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Good morning and welcome to FirstFT Asia. In immediately’s e-newsletter:
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Nationwide Guard deployed in Los Angeles
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US deems China’s deliberate London embassy a safety danger
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Duolingo’s CEO discusses AI plans
We begin within the US, the place Nationwide Guard troops had been deployed on the streets of Los Angeles yesterday because the Trump administration took a tough line to quell protests in opposition to raids on suspected unlawful immigrants.
What occurred: President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of troops on Saturday utilizing a not often invoked legislation designed to repress invasions and rebellions. California governor Gavin Newsom decried the transfer as “inflammatory”. It comes after two days of unrest within the second-largest US metropolis that had been prompted by federal brokers arresting dozens of individuals in a sweep of native companies. On Sunday night (native time), Trump didn’t rule out sending in marines after the transfer was first threatened by defence secretary Pete Hegseth.
Trump vs California: The deployment of as much as 2,000 guardsmen will take a look at the power of closely Democratic states to withstand the Trump administration’s agenda and shield their residents from its enforcement actions. The president’s determination to “federalise” the Nationwide Guard — or switch it from state to federal management — was extremely uncommon. The final time a president despatched within the Guard and not using a request by the state governor was in 1965, when Lyndon Johnson despatched troops to guard civil rights marchers.
Read more about the protests in Los Angeles.
Right here’s what else I’m conserving tabs on immediately:
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Financial knowledge: China reviews Could inflation figures and commerce knowledge. Japan publishes a revised first-quarter GDP estimate.
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US-China relations: Excessive-level US and Chinese language officers are set to fulfill in London for a new round of trade talks.
5 extra prime tales
1. The White Home has expressed concern to the UK authorities over permitting China to construct a big embassy in London that safety officers consider would pose a danger to delicate communications infrastructure serving the Metropolis. The 20,000 sq m compound can be more than 20 times the size of Beijing’s current embassy in Marylebone and can be Beijing’s greatest embassy in Europe.
2. Coal India, the world’s largest coal-producing firm, is reopening greater than 30 mines and launching as much as 5 extra on greenfield websites this yr, saying the nation’s renewables sector is but unable to fulfill its rising power demand. PM Prasad, chair of the state-owned firm, mentioned that India would attain peak coal by 2035. Read the full interview.
3. China’s success in snarling world provide chains by stemming the circulate of uncommon earths has shifted the stability of energy in commerce talks with the US, analysts and businesspeople say. The hazard for Washington and the EU — each are locked in commerce wars with China — is that Beijing’s newfound leverage can be replicated in other areas of the high-tech supply chain.
4. Dozens of world enterprise executives will journey to Washington this week to push again in opposition to a plan to boost taxes on international investments within the US, warning it could hit thousands and thousands of American jobs. The lobbying drive is focusing on a provision in Trump’s price range invoice, which if accepted by Congress would permit the US to impose additional taxes on companies and investors from international locations that it deems to have punitive tax insurance policies.
5. Apple is struggling to ship upgrades to its synthetic intelligence voice assistant for the iPhone, with buyers downbeat in regards to the potential for main AI bulletins at its flagship annual occasion this week. Lately departed workers informed the FT that technological challenges have led to delays to the full rollout of the company’s “Apple Intelligence” features.
Interview: Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn
Final month, Duolingo chief govt Luis von Ahn shared an e-mail on LinkedIn that he had despatched to all employees asserting the language-learning app was going “AI-first”. The transfer generated controversy: “Cancelling my account NOW,” wrote one LinkedIn commenter. “Properly, there goes my 1,098 day streak,” posted one other. In an interview with the FT’s Emma Jacobs, von Ahn admitted he “didn’t anticipate the quantity of blowback.” Here’s what he said about Duolingo’s AI-first strategy.
We’re additionally studying . . .
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Musk vs Trump: The assembly of company builder and monarch was by no means going to finish effectively, writes Silicon Valley investor Michael Moritz.
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Golden Dome: Trump’s $175bn missile defend challenge has triggered a lobbying battle between Silicon Valley and America’s greatest defence teams.
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Lay-offs: Dismissing folks by e-mail or telephone continues to be distressingly common and must cease, writes Pilita Clark.
Chart of the day
The rapid deployment of self-driving features on Chinese cars has sparked alarm amongst regulators in Beijing, who’ve made the trade faucet on the brakes whereas they assess questions over security and legal responsibility.
Take a break from the information
Cape City is at a crossroads: these flocking to reside in South Africa’s second metropolis are powering the economic system, but additionally driving up home costs and exacerbating a strained market and native infrastructure. For a metropolis surrounded by ocean and mountains, the expansionist path forwards is a complex one, writes Mary Holland.
