Month: July 2025

Ancient ‘lamp shells’ practised social distancing, fossil find in China reveals

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Ancient “lamp shells” – bottom-dwelling invertebrates that once ruled the oceans – may have used hundreds of bristle-like structures to “social distance” in a bid to improve their chances of survival, Chinese palaeontologists have discovered. Advertisement Their findings are based on a fossilised species of brachiopods – or clam-like marine animals – that was discovered in China’s southwestern Guizhou province. The fossils, discovered embedded in rocks, were found to be arranged in a “checkerboard-like” pattern across what was once the sea floor. Individuals of the extinct species Nucleospira calypta were…

FirstFT: US markets face ‘pivotal’ three days of economic data and corporate results

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This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here Today’s agenda: US-China trade truce; New York shooting; Revolut’s US plans; FT investigation on Haitian gangs; and turmoil at Novo Nordisk Good morning. We start in Wall Street, where analysts are calling the next few days the year’s “most pivotal” for US markets. Here’s why. What’s happening: A flurry of key economic and corporate data…

After the flood: Beijing residents left to count the cost with little state support

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Wang Rongying was lying in bed at 6pm on Monday evening when her phone started pinging with messages. Neighbours said that the heavy rainfall Wang could hear outside was starting to cause the water levels on the street to rise to worrying levels. When she opened her front door to see for herself the flood water came rushing in. “I was so scared … never since the 1980s have I seen such heavy flooding. We didn’t receive any warning in advance,” Wang said, surveying the soaked remains of her two-storey…

From the archive: Bicycle graveyards: why do so many bikes end up underwater? – podcast

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We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2022: every year, thousands of bikes are tossed into rivers, ponds, lakes and canals. What’s behind this mass drowning? By Jody Rosen. Read by Masud Milas The Guardian

Should we be alarmed or optimistic about Japan’s debt?

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Here are two contrasting facts about Japan. Number one: the yield on 30-year government bonds hit an all-time high of 3.21 per cent earlier this month after a series of weak auctions — a sign, perhaps, that markets are finally becoming concerned about the country’s enormous public debt. Number two: according to Morgan Stanley, Japan’s budget deficit was almost completely eliminated in the first quarter of this year, putting the…

Australia adds YouTube to under-16s social media ban

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Australia has widened its ban on teenagers accessing social media sites to include YouTube, despite warnings from its parent, Alphabet, that it would consider legal action over such a move. Canberra passed legislation late last year aimed at preventing anyone under the age of 16 from registering to join social media platforms, including Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook and Snapchat. The law puts the onus on technology companies to enforce the age limit or face significant fines of up to A$50mn ($33mn).  YouTube, which argues it is a video-sharing service rather…

Australia adds YouTube to social media ban on under-16s

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Australia has widened its ban on teenagers accessing social media sites to include YouTube, despite warnings from its parent, Alphabet, that it would consider legal action over such a move. Canberra passed legislation late last year aimed at preventing anyone under the age of 16 from registering to join social media platforms, including Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook and Snapchat. The law puts the onus on technology companies to enforce the age limit or face significant fines of up to A$50mn ($33mn).  YouTube, which argues it is a video-sharing service rather…

China says Japan’s space defence guidelines ‘threaten security and stability’

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China has hit out at Japan over its new space defence strategy, calling it a threat to security and stability. Japan unveiled the space defence guidelines in Tokyo on Monday. Its defence ministry cited Chinese and Russian development of military capabilities in space as a reason it was seeking to boost defence in space and cooperation with the United States and other allies. In response, China’s foreign ministry on Tuesday said that in space, Japan, the US and other Western countries continued… South China Morning Post

Taiwan president scraps Latin America trip amid reports the US opposed stopover in New York

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Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te will delay an expected trip to his country’s remaining allies in Latin America, amid conflicting accounts of the reason for the postponement. Lai was expected to travel to the Americas next month, as his government seeks to shore up support in a region where many countries have cut diplomatic ties in favour of relations with China, which claims Taiwan as its territory. Amid reports that the Trump administration had opposed a proposed stopover by the president in New York, his government said Lai had no overseas…