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Today’s Flagship
Europe takes a harder stance towards China, key Trump allies are indicted over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election result, and AI startups turn to India’s chaotic roads to test their autonomous vehicles.
Why airplane enthusiasts are flocking to Venezuela
What’s left for Congress with Ukraine aid done
Patagonia is the latest energy flashpoint for China and the West
US Speaker calls on Columbia president to resign as encampments sweep nation’s campuses
Blinken lands in China warning over Beijing’s support for Russia
US Supreme Court divided on whether states can ban emergency abortions
Boeing lost less revenue than expected amid safety crisis
China loses ground in soft-power battle with the US
Biden signs landmark $95 billion Ukraine, Israel aid and TikTok bill
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
Africa
US and Russia are vying to build Ghana’s nuclear energy plant
The United States and Russia are locked in a race against China, France, and South Korea to build the first nuclear power plant in Ghana.
Africa’s only nuclear plant, in South Africa, by Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images
News
EU hints at new China tariffs in toughening stance
The bloc may launch additional tariffs on Chinese-made cars.
Insights from Politico, Reuters, Euronews, Financial Times, and the Economist Intelligence Unit
Annegret Hilse/Reuters
Tech
Sam Altman-founded crypto project Worldcoin faces an orb shortage
With more than 10 million users, the startup is ramping up production of the silver devices that scan people’s irises in exchange for a token.
Medha Singh/ReutersToday’s Flagship
Europe takes a harder stance towards China, key Trump allies are indicted over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election result, and AI startups turn to India’s chaotic roads to test their autonomous vehicles.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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politics
What’s left for Congress with Ukraine aid done
President Biden signed the foreign aid package Wednesday, but there’s still a slate of must-pass bills left.
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.
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.”
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.
business
Getty Images for Semafor
Boeing lost less revenue than expected amid safety crisis
Boeing’s cash burn was less than forecasted, largely driven by operations outside its commercial airplane sector.
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.
Getty Images for Semafor technologyMedha Singh/Reuters 
Denis Balibouse/File Photo/Reuters
Tome
Sam Altman-founded crypto project Worldcoin faces an orb shortage
With more than 10 million users, the startup is ramping up production of the silver devices that scan people’s irises in exchange for a token.
Medha Singh/ReutersU.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.
TomeafricaAfrica’s only nuclear plant, in South Africa, by Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images 
Semafor World Economy Summit 2024
US and Russia are vying to build Ghana’s nuclear energy plant
The United States and Russia are locked in a race against China, France, and South Korea to build the first nuclear power plant in Ghana.
Africa’s only nuclear plant, in South Africa, by Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty ImagesAfDB 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.
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.
net zero
Unsplash/Zach Kirby
Turar Kazangapov/Reuters
REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
Getty for Semafor
Patagonia is the latest energy flashpoint for China and the West
The southern tip of South America is now perhaps one of the world’s most lucrative hubs for energy and mineral sourcing.
Unsplash/Zach KirbyPoor 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 Semaforsecurity
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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