Flagship

Ukraine targets Moscow

Ukraine mounted its biggest drone attack on Moscow since Russia’s 2022 invasion. The Kremlin said all of the aircraft fired upon the capital were destroyed, but the scale of the assault — which Ukraine did not itself confirm — points to Kyiv’s increasing willingness to target territory far beyond the two countries’ border. It also comes with Ukraine seemingly making additional progress in its surprise offensive into Russia’s Kursk region. Despite that success, as well as Moscow’s own encroachment into eastern Ukraine, the two countries lack the materiel to mount major further attacks, according to a Pentagon assessment: One Ukrainian brigade commander told the Financial Times his troops were once again rationing artillery shells, with ammunition prioritized for the Kursk operation.

Gaza ceasefire deal in doubt

A potential Gaza ceasefire deal — which appeared imminent just days ago — is languishing. US officials had touted Israel’s apparent acceptance of a truce agreement, but both Israel and Hamas now say major challenges persist. The negotiations are “on the brink of collapsing… and there is no clear immediate alternative agreement,” Politico reported, citing US and Israeli officials. The flailing talks came with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing renewed criticism at home over his handling of the hostage crisis: A son of one of the six captives taken during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack whose bodies were recovered this week said that “Netanyahu chose to sacrifice the hostages.”

Obama warns of tight race

Former US President Barack Obama warned Democrats they faced a “tight race” in getting Kamala Harris to the White House despite a recent surge of momentum in her favor. Harris’ selection as the Democratic candidate has reinvigorated the party’s base, much of which had shied away from participating in the campaign while Joe Biden was the nominee. “Our phones are ringing off the hook,” a Democratic party chair told the Financial Times. “There’s been this pent-up wanting to do something, but they just didn’t have the impetus.” Some, however, question whether the momentum will last. Harris’ convention speech on Thursday may be critical, Politico reported.

Africa to roll out mpox shots

African countries could start vaccinating against mpox as early as next week, the continent’s top health body said. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention previously said the region had just 200,000 of the more than 10 million doses it needs to control the outbreak of the disease, which the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency last week. African nations must now await donations from Western countries, underscoring the continent’s reliance on foreign vaccine makers. The continent, which accounts for around 20% of the world’s population, provides only around 0.2% of global vaccine supply, recent data showed.

Panama begins US-funded deportations

Panama deported 29 Colombians who had reached the country via the Darién Gap, part of a US-funded program to reduce migration through the treacherous stretch of jungle. Crossings of the Darién have soared in recent years as hundreds of thousands of migrants — mostly Venezuelans fleeing repression and poverty — attempt to reach the US-Mexico border, even sparking the creation of a burgeoning illegal industry that gets migrants to their destinations at high cost. Experts fear that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s attempts to stay in office after a disputed election could trigger a new wave of migration.

China spy agency’s latest warnings

China’s top espionage agency warned that the country’s couriers were being used to obtain sensitive documents and dispatch hazardous chemicals. The post on WeChat, China’s main messaging app, is the latest of several recently cautioning against ostensibly innocuous services and apparent threats: Since the Ministry of State Security established its WeChat account a year ago, it has also flagged college-application consultants, “quite deceptive” foreigners seeking to win over Chinese abroad, and online accounts impersonating China’s own spy agency. The warnings from the MSS — which include more conventional issues such as foreign spies targeting scientific research — are part of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s “increasing focus on security,” the Financial Times noted.

Youth job prospects concerning

High numbers of youths not in employment, education, or training is a growing global concern, the International Labour Organization warned. The global labor market for young people has been improving since the COVID-19 pandemic, but so-called NEETs face a lack of well-paying jobs, even though contemporary youth populations are the highest educated in history. Middle-income countries in particular have not created enough skilled work opportunities, while conflicts globally threaten young people’s education. “Peaceful societies rely on three core ingredients: stability, inclusion, and social justice,” the ILO’s director-general said. “Decent work for the youth is at the heart of all three.”

There’s a money story in the Arabian Peninsula. Take one look at the news, and you’ll see headlines about Saudi Arabia’s rapidly changing economy, Qatar’s investment in mass infrastructure, and the UAE’s transformation into a global tech hub. The geopolitical tectonic plates are shifting. To stay up to date on the business happening in the Gulf that impacts the world around you, check out Semafor Gulf. Each issue uncovers the economic forces shaping the region — and the world.

Europe power prices go negative

Electricity prices in parts of Europe fell below zero, a sign of fast-growing wind- and solar-power production. Negative power prices are an increasingly frequent occurrence as countries build out weather-dependent renewables capacity, with supply at times outpacing demand. Europe is not the only region seeing rapid green-power construction: China is building a mammoth “Great Wall of Solar” in a desert 500 miles (800 kilometers) west of Beijing, solar-power generation in the US jumped by 25% in 2023 alone, and Australia today approved a huge solar-and-battery farm that will send electricity as far as Singapore. Negative power prices are not an unalloyed positive, however, with companies often complaining that oversupply of renewables disincentivizes future investment in clean power.

Bear attacks point to habitat loss

Recent bear attacks on either side of the Atlantic point to the growing pressure placed on the animals by degradation of their habitats. In the Canadian territory of Nunavut, two polar bears killed a worker at an Arctic radar station, a rare fatal attack in the region. According to the BBC, the species is in decline, and scientists have noted a shrinking of their hunting grounds as a result of the loss of sea ice because of climate change. Romania, meanwhile, has approved the culling of hundreds of brown bears following the killing of a hiker. There, too, environmentalists say expansion by humans onto bears’ homelands is a major factor in the attacks.

AI helps decode Epic of Gilgamesh

Artificial intelligence is helping decode previously unknown parts of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The tale which heralds from ancient Mesopotamia had been cataloged in cuneiform on clay tablets, which were only first read in the late 19th century, but major portions have long been undecipherable while new texts have gradually been unearthed. Now, researchers at Germany’s Ludwig Maximilian University are using an algorithm to accelerate their work, helping find missing parts of the story and translate the writing. They aren’t alone in using AI to understand ancient texts: Israeli researchers used similar techniques to translate Mesopotamian cuneiform, and US scientists are trying to do the same to understand the text on scrolls burned by the eruption of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius.

• Taiwan opens its annual Ketagalan Forum, focusing on security issues in the Indo-Pacific.
• Unions close ballots on possible strikes at Lufthansa’s vacation airline Discover.
• Buenos Aires hosts the World Tango Championship.

The size of The Reserve, a gold and silver vault in Singapore’s Changi Airport. Demand for vaults has shot up as the price of the precious metal soared to a record high of more than $2,500 per ounce amid increased investor confidence over a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve next month. Others see gold as a haven asset that hedges against increased geopolitical instability, contributing to the price of a 400 troy ounce (12.4 kg) gold bar surpassing $1 million for the first time ever.

Badenheim 1939 by Aharon Appelfeld. London’s Daunt Books says the “haunting political fable is one of the great novels of the Holocaust,” following the encroachment of the Nazis on a small resort town preparing for its spring arts festival. Buy it from Daunt Books or your local bookstore.

• Fed officials head to Jackson Hole as interest rates loom large.
• Obamas headline Democratic convention’s second day.
• US pressures Kenya’s President Ruto over police killings.