Nuclear ghosts

Nuclear weapons are once again very much a top worry for world leaders [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Leaders of some of the world’s most advanced economies are meeting today in a city of increasingly uneasy ghosts. Hiroshima in Japan was the first to endure an atomic blast, hit by the US in the dying days of World War II. The Cold War that followed kept the fear of nuclear winter alive until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But now nuclear weapons are very much front of mind again. Key Reading: [Renewed Threats to Use Nuclear Bombs Loom Over Hiroshima G-7]( [G-7 to Chase Russia’s Diamonds While Stopping Short of Total Ban]( [China, Russia Are Top Problems for G-7 Leaders Meeting in Japan]( [Xi Vows to Boost Central Asia Security Ties as War Weakens Putin]( Follow [the latest coverage]( of the G-7 summit. The Group of Seven leaders today walked through the Hiroshima Peace Park, built in the area that took the brunt of the explosion in 1945. They arrived in between bouts of rain, before laying identical white wreaths, planting a tree and posing for a somber group photo. While Russia and China are two key topics for their summit that runs through Sunday, today’s events are a reminder the nuclear question is also. Russia’s war in Ukraine has further frayed the monitoring architecture around arsenals with Moscow suspending its involvement in the New Start treaty. President Vladimir Putin has periodically threatened to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine (although he has steered away from that rhetoric more recently) and promised to station bombs in neighboring Belarus. North Korea continues to advance its nuclear arsenal undeterred by global sanctions. Its buildup has seen South Korea muse aloud about whether it, too, should acquire such weaponry as a deterrent. And some countries with atomic armaments are not signatories to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons — India and Pakistan among them. The deal with Iran on its nuclear program collapsed when then-President Donald Trump withdrew the US, and it still languishes with little prospect of renewal. On Sunday, the leaders will be joined in person by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, whose country has its own nuclear ghosts from the Chernobyl plant meltdown in the 1980s. Now it faces the specter of Russia’s atomic arsenal on its doorstep. — [Rosalind Mathieson]( Hiroshima following the explosion of the first atomic bomb. Source: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Listen to our [Twitter Space discussion]( about Zelenskiy's trip and what else to expect from the G-7 summit. Check out the latest [Washington Edition newsletter](. You can [sign up]( now to get it in your inbox every weekday. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines President Joe Biden urged his negotiators to keep pursuing a debt-limit deal after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy indicated that both sides may [reach an agreement]( as soon as this weekend to avoid a catastrophic US default. In a call today from Japan, where he’s attending the G-7 summit, Biden told his hand-picked team in Washington that he’s confident Congress will act in time. Russia’s military has changed the way it fights 15 months into its invasion of Ukraine and poses a [significant]( threat as Kyiv prepares a major counteroffensive, according to a report published today by the UK’s Royal United Services Institute. As [Marc Champion]( writes, while the assessment described an often dysfunctional military, it found a widespread focus on weaknesses meant Russia’s battlefield advances were often overlooked. - Ukraine shot down 16 drones and three missiles [overnight](, as Russia continued a campaign of air strikes including the 10th attack on the capital this month. China’s economy is at risk of being caught in a [confidence trap]( as the post-Covid recovery loses steam, presenting Beijing with a problem that can’t easily be solved with traditional tools such as interest rate cuts and infrastructure stimulus. Evidence of low business and consumer sentiment was everywhere in data this week that showed economic activity losing momentum in April. President Xi Jinping said China is ready to help Central Asian nations bolster their security and defense capabilities as he wrapped a summit of the region’s leaders, underscoring Beijing’s efforts to [deepen its influence](. The gathering came as G-7 leaders were meeting to discuss, among other things, measures to counter perceived Chinese threats to global economic security. - The US and Taiwan agreed to boost trade ties, the first tangible results under an initiative announced last year that faces opposition from Beijing and [clouds the outlook]( for a visit to the US next week by a Chinese commerce official. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [AI Alarmists Are Dragging Us All Down a Rabbit Hole: Parmy Olson]( - [Zuckerberg’s Supreme Court Can Now Expand Beyond Meta: Dave Lee]( - [Montana’s TikTok Ban Is Doubly Unconstitutional: Noah Feldman]( Greece’s return from the depths of its economic crisis is impossible to miss in Athens. But as [Sotiris Nikas]( and [Paul Tugwell]( explain, the challenge for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as he heads into a tight election this weekend is to convince Greeks that they [aren’t being left behind]( in the transition from what he calls “old Greece” to the new. - Read this QuickTake on why [Greece’s fractured politics]( weigh on its recovery. Explainers You Can Use - [How Once-Thriving Ghana Was Forced to Seek IMF Help]( - [Section 230 and How Online Speech Is Moderated in US]( - [How South Africa’s Blackouts Went From Bad to Worse]( Hiroshima is the center of Japan’s pacifist movement. However, as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expands his country’s military at an unprecedented pace in response to an increasingly aggressive China, the city is also home to one of the nation’s [key arms factories](, which is preparing to crank up production of artillery pieces and tank cannons. 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 - Syrian President Bashar Al Assad touched down in Saudi Arabia to attend an Arab League summit for the first time in 13 years, [marking a victory]( for a leader sanctioned by the US for war atrocities. - The UK is [committing]( £1 billion ($1.24 billion) to bolster its domestic semiconductor industry over the next decade, funding a long-anticipated strategy to engage in the battle for dominance in the global chips market. - Investors are wary of protracted [political uncertainty]( in Thailand as a law against criticizing the monarchy splits pro-democracy parties seeking to forge a coalition government. - A diverse group of Montana TikTok creators with hundreds of thousands of followers [sued to challenge]( the first US statewide ban of the popular app, arguing the law violates free-speech rights and will disrupt their livelihoods. - Chinese officials have [rebuffed]( US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s request to meet with Li Shangfu — the defense minister sanctioned by Washington in 2018 — at an event they’ll both be attending in June in Singapore. Pop quiz (no cheating!) Which country’s president dissolved congress this week to avoid being impeached? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net. And finally ... Locked in a [bitter fight]( with Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, Walt Disney is closing a luxury Star Wars themed hotel and dropping plans to relocate 2,000 employees to a new $864 million corporate campus it was building in the state. [Christopher Palmeri]( explains the backdrop of the dispute sparked by DeSantis’s move to take control of a board that oversees municipal services at Disney World after the company publicly opposed a state law limiting the discussion of gender issues in public schools. A woman poses before taking part in the live action role-playing game Walt Disney World Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser at a high-end hotel in Orlando. Photographer: Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times /Getty Images Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? 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