Financial Times - Felicia Schwartz and James Politi / Pentagon rushes $1bn in weapons to Kyiv after Biden signs aid bill
 

• President Joe Biden signed a highly anticipated $95bn foreign aid bill on Wednesday, triggering a move by the Pentagon to rush $1bn in new weapons to Kyiv from US stockpiles, including much-needed air defence interceptors and artillery rounds.

• The US military had pre-positioned much of the weaponry, which also includes armoured vehicles and anti-tank weapons, so it could be sent quickly to Ukraine’s frontline troops, which have been struggling to fend off Russian attacks since US aid dried up earlier this year. 

• “I’m making sure the shipments start right away,” Biden said in remarks from the White House. “We need to move fast.” 

• The package signed by Biden, which includes nearly $61bn in military aid for Kyiv, marks a major shift for Ukraine policy in Washington, after a small group of isolationist Republicans loyal to former president Donald Trump had blocked the aid for months.

   

The Guardian - Larry Elliott / World’s billionaires should pay minimum 2% wealth tax, say G20 ministers
 

• The world’s 3,000 billionaires should pay a minimum 2% tax on their fast-growing wealth to raise £250bn a year for the global fight against poverty, inequality and global heating, ministers from four leading economies have suggested. 

• In a sign of growing international support for a levy on the super-rich, Brazil, Germany, South Africa and Spain say a 2% tax would reduce inequality and raise much-needed public funds after the economic shocks of the pandemic, the climate crisis and military conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. 

• They are calling for more countries to join their campaign, saying the annual sum raised would be enough to cover the estimated cost of damage caused by all of last year’s extreme weather events. 

• “It is time that the international community gets serious about tackling inequality and financing global public goods,” the ministers say in a Guardian comment piece.

   

Politico - Kyle Cheney and Betsy Woodruf Swan / Arizona grand jury indicts Meadows, Giuliani, other Trump allies for 2020 election interference
 

• An Arizona grand jury has indicted 18 allies of Donald Trump for their efforts to subvert the 2020 election — including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Boris Epshteyn. 

• The indictment, which includes felony counts of conspiracy, fraud and forgery, also describes Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator. 

• “Defendants and unindicted coconspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep Unindicted Coconspirator 1 in office against the will of Arizona’s voters,” the 58-page indictment reads. 

• The names of seven of the defendants, including Meadows, Giuliani and Epshteyn, are redacted, but the document makes clear who they are by describing their roles. Others include attorneys John Eastman, Jenna Ellis and Christina Bobb, as well as Trump 2020 campaign operative Mike Roman.

   

Bloomberg - Ania Nussbaum / Macron Struggles to Deliver His Vision for a Stronger Europe
 

• Emmanuel Macron wants to set the stage for more robust European defense and drive support for Kyiv, yet he faces a battle to get results or convince voters at home to back him. 

• The French president will outline his vision for Europe at Paris’s Sorbonne University on Thursday, echoing a landmark speech he gave there months into his first term in 2017. His calls then for a common European defense force, budget and doctrine now seem prescient in a world that has become more hostile, with war returning to European soil. 

• While Macron is often lauded for his analysis of Europe’s challenges, he’s also criticized for offering bold rhetoric without always delivering concrete solutions. Some argue he prioritizes grandstanding over quiet diplomatic coordination with European Union partners. 

• The 46-year-old leader, unable to seek a third mandate in 2027, is determined to make a lasting impact on the EU, which he has long viewed as integral to his legacy. He is currently gauging support for alternative European Commission heads such as former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, people familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg.

Our opinion reads for today:

Foreign Affairs - Kelly Sims Gallagher / Climate Policy Is Working
Bloomberg - Editorial Board / Here’s Where Europe Can Get the Money to Go Green