Category: Semafor

British Airways announced what it said will be the world’s biggest business class section on its Airbus A380s, underscoring how airlines are racing to adapt to a growing premium sector. Slowing corporate travel, a post-pandemic desire for more space, and younger customers splurging on experiences have shifted airline economics: A ...

French authorities suspended the use of stun grenades Wednesday after a teenager lost his hand during clashes with police, as demonstrations over school conditions spread to more than 40 cities. Protesters’ weekslong blockade of schools is the most visible aspect of a multifaceted national crisis, as public workers strike, bond ...

The News Whatever happened to “abundance,” the pro-growth movement that many Democrats were going to hitch a ride on this election cycle? They did embrace its ideas. They just don’t use the “a-word” that much. In ads and across swing districts, Democrats are running on having “built more affordable housing,” ...

David’s view Prick up your ears, and you can hear it — the sound of many different kinds of Democrats grabbing credit for midterm victories that aren’t official yet. There’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, assessing that when (not if) Abdul El-Sayed wins his Senate race in Michigan, the left will “break open ...

J.D.’s view The race in the West to become the top open-source AI model shifted into higher gear this week, as both Nvidia-backed Reflection AI and French lab Mistral unveiled new models they hope will break China’s open-source monopoly. The challenge looming over Beam and Le Chonk’s debuts (immediately my ...

There’s a new kind of AI influencer flooding social media feeds — and they’re not even pretending to look like real people. Higgsfield — which recently announced it hit a $1 billion run rate, and which boasts 30 million users — has updated its AI influencer tool, making it easier ...

The Scoop Every Thursday afternoon, a cadre of state AFL-CIO leaders meets on Zoom to advance a shared project: the “Contract with Working Americans,” a populist economic platform they devised independently of the national AFL-CIO. These calls are a new organizing tactic for labor, which historically leads top down from ...

The News The Nigerian state oil company’s disclosure that it spent $8 billion to protect energy infrastructure has sparked calls for an inquiry into how the funds were used and cast fresh light on the country’s inability to protect key economic assets. Nigeria is Africa’s top crude oil producer and ...

The News Fourteen major mining companies in DR Congo paid at least $20 billion to ineligible subcontractors between 2020 and 2025, the country’s subcontracting regulator told Semafor, citing recently completed checks. These findings at mining businesses, among them subsidiaries of Swiss commodities giant Glencore, Ivanhoe Mines and Chinese-Congolese joint-venture Sicomines, ...

French politicians insisted the country would get to grips with its debt issues, but economists — and markets — signaled skepticism. Spreads on French bond yields over German ones have narrowed somewhat, but remain at elevated levels, a result of traders’ worries that French political polarization would hamper efforts to ...