Donald Trump warns Vladimir Putin he’s ‘taking part in with fireplace’

Good morning and welcome to FirstFT Asia. In in the present day’s publication:

• Trump’s rising frustration with Putin

• McKinsey’s shrinking headcount

• The brewing disaster in US-South Korea relations

US President Donald Trump has warned Vladimir Putin he’s “taking part in with fireplace” after Russia launched a few of its largest drone and missile assaults on Ukraine since its full-scale invasion started in early 2022.

What Trump mentioned: “What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realise is that if it weren’t for me, numerous actually dangerous issues would have already occurred to Russia, and I imply REALLY BAD,” Trump mentioned in a put up on Reality Social. “He’s taking part in with fireplace!” The US president’s newest posts reveal the rising frustration in his administration with Putin over the battle. The Russian chief has supplied no concessions and proven no real interest in the ceasefire demanded by Ukraine and its western allies.

Rising help for sanctions: Tammy Bruce, state division spokesperson, hinted Trump could be near taking motion towards Russia. “As we’ve seen in the present day with Putin . . . there’s a level that [Trump] appears at issues in another way, and the way that manifests, identical to with the whole lot else on this administration, it can occur rapidly.”

Trump mentioned on Sunday he would “completely” contemplate new sanctions on Moscow. In the meantime, a sanctions invoice co-authored by Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who’s among the many president’s most distinguished legislative allies, continues to collect help within the higher chamber. Learn the complete story.

Right here’s what else we’re retaining tabs on in the present day:

• Financial knowledge: Australia publishes April CPI inflation figures and Taiwan releases revised first-quarter GDP.

• New Zealand: The Reserve Financial institution of New Zealand pronounces its financial coverage determination.

• China-Pacific ties: China hosts overseas ministers from 11 Pacific island nations for a gathering within the metropolis of Xiamen.

Be a part of Monetary Instances consultants in the present day to get clear-sighted evaluation of essentially the most consequential geopolitical rivalry of our time: the US-China showdown. Register for the webinar now and put inquiries to our panel.

5 extra high tales

1. McKinsey has minimize greater than 10 per cent of its employees prior to now 18 months, reversing an enormous enlargement plan that peaked in the course of the coronavirus pandemic. The job cuts, that are among the many largest in McKinsey’s almost 100-year historical past, mirror the sharp slowdown in income development throughout the consulting market.

2. European defence corporations say Japan has accelerated its opening to non-American suppliers of navy tools for the reason that election of Trump. One firm consultant at Japan’s largest-ever defence sector commerce present this month mentioned the sentiment amongst Japanese officers was more and more “we like one thing so long as it’s not American”.

• Japanese bonds: Longer-dated bonds rallied yesterday after the federal government took the uncommon step of canvassing main sellers for his or her views on issuance, elevating hypothesis it could reduce provide.

• Japanese enterprise: Seven & i shareholders have backed its new chief government because the 7-Eleven retailer proprietor faces a record-breaking $50bn takeover supply.

3. Chinese language billionaire Li Zhenguo has stepped again from the day-to-day administration of Longi, the photo voltaic group he based 25 years in the past, highlighting turmoil within the trade as falling income and manufacturing facility overcapacity undermine years of fast development. Longi mentioned Li would give attention to analysis and growth and different know-how efforts.

4. Syria and Israel have held a number of rounds of direct talks in latest weeks aiming to quell spiralling tensions between the neighbouring international locations, mentioned three individuals briefed on the state of affairs. The talks have been the primary identified direct contact between the brand new management in Damascus and their Israeli counterparts amid a spate of Israeli air strikes on Syrian soil.

• Gaza: Waves of determined Palestinians overwhelmed a humanitarian distribution hub yesterday, as a controversial new support system run by a beforehand unknown US-backed group started operations within the shattered enclave.

5. Toyota has promised to put in a homegrown working system in its best-selling RAV4 sport utility automobile by subsequent March, in a bid by the world’s largest carmaker to meet up with Tesla and Chinese language rivals’ software program lead.

The Huge Learn

A collection of attainable crises is brewing in US-South Korea relations. Regardless of an alliance that goes again many years, the 2 international locations are threatening to diverge on delicate questions of commerce, regional safety and the rising North Korean nuclear risk. Whereas many of those fears mirror long-standing tensions, they’ve been exacerbated by the return to energy of Trump — who has repeatedly declared his admiration for North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un — and a protracted political disaster in Seoul.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• Greenland’s minerals: US and European mining corporations must hurry up and put money into Greenland, in any other case it can flip to China, a minister for the Arctic territory has warned.

• Trump’s Harvard crackdown: The US president desires foreigners out of the Ivy League college, placing lots of them in limbo.

• ‘Loopy’ knowledge guidelines: Germany’s reservists’ affiliation warned that strict privateness legal guidelines are hindering the nation’s efforts to swell the ranks of the armed forces.

Chart of the day

India’s cryptocurrency trade is lobbying for cuts to taxes which have curbed home buying and selling, in a bid to reap the benefits of New Delhi’s softening stance in the direction of digital property. As soon as a pariah sector in India, executives at exchanges instructed the FT that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s authorities had change into markedly extra receptive following Trump’s embrace of digital currencies.

Take a break from the information

Robotic canine are multiplying quick around the globe, metamorphosing from amusing playthings to trusted companions deployed in a variety of terrains from manufacturing vegetation to battlefields. Michael Peel takes a have a look at the rising use of caninoids as a part of the FT’s particular report on robotics.