FirstFT: Israel targets Hizbollah commander in Beirut strike

Good morning. At present we’re protecting:

• Facial recognition at Indian airports

• Temu’s sad suppliers

• The race to make the ‘super shoe’

However first, Israel has focused a senior Hizbollah determine in an air strike on Beirut, saying the operation was retaliation towards the person chargeable for a lethal rocket assault on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

A big explosion ripped via the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs yesterday night. Footage from the scene confirmed a number of flooring of a residential constructing collapsed and enormous plumes of smoke rising above it. This space of Beirut is a Hizbollah stronghold.

The Israeli strike focused Fuad Shukr, who’s believed to be near Hassan Nasrallah, chief of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group. It was not instantly clear if he was within the residential constructing, or whether or not he was killed or wounded within the assault.

It comes amid mounting fears that intensifying clashes between Israel and Hizbollah might set off a full-blown battle. Listed below are extra particulars.

• Israel-Hamas battle: Far-right protesters have stormed two military bases in Israel after the navy police detained 9 troopers as a part of an investigation into the alleged “serious abuse” of a Palestinian prisoner on the Sde Teiman jail camp.

And right here’s what else I’m holding tabs on right now:

• Financial information: China releases its official buying managers’ index for July, Taiwan and Hong Kong report advance second-quarter GDP and Australia publishes second-quarter inflation information.

• Financial coverage: The Financial institution of Japan and US Federal Reserve make rate-setting bulletins.

• Outcomes: HSBC, Cling Seng Financial institution, Samsung Electronics, Meta, Boeing, Hitachi, Tata Metal, Rio Tinto and Panasonic report.

5 extra prime tales

1. India is quickly rolling out facial recognition know-how at airports, streamlining safety checks amid issues that the nation is remodeling right into a surveillance state. The FT spoke to the chief of the digital initiative, who claimed the know-how had halved queueing occasions and pledged transparency on passenger information.

2. Chinese language President Xi Jinping has known as for sooner measures to spice up home consumption amid rising concern over weaker development. A assertion from China’s management gave no trace of recent measures to stimulate demand however targeted on speedier implementation of these already introduced, reminiscent of bond issuance and upgrades to industrial tools.

3. Gross sales of lipstick and skincare merchandise in China fell within the second quarter at L’Oréal, weighing on the wonder group’s development as situations within the nation stay “challenging”, the French firm mentioned.

4. Microsoft’s synthetic intelligence-fuelled cloud development fell barely wanting buyers’ lofty expectations within the three months to the top of June. The outcomes despatched its shares decrease as buyers scrutinise how AI will affect Large Tech’s earnings.

5. Invoice Ackman has slashed the quantity he’s in search of to lift within the preliminary public providing of his US funding fund Pershing Sq. USA to $2bn. The determine is a fraction of the $25bn the billionaire hedge fund supervisor had initially focused.

Information in-depth

Temu needs to recruit Amazon retailers who maintain items in warehouses within the US and EU, in keeping with a number of suppliers approached by the Chinese language on-line market who spoke to the FT. The transfer would minimize supply occasions by storing items nearer to buyers, and comes as Temu challenges rivals Shein and Amazon. However the firm’s aggressive effort to reshape its enterprise mannequin has sparked a backlash from its Chinese language suppliers.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• ‘Super shoes’: To grasp what makes sure sneakers so quick, the FT labored with consultants to dissect the know-how behind record-breaking footwear.

• Citi feels the warmth in India: The federal government’s denunciation of the financial institution after its less-than-rosy jobs forecast factors to the political sensitivity of analysis within the nation, writes Chris Kay.

• ‘Other Rivers’: In his fourth ebook on China, Peter Hessler makes use of his time in Sichuan as a trainer to construct a extra delicate understanding of a altering nation.

Chart of the day

Starbucks’ chief government Laxman Narasimhan has been going through criticism from many sides: the espresso home chain’s former boss, a barista union and aggressive activist investor Elliott Administration. Inflation, mass boycotts over its perceived place on the battle in Gaza and flagging efficiency in China have stalled gross sales. Is there a manner again for the corporate?

Take a break from the information

As soon as virtually non-existent in Tokyo, vegan eateries at the moment are sprouting up throughout the metropolis. FT Globetrotter shares a few of the cafés and eating places pioneering the Japanese capital’s small however highly effective plant-based revolution.

Further contributions from Harvey Nriapia and Camille De Guzman