One woman stands in Trump’s way

Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up here.The Republican primary race has al [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up [here](. The Republican primary race has all the makings of Agatha Christie’s crime novel “And Then There Were None.” In the latest twist, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis [pulled out]( before the New Hampshire primary. What began as a packed crowd, with varying degrees of bravado and chest thumping, descended into an exercise in sycophancy, with only Nikki Haley [standing in the way]( of Donald Trump’s coronation as the US Republican presidential nominee. No one had put much faith in Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations and ex-governor of South Carolina, getting this far. It’s only now that Trump has deigned to give her a nasty nickname and floated a false conspiracy theory that she’s not eligible for the presidency that you know he’s taking her a bit seriously. And it says a great deal about Trump’s takeover of the GOP that all the male pretenders have rapidly fallen into line. At this point he seems to be having fun by torturing them all, creating a bit of suspense by saying he’s already settled on who will be his vice presidential nominee. DeSantis has now thrown in his lot with Trump. If like the Iowa caucuses it’s another blowout for Trump in New Hampshire, where voters take pride in being more independent in mind and spirit, he will have sown up the race. No one, with the exception of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, had been willing to criticize him directly, for all the good it did him. And even he, in a hot-mic moment, turned on Haley. She’s “gonna get smoked,” he sneered. “It’s now one fella and one lady left,” Haley told a crowd in Seabrook. “And this comes down to: What do you want? Do you want more of the same, or do you want something new?” — [Flavia Krause-Jackson]( WATCH: DeSantis announces he is suspending his presidential campaign. Global Must Reads Israel’s attack on Hamas following the militant group’s Oct. 7 assault is “seeding the hate for generations,” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, urging parties to [think more concretely]( about a two-state peace process. EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels today, where they’ll be joined by the top envoys from Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League. Hundreds of thousands of people protested across Germany over the weekend [against far-right extremism]( and the rise of the anti-immigrant AfD party. It followed a recent revelation of a meeting at which senior AfD officials and members of the main opposition Christian Democrats discussed a “re-migration” scheme that echoed the policies of the Nazis. Demonstrators in front of the Reichstag building yesterday in Berlin. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg China’s imports of chipmaking machines jumped last year as firms tried to get around US-led efforts to hobble the nation’s semiconductor industry. Chinese companies [are rapidly investing in new plants]( to advance their capabilities in the face of export controls imposed by the US and its allies, curbs that make it harder to access the machines needed to make the most powerful chips. North Korea’s new arsenal of ballistic missiles is set for its first real-world test on the battlefield in Ukraine. But based on the success of US air-defense systems against Russian missiles in that conflict, Kim Jong Un [may be worried](. Experts say the weapons sent by Pyongyang so far are similar to Russia’s Iskander series, which US Patriot systems have been largely effective in countering. Gold mining revenue is helping Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces to [fund its war against the nation’s army](, United Nations investigators say. In a report, which Bloomberg News has seen and hasn’t yet been made public, the panel of experts also described as “credible” allegations that the United Arab Emirates has helped supply the RSF, which the Gulf nation denies. The EU will take another step this week in its effort to recreate itself into a global power that can leverage its massive [single market to rebuff coercive actions]( from the likes of Beijing, Moscow and even Washington. Support for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida showed [little sign of recovery]( in a series of weekend polls after he dissolved his scandal-hit faction in a bid to restore trust. Prime Minister Narendra Modi consecrated a major Hindu temple in northern India today, marking a new milestone [in his project of reshaping the country]( into a more avowedly Hindu nation. Washington Dispatch President Joe Biden will mark the 51st anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing abortion rights nationwide by leading a meeting of his Reproductive Health Task Force. Thousands of abortion opponents gathered on the National Mall during a snowstorm on Friday for the annual March for Life. It was another ruling, in 2022, by a much more conservative high court to overturn Roe that forced the long-festering debate [to the forefront of American politics]( and galvanized combatants on both sides of the issue. After anti-abortion candidates and referendums lost in a series of ballots, Biden and other Democrats see abortion rights as a powerful rallying cry for 2024. Yet for the moment, authority remains in the hands of states, with some sharply restricting the procedure and others expanding the rights to it. And the codification of Roe v. Wade or the enactment of a ban by Congress remain unlikely as long as lawmakers and the nation remain so sharply divided on the question, as has been the case for half a century. One thing to watch today: The US military said two Navy Seals who went missing during a mission on Jan. 11 to seize Iranian weapons bound for Yemen’s Houthis are now presumed dead. [Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter]( for more from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 5pm ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. Chart of the Day Voters in this year’s US election may have to wade through [more misinformation than ever](, with social media giants such as X and Facebook increasingly reluctant to weed out false content even as artificial intelligence tools make it easier to create. And Finally A quiet revolution is being planned by the City of London Corporation that will feature large public squares filled with trees, cycle lanes, wider walkways and bans on cars in certain areas to encourage people to browse the shops in the heart of the financial district. Conrad Quilty-Harper reports that by [improving the public spaces](, it hopes visiting the City will be a more pleasant experience that will encourage workers to come back to the office. Architecture firm Gensler and a Fleet Street business group have proposed a plan including wider pedestrian walkways. Photographer: Tom Skipp/Bloomberg Thanks to the 29 people who answered Friday’s quiz and congratulations to Susan Early, who was the first to name Turkey as the country whose president told his officials to skip the World Economic Forum in Davos over the organizers’ stance on Israel’s war against Hamas. 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