Category: Semafor

Taiwan is conducting its largest-ever annual military preparedness drills alongside extensive civil defense exercises aimed at mobilizing a whole-of-society response in the event of conflict with China. Stretching from Aug. 5-14, the drills include several firsts: In addition to simulating the dispersal of defense production, Taiwan is throttling the island’s ...

China’s leaders invited dozens of scientists and technology experts to their annual summer retreat as they look to accelerate the country’s AI ambitions in the face of fierce competition with the US. Beijing is trying to control the entire supply chain in its AI stack — including developing advanced lithography ...

The Trump administration would push for the inclusion of Tibet’s exiled government in more international organizations under a new bipartisan proposal that rebukes China for its pressure campaign against the Tibetan people. The bill from Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and James Risch, R-Idaho, shared first with Semafor, would direct the ...

Andy’s view In the run-up to next month’s US-China presidential summit, another tit-for-tat trade spat is brewing. This time, the US has added advanced robotics — humanoid robots, quadruped robots (spindly-legged “robot dogs”) and robot lawn mowers — to an already long list of banned tech products dominated by China, ...

US President Donald Trump rejected Iranian demands for war reparations and instead called for Tehran to pay compensation for the deaths of American soldiers, the latest sticking point in delicate peace negotiations. Trump said the US has “control of the Strait of Hormuz,” while Tehran says the waterway will remain ...

Syria sentenced former dictator Bashar Al-Assad to death in absentia for war crimes. His 24 years in office were marked by a brutal crackdown in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring protests and the subsequent Syrian civil war, in which an estimated 600,000 people died. Assad’s regime was accused ...

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell below 300 million barrels for the first time since 1983 on Monday, as Brent crude prices spiked after Middle East negotiations stalled. Washington has leaned heavily on reserves since the US-Iran war began, raising concerns about depletion. Meanwhile, China has been able to turn ...

US tech leaders intensified their charm offensive in response to mounting bipartisan backlash against data center construction. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg published a 6,500-word essay Monday announcing plans for a $1 billion fund to invest in communities that host data centers, and OpenAI published an open letter to Texas’ governor ...

Nvidia on Monday said it would partner with lenders to help it finance the buildout of AI infrastructure through a series of vehicles totalling more than $500 billion. The consortium, which includes Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR, will serve companies from frontier labs to hyperscalers, Nvidia said. ...

A Chinese Long March rocket carrying a communications satellite exploded shortly after liftoff Monday, the “workhorse” rocket family’s second failure this year, as Beijing races to achieve launch parity with the US. The mission would have marked an acceleration, with a record 12 days between launches. Beijing and Washington are ...