Prashant Rao

Senior Editor, Semafor

Prashant Rao is the Senior Editor at Semafor, responsible for Flagship, Net Zero, and the Breaking News team.

Prior to joining Semafor, he was International Editor at The Atlantic, Deputy Europe Business Editor at The New York Times, and Iraq Bureau Chief at AFP.

Dutch parliamentary election tests ruling far-right party

Anti-immigration nationalist Geert Wilders won a shock election victory two years ago, but his party has struggled to maintain a grip on government.

US, South Korea finalize trade deal

South Korea agreed to invest $350 billion in the US in exchange for Washington reducing tariffs on its auto industry to 15%.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Donald Trump.

Fed expected to cut rates as leadership questions swirl

The Trump administration has drawn up a shortlist for Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s replacement.

US-China tensions ease ahead of Trump-Xi meeting

Relatively warm language ahead of Thursday’s talks stood in sharp contrast to heated rhetoric from Washington and Beijing in recent months.

Beijing calls for ‘extraordinary measures’ toward self-reliance

The Communist Party plans to make China a leading force in industries including semiconductors and critical software.

Employees of Gstar Electronic Appliance Co.

UN chief says world has overshot climate warming threshold

UN Secretary General António Guterres said that the world must now prepare for the ‘devastating consequences’ of climate change.

Water from melting ice running down the side of the Turtmann glacier in Switzerland.

Amazon to slash thousands of jobs

JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Walmart and Airbnb all recently announced that they were also looking to limit hiring.

Saudi Arabia opens major business conference

Tourism is growing fast, the non-oil economy accounts for more than half of GDP, and female participation in the labor force has surged in recent years.

Nvidia hosts major DC event in bid to court Trump

The event comes as US officials mull whether to allow Nvidia to sell its cutting-edge Blackwell chips to China.

US sanctions start to affect Russia’s energy giants

The White House imposed the penalties on Rosneft and Lukoil last week, prohibiting US companies from doing business with the Russian firms.

Global markets surge on news of US-China trade deal

US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to finalize the agreement when they meet in South Korea this week.

Global powers opting to ‘escalate-to-negotiate,’ analysts say

‘First, create a crisis,’ The Wall Street Journal’s chief China correspondent wrote. ‘Then… step in to negotiate a solution, allowing both leaders to claim a victory.’

US, China set for high-stakes talks ahead of Trump-Xi meet

The US Treasury secretary and China’s top trade negotiator are set to face off in Malaysia for the fifth time since Trump’s trade war began.

Trump abruptly cancels Canada trade talks

The US president’s reversal came after an Ontario government ad that quoted former President Ronald Reagan as saying tariffs ‘hurt every American.’

Chinese firm plans to build the world’s largest floating wind turbine

The two-headed turbine would have a capacity of 50 megawatts, nearly twice as much as the biggest turbine currently on the market.

US, Qatar intensify pressure on EU over climate rules

The two countries sent a letter urging the EU to water down the bloc’s climate rules, arguing they pose an ‘existential threat’ to the region’s industrial competitiveness.

Saudi Arabia’s MBS to meet with Trump

The kingdom’s de facto ruler will visit the White House in November for the first time since 2018.

Vance says Gaza ceasefire holding despite flare-ups

Analysts expressed hope the peace deal would hold, thanks to pressure from Washington.