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 happy Friday. On today\u2019s agenda:<\/p>\n Trump penalises Chinese groups over Iran ties<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Foxconn closes in on EV production contract<\/p>\n<\/li>\n How Jeff Bezos made peace with Maga<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Europe\u2019s biggest military powers are drawing up plans to take on greater responsibilities for the continent\u2019s defence from the US, including a pitch to the Trump administration for a managed transfer over the next five to 10 years.<\/p>\n The discussions are an attempt to avoid the chaos of a unilateral US withdrawal from Nato, a fear sparked by President Donald Trump\u2019s repeated threats to weaken or walk away from the transatlantic alliance that has protected Europe for almost eight decades.<\/p>\n The US spends more on defence than all other Nato allies combined \u2014 and is critical to European security.<\/p>\n The UK, France, Germany and the Nordics are among the countries engaged in the informal but structured discussions, according to four European officials involved. Their aim is to come up with a plan to shift the financial and military burden to European capitals and present it to the US ahead of Nato\u2019s annual leaders\u2019 summit in The Hague in June.<\/p>\n \u201cIncreasing spending is the only play that we have: burden sharing and shifting the dial away from US reliance,\u201d said one of the officials. \u201cWe\u2019re starting those talks but it\u2019s such a big task that many are overwhelmed by the scale of it.\u201d Here are more details about the discussions<\/a>.<\/p>\n And here\u2019s what else we\u2019re keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:<\/p>\n Economic data:<\/strong> Japan, South Korea and Malaysia report February inflation data.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Sport:<\/strong> Indian Premier League cricket begins on Saturday. The F1 Chinese Grand Prix takes place on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n China Development Forum:<\/strong> Global business leaders will visit Beijing for the flagship conference, which begins on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n How well did you keep up with the news this week? <\/em>Take our quiz<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n 1. The US has imposed sanctions on two Chinese companies for allegedly importing Iranian crude oil.<\/strong> The move is the latest salvo of Trump\u2019s \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d campaign to push the Islamic republic to reach a deal with Washington on its nuclear programme. Read more about the US\u2019s concerns about China-Iran ties<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2. Taiwan\u2019s Foxconn is close to securing a contract with Mitsubishi Motors<\/strong> to manufacture electric vehicles for the Japanese automaker. The agreement would be a coup for iPhone supplier Foxconn, which has been trying to break into EV production since 2019. Here\u2019s what we know about the potential deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n 3. Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison has announced bumper profits from its ports operations<\/strong> as the conglomerate faced criticism from Beijing for a $22.8bn deal<\/a> with US asset manager BlackRock for most of the business. 4. SoftBank has agreed to acquire US chip start-up Ampere Computing for $6.5bn. <\/strong>The deal is the latest big move by the Japanese tech group\u2019s founder Masayoshi Son, who has said SoftBank will build a vast infrastructure for AI. Here\u2019s how Ampere fits into SoftBank\u2019s plans<\/a>.<\/p>\n 5. Mark Carney, Canada\u2019s new prime minister, is on Sunday expected to call a federal election for April 28.<\/strong> Carney will announce the poll less than two weeks after replacing Justin Trudeau as head of Canada\u2019s Liberal party, which has seen its popularity soar in response to threats of annexation and punitive tariffs from Trump. Here\u2019s what the polls show about the race<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the past year Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and owner of the Washington Post as well as rocket maker Blue Origin, has executed a sharp public reversal in his relationship with President Donald Trump that has surprised even longtime associates. How did the world\u2019s second-richest person make up with Maga?<\/a><\/p>\n Humanoid robots:<\/strong> Richard Waters explains why the fantasy of AI-powered robots misses the point<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Turkish politics: <\/strong>The arrest of Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan\u2019s main rival marks a dangerous turning point<\/a> in the country\u2019s authoritarian slide, say politicians and investors.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Record-breaking sports deal:<\/strong> A consortium led by a private equity investor agreed to take a majority stake in the Boston Celtics basketball franchise at a $6.1bn valuation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Beijing is boosting state support for domestic minerals exploration<\/a> as President Xi Jinping pushes for resource self-sufficiency amid intensifying competition with the US. China is the world\u2019s biggest producer of 30 of 44 critical minerals tracked by the US Geological Survey.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here are our six films to watch this week<\/a> \u2014 including Santosh<\/em><\/a>, a morally fraught portrait of an Indian policewoman. Don\u2019t miss our interview with Sandhya Suri, the film\u2019s British-born director<\/a>, who spoke about bringing an outsider\u2019s eye to her debut feature.<\/p>\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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Five more top stories<\/h3>\n
The group is selling 43 of its 53 ports, including two at the Panama Canal, to a BlackRock-led consortium. The sale follows criticism by Trump of alleged Chinese influence over the waterway. <\/p>\nThe Big Read<\/h3>\n
We\u2019re also reading\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009<\/h3>\n
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Chart of the day<\/h3>\n
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Take a break from the news\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009<\/h3>\n
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