Flagship

Netanyahu faces pressure over hostages

The family members of Israeli hostages held in Gaza stormed the country’s parliament Monday, demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s increasingly unpopular government secure hostages’ release. Netanyahu has rejected earlier deals because they require supporting Palestinian statehood, and suggesting he might come around on the idea is living in “fantasy-land,” one expert said. Netanyahu has also yet to propose an endgame for the Gaza war, in part because the conflict prolongs his hold on power, analysts say. “For Netanyahu at this moment, not deciding is in fact the main policy,” Haaretz’s longtime defense correspondent wrote. But the Israeli leader is also responding to domestically popular demands that Israel continue to pound Hamas, as the wounds of the Oct. 7 attacks remain fresh.

Freight rates double, strain supply chains

Freight shipping rates have doubled in the last month, straining Asian supply chains ahead of next month’s week-long Lunar New Year holiday. Attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea are pushing some companies to devise “backup solutions” to reach customers in Europe and the U.S., including land and air routes, the South China Morning Post reported, while others are warning the chaos could delay the arrival of merchandise at stores. The attacks aren’t likely to let up soon, as the Houthis are reportedly seeking more weapons from Tehran.

China buys more chip gear, fewer chips

Chinese imports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment rose 14% last year to nearly $40 billion, even as the country’s computer chip imports fell. The contrasting figures represent distinct trends in China’s supply chain for semiconductors, which power everything from cars to artificial intelligence. Chinese companies rushed last year to buy lithography machines for producing microchips from the Dutch firm ASML, which agreed to enforce U.S. restrictions curbing Beijing’s access to advanced semiconductors. Those same restrictions, however, helped spur China to invest heavily in producing chips locally. And now it can import fewer of them.

Most office workers want new jobs

Most white-collar workers in the U.S. and Asia want to switch jobs, reflecting global desires for better pay and work-life balance, particularly among millennials and Gen Z, new LinkedIn surveys showed. More than three-quarters of workers in the Asia-Pacific region want to quit their jobs in 2024, reflecting a more competitive labor market in which a majority of local companies say they want to expand their workforces. In the U.S. — where 85% of professionals are thinking about quitting — workers face a tougher job market and a smaller pay bump for changing jobs compared to 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported. But economists said hiring could pick back up this year if interest rates fall.

Ecuador looks abroad in gang ‘war’

Ecuadorian authorities arrested nearly 70 people who allegedly tried to take over a hospital as the country’s leader said Monday he would seek financial help from the U.S. and Europe to free up resources to fight organized crime. President Daniel Noboa declared the country “at war” with drug gangs following outbursts of violence that have marked the start of 2024. But Ecuador’s struggle to meet its debt obligations could limit its overseas borrowing, potentially hampering its ability to take the “iron fist” approach to crime Noboa has promised. A crackdown like the one in El Salvador — where murder rates fell 70% last year — may not accomplish what Noboa hopes, ultimately resulting in “a never-ending escalation of violence,” an El País op-ed argued.

Missing Russian data warps Arctic research

Russian and Western climate researchers aren’t working together, hampering their understanding of climate change in the Arctic. Western scientists’ research in Russia effectively came to a standstill after the invasion of Ukraine, and missing data from the region has led to an “increasingly biased view” of conditions there, a study published Monday found. Russian territory accounts for nearly half of the terrestrial Arctic, which is warming four times faster than the rest of the world. Western scientists had been using Russian field stations to study a range of climate-related topics, from permafrost to beaver behavior. Some Russian scientists told NPR the current lack of communication reminded them of the Cold War.

Saudi Arabia adds snooker to lineup

Saudi Arabia will host its first major invitational snooker event with a new golden ball, demonstrating the breadth of its push to become a global sports hub. Competitors will play the game, which is similar to pool and popular in the U.K. and China, with the addition of a 23rd ball known as “Riyadh Season.” Saudi Arabia has spent more than $6 billion on recruiting stars and growing its influence on sports like football, tennis, boxing, and golf since 2021. The largesse is part of efforts to return the good graces of the global public, following international outcry over the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “Listen, the Saudis can do what they like — they’re a powerful outfit,” a seven-time snooker world champion said.

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Alibaba builds physical thrift store

Alibaba is opening its first brick-and-mortar general thrift store in China as secondhand shopping becomes more popular among climate- and budget-conscious consumers in Asia. It will open in Hangzhou on Sunday and sell clothing, kitchenware, toys, and other items under the brand name of Alibaba’s eBay-like reselling platform Xianyu, which is already used by some 500 million people. Once considered unhygienic or shameful in countries like China and Japan, thrift shopping is becoming increasingly common, thanks to vintage clothing trends and young people concerned about the impact that manufacturing new goods has on the environment.

Apple headset sells out after muted launch

Apple’s new mixed-reality headset sold out during a weekend pre-order rush, but the Vision Pro isn’t expected to be a meaningful revenue driver for the tech giant this year. Though it marks Apple’s first new product category in over a decade, the headset had a relatively muted launch, and a prominent Apple analyst predicted demand will slow after the first presale. YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix also aren’t developing apps for the headset. The launch suggests that the $3,500 gadgets aren’t yet close to being a pervasive piece of consumer technology like the iPhone, and will be “quite a niche (and expensive) product” for the time being, Gizmodo wrote.

Startup pitches 90-seat electric plane

Building electric airplanes might be a more promising idea than once thought. Previous efforts have mostly faltered, but a new prototype from Elysian and the Delft University of Technology, which envisions an airplane carrying 90 people using only battery power, represents a long-shot attempt at creating sustainable commercial travel that should be taken seriously, Bloomberg energy columnist David Fickling wrote. Researchers say the plane could eventually fly shorter routes such as from Hong Kong to Taipei. The viability of commercial electric aircraft is still uncertain, but Elysian’s designs could force industry giants Airbus and Boeing to start thinking more seriously about the idea.

Jan. 23

• New Hampshire voters go to the polls in the second U.S. Republican presidential primary.
• Germany’s president meets with Vietnam’s prime minister in Hanoi.
• Academy Award nominations are announced.

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.

A new haunted-house horror film lays bare Thailand’s “social and political tensions” by exploring how Muslims are perceived by the country’s majority Buddhists, according to the South China Morning Post. Set in early 2000s Bangkok, The Cursed Land begins with Mit, a Thai man who is forced to move in with his daughter, May, after the death of his wife. The film also included rare footage shot in one of Thailand’s southernmost provinces, which are Muslim-majority and have seen civil unrest for decades, culminating in a series of terrorist attacks in 2004. The Cursed Land premieres this week at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

• India inaugurated a major new Hindu temple to both celebration and criticism.
• 13 reasons why Ron DeSantis didn’t become the U.S. Republican presidential nominee.
• Biden opponents are on a quest for Democratic votes in New Hampshire.