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Donald Trump’s private jet will not be landing in Georgia on Wednesday. After turning himself in to authorities at the Fulton County jail in August, he waived his right to appear at his arraignment. Last week he pleaded not guilty to racketeering and other charges stemming from his alleged effort to change the result of the 2020 presidential election.

Some of his 18 co-defendants, however, will be arraigned in person. Mark Meadows, Mr Trump’s former chief of staff, is trying to get his case moved from state to federal court (where he believes his prospects would be better). He argues that, by facilitating Mr Trump’s alleged conspiracy, he was merely doing his job. In court filings, three others—Republicans who submitted false paperwork to Congress alleging that Mr Trump had won Georgia—have pointed fingers at Mr Trump. All were charged under a law originally designed to bring down the mafia. Their strategy is fast becoming apparent: blame the kingpin.

On Wednesday Rishi Sunak faces Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition, at the first Prime Minister’s Questions since Britain’s Parliament broke up on July 19th. It will be a rough ride.

In the summer recess before an election year, governing parties typically road-test their campaign lines. That went badly for Mr Sunak’s Conservatives. A week focused on irregular migrant boats ended with the evacuation, over a legionella scare, of a barge intended as new accommodation for asylum-seekers. In “health week” NHS waiting figures reached a new high. And as schools returned on Monday, ministers were scrambling to identify hundreds of buildings feared to be unsafe because of flaws in their concrete.

Grim polls for the Tories have barely shifted in recent months: a survey by Redfield and Wilton, a pollster, published on Monday, gave Labour a 16-point lead. Sir Keir had a 17-point advantage over his rival—his best result since Mr Sunak became prime minister last October.

Morena, Mexico’s ruling party, will on Wednesday announce its candidate for the presidential election in June 2024. It will almost certainly be Claudia Sheinbaum, the former mayor of Mexico City. She was 17 percentage points ahead of her closest rival in the final public opinion poll in August, before Morena began its opaque process of surveying 12,500 people across Mexico to help make its pick. Ms Sheinbaum is a heavyweight politician, but has benefited from the implicit support of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the president.

On September 3rd Xóchitl Gálvez, a senator, was anointed the candidate for an opposition coalition comprising the Institutional Revolutionary Party, the National Action Party and the Party of the Democratic Revolution. Mexico is therefore almost certain to get its first female president next year. Hugely charismatic, Ms Gálvez will put up a good fight. Morena is projected to win the presidency, but Ms Sheinbaum may rule over a divided congress.

Interest rates may well have peaked down under. On Tuesday Australia’s Reserve Bank held them steady at 4.1% for the third consecutive month, after inflation dropped by more than expected. The annual inflation rate eased to 4.9% in July, from 5.4% in June.

But it isn’t all good news. Australia’s economy is slowing—GDP grew by just 0.4% in the second quarter, according to data released on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank expects Australia to eke out GDP growth of 1% this year. That is slower than the population growth rate, meaning a fall in GDP per person.

One big concern is slowing growth in China, Australia’s biggest trading partner. Australia usually relies on China’s huge appetite for iron ore and coal. Even after it launched a campaign of economic coercion against Australia in 2020, China still accounts for almost a third of Australia's global trade in goods and services. If China’s demand for Australian resources crashes with its economy, the “lucky country” will feel it.

“Optics governed more or less everything in the political world,” wrote Michelle Obama in “Becoming”, her memoir. “And I factored this into every outfit.” A 1950s dress by Norman Norell, an American designer, worn by Mrs Obama to a Christmas concert in 2010 was particularly resonant. The first vintage piece ever donned by a First Lady at a public event, it championed thrift-store shopping before it was fashionable. It eloquently suggested to a country reeling from recession that there was no shame in rewearing clothes time and time again.

That item, and nine others in Sotheby’s “Fashion Icons” collection, can already be bid for online and are open to viewing in New York from Thursday. From Princess Diana’s famous black-sheep jumper to a wedding veil worn by Madonna, each spotlights fashion’s symbolic power. But it is the dress worn by Mrs Obama—who on average generated $14m for the fashion industry during each public appearance as First Lady—that steals the show.

On Friday Singaporeans choose their new president. The winner will have partial veto power over the spending of Singapore’s huge (but undisclosed) reserves. Beyond that, though, the role is mostly symbolic: the president is meant to have no political affiliation.

In reality, presidential candidates are approved by a government-appointed committee according to strict criteria and are often establishment figures. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the front-runner, is a former deputy prime minister who was also a minister for both finance and education. He is trailed by Ng Kok Song, once chief investor for the sovereign-wealth fund, and Tan Kin Lian, who ran the insurance arm of the country’s trade unions.

Yet Singaporeans—for whom voting is mandatory—still have a little leeway to make their feelings known. A large number of spoiled ballots or a good showing by anyone other than Mr Shanmugaratnam will be interpreted as a sign of dissatisfaction with the ruling People’s Action Party, which favours him.

The American labour market may finally be cooling off. Data released on Friday are expected to show that the economy added about 170,000 jobs in August, making it the third consecutive month below the 200,000 mark—something which has not happened since 2019.

The unemployment rate is likely to remain close to 3.5%, hovering just above a five-decade low. But the extreme imbalance in the labour market is starting to improve. Figures earlier this week showed that there were about 8.8m job openings last month, well down from the high of 12m in early 2022.

A gradual slowdown in hiring is exactly what the Federal Reserve wants to see. The hope is that this will enable companies to attract and retain workers without having to offer big salary boosts that end up feeding through into inflation. The Fed is not about to declare victory—but it must be feeling pleased with the direction of travel.

Pope Francis arrived in Ulaanbaatar on Friday for an intriguing trip to Mongolia. Even members of the tiny Catholic community (1,340 souls, 0.04% of the population) say they are baffled, if delighted. The official line is that he wants to show no corner of the Catholic world is too small or remote to merit the pope’s attention. But is that all?

Mongolia is sandwiched between Russia and China, and the Vatican is keen to sort out relations with both countries. It is probably no coincidence that Bishop Stephen Chow of Hong Kong (who visited Beijing earlier this year) will be in Mongolia with a delegation at the same time as Francis. And there is speculation that the trip could somehow fit into the pope’s efforts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine. They have not gone well: in August he upset many Ukrainians by appearing to praise two monarchs who embodied Russia’s imperialist expansionism.

Brazil’s GDP figures for the second quarter are due on Friday. The first quarter saw a rise of 1.9%, driven by a bumper harvest. Analysts expect a more modest increase of up to 0.5% this time around. Optimism for 2023 as a whole, though, is rising: growth of 2.31% is now predicted, up from earlier forecasts of 0.89%.

That is good news for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president. Lula took office in January amid fears of a spending spree like the one that characterised his party’s last stint in government (which ended in a recession in 2016). Instead, the economy looks rosier than before. The inflation rate, which hit 12% in 2022, is at 3.99%. Unemployment, at 7.9%, is at its lowest level since 2014. But analysts remain sceptical about the longer term. Predictions for GDP growth for 2024 and 2025 remain stuck below 2%.

For football fans in England, the summer transfer window—when European clubs can buy and sell players—is becoming both more exciting and eye-watering. Premier League teams have forked out a record £2.1bn ($2.7bn) on new stars this year, beating the record set in 2022, according to Transfermarkt, a football-statistics website. Expect more deals by Friday night, when the window for the men’s game shuts.

Elsewhere, spending is not so freewheeling. Clubs in France, Germany, Italy and Spain have spent less combined this year than in 2019, as revenues fail to keep pace with the Premier League.

The challenge to the Premier League’s financial dominance now comes from a tough new opponent: the state-backed Saudi Pro League. From relative obscurity, it has become the second-highest spending league globally, shelling out £725m so far this summer, £260m of it on players from the Premier League, estimates Transfermarkt. And Saudi clubs are not done yet. Their transfer window remains open until September 20th.

As Ukraine’s counter-offensive approaches its third month, the front lines are showing glimmers of movement. On Wednesday Ukraine’s 47th Brigade, a unit that bungled the early thrusts of the offensive in June, raised its flag in the centre of Robotyne, a town that lies close to Russia’s main defensive line in the south. Robotyne is less than 25km from Tokmak, control of which would put Ukraine within artillery range of Russia’s supply lines to Crimea.

Though modest in terms of distance, the advance will give succour to General Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s top general, who has faced increasing criticism from Western officials over his tactics. American officials have been downcast over the prospect of a breakthrough, arguing that Ukraine has left too many troops in the east and been over-cautious in the south. Ukrainians retort that they are focused on wearing down Russia methodically. Their ability to push on from Robotyne will be a key test of whether that attrition is yielding results.

Until late this week, it looked as if a 44-year-old technology agreement between America and China might come to an end. The Science and Technology Co-operation Agreement—signed shortly after the countries established full diplomatic relations—was approaching its regular five-year deadline for renewal, which falls on Sunday. China wanted to stay in, as did the Biden administration. But America’s Republicans have been fighting to end the pact. Some accused China of using the STA to “advance its military objectives”.

They did not get their way, at least not yet. As the deadline approached the Biden administration persuaded China to agree to a six-month extension, buying time to wrangle over the terms of the pact at home. That is fortunate. Although the STA only lays out a shared desire for collaboration, it has had both symbolic and practical value. Joint research enabled by the agreement has helped prevent birth defects and improve vaccines, among other achievements.

In men’s elite road cycling, four events matter: the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, the UCI Road World Championships and the Vuelta a España. The last of these starts on Saturday in Barcelona, ending with a final ride into Madrid on September 17th.

Only two male riders have won three of these races in a year, a feat known as the triple crown. Eddy Merckx, a Belgian, took the Tour, the Giro and the World Championship in 1974; Stephen Roche, of Ireland, emulated him 13 years later. Forty-one have won two of the four, including defending Vuelta champion Remco Evenepoel, who also won the World Championships last year.

Two cyclists in this year’s Vuelta will hope to add their names to the list. Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark won the Tour this year for a second time. His team-mate and rival, Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic, won the Giro in May. Having taken the Vuelta in 2019, 2020 and 2021, Mr Roglic may have the edge in Spain.

When Betty Davis, an American singer, died last year aged 77, Rolling Stone magazine acclaimed her as a “Trailblazing Queen of Funk”. The reissue of four of her albums—all originally recorded in the 1970s—shows why. Showcasing an unabashed and self-assertive eroticism, and music combining funk, rock and soul, her work reveals an artist of extraordinary vision and lyrical ingenuity.

Although Davis is little known outside music circles, she holds legendary status within them. Artists such as Janelle Monáe, Erykah Badu and Beyoncé have cited her as an influence. Prince held her up as a musical role model. She was determined to control her work. Her sense of independence led her to refuse Eric Clapton, a rock-guitar great, when he offered to produce her. The desire to play by her own rules may also have cost her commercial success. Even so, she lives on as an inspiration, and in a collection of outstanding music.

Mere moments after Wednesday’s Republican presidential-primary debate, a beaming Vivek Ramaswamy declared himself its victor. His “clear” win, he told ABC News, was all the more impressive considering that it was his first political debate.

Technically, that is true. Mr Ramaswamy, who has surged to third place in recent polls, is a novice presidential candidate. At 38 years old, he is up against seasoned Republican contenders, including Chris Christie, who graced the primary stage in 2016; Nikki Haley, who governed South Carolina while Mr Ramaswamy was still in law school; and Mike Pence, who has been running political campaigns since Mr Ramaswamy was a toddler. And yet it was the young upstart, not his seniors, who shared centre stage with Ron DeSantis, the main challenger to Donald Trump, and bore the brunt of the attacks.

For all the talk of inexperience, Mr Ramaswamy has been preparing his run for a long time. At Harvard, as an undergraduate, the student newspaper deemed him “debater-extraordinaire”. (On Wednesday Mr Christie, meanwhile, likened his oration to ChatGPT.) His projected persona—a brash, contrarian outsider—carefully draws on his experiences as the son of immigrants from south India, and as a practising Hindu who attended a Catholic school in Ohio. (His maverick shtick is more goofy than gritty: as a student he adopted a rapper alter-ego, “Da Vek”, known for busting out libertarian rhymes.)

His long-term ambitions have recently evolved into serious strategising. An 8,000-word New Yorker profile of him—at least six months in the making—was published in December (despite his wife claiming he only truly decided to run that same month). He has produced three books since August 2021, all of which he insists are “intellectual”, rather than “campaign”, works. He entered the race in February, shortly before the third was released.

All three hammer away at Mr Ramaswamy’s main political point: that woke capitalism is hypocritical and dangerous to America’s national identity. An ultra-conservative, he shares some of Mr Trump’s positions (such as dismantling much of the federal government) but diverges from him on others (such as protectionism). He insists he has no interest in serving in Mr Trump’s cabinet, were the former president to win again. If his popularity in right-wing circles continues to grow, though, he may be difficult to ignore.