- D.C.
- BXL
- Lagos
- Riyadh
- Beijing
- SG
Intelligence for the New World Economy
- D.C.
- BXL
- Lagos
- Riyadh
- Beijing
- SG
The World at a Glance
Updated 7:25am EST
1
The Iran strikes sparked a debate about reining in Donald Trump’s war powers, and deepened divisions within his base.
2Iran’s leadership was in turmoil after US and Israeli strikes killed the country’s supreme leader at the weekend.
3Iran’s strikes against Gulf cities hurt improving regional ties and upended their reputations as safe havens.
4Canada and India agreed to form a multibillion-dollar trade pact later this year, as Ottawa seeks out new alliances.
5AI giant Anthropic said it hasn’t heard from the US government about whether the Defense Department may blacklist it.
6Donald Trump threatened a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, as the US tightens its oil embargo on the small Communist nation.
Some Republicans back Trump on nationalization of voting
“If he has the power to make sure that people have to be citizens to be registered to vote, show ID to vote, he ought to do it,” Florida Sen. Rick Scott told Semafor. ”
Nathan Howard/Reuters As homeland security shutdown drags on, Thune pivots
The majority leader reasons that the Senate can flip back quickly to Department of Homeland Security funding if there’s a deal.
Kylie Cooper/Reuters The drone-making startup with big dreams of securing Nigeria
Terra Industries raised $34 million in January across two funding rounds amid heightened US interest in Nigeria’s security crisis.
The Terra Industries factory in Abuja. Alexander Onukwue/Semafor.Texas’ Democratic Senate primary now a personality war
Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico tell more or less the same story about where their party went wrong. Their battle is more about themselves.
Dave Weigel/SemaforUAE’s pandemic response a good test case for current crisis, executive says
A logistics expert offers a reassuring message on the flow of food and necessities to the Emirates amid massive uncertainty.
People sit on motorbikes in the traffic, after an Iranian attack in Dubai. Amr Alfiky/Reuters.A new CBS News emerges amid Iran crisis
The joint Israeli and American attacks on Iran were the first major test of the new CBS News right-leaning and pro-Israel editorial leadership.
Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press and Shannon Stapleton/Reuters The LBO debt market is freaking out. Here comes a $20 billion test of nerves.
JPMorgan bankers will pitch investors on $20 billion of debt backing the mega-buyout of EA Sports in Miami this week, a big ask for a market rattled by AI wipeout fears.
Dado Ruvic/Reuter illustration
AD
PoliticsKylie Cooper/Reuters Dave Weigel/Semafor Nathan Howard/Reuters
As homeland security shutdown drags on, Thune pivots
The majority leader reasons that the Senate can flip back quickly to Department of Homeland Security funding if there’s a deal.
Kylie Cooper/Reuters Texas’ Democratic Senate primary now a personality war
Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico tell more or less the same story about where their party went wrong. Their battle is more about themselves.
Dave Weigel/SemaforSome Republicans back Trump on nationalization of voting
“If he has the power to make sure that people have to be citizens to be registered to vote, show ID to vote, he ought to do it,” Florida Sen. Rick Scott told Semafor. ”
Nathan Howard/Reuters Democrats prepare war powers votes on Iran
They know, however, that their efforts will fall short of the margin needed to overcome a presidential veto.
The Gulf next door
The drones and missiles that got through the UAE’s defenses consummated what had always been a lingering sense of vulnerability.
Iran strikes show how Trump’s foreign policy bucks norms on war
The audacious mission to take out Iran’s leader underscored President Donald Trump’s brand of foreign policy, defined by unpredictability and a willingness to disregard longstanding norms, analysts said.
Democrats see Iraq echoes in Trump’s Iran war
The party that swept to power in Congress by campaigning against Middle East wars 20 years ago sounds confident that history will repeat itself.
Trump sidelines Republican Congress on Iran strikes
Democrats are calling for votes on war powers, but all signs point to the GOP going along with Trump’s latest foreign intervention.
Hillary Clinton denies meeting Epstein in testimony to US lawmakers
Republicans compelled the former secretary of state to testify; her husband, former President Bill Clinton will do so today.
Lawmakers eye tax changes to tackle institutional investors in housing
Hill Republicans have said they’re willing to play ball on Trump’s idea if it means getting separate bipartisan housing legislation over the finish line.
Democrats weigh how harshly to go after firms that courted Trump
The party is already drawing CEOs a road map for how they’d use their majority if they win back the House. But there are inherent risks.
BusinessDado Ruvic/Reuter illustration
The LBO debt market is freaking out. Here comes a $20 billion test of nerves.
JPMorgan bankers will pitch investors on $20 billion of debt backing the mega-buyout of EA Sports in Miami this week, a big ask for a market rattled by AI wipeout fears.
Dado Ruvic/Reuter illustrationChinese car price war starts to pick back up
China’s carmakers are reigniting a fraught price war in a bid to reverse a slump in sales.
US Soccer’s goal for the 2026 World Cup
CEO JT Batson says the tournament is forcing brands to see the value of the sport’s fans.
Affirm’s Max Levchin on how market sci-fi stories line up with AI reality
The PayPal co-founder values speculative visions of the future, even if investors overreacted to them this week.
Pearson’s pitch for company bosses to become AI chief education officers
CEO Omar Abbosh says a new approach to skills is needed for companies to get the most from humans and technology.
Technology
Denis Balibouse/Reuters
Al Drago/File Photo/Reuters
CERN scientists use AI to reevaluate physics theories
Many of the theories physicists rely on are incomplete, and until a flaw is found which can reveal new physics, the field is somewhat stuck.
Denis Balibouse/ReutersAnthropic says yet to hear about US government blacklisting
A row with the US government began after Anthropic refused to allow defense officials to use its technology in certain situations.
Al Drago/File Photo/ReutersDownloads of Anthropic’s Claude surge after Pentagon spat
Anthropic had refused to give the US military unfettered access to its technology.
Hours after Pentagon bans Anthropic, OpenAI strikes defense deal
Hegseth’s harsh punishment is the culmination of a long, slow slide that began with a political disagreement.
New AI-generated videos push boundaries
One video was a mock commercial for a gym where humans who lost their jobs to AI instead power it by exercising at “Energym,” run by aged versions of Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Jeff Bezos.
Perplexity’s ‘Computer’ wasn’t always planned
After Perplexity spent six months building its browser product Comet, it made Computer in two months.
Energy
Costas Baltas/Reuters
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters 
Leah Millis/File Photo/Reuters
Iran attack is Trump’s riskiest energy bet yet
“The name of the game is to move as much oil away from the Strait of Hormuz as possible right now.”
Costas Baltas/ReutersUS tech firms set to sign energy pledge
US tech giants are expected to sign a pledge next week to build or buy their own energy supplies to power data centers.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters The problem with Trump’s data center power plan
Trump’s plan to hold down rising power prices associated with data centers could waste a massive investment opportunity.
Leah Millis/File Photo/ReutersGulf
Kylie Cooper/File Photo/Reuters
Gulf AI infrastructure faces its first stress test
Amazon’s cloud-computing facilities in the Middle East suffered power and connectivity issues on Sunday.
Kylie Cooper/File Photo/ReutersIran strikes expose Gulf economies’ lingering energy dependence
Saudi Aramco shuttered its Ras Tanura refinery on Monday, while QatarEnergy halted LNG production.
The UAE’s costly shield in the US-Israel-Iran war
The UAE is bearing the brunt of the US-Israel-Iran war among the bystanders, withstanding more than 700 missile and drone strikes since Saturday.
How Gulf expats are reacting to the war on Iran
The spectrum of sentiment has been wide in the Gulf over the past couple of days, from quiet confidence to outright panic.
UAE’s pandemic response a good test case for current crisis, executive says
A logistics expert offers a reassuring message on the flow of food and necessities to the Emirates amid massive uncertainty.
Africa
A petrol tanker leaves the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. Sodiq Adelakun/Reuters.
Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria stage a pro-Iran protest. Hamza Ibrahim.
Africa braces for Middle East conflict fallout on fuel
A jump in oil prices offered short-term fiscal relief for African crude producers while raising inflation risks for the continent’s fuel importers.
A petrol tanker leaves the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. Sodiq Adelakun/Reuters.Africa could find itself in ‘middle’ of Iran war
North and East African states are exposed to risks from primary and proxy actors in the Gulf, analysts said.
Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria stage a pro-Iran protest. Hamza Ibrahim.Mining giant Rio Tinto to restart major South Africa minerals project
The project was halted for six years because of violent unrest including protests and extortion attempts.
The drone-making startup with big dreams of securing Nigeria
Terra Industries raised $34 million in January across two funding rounds amid heightened US interest in Nigeria’s security crisis.
China’s media push in Africa has largely failed, analysts say
Beijing had rolled out a multi-billion-dollar, decades-long campaign to expand Chinese media’s presence in Africa.
The African venture capital moment
African VCs need to transform great companies into great investments.
Security
Kiyoshi Ota/Pool via Reuters
Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Japan PM vows defense shakeup over China tensions
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sparked a diplomatic dispute with Beijing last year by saying Tokyo could defend Taiwan if China were to invade.
Kiyoshi Ota/Pool via ReutersTrump issues 15-day warning to Iran on nuclear deal
The US president warned that if Iran does not agree to a deal, “it’s going to be unfortunate for them.”
Majid Asgaripour/WANA via ReutersUS ups pressure on Iran with huge air power assembly
Two aircraft carriers and dozens of land-based planes have moved to the Gulf, enough to wage what experts said could be a sustained war against Iran.
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters MediaLeigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press and Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
A new CBS News emerges amid Iran crisis
The joint Israeli and American attacks on Iran were the first major test of the new CBS News right-leaning and pro-Israel editorial leadership.
Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press and Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Netflix walks away from $83B Warner Bros. takeover
Paramount’s David Ellison gets the media property he has long wanted. Netflix, having swung and missed at its first big M&A deal, now has to reassure investors that its business is fine.
BBC News CEO who resigned over edit of Trump speech rejects charge of ‘institutional bias’
In her first interview since she left the BBC, Deborah Turness said at Semafor’s Restoring Trust in Media summit that it was her choice to resign.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr praises Bari Weiss’ CBS
“I think they’re doing a great job,” Carr said at Semafor’s Restoring Trust in Media event Wednesday.
Washington Post editor recounts layoff pain, pledges to take paper to profitability
“Great journalism is central, but the journalism alone isn’t enough.”
CEO Signal
Courtesy of Pearson/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Courtesy of Affirm/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
US Soccer’s goal for the 2026 World Cup
CEO JT Batson says the tournament is forcing brands to see the value of the sport’s fans.
Pearson’s pitch for company bosses to become AI chief education officers
CEO Omar Abbosh says a new approach to skills is needed for companies to get the most from humans and technology.
Courtesy of Pearson/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforAffirm’s Max Levchin on how market sci-fi stories line up with AI reality
The PayPal co-founder values speculative visions of the future, even if investors overreacted to them this week.
Courtesy of Affirm/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforAD