Caracal Daily | June 10
Far-right, Silicon Valley, Apple, Questlove, Carlos Alcaraz, plus 1,000 more actionable insights.
Caracal Daily is geopolitical business news + intelligence for comms pros.
Geopolitics is disrupting every business and industry. Caracal is here to help.
Always Be Communicating.
Happy Monday.
Here’s today’s Caracal Daily:
*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***
WP: Gantz to leave war cabinet, upending Netanyahu’s government
Netanyahu’s chief rival quits Israeli government: WSJ reports the move by war cabinet member Benny Gantz is aimed at forcing early elections but could complicate U.S. diplomatic effort to end the war in Gaza.
US to offer Saudi Arabia defense treaty in bid to secure Israel normalization deal: WSJ reports a draft agreement is modeled on the US-Japan security pact, committing Washington to support Riyadh in the event of an attack.
Bloomberg: Italy’s Meloni wins EU vote as far-right gains across the block
Bloomberg: Macron and Scholz get trounced by far right in EU elections
+ Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party set for massive victory
+ Mainstream parties are still projected to hold EU parliament
Far-right parties make significant gains in European parliament elections: FT reports exit polls suggest they are on course to win almost a quarter of the 720 seats.
How the far right envisions Europe: Despite a common nationalist base, the Europe's various far-right groups are now investing their energies into Europe and the European Union again, for strategic and, in some cases, ideological reasons. Le Monde
The Times: Macron dissolves French parliament to call snap election
France’s Macron dissolves National Assembly after Le Pen victory in European vote: WSJ reports President Emmanuel Macron announced the move after Marine Le Pen’s far-right party handily beat his party in European Parliament elections.
Macron calls snap elections after historic far-right gains in European vote: Le Monde reports the Rassemblement National, led by Marine Le Pen's lieutenant Jordan Bardella, dominated the election in France, winning 31.5% of the votes, according to initial estimates. President Emmanuel Macron called snap elections that will be held on June 30 and July 7.
Far right gains in European Parliament projections; France’s Macron calls legislative elections: WP reports after polls showed the far-right National Rally trouncing French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist coalition, he dissolved the national parliament and set the first round of elections for June 30.
Europe must invent a social, economic, and climate geopolitics: The European Union should put its wealth at the service of social objectives rather than increasing its military resources. Thomas Piketty
Giorgia Meloni puts brakes on Italy’s solar energy rollout: Prime minister says photovoltaics are threatening nation’s ‘food security’, but farmers disagree. FT
Meet the one man everyone trusts on UK election nights: Prof. John Curtice, a polling guru with a formidable intellect and an infectious smile, has contributed to Britain’s TV election coverage since 1979. NYT
Behold the final casualties of Brexit: The referendum uncorked an insatiable populist politics that Tories hoped to co-opt. Instead, it has consumed them. Robert Shrimsley
On D-Day, the US conquered the British Empire: On June 6, 1944, the British found themselves suddenly and irrevocably overtaken by their former colony. Michel Paradis
US cannot afford another 'lost decade' responding to China, authors say: Launch a new pivot to Asia and establish equilibrium, Blackwill and Fontaine argue. Nikkei
The US + Japan hold their inaugural meeting of the Defense Industrial Cooperation, Acquisition, and Sustainment Forum (DICAS) in Tokyo.
The US + South Korea will hold the third meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) in Seoul to discuss further ways to deter North Korea's nuclear threat.
Beijing’s new world order: Three new books on China help bring definition to the emerging economic contours of Cold War 2.0. FT
Why Indonesia’s new capital city is in crisis: Nusantara was meant to be a forest city to replace Jakarta. The project is bogged down by delays but the president won’t admit it yet. The Times
WP: Modi sworn in as prime minister for third term alongside familiar allies
Proxies and 'media manipulation': What the NSICOP report said about political meddling by India: India is seeking to exert 'influence across all orders of government' in Canada, report says. CBC
Minister suggests Canada is considering tariffs on Chinese EVs following US move: CBC reports US government will be phasing in heavy tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other goods in coming years.
*** US Politics + Elections ***
Trump kicks off Silicon Valley charm offensive with sold-out fundraiser: FT reports Republican presidential candidate raises $12mn in Democratic stronghold.
‘The economy is all people care about’: Donald Trump plays a strong hand in Las Vegas: FT reports rampant inflation could push Nevadans to vote for Republican president for first time in 20 years
For Trump, Doug Burgum emerges as a safe option, and a wild card: NYT reports Burgum, North Dakota’s governor, is a prime contender in Donald Trump’s search for a running mate, but he remains untested on the national stage.
Bloomberg: Biden warns of isolationism at war cemetery skipped by Trump
+ President lays wreath at World War I site during France trip
+ Says honoring the war dead is measure of ‘democratic values’
Joe Biden cuts Donald Trump’s lead on handling of US economy: FT-Michigan Ross poll also finds Democratic president edging ahead of Republican among older voters.
Ruth Bader Biden: No matter the obstacles that Donald Trump creates for himself, Joe Biden’s candidacy remains an existentially risky, perhaps disastrous, proposition. Mark Leibovich
AI safety bill driven by fears Trump would reverse efforts to rein in technology: California’s latest AI safety bill is driven by fears that another Donald Trump presidency would overturn federal efforts to rein in the technology — and it’s backed by people connected to a potential Trump ally: Elon Musk. Semafor
+ “If [Trump] does take a very strong anti-AI safety stance, it will obviously make things difficult and it maybe makes sense not to ally with [him].” -- Dan Hendrycks, director of the Center for AI Safety
*** Disruption + Innovation ***
AI is a green curse as well as a blessing: The amount of energy used by data centres is staggering. John Thornhill
+ Goldman Sachs estimates that AI investment could reach as high as $200 billion globally by 2025.
Here’s why AI probably isn’t coming for your job anytime soon: A chief data officer explains why AI still has a long way to go before it can compete with human creativity or judgment. FC
The war for AI talent is heating up: Big tech firms scramble to fill gaps as brain drain sets in. Economist
Hollywood’s take on AI: Either AI will serve the creative class, or it will serve AI. Noema
Instagram is training AI on your data. It’s nearly impossible to opt out: FC reports creators are training Instagram’s AI against their will, because Meta is using deceptive UX to keep them doing it.
Google’s AI overview search results copied my original work: Google’s AI feature bumped my article down on the results page, but the new AI Overview at the top still referenced it. What gives? Wired
Bloomberg: Apple’s AI push sets stage for everything from glasses to robots
Hey, Siri! Let’s talk about how Apple is giving you an AI makeover. Apple, a latecomer to artificial intelligence, has struck a deal with OpenAI and developed tools to improve its Siri voice assistant, which it is set to showcase on Monday. NYT
Mapping AI’s rapid advance: Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt weighs in on where AI is headed, when to “pull the plug” and how to cope with China. Noema
Nvidia’s new sales booster: The global push for national AI champions: To control their artificial-intelligence destinies amid US and Chinese tech dominance, countries are building their own computing infrastructure. WSJ
AI used to predict potential new antibiotics in groundbreaking study: Scientists used an algorithm to mine ‘the entirety of the microbial diversity’ on Earth, speeding up antibiotic resistance research. Guardian
A new era of personalised cancer treatments: As incidence rises, breakthroughs in oncology show the value of research funding. FT - Editorial
Billionaires Mittal and Ambani take on Musk in India’s internet space race: Bharti Airtel’s joint venture with Eutelsat OneWeb could start operating in June. FT
Africa's e-commerce platforms and rising digital marketplace: Online shopping is booming across Africa, with the digital marketplace estimated to grow to $75 billion by 2025. Big players like Amazon want to capitalize, but how can the continent unlock its e-commerce potential? DW
*** Culture ***
Hip-Hop is History by Questlove review – a soundtrack for the world, from the Sugarhill Gang to Kanye West: The Roots drummer, DJ, author and director is the ‘Ken Burns of black music’, and his personal reflections on a genre that last year turned 50 are full of wisdom and charm. Guardian
*** Sport ***
Carlos Alcaraz rallies back to win the French Open: WSJ reports the 21-year-old Spaniard beat Alexander Zverev to take his first title at Roland-Garros and third career Grand Slam.
From Disney to delivering Portsmouth’s promotion, the Eisners have a Premier League plan The Athletic
Why do some of us support our national teams – and why don’t we all? The Athletic
How did Kenyan girls impress skateboard pro Tony Hawk? GirlSkate Nairobi is a community that advocates for the inclusion of women in skateboarding to raise awareness about gender equality and the lack of representation in the sport. DW
F1 can live without the Monaco Grand Prix, says McLaren boss: Bloomberg reports Zak Brown would like to see the sport expand into Korea, Southeast Asia, India and Africa instead.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal
Caracal Daily | June 10
