FirstFT: Today’s top stories | Financial Times

EU countries agreed to step up sanctions against Belarus and ban its state airline from bloc airports after the Minsk regime triggered global uproar by intercepting a Ryanair flight.

European leaders meeting in Brussels on Monday night agreed to “targeted” economic countermeasures that are expected to be aimed at companies and oligarchs accused of financing President Alexander Lukashenko’s 27-year rule.

The 27-member bloc called for the immediate release of Roman Protasevich, a leading opposition activist, and his partner, Sofia Sapega, who were both detained in Minsk on Sunday after authorities forced the aircraft to land. The Belarus regime’s interception of the flight from Greece to Lithuania has triggered condemnation from western countries and fears that other authoritarian regimes may try to weaponise the skies.

FT’s central Europe correspondent James Shotter and Moscow correspondent Max Seddon explain how Protasevich became one of Lukashenko’s prized targets.

• Opinion: This hijacking and kidnap by the Lukashenko regime in Belarus sets a dangerous global precedent, says Gideon Rachman.

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In the news

G7 is close to deal on taxation of world’s largest companies The Group of Seven top advanced economies are close to an accord on the corporate taxation of multinationals, paving the way for a global deal later in the year to create new rules for the imposition of levies on the world’s largest companies. A pact could be agreed as soon as Friday.

India police visit Twitter offices after tweet row Police in India have visited the local office of social media company Twitter after its moderators labelled a tweet by the national spokesperson of the governing party as potentially misleading.

Jack Ma to step down as business school president The billionaire will step down as president of Hupan University — the elite business academy he started six years ago — as Beijing cracks down on the Alibaba founder’s influence across Chinese society.

Iron ore prices drop after China warns of ‘excessive speculation’ The price of steelmaking ingredient iron ore fell sharply after China signalled it would focus on efforts to cool soaring prices and crack down on monopolies in commodities markets as concerns grow over rising inflation.

Saudi Arabia hopes to raise $55bn through privatisation The kingdom hopes to raise the sum over the next four years as it plans to step up its nascent privatisation programme with the government seeking to boost revenue and narrow its yawning budget deficit, Mohammed al-Jadaan, the finance minister, told the Financial Times.

China warns on safety after 21 die in ultra-marathon race Chinese authorities have warned that organisers of cross-country ultra-marathon events have often put profits ahead of safety, after 21 runners died in extreme weather during a race in the north-west of the country.

The day ahead

One year on from George Floyd’s murder Lawmakers in Washington are likely to miss a deadline set by US President Joe Biden to strike a deal on federal police reform legislation by Tuesday, the first anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. Biden is set to meet Floyd’s family on Tuesday. (FT, CNBC)

US-Iran nuclear deal talks The two nations are set to hold what delegates hope will be the final round of talks on reviving the Obama-era nuclear deal after Iran and the global nuclear watchdog extended a technical agreement in order to continue the discussions. (Al Jazeera)

Blinken travels to Middle East US secretary of State Antony Blinken will begin a trip to Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Egypt at the request of President Joe Biden in order to build on last week’s ceasefire agreement and ensure the delivery of aid to Gaza. (AP)

David Lawler, chief of BP America, will be one of the speakers at the inaugural Energy Source conference. Register here to participate in the two-day event.

What else we’re reading

Why Malaysia’s plan for ‘Asian Eurostar’ went off the rails Malaysia and Singapore depend on each other’s cross-border commuters. A cross-border high-speed rail project was expected to further accelerate that economic integration before it fell prey to politics earlier this year.

Economic reform crucial to improving the lives of black Americans The few number of jobs created last month caught many by surprise. But another figure stood out to FT’s labour and equalities reporter Taylor Nicole Rogers: unemployment among black Americans rose to 9.7 per cent, while the aggregate jobless rate was 6.1 per cent.

• Opinion: Entrepreneurs can help the cause of economic justice, writes Damien Dwin, founder & CEO of Lafayette Square

‘I don’t want to be the type of guy who says no’ Christopher Ahn says he just wanted to help. The former US Marine and child of South Korean immigrants became a volunteer for the Cheollima Civil Defense to help North Koreans flee the Kim Jong Un regime. Now he’s stuck in the crosshairs of international law and could face jail time. (BuzzFeed News)

Europe’s move to project its influence in conflict zones For the first time, the European bloc is allowed to arm governments in the name of fighting terrorism, protecting civilians and stabilising fragile states. The money will come from a new €5bn fund known, incongruously to some ears, as the European Peace Facility.

The boss is back but workers are staying at home Across New York and other big cities, chief executives have returned to offices that are often their seat of power and most cherished environment. Yet statistics suggest their workers do not feel the same pull to their place of work.

Celebration of breaking the mould in later life The new podcast Growing Old Disgracefully is, according to its intro, made up of “remarkable stories told by remarkable people”. Most contributors are over the age of 70 and, as such, are people we seldom hear from in podcasting. More importantly, all have made a choice in their later years that demolishes stereotypes.

Cartoon of the day

UK holidaymakers stay at home as they try to work out amber list