Flagship

Trump defense pick faces scrutiny

US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary faces a grilling from skeptical lawmakers today. Republicans are confident Trump’s cabinet nominees will eventually win Senate approval, but Pete Hegseth, a TV news anchor who is Trump’s choice to lead the Pentagon, faces an array of challenges from allegations of sexual assault to reports that he violated military law while he was a member of the Army National Guard. His nomination adds to mounting controversy facing Trump’s administration before it even takes office: The special counsel investigating Trump over charges of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election said in a report released today that the president-elect would have been convicted, a document Trump dismissed as “fake findings.”

Europe’s Trump concerns lessen

Kyiv’s European allies have grown cautiously optimistic that US President-elect Trump will not abandon Ukraine. Trump has said he would end the war “in 24 hours” after inauguration, leading to concern he would force Kyiv into an unacceptable peace agreement. But that rhetoric has faded — the Trump team now talks about the first 100 days. And Europe’s leaders found Trump amenable to arguments that letting Russia win would humiliate the US and embolden China: The Italian prime minister talked to him about creating “a difficult situation” for Russia to force them into negotiations. But European leaders are still wary because Trump “has a track record for rejecting advice or shifting gears at the last minute,” Bloomberg reported.

Mexico unveils Trump-friendly plan

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum unveiled a plan to cut imports from China, after US President-elect Donald Trump said her country was becoming a back door for Chinese goods. Sheinbaum also said that the only way to compete against China was by strengthening the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, which is up for review next year. Mexico — heavily reliant on the US for both imports and exports — has cracked down on northbound migration, fentanyl production, and Chinese counterfeit goods, all in a bid to placate Trump, who has vowed to impose tariffs of up to 25% on the US’ southern neighbor should it fail to meet his demands.

China mulls TikTok sale to Musk

Beijing is reportedly mulling the sale of TikTok to Elon Musk ahead of a Sunday deadline by the US for the app’s Chinese owners to divest themselves of it or face it being banned. According to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, the proposal is part of a broader discussion among Chinese officials over how to deal with US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, with ties to Musk — an ally of Trump’s but also a billionaire somewhat dependent on China given Tesla has production facilities in the country — among the factors. Combining TikTok’s US operations with Musk’s X social-media platform could boost the latter’s ad sales, and the video-sharing platform’s trove of content could also strengthen his AI efforts.

School phone ban in Brazil

Brazil banned the use of smartphones at school. Global concern about social media’s impact on young people is rising, and restrictions have been put in place in one in four countries, including much of Europe, as well as China and parts of the US. Brazil has gone further than most, with about two-thirds of schools restricting phone use since 2023 and a quarter banning them entirely: The issue has rare cross-party support. The idea that smartphones cause mental health issues has gained traction in recent years, although some scientists dispute the reality and extent of the link. A less controversial issue is that phones are distracting in class.

EV sales surge

Global electric-vehicle sales rose 25% to a record 17 million cars last year, a jump driven largely by soaring sales in China. Experts have warned that growth will likely cool this year, with the European market slowing after Germany removed subsidies, while Chinese producers have forecasted a domestic lull. In the US, sales increased by 9%, though the more moderate growth is partly explained by a surge in EV leasing: Federal lease subsidies have fueled the change, with almost half of all EV transactions now being leases, compared to just a quarter for the car market as a whole. “Almost everyone leases,” Toyota’s US sales chief told The Wall Street Journal. “You’d be a fool not to.”

North Africa’s solar push

Soaring natural gas prices are fuelling demand for solar energy in Egypt, raising hopes that the Arab world’s most populous country may finally accelerate its green transition. Falling domestic gas production and booming electricity demand amid sweltering temperatures led to blackouts across the country last year. Now investors are ploughing billions of dollars into solar energy projects, which could produce electricity for as little as two or three US cents per kilowatt hour. Several North African countries are following suit: Algeria, which currently generates more than 90% of its electricity from gas, has issued tenders for three gigawatts of solar energy, while Morocco unveiled plans for its biggest solar farm last year.

Introducing The CEO Signal from Semafor Business, an exclusive, invitation-only membership for chief executives of the world’s largest companies.

Helmed by veteran Financial Times editor Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, the initiative builds on the success of Liz Hoffman’s Semafor Business and sets a new standard for how global leaders connect, learn, and navigate future challenges. Focusing on exclusivity over scale, the platform will debut its inaugural issue next week, in the backdrop of Davos, offering candid, practical insights and interviews tailored for global CEOs who are short on time and seeking actionable intelligence.

Transatlantic traffic boosts Heathrow

London’s Heathrow airport saw a record number of passengers in 2024. About 83.9 million people passed through its terminals, 3 million more than the previous record. Heathrow is the fourth-busiest airport in the world, and its position on the west coast of Europe makes it a key hub for transatlantic flights, which are resurgent: Shares in British Airways’ owner IAG reached their highest level since before the pandemic, after the company bet heavily on long-haul flights between Europe and the Americas from its western European hubs. Those parts of the industry were slower to recover after COVID-19, the Financial Times reported, but are now booming.

Women drive US Army expansion

The US Army achieved its recruitment target last year for the first time in a decade — thanks to growth in female enlistments. Almost 10,000 women signed up for active duty in 2024, up 18% on the year before: Male recruitment went up just 8%. The army has been missing targets since 2015, mainly because male enlistments have been dropping, from 58,000 in 2013 to 45,000 last year. The problem is largely down to a lack of male applicants who meet the army’s educational requirements. Women have been able to serve in all US Army roles, including front-line combat, since 2016: Other NATO countries, including France and the UK, have similarly opened up all military roles to women.

Nepal’s safer childbirth

Efforts to make childbirth safer in Nepal have led to maternal deaths dropping by nearly three-quarters. Much of the country is mountainous and rural, and large numbers of people live a long way from the nearest health facility. Government programs, backed by international aid especially from the UK, paid women to visit clinics, and ended fees for using birth centers. Health visitors also began visiting remote areas with portable ultrasounds and handing out drugs to prevent postpartum hemorrhage. Births taking place in such centers went up from 10% in 2005 to 80% now, and maternal deaths dropped from 536 per 100,000 live births in 1996 to 151 in 2021, DevEx reported.

• France’s new prime minister gives a major policy speech as he seeks to find a compromise to pass a 2025 budget.
• Russia’s prime minister visits Vietnam for talks with the country’s leaders.
• A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet, holds its London premiere.

Percentage increase in cottage cheese sales in the past five years, according to a market research firm. The growth is driven in the US by a rising focus on protein intake in order to improve health, with many people concocting both sweet and savory recipes and posting them on social media apps like TikTok. The shift represents a return to the norm for Americans, who consumed more cottage cheese than yogurt in the 1970s, The Wall Street Journal reported. That has helped transform cottage cheese’s reputation from “soupy, lumpy, or slimy,” in the Journal’s words, to — as one proponent described it — “sexy.”

Too Soon by Betty Shamieh. Rather than feeling pressured to “educate and enlighten others” about the struggles faced by Palestinians, this debut novel seeks instead to respond to that burden by “shrugging it off,” a reviewer at The Atlantic’s wrote: Instead, it “has all the beats (and some of the cliché and cringe) of a romantic comedy — one that unfolds partly in the West Bank.” Buy Too Soon from your local bookstore.

Republicans in Congress are locked in a fight over a tax bill that many estimate will take months to resolve, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reported. The unresolved tax fights are politically sensitive: How many of Trump’s campaign promises to slash taxes on tips and Social Security benefits can be included?