Powerful Indian female leader prepares for Modi showdown
West Bengal election centres on ‘fearless’ chief minister Mamata Banerjee, analysts say, as millions culled from voter rolls
Letter: Public should be better informed why foreign aid matters
From Gideon Rabinowitz, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Bond, the UK network of NGOs, London NW1, UK
Letter: The remarkable recovery of the Keats-Brawne letters
From Henry Wessells, Upper Montclair, NJ, US
Letter: Recalling the Lavon Affair — two years before Suez
From Dr Izhar Khan, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
Letter: Stablecoins’ role in settling sports bets
From Dini Ajmani, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary, Capital Markets, Hoboken, NJ, US
Letter: Palantir’s NHS software has measurable benefits
From Louis Mosley, Executive Vice President for UK & Europe, Palantir Technologies, London W1, UK
Letter: Subsidies do not explain China’s industrial progress
From Zongshuai Fan, Senior Policy Analyst, Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy, University of Cambridge, UK
Letter: Bots on the board. Are we ready to take such a step?
From Randall S Peterson, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, London Business School, London NW1, UK
Letter: Here are three things the Fed is actually good at
From Alex J Pollock, Senior Fellow Mises Institute, Auburn, AL, US
Trump questions UK claim on Falkland Islands
Purdue Pharma to pay more than $8bn to end US opioid case
Resolution will allow billions of dollars to flow to US cities and states that have been hit by the epidemic
Lift maker Kone close to finalising €29bn deal to buy TK Elevator
Transaction would mark a successful sale of German company by private equity firms Advent and Cinven
Musk claims Altman ‘stole a charity’ in OpenAI trial testimony
Billionaire said it is ‘dangerous’ to have someone who is ‘not trustworthy in charge of AI’
Goldman stops bankers using Anthropic’s Claude in Hong Kong
Employees were unable to access company’s AI models as of a few weeks ago
FT Crossword: Number 18,358
Starbucks reports sharp sales rise despite weak US consumer sentiment
Cafés open at least a year record strongest rise since 2023
Brown-Forman’s choice: straight-up or with an M&A mixer
Maker of Jack Daniel’s breaks off talks with Pernod, but other value-creating tie-ups may still make sense
Ex-FBI head Comey charged with threatening Trump’s life
Indictment says a photograph of shells on a beach was deemed to be ‘intent to do harm’
King Charles defends transatlantic relationship in speech to Congress
UK monarch’s visit to Washington comes at a fraught moment between the nations amid US-Israeli war against Iran
UK ministers gain power to force pension funds to invest in British companies
The government outlines safeguards to resolve a stand-off with peers over legislation containing the measure
Pernod Ricard ends pursuit of Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman
French group’s retreat could bolster a rival bid from fellow Kentucky drinks maker Sazerac
US ambassador to Ukraine to leave over differences with Trump
Julie Davis frustrated with president’s lack of support for Kyiv, say people familiar with the matter
FirstFT: UAE quits Opec in blow to oil cartel
Also in today’s newsletter: Bank of Japan holds rates and raises inflation forecast, and the Taliban accuse Pakistan of strikes on an Afghan university
US to put Donald Trump’s face on passports
State department’s move is latest effort to impose president’s image and signature on national symbols