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Today’s Flagship
Antony Blinken arrives in China for high-stakes talks, mass graves are discovered in Gaza, and Plato’s final resting place may have been revealed.
Biden signs landmark $95 billion Ukraine, Israel aid and TikTok bill
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters/File Photo 
EU, UN call for probe into reported mass graves at Gaza hospitals
US moves to force ByteDance to sell TikTok
Talks for the first global plastics treaty underway in Ottawa
Tesla reports 55% drop in profit as Chinese competitors dominate
US set to ban noncompete agreements for workers
UK announces ‘biggest defense budget boost in a generation’
More than one in five cars sold in 2024 will be electric: IEA
Rising water levels threaten East Africa’s flamingos
The world is still lukewarm on Biden’s leadership
Did a wobbly Earth lead to agriculture?
US prepares to sanction China over its support for Russian war effort
A bipartisan pair aims to solve America’s happiness problem
UK passes controversial bill to send asylum seekers to Rwanda
Africa
AfDB president seeks end to loans linked to Africa’s natural resources
The African Development Bank’s president doubles down on criticism of resource-backed loans for African countries, calling them “asymmetrical” and “non-transparent.”
Semafor World Economy Summit 2024
Net Zero
Poor countries have a climate bomb on their balance sheets
COP29 needs to tackle sovereign debt, the ‘elephant in the room’ of climate finance.
Turar Kazangapov/Reuters
News
US approves $60 billion in Ukraine aid
The Pentagon is expected to rush military aid to Ukraine following the bipartisan Senate vote. The bill also includes Israel aid and a possible ban on TikTok.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesToday’s Flagship
Antony Blinken arrives in China for high-stakes talks, mass graves are discovered in Gaza, and Plato’s final resting place may have been revealed.
Politics
Behind the mask: Why the new US campus protestors cover their faces
The pandemic, social media, and legal changes have encouraged left-wing activists to cover up.
Politics
Nearly one billion people are eligible to vote in India
India’s voter registration approaches one billion citizens, Brazil’s local elections will be an indirect clash between Lula and Bolsonaro, and Kenyan legislators take a controversial look at increasing term limits. All of this and more, in the latest updates to our Global Election Hub.
Business
Victor Khosla on “toasty” equity, a real-estate reckoning, and ducks
The founder of Strategic Value Partners warns about volatility ahead and notes the current market isn’t a good fit for a regular investor buying regular debt.
Africa
China is extending its lead over the US in Africa’s energy transition
China’s manufacturing “overcapacity” is giving its companies an edge over the United States in Africa’s transition to green energy, analysts say.Africa’s top fintech player is getting ready for an IPO
Flutterwave, the Nigeria-based digital payments company which is Africa’s most valuable startup, is preparing for an initial public offering, its chief executive said.
Politics
‘Nothing wrong with trying to influence an election,’ Trump lawyers argueOpening arguments began Monday in Trump’s hush-money trial, the first ever criminal trial of a former president of the United States.
Insights from The New York Times, Axios, and The Washington Post
News
Semafor World Economy Summit: Policymakers and business leaders discuss Trump, AI, and China
Follow our coverage of Semafor’s second annual World Economy Summit where more than 100 of the world’s most influential economic and business decision makers discuss the global economic landscape.
Security
Eyes on Europe as US agrees on massive Ukraine funding packageWashington’s approval of aid for Kyiv has placed new pressure on European leaders to fund Ukraine’s war effort.Insights from the Atlantic Council, the Brookings Institution, Reuters, The Guardian, the BBC, and Voice of America
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politics
Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
Biden signs landmark $95 billion Ukraine, Israel aid and TikTok bill
The aid package will provide a boost to a beleaguered Ukraine, with weapons set to start flowing “in the next few hours.”
Nearly one billion people are eligible to vote in India
India’s voter registration approaches one billion citizens, Brazil’s local elections will be an indirect clash between Lula and Bolsonaro, and Kenyan legislators take a controversial look at increasing term limits. All of this and more, in the latest updates to our Global Election Hub.
Behind the mask: Why the new US campus protestors cover their faces
The pandemic, social media, and legal changes have encouraged left-wing activists to cover up.
The world is still lukewarm on Biden’s leadership
Global approval of U.S. leadership under President Biden held steady in 2023, according to new figures from Gallup’s Rating World Leaders report out today.
US prepares to sanction China over its support for Russian war effort
Washington is drafting sanctions against some Chinese banks, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Athit Perawongmetha/Reutersbusiness
Tesla reports 55% drop in profit as Chinese competitors dominate
Tesla has slashed prices and announced global layoffs in recent months as the EV giant struggles to compete with Chinese companies.
Victor Khosla on “toasty” equity, a real-estate reckoning, and ducks
The founder of Strategic Value Partners warns about volatility ahead and notes the current market isn’t a good fit for a regular investor buying regular debt.
Semafor unveils expansion of flagship live journalism platform ‘The World Economy Summit: Fall Edition’
Returning to Washington D.C. to coincide with the IMF/World Bank fall meetings in October, Semafor is leveraging its hugely successful April summit to convene power brokers on the record this fall
Out of control spending risks economic crisis, Goldman’s Waldron says
Goldman Sachs President John Waldron warned that Washington needs to get “its spending under control” to prevent a market crisis similar to what happened in the UK in 2022.
Semafor World Economy Summit 2024 Livestream
Experience every moment of the largest and most consequential gathering on the state of the global economy on April 17 and 18, live from Washington, D.C.
technology
Denis Balibouse/File Photo/Reuters
Tome
REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
U.S. military pits AI against human pilots in first ever dogfight test
In a media briefing, the commandant of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School said that he couldn’t comment on whether the human or AI pilot won.
Is there enough text to feed the AI beast?
A study suggested training data could run out this year, but researchers say there are ways to extend it.
Denis Balibouse/File Photo/ReutersAI startup Tome makes cuts in pursuit of new focus
The company is reorienting itself toward bringing in revenue, concentrating on sales teams that use its product to create customized decks.
TomeTesla lays off 10% of global workforce as sales fall
The shakeup reflects the struggles Tesla has faced over the last few years, including a price war and heightened competition from Chinese firms.
REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File PhotoafricaSemafor World Economy Summit 2024 
Gomez David/Getty Images
AfDB president seeks end to loans linked to Africa’s natural resources
The African Development Bank’s president doubles down on criticism of resource-backed loans for African countries, calling them “asymmetrical” and “non-transparent.”
Semafor World Economy Summit 2024Rising water levels threaten East Africa’s flamingos
The population of lesser flamingos in East African countries including Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia is declining.
Gomez David/Getty ImagesChina is extending its lead over the US in Africa’s energy transition
China’s manufacturing “overcapacity” is giving its companies an edge over the United States in Africa’s transition to green energy, analysts say.
Africa’s top fintech player is getting ready for an IPO
Flutterwave, the Nigeria-based digital payments company which is Africa’s most valuable startup, is preparing for an initial public offering, its chief executive said.
Why Togo’s politicians disagree over a constitutional change
Opposition groups in Togo are resisting a constitutional amendment that could extend President Faure Gnassingbe’s stay in power for another decade.
net zeroTurar Kazangapov/Reuters 
REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
Getty for Semafor
Courtesy Carlyle
Poor countries have a climate bomb on their balance sheets
COP29 needs to tackle sovereign debt, the ‘elephant in the room’ of climate finance.
Turar Kazangapov/ReutersMore than one in five cars sold in 2024 will be electric: IEA
Despite an ongoing slowdown in global EV sales, the IEA forecasted that sales will pick up this year, thanks to Chinese consumers’ access to cheaper EVs.
REUTERS/Sarah MeyssonnierCheap climate tech imports are ‘penny wise, pound foolish’: White House climate adviser
The White House climate adviser told Semafor’s World Economy Summit that decarbonizing steel factories and residential buildings would be top priorities for a second Biden term.
Getty for SemaforCarlyle sees a cash cow in AI electricity boom
The private equity firm is courting data centers as customers for massive solar farms it’s building in the Arizona desert.
Courtesy Carlylesecurity
IDF/Creative Commons
EU, UN call for probe into reported mass graves at Gaza hospitals
The graves have added to fears of human rights abuses in the Gaza Strip.
UK announces ‘biggest defense budget boost in a generation’
The UK has pledged to spend 2.5% of GDP on defense by 2030, although some analysts question where the money will come from.
Chinese spy allegations rattle Europe-China relations
Germany and the U.K. has accused at least five people of being Chinese spies.
US to withdraw troops from Niger
The Biden administration will begin plans to withdraw troops from Niger, where the US has bases that have played a key role in counterterrorism across the Sahel region.
IDF spy chief resigns, citing Oct. 7 failures
He is the first high-level Israeli military official to resign following the Oct. 7 attack.
IDF/Creative Commonsmedia
Al Lucca/Semafor
Axel Springer’s Trump years
The courtship between Axel Springer and the Trump administration offers an unusual glimpse of a publisher navigating the new political landscape.
Al Lucca/SemaforThe Intercept is running out of cash
The left-wing U.S. newsroom, a hub for pro-Palestinian coverage, is scrambling for funding.
Jina Moore Ngarambe: ‘The idea that empathy is zero-sum’
In her first interview since her exit, former Guernica editor-in-chief Jina Moore reflects on the uproar over an essay the progressive magazine published on Israel and Palestine.
Semaforum with Maria Ressa: “Every time you personalize, you tear apart the public sphere.”
The Nobel Laureate and journalist talks about how tech tears us apart, what we can do about it, and what makes her optimistic.
Soros fund is building an audio empire
Soros Fund Management, the firm founded by the billionaire investor and now controlled by the Open Society Foundations, has gotten into radio.
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