Semafor

US President Donald Trump defended his deal with Moscow to suspend export sanctions on Russian fuel, calling it “the right choice” and accusing Europe of hypocrisy for continuing to import Russian energy.

“The word fear in the Saudi dictionary does not exist,” Saudi’s energy minister said Monday at a conference skipped by top oil executives, as back-to-back Houthi strikes on Riyadh’s airport threaten the kingdom’s economic ambitions.

A cyberattack, affecting at least 400 French supermarkets overnight, raised refrigerator temperatures to more than 122°F (50°C) in some cases, forcing millions of dollars’ worth of food to be discarded Monday.

by Jason Horowitz.

The News OPay, the Lagos-based fintech firm backed by Softbank and Chinese billionaire Zhou Yahui, more than doubled its revenue in the first half of 2026 as lending overtook payments as its top source of income, according to a filing ahead of a planned N…

Ecobank agreed a partnership with China’s payment system to enable transaction settlements in the yuan currency.

The forces of US private security contractor Erik Prince suffered major battlefield losses in DR Congo last month, a new report found, calling into question his controversial firm’s actions in the country.

Saudi Arabia plans to expand its oil pipeline network to cut its reliance on the Strait of Hormuz.

Mubadala Investment Company is turning to Asia’s growing consumer markets and technological advances as it looks to keep up the prolific dealmaking of recent years.

The Scene Israel has produced more tech unicorns per citizen than any country in the world, twice as many as the US.

The Scene Riyadh Season — the Saudi capital’s biggest suite of events that had been key to its tourism push — opens next week with concerts, UFC, the Epcot-esque Boulevard World, and the world’s top ranked tennis players set to compete at the Six Kings Sl…

Borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated across the US and Europe for the foreseeable future, economists said.

Yinka’s view This month, Togo invited citizens to contribute texts, recordings, and translations to help AI models understand the West African country’s 50 local languages.

Rwanda looks set to host the continent’s first F1 Grand Prix race in more than 30 years, beating rival South Africa to the honor, according to sources quoted by AFP.

After nearly four decades at Honeywell, Vimal Kapur reached the top — and then took on the task of breaking the 140-year-old industrial conglomerate into three companies.

Wall Street’s required reading this week runs 20 pages, carries an “Attorney Advertising” label, and tells financiers exactly how their favorite trade is going to blow up.

Nigeria introduced a new discount on fuel, reigniting fierce debate over the wisdom of terminating a long-running subsidy program three years ago.

Ariel Investment’s John Rogers has been a longtime listener — he and the investment firm’s co-CEO Mellody Hobson have been consiglieri to everyone from Barack Obama to Howard Schultz.

Faisal’s view Two statements by US Senator Chris Murphy and Secretary of State Marco Rubio signal that Washington takes Gulf security seriously.

The News Zambia signed a $1.5 billion health financing agreement with the US after separating it from a critical minerals deal that is still being negotiated.

Russia ramped up its military outlays, putting it on track to spend a record $200 billion on defense in 2026 with little sign of the Ukraine war coming to an end.

Navi Pillay, a South African jurist who was the UN’s longest-serving human rights chief, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, raised its growth forecast, a rare bright spot as regional economic worries abound.

New Delhi rejected as “deeply offensive” Washington’s labelling of Indian workers in the US tech sector as “indentured servants,” as ties between the erstwhile partners frayed further.

OpenAI reportedly assured investors it expects to reach a $70 billion annualized revenue target this year, an apparent attempt to assuage worries over it seeming to miss earlier projections, thereby casting doubt over the growth of the broader AI sector.

Power-focused engineering firms are increasingly trying to cut down waste and optimize current systems as they position their commercial offerings for the huge demand growth of the coming decades.

Octopus Energy US is looking to acquire more software startups that can help utilities manage the influx of data center power demand, its CEO told Semafor.

Charter rates for oil tankers hit a fresh record, driving a larger wedge between the nominal price of crude futures and what it costs to actually receive barrels.

The News Congressional Democrats aren’t eager to impeach Donald Trump.

The Signal Interview “Everybody wrote this place off,” Shobi Khan says as he walks a visitor around Canary Wharf, the 130-acre estate he has overseen since 2019.

Matthew’s view Riyadh was once the Gulf’s escape route from the Iran war.

Elon Musk blamed “certain oligarchs” for keeping Starlink out of India, comments New Delhi called “baseless,” escalating a yearslong feud over market access for the satellite operator.

China pushed back against claims that it manipulates its currency to boost the country’s exports, as Beijing and Brussels spar in trade negotiations.

Top US and Russian officials have discussed selling part of the suspended Nord Stream pipeline to an American investor, Reuters reported, in talks spearheaded by White House envoy Jared Kushner.

Global trade in goods is expected to grow by 3.9% this year, The World Trade Organization said Thursday, as conflict-fueled disruptions in the Middle East are more than offset by the booming AI trade.

Oil markets largely shrugged off US President Donald Trump’s pledge on Thursday not to strike Iran before November’s midterm elections, amid intensifying attacks on ships in the Gulf and an escalating Saudi-Houthi conflict.

The Scoop Continental, a Washington-based law and lobbying firm with close ties to President Donald Trump’s network, helped arrange a recent trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina by two Trump political advisers, three people familiar with the trip told Semafor.

The Scoop Coca-Cola is seeking to unwind its $5 billion acquisition of a British coffeehouse, months after a sales process faltered earlier this year.

The News Three is a trend, and the leaks about Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton’s campaign have more than hit that threshold.

The News The Federal Trade Commission is close to sending investigative demands to frontier AI companies, a senior agency official told Semafor — a sign that its AI probe is moving forward after its unusual disclosure to the public.

The News The Trump administration on Thursday suspended more than a half-dozen tech companies, including Microsoft, from the program that allows permanent hiring of foreign workers — escalating its long-simmering clash with the tech industry over immigrat…

, directed by Shuichi Okita.

The News The co-CEOs of Blue Owl say the stock market misunderstands them — but they aren’t leaving it.

There’s a mini-scandal brewing in Dubai’s elite food scene.

Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute, a state-run research body, released AI models trained on the Emirati Arabic dialect, improving translation, transcription, and voice-enabled services.

DP World will invest $90 million over two years to expand its terminal at Angola’s Port of Luanda, more than doubling capacity as the Dubai-based firm deepens its bet on African trade.

The Scene As Western governments slash foreign aid, many organizations are seeking Gulf philanthropy to fill the gaps.

Companies in Japan and South Korea were hit with major cyberattacks, exposing millions of customer records and feeding fears that AI may be turbo-charging hacking efforts.

The EU trade commissioner pressed China to balance trade with the bloc, but major divisions between the sides in negotiations and rising tensions have dampened hopes for a breakthrough.

France’s challenges mounted as concerns over its ballooning debt weighed on economic activity and reverberated across Europe.