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Intelligence for the New World Economy
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Trump seeks to turbocharge manufacturing workforce
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio helped launch the program, dubbed the Foundry School, on Thursday.
Trump seeks to turbocharge manufacturing workforce
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio helped launch the program, dubbed the Foundry School, on Thursday.
View / Africa should stop treating energy shocks as surprises
View / Breaking up Google could have handed more power to other monopolies
The World at a Glance
Updated 6:49pm EDT
1
The US and Iran traded attacks over the weekend, intensifying pressure on energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
2US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks in Moscow and Kyiv, though analysts downplayed the prospects of diplomatic progress.
3Germany’s AfD won a landslide victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, a historic breakthrough for the country’s far right.
4A swarm of OpenAI agents hacked a German website this spring in the latest incident of advanced AI violating laws and norms.
5A new dossier appeared to show Sudan’s military producing and stockpiling chlorine-based weapons.
6Women accounted for 98% of new US jobs in August, an unprecedented figure that could point to broader labor market shifts.
Chinese tech firms deepen ties in Saudi Arabia
Chinese AI, robotaxis, and factories are all coming to the kingdom (if they aren’t already there).
Trump administration warms to Zambia despite crackdown worries
Washington Democrats said they’re alarmed about post-election violence.
Filmmakers tout AI’s use in Hollywood at the other film festival in Venice
The Reply AI Film Festival fetes films made with the technology as its honorees say traditional filmmakers won’t admit they use it too.
Coefficient Giving’s CEO on Silicon Valley $40 billion philanthropy boom
Alexander Berger is preparing for the AI-fueled wave.
Uber’s Nigeria exit furthers retreat from Africa
The company, which also left Uganda, will continue operating in other African countries, including South Africa.
Key law enforcement group flips on crypto bill
The National Sheriffs’ Association is dropping its opposition to landmark cryptocurrency legislation.
Armenia embraces its ‘Trump’ corridor while keeping Russia, Iran close
Ambassador Narek Mkrtchyan told Semafor the US-backed transit and trade project is essential to secure long-lasting peace with Azerbaijan.
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Politics
German far right claims historic win
Germany’s nationalist AfD won a landslide victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, potentially making it the first far-right party to gain power since the end of World War II.
Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters
German far-right set for gains in key elections
Recent polling published by Die Zeit showed, however, that the party will fall short of winning an absolute majority.
Annegret Hilse/Reuters
Trump seeks to turbocharge manufacturing workforce
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio helped launch the program, dubbed the Foundry School, on Thursday.
Aaron Schwartz/Reuters
Trump administration warms to Zambia despite crackdown worries
Washington Democrats said they’re alarmed about post-election violence.
Key law enforcement group flips on crypto bill
The National Sheriffs’ Association is dropping its opposition to landmark cryptocurrency legislation.
Armenia embraces its ‘Trump’ corridor while keeping Russia, Iran close
Ambassador Narek Mkrtchyan told Semafor the US-backed transit and trade project is essential to secure long-lasting peace with Azerbaijan.
Many Americans lack confidence in US govt to foil terror attacks, poll finds
One-fifth of Americans say they have no confidence whatsoever in the US government to protect the public from future acts of terrorism, a record high.
Britt: Congress should turn Trump’s data center pledge into law
The Alabama Republican talked to Semafor at a tricky moment for her party, whose candidates are racing to deal with voter anger about AI power demands.
‘A path to victory’: Democrat Andrews pushes party to invest in South Carolina
Annie Andrews thinks she can beat Darline Graham in a red state. She probably needs the party’s resources to do it.
Progressives push Democrats to pair cost-of-living message with anti-corruption talk
The party’s left flank is rolling out new polling of battleground states and voters of color in the South to back up its argument.
House Democrats weigh punishing party defectors
Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., and Jared Golden, D-Maine, helped Republicans on a key procedural vote earlier this week.
Business
Women account for nearly all new US jobs in August
The figure suggests hiring could be clustered in low-paying, contingent roles.
Kevin Fogarty/Reuters
US adds 162,000 jobs in August, beating expectations
The stronger-than-expected numbers have fed funds futures traders betting on a Federal Reserve rate hike this month.
Volkswagen announces record job cuts amid China pressure
European leaders have stepped up their vows to crack down on Chinese imports despite the potential blowback.
How a ‘China-for-China’ strategy rebooted Logitech
CEO Hanneke Faber says competing in China is critical to winning in the rest of the world.
US Fed Governor Waller floats September rate hold
Markets rallied and global bond yields dipped Thursday after a US Federal Reserve governor advocated holding interest rates steady if inflation continues to cool.
Technology
OpenAI implicated in another hack
A swarm of OpenAI agents hacked a German website this spring, Reuters reported, in the latest incident of advanced AI violating laws and norms.
Jonathan Drake/Reuters
US needs nimble approach to technological governance
The new law comes as the feasibility of AI oversight is in question for being impossible and too expensive.
“California State Capitol” by Steven Pavlov via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Astra kicks off AI monitoring debate
Astra appears to do less of its thinking out loud, giving researchers little insight into whether it might be hiding something or planning something it shouldn’t.
Breaking up Google could have handed more power to other monopolies
The antitrust balloon-squeezing phenomenon is well documented.
Filmmakers tout AI’s use in Hollywood at the other film festival in Venice
The Reply AI Film Festival fetes films made with the technology as its honorees say traditional filmmakers won’t admit they use it too.
OpenAI’s new Astra model has private thoughts
Existing frontier AI models use “chain of thought” reasoning: They write ideas down, in English, in a “scratchpad” to keep track. CoT boosts “interpretability”.
Energy
US and Iran trade attacks on oil tankers
The US and Iran traded attacks on oil tankers over the weekend, intensifying pressure on energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command/Handout via Reuters
Big Law sees a gold mine in data centers
‘Everybody and their brother is a digital infra and power lawyer now.’
Kevin Wurm/Reuters
Oil jumps after Iran strikes on US bases in the Middle East
Oil jumped by more than 5% to $95 a barrel, while Asian stocks slid over worries the latest attacks point to protracted hostilities.
Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters
Gulf
US and Iran trade attacks on oil tankers
The US and Iran traded attacks on oil tankers over the weekend, intensifying pressure on energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command/Handout via Reuters
Emirates introduces first electrically powered premium economy seat
The seats, which rival many first-class options on domestic routes in Europe and the US, will debut on newly delivered Airbus A350s.
Gulf carriers bulk up their fleets
Saudia Cargo will double its fleet, adding four Boeing 777-200F jets over more than two years.
$300k falcons fly off the shelves in Abu Dhabi
Bred on the same American farm, an ultra-white gyrfalcon chick went for 1.1 million dirhams ($300,000) while a pure-white gyr fetched 1.5 million dirhams.
Chinese tech firms deepen ties in Saudi Arabia
Chinese AI, robotaxis, and factories are all coming to the kingdom (if they aren’t already there).
China
Volkswagen announces record job cuts amid China pressure
European leaders have stepped up their vows to crack down on Chinese imports despite the potential blowback.
Matthias Rietschel/File Photo/Reuters
China announces $1T push to become ‘sports powerhouse’
Beijing is betting that more outdoor sporting events can stimulate sluggish domestic consumption.
Tingshu Wang/Reuters
US President Donald Trump imposes 100% tariff on drones
Chinese drone firm DJI alone accounts for more than 70% of the global market.
Jason Lee/Reuters
Africa
Africa should stop treating energy shocks as surprises
The Hormuz crisis is the latest in a series of disruptions that have exposed the continent’s energy vulnerabilities. The time to build resilience is between crises, not during them.
Stringer/Reuters
New dossier sheds light on Sudan chemical weapons allegations
Documents, videos, and text messages reported by The New York Times and The Washington Post appear to show Sudan’s military producing and stockpiling chlorine-based weapons.
Sudan Transitional Sovereignty Council/Handout via Reuters
How to share West Africa’s history
Benin, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, and Sierra Leone have all created pathways for members of their diaspora to gain citizenship.
Aspen Pharmacare sees weight-loss drugs driving earnings
Aspen sells Mounjaro, the weight-loss drug made by US manufacturer Eli Lilly, in South Africa.
Kenya’s Ruto tells Tata Chemicals to leave
The president accused the company of failing to create jobs and process minerals locally.
Uber’s Nigeria exit furthers retreat from Africa
The company, which also left Uganda, will continue operating in other African countries, including South Africa.
Security
New dossier sheds light on Sudan chemical weapons allegations
Documents, videos, and text messages reported by The New York Times and The Washington Post appear to show Sudan’s military producing and stockpiling chlorine-based weapons.
Sudan Transitional Sovereignty Council/Handout via Reuters
US envoys Witkoff, Kushner spearhead Russia-Ukraine diplomacy push
US envoys held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv after meeting Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Moscow, though analysts cast doubt on a reinvigorated peace initiative.
Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
US presses Iran sanctions driving oil prices higher
The EU endorsed Washington’s sanctions push against Tehran, while efforts to block Iran’s oil exports and financial transactions appear to be bearing fruit.
Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters
Media
YouTube cracks down on ‘ghost creators’
The enforcement action targeted accounts named in Semafor’s report earlier this week.
Paid actors, AI writing: How a new kind of video business cashed in on America’s divided politics
‘Ghost creators’ are reaching millions of viewers with nearly identical, sensationalized videos that take aim at Democrats.
New Leon Black book picks fight with the Times
Bill Cohan’s new biography is aimed, in part, at rebutting The New York Times’ coverage of Black and his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Axel Springer invests in Abu Dhabi-based outlet The Circuit
Axel Springer is latest Western publisher to take a greater editorial interest in the business story in the Middle East.
AI writing has already begun to appear on the opinion pages
About 10 — of 310 — contributions to The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the New York Times over the past month appear to have been written by AI models.
CEO Signal
How a ‘China-for-China’ strategy rebooted Logitech
CEO Hanneke Faber says competing in China is critical to winning in the rest of the world.
Coefficient Giving’s CEO on Silicon Valley $40 billion philanthropy boom
Alexander Berger is preparing for the AI-fueled wave.
‘We go big’: Jon Gray on how Blackstone places its AI bets
The $1.3 trillion firm is staying bullish but investing “through the lens that this may change.”
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