Investigating poison

Hello from the FT newsroom. An FT investigation published this week has raised alarm bells in the UK parliament, prompting the launch of an official probe.

The FT’s public policy correspondent Laura Hughes revealed that each year, at least 500 tonnes of harmful metal leak from abandoned Welsh mines into the surrounding environment. The abandoned mines are polluting hundreds of kilometres of rivers and causing dangerous lead poisoning in local food production.

Parliament’s Welsh affairs committee swiftly launched an investigation into the findings. But the effects are already acute for local residents in these historic mining communities.

My choices this week

1. Joe Biden will express serious concern over Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9bn acquisition of US Steel, the FT revealed yesterday. While US politicians of all stripes have warned about the sale of the US manufacturer to a foreign group, Biden’s position will anger Japan, one of the US’s closest allies.
2. After five months of ferocious conflict in Gaza, militant group Hamas has been decimated. Since the deadly October 7 attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed, but not yet succeeded, to “eliminate” the group — leaving it fighting for survival in any guise.
3. A new dark web for organised criminals, or an essential social platform? Telegram has risen to dizzying heights in recent years, and is increasingly at the heart of information warfare. In his first interview since 2018, chief executive Pavel Durov speaks to FT technology correspondent Hannah Murphy. (Free to read)
4. Boutique New York investment bank Evercore is creeping up on its bigger rivals like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley. Its shares have tripled over 10 years, and its fingerprints are on nearly every US mega-deal this year. We examine how it became “Goldman without the bullshit”, as one banker said. (Free to read)
5. Ukraine needs 500,000 new recruits. High casualties and dwindling morale have hit its frontline, and the government is drafting controversial new mobilisation policies. Can Kyiv renew its forces and keep fighting?
6. What do instant noodles tell us about the state of the world? Cheap, fast, filling, long-lasting: the assets of the instant noodle are also the features that make it a societal and economic red flag. In many countries, their consumption has boomed over the past five years: alarm bells should be ringing.

Thanks for reading,

Roula

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