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US trade representative won’t commit to new Russian sanctions
Whether to impose the levies ‘is for the president to decide,’ Jamieson Greer said on the sidelines of the G20 trade ministerial.
US trade representative won’t commit to new Russian sanctions
Whether to impose the levies ‘is for the president to decide,’ Jamieson Greer said on the sidelines of the G20 trade ministerial.
View / Where are Wall Street’s big egos today?
View / How Democrats learned to stop worrying about gender politics
The World at a Glance
Updated 6:33pm EDT
1
The US pressured European nations to either release emergency diesel supplies or face a potential diesel export ban.
2Broadcom plans to lend Anthropic up to $42 billion to lease its chips, adding to the trend of circular financing criticized by some investors and analysts.
3The pilot stabbing aboard a flydubai flight has electrified Israeli elections, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents drew parallels to the Oct. 7 security failures.
4Iran published a 14,390-word letter to Americans proclaiming victory over the US, suggesting an imminent diplomatic breakthrough to end the war is unlikely.
5European leaders should describe covert Russian actions as “war,” instead of calling them “hybrid,” Estonia’s foreign minister said, as Moscow escalates its sabotage attacks.
6Starbucks opened its first cafés in China’s Xinjiang region, prompting criticism from activists and US lawmakers over its expansion into an area widely scrutinized for human rights violations.
Canada dials up trade diversification efforts
As the US hosts G20 trade ministers in Wisconsin, Canada is taking the opportunity to strengthen its ties to other countries.
Democrats’ hopes rise in Texas
Democrats are even feeling optimistic about deep-red seats.
Inside Trump’s red-state travel swing
Trump officials hope to turn out low-propensity voters.
Schumer embraces Trump’s campaign travel, puts Senate fight at ‘50/50’
The Senate minority leader expressed concerns about Republicans’ money advantage in an interview with Semafor.
How Zuckerberg shaped Trump’s AI industry pledge
The Meta CEO started thinking about what became the Tuesday White House pact during last week’s state dinner, a source familiar told Semafor.
Trade tensions hover over G20 meeting
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is welcoming his G20 counterparts to Milwaukee for two jam-packed days.
Mattel’s Kreiz to join Warner Bros.-Paramount
The Barbie chief will help refashion Warner-Paramount into an IP company
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Politics
US pressures European nations to release emergency diesel supplies
The White House administration turned to coercion in efforts to tame surging fuel prices, telling European capitals to either release their emergency diesel supplies or face a US diesel export ban.
Axel Schmidt/Reuters
Casten drums up support for Financial Services bid
Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., has quietly asked Democrats in recent weeks to support him in a potential bid for the top position on the House Financial Services Committee, according to people familiar with the outreach.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
US trade representative won’t commit to new Russian sanctions
Whether to impose the levies ‘is for the president to decide,’ Jamieson Greer said on the sidelines of the G20 trade ministerial.
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters
Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg quietly shaped Trump’s AI pact
Meta’s flailing AI efforts — until the recently release of its Muse assistant — had clouded the extent of Zuckerberg’s influence on the debate surrounding the technology.
US midterms race on a knife’s edge
US President Donald Trump is set to kick off a month of campaigning, as key races remain up for grabs in next month’s votes.
Canada dials up trade diversification efforts
As the US hosts G20 trade ministers in Wisconsin, Canada is taking the opportunity to strengthen its ties to other countries.
Democrats’ hopes rise in Texas
Democrats are even feeling optimistic about deep-red seats.
Inside Trump’s red-state travel swing
Trump officials hope to turn out low-propensity voters.
‘The No. 1 thing’: Republicans agonize over their economic inaction
As senators leave Washington before the midterms, many worry failure to address voters’ economic concerns could cost them control of Congress.
Schumer embraces Trump’s campaign travel, puts Senate fight at ‘50/50’
The Senate minority leader expressed concerns about Republicans’ money advantage in an interview with Semafor.
Canada, EU to finalize partnership next month
The partnership pact boosts Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts to shore up cooperation between the world’s “middle powers.”
Business
Starbucks opens first cafés in Xinjiang region
The prompted criticism from activists and US lawmakers over the coffee giant’s decision to expand into an area widely scrutinized for human rights violations.
A Starbucks booth at an expo in China. Florence Lo/Reuters
Where are Wall Street’s big egos today?
The ranks of the independent advisory boutique now seem like so much ego detritus.
UBS shareholder pushes for Swiss exit
“There is no compelling reason for UBS to remain a Swiss company,” Artisan Partners wrote Wednesday.
Global bond rout gathers pace as debt fears grow
Intensifying concerns about persistently high inflation and mounting piles of government debt drove an accelerating rout in global bond markets.
Asian giants face looming graduate job crisis
The lack of jobs for university leavers in Indonesia, India, and China is creating both short- and long-term challenges for governments.
Technology
Broadcom to lend Anthropic $42 billion to lease chips: Report
Broadcom joins in on the trend of chipmakers financing the AI buildout that’s driving demand for their products.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Deepseek and Huawei partner to develop AI software
The move underlines how China’s leading tech companies are working to reduce their reliance on US chipmakers and challenge American AI dominance.
Florence Lo/Reuters
OpenAI accuses top Chinese lab of distilling models
OpenAI alleged that Chinese competitor Moonshot used wide-scale distillation amidst rising AI-race tensions between Washington and Beijing.
US watchdog to investigate AI labs for potential consumer harms
The probe comes one day after top tech leaders signed a self-regulatory AI accord at the White House.
FTC probes OpenAI, Anthropic, and METR
The agency is expected to demand information from the companies in the coming weeks as part of an investigation it launched earlier this year.
America.gov holds a Minecraft-themed Easter egg
The bot seems to come to life when users ask it to “play Minecraft.”
Energy
US pressures European nations to release emergency diesel supplies
The White House administration turned to coercion in efforts to tame surging fuel prices, telling European capitals to either release their emergency diesel supplies or face a US diesel export ban.
Axel Schmidt/Reuters
UAE pushing for more investment in global water infrastructure
Despite attacks by Iran on desalination plants this year, the UAE hasn’t experienced a single day of water supply cuts.
Rula Rouhana/Reuters
Texas politics could delay investment decision for huge Chevron data center
Project Kilby is moving forward while grappling with the public AI backlash.
Shelby Tauber/Reuters
Gulf
Iran asserts victory over US in 14,390-word letter to Americans
Tehran is reportedly preparing a more forceful response if Washington resumes large-scale strikes.
Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters
Pilot stabbing on flydubai flight scrambles Israeli elections
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents drew parallels to the government’s pre-Oct. 7 security failures.
AI firm AIQ pilots new tools for oil patch
Six months of war and AI fever have added urgency to the rollout of Genesis, an operating system AIQ is pitching to energy companies.
Israelis in Saudi after attempted hijacking spark normalization debate
A widely shared video showed a woman in a niqab tending to passengers, challenging stereotypes that conservative Muslims are innately hostile to Jews.
flydubai halts flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv after attempted hijacking
Emirati prosecutors opened an investigation after a co-pilot stabbed his captain mid-flight, asserting jurisdiction over the crime.
China
Starbucks opens first cafés in Xinjiang region
The prompted criticism from activists and US lawmakers over the coffee giant’s decision to expand into an area widely scrutinized for human rights violations.
A Starbucks booth at an expo in China. Florence Lo/Reuters
Deepseek and Huawei partner to develop AI software
The move underlines how China’s leading tech companies are working to reduce their reliance on US chipmakers and challenge American AI dominance.
Florence Lo/Reuters
OpenAI accuses top Chinese lab of distilling models
OpenAI alleged that Chinese competitor Moonshot used wide-scale distillation amidst rising AI-race tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Dado Ruvic/Reuters
Africa
Africa’s data centers prompt water consumption fears
A petition by civil society groups to South African authorities highlighted concerns over a lack of awareness around data center water consumption.
Teraco Data Centre in South Africa. Ossewa, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Africa aid cuts provide health ‘opportunity’
Governments across the continent relied heavily on USAID, Washington’s development agency, to fund health programs before it was shuttered last year.
Semafor
Pretoria summons US ambassador over criticism
Leo Brent Bozell III was first summoned in March over his remarks on the “Kill the Boer” chant.
Burkina Faso opens first gold refinery
The nation is among Africa’s largest gold producers, but has struggled to regulate its informal mining sector.
Dangote breaks ground on $16B Kenya refinery
The project aims to replicate the success of Dangote’s plant in Nigeria, which has turned the country into a fuel-producing powerhouse amidst a global energy crisis.
Airtel Money bets on payment growth as $800M London IPO takes shape
The company’s offering is expected to be the London Stock Exchange’s largest in years.
Security
Iran asserts victory over US in 14,390-word letter to Americans
Tehran is reportedly preparing a more forceful response if Washington resumes large-scale strikes.
Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters
Russian hybrid actions are ‘war,’ Estonian FM warns
His remarks came days after Tallinn blamed Moscow for an arson attack against an Estonian factory supplying unmanned vehicles to Ukraine.
Janis Laizans/Reuters
Pilot stabbing on flydubai flight scrambles Israeli elections
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents drew parallels to the government’s pre-Oct. 7 security failures.
Netanyahu and flydubai passenger. GPO/Handout via Reuters
Media
Euractiv relaunches as ‘Rapporteur’ in Brussels
The newsroom, founded in 1999, has rebooted in recent years as a competitor to Politico Europe.
Rapporteur
Beverage brand Liquid Death will make others’ ads
Liquid Death is one of the purest marketing stories of the moment: a billion-dollar company that sells the ultimate commodity through edgy comedy.
Trump battles press as Xi heads to town
A judge is expected to hear arguments in a lawsuit brought by the three news outlets the president banned from the White House last week.
Inside the US Treasury secretary’s tense relationship with financial media
Scott Bessent’s blacklist starts with Bloomberg.
Fertile ground
Flagship’s lead writer Tom Chivers says goodbye after four years.
CEO Signal
How Harvard Business School’s former dean thinks AI will test today’s CEOs
Nitin Nohria sees the technology as a decentralizing force that will challenge company power structures.
How splitting from GSK taught Haleon a spin-off is not a finish line
Brian McNamara took his consumer health group through an independent listing, only to find that it needed fresh energy and new leaders.
Why Kai-Fu Lee thinks companies need an AI boss
Google’s former China chief says CEOs face a Darwinian choice if they want more than “AI theater.”
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