Events Email Briefings
rotating globe
Privacy© 2025 Semafor Inc.
  • D.C.
  • BXL
  • Lagos
  • Riyadh
  • Beijing
  • SG
Events Email Briefings
  • D.C.
  • BXL
  • Lagos
Semafor Logo
  • Riyadh
  • Beijing
  • SG
rotating globe
IntelligentTransparentGlobal
Paige Bruton

Paige Bruton

UK Newsroom Fellow

Email Paige

Cash transfers reduced infant mortality in Kenya, study says

Researchers tracked more than 100,000 births and found there was a 48% reduction in infant mortality after a one-time mobile money transfer to a household.
A mother is seen with her child on Mothers’ Day at Mathare slum in Nairobi, Kenya.Gerald Anderson/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Weight-loss drug Wegovy launches in South Africa

The launch marked Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s debut on the continent, ramping up competition with rival Eli Lilly.
Boxes of Wegovy.Hollie Adams/File Photo/Reuters

African Union backs map campaign showing Africa’s true size

The Mercator map, widely used since 1599, shows a version of Africa that has been distorted to appear significantly smaller.
A painted map of Africa on the wall of a school in Zanzibar.Andy Soloman/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

US wholesale prices see biggest surge in three years

The producer price index jumped 0.9% on the month, signaling that higher prices may hit US consumers in the months ahead.
Lego boxes are seen on a conveyor belt at an Amazon warehouse.Helen Reid/File Photo/Reuters

Standard Bank’s CEO and CFO to retire in 2027

Africa’s largest bank by assets hiked its retirement age for its executive branch but said this would not apply to Sim Tshabalala and Arno Daehnke.
Sim Tshabalala at Semafor’s World Economy Summit in 2024.Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Semafor

South Africa’s unemployment rises again

The country’s unemployment rate increased for a second consecutive quarter to 33.2%, official data showed.
An unemployed youth fills in the Department of Unemployment and Labour work seeking registration form.Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty Images

Trump hails ‘very good call’ with European leaders and Ukraine’s Zelenskyy

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the US president “largely shares” Europe’s objectives in ending the war in Ukraine.

US inflation holds steady but Trump’s tariffs drove up some prices

US inflation held steady in July at 2.7%, though core inflation data rose faster than expected.

Bank of England cuts rates following historic split vote

A lack of consensus necessitated a second vote for the first time in the Monetary Policy Committee’s history.

Uganda’s yearly coffee earnings almost double

The results were bolstered by global coffee prices hitting record highs this year.

Trump renews attacks on Powell after Fed decision

The US president called the Federal Reserve chief a ‘total loser’ in a post on Truth Social.

Côte d’Ivoire’s Ouattara seeks fourth term

The 83-year-old Ivorian president previously said he would step down from the helm of Francophone West Africa’s biggest economy.

EU economy unexpectedly grows in second quarter

The eurozone’s second quarter expansion was boosted by higher-than-expected growth in France and Spain.

IMF upgrades its growth forecast, citing global resilience to Trump’s tariffs

The fund’s outlook put global growth at 3% this year, up from 2.8% in April.

Africa’s e-sports industry hits record highs

The e-sports industry is expanding at six times the global rate across the continent, with Africa home to 350 million players as of 2024.

Malaria surges in parts of southern Africa

Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, and Zimbabwe have all reported new outbreaks in the last year.

ECB holds interest rates steady amid tariff uncertainty

European policymakers ceased their yearlong rate-cutting campaign amid uncertainty over US-EU trade negotiations.

Africa lags behind in access to clean cooking fuels

Cooking with such equipment has been found to contribute to 800,000 premature deaths per year, mostly due to household air pollution.