Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Thursday, July 8th.

This is your FT News Briefing.

Donald Trump is heading back at social media companies that banned him from their platforms

earlier this year. The new COVID variant is spreading across the globe, but at an uneven impact,

and South African police have arrested former president Jacob Zuma. Plus, private equity firms are

gobbling up UK companies, but many Brits aren't sure they like it.

Private equity used to buy largely just companies that most people haven't heard of,

and that were kind of unloved and unglomerate. But when you start buying big names,

supermarkets, people really need to start to take notice.

A Mark Filipino, and here's the news you need to start your day.

Several social media companies booted Donald Trump from their platforms earlier this year

for his role in the January attack on the US Capitol. In yesterday, Trump said he

would lead class action lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and Google, and their CEOs.

His lawsuits allege unlawful censorship of Americans, and accused the company of violating

the First Amendment. They also claim that Section 230 of the Common Decency Act is unconstitutional.

This gives tech platforms immunity from being sued over user-generated content.

The former president wants the court to restore his accounts and impose punitive damages,

Twitter declined to comment. Facebook and Google also did not immediately respond

to a request for comment.

The new Delta variant of coronavirus is spreading rapidly across the globe,

dampening many countries' hopes of putting the pandemic behind them.

Spain, as the highest infection rate in mainland Europe,

...