This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia<\/a>, Europe\/Africa<\/a> or Americas<\/a> edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Good morning and welcome back to the FirstFT Asia. On today\u2019s agenda: <\/p>\n Trump feuds with Colombia over migrants<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The CIA\u2019s new assessment on Covid-19\u2019s origin<\/p>\n<\/li>\n How a small Chinese AI start-up shocked Silicon Valley<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Donald Trump has unleashed a barrage of tariffs and sanctions against Colombia, a close US ally in Latin America, after the country declined entry to US military flights deporting migrants.<\/p>\n Trump lashed out after Colombia\u2019s left-wing President Gustavo Petro refused to receive the US aircraft in protest against the way the passengers on board were being treated. <\/p>\n Trump said in a post on Truth Social yesterday that Petro\u2019s move had \u201cjeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States\u201d.<\/p>\n In retaliation, he announced emergency 25 per cent tariffs which would increase to 50 per cent in a week, alongside a travel ban and \u201cimmediate visa revocations\u201d for Colombian government officials \u201cand all allies and supporters\u201d.<\/p>\n Petro had earlier written in a post on X that the deported migrants should be treated with \u201cdignity and respect\u201d. The Colombian president\u2019s announcement came a day after the Brazilian government condemned as \u201cdegrading\u201d the use of handcuffs on its nationals aboard a deportation flight from the US. <\/p>\n Here\u2019s more on the Latin American reaction to Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown<\/a>. <\/p>\n We have more news below on the US president\u2019s foreign policy:<\/p>\n Gaza:<\/strong> Trump has urged Egypt and Jordan to take in most of the population of Gaza, saying it was time to \u201cclean out\u201d the territory<\/a> in comments that are likely to outrage Palestinians and Arabs across the region.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Greenland:<\/strong> The US president ridiculed Denmark\u2019s attempts to defend Greenland with additional patrols including two extra dog sleds<\/a> as he insisted America would take control of the Arctic island.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Foreign aid freeze:<\/strong> US diplomats have requested an urgent exemption for Ukraine-related programmes<\/a> from a 90-day halt on foreign aid issued by secretary of state Marco Rubio.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n And here\u2019s what else I\u2019m keeping tabs on today:<\/p>\n Economic data: <\/strong>China reports December industrial profit and Singapore publishes fourth-quarter labour market data.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n South Korea:<\/strong> Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was indicted yesterday<\/a> on charges of leading an insurrection after his failed martial law gambit last month. (Reuters)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Holidays:<\/strong> Financial markets are closed in South Korea for the lunar new year holiday.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n 1. The CIA has concluded that Covid-19 probably began as a leak from a laboratory in China.<\/strong> The US intelligence agency said it assessed with \u201clow confidence\u201d that the Covid-19 virus had leaked from the research facility, in a shift of its previous position that there was insufficient information to reach a conclusion. Read more about the new assessment<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2. Bangladesh\u2019s central bank has hired Big Four accountancy firms EY, Deloitte and KPMG to conduct an \u201casset quality review\u201d of banks<\/strong> it claims lost $17bn to businesspeople close to the regime of former leader Sheikh Hasina, bank governor Ahsan Mansur has said. Mansur has been tasked with beginning the process of recovering the funds he claims were \u201crobbed\u201d from banks<\/a> during Hasina\u2019s 15-year rule over Bangladesh. <\/p>\n 3. Big businesses and national governments are heaping pressure on Brussels to shrink its sustainability agenda<\/strong> amid fierce debate about the impact of Trump\u2019s deregulation drive on the EU. The latest call for reform came from the Europe president of ExxonMobil, Philippe Ducom, who said \u201cvery little\u201d of the \u20ac30bn it had earmarked for investment in technologies, such as hydrogen and carbon capture, would come to Europe as a result of its \u201cfrivolous, excessive and expensive regulation\u201d<\/a>. <\/p>\n 4. Lina Khan has warned of \u201ccatastrophic consequences\u201d for America<\/strong> if Trump\u2019s antitrust officials fail to scrutinise private equity groups that are buying up chunks of the US economy.\u00a0The recently resigned chair of the US Federal Trade Commission told the FT that private equity groups posed a threat to the country\u2019s healthcare system. Read the full interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n 5. An underwater data cable between Sweden and Latvia was damaged yesterday,<\/strong> in at least the third episode of potential sabotage in the Baltic Sea in recent months. Latvian Prime Minister Evika Sili\u0146a said the damage was significant and thus was probably caused by an external force<\/a>. <\/p>\n DeepSeek, a small Chinese AI lab, stunned the world last week by revealing how to build its cutting-edge large language model on a bootstrapped budget. The release turned its reclusive leader, Liang Wenfeng, into a national hero who has defied US attempts to stop China\u2019s high-tech ambitions. It also sparked a frenzied debate in Silicon Valley<\/a> about whether better resourced US AI companies, including Meta and Anthropic, can defend their technical edge. <\/p>\n From \u2018Love Island\u2019 to the outback:<\/strong> A former reality television star is working as an electrician in the outback<\/a>, as Australians cash in on a shortage of sparkies. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n The anti-Shein manifesto:<\/strong> The rise of the Chinese fast-fashion group relies on shoppers discounting the long term<\/a>, writes Henry Mance. What if we shopped only for things that will last?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Trump\u2019s tariffs:<\/strong> Many nations have been responding to the US president\u2019s threats not by retaliating but by courting other trade partners<\/a>, writes Ruchir Sharma.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Japanese investors have been selling Eurozone government debt at the fastest pace in more than a decade, with analysts warning that the move by one of the bloc\u2019s cornerstone bondholders could lead to sharp market sell-offs<\/a>.<\/p>\n The FT\u2019s annual stock picking contest pits the expertise of FT writers, including specialists on the equities market, against readers, who often bring experience of the investment industry to their choices. Last year\u2019s winner placed his bets where few others dared tread<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thank you for reading and remember you can add FirstFT<\/a> to myFT. You can also elect to receive a FirstFT push notification every morning on the app. Send your recommendations and feedback to firstft@ft.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n One Must-Read<\/strong> \u2014 Remarkable journalism you won\u2019t want to miss. Sign up here<\/a><\/p>\n Newswrap<\/strong> \u2014 Our business and economics round-up. Sign up here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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