FirstFT: EU leaders stall Ukraine mortgage utilizing frozen Russian property

Good morning, comfortable Friday. In at the moment’s publication:

• EU leaders stall Ukraine mortgage utilizing frozen Russian property

• Trump says he’s ending Canada commerce talks

• Labour trounced in UK by-election

• Eire set to elect hard-left president

We start in Brussels, the place EU leaders have didn’t again a €140bn mortgage to Kyiv utilizing frozen Russian state property.

What occurred: EU leaders assembly yesterday in Brussels mentioned utilizing funds from the €190bn in sovereign Russian property immobilised on Belgian soil to fund a “reparations loan” for Kyiv.

However Belgium demanded cast-iron ensures it could not undergo financially, fearing authorized and monetary repercussions ought to Russia retaliate in opposition to the plan.

Why it issues: Belgium’s resistance to the plan dashed Ukraine’s hopes for an instantaneous monetary lifeline. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who attended the EU summit, identified that Kyiv would wish the cash subsequent yr when it faces vital funding necessities in its conflict in opposition to Russia. Learn extra on yesterday’s talks and what occurs subsequent.

Right here’s what else we’re preserving tabs on at the moment and over the weekend:

• Ukraine conflict: Leaders of the “coalition of the willing” international locations meet at the moment amid faltering peace talks.

• US-China commerce conflict: US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and commerce consultant Jamieson Greer will meet Chinese language vice-premier He Lifeng in Kuala Lumpur for commerce talks. The negotiations come forward of an Asean summit within the Malaysian capital on Sunday — with US President Donald Trump anticipated to attend.

• Marco Rubio in Israel: Washington’s prime diplomat meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to debate the Gaza ceasefire.

• Financial knowledge: The US releases inflation price knowledge for September.

• Outcomes: ENI, NatWest, Procter & Gamble, Sanofi and Schindler report earnings.

How properly did you retain up with the information this week? Take our quiz.

5 extra prime tales

1. Donald Trump stated he had ended commerce talks with Canada out of anger with an anti-tariff promoting marketing campaign launched by the province of Ontario. Learn extra on this creating story.

2. The Labour occasion has suffered a by-election defeat in a Welsh stronghold, after it misplaced Caerphilly to the nationalist occasion Plaid Cymru in a blow to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s management. The setback comes forward of Could elections that may finish 1 / 4 century of Labour management in Wales.

3. Hungarians exasperated by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his allies have backed a protest occasion known as the Two-Tailed Canine, which secured Budapest’s twelfth district in a mayoral contest. The opposition motion is now hoping to replicate that success on the nationwide degree.

4. Anthropic has agreed to safe entry to 1mn Google Cloud chips to coach and run its synthetic intelligence fashions, rising its ties to considered one of its largest buyers. Learn particulars of the deal.

• AI-powered scams: Criminals are utilizing the expertise to extend their “attack rate” on UK victims, with fraud instances hitting document ranges.

5. Unique: Blackstone-backed Merlin Entertainments is beneath pressure forward of a vital refinancing, because the Legoland-owner’s weak efficiency has led to a sell-off in its bonds and heightened fears over a possible restructuring.

The Huge Learn

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We’re additionally studying . . .

• The Trump Supremacy: With opponents in disarray and allies in line, the US president is on his method to constructing a brand new world order.

• US-Israel relations: Vice-president JD Vance branded a vote by Israel’s parliament backing annexation of the West Financial institution a “very stupid political stunt”.

• ‘Wellness’ increase: Complement producers within the US are positioning themselves to take advantage of the Trump administration’s openness to fringe science.

• Tanzania disappearances: Dozens of different critics of the ruling occasion have both exiled themselves or vanished.

Chart of the day

A latest research discovered that, whereas mortality charges proceed to fall for older folks, deaths amongst youthful adults have been rising in lots of international locations. The rise is principally as a consequence of self-destructive behaviour attributed to long-term joblessness and social isolation. John Burn-Murdoch weighs what this implies, on condition that AI would possibly result in joblessness at scale.

John Burn-Murdoch and Sarah O’Connor discover how AI is remodeling the world of labor of their new publication, “The AI Shift”. Premium subscribers can enroll right here. Customary subscribers can improve their subscription to obtain it.

Take a break from the information . . . 

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