FirstFT: Today’s top stories | Financial Times

Tens of thousands of people massed in Yangon and other cities in Myanmar for a second day on Sunday to protest against last week’s military coup, defying the junta’s attempt to choke off the spread of news and dissent by shutting down most of the country’s internet.

Internet access, after being blocked almost entirely on Saturday by order of General Min Aung Hlaing’s military government, had been partially restored by Sunday afternoon, according to protesters and an overseas monitoring group.

NetBlocks, a non-governmental organisation that tracks disruptions and shutdowns on the worldwide web, said that after “flatlining” at just 14 per cent of ordinary levels earlier on Sunday, from 2pm local time connectivity had been partially restored, although social media websites remained blocked.

Livestream footage filmed by demonstrators in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, showed large crowds of people converging in the downtown area, chanting “Democracy — our cause”, “Down with the military government”, and holding up three fingers in a salute popularised during neighbouring Thailand’s democracy protests last year. (FT)

Coronavirus digest

• South Africa will halt the rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine after preliminary and limited evidence showed it did not protect against mild and moderate Covid-19 caused by a coronavirus variant detected in the country.

• Goa, the popular beach resort on India’s south-western coast, has been hit by a pandemic property boom, stoked by Indians fleeing crowded cities.

• US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said the US could reach full employment next year if Congress passes Joe Biden’s $1.9tn stimulus package.

• The NHS is planning a mass campaign of booster jabs against new variants of coronavirus, in what seems likely to become an annual effort.

• Johnson & Johnson filed an application seeking emergency use authorisation for its single-shot Covid-19 vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration. (FT)

Two economics professors share insights on how to avoid pitfalls in remote work. Follow our Covid-19 live blog for the latest.

In the news

US will not lift sanctions to bring Tehran back to talks Joe Biden said sanctions on Iran will only be lifted if it stops enriching uranium, and would not remove them simply to attract Tehran back to the negotiating table. (FT)

Modi shatters taboo with plan to privatise state banks The measure was part of several market-orientated financial reforms unveiled in India’s budget for the year starting in April, including allowing foreign control of insurance companies after years of debate and creating a “bad bank” to buy failed assets. (FT)

Chinese users flock to Clubhouse app Hefty sums of cash are being offered to gain access to Clubhouse, the invitation-only audio chat app, where people can speak openly about sensitive topics free from government censorship. But the app’s boom in popularity has raised concerns of future censorship. (FT, SCMP)

Reddit-led market turmoil hits big quant hedge funds Two Sigma Investments and DE Shaw are nursing losses after an army of retail investors on Reddit upended markets. Separately, Wall Street trading firms paid almost $3bn to retail brokers such as Robinhood to handle their trades last year — a lucrative practice which is attracting attention in Washington. (FT)

Antony Blinken blasts China in first phone call The US secretary of state warned Beijing that Washington would hold it “accountable for its abuses”, in the first high-level interaction between the countries since Joe Biden became president. Meanwhile, critics of China seek to influence Biden’s choice to lead the Bureau of Industry and Security.

• UK-China tensions have also ratcheted up with Beijing lashing out at the UK, accusing its media regulator of “political manipulation” after it stripped China’s state broadcaster of its licence to air.

Cuba lifts ban on most private business Havana has announced a big expansion of the private sector as the communist government struggles to deal with the worst economic crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union. After devaluing the peso and scrapping a dual currency system, the government announced it would open up most of the economy to private businesses. (FT)

China companies round-up Shares in streaming video platform Kuaishou nearly tripled on their first day of trading in Hong Kong on Friday. A $5bn debt sale by Alibaba drew more than $38bn in orders from investors. Luckin Coffee filed for bankruptcy in US, less than a year after the coffee chain said hundreds of millions of dollars of sales had been fabricated. (FT)

US backs Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala to lead WTO The US endorsement removed a final hurdle to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment as director-general of the World Trade Organization, and ended months of uncertainty over the body’s leadership. Last Friday, the South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee dropped out of the race. (FT)

The days ahead

ECB annual report European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde is set to discuss the bank’s annual report at the European Parliament on Monday. Lagarde on Sunday warned stimulus funds must be removed only “gradually”. (FT)

Andrew Bailey testimony Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey faces the Treasury select committee on Monday to answer questions about his failure to protect investors in the collapsed London Capital & Finance fund while he was chief executive of the UK Financial Conduct Authority. (FT)

What else we’re reading

Tokyo Olympics chief’s moment of national sexist shame In remarks that appeared oblivious to the disgust they would cause, Yoshiro Mori said that women did not belong on committees because their “strong sense of rivalry” made meetings last twice as long. His lack of remorse in the face of public outrage typifies Japan’s out of touch elite, writes Leo Lewis. (FT)

Interview with outgoing US ambassador of South Korea Harry Harris, the outgoing US ambassador in Seoul, reflects on the Trump presidency and orchestrating the June 2019 Trump-Kim meeting at the demilitarised zone separating the Koreas. “To go from nothing, to ‘let’s have a summit’ . . . it was pretty exciting, pretty heady.” (FT)

FT Global MBA ranking 2021 US business schools continue to dominate provision of the world’s leading MBAs despite two European rivals topping the FT’s annual Global MBA Ranking. Insead, based in France and Singapore, and the UK’s London Business School were first and second overall, ahead of Chicago: Booth in third. (FT)

Samsung’s biggest challenge: ‘The Lee family has to reform’ With the billionaire head of the group, Lee Jae-yong, in jail for bribery, it has become more likely that the company will be the first major Korean conglomerate without a family owner at the helm. But some still believe South Korea’s biggest company is simply too important to fail. (FT)

Working mothers in crisis More than 1m American mothers have left the workforce since the start of the pandemic. And those who remain face unprecedented pressure. These eight governments and companies stand out for providing concrete solutions to ease the stressors of working parents right now. (NYT)

Celebrate the Year of the Ox with radish ‘cake’ With the scourge of the pandemic, traditional Chinese new year’s celebrations have been subdued. But while a noisy, lavish, multigenerational New Year’s Eve dinner and a fortnight of feasting with friends may be impossible, many classic foods of the season can be enjoyed on a more modest scale. (FT)

Video of the day

Hong Kong under the national security law Since Beijing imposed a wide-ranging security law on the territory last June, the government has cracked down on the city’s education sector, media and political life. Nicolle Liu looks at how the law is being used to change civil society. (FT)

Illustration of the day

Banx: Tokyo Olympics chief urged to resign following sexist comments