Category: Semafor

Following a historic effort to prop up the yen and prevent economic spillover, Japanese and American leaders vowed to intervene further if needed. Japan’s top currency diplomat called the joint action the “culmination” of the US-Japan alliance, while President Donald Trump said it was a “signal of friendship.” The action ...

Diplomatic efforts to end the Iran war ruptured on Monday after Tehran denied negotiations would take place, and US President Donald Trump described the country’s leaders as “unbelievably duplicitous.” Trump had previously said talks would resume Monday, but later vowed to blockade Iran until “a Deal, or Total Surrender, is ...

by Robert Graves. Graves is best known for his historical novels and , set in imperial Rome. But before that, he was best known for his writing about World War I. He was badly wounded at Loos and, alongside Wilfred Owen and his close friend Siegfried Sassoon, was a key ...

Morocco named a 655-mile coastal expressway the “Donald J. Trump Highway” in a direct thank-you to the US president for formally recognizing Rabat’s sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara. The move underscores Rabat’s ongoing diplomatic campaign to consolidate international control over the territory, with the highway connecting the ...

African nations are building major infrastructure projects at an unprecedented rate in a bid to boost energy independence and improve logistics, though commentators warn that soaring debt levels may hamper progress. The war in the Middle East, which supplies a vast amount of Africa’s fuels, exposed the continent’s reliance on ...

Qatar’s Baladna Food Industries is developing a $3.3 billion project in Syria to produce cotton, wheat, textiles, and other agriculture goods, The National reported. Baladna is an arm of the business empire of Syrian-born business moguls Moutaz and Ramez Al-Khayyat, who have backed power, real estate, and transport projects in ...

Yinka’s view A push by African countries to build their own space sectors is reshaping competition between the US and China, as governments on the continent seek partners to supply satellites, finance infrastructure, and develop domestic capabilities. But a new report suggests Washington’s approach may no longer align with what ...

The Scoop A South African investor group that recently rescued the debt-laden agricultural producer Tongaat Hulett is planning a takeover of rival Illovo Sugar, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The move would consolidate control of the continent’s sugar, ethanol, and bioenergy markets under a single African-owned ...

For fifteen years, the answer to financial inclusion was more innovation. We built payment rails that clear in seconds, a biometric identity anchor and a licensing regime that brought fintech players, payment service banks, and mobile money operators into the formal system. I helped shape parts of that architecture as ...

Darializa Avila Chevalier, the democratic socialist who ousted New York Rep. Adriano Espaillat in a June primary upset, plans to seek membership in both the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus once sworn in, her campaign told Semafor. That would make her only the second Afro-Latino lawmaker to ...