Flagship

US steps up moves against Houthis

The U.S. is expected to redesignate Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist group and reportedly launched a new strike on the militants, amid a growing expansion of the Israel-Hamas war. The latest moves came as the European Union prepared to send its own military mission to protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, part of efforts to undermine what The Washington Post’s David Ignatius described as the Houthis’ “bottleneck power” — the ability to constrain access to key thoroughfares, in this case the Suez Canal — which he wrote was “an increasingly important but little-discussed weakness in the global economy.” Not everyone was supportive of the U.S. measures: France eschewed participation in the U.S. strikes to avoid “escalation” of the conflict, while Beijing warned Washington against the attacks. The moves came as Iran hit purported militant targets in Pakistan — the third country targeted by Tehran’s arsenal in recent days.

In Gaza, there were some, limited, signs of hope: Two Qatari planes carrying medical supplies for hostages held in the enclave landed in Egypt as part of a Doha-mediated deal, which the White House said could lead to the release of the captives. Israel’s offensive in Gaza showed no indications of letting up, though, with more than 150 people reported killed in the past 24 hours, and the war entering what The Wall Street Journal said was “its most perilous phase yet,” with Israeli troops closing in on an ever-denser population of Palestinians.

Mexico’s unwanted murder record

Mexico registered more than 30,000 murders for the sixth year running in 2023, marking the most violent period in the country’s recent history. Security tops the agenda ahead of June elections, leading candidates to present figures that many experts believe are apocryphal. Late last year, the Mexican government reclassified nearly 100,000 disappearances, a move analysts said further clouded the data as many disappearances were in fact believed to be murders. State officials up for reelection have also concealed murders simply by reclassifying the deaths as having occurred due to an “undetermined intention.” In any case murder rates “remain scandalous, and the trend doesn’t seem like it will change,” a crime expert in Mexico said.

Riyadh’s mining plan to cut oil reliance

Saudi Arabia is increasing mineral exploration in its attempt to reduce its reliance on oil. Riyadh granted exploration licenses to three mining companies and more are expected to follow in its latest round of tenders. A minister said the government had estimated there was $2.5 trillion in untapped mineral resources in the country, including silver, lead, copper, gold, lithium, rare earths, and zinc. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter, but aims to triple the mining sector’s input to the economy by 2030, part of its drive to attract foreign investment and diversify away from hydrocarbons.

Ukraine targets flagging support

Ukraine pressed for greater aerial support and financial backing at Davos as Kyiv’s leaders sought to revive flagging support for the country’s efforts to repel Russia. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with big-name Wall Street financiers — “God bless you,” the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase told him — while Kyiv’s foreign minister said the priority for the year was “to throw Russia from the skies.” The pressure from Ukraine came as Russian troops appeared to be preparing for a renewed winter offensive, the Institute for the Study of War warned, with the brutal cold potentially creating “favorable terrain” for Russia’s heavy military machinery.

France’s births hit record low

Just 678,000 babies were born in France last year, the lowest number since 1946. The population increased slightly, thanks to migration and a record-high life expectancy of 85.7, meaning the country’s population is older than ever. President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to revitalize the nation and his own presidency, both of which are facing a sense of stagnation: In a rare domestic press conference, he promised a series of reforms to boost growth, cut middle-class taxes, and control immigration, as well as help “France to stay France” by demanding children learn the national anthem and wear school uniforms, which he hopes will slow the rise of the far right.

China’s luxury bounceback

China’s luxury market — battered by the country’s economic malaise — will return to solid growth this year, a new report by McKinsey and Business of Fashion forecast. The projected 4-6% growth is higher than estimates for the U.S. and Europe, with most Chinese luxury spending likely to take place domestically, a shift from before the COVID-19 pandemic, when most took place abroad. The forecast hinges on whether “aspirational customers,” those a rung below the top tier, will resume spending. The relatively upbeat outlook came as China reported economic growth that was, excluding the pandemic, near the lowest in decades, and an accelerating population decline, underscoring the challenges facing the world’s second-largest economy.

The rise of digital piracy

Visits to online piracy websites are up 12% since 2019. Online piracy is as old as the internet — readers of a certain age may remember Kazaa and Napster — but “subscription fatigue,” having to sign up to multiple platforms to access shows, may be a factor in piracy’s growth, reported Fast Company, especially as streaming platforms hike prices, introduce adverts, and crack down on password sharing. Most piracy takes place in the U.S. and India, although East Asia and Europe have more per capita. Clawing back a quarter of revenue lost to piracy would boost the streaming market by $24 billion, one analyst estimated.

Semafor’s 2024 World Economy Summit, on April 17-18, will feature conversations with global policymakers and power brokers in Washington, against the backdrop of the IMF and World Bank meetings.

Chaired by former U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein, and in partnership with BCG, the summit will feature 150 speakers across two days and three different stages, including the Gallup Great Hall. Join Semafor for conversations with the people shaping the global economy.

Minnesota’s late freeze

Minnesota’s lakes are finally freezing over. Several lakes in the northern U.S. state, including Lake Harriet, Lake Minnetonka, and Lake Waconia, have never got this deep into winter without freezing in as long as records have been kept: Some remain unfrozen. One state climatologist told the Minnesota Star Tribune that this year “will destroy the records.” The ongoing arctic blast hitting the northern U.S. has finally changed the situation, meaning that many longstanding traditions — such as the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships at Lake Nokomis — can go ahead, but a “fickle” start to winter meant that many remained clear. “This has been a horrible year,” the climatologist said. “A lot froze over in November, then opened back up.”

Kenya starts rhino relocation

Kenya began a weeks-long operation to move 21 black rhinos to a conservancy where they will have more room to roam, a key requirement for the solitary animals to breed. Although Kenya has revived its black rhino population — the country now has more than 1,000 of them, up from below 300 in the 1980s — the species remains critically endangered. According to one rhino charity, there are fewer than 6,500 black rhinos left in the world, down from around 100,000 in 1960. In a bid to protect them, rangers have begun removing their horns, eliminating the motive for poaching, Phys.org reported.

New Orleans wings, made in China

“New Orleans-style” chicken wings — a KFC flavor developed in China which has nothing to do with the U.S. city — have become one of the fast-food chain’s biggest hits. KFC introduced the garlic, honey, and chili-flavored wings to China in 2003, and now sells 480 million pieces annually in the country. But The Wall Street Journal reported that customers fans were shocked when they learned that almost no Louisianans had ever heard of them. To buy “New Orleans-style” marinades in the U.S., you need to go to Chinese supermarkets and buy packets with Chinese writing. Stories like this are common: General Tso’s chicken, the U.S. Chinese-food staple, is almost impossible to find in China, and chicken tikka masala, Britain’s most popular Indian dish, was invented by South Asian immigrants to the U.K.

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• Top nuclear envoys from Japan and South Korea meet in Seoul.
• The U.S. military is expected to deliver aid to quake-hit Noto peninsula in Japan.
• Animals will receive blessings at the Vatican and other places to celebrate St. Anthony, the patron saint of animals.

Fewer than two in three women feel safe walking at night in their own community. That’s one of the findings in Gallup’s Hologic Global Women’s Health Index survey, which also found that women’s negative emotions such as sadness and anger, which were already rising before the pandemic, went up further during it, and only went back down slightly in 2022. In more positive news, nearly 70% of women worldwide feel satisfied with their available healthcare, and think pregnant women in their communities receive high-quality prenatal support.

“Gastrodiplomacy” — where governments use their national cuisines to win influence overseas — is on the rise, a former diplomat argued in a new essay. Thailand, considered the first official proponent of modern gastrodiplomacy, launched a multimillion-dollar global program in the early 2000s to showcase its food, and culture, to countries such as the U.S. and New Zealand, Dan Hong wrote in Vittles. Others are increasingly targeting new centers of power in Asia, such as Taiwanese gastrodiplomacy with its focus on Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. “The diplomatic tool often becomes a way to command recognition and status abroad,” Hong noted, “utilising cuisine to leverage what influence already exists.”

• Why a border deal won’t work without Mexico’s help.
• The quiet reason why the U.S. fixed its supply chain crisis.
• The British Museum is seeking a new director after a theft scandal.
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