Flagship

West clamps down on Russian oil

G7 countries want to finalize a price cap on Russian oil exports today. Under the plans, the bloc, as well as the European Union and Australia, would bar companies from access to maritime insurance, finance, or shipping unless the Russian oil they were transporting was sold at below the limit. The goal is to restrict Moscow’s energy revenues. The price cap has not yet been agreed, but could be as low as $60 a barrel, The Wall Street Journal reports — above Russia’s extraction costs but about 25% below the current market price. It will come into force by Dec. 5.

Brazil’s Bolsonaro challenges defeat

Outgoing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro challenged the results of last month’s election, which he lost to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. His party argues that some electronic voting machines suffered “malfunction,” and that ballots from those devices should be invalidated. Bolsonaro repeatedly questioned Brazil’s election integrity in the runup to the polls, with many of his supporters saying they did not believe the vote would be fair. He “will not succeed,” the editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly tweeted, “but it will contribute to polarized climate, with unpredictable consequences — & greater trouble for Lula when he takes office.”

Hunting for FTX’s imaginary assets

Sam Bankman-Fried apologized to FTX employees, blaming market crashes and credit squeezes for destroying the crypto giant’s collateral and increasing its liabilities. The underlying problem, though, was that “that collateral was monopoly money and the liabilities were … real money,” Semafor’s Liz Hoffman writes. A bankruptcy court heard that large amounts of FTX’s assets are now “lost or stolen,” and Bankman-Fried ran the firm as a “personal fiefdom.” Despite Tesla and Twitter chief Elon Musk’s claim that FTX had set off his “bullshit meter,” Hoffman reported, Bankman-Fried nevertheless co-invested $100 million in Twitter.

— Disclosure: Sam Bankman-Fried is a Semafor investor.

Bregrets, I’ve had a few

The British public increasingly views Brexit as a bad idea, with 56% expressing “Bregret”, according to a new poll. One in five of those who voted for it at the time now say Brexit was a mistake. The U.K. economy has performed worse than most of its peers in the face of pandemic, war, and supply chain shocks, and experts say Brexit-related damage to trade links is a major contributor as well. A former Bank of England official told Bloomberg that Brexit had “permanently damaged” the British economy.

Unrest at Chinese iPhone factory

Workers at a giant iPhone plant in central China railed against brutal COVID-19 restrictions. Social-media footage showed protesters taking down quarantine barriers, smashing security cameras, and demanding delayed bonus payments. Discontent is growing over Beijing’s ongoing zero-COVID efforts even as cases rise nationwide. Workers at the Foxconn factory, the world’s largest assembly plant for Apple’s iPhones, were earlier filmed escaping the facility as lockdowns were implemented. The latest unrest is likely to further hit supplies of iPhones: even before the most recent protests Reuters estimated that production at the plant could slump by as much as 30% this month.

Rainbows seized at World Cup

Qatar and FIFA are holding “urgent” talks after fans’ rainbow-coloured hats were confiscated before the Wales-USA men’s World Cup game. One Wales fan managed to smuggle her hat, worn in support of LGBT rights, into the stadium, The Guardian reports, but others were taken away. An American journalist said he was detained — for his own protection, according to security — for wearing a rainbow T-shirt, while another was allegedly threatened with death on the train to the stadium, because “that flag is banned in this country.” FIFA said before the tournament that rainbow flags would be allowed and LGBT fans would be safe.

Germany to pull troops from Mali

Germany became the third European country to announce its withdrawal from an anti-jihadist coalition in Mali. Berlin’s 1,000 troops will begin leaving next summer, following similar decisions by France and Britain. Western relations with Mali have deteriorated since a 2020 coup and Bamako’s subsequent strengthening of ties to Moscow, exemplified by its decision to invite the Kremlin-linked private security company Wagner Group to help fight insurgents. West Africa accounted for half of all terrorist attacks on the continent in the first three months of 2022, and several regional countries have discussed boosting cooperation to avoid a spillover from Mali.

Oil for thee, renewables for me

Saudi Arabia is making progress raising its renewable energy capacity 6,000% by 2030, partly to free up oil for export. Last year the Gulf state set a target of 50% of its electricity coming from renewables by the end of the decade, an increase from 1 gigawatt to 58 gigawatts. Climate experts were skeptical, but it seems to be happening. Riyadh’s motivation is not purely green. It’s a “triple win,” the Saudi energy minister told the Financial Times: saving money, bringing in more oil revenue, and lowering domestic emissions.

Thor takes time off after genetic test

Chris Hemsworth, the Thor star, has taken time off after learning he has a gene that raises his dementia risk. Hemsworth has two copies of the ApoE4 gene, linked to Alzheimer’s disease, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. Hemsworth’s genes are not his destiny. Only about 20% of people with two copies of the gene get Alzheimer’s by 80. Lifestyle factors such as smoking and exercise have a major effect, too. Dementia is the biggest killer in the West, now fewer of us die of other things, and billions are spent hunting for cures. Last year the U.S. approved a drug which probably doesn’t work.

Ronaldo gives up $18M to leave

Cristiano Ronaldo has left Manchester United. The 37-year-old, who is playing for Portugal in the men’s World Cup, is the highest-scoring footballer in history, and a United legend. But he has rarely played under the club’s new manager, and gave an angry, unauthorized interview to a British broadcaster, saying the Glazer family, United’s owners, “don’t care about the club.” By leaving he forfeited $18 million in pay. The Glazers bought Manchester United in 2005, but faced fan protests over profiteering and underinvestment ever since. Yesterday, they put the club — which has a huge global following — up for sale.

• Nigeria unveils new high-denomination bank notes that will replace existing naira.
• Credit Suisse to hold an extraordinary general meeting at which shareholders will vote on restructuring and capital increase plans as it undertakes a huge strategic overhaul.
• Disney releases Strange World, an animated adventure film about three generations of explorers who set out to save their city.

Politics as farce

Greg Wilchris runs @PopulismUpdates on Twitter.

Shifts in global politics can be chaotic, but they can also be funny. Take as an example two parties gaining traction in neighboring European countries. In Austria, the “Beer Party” surged to 10% nationwide in a recent poll, and is still experiencing momentum off a third place presidential result from their leader, Marco Pogo — AKA Dominik Wlazny — a doctor who fronts the punk band TURBOBIER (the caps are important).

Across the border in Hungary, you’ll find the “Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party” ascending to 8% support. This party takes its name from a street art icon, and has presented absurdist proposals aimed squarely at national shibboleths — like their plan for a “Smaller Hungary,” riffing on the nationalist conception of “Greater Hungary.”

Blending comedy and politics isn’t new. In fact, an entire category of comedian-politicians have seen massive electoral success in recent years. The world now knows Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose campaign was viewed as a finger-in-the-eye to “politics as usual,” but comedians Marjan Sarec and Beppe Grillo in Slovenia and Italy, respectively, have also proved the deployment of humor can be just as effective as traditional campaigning.

What drives the phenomenon? Eroded trust in traditional politicians may be one factor. Consider, though, the skill set required to be an effective comedian. The ability to communicate — to connect with others, to get them to like you, to be understood — separates the famous from the unknown. In a field like politics, it’s no wonder professional communicators know how to seize the advantage.

Message in a bottle

A plumber found a 135-year-old message rolled inside a bottle beneath a floorboard in a Scottish house. Peter Allan discovered the Victorian time capsule after cutting into the floor while moving a radiator. The owners of the house first tried to fish out the note with tweezers and pliers, but finding it was starting to tear, smashed the bottle to retrieve the parchment. Inside they found a handwritten note: “James Ritchie and John Grieve laid this floor, but they did not drink the whisky. October 6th 1887. Who ever finds this bottle may think our dust is blowing along the road.”

If you enjoyed Flagship, please share it with your family, friends, and colleagues — it makes a big difference to our mission to cover the world with intelligence and insight.

To make sure Flagship hits your inbox every day, add flagship@semafor.com to your contacts. In Gmail, drag our newsletter to your “Primary” tab.

You can always reach us on that address, or by replying to this email. We’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading, and see you tomorrow.

— Tom, Prashant Rao, Preeti Jha, and Jeronimo Gonzalez

Want more Semafor? Explore all our newsletters at semafor.com/newsletters