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View / A former Chinese inmate on the risks of ‘middle powers’ turning to Beijing
Saudi’s NEOM creates new unit to boost oversight
The World at a Glance
Updated 5:37pm EST
1
Israel recovered the body of the final hostage held in Gaza, a milestone in efforts to advance a US-brokered ceasefire.
2Donald Trump sent his border czar to Minneapolis and softened his tone on the ongoing immigration crackdown, as backlash intensifies over Alex Pretti’s killing.
3Ten European countries agreed to collaborate on a massive offshore wind farm project, part of Europe’s push for energy and tech independence.
4The EU opened an investigation into Elon Musk’s X over Grok deepfakes, as the continent steps up oversight of Big Tech, risking Washington’s ire.
5Nvidia is investing $2 billion in CoreWeave to boost the buildout of data centers, which are set to become a central political focus in the US this year.
6Chinese AI apps are turning to cash handouts to attract new users, the latest sign of the country’s hyper-competitive tech landscape.
Shutdown looms as Republicans press on with homeland security funding
Senate Democrats are vowing to tank a six-bill funding package if it includes a bill with billions for ICE.
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters Taiwan monitoring China after Beijing fires top general
The move raises “doubts about the country’s war readiness,” The Economist noted.
Maxim Shemetov/Pool/ReutersFlorida Republicans raise doubts about Trump’s plans for Venezuelan oil under Rodríguez
The administration has already sent hundreds of millions back into Caracas’ economy, but skeptics see the setup as ripe for misuse by the current regime.
Marco Bello/ReutersTrump softens tone on Minneapolis shooting
Some Border Patrol agents are reportedly set to leave Minnesota this week.
Tim Evans/Reuters AD
Nigeria’s UBA preps $50M financing for DRC minerals bid
Banks and miners on the continent are ready for US-aligned deals as the White House tries to outdo China in securing DR Congo supply chains.
DR Congo’s Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine. Jonny Hogg/File Photo/Reuters.Zimbabwe’s white farmers push for Trump support over land compensation
The White House has alleged that white people in southern Africa are being discriminated against by Black-majority governments.
KB Mpofu/Getty ImagesSaudi’s winter games delay is a reality check on gigaprojects
Riyadh is showing it’s willing to abandon projects when the numbers don’t add up.
Courtesy of NEOM
Politics
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Tim Evans/ReutersAnnabelle Gordon/Reuters
Trump shifts course — somewhat — in Minnesota after shooting
The president is shaking up enforcement and talking more about working with local officials. Whether it means long-term deescalation is another matter.
Kevin Lamarque/ReutersWhite House says it will review Minnesota killing by immigration agents
Alex Pretti was shot repeatedly on Saturday, apparently after having been disarmed.
Tim Evans/ReutersShutdown looms as Republicans press on with homeland security funding
Senate Democrats are vowing to tank a six-bill funding package if it includes a bill with billions for ICE.
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters Employers face little risk from Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement
There’s little evidence that American business, large or small, will pay a price for hiring immigrants illegally.
Florida Republicans raise doubts about Trump’s plans for Venezuelan oil under Rodríguez
The administration has already sent hundreds of millions back into Caracas’ economy, but skeptics see the setup as ripe for misuse by the current regime.
ICE shooting compounds political pressure facing Trump
The killing of a Minneapolis protester by federal agents compounds the political pressure on US President Donald Trump at a time when his domestic and foreign agendas are facing sharper opposition, analysts said.
Furor erupts after federal agents kill second person in Minnesota
Furor erupted across the US after immigration agents shot and killed a second person in the state of Minnesota on Saturday, escalating tensions over the Trump administration’s deportation crackdown.
Second Minnesota shooting by ICE raises chances of a partial government shutdown
Some Senate Democrats who had supported reopening US agencies after last fall’s record closure are vowing to vote no this time.
Debatable: Trump’s Golden Dome
The missile shield proposal — and its price tag — has policymakers at odds.
Sticky US inflation makes Fed rate cut unlikely
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that inflation ticked up to 2.8% in November.
DHS funding bill might pass despite Democratic opposition
The bill passed the House with just seven Democratic votes on Thursday.
Business
Annegret Hilse/File Photo/Reuters
Volkswagen considers pulling out of US factory plans over tariffs
The car giant’s CEO told Handelsblatt that US levies cost VW $2.5 billion in the first nine months of 2025, and that reductions were necessary.
Annegret Hilse/File Photo/ReutersCEOs call for ‘de-escalation’ after Minneapolis shooting
Minnesota business leaders say they have been working behind the scenes with the White House.
Nasdaq’s Adena Friedman on funding the AI ‘marathon’
The exchange CEO says adopting AI in enterprises requires “a massive change management exercise.”
Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan: ‘The pipelines are full’
“It’s clear you can get a deal done now,” says the long-tenured banker.
How Wall Street gave up on influencing Donald Trump
The masters of the universe are now passive participants.
Technology
Themis Bioscience/Martin Wacht/Handout via Reuters
Yuichiro Chino/Getty
Institutions are missing AI’s real potential for drug discovery
More regulatory reform is needed to speed up the progress and reduce costs of applying AI to biosciences.
Themis Bioscience/Martin Wacht/Handout via ReutersResearchers use AI to reverse engineer molecules
Researchers at NYU and the University of Florida claim its neural network proposes molecular structures at 10 times the speed of existing methods.
Yuichiro Chino/GettySouth Korea poised to trump EU in AI safety laws
Seoul has enacted its own national AI laws targeting trust and safety, the second major government after the EU to impose sweeping measures.
How to AI-proof your office
Design firms are experimenting with how to redesign physical spaces to adapt to evolving work habits.
Anthropic vows to protect humanity with AI ‘constitution’
Anthropic updated Claude’s rules, spelling out the chatbot’s “ethical character” and, crucially, requiring it not to “kill or disempower” humanity.
China, US sign off on TikTok US spinoff
The deal caps a yearslong battle between the social media app and the two superpowers.
Energy
A snow storm in 2021. Tom Brenner/Reuters.
Thomas Mukoya/Reuters
Gas prices spike ahead of major US storm
Much of the East Coast and Midwest will see snow and sleet, with travel likely to be disrupted.
A snow storm in 2021. Tom Brenner/Reuters.World Bank, Rockefeller to spend millions on African solar transition
The continent’s panel imports almost tripled in the two years to June 2025, a report found.
Thomas Mukoya/ReutersWhy the smart money is betting against Davos
On clean energy, investors at Davos are betting against the most powerful person here.
Gulf
Ahmed Yosri/Reuters
The Gulf is becoming one of gaming’s most lucrative markets
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt had a gaming market worth a combined $2 billion in 2024.
Ahmed Yosri/ReutersSaudi real estate market opens to foreigners
The aim is to attract international developers, lift the quality of projects, and stimulate the sector’s contribution to non-oil GDP.
Gulf countries double down on rail plans
Saudi authorities have revived plans for a Jeddah metro and started the bidding for a high-speed rail line in Riyadh, while Dubai continues to expand its metro network.
UAE to host more Ukraine-Russia peace talks
The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, has built credibility as a mediator and has been involved in facilitating the release of prisoners in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Saudi’s winter games delay is a reality check on gigaprojects
Riyadh is showing it’s willing to abandon projects when the numbers don’t add up.
AfricaKB Mpofu/Getty Images 
Phil Noble/Reuters
Zimbabwe’s white farmers push for Trump support over land compensation
The White House has alleged that white people in southern Africa are being discriminated against by Black-majority governments.
KB Mpofu/Getty ImagesJapan’s Nissan to sell South Africa plant to China’s Chery
The move will end Nissan’s five-decade presence in South Africa as the company battles to regain its footing in the global market.
Phil Noble/ReutersNigeria’s UBA preps $50M financing for DRC minerals bid
Banks and miners on the continent are ready for US-aligned deals as the White House tries to outdo China in securing DR Congo supply chains.
Kenya’s bourse bets on M-Pesa to attract retail investors
Leading telcos are expected to soon roll out trading services on their mobile money apps.
Nigeria’s insecurity crisis is one of weak statehood
The country’s multiple security challenges are more complicated than the swirling flawed narratives of “Christian genocide.”
How West Africa’s medieval Gold Road shows a path for free trade
Three great West African empires laid the foundation of some of the earliest global trade routes in history.
Security
Issei Kato/File Photo/Reuters
Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters
Stringer/Reuters
Chinese tourism to Japan plummets following Taiwan spat
Beijing urged its citizens not to travel to Japan after its prime minister said her country may support Taiwan militarily.
Issei Kato/File Photo/ReutersThreat of US strike on Iran appears to wane
Officials reportedly advised US President Donald Trump that an attack would be unlikely to topple the government.
Majid Asgaripour/WANA via ReutersDefense stocks surge on rising calls for militarization
Donald Trump’s calls for a more than 50% increase to his country’s military budget have lifted the valuations of domestic arms firms.
Stringer/ReutersMedia
Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Rumors of staffing cuts spook Washington Post newsroom
Feared potential targets for cuts include the sports and international desks.
Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images“We’re not trying to recreate social media”: How Minnesota’s Star Tribune navigates a local crisis
The publication tries to offer a sober alternative to a social media swarm as a deadly shooting deepens the crisis in Minneapolis.
Freakonomics’ Stephen Dubner on why long-form podcasting isn’t dead yet
Stephen Dubner has spent 20 years proving that things aren’t what they seem—and now he’s not so sure that’s always true.
Streaming giants push filmmakers to adapt to ‘double screening’
Viewers are increasingly watching films and TV while also looking at their smartphones.
Die Welt editor departed amid internal inquiry
The editor of Germany’s Die Welt had been the subject of internal scrutiny in recent days by the newspaper’s parent company.
CEO Signal
Courtesy of Nasdaq/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Courtesy of Bank of America/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Courtesy of Suntory/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Nasdaq’s Adena Friedman on funding the AI ‘marathon’
The exchange CEO says adopting AI in enterprises requires “a massive change management exercise.”
Courtesy of Nasdaq/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforBank of America’s Brian Moynihan: ‘The pipelines are full’
“It’s clear you can get a deal done now,” says the long-tenured banker.
Courtesy of Bank of America/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforGreg Hughes on how Suntory plans to revive global spirits sales
The CEO behind Jim Beam and Hibiki says bold goals and learning from failure build long-term growth.
Courtesy of Suntory/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforAD