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Politics
Balkans’ Trump lobbying heats up
Bosnian Croat leader Dragan Čović has tapped Trump-linked firm Mercury Public Affairs to lobby for his party.
How Britain’s No. 10 intervened in the AstraZeneca-Bristol merger
The scuttled pharma deal triggered UK government worries.
The World at a Glance
Updated 9:17am EDT
1
The US and Iran sparred over who controls the Strait of Hormuz, as traffic through the waterway remained at a trickle.
2US-backed peace plan under scrutiny as Israel launches its first strikes on Gaza in a week.
3Back-to-back European heatwaves risk denting the continent’s economy, damaging energy grids, transport and tourism.
4Russian and Ukrainian air strikes on Black Sea ports are hurting grain exports, threatening global food supply chains.
5Diplomatic spats spread in East Asia, as US-South Korean and Chinese-Indonesian military drills fuel tensions.
6US inflation rose mildly in July at 0.1%, easing pressures on the Federal Reserve as it weighs an interest rate hike.
Republican students trust their colleges despite Trump scrutiny, poll finds
Sixty-two percent of Republican students said their college’s leadership mostly acts in students’ best interests, compared with 55% of Democrats and half of independents.
Africa’s Amazon turns to World Bank for shock absorber
Jumia is betting that fresh capital from the IFC and existing investors will help it navigate geopolitical and supply-chain disruptions.
El-Sayed’s money challenge raises question for Sanders
Bernie Sanders got his guy in Michigan, but he’s going to have to do more if he wants to successfully shepherd Abdul El-Sayed through the general election.
Four takeaways from a huge primary Tuesday
Not every one of Tuesday’s primaries can be called yet, but the big trends are clear.
Houthis kill 6 in attack on Red Sea cargo ship
The attack on a ship travelling through the Bab el-Mandeb strait is the first deadly strike by the Iran-backed militant group on the key waterway in a year.
The gap is widening between corporate AI adopters and laggards
OpenAI’s enterprise customers are shifting toward agents that do work, not chatbots that answer questions, new data suggests.
Hong’s defeat shows the left evolving further away from 2020
Hong’s narrow defeat in Wisconsin revealed how many Democrats worry that they’ll lose if they “talk like aliens.”
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Politics
Balkans’ Trump lobbying heats up
Bosnian Croat leader Dragan Čović has tapped Trump-linked firm Mercury Public Affairs to lobby for his party.
Dragan Covic in 2018. Denis Kapetanovic/Reuters
Republican students trust their colleges despite Trump scrutiny, poll finds
Sixty-two percent of Republican students said their college’s leadership mostly acts in students’ best interests, compared with 55% of Democrats and half of independents.
Hannah Beier/Reuters
El-Sayed’s money challenge raises question for Sanders
Bernie Sanders got his guy in Michigan, but he’s going to have to do more if he wants to successfully shepherd Abdul El-Sayed through the general election.
Rebecca Cook/Reuters
US inflation rises 0.1% in July, easing pressure on Fed
The inflation data, along with a weak July jobs report, bolster the argument for a hold on rates.
Campaign finance violation allegations fly in Swalwell special
The final week of the race to fill former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s, D-Calif., seat is being roiled by disputes over the role of the local Democratic Party and money.
Hong’s defeat shows the left evolving further away from 2020
Hong’s narrow defeat in Wisconsin revealed how many Democrats worry that they’ll lose if they “talk like aliens.”
Progressive lawmakers prepare AI regulation push
“The foundational idea here is that you shouldn’t lose your freedoms because of the development of AI,” Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, told Semafor.
Conservative groups launch ad deluge in Maine
The Senate Leadership Fund is launching its first ad Wednesday hitting Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson.
Four takeaways from a huge primary Tuesday
Not every one of Tuesday’s primaries can be called yet, but the big trends are clear.
VoteVets goes after Sullivan for Iran votes
VoteVets Action Fund is launching a $225,000 ad buy against Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, for his votes against reining in President Donald Trump’s Iran war powers.
Inside Trump’s college sports lobbying push
The fan-in-chief is getting closely involved in lobbying for the deal, even enlisting Alabama football coach Nick Saban.
Business
How Britain’s No. 10 intervened in the AstraZeneca-Bristol merger
The scuttled pharma deal triggered UK government worries.
Rachel Wisniewski/Reuters
Reed Hastings on life after Netflix and the next wave of AI
The Netflix co-founder and former CEO says AI could unleash a new wave of “creative destruction.”
US inflation rises 0.1% in July, easing pressure on Fed
The inflation data, along with a weak July jobs report, bolster the argument for a hold on rates.
Big tech meets Milton Friedman
Big Tech is working its way through all four stages of a money-spending matrix legendary economist Milton Friedman outlined.
Lip-Bu Tan sought US blessing for Intel’s stock sale
The US government will remain on the sidelines for the $15 billion stock sale.
Technology
Flock tightens guardrails aimed at stopping cops from abusing its license plate cameras
CEO Garrett Langley pushed back against a “misconception that we are some evil entity that has these diabolical plans.”
Cheney Orr/Reuters
AI trade surges on firms’ cloud earnings
The race to develop ever more sophisticated AI models shows no sign of slowing.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
The gap is widening between corporate AI adopters and laggards
OpenAI’s enterprise customers are shifting toward agents that do work, not chatbots that answer questions, new data suggests.
India’s IT sector downsizes amid AI disruption
Several large employers have slashed headcount by as much as 6% in 2026.
US tech leaders stage data center charm offensive
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg published a 6,500-word essay Monday announcing plans for a $1 billion fund to invest in communities that host data centers.
Tech IPOs set up windfall for effective-altruist philanthropy
A surge in AI-related wealth stemming from anticipated tech IPOs is poised to shower Silicon Valley’s favorite philanthropic movement with tens of billions of dollars.
Energy
US clean energy investment surges 22% in second quarter
The results, published by the Clean Investment Monitor, were largely driven by residential battery storage installations.
Mike Blake/Reuters
US power demand to hit new highs on data center buildout
The federal projections come after two years of record electricity demand peaks.
Shelby Tauber/Reuters
Oil prices sink despite Iran war stalemate
The industry’s outlook for global demand weakened, and the US showed signs of rebuilding its stocks.
Damaged oil tanker Caroline Bezengi, off the coast of Oman. Ambrey/Handout via Reuters.
Gulf
Falcon frenzy descends on Riyadh
Falconry is an important part of Saudi sporting heritage — along with camel racing and horse racing — but its economic importance is increasing too.
Courtesy of Saudi Press Agency
Gulf startups are staying private for longer
Market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty is continuing to narrow the exit window for venture capital companies.
Saudi regulator probes investment banks as stock market listings flop
The Capital Market Authority is investigating the poor performance of recent share sales as it looks to revitalize the market.
Hormuz closure dents DP World earnings
Container volumes at Jebel Ali plunged nearly 90% in the second quarter, but overall revenue still rose as the group’s global network of ports helped to offset the slowdown in its home market.
Iran’s export lifeline runs dry as US defends blockade
The embargo is the sharpest edge of a campaign to starve Tehran of oil revenue and undermine its economy.
China
China’s economic reformer Zhu Rongji dies at 97
Zhu’s signal accomplishment was steering China into the World Trade Organization in 2001.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
AgiBot passes Unitree as China’s top humanoid exporter
Shanghai-based AgiBot surpassed the output of fellow Chinese robot maker Unitree in the first half of the year.
Steve Marcus/Reuters
Taiwan beefs up civil, military defense in drills
Taiwan is conducting its largest-ever annual military preparedness drills alongside extensive civil defense exercises.
Cheng-Chia Huang/Reuters
Africa
Africa’s Amazon turns to World Bank for shock absorber
Jumia is betting that fresh capital from the IFC and existing investors will help it navigate geopolitical and supply-chain disruptions.
Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters
Africa gets new sovereign bond ETF
The new sovereign bond exchange-traded fund launched with up to $250 million in commitments.
Tiksa Negeri/Reuters
US lawmakers mull extending AGOA trade program
The US Senate passed a government funding bill over the weekend that included an extension for the program.
Ebola spread undetected for months, WHO says
The revelation raises the likelihood that the latest Ebola outbreak’s true scale is far larger than previously thought.
Nigeria tax breaks target $50B oil investment
Africa’s biggest oil and gas producer hopes to rekindle international interest in offshore projects.
South Africa’s unemployment rate hits four-year high
More than 340,000 people joined the ranks of the unemployed between April and June, pushing the total number of jobless to 8.5 million.
Security
German cabinet approves new spying rules
The changes augur a “revolution” in Berlin’s intelligence infrastructure, the German interior minister said.
Maryam Majd/Reuters
Iran holds firm on war demands, dampening hopes of Hormuz deal
Tehran’s statement dampened hopes that a deal with Oman could provide a route for commercial shipping sooner than the US and Iran could reach their own agreement.
Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
France to deport Russian journalist accused of publishing propaganda
The case has laid bare Europe’s dilemma in carrying out its strategic objectives while upholding its liberal values.
The news studio at RT France. Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters.
Media
Spotify’s new ‘skip’ button could end the podcast business as we know it
The Swedish streaming giant cast the move as streamlining a feature that already exists, the Spotify app’s 15-second skip button.
Screenshot/Max Tani/Semafor; Brendan McDermid/Reuters; Lucas Jackson/Reuters
The AI ‘news’ accounts hyping a blue-state dystopia
AI-generated videos are flooding YouTube with fake narratives about chaos in California and New York.
Senate Democrat’s new bills would restrict AI-powered ads and paid influencers
California Sen. Adam Schiff plans to introduce two new bills that would attempt to illuminate who is paying influencers for political speech online and restrict AI-generated likenesses of politicians.
Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on loneliness and why he’s more worried about your phone than your body
Former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy joins Mixed Signals to make the case that America’s loneliness crisis is a public health emergency.
Steve Hilton on the Murdochs, David Ellison, and conservative media’s California
Steve Hilton has lived many lives: a key strategist to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, a populist Fox News host, and — after renouncing his UK citizenship — the Republican nominee in California’s gubernatorial race.
CEO Signal
Reed Hastings on life after Netflix and the next wave of AI
The Netflix co-founder and former CEO says AI could unleash a new wave of “creative destruction.”
Why Max Levchin wants Affirm to act like your smarter older sister
The fintech founder sees AI threatening traditional lenders by alerting consumers to their hidden fees.
How Patrice Louvet blends ‘magic and logic’ at Ralph Lauren
The Procter & Gamble veteran has focused the fashion brand by balancing emotion and data.
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