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US secretary of state Antony Blinken has called on China to maintain “transparency” as international alarm grows about a spiralling Covid-19 outbreak in the world’s most populous country. On a call with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, Blinken “discussed the current Covid-19 situation, and . . . underscored the importance of transparency for the international community”, according to a

Chinese officials estimate about 250mn people or 18 per cent of the population were infected with Covid-19 in the first 20 days of December, as Beijing abruptly dismantled restrictions that had contained the disease for almost three years. The estimates — which include 37mn people who were infected on Tuesday alone, or 2.6 per cent

Hospitals in Beijing are being overwhelmed by sick elderly Covid-19 patients just weeks after China abandoned its tough coronavirus containment measures with little preparation for the exit wave now ripping through the country. Emergency rooms have run out of cots for patients, the infirm are waiting hours for ambulances and many doctors are too sick

FTX has joined the legal fight to control $430mn of shares in retail brokerage Robinhood originally purchased by Sam Bankman-Fried, which are already the subject of three other duelling ownership claims. The bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange formerly run by Bankman-Fried said it has a claim to own the shares the former billionaire bought in May, the

European stocks zigzagged on Friday ahead of the release of fresh US inflation data, with investors hanging on every economic report for clues on whether the Federal Reserve will slow its interest rate rises. The regional Stoxx Europe 600 added 0.3 per cent in early trading and London’s FTSE 100 rose by a similar margin.

When Adidas ended its lucrative partnership with Kanye West in October after a global outcry over his anti-Semitic remarks, former managers felt they had finally been vindicated. Top staff had warned internally for years that the German sportswear group was over-reliant on the Yeezy trainers franchise it ran with the US rapper and fashion designer

This article is the latest part of the FT’s Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign If your personal finances have ended the year in better shape than they started, I salute you. Congratulations if you’ve managed to increase your income in line with inflation (I’m not surprised that our most listened-to Money Clinic podcast of the

Unions are appealing to the public to give money to support striking workers as they dig in for a winter war of attrition with the government and private sector employers over pay. The RMT rail union is selling padded jackets and beanies to keep warm on picket lines, along with £1 downloads of a fundraising

Two soldiers armed with military rifles step into the canteen. They survey the people lunching on borshch, dumplings and sausage rolls before locking in on me and assessing whether I might be a threat to my guest, the first lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska. A quick evaluation seems enough to convince them that I pose

When Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s infamous “mini” Budget sent Britain’s finances into turmoil in September, it was pilloried as an egregious example of putting ideology over evidence. Both of its architects were gone within a matter of weeks, and a chastened Conservative party announced a series of U-turns. The damage was done, but it

Passengers flying into the UK face months of disruption at the border as passport officers gear up for prolonged strikes, the head of the civil service union has warned. Border Force officers on Friday began eight days of strikes and government officials have warned people to prepare for long queues and drafted in the military

One of the leading contenders to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister has said he will not stand in the forthcoming leadership contest, as other Conservative MPs prepare to launch their campaigns. Defence secretary Ben Wallace was the favourite among the Tory grassroots, with a net approval rating of +86 among party members according to

Rishi Sunak, who quit as Boris Johnson’s chancellor this week, launched his bid to lead the Conservative party on Friday with a pledge that he will avoid “comforting fairy tales”. His video to launch his campaign appeared a coded attack on what many MPs have seen as the prime minister’s Panglossian approach to policy. “Someone

Boris Johnson has announced his “painful” resignation but defied pressure to step down immediately as prime minister, insisting he would remain in office until a new Conservative party leader is chosen. In an address in front of No 10 Downing Street, after days of turmoil and mass resignations from his government, he accused his party

Boris Johnson’s turbulent three-year premiership was nearing its end on Wednesday night after he was urged to quit by a delegation of his closest cabinet allies. The UK prime minister was warned that unless he stepped down there would be further cabinet resignations, followed by an inevitable humiliating defeat by Tory MPs in a no-confidence

Boris Johnson’s premiership was teetering on the brink on Tuesday night, after chancellor Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid dramatically resigned from the cabinet. Downing Street was braced for more ministers quitting with many Tory MPs believing the dual resignation of two senior ministers could signal the beginning of the end for Johnson. Sunak

Protesters brought parts of the UK’s motorway network to a standstill on Monday in a demonstration over high fuel prices. Police warned drivers that a “slow-moving rolling roadblock” was causing delays on parts of the M4 motorway near the border between England and Wales and on the M5 near Bristol. There were also “significant delays”

Sir Keir Starmer will on Monday signal that Labour is willing to fight Boris Johnson over his Brexit legacy at the next election, setting out a five-point plan to tackle the economic pain caused by Britain’s EU exit. In a big tactical shift, Starmer will use a speech to denounce the “mess” created by the

Hackers with suspected links to China’s intelligence agencies were still advertising for new recruits to work on cyber espionage, even after the FBI indicted the perpetrators in an effort to disrupt their activities. Hainan Tengyuan, a Chinese technology company, was actively recruiting English language translators in March according to job adverts seen by the Financial

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, the pioneer of low-cost travel in Europe, has warned fares will rise for the next five years because flying has become “too cheap” to make profits as industry costs spiral. His warning comes as ticket prices have risen in Europe and the US this summer as passengers return and some airlines

The UK’s trade performance fell to its worst level since records began in the first quarter of 2022, heaping more pressure on sterling in international currency markets. Although the Office for National Statistics warned that the figures it published were “subject to higher levels of uncertainty than normal”, the new system it used to collect