Not so special anymore

Joe Biden’s visit to Ireland will highlight the limits of the US-UK special relationship. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( For more than a century, the UK has enjoyed a central role in the US’s relationship with Europe. Joe Biden’s visit to Ireland this week will show how far London has fallen down Washington’s agenda. The American president heads to Belfast today on a trip that’s part historical mile marker — it’s been a quarter century since the US helped broker the landmark Good Friday peace agreement for Northern Ireland — and part ancestral heritage tour before Biden’s expected announcement that he’ll run for reelection next year. Key Reading: - [Biden Faces Awkward Talks Abroad as US Reels From Intel Breach]( - [UK Wants to Revive US Trade Talks When Biden Visits Ireland]( - [Biden to Retrace Roots in Celebratory Irish Tour Ahead of 2024]( - [Biden Says He Plans Run for Second Term, But No Announcement Yet]( The president will spend less than half of the time on the UK side of the border before heading south for banquets and castle tours in the Republic of Ireland. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will have brief windows between speeches and memorials to discuss issues ranging from mitigating the impact of the huge clean-tech subsidies in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to managing the fallout from the blockbuster US intelligence leak on Ukraine. At the top of Sunak’s agenda is an uphill fight to convince the president to revive trade talks — evidence that the special relationship forged in two world wars is lacking some of the old magic. Last week, the White House confirmed that Biden won’t attend King Charles’s upcoming coronation at Westminster Abbey and First Lady Jill Biden would instead represent the US. The strains have grown since the UK’s fraught exit from the European Union, a split that Sunak supported. Battles over Brexit’s impact on the promise of a borderless Ireland prompted Biden to repeatedly warn against any potential damage to the Good Friday Agreement. Sunak will greet Biden on the tarmac as he arrives on UK soil and the two will hold talks before the president leaves for the Republic of Ireland, a country proud of how it has flourished in the EU. Yet with Biden having already made clear on which side of the EU-UK divide his heart lies, Sunak will probably be content if he can avoid any further ruptures. — [Brendan Scott]( A shop owner in County Mayo, Ireland, prepares to welcome Biden. Photographer: Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Images 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. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines Damaging papers | The leak of “highly sensitive, classified” documents that provided details of US spying and an assessment of weaknesses in Ukraine’s military pose “a very [serious risk]( to national security,” the US Department of Defense said. The US has “engaged at high levels” with allies on disclosures, a source says, while the White House doesn’t know whether more documents will be released. - Read more [here]( on what we know about one of the largest leaks of alleged classified US military documents in a decade. Europe first | French President Emmanuel Macron caused consternation with his comments published Sunday calling for Europe to distance itself from the US hardline approach to its standoff with China, and avoid getting caught up in any conflict over Taiwan. Now he faces his next test as he [begins]( a state visit to the Netherlands seeking to persuade the free-trading nation’s government to back his proposals to bolster Europe’s “strategic autonomy.” Chinese provinces plan to boost spending on major [construction projects]( by almost a fifth this year as Beijing continues to rely on infrastructure to spur an economy hindered by consumer sentiment bruised from years of Covid-19 restrictions. About two-thirds of China’s regions have announced plans for major projects adding up to more than $1.8 trillion, an increase of 17% from last year. Lowering tensions | A top Chinese official tried to [reassure]( Taiwanese business executives that they are welcome across the strait just as the People’s Liberation Army ended military drills around the island. Beijing has vowed to someday bring Taiwan under its control, by force if necessary, but it also tries to attract business and students from the democracy. - Japan expressed [deep concern]( about increased Chinese military activity around its shores, including in coordination with Russia, at a bilateral meeting of senior officials from Beijing and Tokyo. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Nature’s No Solution If All You’ve Got Are Trees: Lara Williams]( - [India Drives the Heatwaves That Will Cripple It: David Fickling]( - [Tennessee Gun Politics Are Warped by Racism: Francis Wilkinson]( Saber rattling | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for “practical and offensive” war capabilities as his state issued a [fresh warning]( to Washington and cut communications links with Seoul that had reduced tensions on their heavily armed border. Pyongyang this year has also tested new weapons and systems to deliver nuclear strikes against the US and its two allies that host the bulk of American troops in the region: South Korea and Japan. Explainers You Can Use - [America’s New Climate Nomads Embrace Van Life to Save Energy]( - [AI ‘Trustworthiness’ Is Focal Point of New US Government Inquiry]( - [G-7 Nations Tussle Over Bid to Phase Out Coal Power by 2030]( Down, not out | Sunak’s Conservatives [clawed back]( more ground on the main opposition in a new poll that put the ruling Tories 14 percentage points behind Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. That’s the narrowest Labour lead since Sunak became premier in October, and follows a run of positive news for the government after months of disastrous coverage. Reports suggest the next general election may come late in 2024. - England’s health service is [bracing]( for a four-day strike by junior doctors from today, a sign the UK’s industrial action is far from over. Tune in to Bloomberg TV’s Balance of Power at 5pm to 6pm ET weekdays with Washington correspondents [Annmarie Hordern]( and [Joe Mathieu](. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online [here](. News to Note - The US and the Philippines [kicked off]( the largest version of their flagship military exercises in more than 30 years today, a high-profile display of their renewed alliance. - Hungary’s top diplomat flew to Moscow for talks on energy, a rare visit by a EU country official that underscores Budapest’s [schism]( with the rest of the bloc over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. - After a week of rocket attacks and shootings by Palestinian militants, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [backtracked]( on his decision to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for calling for the government to suspend a plan to weaken the judiciary. - China handed a 14-year [prison term]( to human rights lawyer Xu Zhiyong, who once called on President Xi Jinping to resign over his handling of the pandemic. - All Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have called on Chief Justice John Roberts to investigate undisclosed [luxury trips]( that Justice Clarence Thomas accepted from a wealthy Republican donor. Thanks to the 43 people who answered our Friday quiz and congratulations to Ting Ting Tan, who was the first to name Japan as the country that joined the US and the Netherlands in restricting exports of chip-making gear to China. And finally ... The town of Iten in western Kenya is a renowned training ground for elite long-distance runners. It was there in October 2021 that 26-year-old Agnes Tirop, who had recently set a world record in the women’s 10-kilometer road race, was found dead in a pool of blood. The crime was not an isolated incident. As [Simon Marks]( reports, prize money and endorsement contracts from global sporting brands have flooded into Iten, fueling [dozens of cases]( of alleged domestic abuse, violence and property theft involving female athletes. Tirop’s parents Vincent and Dinah at their home near Eldoret, Kenya. Photographer: Nichole Sobecki/Bloomberg 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. 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