Saudi vows to end 'addiction to oil', remaking China's military and killer robots

Saudi Arabia has pledged to end its 'addiction to oil', with the kingdom unveiling a long-awaited plan for a radical transformation of its economy and promising to list 5 per cent of the state oil company in a deal that could value it at more than $2tn.

The Gulf state currently derives more than 90 per cent of its budget revenues from hydrocarbons. David Gardner wonders whether the ambitious economic reform programme will work. (FT)

In the news

Deutsche Bank chief discharged Co-chief executive Jürgen Fitschen and four other former executives including two previous CEOs have been acquitted of trying to mislead a court in connection with the collapse of the Kirch media empire. (FT)

French win Australian submarines order DCNS of France has beaten competitors from Japan and Germany to win a A$50bn politically charged contract to build a new fleet of 12 submarines for the Australian navy. (FT)

Laws without borders Critics are warning that the FBI may one day have the power to hack suspect computers anywhere in the world under a justice department bid to rewrite arcane rules, a change some see as a dramatic expansion of government authority. (FT)

Tribune considering $815m offer Gannett has moved to extend its lead as the biggest print and digital news organisation in the US with a takeover proposal for Tribune Publishing. The owner of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune newspapers is considering the proposal. (FT)

Duterte leading Philippine election polls Tough-talking presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte's popularity has surged just two weeks before the election on May 9, according to the latest survey conducted, despite his much-criticised joke about the rape and murder of an Australian missionary. (NAR)

It's a big day for

US presidential candidates Five northeastern states hold primaries, with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump leading the polls. The contests come as Mr Trump's rivals, John Kasich and Ted Cruz, announced they were teaming up in an effort to stop him from gaining enough delegates to avoid a contested party convention. Sign up for our daily US politics newsletter here.(FT)

Food for thought

Barack Obama and the end of the Anglosphere The US president’s intervention in Britain's EU referendum last week was a potentially devastating moment for the Brexit campaign. But it also revealed something important about Obama’s foreign policy: despite turmoil in the Middle East and Ukraine, he has remained determined to devote more of his country’s resources to Asia. (FT)

No magic pill Governments around the world are struggling with rising healthcare costs from ageing populations. In the UK the pressures are even greater, and the country has among the slowest uptake of new drugs in western Europe. (FT)

Remaking China's military President Xi Jinping's plan to revamp the armed forces marks a milestone in the nation's development and emergence from isolationism. But the challenges he faces are daunting. (WSJ)

Killer robots The moral case against killer robots is clear enough. But robots (with limited autonomy) are already deployed on the battlefield in areas such as bomb disposal, mine clearance and antimissile systems. Their use is set to expand dramatically. (FT)

You talkin' to me? Director Martin Scorsese, screenwriter Paul Schrader, actor Robert De Niro and the rest of the cast of Taxi Driver sat down to discuss the film on its 40th anniversary. (Vulture)

Genius genesis A 19th century prank sprung by John James Audubon on another naturalist — in which he invented various species of fish and mammals — was so well executed that its full scope is only now coming to light. (Atlas Obscura)

Video of the day

Why global government debt is booming Elaine Moore and Martin Sandbu discuss how central bank intervention and governments' higher propensity for saving have boosted global debt markets. (FT)