FirstFT: Joe Biden ends 2024 presidential bid

Good morning. At present we’re masking:

• Nippon Metal’s new rent

• Japanese carmakers’ fears over China’s EV growth

• Easy methods to take a “digital detox”

However first we begin with a historic resolution out of Washington. US President Joe Biden introduced on Sunday that he would drop out of the 2024 presidential race and endorse vice-president Kamala Harris, following overwhelming strain from fellow Democrats.

“It was in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down,” the president introduced in a letter revealed to social media.

The transfer throws this yr’s White Home race into turmoil with lower than 4 months to go till voters head to the polls on November 5.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president,” Biden mentioned, including he would converse to the nation “later this week in more detail about my decision.”

The president’s unprecedented resolution will reverberate throughout the globe, including new uncertainty into US coverage and the White Home’s authority on the world stage at a second of acute geopolitical pressure, from the Indo-Pacific to Gaza and Israel.

Biden’s announcement follows greater than three weeks of debate amongst Democrats about his viability for re-election, after a disastrous debate efficiency towards Trump reignited issues about his psychological acuity and broken his standing amongst American voters. Right here’s what we all know to this point about Biden’s resolution.

And that is what I’ll be maintaining a tally of right now:

• Benjamin Netanyahu: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Biden on the White Home earlier than addressing a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.

• Philippines: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr delivers his state of the nation handle to a joint session of the nation’s congress.

• Taiwan: For the primary time, Taiwan’s armed forces start a five-day drill of fight workout routines to scrupulously take a look at its warfighting capabilities.

5 extra high tales

1. Nippon Metal has employed Donald Trump’s former secretary of state Mike Pompeo to assist foyer for its controversial $14.9bn bid for US Metal, which has confronted opposition from Republicans and Democrats.

2. The Philippines has struck a cope with China on a “provisional arrangement” for resupplying its navy outpost on a disputed South China Sea reef which has change into one of many area’s most harmful flashpoints. Right here’s what the deal entails.

3. Israeli jets struck a number of Houthi targets together with vitality infrastructure within the Yemeni port metropolis of Hodeida on Saturday in response to a drone assault by Houthi militants that killed one individual in Tel Aviv the day earlier than. Learn the total story.

4. Taiwan’s armed forces will use fight workout routines this week to scrupulously take a look at its warfighting capabilities for the primary time, in a radical departure from many years of scripted performances because the navy steels itself towards the rising risk from China.

5. World cyber safety watchdogs have raised the alarm over malicious web sites claiming to repair glitches within the wake of one of many world’s greatest IT outages that was nonetheless inflicting disruption over the weekend.

Interview

Japanese carmakers are “very scared” by the speedy growth of Chinese language electrical automobiles and danger changing into “followers” if they can not innovate extra rapidly, the pinnacle of Sony-Honda’s three way partnership has warned. Chatting with the FT, Yasuhide Mizuno mentioned Japan’s corporations wanted to vary their conservative company tradition and referred to as for a breakthrough in manufacturing to maintain up with Chinese language rivals.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• The Ambani wedding ceremony: No matter occurred to the good British custom of wealth-shaming? Jemima Kelly asks.

• Training: Philanthropists are concentrating on US medical faculty tuition, aiming to spice up range and profession choices amid rising prices for coaching medical doctors.

• LinkedIn: LinkedIn is deploying synthetic intelligence to situation profession recommendation and has launched video games to the platform, as a part of a wider overhaul.

Chart of the day

Taking a look at world renewables progress charges is massively deceptive, argues Brett Christophers, a professor within the Institute for Housing and City Analysis at Uppsala College. There’s not one single vitality transition however a sequence of regional transitions of broadly various type, tempo and scope. The outsized materiality of 1 — China’s — means world figures veil greater than they reveal.

Take a break from the information

Researchers first used the time period “digital detox”, to consult with a interval of abstention from telephones and laptops, in 2012, across the similar time that social media was actually taking off. Rachel Connolly took a silent retreat to reboot her relationship with smartphones and social media. Right here’s the way it went.

Further contributions from Tee Zhuo and Emily Goldberg