Global Great Lakes, Gaza, Russia’s State Duma, LinkedIn, Stellantis, plus 1,000 more actionable insights.
ITK Daily is geopolitical business intelligence for communications pros.
Happy Wednesday.
Here’s today’s ITK Daily.
To be ITK, know this:
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The Global Great Lakes and a secure supply chain
As if you need one more reminder of the economic importance of the Global Great Lakes, the Soo Locks enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes, allowing for the smooth passage of 90% of iron ore used today by automakers and manufacturers.
Situated on the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie, MI, the Soo Locks allow ships to transit the 21-foot elevation change at the St. Marys Falls Canal.
Ten thousand ships pass through the Soo Locks each year to bring iron ore, grain, limestone, and other essential commodities across the Great Lakes and Canada into the Midwest and globally.
Full post here.
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WP: Hundreds killed in strike on Gaza hospital, Palestinian officials say
WSJ: Strike on Gaza hospital kills more than 500, Palestinian officials say
The Times: Israel denies it was behind Gaza hospital strike that killed hundreds
+ At least two more Navy ships carrying thousands of Marines are heading to the Israeli coast to help in any potential US response to the fighting on the ground between Hamas and Israel.
Biden trip to Mideast, on heels of deadly hospital bombing, carries risks for US policy: WSJ reports the president plans to address the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza while reinforcing the US commitment to Israel’s security.
Biden to Israel... I don't get it.
Biden cancels visit to Jordan: The White House said Joe Biden will no longer travel to Jordan as part of his trip.
+ Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, said earlier that Jordan was no longer holding a planned summit with the US president and the Egyptian and Palestinian leaders that was scheduled to take place in Amman tomorrow.
+ Safadi, speaking to Al Jazeera, said the summit was canceled because “there is no use in talking now about anything except stopping the war.”
UK PM Rishi Sunak is set to visit Israel, possibly as soon as Thursday, according to a Sky News report.
Fear of Gaza exodus looms over Egypt: FT reports Cairo ‘really angry’ over Western pressure to open Rafah crossing to Palestinian refugees fleeing Israeli offensive.
Israel forces gather along borders with Gaza and Lebanon: DW reports Israeli forces target Hamas positions in Gaza and Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon as conflict threatens to spread.
Telecom cable between Sweden and Estonia was damaged: Politico reports Swedish officials said the incident occurred around the same time Finland reported a gas pipeline leak.
Ukraine strikes Russian forces with US-made ATACMS for first time: FT reports the long-range guided missiles that were secretly shipped to Kyiv hit military assets in occupied regions.
Russia’s State Duma votes to revoke ratification of nuclear-test-ban pact: WSJ reports the move threatens to intensify global insecurity amid the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East.
Is Russia preparing to conduct nuclear tests? DW reports parliamentarians in Russia have voted to revoke its ratification of the global nuclear test ban treaty.
Will Xi Jinping’s gamble on Vladimir Putin pay off? Bloomberg
20,000 Britons approached by Chinese agents on LinkedIn, says MI5 head: Ken McCallum warns China is trying to steal industrial and technological secrets in the West. Guardian
US Department of Commerce tightens chip rules to limit China's AI capabilities: Politico reports the new rules will make it more difficult for US chip firms like Intel and Nvidia to export advanced chips to China.
+ Nvidia and other chip stocks sink after new US export curbs on China
Chinese envoy sets four conditions for Xi-Biden summit: Embassy official calls for respect on Taiwan, democracy, politics, and development rights. Nikkei
Pentagon accuses China’s fighter jets of ‘coercive’ acts in Indo-Pacific: FT reports the US defense department says Beijing making a ‘centralized and concerted’ effort to intimidate the US and its allies.
Driven out of Niger, the French army takes refuge in Chad, Paris's last ally in the Sahel: While presidents Emmanuel Macron and Mahamat Idriss Déby appear to be on good terms, a growing number of voices are denouncing the French presence in N'Djamena. Le Monde
Has the Scottish National Party lost its raison d’être? Scottish independence has become a long game. Where does that leave the SNP? Economist
Mexico revives century-old railway in $2.8bn bid to rival Panama Canal: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador makes bold attempt to lure container traffic. FT
America finds there is more to the world than China: War in Europe and the Middle East is slowing the vaunted pivot to Asia. Janan Ganesh
Middle East war adds to surge in international arms sales: Israel’s conflict with Hamas, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the rise of China are bolstering profits and weapons-making capacity among US suppliers. NYT
Bloomberg: Biden plans to ask Congress for $100 billion in Ukraine, Israel aid
+ Package aims to leverage support for Israel after Hamas attack
+ The size and scope of Biden’s potential request remains fluid
Still no Speaker: The next vote for a Speaker for the US House of Representatives will start at 11:00 am today.
Election 2024: A new NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist poll finds RFK Jr. pulls more support from Trump than Biden.
Gallup: Americans trust local government most, Congress least
+ 67% trust local government to handle local problems
+ 32% trust the legislative branch of the federal government
+ Trust in most institutions at or near historical lows
Fortune: AI hype sends funding for the sector’s startups soaring to $17.9 billion, defying a broader tech slump
John Legend takes on Yelp, Google reviews: WSJ reports the musician’s new social app, called It’s Good, offers personalized food and travel recommendations.
YouTube’s little design updates will make it much easier to watch: It’s a bit too easy to lose your place in a YouTube video. But Google’s designers are updating the interface to make it easier to avoid. FC
Twitter will begin charging new users $1 a year to access key features, including the ability to tweet and retweet.
+ The average American shopper will drop $1,652 worth of holiday cheer this year, Deloitte predicts
FT: Choice Hotels launches $10bn hostile bid for rival Wyndham
CNBC: The world has to add or replace 50 million miles of transmission lines by 2040, IEA says
+ This remarkable scale-up in the construction of transmission lines across the globe will require an annual investment in electric grids of more than $600 billion per year by 2030, which is double what current global investment levels are in transmission lines, the IEA says.
Nuclear power could be the cornerstone of a clean-energy future—but it needs better branding: Agency Jones Knowles Ritchie reimagines nuclear energy. FC
How to make space-based solar power a reality: Concerns over climate change are fuelling breakthroughs in satellite technology that harnesses the sun’s energy. FT
Meet the landscape architect turning cities into sponges: Designer Kongjian Yu’s sponge city concept is saving cities from too much rain. He just won the field’s biggest prize for his work. FC
Stellantis says the ongoing UAW strike is prompting it to cancel its plans for next year’s CES.
Bloomberg: GM delays electric pickup truck expansion amid slower growth
+ GM is pushing back production of two all-electric pickups at the Orion Assembly plant by a full year, thereby idling the factory at the end of this year and transferring about 1,000 workers to other GM facilities in the state.
+ GM said the change is to “better manage capital investments” and implement improvements in an effort to make the new EVs more profitable.
Wide or deep? Gerald Ashley
How human is your dog's name? WP
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal
Caracal produces ITK Daily.
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