Covid measures continue to divide the world: Weekend Reads

Covid remains a dilemma for governments [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Countries across the world continue to seek ways out of the pandemic but with very different approaches. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is looking to end all pandemic control measures in England, while Hong Kong’s [escalating](Covid Zero strategy is finding resistance in a public wearying of the rigid measures. U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are expected to [talk]( later today amid a continuing flurry of diplomacy by the West as tensions escalate further over Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia and Belarus have started their largest joint [military drills]( in years. The Biden administration also increasingly believes that China is [gauging]( Washington’s response to the Ukraine crisis as a proxy for how America would deal with more aggressive action by Beijing against Taiwan. Delve into these and more of Bloomberg’s biggest stories from the past seven days in this edition of Weekend Reads. — [Muneeza Naqvi]( Ukrainian forces during an urban combat training exercise in the abandoned city of Pripyat on Feb. 4. Photographer: Ethan Swope/Bloomberg Click [here]( for this week’s most compelling political images. And share this newsletter with others too. They can sign up [here](. U.S. Warns of Risk That Russia Attacks Ukraine Next Week The U.S. believes Russia could take offensive military action or attempt to [spark]( a conflict inside Ukraine as early as next week, before the Winter Olympics in Beijing end, [Alberto Nardelli](, [Jennifer Jacobs]( and [Jennifer Epstein]( report. Russia has repeatedly rejected charges it plans to invade. U.S. Patience With China Wears Thin as Trade-Deal Pledges Unmet Washington is losing [patience](with China after Beijing failed to meet its purchase commitments under a trade agreement reached during the Trump administration, American officials tell [Jenny Leonard]( and [Eric Martin](. England Calls Time on Pandemic With Plan to Lift All Covid Curbs Johnson plans to [scrap]( self-isolation rules for people in England who test positive for Covid-19. That would end the last of the pandemic restrictions that have dominated daily life for the past two years, [Emily Ashton]( writes. France Pushes EU Toward Mali Exit Over Junta's Russia Ties President Emmanuel Macron is drawing up plans to [withdraw]( French forces in Mali amid deteriorating ties with the local junta and wants his European allies to do the same, [Samy Adghirni](, [Chiara Albanese]( and [Katarina Hoije]( report. French Marine Special Operation Forces officers during a training with Malian soldiers at the Menaka army base, on Dec. 7. Photographer: Thomas Coex/AFP Olympics Mascots Selling for Up to $500 Spark Police Warning A chubby panda decked out in a suit of ice has become a national [sensation]( in China. Prices have surged so much for stuffed versions of the Winter Olympics mascot that police in Beijing have issued public warnings against buying them from scalpers. Customers line up overnight for Olympics merchandise in Beijing on Feb. 8. Source: Bloomberg Kim Jong Un Keeps Aiming His Missiles at ‘This Most Hated Rock’ After North Korea’s leader unleashed his biggest-ever barrage of missile tests last month, [Jeong-Ho Lee]( takes a look at the place that suffered the most. [Alsom Island]( has been targeted in more than 25 missile strikes since 2019, leading to jokes that Kim Jong Un must have a grudge. Biden to Tap Frozen Afghan Funds for 9/11 Victims, Aid Biden issued an executive order to [transfer]( the $7 billion in Afghan central bank assets frozen in the U.S. so they can be used to compensate victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and support aid efforts in Afghanistan, [Justin Sink]( writes. A toxic combination of political intransigence, an energy crisis and pandemic-driven economic realities has cast [doubt]( on any progress toward tackling climate change. Koala Officially Listed As ‘Endangered’ Species By Australia The koala has been officially designated an [endangered]( species across states and territories of Australia as habitat loss, disease and climate change cause rapid declines in populations of the iconic marsupial, [Ben Westcott]( reports. Coverage of Gu has dominated Chinese media since she [won]( her first gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Chile’s Green Dream to Reinvent Itself Is Spooking Investors Chile is looking to write a [new constitution]( that could nationalize the country’s mineral wealth — its deep veins of copper, lithium, magnesium and silver. [Valentina Fuentes]( and [Ethan Bronner]( explore the idea that has mining companies and markets hyperventilating. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa extended payments of a stipend for the poor by a year, [deferring]( a contentious decision on whether to introduce larger, permanent income grants for the unemployed. Explainers you can use - [What Is at Stake for Modi in India’s Bellwether State]( - [Biggest Global Companies Failing Over Net-Zero Emissions Plans]( - [What Experts Know About ‘Long Covid’ and Who Gets It]( - [Why Some Chinese Are ‘Lying Flat’ and What That Means]( - [Why Poor Nations Now Face a Pandemic Debt Crunch]( How China’s Communist Officials Became Venture Capitalists In early 2020, as the pandemic pushed it to the verge of bankruptcy, China’s main rival to Tesla was shunned by foreign investors. [Tom Hancock]( explains how Nasdaq-listed Nio turned to the country's newest class of [venture capitalists](: Communist officials. How Protests Shut the Canadian Border and Rocked the Economy The Canadian protests began by championing the rights of truckers, but as [Brian Platt]( and [Josh Wingrove]( write, they’ve spread into sprawling anti-establishment [demonstrations]( across the country. Counter-protesters along Wellington Street during a "Freedom Convoy" demonstration in downtown Ottawa on Thursday. Photographer: David Kawai/Bloomberg Best of Bloomberg Opinion This Week - [Ukraine Crisis: China and Taiwan Are Watching Putin Carefully: Hal Brands]( - [The Digital Rupee Needs More Thought, Less Haste: Andy Mukherjee]( - [Hong Kong’s Covid Reality Bubble Is Bursting: Matthew Brooker]( - [Canada's Trucker Protest May Spread From Ottawa to U.S.: Tyler Cowen]( - [More States Should Drop School Mask Mandates for Children: Editorial]( And finally … The U.S. childcare industry has been [crushed]( by the pandemic. As [Bryce Covert]( reports, since early 2020, about one-third of centers have closed and some 111,000 workers have departed the sector. Kay Strahorn runs the Bidwell Riverside Center in Des Moines, Iowa. A shortage of teachers has forced her to limit enrollment. Photographer: Kathryn Gamble/Bloomberg 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