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Lawmakers skeptical of Trump plans for US-China investment board

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the board would determine “non-sensitive areas where it would be possible for the Chinese to invest.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other members of the US delegation stand before the welcome ceremony for US President Donald Trump in Beijing.

How real are Trump’s China deals?

Optimistic talk about deepening the bilateral relationship only goes so far.

Xi Jinping and Donald Trump

Independent jumps into Nebraska race on “anti-monopolist” message

Progressive think tanker to test anti-corporate theory of politics.

Austin Ahlman and a voter

Federal workers’ mood sank under DOGE, poll finds

Federal workers were less likely to trust their leaders or believe their workplace treats people with respect.

Senate’s crypto drama comes to a head

Republicans already amassed enough support to advance their latest bill text without Democrats on Wednesday.

Two top Trump priorities in jeopardy on Capitol Hill

A potential gas tax holiday and funding for the White House ballroom are both in serious jeopardy.

Vance takes campaign trail ‘tryouts’ to Maine, without Collins

The vice president will campaign with Paul LePage for the House, but the Maine senator will be in Washington voting.

Xi to push Trump on Taiwan

Beijing is poised to press Donald Trump on US arms sales to Taiwan, amid rising concerns that the president could alter his stance toward the island.

What Spencer Pratt’s rise can teach both parties about AI-age campaigning

You don’t have to imagine what Los Angeles would look like under Mayor Spencer Pratt, because AI already did it for you.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is wading into an international M&A deal

New York’s mayor wants to block the merger of Western Union and Intermex, arguing it’ll hurt some of the neediest New Yorkers.

Key Republican senator removes roadblock to crypto bill

Sen. John Kennedy, R, La., will support the legislation in committee, moving it closer to passage by the Senate.

Air India to cut international flights due to fuel shortages

The cuts deepen the turmoil at Air India, following a devastating crash last year and the departure of its CEO.

Air India plane

US set to drop Adani bribery case

Asia’s richest man was under investigation for bribing officials and misleading US investors.

Trump says China to purchase 200 Boeing jets

The announcement marked one of the first major deals to come out of the Beijing summit.

Companies jostle for AI stock bump

If you’re, say, a flailing sneaker company, you might issue a press release announcing you’re now in the GPU-leasing business.

AI is coming for (some) jobs

The AI future is here, but unevenly distributed.

AI assumes larger role in US elections

One Democratic congressional primary in New York City has become a proxy battle over AI regulation.

Daya Lopez, Luis Valdespino and Jon Villegas attend a Harlingen City Commission meeting regarding a data centre being proposed by a subsidiary of Eneus Energy in Harlingen, Texas, U.S

Japan, EU seek out AI models for cyber defense

Governments and businesses are racing to detect and fix software vulnerabilities before AI systems get to them first.

Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch

Nvidia’s Huang a ‘bargaining chip’ in China

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s last-minute inclusion on Trump’s Beijing trip raised the possibility of a deal to break an impasse over AI chip sales to China.

Thinking Machines previews ‘interaction models’

The models intend to fit seamlessly into conversations by interrupting and adding context as a human might.

EU seeks social media laws

The European Commission is preparing new regulations tackling the “addictive design” of social media platforms.

Nvidia CEO joins Trump in China despite ‘awkward’ politics

The president initially left Jensen Huang out of the CEO delegation to dodge political tensions around chip sales to China.

Surge in crackdown on environmental defenders, report finds

The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre documented nearly 800 incidents drawn from publicly available sources.

Ugandan riot police officers detain an activist during a march in support of the European Parliament resolution to stop the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.

Global investments in clean tech manufacturing drop

Global investments in clean technology manufacturing peaked in 2023 and have since dipped 42% to $155 billion in 2025, a Rhodium Group report found.

Solar panels are built in a factory.

Global oil reserves deplete at record pace, IEA warns

The US government reported that global reserve depletions for the full year could reach up to 2.6 million barrels per day on average.

The Permian Basin oil field near Midland, Texas.

Saudi Arabia’s sizable deficit is a risk worth taking

Higher spending led to an unexpectedly large deficit in the first quarter, but inaction would have been a bigger risk.

General view shows the King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station in Riyadh

Phoenix Group makes AI data center pivot into Europe

The Abu Dhabi-based Bitcoin miner told Semafor last year it was pivoting to small-scale AI infrastructure.

Abu Dhabi backs $30B infrastructure partnership

The agreement is the latest sign of Abu Dhabi pushing ahead with investment activities despite the Iran war.

UAE denies Israeli PM’s claim of ‘historic’ visit

Netanyahu’s office said the secret visit had deepened cooperation, but the UAE foreign ministry insisted that the reports of the “alleged visit” were false.

Fertiglobe warns of war’s long-term impact on food prices

High urea prices are squeezing farmers and raising fears of lower crop yields, conditions that could persist even if Gulf shipping routes reopen.

China notches soft-power win in US summit

The summit has cast the world’s attention on China’s pandemic recovery and tech innovations.

A person looks on near a giant screen showing news footage of U.S. President Donald Trump attending a welcoming banquet held by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing

Opposing US-China readouts expose diplomatic fault lines

Experts noted that Beijing’s briefing included a warning over Taiwan, which Washington’s didn’t mention.

China’s leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump

China is playing diplomatic long game, experts say

On Taiwan and Iran, Beijing believes the global balance of power is slowly tilting in its favor.

A large screen in Beijing shows a Chinese destroyer

Africa’s energy producers race to boost output

The Iran war has galvanized efforts across the continent to reduce reliance on imported fuels.

A flame rises from a gas flare at the Dangote oil refinery and fertilizer plant site in the Ibeju Lekki district of Lagos.

US’ aid-for-minerals strategy courts controversy

While the strategy has appeared callous to some, Washington says it’s not as new as it appears.

A miner observes a blast hole drill drilling into a boulder at the Kibali gold mine in Haut-Uele province, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Telecoms giant Airtel Africa’s revenues soar

Airtel operates in 14 sub-Saharan African countries and experienced a 10% rise in its customer base in the year to March.

EV imports to Africa from China surged in 2025

African countries imported more than 44,000 electric vehicles from China last year, according to China’s commerce ministry, up from more than 19,000 in 2024.

South Africa arrests intelligence chief on corruption charges

Feroz Khan faces charges including corruption and the illegal possession of and dealing in precious metals.

Africa-France summit unlocks $50B in investments

French President Emmanuel Macron co-hosted the two-day summit with Kenyan President William Ruto.

Japan, EU seek out AI models for cyber defense

Governments and businesses are racing to detect and fix software vulnerabilities before AI systems get to them first.

Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch

Spain calls for creation of EU army amid US unreliability

The call is part of a broader shift toward European sovereignty.

Paratroopers of Spanish army 6th airborne brigade walk to their positions after landing during NATO U.S. led “Swift Response 2025” military exercise near Daugavpils.

Putin says Ukraine war is ‘coming to an end’

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he believes the Ukraine war is “coming to an end,” hours after vowing victory over Kyiv at a pared-down Victory Day parade devoid of its usual military hardware display.

Victory Day military parade in Moscow

Fortune chairman joined Trump interview

Editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell conducted the interview with the president.

Alyson Shontell

Paramount seeks to calm California’s creatives — and a litigious attorney general

Paramount is racing to reassure Hollywood that its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, with its HBO streaming service, isn’t aimed at killing movie theaters.

CBS’ Tony Dokoupil to broadcast from Taiwan after failing to get China visa in time

It was a stumble in the network’s efforts to play a leading role in this week’s dominant global story.

Hollywood appears to avoid Cannes Film Festival

Only two American entrants are competing for the Palme d’Or, both relatively small and financed outside the US.

Weiss deputy says CBS owners are ‘independent of the news operation’

“The convention in American journalism is that the owners are independent of the news operation, and that’s the case at CBS,” Charles Forelle told Semafor.

Reckitt’s Kris Licht on moving at ‘China speed’

The CEO behind Lysol and Durex ‘pivoted hard’ for a new era of TikTok-driven commerce.

Kris Licht, CEO, Reckitt.

Dan Schulman’s plan to get Verizon back in the fight

“If somebody’s going to punch me, I’m going to punch back,” Verizon CEO Dan Schulman says in this episode of The CEO Signal.

How Dubai’s Hadi Badri builds confidence in a crisis

The Dubai Economic Development Corp. CEO says data, proactive engagement, and long-term goals can turn the Iran conflict into a “speed bump.”

Hadi Badri

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