SoftBank CEO pledges $100 billion, more jobs for Trump’s America
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez eyes historic victory for top Democratic panel spot
The World at a Glance
Updated 12:08pm EST
1
China plans to hike its budget deficit in 2025 to a record high, Reuters reported, in a bid to revive its stagnant economy.
2The head of Russia’s chemical weapons unit was killed in Moscow in a scooter bombing attributed to Kyiv.
3Pope Francis was targeted by a failed assassination attempt in 2021 in Iraq, the pontiff writes in a new memoir.
4Syria’s de facto leader called for sanctions against his country to be lifted and for global help in rebuilding a society battered by years of war.
5Argentina escaped recession in the third quarter, indicating that President Javier Milei’s brutal austerity measures are helping to boost the economy.
6Japan unveiled plans to make renewable energy the country’s top power source by 2040, as Tokyo tries to meet its net-zero goals.
What Milei’s inauguration invitation reveals about Trump’s next term
The president-elect’s decision to invite several world leaders to his swearing-in ceremony, a break with precedent, offers clues to his foreign policy agenda.
Carlos Barria/TrumpRepublicans see agriculture and abortion, not vaccines, as top Kennedy concerns
Donald Trump’s health secretary pick is an ex-Democrat with views on the two issues that better fit his former party.
Adam Gray/ReutersIndia-Russia energy deal underscores Modi’s independent foreign policy stance
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to maintain close relationships with several global poles of influence, including Russia and Washington.
Sivaram V/File Photo/ReutersKamala Harris’ digital chief on Democrats ‘losing hold of culture’
Deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty discusses Harris’ 2024 media strategy.
Kevin Lamarque/ReutersAD
The EU’s two biggest economies are grappling with political uncertainty
The recent government collapses in Germany and France have been triggered by ongoing economic challenges.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Liesa Johannssen/Reuters.The global AI race is increasingly multipolar
China and the US dominate the conversation on artificial intelligence, but “middle powers” are reshaping the geopolitics of AI, analysts wrote.
Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/ReutersRussia aims to ‘win the war in Ukraine’ in 2025, top official says
Moscow will prioritize seizing full control of its remaining annexed Ukrainian territories next year, including the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Russian Defense Minister AndreSputnik/Grigory Sysoev/Kremlin via Reuters
politics
Brandon Bell/Pool via Reuters 
Wikimedia Commons
Creative Commons
Judge rejects Trump presidential immunity claim in hush money case
Justice Juan Merchan said Trump’s prosecution for “decidedly personal acts of falsifying business records poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the executive branch.”
Brandon Bell/Pool via Reuters Trump may pick a Democrat to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Appointing congressman Jared Moskowitz would allow Republicans to temporarily grow their slim House majority.
Wikimedia CommonsAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez eyes historic victory for top Democratic panel spot
The congresswoman might win the spot to lead her party on the House Oversight Committee, despite the steering committee recommending her rival.
Creative CommonsWhat Milei’s inauguration invitation reveals about Trump’s next term
The president-elect’s decision to invite several world leaders to his swearing-in ceremony, a break with precedent, offers clues to his foreign policy agenda.
McConnell warns Trump against isolationism in new essay
The outgoing Senate Republican leader makes a forceful case for US military support for Ukraine, urging Trump to reject the “myopic” views of some of his allies.
Biden’s last month to include more pardons, AI action
The White House comms director highlighted, in a memo, the administration’s push to implement key legislation in its final days.
Republicans see agriculture and abortion, not vaccines, as top Kennedy concerns
Donald Trump’s health secretary pick is an ex-Democrat with views on the two issues that better fit his former party.
‘You try to find common ground’: Democrats say they’re ready to work with Donald Trump
The political landscape has changed since 2017.
Chris Sununu has DOGE fever
The retiring New Hampshire governor is a Republican Trump skeptic, but true believer in Elon Musk’s cost-cutting effort.
Top Biden science and tech official on Trump, China and a ‘CHIPS 2.0’
The departing head of the National Institute of Standards and Technology says the US needs to keep up funding for semiconductor research.
Democrats eye 2026 rematches after narrow House miss
Reps. Susan Wild, Janelle Stelson, and Rebecca Cooke are among the contenders that could run again in two years.
business
Bryan Snyder/Reuters
SoftBank CEO pledges $100 billion, more jobs for Trump’s America
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has committed $100 billion in US investments during Trump’s incoming reign, doubling his pledge from 2016.
Bryan Snyder/ReutersActivist Air Products board nominee is said to be source of decade-old M&A leak: court filing
Dennis Reilley is identified in court documents as the source of a leak about the 2014 sale of Covidien.
Lina Khan beats grocery merger as Biden administration winds down
Albertsons immediately sued Kroger, saying it hadn’t tried hard enough to win regulatory support for the deal.
Private-equity pioneer David Bonderman dies at 82
Bonderman co-founded TPG, which started as a small outfit investing the fortune of a Texas oilman and became one of the biggest PE firms in the world.
GE Vernova CEO: We can ‘manage’ Trump tariffs
Scott Strazik said the renewable energy company is prepared to adjust and lean on its US roots, but sees few takers for offshore wind.
technology
Al Lucca/Semafor
Andrej Sokolow/dpa via Reuters
Why Sundar Pichai never panicked
The Alphabet and Google CEO’s quiet conviction begins to bear fruit, with new AI products and breakthroughs.
Al Lucca/SemaforGoogle CEO talks about the future of AI, Waymo and quantum computing
In an exclusive interview, Sundar Pichai talks to Semafor after a week of product announcements.
Andrej Sokolow/dpa via Reuters Venture firm Dimension raises $500M second fund to bridge software-biotech gap
The fund, the company’s second in less than two years, will be used to invest in the hot space where AI is being used to develop new, lifesaving drugs.
Google reveals new AI capabilities built on top of its Gemini 2.0 foundational model
Google shared the latest Astra capabilities and a new Chrome plugin called ‘Project Mariner,’ which takes control of your web browser and autonomously completes tasks.
TSMC founder Morris Chang reveals chip industry intel in new memoir
Chang revealed that he asked Nvidia’s Jensen Huang twice if he’d consider taking the helm at the Taiwanese chip giant, and Huang twice refused.
Google unveils upgraded version of its Gemini AI model
Google is positioning the model as an “agent” that can “think multiple steps ahead, and take action on your behalf.”
net zero
Yuka Obayashi/File Photo/Reuters
Erik Wilde/Wikimedia Commons
David Dixon/Wikimedia Commons
Japan boosts renewable energy targets as it tries to catch up with its neighbors
Japan has been slow to adopt renewable energy compared to China and India, as well as G7 countries.
Yuka Obayashi/File Photo/ReutersGE Vernova shrugs off proposed Trump tariffs
The energy equipment manufacturer says that some of it’s orders are backlogged until 2029, as global demand soars.
Erik Wilde/Wikimedia CommonsUK government overhauls energy grid, prioritizing renewables
The plans will streamline access for new clean energy projects.
David Dixon/Wikimedia Commonsgulf
Mohamed Azakir/Reuters
Assad regime fall in Syria reveals large-scale production of illicit drug captagon
Syria was the primary manufacturer and profiter in the illicit trade of the popular amphetamine, which Gulf countries have long battled.
Mohamed Azakir/ReutersQatar hikes spending to drive economic diversification
The country is also planning on the biggest salary increase for government workers in years.
Oman delays income tax plans, citing slow economy
The move, first outlined in 2022, would make Oman the first country in the Gulf to introduce personal income taxation.
Trump Organization eyes Gulf expansion
The president-elect’s son Eric Trump touted crypto and announced plans for two new Trump Towers in Saudi Arabia while on a tour of the region.
Analysis: The hidden challenge of Saudi unemployment
Saudi Arabia aims to reduce unemployment to 5% by 2030, but the sustainability of its job creation efforts will test the balance between public and private sector growth.
africa
Filmmaker Tayo Aina and Davido/YouTube screen grab
Rwanda solar field/US State Department
Why Nigeria’s creator economy is booming
Young talent managers are stepping up to professionalize the fast-growing content creator market in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.
Filmmaker Tayo Aina and Davido/YouTube screen grabAfrica’s fund managers feel pressure to back climate investments
Western development finance institutions have been keen to encourage climate investments.
Rwanda solar field/US State DepartmentRegulators target Kenya’s booming ‘buy now, pay later’ sector
Tight economic conditions are helping drive a boom in Kenya’s buy now pay later (BNPL) credit sector, with more people paying in installments for higher-priced purchases.
Somalia and Ethiopia resolve Somaliland row
The new agreement comes even as sources close to US President-elect Donald Trump say his administration is likely to recognize Somaliland’s independence.
Ghana’s president-elect readies for economic challenges
Ghana, the world’s second biggest cocoa grower and major gold producer, is mired in its worst economic crisis in decades.
Nigeria’s Moove to manage Waymo’s self-driving fleet
US self-driving car company Waymo is outsourcing its fleet management to Moove, a Nigerian-born vehicle financing business.
mediaKevin Lamarque/Reuters
Kamala Harris’ digital chief on Democrats ‘losing hold of culture’
Deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty discusses Harris’ 2024 media strategy.
Kevin Lamarque/ReutersCloudy skies at Bluesky
More and more journalists have joined the platform — including Jesse Singal, who some users want to ban.
Axios braces for future Trump legal action
News organizations are trying to prep for the incoming Trump administration.
More YouTube viewers are watching on their TVs
Viewers watched over 400 million hours of podcasts monthly on living room devices, the company told Semafor.
Mixed Signals: How YouTube became TV – with Colin and Samir
YouTube and podcasts have come fully of age as dominant forms of media, and legacy media companies are frantic to buy their way in.
security
Kim Soo-hyeon/Reuters
Ammar Awad/Reuters
Kevin Lamarque/File Photo/Reuters
South Korea faces power vacuum amid deepening political crisis
Analysts fear a weakened government could affect South Korea’s trade and security, weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office.
Kim Soo-hyeon/ReutersUN urges Syria factions to avoid civil war amid humanitarian crisis
With the regime gone, several groups within Syria are vying for power as the country transitions.
Ammar Awad/ReutersUS funds Ukraine using seized Russian assets
Washington gave Kyiv a $20 billion loan using the assets as part of a Ukraine aid push ahead of Donald Trump taking office.
Kevin Lamarque/File Photo/ReutersAD