Flagship

US immigration deal nears collapse

A U.S. bill tightening domestic border security and funding military assistance for Ukraine and Israel appeared close to collapse. Despite it being negotiated by Republicans as well as Democrats, senior GOP lawmakers quickly disavowed it, and ex-President Donald Trump called for it to be blocked. Immigration is dominating Washington politics — Republicans are also seeking to impeach the homeland security secretary — but the issue’s impact stretches far beyond the United States: “The Republicans’ refusal to supply arms is sabotaging Kyiv’s war effort,” the Financial Times’ chief foreign affairs columnist wrote, while China may view the failure to agree military help for allies as a sign of weakness amid tensions over Taiwan, a key Democrat lawmaker warned during a Semafor event.

Russia’s progress in Ukraine

Russia began mounting a winter offensive against Ukraine as Western intelligence officials warned of growing risks Moscow may soon use military force against a NATO country. The Russian tactical gains came as Danish intelligence said it was “very likely” Russia would confront a NATO country, echoing concerns from Copenhagen’s defense minister. The worries point to a shift in the war: In its early stages, Ukraine was seen as quick to adapt against slow-footed Russia. “But after two years of war, the adaptation battle has changed,” a former Australian general wrote in Foreign Affairs. “This may confer on the Russians a significant military edge in the year ahead.”

Protests as Senegal delays election

Senegalese authorities delayed elections — due in just three weeks — for 10 months. The original weekend announcement postponing the polls had sparked mass protests in the country, seen as a rare democratic success in unstable West Africa: Senegal has had three peaceful handovers of power, and is the only country in the region that has never had a military coup. Tensions are high after some of President Macky Sall’s opponents were jailed two years ago in what critics said was a deliberate attempt to exclude them from the election, and one party was banned altogether. “Senegal’s democratic credentials now hang in the balance,” the BBC said.

Meta’s rules ‘incoherent’

Meta’s oversight board called the company’s misinformation rules “incoherent,” arguing they were too focused on artificial-intelligence-generated material rather than misleading content as a whole. The independently run body agreed that a doctored video of U.S. President Joe Biden did not break Meta’s rules, because it was not generated by AI. But it added that non-AI content can be equally deceptive, and the policy should be changed to apply to that too. The board also recommended that Meta should apply labels indicating that content is misleading, rather than removing the content altogether. The ruling comes at a key period, with several major countries — including India, Indonesia, the U.K., and the U.S. — gearing up for elections this year.

Semafor launched in October of 2022 with a philosophy of presenting our sophisticated audience with reliable facts and diverse insights. Our Semaform story structure, which separates facts and analysis, embodies that approach. And you seem to like it!

So today, we’re announcing the launch of our biggest new product since then, a new, global multi-source breaking news feed called Signals. Our journalists, using research tools from Microsoft and OpenAI, will offer readers diverse, global insights on the biggest stories in the world as they develop on our gorgeous site, Semafor.com, as well as other platforms like this one.

China firms near chip breakthrough

Chinese companies are reportedly nearing a breakthrough in domestic semiconductor development, despite tough U.S. curbs. Huawei and SMIC, China’s biggest chipmaker, plan to make 5-nanometer smartphone semiconductors as early as this year, the Financial Times reported. Though the chips are not themselves cutting-edge and are apparently more expensive and less reliable than rival products, the firms’ progress suggests U.S. efforts to curtail Chinese access to the most advanced semiconductor technologies may be falling short. The gradually tightening chip restrictions, first imposed by Washington in October 2022 and over time drawing in allies worldwide, are a key source of tension between the U.S. and China.

UN opens aid agency inquiry

The U.N. announced an investigation into its Palestinian aid agency following Israeli allegations its staff were involved in Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. The Israeli charges have spurred more than a dozen countries to suspend funding to UNRWA, which says it is nearing financial collapse. But Britain’s Channel 4 News obtained a copy of the six-page Israeli dossier making the allegations, and said it “provides no evidence to support its explosive new claim that UNRWA staff were involved in the terror attacks on Israel.” The announcement of the inquiry came as the U.S. secretary of state met with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler in an effort to restore progress towards Saudi-Israeli normalization of ties, and to push for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Bukele wins second term despite ban

Weekend elections in El Salvador tightened President Nayib Bukele’s grip on power. Bukele’s party claimed to be on track to win 58 out of 60 seats in the country’s Congress, while the incumbent resoundingly won reelection despite a constitutional ban on him standing. Bukele’s widespread crackdown on gangs — which has been criticized by human rights groups over allegations of abuse — have made him hugely popular at home and a model across Latin America. He has now transformed that popularity into unchecked power, El Faro, El Salvador’s leading newspaper, argued. “The too brief democratic era in Salvadoran history has ended,” said its editorial board. “Nayib Bukele now belongs to the worst political tradition of Central America: That of the dictator.”

February 29 | Washington D.C.
Mapping the Future of Digital Privacy
RSVP

A convening of the most forward-thinking leaders in policy, engineering, and technology as we survey the state of privacy in the U.S. and abroad.

UK king undergoing cancer treatment

Britain’s King Charles III was diagnosed with an unspecified cancer. Charles recently received treatment for an enlarged prostate, and during that treatment doctors discovered “a separate issue of concern,” which Buckingham Palace said was not prostate cancer. He has begun treatment as an outpatient and will step back from some public appearances, although he will still perform state duties, such as signing laws, and will continue to meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak each week. Should the king be incapacitated for a time due to treatment, other members of the royal family can take on his duties. British politicians and other heads of state, including U.S. President Joe Biden, have sent their best wishes.

Vesuvius scrolls deciphered

Passages from scrolls burnt by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago were deciphered by artificial intelligence. The “Vesuvius Challenge” offered a $700,000 prize to the first researchers to reveal the content of one of hundreds of scrolls found in a Roman villa in Herculaneum, buried under pyroclastic flows in 79 A.D. The scrolls were badly burnt and too fragile to open, and the ink was the same density as the paper, making scanning unhelpful. But researchers noticed faint patterns which they could train an AI on: An undergraduate won the prize for translating a word (“purple”) last year, and now another team of students interpreted an entire scroll, apparently an unknown work by a follower of the Greek philosopher Epicurus.

Anti-aging drug for dogs enters trials

A biotech firm launched the first clinical trials into anti-aging drugs for dogs. The drug, LOY-001, will be tested on 1,000 dogs over 10 years old and weighing at least 14 pounds. An 11-year-old whippet named Boo has already been treated. The dogs will be monitored over four years and their lifespan compared to those given a placebo. It is expected to be most successful in larger breeds, which tend to die younger. The drug works by altering metabolic processes: Scientists have already extended the lifespan of worms, flies, and mice. And since dogs are a good animal model for human biology, researchers hope the trial could pave the way for lifespan-extending drugs for people.

Gain a deeper understanding of the global economy by signing up for the Daily Brief from our friends at Quartz. You’ll join over half a million readers who rely on this free newsletter for their essential briefing on what’s happening in the business world every day. Get your insights today on everything from generative AI to global trade — sign up for free.

• Argentina’s President Javier Milei begins a visit to Israel, where he is due to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• The European Commission is expected to announce plans for a legally binding cut to carbon emissions by 2040.
• New Zealand marks Waitangi Day, the anniversary of the signing of what is seen as the country’s founding document.

The percentage by which Microsoft’s stock price has risen since Satya Nadella became CEO a decade ago, outpacing the S&P 500 by almost seven times over that time span. Nadella’s historic run as CEO, which has focused on making the company a leader in artificial intelligence and cloud computing, has made Microsoft the most valuable company in the world, with a market value of just over $3 trillion. “Nadella’s had the biggest transformation of a tech company potentially ever,” a securities analyst told Quartz.

TikTok users are finding creative ways to make up for a lack of music on the social media platform. Since Universal Music Group removed its catalog of hit songs last week, TikTokers have been devising new soundtracks for their videos, some turning to unexpected sounds including ringtones and the standard iPhone alarm. “The result has been a perplexing mix of previously obscure songs alongside new bops uncovered from, of all places, modern washing machines,” Polygon reported. One anime fan used the jingle an LG washer-dryer plays when it has completed a load of laundry to make a video of a character from Jujutsu Kaisen.