Trade War, NATO Sparring and a Bridge of Love: Weekend Reads

(Bloomberg) --

U.S. President Donald Trump’s sojourn to Europe has produced its share of gasps and dropped jaws: he clashed with NATO allies and undercut U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May as she struggles to keep her government alive. And it’s not over yet. The most controversial leg of the trip — a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki — is slated for Monday.

Read those stories and more of our best work of the week, including pieces on the intensifying global trade war, ghost candidates in Brazil, and a “bridge of love” between bitter enemies in Africa, in this edition of Weekend Reads.

The New World Order, According to Trump and Putin
Marc Champion explains why, after Trump rattled his NATO allies, the Russian leader has everything to gain from the Helsinki summit and America’s friends are worried he’ll get what he wants.

Trump Tariff Barrage Pushes China Feud to Point of No Return
Brendan Scott and Enda Curran analyze the political pressures facing both Trump and President Xi Jinping – and why there’s a risk of nationalist sentiment being unleashed on both sides that fuels a deeper struggle for geopolitical dominance.

Treasury Struggles to Keep Staff in Unit at Heart of Trade War
About 20 career staff have quit the U.S. Treasury Department’s international affairs unit in less than a year, draining resources from a key office in the Trump administration’s trade battles with China and Europe. Saleha Mohsin looks at the wave of departures.

Ghost Candidates Plague Brazil’s Push for Women in Politics
Bruce Douglas and Simone Preissler Iglesias report that women are being pressed into service against their will before Brazil’s October elections as political parties try to meet a minimum quota of female candidates.

Battle for House Control Runs Through California's Orange County
Christopher Palmeri shows why a battle over a handful of congressional seats in the Southern California bastion of Republicanism could determine the outcome of the national contest for control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

A Kavanaugh Supreme Court May Expand Gun Rights, Senators Say
Sahil Kapur and Greg Stohr report that a 2011 decision written by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on gun rights suggest he may be a stronger supporter of Second Amendment protections than the man Trump has chosen him to replace.

Israel Watches as Syria Frontier Rumbles With Sounds of War
David Wainer, Jonathan Ferziger, and Donna Abu-Nasr explain why fears of new conflict are rising on what has been one of Israel’s quietest borders as Syria’s seven-year civil war draws to a close.

Once Bitter Foes, Ethiopia, Eritrea Promise `Bridge of Love'
Nizar Manek and Samuel Gebre tell how Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is trying to close a bloody chapter in his country’s history with neighbor Eritrea two decades after a border war killed as many as 100,000 and left thousands of families divided.

And finally … After sleeping in his car factory and wearing the same clothes for almost a week, Elon Musk finally hit his goal of making 5,000 of Tesla’s new Model 3 sedans in a week. But as Tom Randall, Josh Eidelson, Dana Hull and John Lippert report, it’s been a story of “production hell” that has included workplace accidents, clashes with media and recommendations to ditch Tesla’s stock.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Caroline Alexander at calexander1@bloomberg.net

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.