Axios

The European Super League is on the brink before it even manages to launch.

The state of play: Manchester City was the first to confirm Tuesday it "formally enacted the procedures to withdraw from the group developing plans for a European Super League. Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea followed suit.

The Swedish Health Agency on Tuesday recommended that people under 65 years old who received the first shot of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine should get a different vaccine for the second shot.

Why it matters: There are no definitive studies regarding immune responses when initial and follow-up vaccine doses are different. The agency said that when results on mixing different doses are released they will evaluate whether the recommendation should be changed.

The United States and Japan released a joint statement after President Biden and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga met in Washington last week to announce "a new era" in U.S.-Japan relations.

Why it matters: The show of unity is a clear signal that both countries are eager to show Beijing that democracies are still setting the rules in the Indo-Pacific region.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday, after another round of nuclear talks in Vienna, that an agreement can be reached in a short time if the U.S. acts with "honesty."

Why it matters: Rouhani’s optimism comes as representatives of Iran and other world powers, including the U.S., are about to start drafting a plan to restore the 2015 nuclear deal.

Over the past two years, China's previously reticent diplomats have taken to Twitter and the airwaves to feature a raft of highly nationalistic and sometimes combative positions, often directly damaging their relationships with their host countries. A new book explains this shift in behavior.

The big picture: An increasingly tense political environment at home, combined with a growing belief that China's time has come, has convinced many Chinese diplomats that the safest way to advance their own careers and their country's interests is through displays of patriotism.

Idriss Déby, president of Chad since 1990, was killed while visiting troops battling a northern rebel group, an army spokesman announced on Tuesday.

The big picture: Just one day earlier, Déby had been declared the winner of a sixth presidential term. As the election was held, rebels were advancing on the capital, N'Djamena, from Chad's frontier with Libya. The government said Monday that Déby, 68, would join the troops fighting the "terrorists."

At the heart of all sport is the concept of fair play. Now, a group of a dozen billionaires is trying to take the most popular sport on the planet and tilt it decisively in their own favor.

Why it matters: Sports is never quite as egalitarian or meritocratic as many of its practitioners believe. But the brazenness of the proposal to create a soccer Super League is unprecedented, and has angered everybody from grassroots fans to heads of state.

For many Americans, President Biden’s decision to order the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan, ending a war that has cost $2 trillion and the lives of 2,400 service members, was good news 20 years in the making.

• For many Afghans, it was “shocking” and “very hard to digest,” Haji Ajmal Rahmani, a prominent member of the Afghan parliament, tells Axios.

Why it matters: Rahmani believes the period leading up to Biden’s announcement represented the best opportunity for peace in his country in decades.

North Rhine-Westphalia Governor Armin Laschet will lead Germany's center-right bloc into September's election after his rival Markus Söder conceded a leadership race on Monday.

Why it matters: The election will be the first in which Angela Merkel will not lead the Christian Democratic Union since 2002. She has been chancellor for 16 years, representing the most stable reign of any G7 leader this century.

Russia has been holding last-minute military exercises near commercial shipping lanes in the Black Sea that threaten to strangle Ukraine's economy, according to an internal document from Ukraine's ministry of defense reviewed by Axios.

Why it matters: With the eyes of the world on the massive buildup of troops in eastern Ukraine, the leaked memo shows Russian forces escalating their presence on all sides of the Ukrainian border.

In a push to dominate global financial technology, the Chinese government is aiming to roll out the world's first state-backed digital currency.

Why it matters: China's new currency could set global standards for the use of national digital currencies — and give Beijing unprecedented visibility and control over domestic financial transactions.

The House passed a resolution on Monday to condemn China's government and Hong Kong's regional legislature for "the continued violation of rights and freedoms" in a near-unanimous vote.

Driving the news: The resolution calling on the governments to free Hong Kong's pro-democracy leaders, imprisoned under China's national security law, passed 418-1. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) was the only Congress member to vote against the measure.

China's President Xi Jinping on Tuesday warned against "bossing others around or meddling in others' internal affairs" and called for "more fair and equitable" global governance.

Why it matters: Xi's thinly veiled swipes at the U.S. during an online speech at an economic forum come at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington over trade, human rights and China's strategic and economic ambitions.

The State Department said Monday that the U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, will now be returning to the United States this week before returning to Moscow "in the coming weeks."

Why this matters: The statement, from a State Department spokesperson, comes just hours after Axios reported that Sullivan had indicated he intended to stand his ground and stay in Russia after the Kremlin “advised” him to return home to talk with his team.

The State Department announced Monday that it will be issuing "do not travel" guidelines for roughly 80% of countries worldwide and urged Americans to "reconsider all travel abroad."

Why it matters: The announcement emphasizes the ongoing severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite a ramped up domestic vaccination campaign and many states moving to reopen. Globally, cases continue to surge.

The United States ambassador to Russia is refusing to leave the country after the Kremlin "advised" him to return home following new Biden administration sanctions, two sources briefed on the situation tell Axios.

Why it matters: John Sullivan, a respected diplomat who President Biden has, so far, retained from the Trump era, is at the center of one of the most important early tests of Biden's resolve.