Crypto News: A bone to pick

Seen from Washington, Europe must look like a mess right now.

Flirting with recession, the continent is mired in an energy crisis that makes President Joe Biden's efforts to tame gasoline prices seem like a stroll in the Rose Garden.

Key reading:

American liquefied natural gas is being shipped to help Europe through the crunch, while US supplies of weapons and aid to Ukraine far outstrip those of European nations.

So when Biden hosts Emmanuel Macron for a state dinner at the White House today, one might expect the French president to be conscious of his continent's shortcomings.

Instead, he's got a bone to pick.

Macron is still smarting at the collapse of a lucrative submarine agreement with Australia after the US and the UK struck an alternative deal. He's also got a beef about LNG prices.

Above all, he's up in arms at Biden's flagship Inflation Reduction Act that aims to invest some $400 billion in domestic energy production and climate measures. Macron's government estimates France stands to lose out on 10 billion euros ($10.4 billion) of investment and 10,000 jobs if the law goes ahead as is.

There is of course something counterintuitive about the leader of the nation that invented dirigisme criticizing the US for state intervention in the economy.

But he's not entirely alone: South Korea is concerned about the impact of US electric vehicle subsidies on its auto industry, while the European Union complains the IRA breaches World Trade Organization rules.

France is America's oldest ally, and the two have ridden out crises before

But signs of drift are undeniable in the transatlantic relationship as Washington focuses its attention on competition with China.

As geopolitical tensions and protectionism deepen worldwide, Macron and Europe know that Biden may be as good as it gets. — Alan Crawford

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Biden and Macron at the Group of Seven leaders summit in the UK in June 2021. Photographer: Neil Hall/EPA

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Toning it down | After nearly three years of fighting Covid tooth-and-nail, China's rhetoric seems to be softening. References to "dynamic Covid Zero" have appeared less often in the Communist Party's literature in the two weeks since Beijing ushered in a more nuanced playbook on how to combat the virus. That comes after the zero-tolerance policies sparked widespread social unrest.

Jiang Zemin, the Chinese leader who presided over more than a decade of dramatic economic growth following the bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, has died. He was 96.
China's economic activity contracted further in November amid a record virus outbreak, with growth likely to remain weak and the central bank expected to boost stimulus.
The US expects Beijing to keep up its more aggressive behavior toward Taiwan, a senior Pentagon official said.

Ukraine assistance | The US will keep money and weapons flowing to Ukraine after the Republicans take control of the House in January, GOP Representative Michael McCaul said, playing down concerns that lawmakers in his party who advocate a halt in funding will succeed. McCaul, who will take over chairmanship of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he expects the Biden administration's request for almost $40 billion in Ukraine funding to pass both chambers.

Ukraine should be free to strike military sites inside Russia as it fends off attacks on its critical infrastructure, Latvia's foreign minister said in an interview.
Read our rolling coverage of the war in Ukraine here.

The slow slide in the labor force participation rate of American men in their prime working years has been attributed to factors including shrinking payrolls in manufacturing and other traditionally male-dominated sectors, along with lagging educational attainment. At the same time, in-demand skills in fields such as health care and education have boosted women's earning power.

First censure | Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison became the nation's first leader to be censured by Parliament over his decision to secretly be sworn into five ministries in 2020 and 2021. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described his predecessor's actions as "an abuse of power and a trashing of our democracy," while Morrison said the move was necessary to deal with the uncertainties of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dynastic debut | Kim Jong Un's "most beloved" daughter has suddenly been featured in North Korean state media alongside her father, recently in a photo op to celebrate the successful launch of the country's most powerful ballistic missile. Her age and name remain a mystery. But the events sent clear signals to the local public and the world: First, the Kim regime is here to stay. Second, the ruling family won't be bargaining away its nuclear arsenal any time soon.

Kim Jong Un with his daughter following the launch of Hwasong-17 ICBM. Photographer: AP Photo/KCNA via KNS

Growing pressure | Peruvian President Pedro Castillo is facing a third impeachment attempt in the latest clash between his left-wing government and the opposition-led legislature. Pressure on the former rural schoolteacher appears to be intensifying after a lawmaker filed a 100-page document accusing him of "permanent moral incapacity" less than a week after he named his fifth prime minister.

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The US Senate passed legislation to enshrine federal protection for same-sex marriages with a bipartisan vote that dramatically demonstrates the massive cultural shift on the issue.
The top two Senate Republicans distanced themselves from Donald Trump, following his dinner with a white supremacist leader, with Mitch McConnell saying anyone who meets with people who espouse antisemitic views is "highly unlikely to ever be elected president."
The European Commission recommended delaying the disbursement of crucial funding to Hungary, saying Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government has failed to allay its concerns over graft and the erosion of the rule of law, sources say.
Stewart Rhodes, leader of the US right-wing Oath Keepers group, and another defendant were convicted of seditious conspiracy for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, capping a trial of the most serious crimes alleged among the hundreds prosecuted.
Cyberattackers crippled systems at one of India's most prominent hospitals for a week, forcing the institution to operate a raft of key medical services and labs manually.

And finally ... Putin's invasion of Ukraine has turned once-welcome Russian oligarchs into sanctioned pariahs, and the number of frozen properties in and around the UK capital has exploded: Their combined value is more than £2 billion ($2.1 billion), and maybe much more, according to a Bloomberg News analysis. As Jack Sidders reports, a swath of the finest residential and commercial addresses in a city once jokingly known as "Londongrad" is now trapped in limbo.