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Politics
Senators move to force AI companies to disclose more
The measure would have the FTC enforce disclosure requirements for certain AI companies.
Trump-Xi meeting light on substance
Few details have emerged from a wide-ranging White House meeting Thursday morning.
Trump-Xi meeting light on substance
Few details have emerged from a wide-ranging White House meeting Thursday morning.
View / AI’s financial Jenga towers start to wobble
View/ Value addition’s limitations
The World at a Glance
Updated 6:54pm EDT
1
China’s leader Xi Jinping called for “healthy” competition between Washington and Beijing in his historic White House visit.
2Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dismissed concerns over AI’s existential threats as a “distraction” that’s “not grounded on science.”
3Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu railed against the country’s critics in a UN General Assembly speech that showcased Israel’s growing isolation.
4The US and Iran are discussing a phased deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but diplomatic efforts will be challenged by both sides’ unwillingness to surrender leverage.
5Denmark warned that Russia would escalate its hybrid warfare campaign against the West, citing a “low but growing risk” of direct attack by Moscow.
6The UK’s prime minister called a 40-year ban on booze from top-level British soccer matches “discriminatory,” signaling the potential return of pints to stands.
Republican presses White House for more AI oversight
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., warned that AI-enabled attacks could potentially target hospitals, electric grids, and other infrastructure.
Xi’s visit met with Republican criticism
Some Republicans are concerned about the red-carpet optics.
Some Republicans push to prioritize Husted data center bill
Republican senators have discussed the idea but made no final decision.
Poll quantifies effects of Trump’s DC takeover
Four in 10 people residing in Washington, DC, said they’ve been adversely affected by increased military presence in the district.
Trump administration backing off NIH grant order amid pushback
The proposal, which would have given President Donald Trump greater influence over health grant decisionmaking, could still advance in a new form.
Paramount weighs tapping Musk for equity investment
A cash injection from SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk could reduce investor Larry Ellison’s financial burden and bolster the deal’s investor base.
Tim Scott to Senate Republicans: We’re still in this
The NRSC chair told colleagues at a closed-door meeting that they can still maintain Senate control in the midterms despite the worsening climate for Republicans.
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Politics
Israel’s Netanyahu defends Iran war, rails against critics in combative UN speech
Hundreds of diplomats left the Assembly Hall as the increasingly isolated Israeli Prime Minister defended the Iran war and railed against Israel’s critics.
Mike Segar/Reuters
Trump-Xi meeting light on substance
Few details have emerged from a wide-ranging White House meeting Thursday morning.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Republican presses White House for more AI oversight
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., warned that AI-enabled attacks could potentially target hospitals, electric grids, and other infrastructure.
Kylie Cooper/Reuters
New Tigray offensive ends four year ceasefire
Tensions over who controls the contested region have been growing for months; a previous war led to hundreds of thousands of deaths.
US allies fret their position could be weakened in China talks
Analysts say one of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s priorities will be persuading Trump to halt $14 billion in proposed armed sales to Taiwan.
Washington and Beijing extend trade truce despite simmering tensions
Expectations are low for the meeting, the third in less than a year, given their lingering disputes over trade and deep competition over AI.
Poll quantifies effects of Trump’s DC takeover
Four in 10 people residing in Washington, DC, said they’ve been adversely affected by increased military presence in the district.
Senators move to force AI companies to disclose more
The measure would have the FTC enforce disclosure requirements for certain AI companies.
Companies meet with Zelenskyy on investment
Private-sector figures, US government representatives, and Ukrainian officials gathered on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
US increases pressure on Sudan
With a push for a ceasefire stalled, the Trump administration is trying a new approach that risks alienating allies.
Some Republicans push to prioritize Husted data center bill
Republican senators have discussed the idea but made no final decision.
Business
UBS considers an exit from Switzerland
Senior leaders have revived discussions about combining with a foreign bank after Swiss regulators voted this week to demand it raise more capital.
Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters
UK’s Burnham signals booze could return to soccer stands
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the 40-year ban “discriminatory.”
AI’s financial Jenga towers start to wobble
In an exquisitely arranged patchwork of loans, insurance policies, and milestone-triggered payments, a single element falling out of place can expose financial backers and insurers to losses.
US Treasury yields hit highest level since 2007
The higher yields could become a boon to some private credit lenders like Apollo or Blackstone.
Newsmax stirs up trouble for Fox
Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy’s antitrust suit against Fox got tossed last year, but he refiled and keeps punching.
Technology
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dismisses AI fears as ‘distraction’
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang characterized fears over AI’s existential threats as a “distraction” that’s “not grounded on science.
Carlos Barria/Reuters
Top AI bosses issue stark warning to UN on safety risks
Anthropic’s Dario Amodei warned that “if managed poorly, AI could be a risk to humanity as a whole.”
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
UN agencies look to hedge US tech dependence
Some UN groups are exploring shared computing and data infrastructure, which could give them more control over their sensitive data.
Anthropic and OpenAI bosses to address the UN
Analysts say Washington and Beijing are unlikely to reach any wide-ranging pact in talks to constrain AI.
OpenAI exec is ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the US working with China on AI
Communication between the two nations is a “starting place.”
Global South more optimistic about AI than the US, Google exec says
AI is making strides in disease diagnostics and language translation for populations outside of the US and Europe, Google’s James Manyika said at Semafor’s The Next 3 Billion.
Energy
Southeast Asia continues its $160 billion gas buildout
The region is carrying on even as the Middle East conflict exposes its vulnerability to supply shocks.
Puspa Perwitasari/Reuters
China’s clean tech exports prevented more than the UK’s annual emissions
Solar panel exports to South Asia alone were responsible for almost a third of the avoided emissions..
China Daily via Reuters
US energy secretary downplays diesel export ban idea as prices climb
Oil prices rose above $100 a barrel on the US-Iran geopolitical deadlock.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Gulf
India’s biggest payments app PhonePe enters UAE
The UAE fintech industry is projected to nearly double by 2029, after drawing in a third of all startup funding in the country in 2024.
Nasir Kachroo/Reuters
UAE launches new freight rail service connecting Fujairah with Abu Dhabi
Three times a week, Etihad Rail will move containers about 200 kilometers from the port on the UAE’s Gulf of Oman coast to Abu Dhabi.
Microsoft doubles down on investment in the Gulf
Microsoft is planning to spend at least $10 billion by 2030 to shore up the region’s digital resilience.
Iran presents US with roadmap to end the war
It echoes the two countries’ June agreement — a 60-day ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — The National reported.
Saudi Arabia’s $1.3 billion biotech push following Riyadh summit
One deal includes a $130 million vaccine manufacturing plant, which would be the Gulf’s largest, in a push to become a global biotech hub by 2040.
China
Xi calls for ‘healthy’ competition between China and US
During his historic White House visit, China’s leader Xi Jinping said the countries shared the “responsibility to develop and manage AI for good.”
Evan Vucci/Reuters
US allies fret their position could be weakened in China talks
Analysts say one of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s priorities will be persuading Trump to halt $14 billion in proposed armed sales to Taiwan.
Kenny Holston/Reuters
Washington and Beijing extend trade truce despite simmering tensions
Expectations are low for the meeting, the third in less than a year, given their lingering disputes over trade and deep competition over AI.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Africa
New Tigray offensive ends four year ceasefire
Tensions over who controls the contested region have been growing for months; a previous war led to hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Tigrayan forces. Screen grab from a video/Reuters refile
The limitations of Africa’s ‘value addition’ mantra
African governments increasingly want partnerships that build domestic capacity, rather than simply finance projects or provide an exit route for commodities.
Goran Tomasevic/Reuters
South Africa faces US investment freeze warns ambassador
L. Brent Bozell III said Pretoria’s measures aimed at redressing inequalities caused by apartheid were barriers to investment.
Trump’s Africa adviser defends proposed Libyan deal: ‘Absolute partnership’
Massad Boulos pushed back on claims that a US plan for Libya would hand control of the country to a powerful military commander and his family.
DRC prime minister defends Ebola response
Judith Suminwa also discussed the country’s relationship with the US.
World has entered ‘age of impunity’ amid global aid cuts, Miliband says
Extensive cuts to global aid have left the world with “more shocks, fewer shock absorbers,” the International Rescue Committee president said.
Security
Russia looking to escalate hybrid war, Denmark warns
Denmark’s intelligence service warned that there is a “low but growing risk” of direct attack by Moscow.
Ints Kalnins/Reuters
US, Iran explore phased deal to reopen Hormuz
Diplomacy will be challenged by both sides’ unwillingness to surrender leverage.
Reuters
New Tigray offensive ends four year ceasefire
Tensions over who controls the contested region have been growing for months; a previous war led to hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Tigrayan forces. Screen grab from a video/Reuters refile
Media
Trump battles press as Xi heads to town
A judge is expected to hear arguments in a lawsuit brought by the three news outlets the president banned from the White House last week.
David Dee Delgado/Reuters
Inside the US Treasury secretary’s tense relationship with financial media
Scott Bessent’s blacklist starts with Bloomberg.
Fertile ground
Flagship’s lead writer Tom Chivers says goodbye after four years.
Crooked Media’s nonprofit launches new political creator drive
The nonprofit arm of Pod Save America’s audio empire is hoping to lure younger voters back to the Democratic Party.
YouTube cracks down on ‘ghost creators’
The enforcement action targeted accounts named in Semafor’s report earlier this week.
CEO Signal
Why Kai-Fu Lee thinks companies need an AI boss
Google’s former China chief says CEOs face a Darwinian choice if they want more than “AI theater.”
How Atlassian built a $45 billion software company far from Silicon Valley’s ‘froth and bubbles’
CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes says CEOs need context, experimentation, and some big bets to get the most from AI.
How the billionaire Bayeux Tapestry backer gets ‘impact per dollar’
WorldQuant’s Igor Tulchinsky finds inspiration in the ‘very, very old data set’ now on display in the British Museum.
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