ITK Daily | March 28

Happy Tuesday.

Here’s today’s ITK Daily.

To be ITK, know this:?

Netanyahu delays plan to overhaul top court: NYT reports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel announced that he would delay judicial changes that have set off civil unrest. The move was aimed at giving Israel’s leader time to de-escalate the political crisis, though protests continued.

Israel’s Netanyahu suspends judicial overhaul plan: WSJ reports the suspension of the plan appeared to calm tensions after protests and nationwide strikes rocked the nation.

Netanyahu delays judicial overhaul after unprecedented strikes, protests: WP reports the controversy has forced Israel to confront long-standing questions over its national character and pitted liberal, secular Jewish Israelis against right-wing, religious conservatives.

China, Japan, and the Ukraine war: The merging of geopolitical rivalries in Asia and Europe has disturbing echoes of the 1930s.?Gideon Rachman?

After doling out huge loans, China is now bailing out countries: Beijing is emerging as a new heavyweight in providing emergency funds to debt-ridden countries, catching up to the IMF as a lender of last resort.?NYT

China grants billions in bailouts as Belt and Road Initiative falters: New study attempts to capture total rescue loans from world’s biggest bilateral creditor.?FT

China lent heavily to developing nations. Now it’s helping them manage their debt: A new study shows that the People’s Bank of China has deployed at least $240 billion since 2000 to assist foreign borrowers.?Bloomberg

German Christian Democrats rewrite Merkel’s China playbook: The conservatives are adjusting their views on Beijing, saying the balance has shifted ‘toward systemic rivalry.’?Politico

EU’s von der Leyen to join Macron in visiting China: The meeting comes as EU leaders worry about China growing closer to Russia.?Politico

Reuters: Spain's PM Sanchez to push for 'territorial integrity' for Ukraine in China visit

Denmark bets on CO2 storage to cut emissions: Le Monde reports inaugurated on Wednesday the country's first landfill in the North Sea is expected to store 8 million tons of carbon dioxide per year by 2030.

Nuclear car crash: Bickering between Berlin and Paris threatens EU’s green ambitions: Politico reports the Franco-German rivalry jeopardizes Europe’s climate action, critics say.

EU ministers to approve vehicle emissions law after deal with Germany: Guardian reports Berlin secures concessions over the future use of e-fuels after going back on the agreement struck last year.

Europe backtracks on its gas-car ban: Will California and other progressive states now recognize reality??WSJ - Editorial

MEPs cling to TikTok for Gen Z votes: Politico reports European Parliament politicians and groups aren’t ready to give up on TikTok yet.

Scottish National Party’s Humza Yousaf inherits ‘tremendous mess’: The new leader of Scotland’s governing party faces splits, discontent, and falling membership.?Politico

Humza Yousaf, the history-maker: The symbolic significance of Yousaf’s inauguration as First Minister should be recognized across the partisan divides in Scottish and British politics.?Sunder Katwala

WP: Scotland’s new party leader, Humza Yousaf, is pro-independence and Muslim

The Times: Labour and Tories smell blood in Scotland after Yousaf victory

Humza Yousaf, a progressive pro-independence voice, will be Scotland's next first minister: Le Monde reports the new leader of the pro-independence party, who is of Indo-Pakistani origin, has been elected to replace Nicola Sturgeon, who resigned unexpectedly in mid-February.

Humza Yousaf’s election is a rallying cry for unionists: New first minister inherits a tired SNP but that’s no reason for Tory or Labour complacency about future of the UK. William Hague

Biden's energy transition subsidies spark national jubilation for the business community: The Democratic administration has chosen to pour over $420 billion into its economy to Americanize the green transition and the microprocessor industry.?Arnaud Leparmentier

Wednesday: Biden hosts Argentine President Alberto Fernández.

US and Mexico weighing deal for Mexico to crack down on fentanyl going north while US cracks down on guns going south: NBC News reports the tentative agreement is the result of months of tense discussions between top Biden administration officials and the Mexican government, said sources.

Stunned faces and heartbreak for migrants heading to Roxham as they learn Canada will likely send them back: CBC reports changes to Safe Third Country Agreement took migrants by surprise.

Subsidizing big business: Canada’s new green industrial policy?Althia Raj

Why Canada is among the prime targets for Chinese interference attempts?Globe + Mail

Amid strained US ties, China finds unlikely friend in Utah?AP

Harris seeks to reset US-Africa relations on 3-nation tour: The vice president is the fifth Biden official in three months to visit the continent.?Politico

AP: In Ghana, Kamala Harris ‘excited about the future of Africa’

WP: Harris, in Ghana, promises support for Africa but faces skepticism

Al Qaeda closes in on a stalwart US ally in Africa: In a city in Ghana, a fight between ethnic groups is the kind of bitter local dispute Islamist militants often exploit.?WSJ

America pulls back from values that once defined it, WSJ-NORC poll finds: Patriotism, religion, and hard work hold less importance.?WSJ

Stormy Daniels and Karl Rove know how to beat Trump: A real strategy for Ron DeSantis.?Jack Shafer

+ A new Monmouth poll finds 44% of Democrats do not want President Biden to seek re-election, even though 74% have a favorable opinion of him.

Politico: Elizabeth Warren kicks off her Senate reelection bid

The Hill: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee running for Houston mayor

Politico: Khanna’s pass clarifies California Senate race — and his political future

Wednesday: Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz testifies before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions - Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is the Chairman.

How big law and black Brooklyn fueled Hakeem Jeffries’s rise: The House Democrats’ new leader, whose path was shaped as much by the Black Baptist church and hip-hop as it was by Manhattan’s legal elite, is hard to pigeonhole.?NYT

More water found on Moon, locked in tiny glass beads: WSJ reports China’s Chang’e 5 rover found the beads while drilling and excavating lunar surface samples in 2020.

CNN finalizing deal to add Gayle King as it hits lowest ratings in decades: WSJ reports basketball commentator Charles Barkley also in mix as potential host.

The full Keanu: Mellowest guy on the planet to onscreen killing machine: As ‘John Wick’ enters what might be its final chapter, Keanu Reeves remains appealingly hard to pin down.?WP

Esther Perel’s business is your business: She is podcasting-famous, considered a “crossover breakthrough artist” by other therapists — and still trying to both see patients and conquer new platforms.?NYT

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc?

Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal

Caracal produces ITK Daily.

Geopolitics is disrupting every business and industry.

Caracal is here to help.

Caracal is a geopolitical business communications firm specializing in global business issues at the intersection of globalization, disruption, and politics.