Flagship

Kyiv shakes up cabinet amid attacks

Ukraine’s foreign minister resigned as Kyiv conducted its biggest government reshuffle since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Dmytro Kuleba followed four other ministers out of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s cabinet, with more expected. The shakeup came as Russia launched a new wave of missile attacks: One on the city of Poltava killed at least 51 people yesterday, and overnight a strike in Lviv killed seven, including three children. Moscow is particularly targeting Ukraine’s energy grid ahead of the country’s bitter winter. Semafor’s Tim McDonnell reported over the summer that efforts to build new renewable capacity in the country will not be quick enough to make good the losses, and Kyiv will be forced to import gas it can ill afford.

‘World’s worst’ banker arrested

The former governor of Lebanon’s central bank was arrested on charges of corruption. Riad Salameh ran the Banque du Liban for 30 years until his retirement last year, but in his final months was accused of embezzlement and other financial crimes. Salameh — described by The Economist as “the world’s worst central banker” — is also widely held responsible for the economic crisis that has gripped Lebanon since 2019: The lira, once pegged at 1,500 to the dollar, is now at 90,000 to the dollar. Salameh ran the country’s economy at a huge deficit, relying on foreign debt to cover the gap, in what one analyst called “the largest Ponzi scheme in history.”

Wall Street woes hit Japan indices

Japan’s stock market slid 3% as Wall Street’s wobble triggered ripple effects around the world. Disappointing manufacturing data in the US led to a market selloff Tuesday, with investors fearing a wider slowdown: The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P all saw their worst days since the early August panic, ending a month-long bullish run. Tech companies were particularly badly hit, leading to the slide in Japan, which is home to many big tech firms. The industry’s problems should perhaps be kept in context, though: While Nvidia was the worst-hit, seeing a 9.5% drop off the back of a mere 15% quarter-on-quarter jump in revenue, it is still up 118% for the year, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Beijing to boost Nigeria investment

Chinese officials vowed to encourage the country’s most “powerful” companies to invest in Nigeria shortly after the two nations’ leaders met in Beijing. According to a joint statement, the investment would help Nigeria’s oil-dependant economy — which is enduring its worst crisis in a generation — to “diversify.” Beijing also unveiled plans to revitalize an aging railway aimed at improving transportation in resource-rich East Africa. The moves are part of a Sino-African summit aimed at increasing regional Chinese lending amid increased competition from the US and other Western powers, including in key industries such as rare earths and mineral mining.

China hits Canada with canola tariffs

China hit Canada with tariffs on rapeseed oil in retaliation against Ottawa’s own duties on Chinese electric vehicles. Canada announced 100% tariffs on EVs last week, as well as 25% on steel and aluminum, following the lead of the US and European Union. Beijing accused Canada of “dumping” cheap oil and decried “discriminatory unilateral restrictive measures” on its products. Canada’s rapeseed crop is huge — the crop’s North American name of “canola” is a contraction of “Canada” and “oil” — and China accounts for half of its exports: Canada’s farming minister called the development “deeply concerning.”

UK to close its final coal plant

The UK’s last coal plant will close this month, ending 140 years of the use of the fuel for electricity. London saw the world’s first coal-fired power plant in 1882, and the UK will likewise become the first G7 country to remove coal from its grid. The Ratcliffe-on-Soar station received its last shipment of fuel in July, and its boilers, which reached 1,000°C (1,832°F) when working, are cold. The UK’s move away from coal has been rapid: In 1990, it was still the source of most of the country’s electricity, but it has been phased out by the growth of gas and renewables. Those two sources now account for roughly a third of the country’s power each, with nuclear and bioenergy making up the rest.

Haiti leader appeals for global aid

Haiti’s acting prime minister said the country is facing critical delays in manpower and funding in its fight against the gangs that have taken control over swaths of the island nation. Haiti has received just 400 police officers, all from Kenya, of the more than 2,500 promised by the international community, Garry Conille told The Wall Street Journal, calling for more foreign aid. The shortage has sapped the officers’ morale, as they struggle to make progress against the heavily armed gangs. Haiti’s economy has collapsed since gangs filled the power vacuum left by the assassination of a former premier, with aid agencies warning of catastrophic levels of hunger.

September 25, 2024 | New York City | Request Invitation

Join Tom Steyer, Co-Executive Chair, Galvanize Climate Solutions, Kara Mangone, Head of the Sustainable Finance Group at Goldman Sachs, Mary de Wysocki, SVP and Chief Sustainability Officer at Cisco, and Heather Zichal, Global Head of Sustainability, JPMorgan Chase for an evening of forward-looking discussions on climate finance and AI’s role in advancing low-carbon technologies. As AI enhances climate projects by forecasting risks and boosting energy efficiency, questions remain about whether its energy demands could outweigh the benefits. The conversation will address these concerns while exploring how to ensure investments reach the regions most impacted by climate change.

US forgets Trump assassination attempt

The assassination attempt on Donald Trump has faded from the national conversation, to the frustration of the US Republican Party. Trump’s team thought the July shooting would define the race, with “an immutable image of Trump’s vigor and patriotism,” Semafor’s Dave Weigel reported. But the shooter’s ambiguous motive and the resignation of the Secret Service director have turned it into “a slow-moving procedural drama.” Republican voices hinted that the incident had been “memory-holed” — “they want you to forget,” Trump himself said on Monday. But presidential assassination attempts have not always captured the public imagination. While Ronald Reagan seemed to get a wave of sympathy after being shot in 1981, Gerald Ford suffered two attempts on his life in 1975 with no meaningful impact on the polls.

How gaming influences elections

Politicians are increasingly trying to reach voters via video games. The approach is not entirely new: Then-US presidential candidate Barack Obama ran in-game political ads in 2008. But the use of games is on the rise: President Joe Biden’s 2020 election team built visitable areas in the online games Animal Crossing and Fortnite, with the latter including a mission of retrieving Kamala Harris’ missing sneakers. Games’ cultural importance is growing — the sector is more valuable than the music and movie industries put together — and last month Donald Trump appeared with a game streamer, receiving half a million live views. “Recent US political successes were tied to specific technologies,” such as social media, the Financial Times reported. “Could video games be a key technology that shapes future elections?”

New interest in religious movies

Investors have poured millions of dollars into religious movies, part of a shift that could change Hollywood and the entertainment industry. Recent successes including a multiseason drama about the life of Jesus and his apostles “have galvanized religious viewers” across the world, The Wall Street Journal reported, with investors vowing ever-higher budgets for similar such productions. The shift also signals a vast and underserved audience which is often willing to crowdfund for projects they feel could portray their beliefs. “There’s a religious gap. There’s a cultural gap,” the co-creator of a film on David and Goliath told the Journal. “Companies need a bridge to the audience.”

• The US climate envoy visits China for talks with his counterpart.
• The final report on the UK’s Grenfell fire disaster will be published.
• The fourth season of the drama Slow Horses is broadcast on Apple TV+.

The resale price for a bobblehead of Japanese baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani. The dual-threat phenom — Ohtani is both one of the league’s best batters and pitchers, despite not throwing this season — has revitalized the league, drawing thousands of fans from his native Japan while pushing up revenues at rival ballparks. His employers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, hope the increased cash flow will help offset his $700 million deal, the biggest ever in professional sports. “Ohtani brings us all the energy and the happiness and the charisma,” a fan who drove five and a half hours to watch him play told The Wall Street Journal.

The Guardian recommends Romance, the new album by Dublin rockers Fontaines DC. Music correspondent Kitty Empire called their work “low-slung and menacing… a little like Depeche Mode,” and noted influences from the Arctic Monkeys to Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins, with hints of breakbeat and dreampop.

• New York governor’s former aide accused of being a Chinese government agent.
• A conscious uncoupling on Wall Street.
• US Justice Department ramps up pressure on Nvidia as stock slumps.