Good morning. Iran has transferred five US citizens from the notorious Evin prison in Tehran to house arrest, beginning a process that Washington hopes will ultimately lead to their return home and create the conditions for progress in talks on the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme.
The transfer of the prisoners marks a significant breakthrough after months of indirect talks between the US and Iran and should help ease tensions between them.
The prisoners could return to the US next month once Washington releases $6bn in Iranian oil revenue that is frozen in South Korea as part of the deal.
Three of the Americans identified as having been transferred out of Evin prison on Thursday are Emad Shargi, Morad Tahbaz, Siamak Namazi, as well as a fourth, who people familiar with the discussions declined to identify. A fifth prisoner, a woman, had already been transferred from Tehran’s Evin prison, a person familiar with the discussions said.
The US had been clear with Iran that “to get anywhere, the Americans have to be out of Evin prison”, the person said.
The move will “set the scene for a nuclear understanding that aims to freeze the conflict through Biden’s tough election year,” said Sanam Vakil, Middle East director at Chatham House.
“This deal will be seen by many as appeasing and obliging the Islamic republic’s most distasteful behaviour, but above all it is critical that they all come home.” Read the full story.
Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:
Economic data: France and the US report inflation data, Russia and the UK publish preliminary second-quarter GDP figures and the International Energy Agency releases its Oil Market Report for August.
Football: The Women’s World Cup quarter-finals begin today with Spain vs Netherlands. The Premier League also gets under way with a match between last season’s champions Manchester City and newly promoted Burnley.
US politics: Republican presidential candidates will descend on Iowa for its famed state fair. Challengers to Donald Trump, who has a wide lead in polls, believe the Midwestern state is their only hope of halting his momentum.
How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.
Five more top stories
1. US investors are trying to work out the potential impact of President Joe Biden’s ban on American investment in some of China’s key tech industries, part of an effort to stop China’s military from accessing American funding and knowhow. “The era of American venture capital firms investing in China is over now,” said one European venture capital investor. Read the full story.
Related: UK prime minister Rishi Sunak is weighing whether to follow US president Joe Biden in restricting outbound investment into the Chinese tech sector.
Dentons’ China retreat: The implicit message from Dentons’ decision to decouple from its Chinese affiliate Dacheng — that China was no longer a place global law firms could easily do business — raised eyebrows across the industry.
2. India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has easily survived a no-confidence vote in connection with the bloody three-month ethnic conflict in Manipur. Opposition parties had not expected to win the parliamentary vote, but called it in an attempt to force Modi to address the violence in the north-eastern state. Several MPs, including opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, walked out of the legislature as Modi spoke.
More India news: India is poised to enact a controversial and long-delayed personal data protection bill, which is set to regulate the internet and the sharing of online data in the world’s most populous country.
3. US headline inflation in July rose slightly from June, a smaller than expected increase that supports the case for the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady at its next meeting in September. Here’s more on July’s data.
More US news: At least 36 people have been killed by wildfires that tore through the Hawaiian island of Maui on Wednesday.
4. India has approved the long-delayed merger of domestic broadcaster Zee and the local arm of Japan’s Sony, a deal that will create the country’s biggest media company and a rival to industry leader Disney. Here’s more on the deal and India’s shifting media landscape.
5. Corruption probes, an extramarital affair and a hot mic incident have tarnished the Singapore ruling party’s image of competence and reliability as it plots a generational transfer of power. Here’s the full story on Singapore’s scandalous summer, which represents a threatening rupture for the city-state of five million people.
The Big Read
Americans have bet $245bn on sporting events since a landmark Supreme Court ruling five years ago overturned a 1992 ban on sports betting in the US. The court decision transformed sports betting into a high-growth tech business with revenues of more than $12bn in 2022. But beneath the boom is an underbelly of addiction of unknown proportions, reports Oliver Barnes.
We’re also reading and listening to . . .
The future of vaping: Cheap, addictive and available everywhere, disposable vapes are becoming the near-perfect product. What will that mean for our kids?
AI optimism: MIT economist David Autor has an upbeat view on the potential of artificial intelligence that is at odds with other economists.
🎧 Rachman Review: China’s assertiveness has reinvigorated US-Japan ties. The FT’s Leo Lewis discusses what’s changed with Rahm Emanuel, the US ambassador to Japan. Listen here.
Chart of the day
The collapse of the Black Sea grain deal and Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure have renewed the threat to the world’s food security from disrupted supplies. While the largest importers of Ukrainian grain by sea include China and Spain, the nations likely to be worst affected are developing countries in Africa and the Middle East. Here’s why.
Take a break from the news
The menu is the most vital piece of written communication in a restaurant’s armoury, but chefs don’t seem to care. Food journalist Tim Hayward takes aim at minimalist menus and explains how they’re robbing diners of one of the best parts of the restaurant experience.
Additional contributions from Tee Zhuo and Gordon Smith
Source: Economy - ft.com
