| Trump predicted a “big cut” from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday as it grapples with a slowing labor market, stubborn inflation and an unprecedented push from the president for lower borrowing costs (the median estimate from a Bloomberg survey of economists is for a 25 basis-point reduction). Trump, meanwhile, made a final push to sway a US appeals court to let him oust Fed Governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud, again asserting that she’s failed to dispute the claims.  Cook’s term officially ends in January 2038. Photographer: Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg China ruled that Nvidia violated anti-monopoly laws with a high-profile 2020 deal, ratcheting up pressure on Washington during sensitive trade negotiations underway in Madrid. The US and China are “very close” to resolving their differences over TikTok, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters today as discussions resumed in the Spanish capital, amid expectations that the Trump administration will again extend a Sept. 17 deadline for China’s ByteDance to divest the US assets of TikTok or shut it down. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem yesterday by touting the strength of relations with the US, days after his military’s strike against Hamas officials in Qatar drew a rebuke from Trump. The US president met with the Qatari prime minister on Friday after the attack on Doha strained ties between the US and a key Gulf ally. Germany’s far-right AfD party nearly tripled its support in municipal elections in the nation’s most-populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia yesterday as both parties in Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s ruling coalition lost ground, intensifying pressure on his national government to push through reforms. Backing for the AfD is about twice as strong in the former communist east and the anti-immigrant party is trying to replicate that success in western regions like NRW. One day after he said he was losing patience with President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine, Trump announced he’s prepared to move ahead with “major” sanctions on Russian oil if NATO countries do the same. Many European nations have cut back or stopped purchasing Russian crude, but several NATO allies — including Hungary — have blocked more stringent proposals by the European Union to target Russia’s energy sector. A Turkish court adjourned a hearing examining the legitimacy of the main opposition CHP party’s leadership until next month, delaying a decision in a case seen as part of a broader crackdown by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of elections due in 2028.  CHP leader Özgür Özel during a rally in Ankara yesterday. Photographer: Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images The US, South Korea and Japan held their first joint multi-domain drills since Trump and President Lee Jae Myung took office, drawing threats of retaliation from North Korea against what it labeled a war rehearsal. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said no one will be spared, including his relatives and allies, in the government’s probe into the misuse of public funds for flood control projects, and threw his support behind protests against corruption. Islamic State and al-Qaeda are gaining ground in Africa as they retreat elsewhere, using new technologies to boost numbers and expand territories and cementing the continent’s reputation as the global epicenter for jihadist attacks. | 
