Category: Semafor

Taiwan’s drone ambitions are getting a boost from the private sector despite a massive budgetary setback. A US dronemaker is partnering with a Taiwanese tech firm to build scalable systems for the country’s military, as the rush to augment autonomous defense capabilities intensifies on both sides of the strait. China ...

The UK announced a social-media ban for under-16s, a move that follows other countries but clashes with the government’s other priorities. The ban will include Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms as well as YouTube but not messaging apps like WhatsApp. The move is popular, with polls finding 74% support, although ...

The News President Donald Trump has a lot of work to do to sell his nascent agreement with Iran to Republicans in Congress. The GOP’s position on Iran has long disfavored dealmaking, with most Republican lawmakers railing against then-President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear pact with Tehran. Many of those same ...

Yinka’s view The White House’s Africa strategy under President Donald Trump’s second term has suffered from a basic tension: Washington wants a more transactional relationship centered on trade, investment, and critical minerals, while dismantling the tools that gave it leverage on the continent. But recent moves suggest some Republicans recognize ...

by David Hockney. The veteran British artist died last week at the age of 88. He was working (usually on an iPad) right to the end of his life, including a vast frieze inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry. This 2001 book argues that the Renaissance greats such as Caravaggio and ...

African e-bike manufacturer Spiro will begin producing the majority of its components on the continent by next year, CEO Gagan Gupta told Semafor. The Dubai-headquartered company’s current supply of EVs comes from the assembly of parts imported from different countries, but it aims to make 90% of components in-country by ...

Zimbabwe’s state-owned miner Mutapa Gold Resources plans to double its annual gold production compared to the last financial year to reach 220,000 ounces by 2029. Mutapa said it secured $75 million from Zimbabwean banks to raise output from a key pit located to the northwest of Harare, with more capital ...

Health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo said misinformation regarding the Ebola virus was hindering efforts to contain the outbreak, as official cases approached 1,000. False claims about the virus, including that the epidemic was a hoax, have proliferated across the Central African nation, accelerating the spread of the ...

The News South Africa’s Standard Bank aims to be Kenya’s biggest lender by 2030, its regional chief told Semafor, a rare public shot at climbing East Africa’s banking hierarchy as the International Monetary Fund warns that the region’s economic buffers are dangerously fragile. The target is likely to sharpen competition ...

The News South Africa unveiled a sweeping new pricing blueprint to introduce competition in the country’s electricity sector, a move that would directly affect more than $14 billion in private international investment reshaping the nation’s grid. The proposed overhaul, outlined in the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s website, is ...