Angela Merkel’s call to actionover the nerve agent attack on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been turned around on her: demands that the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas project be scrapped are growing louder.
Why it matters: The pipeline is nearly complete, and it would double Russia’s capacity to export gas directly to Germany.
The fashion industry is reeling from the stunning blow dealt by a global pandemic that closed stores, largely ended international travel, and caused consumer demand for its products to shrivel.
Bahrain announced Thursday that it had agreed to the United Arab Emirates' request that it allow flights between the UAE and Israel to pass through its airspace.
Why it matters: The move followed lobbying from the Trump administration, which is also in talks with the Bahrainis about possibly following the UAE into normalization with Israel.
There are few positions more uncomfortable nowadays than being an American company reliant on China. But reconfiguring supply chains is far from easy.
The big picture: A recent McKinsey report showed almost all industries at risk of supply-chain disruption. The exceptions are largely regional industries like glass, cement, and food.
U.S. consumers are getting less concerned about the impact of tariffs on their daily lives, new data show.
What happening: After consumer concern about the tariffs rose to record highs in April and May, CivicScience noted a consistent decline that has pushed overall readings on concern down to nearly their levels before the pandemic began in the U.S.
The White House on Wednesday joined other world governments to condemn the apparent poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The state of play:The German government announced that the poisoning was conducted with Novichok, a chemical typically associated with Russian security services.
Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist, was attacked with the nerve agent Novichok — a calling card of the Russian security services — Germany's government announced on Wednesday.
The state of play: Navalny remains in a coma in a Berlin hospital two weeks after falling ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow. He is the latest in a string of Kremlin critics to have been poisoned, though Russia denies that any crime took place.
Americans believe Google is best suited to buy TikTok's U.S. operations, according to Harris Poll data released today. Some 29% of resp0ndents named Google, edging out Microsoft with 24% and Snapchat with 22%.
Why it matters: TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is under pressure to sell its U.S. operations or face a ban by the Trump administration. Microsoft and Walmart are working together on a bid, while Oracle is also said to be interested along with potential others.
Saudi Arabia has agreed to allow all flights between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to pass through its airspace, following lobbying from the Trump administration.
The backstory: The UAE had made a formal request of the Saudis as part of their normalization deal with Israel, which includes commercial air travel between the countries.
