Axios

President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold a phone call on Thursday, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Why it matters: This will be the fifth call between the leaders since Biden took office, and comes at a time of heightened tensions over Taiwan due to a planned visit to the island by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and U.S. tariffs on China are also likely to be on the agenda.

Russia is planning to pull out of the International Space Station after 2024, potentially closing the book on the nation's close relationship with the U.S. in space.

Why it matters: During times of high tension on Earth — like during Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and today's ongoing war in Ukraine — space has often been one of the only open avenues of communication between the two nations.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro officially launched his re-election campaign this weekend by hinting at a possible showdown over unsubstantiated claims of potential election fraud.

Why it matters: Polls show Bolsonaro trailing leftist ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of the Oct. 2 election.

The percentage of Latina state lawmakers nationwide has skyrocketed from low single digits to more than 40% of all Hispanic state legislators, according to the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators tells Russell.

Why it matters: The growth reflects Latinas' emerging political power — and those are positions that could lead to bigger political office.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday said global economic growth will slow considerably this year and issued a fresh warning that a number of risks threaten to push the global economy to the brink of a recession.

Why it matters: However grim the economic picture was earlier this year, the outlook now is decidedly worse for the global economy. In new projections, the fund now expects the world will face a dreaded stagflationary mix: considerably slower global growth, with higher inflation rates, for a sustained period.

Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed, who until recently was detained in a Russian prison, said that the White House is "not doing enough" to bring home WNBA star Brittney Griner and American businessman Paul Whelan.

Driving the news: Reed's comments come a day after Ned Price, spokesperson for the State Department, said that it is an "absolute priority" of the administration to get Griner and Whelan out of Russia.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the full mobilization of Ukrainian society to fight back, has caused many Taiwanese to think seriously about how they would respond if China were to invade.

The big picture: Since the war in Ukraine began, the demand for civil defense training — which teaches people how to help victims in the case of a military attack or natural disaster — has skyrocketed in Taiwan, according to Forward Alliance, a national security and defense think tank that organizes the trainings.

China-based officials tried to build a network of confidants inside the Federal Reserve, in some cases attempting to offer employees of the central bank lucrative contracts in exchange for confidential information about interest rate policy changes and the U.S. economy, a congressional investigation found.

Why it matters: The report, which has received strong pushback from the Fed, calls out a failure to counter a decade-long attempt by Chinese officials to infiltrate the world's most powerful central bank. The findings, however, stop short of saying whether sensitive economic information had been compromised.

European Union countries on Tuesday approved a plan to curb their natural gas consumption this winter in preparation of expected supply cuts by Russia.

Driving the news: EU energy ministers approved a proposal to reduce 15% of gas from August to March.

A Chinese state-run paramilitary group in Xinjiang is more deeply involved in the regional government's repressive policies towards Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities than previously understood, a new report found.

Why it matters: The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) manages large swaths of the region's agriculture and industry and holds shares in thousands of companies — meaning its products are connected to supply chains throughout the world.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is facing a fresh wave of criticism over a speech he delivered criticizing migration from outside of Europe and insisting Hungarians "do not want to become peoples of mixed-race."

Why it matters: The far-right leader has become a darling of the U.S. conservative movement and will be a featured speaker at next month's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, along with former President Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and other Republican politicians.