Trump in court, Macron in China: Weekend Reads

Check out our best political stories of the week. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Donald Trump appeared in a New York courtroom to answer the first-ever criminal [charges]( against a former US president. French President Emmanuel Macron said China can play a “major role” in resolving the war in Ukraine. During a three-day visit to China, he [rejected]( moves to decouple from the world’s second-biggest economy and pushed for Europe to take a more moderate stance toward Beijing than the US is demanding. Israeli jets bombed Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip following the most sustained [barrage]( of rockets launched at Israel from Lebanon and Gaza in 17 years. Delve into these and other top stories in this edition of Weekend Reads. Trump with his defense team during his arraignment at court in New York on Tuesday. Photographer: Andrew Kelly/Reuters/Bloomberg Coming Soon: Understand power in Washington through the lens of business, government and the economy. [Sign up now]( for the new Bloomberg Washington Edition newsletter delivered weekdays. Click [here]( for this week’s most compelling political images, and if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Trump Takes Courtroom Scowl to Campaign Stage in 2024 Bid Trump sat stiff and unsmiling in the courtroom as he answered “not guilty” to his [historic]( 34-count indictment, then later assailed the case before hundreds of supporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. [Ryan Teague Beckwith]( reports that the former president faces an uphill struggle in whipping up outrage among voters much beyond his loyal base. Macron Urges Xi to Bring Putin ‘Back to Reason’ Over Ukraine Macron called on Chinese President Xi Jinping at talks in Beijing to use his [influence]( to help restore peace to Ukraine, [Samy Adghirni]( reports. “I know I can count on you to bring Russia back to reason and everybody to the negotiation table,” the French president said. Xi and Macron in Beijing on Thursday. Photographer: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images China Restraint on Taiwan Shows Xi Has Bigger Concerns Now Beijing’s initial [reaction]( to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s unprecedented meeting on US soil with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was muted. Xi has several reasons to hold fire for now, even if he plans a more aggressive military response later. - President Joe Biden’s trade chief said the US is working with allies to [counter]( unfair competition from China, seeking to create new agreements that bolster American supply chains and address longstanding vulnerabilities. Israel Hits Gaza, Lebanon After Dozens of Rocket Attacks The missiles from Gaza and Lebanon, most of which were intercepted, prompted [retaliatory]( strikes by the Israeli military targeting underground tunnels and sites used for weapons production. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel will “exact a heavy price” from its enemies, [Ethan Bronner]( reports. Smoke rises above buildings in Gaza as Israel launches air strikes on Thursday. Photographer: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images After 25 Years, Northern Ireland Youth Want More Than Just Peace Northern Ireland and its Good Friday Agreement are often held up globally as a model for peace and reconciliation efforts. [Morwenna Coniam]( and [Ellen Milligan]( report that as US, British and Irish leaders prepare to mark the accord’s 25th [anniversary](, it is starting to look in need of a revamp to deal with new realities in a fast changing society. Stickers on traffic signs and lamp posts at the Free Derry Wall. Photographer: Stephen Wilson/Bloomberg A Nationalist Implosion in Scotland Shifts UK Election Math The arrest of the husband of Scotland’s former leader, Nicola Sturgeon, dealt a [major blow]( to one of the UK’s most effective political parties, [Ellen Milligan]( and [Alastair Reed]( write. The police probe into the finances of the Scottish National Party, which campaigns for independence, has plunged it into further turmoil after Sturgeon stepped down as leader and first minister. Finland Joins NATO as Defense Alliance Expands Northward Finland became NATO’s 31st member, completing a tumultuous process of [accession]( after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended the European security landscape, [Kati Pohjanpalo]( and [Natalia Drozdiak]( write. Sweden is still waiting to join. - Finland’s outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she’ll [step down]( as leader of her Social Democratic Party and abandon other leadership roles following the loss in parliamentary elections. Germany’s Ultimate Fighting Machines Are Racking Up Orders Germans have a deep suspicion of military force and weapons exports that’s rooted in their nation’s 20th century history of aggression, [Alan Crawford]( reports. But as governments rearm in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s weapons suppliers are experiencing a [bonanza](, regardless of public sentiment. Russia Blames Ukraine as Suspect Held in War Blogger’s Death Russia accused Ukraine of [plotting]( the assassination of a pro-war blogger at a St. Petersburg cafe. Maxim Fomin, whose Telegram channel under the pseudonym Vladlen Tatarsky had more than 570,000 followers, was killed when a bomb exploded inside a statuette presented to him at an event at the cafe. Ukraine didn’t comment. Tatarsky speaks at the cafe before the explosion that killed him on Sunday. Source: AP Photo Ukraine Has Decimated Its Oligarchs But Now Fears New Ones In the opening scene to Servant of the People, the popular 2015 TV series that helped catapult Volodymyr Zelenskiy from comedian to president, three oligarchs [bargained]( for control of Ukraine as they looked out over its sleeping capital, sipping champagne and brandy. [Marc Champion]( and [Daryna Krasnolutska]( report that, eight years later, the tables have turned. Best of Bloomberg Opinion This Week - [UK Politics Is Getting Boring. It’s About Time: Editorial]( - [Trump’s Tale of Two Cities: The Worst of Times: Timothy O'Brien]( - [Putin’s Paranoia Deviates from Soviet Roots: Leonid Bershidsky]( - [India’s Leaders Don’t Seem to Believe in Indians: Mihir Sharma]( - [Why China Can Be Really Bad at Doing Big Things: Minxin Pei]( Dubai’s Latest Boom Is Pricing Out the Expats It Once Coveted Key to Dubai’s brand has been a largely tax-free lifestyle that many immigrants couldn’t enjoy in their home countries. But an influx of crypto millionaires, bankers relocating from Asia and wealthy Russians seeking to shield assets is driving up rental prices and making the city feel more like a [playground]( reserved for the super-rich, as [Abeer Abu Omar]( and [Zainab Fattah]( report. Residential skyscrapers beyond luxury villas on the waterfront of the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg A Kingdom Built on Oil Now Controls the World’s Climate Progress The man tasked with [organizing]( COP28, the United Nations climate summit, in the United Arab Emirates this year is also the head of the world’s 12th-largest oil and gas producer.[Akshat Rathi]( reports that Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. CEO Sultan Al Jaber, boss of one of the world’s biggest polluters, is the person with the most influence over policy against global warming this year. - This year’s maximum extent of [Arctic ice]( was the fifth lowest since satellite records began in 1979. Al Jaber at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Feb. 14. Photographer: Kamran Jebreili/AP Photo US and Europe Wrangle Over Green Subsidies to Avoid a Trade War If the US and the European Union can bridge their gaps on trade, they may preserve the west’s economic bulwark against China’s rise and Russia’s expansionism. But if talks flounder, a new transatlantic [trade war]( could undercut a mainstay of the world economic order and create lasting headwinds for global growth. [Bryce Baschuk](, [Alberto Nardelli]( and [Eric Martin]( report. Almost seven years after Elon Musk boasted Tesla could solve Australian power outages by building the world’s biggest battery, the project has become [central]( to a rapid energy transition, reports [James Fernyhough](. By the middle of the next decade, most coal and gas plants will shut, leaving solar, wind and hydro as the major options in the country’s post-coal future. Best of Bloomberg Explainers This Week - [What Trump’s Many Legal Perils Mean for His 2024 Bid]( - [Understanding the Shadow War Between Israel and Iran]( - [How China Aims to Counter US Efforts at ‘Containment’]( - [How Oil Prices, Distrust Strain US-Saudi Relation]( - Why Turkey’s Election Is a Big Test for Erdogan]( Saudi Arabia Seeks Regional Embrace of Assad in Win for Iran Saudi Arabia is leading efforts to bring Syrian President Bashar al-Assad back into the Arab [fold](, in what would be a win for Iran and Russia and in defiance of US warnings after more than a decade of conflict. The kingdom is taking steps that would allow the Arab League of regional states to end a suspension of Syria’s membership in time for a summit in Riyadh in May,[Sam Dagher](, [Fiona MacDonald]( and [Zainab Fattah]( report. - The Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers met in China, the first major step in their efforts to end a decades-long [rivalry](. Billions in Legal Losses Set to Push Argentina Closer to Brink A pair of back-to-back court losses stand to push Argentina’s already [precarious]( finances to the brink, [Scott Squires]( reports. The judgments in the US and the UK are the latest challenge for the country, which is struggling to control 100% inflation as foreign reserves dwindle, a drought ravages export crops and a presidential election looms in October. And finally … India is pitching itself as an alternative to Musk’s SpaceX for satellite launches, taking advantage of geopolitical [tensions]( involving China and Russia. State-owned NewSpace India sent three dozen communications satellites into orbit last month from an island off the country’s eastern coast for OneWeb, [Bruce Einhorn]( and [Ragini Saxena]( report. Along with SpaceX, Russia and China have been the main providers of satellite launches, but the war in Ukraine and Beijing’s tensions with the US mean they’re now off limits to many would-be customers. OneWeb’s 36 satellites launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, on March 26. Source: ISRO-NSIL Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Politics newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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