Bedugul Coffee: Monday Morning Briefing: Trump blames Washington for poor Russia ties

Highlights

President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin arrived at the presidential palace in Finland for a long-awaited summit after Trump blamed Washington’s own past “foolishness and stupidity” for bad relations.

Ahead of the meeting in Helsinki, Reuters Graphics analyzed which foreign leaders the two men have each spoken to and met with most frequently since January 2017.

As November’s U.S. elections approach, Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Trump administration are planning another deficit-financed tax-cut plan, but one widely seen as a vote-getting exercise with little chance of becoming law.

The FANGs have gotten their bite back, and they are helping Wall Street erase the wrenching correction that beset it in February.

europe

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May will face the anger of Brexit supporters in her party today when they try to force her to change course on her strategy for leaving the European Union.

However, there's an upside to the chaos over Brexit negotiations and Trump's undiplomatic comments during his UK visit, writes John Lloyd for Reuters Commentary.

Perched atop massive cement pillars that tower above Montenegro’s picturesque Moraca river canyon, scores of Chinese workers are building a state-of-the-art highway. The road is at the heart of an intense debate about Chinese influence in Europe, both within EU member states and countries aspiring to join the bloc such as Montenegro.

Andrew RC Marshall

@Journotopia

“Critics breathed a sigh of relief, convinced the project was dead. Then China appeared on the scene.” The road at the heart of an intense debate about Chinese influence in Europe. https://reut.rs/2KWAImN

5:59 AM - July 16, 2018

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