain’s hospitality industry, already trying to recover from months of lockdown earlier in the year, is once again taking an economic hit as the pandemic [steps]( up a gear. [Thomas Buckley]( and [Deirdre Hipwell]( explain why many businesses are pessimistic about what’s coming next. Parents are facing the dreaded prospect of school [closures]( across Europe as a wave of virus infections hits the young and the omicron variant ramps up concern. Ex-Trump Aide Meadows Cited for Criminal Contempt by U.S. House The U.S. House voted to hold former President Donald Trump’s last chief of staff, Mark Meadows, in criminal [contempt]( of Congress for refusing to testify in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection probe. [Billy House]( writes that he’s the highest-ranking former Trump official in legal jeopardy in the inquiry. - Read the [highlights]( of text messages to Meadows on the day of the riot. Democrats Limping Toward End of Year as Divisions Roil Agenda Democrats are ending the year under pressure from party divisions and with Senate rules [stalling]( Biden’s $2 trillion economic agenda. While they succeeded in pushing through a coronavirus relief package and a $550 billion infrastructure bill, [Steven T. Dennis]( and [Laura Litvan]( write, priorities like gun control, immigration and policing reform fell aside. Deadly Kentucky Tornado Had Roots in Weeks of Unusually Mild Air The violent weather system that [tore]( through the central U.S. last week and killed scores of people got its start in a confluence of moist air and mild temperatures that fueled “supercell” thunderstorms. Normally, [Brian K. Sullivan]( writes, December is a calm time of the year. A damaged home following a tornado in Cambridge Shores, Kentucky, on Monday. Photographer: Liam Kennedy/Bloomberg U.S. Pushes EU to Ready Russia Sanctions on Energy and Banks The Biden administration is pushing European Union allies to finalize a package of [sanctions]( against Russian banks and energy companies that could be imposed jointly with the U.S. if the Kremlin attacks Ukraine. [Alberto Nardelli](, [Jennifer Jacobs]( and [John Follain]( outline what is being considered. - Russia [demanded]( the North Atlantic Treaty Organization withdraw its forces to positions they occupied in 1997 in two draft security treaties presented to the U.S. this week. Best of Bloomberg Opinion This Week - [The Fight for Democracy Needs Some Hypocrisy: Matthew Yglesias]( - [Nunes’s Retirement Says a Lot About Congress: Jonathan Bernstein]( - [China’s Navy Is Setting Sail for the Atlantic: James Stavridis]( - [It’s Awkward Being a Woman in the Metaverse: Parmy Olson]( - [India May Have the World’s Biggest People Problem: Mihir Sharma]( Erdogan Heartlands Turn Hostile as Lira Slump Hits Turkey’s Poor [Selcan Hacaoglu]( took a 500-mile journey along Turkey’s Black Sea coast and into its conservative hinterland and found a wave of [anger]( building against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the cost of living surges. Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Activists Are Running Out of Options It’s a long way from the mass protests on the streets of Hong Kong in 2019. As China has effectively brought the pro-democracy movement to a dead end, [Josie Wong]( and [Chloe Lo]( outline the [dwindling]( options that activists face. The Ultra-Conservative Who Vows to Save Chile From Communism This Sunday’s election pits Jose Antonio Kast, a religious free-market advocate, against the youthful leftist Gabriel Boric. [Valentina Fuentes]( and [Philip Sanders]( profile Kast, who describes the vote as a contest between liberty and totalitarianism. - A mix of social [upheaval](, plans for a new constitution and the most polarized electionin recent memory is sapping Chileans’ faith in their currency. Saudi Arabia Wants Its Capital to Be a Place You’d Want to Live Saudis have gotten used to breakneck change over the past five years under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. But as [Vivian Nereim]( reports, one of the most ambitious plans is to [transform]( Riyadh — a sprawling, car-dependent and water-poor city — into a model of sustainability. And finally … India’s 15 million freelance gig workers are [pressing]( for improved pay and benefits, not only to the creators of the apps that funnel them work but also to the federal government. As [Bibhudatta Pradhan]( and [Vrishti Beniwal]( report, their demands come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party has its eye on several state polls early next year. Food delivery workers in Kolkata. 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]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022