Flagship

Biden faces pressure over drone deaths

U.S. President Joe Biden faced growing pressure to strike Iran and its proxies after a drone attack killed three U.S. soldiers. A White House official told Politico that Washington may fire back with “several rounds of action,” as some Republican lawmakers pressed for direct strikes on Tehran itself. Though Iran denies involvement, the drone — which succeeded in its mission because it was mistaken for a U.S. aircraft — was launched by an Iran-backed group. But while the U.S. has a “long list” of Iran-aligned parties it could hit, a Center for Strategic and International Studies expert said, “it will refrain from hitting targets that it thinks risk eliciting a wide-scale response.”

US lawmakers near border deal

U.S. lawmakers are moving closer to a deal on a bill to enact stricter border controls — an increasingly important issue in the presidential election. A bipartisan group of senators could unveil the specifics of their proposal this week, though Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump urged GOP lawmakers to reject any compromise. President Joe Biden — who has embraced a tougher stance on immigration to fend off attacks from Trump ahead of a likely rematch in November — has endorsed the Senate negotiations, saying the bill would effectively allow him to “shut down the border” during spikes in crossings. The deal has global ramifications: Republicans have repeatedly said border legislation is a condition for new Ukraine aid.

Amazon drops deal over EU block

Amazon scrapped its $1.4 billion acquisition of vacuum maker iRobot on Monday — the latest Big Tech deal scuttled by European Union regulators. Amazon said the deal had “no path to regulatory approval” after EU officials signaled they opposed it on competition grounds. European regulators have long policed Silicon Valley through fines and penalties, but have also increasingly sought to torpedo deals, such as Adobe’s merger with design platform Figma, and may soon turn their attention to Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI. The U.S. under the Biden administration has made similar moves, though the EU’s have continued for far longer. “Large technology companies will have a tough time closing any acquisition given the current regulatory climates,” a Bloomberg analyst said.

India’s first AI unicorn

An Indian artificial intelligence startup became the country’s first AI “unicorn.” Krutrim, founded by tech entrepreneur Bhavish Aggarwal, who was also behind the ride-hailing platform Ola, received $50 million in funding at a valuation of $1 billion — the unicorn threshold. Despite a burgeoning tech manufacturing scene and a huge startup ecosystem, India has yet to make a major impact in AI, TechCrunch noted: Training the large language models that have underpinned recent advances is very expensive, and few Indian firms have the financial wherewithal to do so. “India has to build its own AI,” said Aggarwal, “and … we are fully committed towards building the country’s first complete AI computing stack.”

China’s solar boom

China installed more solar capacity in 2023 than the U.S. has in its entire history. The country added 216 gigawatts of solar panels, obliterating the previous record of 87 gigawatts — set in 2022. China’s total installed capacity is now 609 gigawatts; the U.S. has the second-largest solar fleet in the world, with 175 gigawatts. China also added 76 gigawatts of wind capacity. BloombergNEF estimated that the country accounted for 58% of the world’s new solar and 60% of its new wind capacity in 2023. The renewables additions come with forecasts suggesting that China’s emissions may have peaked last year.

UK to ban disposable vapes

The U.K. is cracking down on vaping. The government plans to ban disposable vapes, restrict some flavors, and make it harder to market and sell vapes to children. Vaping is less harmful than smoking cigarettes, but experts only advise people take up vaping if they are looking for a way to stop smoking, since vapes still contain nicotine and small amounts of potentially harmful chemicals. Globally, laws around vaping are a mixed bag: Some countries like China and Australia have cracked down on the industry, while others like the U.S., Indonesia, and the Philippines have looser restrictions.

NKorea missile tests spark war worries

Western intelligence agencies increasingly fear a “sneak attack” from North Korea, worried by its flexing of military muscle and abandoning key signs of support for reunification with Seoul. Pyongyang in recent weeks has tested an underwater nuclear weapons system, a “hypersonic glide” missile, and submarine-launched cruise missiles. It also shut down government agencies tasked with promoting reconciliation with South Korea and tore down its “reunification” arch. The actions have sparked a debate among analysts about leader Kim Jong Un’s intentions; Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has speculated in private that Kim has learned from Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer noted in his latest email update.

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Bullfighting returns to Mexico City

Bullfighting returned to Mexico City this week despite protests that it violates animal welfare. Known as “fiesta brava” locally, bullfighting was suspended in 2022 on animal-rights grounds, but Mexico’s Supreme Court recently lifted that ban. A huge crowd watched Sunday at the largest bullfighting arena in the world as matadors fought and killed six bulls. Activists are hopeful a final ruling this year will ban the sport for good, while local organizers have pointed to its economic impact as a reason to keep bullfighting around, according to El Universal: The head of a bull breeders association said it generates 80,000 jobs.

Push to grow women’s soccer

English women’s soccer is undergoing a shakeup that its organizers hope will have the same impact as the creation of the men’s Premier League in 1992. The Premier League is the most-watched and wealthiest soccer league in the world, but the English women’s game has only recently started to take off, driven by the success of the national team. Now the top two divisions of the women’s league — currently run by the same organization that runs the men’s game — will be taken over by a new company with the aim of building investment, establishing new broadcast deals, and boosting the professionalism of the women’s game, with hopes of establishing English women’s soccer as a $1 billion industry.

HK show unavailable in HK

A new Amazon miniseries set and filmed in Hong Kong can’t be viewed there. The tech giant and city authorities have not explicitly said why Expats, about three American women living in Hong Kong in 2014, isn’t available to stream in the city, but speculation has focused on potential official opposition to scenes depicting pro-democracy protests. Whatever the reason — one lawmaker said the government wasn’t involved — the show, which stars Nicole Kidman, isn’t universally loved in the city. “From what I understand, it’s about how Hong Kong could be boring,” the South China Morning Post quoted one official as saying.

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.

Jan. 30

• Microsoft and Alphabet release their latest earnings.
• The International Monetary Fund holds a briefing session on its Asia-Pacific regional outlook report.
• The World Surfing League’s Championship Tour begins in Oahu, Hawaii.

As Japan evolved into a global video-games production powerhouse, so too did the art of translating those games to sell to overseas audiences. The “localization” process was an afterthought in the 1980s and ‘90s — Pac-Man almost became “Puck Man” internationally — but it is now built into game-making, AFP reported. Fantasy games like Mario and Pokémon are easier to translate, compared to series like Yakuza, which are set in real locations and use Japanese slang. Recent interest in manga, anime, and Japanese culture has made it easier in recent years, though. “People know what ramen is now … we don’t need to say ‘noodles’ any more,” a localization manager said.

• The Washington Post’s CEO on his plans to fix “the most important news organization in America.”
• Global Election Hot List: Indonesia, the US, India, and more.
• Nikki Halley crosses the Rubicon.