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Good morning. Two US Navy sailors have been arrested and charged with passing sensitive military information to the Chinese government in exchange for thousands of dollars in payments, prosecutors in California said on Thursday.
Jinchao Wei, who worked as a machinist’s mate at a naval base in San Diego, has been charged with sending photos and videos of an amphibious assault ship to an unnamed Chinese intelligence officer, as well as more than 50 technical and mechanical manuals and documents.
Wenheng Zhao, a petty officer who worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, was separately charged with providing sensitive military data to “an individual posing as a maritime economic researcher, but who was actually an intelligence officer from the PRC”.
“These individuals stand accused of violating the commitments they made to protect the United States and betraying the public trust, to the benefit of the PRC government,” said Matthew Olsen, the assistant attorney-general of the DoJ’s National Security Division. Here are more details on the allegations.
Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:
Economic data: The US’s July employment report is due. Economists expect a slight cooling in job growth but unemployment holding steady (CNN).
Mongolia-US ties: Mongolian prime minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene meets US secretary of state Antony Blinken today in Washington. The Harvard-educated leader said Mongolia will deepen co-operation with the US to mine rare earths, including copper. (Reuters) Here’s our Big Read on Mongolia’s push to unlock its mineral riches.
Saudi Arabia hosts Ukraine peace talks: Senior officials from up to 30 countries will meet in Jeddah this weekend to discuss peace in Ukraine. The US and several European countries are expected to be there, as are South Africa, Turkey, India and Brazil. Russia was not invited to participate. (The Wall Street Journal).
Women’s World Cup: 16 countries remain in the tournament as the knockout round kicks off on Saturday.
How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.
Five more top stories
1. Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty during a first court appearance in the latest criminal case brought against him, in which the former US president is accused of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Here’s what happened at Thursday’s arraignment — Trump’s third this year.
2. Apple proved resilient in its latest quarter as the number of paying subscribers for its array of digital services crossed 1bn users worldwide, helping to lift profits from a year ago even as total revenue declined. But revenue in the greater China region grew by 7.9 per cent to $15.8bn, mitigating a 5.6 per cent decline in the Americas, Apple’s largest market. Read more on Apple’s results.
3. India has abruptly restricted the import of personal computers including laptops and tablets as the country works to boost local electronics manufacturing. Companies such as Apple will need a licence to ship such devices into India, a new rule that analysts said would create a barrier that could slow the flow of imports. Here’s how the surprise announcement could shake the computer market.
More India news: Ahead of next year’s general election, India’s opposition parties are challenging prime minister Narendra Modi on a security crisis in the north-eastern state of Manipur that they say his government has failed to contain.
4. Saudi Arabia has warned it could deepen cuts to oil production as it extended its voluntary supply curbs with Russia for another month, despite a rally in crude prices. Fresh curbs would risk a stand-off with the US, which wants lower prices to support the economy ahead of next year’s election, while limiting revenues flowing to the Kremlin. Read the full story.
5. Gautam Adani has bought cement company Sanghi Industries in a $600mn deal, the Indian tycoon’s first big acquisition since a short seller report rocked his infrastructure empire earlier this year. The deal strengthens Adani in its battle for market share in India’s lucrative cement market. Here’s more on the conglomerate’s return to acquisitions.
FT Magazine
Bonds have long been considered the most boring bit of finance, but they have played an integral role in the development of human society, funding everything from wars and railways to Tesla’s electric cars and Netflix. Alphaville editor Robin Wigglesworth sketches a very short, very wild history of the market that will shape the next financial crisis.
We’re also reading . . .
Smart-toilet proxy: Leo Lewis explains why the market for smart-toilets — the sort of seat-heating, rear-washing, fundament-drying marvels pioneered in Japan — will be a measure of China’s economic resilience.
Gillian Tett: What Fitch’s downgrading of US debt reveals is that America is being judged less like a developed country, and more as an emerging market.
Weather forecasting: The science of predicting ever more extreme meteorological events is becoming more sophisticated and accurate.
Graphic of the day
Nintendo surprised investors on Thursday when first-quarter profits beat records as well as market expectations. The earnings surge followed the massive success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, featuring the evergreen Brooklyn plumber, which broke this year’s global box office record.
Take a break from the news
Here are our six films to watch this week, including Joy Ride, a boisterously goofy female comedy from first-time director Adele Lim, the Malaysian co-writer of the 2018 hit Crazy Rich Asians.
Additional contributions by Tee Zhuo and Gordon Smith
