Bangladesh’s interim leader warns against anarchy

Good morning. Today we’re covering:

• Why British Airways is suspending flights to Beijing

• Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia

• The new rules of working when sick

But we start with Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus, who appealed to Bangladeshis to “save the country from anarchy”.

Yunus, who returned to Bangladesh from Paris yesterday, called for an end to attacks on Hindus and other religious minorities and for the restoration of law and order, three days after a street revolt toppled long-governing prime minister Sheikh Hasina. 

Student protesters had requested for Yunus to be named chief adviser — a post equivalent to prime minister — to an interim government that would hold power until a new election is held. The 84-year-old was sworn in yesterday.

The overthrow of Hasina, who fled to neighbouring India, was accompanied by violence, looting and vandalism of buildings and memorials associated with her regime.

Activists demanded the long-governing prime minister step down after nearly 100 people died in protests on Sunday. About 400 people have died since protests began last month, initially sparked by a scheme to reserve scarce government jobs for selected groups.

Here’s what I’m keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:

• Economic data: China publishes July inflation figures and Malaysia reports its June industrial production index and labour force statistics.

• Singapore: Financial markets are closed for National Day.

• Olympics: Sunday is the final day and closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Games.

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.

Five more top stories

1. British Airways said it would suspend flights to Beijing as the cost of avoiding Russian airspace reduces the appeal of the route for carriers. The decision comes as demand for flights between Asia and Europe has also struggled to rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic.

2. Exclusive: Google and Meta made a secret deal to target advertisements for Instagram to teenagers on YouTube, disregarding the search company’s own rules for how minors are treated online. The marketing project deliberately targeted a group of users labelled as “unknown” in Google’s advertising system, which it knew was a category that skewed towards under-18s, people familiar with the matter have said.

3. The main suspect in a foiled plot to attack concerts by Taylor Swift in Vienna has confessed, according to Austrian authorities. The 19-year-old said he had planned to “kill as many people as possible” at the concert venue, and had pledged loyalty to Isis.

4. Apple has announced further changes to its App Store rules in the EU in an attempt to avoid billions of euros in potential fines under stringent new legislation. The move yesterday is the fourth time the iPhone maker has made changes to its EU business terms since first moving to comply with the bloc’s Digital Markets Act earlier this year.

5. Barclays has become the first British bank to tell staff it will scrap the bonus cap imposed by the EU, following the UK’s post-Brexit decision to remove the limits last year. So-called “material risk takers” will be eligible for awards of up to 10 times their fixed pay.

News in-depth

Ukraine has captured roughly 350 sq km in Russia’s Kursk region, with its forces fighting to advance on the third day of Kyiv’s most audacious counteroffensive of the war. Videos reviewed and verified by the FT and western analysts showed Russian strikes on columns of Ukrainian armoured vehicles and significant damage to cities and towns.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Working when sick: The rise of working from home has meant that rules can be opaque for staff with symptoms of Covid and other cold-like illnesses.

• Japanese stocks: Following the recent global sell-off, Leo Lewis explains why the Japanese market trades like a penny stock.

• Glencore: The company’s CEO is accused of using a shift in investor attitudes on climate change as a smokescreen for dropping plans to ditch its coal business.

Chart of the day

“Covered call” ETFs were supposed to be a goldilocks investment that offers insulation from market volatility. But investors who pumped tens of billions of dollars into the funds suffered sharp losses during this week’s sell-off, highlighting the perils for retail traders seeking easy ways to ride out market uncertainty.

Take a break from the news

Simon Kuper explains why Olympic medals are usually a signal that a country is doing important things right, far beyond sport.

Additional contributions from Tee Zhuo and Harvey Nriapia