Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to ‘surrender’

Good morning. Today we’re following:

• Cathay Pacific’s inspection of its Airbus A350 fleet

• A takeover fight that could reshape Japan

• A far-right victory in Germany

But first we go to Israel, where Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to “surrender” to pressure to agree a hostage deal or end the Gaza war. The prime minister dismissed widespread protests in Israel as he doubled down on his main demands for a ceasefire.

In a defiant late-night press conference, Israel’s prime minister insisted on a long-term military presence along Gaza’s border with Egypt, even as international mediators and his own security chiefs warn that it would hold up a deal to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

The uncompromising tone came after a general strike shut down much of Israel as the public protested against Netanyahu’s failure to secure a hostage deal.

It followed a second straight night of mass street protests after the murder of six Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity over the weekend. Hamas has suggested they died in an Israeli air strike, a claim the Israeli military has rejected as “psychological terror”.

“No one is more committed to freeing the hostages than me. But no one will preach to me,” Netanyahu said. Read the full story.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Pope arrives in Indonesia: Pope Francis kicks off his tour of Asia. He will also visit Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.

• Putin in Mongolia: Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet his Mongolian counterpart. The trip is Putin’s first visit to a member state of the International Criminal Court since it issued a warrant for his arrest.

• Turkey inflation data: Consumer price index for August is set to be released.

We’ve loved reading all the questions you’ve sent in for us to answer in a special weekend edition of FirstFT. Please keep them coming: hit “reply” and remember to include your name and where you’re writing from — Emily

Five more top stories

1. Cathay Pacific said it had started an inspection of its entire fleet of Airbus A350 aircraft as a “precautionary measure” after it identified an “engine component failure” in a Zurich-bound A350 aircraft that forced the plane to return to Hong Kong. Shares in Rolls-Royce, the sole provider of engines for A350 jets, were down 6.5 per cent at market close in New York.

2. Kamala Harris will say that US Steel should remain owned and managed by Americans during a visit to Pennsylvania today, according to an official from her campaign, dealing the latest blow to Nippon Steel’s hopes of buying the company.

3. New World Development, one of Hong Kong’s largest property developers, said it expects to post its first annual loss in two decades due to the territory’s real estate downturn, sending its shares lower by 13 per cent yesterday. The company said it expected to post a loss of up to HK$20bn (US$2.6bn) for the full year ended in June.

4. Turkey’s economic growth slowed to the weakest pace since the coronavirus crisis four years ago, underscoring how interest rates of 50 per cent are heaping pressure on businesses and households. Read the details released by Turkey’s statistical institute yesterday.

5. Poland and other countries bordering Ukraine have a “duty” to shoot down incoming Russian missiles before they enter their airspace, the Polish foreign minister told the FT. Despite Nato’s fears that such interceptions could embroil the alliance in Russia’s war against Ukraine, Radosław Sikorski argued it would be “legitimate self-defence”.

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The Big Read

For many Japanese corporations, domestic dominance has not translated into shareholder returns. But Couche-Tard’s unsolicited bid for Seven & i, 7-Eleven’s parent company could change everything, many in the financial industry say. “The game is on now, and there is a good chance that Japan becomes the M&A deal centre of the world for the next 10 years,” one fund manager said.

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The Alternative for Germany’s victory in Thuringia marks the first time in the country’s postwar history that a far-right party has won a state election. In the neighbouring Saxony, the AfD came second to the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The vote also spelt disaster for the three parties in Scholz’s coalition. The Greens and liberal FDP did so badly that they will no longer be represented in the Thuringian parliament.

Take a break from the news

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Additional contributions from Georgina Quach and Tee Zhuo