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Ex-Philippines leader Duterte arrested

Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on an International Criminal Court warrant issued over his so-called “war on drugs.” His detention immediately sparked controversy in the Philippines, both because it is no longer a signatory to the ICC — the court argues it has jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed when the country was a member state — and because his family retains political influence: His daughter is the Philippines’ vice-president. The Philippine news outlet Rappler, which faced widely criticized legal action under Duterte’s rule, noted dryly that the ex-leader, “who waged a war on drugs that killed as many as 27,000 suspects, bewailed alleged violation of due process” upon his arrest.

US pushes for Ukraine concessions

Ukraine will likely have to “do difficult things” in order to secure a peace deal with Russia, Washington said. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks ahead of talks with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia were the latest effort by American officials to pressure Kyiv into talks with Moscow, with Russia yet to make any significant concessions. Yet while various discussions are taking place between the three countries, they all “appear to have very different ideas about what a cease-fire should look like,” The New York Times noted: The US wants a comprehensive truce, Ukraine a more limited one, and Russia is pressing for further concessions “before halting the war it started.”

US explores DRC minerals deal

Washington said it was open to exploring a minerals-for-security deal in the conflict-wracked Democratic Republic of Congo. Washington is keen to tap greater sources of the critical minerals essential for advanced technologies such as EVs — with discussions of a similar deal exchanging mineral access for security dominating talks with Ukraine: The US worries that China’s control of minerals supply chains worldwide is a security risk. The potential talks with Kinshasa, which is fighting off an offensive from Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, come as US President Donald Trump is expected to name his daughter’s father-in-law as his special envoy for the Great Lakes region, Semafor Africa reported.

Europe pushes Ukraine force

Britain and France stepped up efforts to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine, as Europe seeks to retain influence over the outcome of the war. France’s president is meeting with various national military chiefs today, while the UK prime minister will host a videoconference of world leaders over the weekend. Analysts are divided over whether Europe’s campaign will have a tangible impact, however: US President Donald Trump’s rapprochement with Russia and criticism of Ukraine “has had a galvanising effect” in driving progress on European defense and diplomacy, the Financial Times’ chief foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman wrote. But Wolfgang Münchau countered in Unherd that Europeans still lacked strategic foresight, and were deploying “ostentatious symbolism” instead.

US economic forecasts cut

President Donald Trump’s scorched-earth trade policy is driving sharp downgrades in US growth expectations — and upgrades for the country’s rivals. Goldman Sachs drastically cut its forecast for US GDP growth in 2025, to 1.7% from 2.4%, blaming “considerably more adverse” trade assumptions, while upgrading its outlook for eurozone growth thanks to unexpectedly aggressive German government spending plans. Other investment banks were similarly pessimistic: Morgan Stanley lowered its US economic growth projections, JPMorgan cut its first-quarter GDP estimate, and Citi downgraded its forecast for American equities and upgraded its outlook on China’s, arguing that “US exceptionalism is at least pausing.”

China’s latest AI hit

A new artificial intelligence agent developed by Chinese researchers is reinforcing fears Beijing is eclipsing the US in the AI race. Manus AI claims to be the world’s first fully autonomous AI agent, meaning it can carry out complex tasks without oversight. Forbes described it as “a digital polymath.” Released last week, Manus is winning rave reviews: Axios’ chief technology correspondent said it was drawing comparisons to DeepSeek, the chatbot that this year drew attention after being produced cheaply and with far fewer chips than top Silicon Valley models. One analyst said the release of Manus points to a deeper gulf between Western AI developers’ apparent focus on huge-scale platforms and Chinese competitors gravitating toward low-cost, commercial products.

AI vs. ESG

Artificial intelligence has overtaken environmental, social, and governance efforts as a priority for major European lenders, one analysis found. European banks mentioned “AI” 46 times in their full-year earnings calls in 2025, more than twice as often as in 2024, whereas “ESG” was referenced just 17 times, down significantly from a year ago. It marked the first time in at least six years that AI overtook ESG in the number of mentions in such calls, according to Bloomberg analysis. The changing priorities reflect both growing investor and internal interest in AI within Europe’s banking sector, as well as the transatlantic impact of a largely US-led crackdown on efforts to promote ESG issues in finance.

In a polarized world, where do people find their happiness? Semafor, in partnership with Gallup and in coordination with the World Happiness Report editorial team, will present the latest data and insights at The State of Happiness in 2025: A World Happiness Report Launch Event, exploring key themes around kindness, generosity, and policies that enhance well-being.

Join Costa Rican Ambassador to the US Dr. Catalina Crespo-Sancho, Finnish Ambassador to the US Leena-Kaisa Mikkola, Icelandic Ambassador to the US Svanhildur Hólm Valsdóttir, special guest Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and more to explore the report’s key themes around kindness, generosity, and happiness and policies that enhance well-being.

Mar. 20, 2025 | Washington, DC | RSVP

Syria reaches deal with Kurds

Syria’s interim authorities reached a deal to merge the country’s main Kurdish militia into state institutions. The announcement, which would see a semi-autonomous northeastern region brought under government control, is part of efforts to unite the nation after years of civil war and decades of repression by deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad, and follows days of brutal violence involving government supporters and Assad loyalists which left more than 1,000 people dead. The dual developments point to the mammoth challenge facing Syria’s new rulers in rebuilding their country: Despite winning plaudits for speaking pluralistically and pragmatically on many issues, they must still grapple with a moribund economy and a war-weary population.

Latam press freedom under pressure

The freezing of US aid has left dozens of media organizations fighting for survival in Latin America, the world’s most dangerous region for reporters. For decades, Washington supported independent journalism across the globe. Outlets in Latin America now face a bleaker future without US support: In recent years, the most “dangerous place to be a journalist [was] not an active war zone but Latin America,” the Reuters Institute reported: Between 2012 and 2023, 88 journalists were killed in Mexico alone. Some now fear independent media outlets will shut under financial strain or be captured by autocratic regimes. “Latin America’s democracy has suffered a silent but devastating blow,” El País reported.

Museums slow pace of exhibits

Cash-strapped museums are holding fewer exhibitions and running them for longer as they attempt to compete with online media for audience attention. The V&A Dundee in Scotland now holds just one major show per year, compared with as many as three annually when it opened in 2018, while the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh puts on half as many exhibits as before the pandemic. It’s due in large part to governments scaling back support, hitting institutions’ finances. But curators are increasingly reconsidering their prior cadence. “What is a museum for?” one said to The Art Newspaper. “Art is a slow, intentional experience.”

• Greenland holds a parliamentary election.
• Romania’s top court rules on whether to uphold the exclusion of the far-right, pro-Russian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu from running in May’s election.
• Paris Fashion Week concludes.

The number of countries that met the World Health Organization’s air quality standard in 2024. Chad and Bangladesh were the most polluted countries in the world, with both averaging smog levels 15 times above the WHO’s standard, Swiss air quality monitoring firm IQAir said. Experts fear that Washington’s decision to shut down its global monitoring efforts could make it even harder for developing nations, which rely on US data, to meet their goals. “(It) is a giant blow to air quality efforts worldwide,” an expert told Reuters.

Kin: Caribbean Recipes for the Modern Kitchen by Marie Mitchell. This “compelling ode to the diverse recipes and culinary bounties of the Caribbean” makes “you feel like you’re in the kitchen with the author,” Eater said in its roundup of the 20 best cookbooks of Spring 2025. Mitchell includes both traditional offerings as well as her own takes on classics alongside stories of her Jamaican heritage. Buy Kin from your local bookstore.

President Donald Trump’s dismantling of the US Agency for International Development has sparked a wider debate about the benefits of foreign aid, Semafor’s Morgan Chalfant reported.

“If you look at the record of foreign aid over the course of some seven or more decades, you can’t say that it’s been a success,” Ian Vásquez, vice president for international studies at the Cato Institute, told Semafor. “It, in fact, has been a failure at promoting economic development.”