Standoff over Ukraine shows little sign of easing: Weekend Reads

There is no sign of a breakthrough in the standoff over Ukraine. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made scant [progress]( during their 90-minute meeting in Geneva to discuss the Ukraine standoff, while agreeing that negotiations should take place in a less emotional atmosphere. U.S. President Joe Biden’s attempt to [salvage]( the centerpiece of his economic agenda has revived battles among Democrats over the same tax and spending proposals that have bedeviled the plan for months. Drone strikes by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels against the United Arab Emirates were a stark reminder of how vulnerable some of the world’s largest oil producers are to [attack]( from armed groups using relatively rudimentary military technologies. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s admission that he attended possibly illegal parties at his Downing Street residence when the rest of the country was in lockdown left him [battling]( to remain in office. When the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics begins on Feb. 4, the [spotlight]( will be on a China that’s richer and more confident than when the 2008 Summer Games were held in Beijing. Delve into these and more of Bloomberg’s biggest stories from the past seven days in this edition of Weekend Reads. — [Karl Maier]( A Ukrainian soldier in a trench in the Donetsk region on Tuesday. Photographer: Anatoli Stepanov/AFP/Getty Images Click [here]( for this week’s most compelling political images. And share this newsletter with others too. They can sign up [here](. Putin Would Burst Xi’s Olympic Dream With a War in Ukraine Chinese President Xi Jinping may hold the [key]( to Vladimir Putin’s timetable on any action in Ukraine. With the Russian president due to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, [Alberto Nardelli]( and [Evgenia Pismennaya]( write, the last thing Xi needs is for Putin to overshadow China’s big moment by triggering a global security crisis. - U.S. military aid to help Ukraine [defend]( against a possible invasion began arriving on Friday night, the American Embassy in Kyiv said. Ukraine’s Frontline Civilians Think War With Russia Won’t Come People living on Ukraine’s side of the frontline with Russia are [confident]( that Putin will not order an invasion, [Marc Champion]( reports from the region. They can’t believe anyone would want to start a war given the bloodshed that would follow. - Washington is weighing whether to [evacuate]( family members of its diplomats stationed in Ukraine, sources say. A Christmas market in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Jan. 13. Photographer: Christopher Occhicone/Bloomberg One Year Into His Presidency, Biden Hits a Wall. Can He Recover? For Biden, 2022 hasn’t quite [started]( as he’d hoped. As [Nancy Cook]( and [Josh Wingrove]( write, his Build Back Better bill has stalled, omicron is roiling the country, while school closures and a shortage of Covid-19 tests are fueling Americans’ frustration and despair. - Read about the [infighting]( that risks Democratic defeat in November’s midterm elections and Biden's presidency itself. Applications for U.S. state unemployment insurance [surged]( last week to a three-month high. Initial unemployment claims increased by 55,000 to 286,000 in the week ended Jan. 15, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The figure exceeded all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Xi’s Covid Zero Tactics Get Weaker as Omicron Spreads in China More than two years into the pandemic, most countries are striving to live alongside Covid. China, where the pathogen first emerged is [wedded]( to a zero-tolerance strategy that’s growing harder to sustain. - Read our report [here]( on how China’s crackdown in Hong Kong has forced journalists to find jobs as taxi drivers or food delivery workers. Inside No. 10, Boris Johnson’s Broken Team Tears Itself Apart As Johnson battled for survival, his senior officials considered who they could sacrifice to keep the prime minister in power. Yet as [Joe Mayes]( and [Kitty Donaldson]( explain, something vital has [broken]( at the heart of his administration. Cummings, who was fired 14 months ago, wrote on his blog that Johnson not only knew about the party in May 2020 but agreed with his principal private secretary Martin Reynolds it should go [ahead]( after “at least two” people raised concerns. A fast-approaching cost-of-living crisis is already making Britons [worry]( about their budgets, setting up a rocky 2022 for households and businesses still reeling from the impact of the pandemic. Explainers You Can Use - [China Vows ‘No Mercy’ in Xi Battle Against Corruption, Big Tech]( - [Europe Eases Pandemic Curbs on Omicron’s Waning Scare Factor]( - [Lifestyles of Two Covid Patients Highlight Wealth Chasm in China]( - [Why No Major World Power Wants Asean to Split Up Over Myanmar]( - [How Race to 5G in U.S. Hit Speed Bump Called C-Band]( Drones Jolt a Persian Gulf Focused on Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions The drones that struck near Abu Dhabi’s airport and an oil depot this week served as a [reminder]( of a military reality: the ability of armed groups to target critical infrastructure using cheap, hard-to-repel weapons. [Ben Bartenstein](, [Zainab Fattah]( and [Golnar Motevalli]( explain why. - More than 100 people were killed or wounded Friday when the Saudi-led coalition [bombed]( a prison operated by Yemen’s Houthi fighters, the International Committee of the Red Cross said. Saudi Arabia denied such an attack took place. Italy Starts Search For New President With Papal-Style Vote Italy’s papal-style vote for a new president is the culmination of Rome’s political intrigues and power games. As [Chiara Albanese]( and [Alessandra Migliaccio]( write, for the first time, the process is [attracting]( global interest as Prime Minister Mario Draghi is touted as a top contender for the job. How Big Beef Is Fueling the Amazon’s Destruction [Jessica Brice]( investigates how the top beef producer has helped [push]( the world’s largest rainforest to a tipping point at which it’s no longer able to clean the Earth’s air because large swaths now emit more carbon than they absorb. Cattle on a farm inside an environmentally protected area in Para state, Brazil. Photographer: Jonne Roriz/Bloomberg Best of Bloomberg Opinion This Week - [A Defining Moment for the Roberts Court: Michael R. Bloomberg]( - [India’s Inward Turn Could Stymie Its Rise: Andy Mukherjee]( - [Green Is Excellent Camouflage for Corporate Spies: Javier Blas]( - [The West’s Main Enemy Isn’t Putin but Disunity: Andreas Kluth]( - [A Warning From Xi Jinping to Start the Year: Shuli Ren]( India Congress Party Pins Revival on Women in Key State Poll India’s opposition Congress Party is [fielding]( a slew of women candidates in Uttar Pradesh to reach out to female voters in a bellwether state. As [Upmanyu Trivedi]( reports, it’s part of a campaign led by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the granddaughter of Indira Gandhi, aimed at reinventing her party to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP in state elections. South African President’s Row With Minister Heads for Showdown President Cyril Ramaphosa and Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu are headed for a showdown after she publicly [refuted]( his claim that she apologized for criticizing the judiciary. As [Mike Cohen]( and [S'thembile Cele](write, the standoff is worsening long-standing tensions in the ruling party 11 months before it’s due to hold elections for its leadership. And finally … Ingrid Betancourt [launched]( a bid for Colombia’s presidency, two decades after a previous run for the top job ended with her being kidnapped by Marxist guerrillas and held captive in the jungle for six years. [Andrea Jaramillo]( explains her motivation. Ingrid Betancourt hugs Army General Commander Mario Montoya during a press conference at Bogota Airport on July 2, 2008. Photographer: Juan Barriga/Colombia Presidency 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