In the news...

Italy’s euroskeptic government faces a confidence vote.The alliance between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and far-right League is expected to pass the vote in the Senate today and in the lower house tomorrow—the two parties hold a majority in both houses. Other parties have indicated they’ll vote against the new government.

Vladimir Putin visits Austria. Ahead of the rare bilateral meeting with a western European country, the Russian president said he has no desire to divide the European Union. Austria’s conservative far-right coalition government was one of the few EU countries not to expel diplomats after the poisoning of a Russian defector in the UK.

A day of reckoning for Elon Musk Tesla shareholders will vote to determine whether the electric-car maker’s chairman and chief executive can keep both titles. Some shareholders are pushing for an independent chairman, but Musk will likely keep his titles despite investor concerns.

A perk of NATO membership kicks in for Montenegro. The country has no fighter planes, so Italy and Greece will help secure its airspace starting today. A year ago Montenegro officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which provides routine air policing to its members.

Howard Schultz is retiring from Starbucks, raising speculation about a US presidential run.The company’s longtime leader, currently its executive chairman, is retiring at month’s end. Queried on his political aspirations, he said: “I intend to think about a range of options, and that could include public service.”

Mexico will hit the US with 20% retaliatory tariffs on pork. The move follows the Trump administration deciding last week to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexican exporters, reports Reuters. Sources said the new duties will be published today and go into effect tomorrow.

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