Russia yesterday accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate President Vladimir Putin in a late-night drone attack on the Kremlin, vowing to take retaliatory action. But Kyiv denied any responsibility.
Putin’s press service said two Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russia’s military and secret services, which it said “acted in a timely fashion”. Putin was not in the Kremlin at the time and was working instead from his residence outside Moscow, said his spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
If confirmed, the apparent attempt on Putin’s life and the acknowledgment from the Kremlin would mark an extraordinary admission of Russian vulnerability. It would also be one of Kyiv’s most daring strikes since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Dozens of explosions were reported in Ukraine and near Russian-occupied Crimea yesterday, as both sides stepped up air attacks ahead of an expected counter-offensive by Kyiv to recapture lost territory.
FT investigation: Our reporters have revealed that a Russian spy network managed to smuggle sensitive EU technology to fuel Putin’s war on Ukraine.
Here’s what else is happening today:
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: Foreign Ministers of the SCO will meet in Goa, India.
UK local elections: This will be Rishi Sunak’s first big electoral test since becoming prime minister — and we’ll find out whether Labour can win back “red wall” voters.
Earnings: Results are expected from Anheuser-Busch InBev, Apple, Carlyle, ConocoPhillips, Kellogg, Lyft, MetLife, Novo Nordisk, Swiss Re, and Volkswagen.
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Five more top stories
1. US investor interest in Chinese stocks has cooled significantly after hitting a record late last year. China’s announcement that it would lift pandemic restrictions late last year prompted a burst of enthusiasm for Chinese stock markets, but trading in the most liquid US-listed options that track Chinese stocks has more than halved since November.
2. The UK competition watchdog is launching a review of the artificial intelligence market, including the models behind popular chatbots such as ChatGPT, as the industry comes increasingly into global regulators’ crosshairs. The chief executive of the UK Competition and Markets Authority detailed to FT what the regulator would assess.
More UK news: The country’s executives should be paid more if the UK wants to retain talent and deter companies from moving overseas, said the head of the London Stock Exchange.
3. The US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to hit a new target range of 5-5.25 per cent, the highest level since mid-2007. However, the central bank signalled it could soon pause its aggressive monetary tightening campaign. Read more in the Federal Open Market Committee’s statement.
4. Washington has signalled that it will allow South Korea to send US chipmaking tools to China, in a concession to an ally that is key to curbing Beijing’s access to cutting-edge semiconductors. People familiar with the situation said Korean producers would be given a waiver for at least another year.
5. Iran has seized a second oil tanker in a week, the US Navy said yesterday, increasing tensions in one of the world’s key shipping lanes as Tehran steps up retaliation for the US seizure of a cargo of its crude.
The Big Read
In recent weeks, more than a dozen politicians, activists, judges, trade unionists and a leading independent editor have been arrested in Tunisia, in what Amnesty International has called “a politically motivated witch hunt”. Here’s how President Kais Saied, who staged a power grab in 2021, is dismantling the country’s young democracy.
We’re also reading . . .
Whale poo: Carbon-sucking phytoplankton thrive on the substance, but it may not mean whales can be turned easily into financial assets for carbon credit trading, writes Anjana Ahuja.
KPMG: Silicon Valley Bank, Signature and First Republic had one thing in common: the Big Four auditor gave them a clean bill of health.
Quantum computing: The technology could one day crack the most common encryption methods used to secure digital data. In this visual story, the FT explores its possibilities — and enormous risks.
Chart of the day
Huawei’s mobile phone business was decimated by US sanctions introduced on security grounds. Lack of access to chips forced the telecoms company to stop making 5G phones, a situation a Huawei official described as a “joke”. But a flood of grants from Beijing has helped Huawei turn things around.
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Take a break from the news
Chinese noodle soups are the perfect vehicle for a little culinary creativity: quick and easy to make yet extremely exciting, writes Fuchsia Dunlop. The two essential ingredients are a decent stock and, obviously, noodles — but think of this recipe as a template for your own imagination.
Additional contributions by Gordon Smith and Tee Zhuo.
Source: Economy - ft.com
