FirstFT: Narendra Modi addresses US assassination claims

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Good morning.

Today we bring you an exclusive interview with Narendra Modi, who has for the first time responded to allegations of an Indian assassination plot in the US.

India’s prime minister sought to play down the diplomatic impact of a US indictment last month that claimed an Indian official directed the attempted murder of a Sikh separatist on American soil, saying he will “look into” any evidence but a “few incidents” would not derail US-India ties.

“If someone gives us any information, we would definitely look into it,” Modi said. “If a citizen of ours has done anything good or bad, we are ready to look into it. Our commitment is to the rule of law.”

The target of the attempted assassination was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an American and Canadian citizen who is general counsel for the separatist group Sikhs for Justice, according to people familiar with the case. India in 2020 designated Pannun as a terrorist, which he denies.

Read his full interview with Financial Times editor Roula Khalaf.

And here’s what I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: GfK publishes consumer climate data for Germany, which also has its producer price index. The UK will report its PPI, consumer price index and October house price index.

• DRC: The Democratic Republic of Congo, sub-Saharan Africa’s largest country by area, holds general elections. Here’s what’s at stake.

• UK strikes: Junior doctors begin a three-day strike in England after talks between the British Medical Association and government broke down earlier this month.

Five more top stories

1. Exclusive: A top German banker’s diaries are proving politically explosive for Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to a 371-page indictment against MM Warburg chair Christian Olearius seen by the FT. Seized by prosecutors and cited extensively in the case for tax offences, the diaries provide a written record of meetings that Scholz, who was then Hamburg mayor, insists he cannot recall. Here are more details from the indictment, which mentions Scholz 28 times.

2. Donald Trump has been disqualified from Colorado’s Republican presidential primary ballot due to his involvement in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The decision by the state’s supreme court is a landmark legal ruling that could have significant implications for the 2024 race.

• Opinion: Democrats need to find more compelling ways of asking people to vote for them beyond warnings about Trump, writes Edward Luce.

3. Container ships are increasingly avoiding the Red Sea amid mounting attacks from Iranian-backed rebels in the region. AP Møller-Maersk, which operates the world’s second-largest container shipping fleet, yesterday became the latest to reroute its vessels around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope. Here’s how much ship traffic has dropped on one of the world’s busiest trading routes.

• Israel-Hamas war: Israeli President Isaac Herzog has said his country is open to agreeing a new temporary truce with Hamas to secure the release of hostages held by the Palestinian militant group in Gaza.

4. Exclusive: General Atlantic is in talks to acquire UK infrastructure fund manager Actis as it seeks to diversify and add assets ahead of an expected initial public offering, according to people with knowledge of the plans. The deal, yet to be finalised, would add $12.7bn to the US private equity firm’s $77bn assets under management. Here’s more on the move.

5. A powerful rally in risky financial assets has left behind Europe’s weakest corporate borrowers, with recession fears persisting in the region just as optimism grows about a US “soft landing”. The difference between the two regions’ risky credit spreads this month has hovered at its widest level since the global financial crisis in 2009. Here’s how this reflects diverging sentiments on economic health.

The Big Read

A recent surge in asylum numbers in Europe is pushing voters into the hands of populist and far-right parties, which are on course to make significant gains in European parliament elections in June and exert more sway over EU policymaking. Fearing an electoral backlash, governments are reaching for ever more drastic solutions, testing the limits of EU and international law and tying themselves in knots in the process.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Seizing Russia’s assets: Legal experts warn it would represent a risky departure from normal practice, and the move to help Ukraine is also highly contentious among G7 allies.

• Elon Musk’s X: A push by the billionaire owner to bring in $100mn from political advertising next year is being met with scepticism from industry insiders.

• Paris Olympics: As the city’s residents complain about the looming hassle of hosting the games next summer, its chief organiser says the disruption will be worth it.

• European banks: The bonus cap is raising an uncomfortable choice for Europe’s banking lobby on whether to go to war with the European Commission, writes Laura Noonan.

Chart of the day

The rate at which extreme poverty is falling has slowed alarmingly, and in the countries that contain most of the world’s poorest people, it has simply stalled. The rich world needs to act, writes Martin Wolf in his latest column.

Take a break from the news

. . . and go inside the rich visual world of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Japan’s godfather of animation is back with his latest film The Boy and the Heron, which soared to number one at the North American box office on its release.

Additional contributions from Benjamin Wilhelm and Gordon Smith