ITK Daily | May 2

Global Street Smarts.

Happy Tuesday.

Here’s today’s ITK Daily.

To be ITK, know this:?

Khartoum at ‘breaking point’ for millions of trapped civilians: The Times reports the clock is ticking down for last Britons to make ‘exceptional’ evacuation flight from Port Sudan.

Sudan: ‘Exceptional’ flight offers Britons last chance to flee: The Times reports dozens trapped by closure of visa centre with passports still inside.

BBC: Sudan: Extra rescue flight for British nationals

AFP: More than 800,000 people could soon flee Sudan, UN says

+ The United States has now organized at least three convoys to evacuate American citizens from Sudan.

Bloomberg: Africa to be biggest loser if global tensions mount, IMF warns

+ Region could see 4% GDP contraction over 10 years, the fund says.

+ Foreign direct investment could fall by up to $10 billion.

CBS News: Clashes erupt in France on May Day as hundreds of thousands protest Macron's pension reforms

AFP: Macron faces Labour Day protests over divisive pension law

WP: Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties in Bakhmut, US says

Ukraine’s military says Crimea blast was preparation for coming offensive: NYT reports late Sunday, a day after the Crimea blast, explosions rocked Pavlograd in central Ukraine, and air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine.

AP: Russia missile attack on Ukraine injures 34, damages homes

Yahoo: South Africa warns Putin of threat of arrest should he attend BRICS Summit in person

The case for the total liberation of Ukraine: The future of the democratic world will be determined by whether the Ukrainian military can break a stalemate with Russia and drive the country backwards—perhaps even out of Crimea for good.?Anne Applebaum + Jeffrey Goldberg?

China could play a crucial role in ending the war in Ukraine: Russia needs its ally’s support but the prolonged conflict has become a strategic liability for Beijing.?Gideon Rachman

China revises conscription law, eyeing Taiwan conflict: Veteran soldiers, tech-savvy students expected to play key roles.?Nikkei

China and Taiwan: Is a conflict inevitable??China's military exercises in the Taiwan Strait after the Taiwanese president's visit to the United States in early April are a reminder of how fragile the island's status quo is.?Le Monde

US, Japan and South Korea plan three-way summit in Hiroshima: Biden, Kishida, and Yoon to deepen partnership to counter North Korean threat.?Nikkei

Eyeing China, Biden official floats a new ‘Washington consensus’?Ishaan Tharoor

UK visit to China on the cards after coronation olive branch: Politico reports James Cleverly holds London meeting this week with vice-president Han Zheng.

China’s domination of European ports a security threat, warns NATO official?The Times

French Polynesia: Independentists' victory is first step toward a self-determination referendum: The pro-independence party came out on top in the second round of territorial elections, with MP Moetai Brotherson expected to be elected president in mid-May.?Le Monde

Republicans demand Albanese stay silent during coronation loyalty oath?SMH

Italy unveils measures to boost flexibility in labour market: Social welfare reforms aim ‘to distinguish those who can work from those who cannot’, says PM Giorgia Meloni.?FT

Independents saw urgency in ousting Trump. Will they feel the same about re-electing Biden??In Arizona, where independents are a crucial voting bloc, there might not be the same sense of urgency for a Biden-Trump rematch. And some voters might look elsewhere.?WP

Don’t count Ron DeSantis out: If he wants to win, he has to ease up on the culture war and start appealing to moderate primary voters.?Mark Penn

MD-SEN: Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) won’t seek reelection in 2024, the Washington Post reports.

WA-GOV: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) will not run for a fourth term in 2024, the Seattle Times reports.

Bono likes to sketch Atlantic covers, so the magazine hired him: WP reports the humanitarian U2 rocker illustrated the Atlantic’s June cover for a story about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the future of the country’s war with Russia.

First Republic Bank is seized by regulators and sold to JPMorgan Chase: NYT reports as part of the deal, 84 First Republic branches in eight states reopened as JPMorgan branches on Monday.

How Jamie Dimon swooped on the remains of First Republic: Within the space of two months, JPMorgan turned from adviser to depositor to buyer.?FT

Why First Republic Bank collapsed: It failed to reckon with the impact of rising interest rates, which sent its strategy of relying on wealthy depositors into reverse.?WSJ

Citigroup’s Fraser says return-to-office trends drive property fears?Bloomberg

Pandemic graduates struggle with teamwork and communication, say Deloitte and PwC: Big Four firms increase training to tackle ‘skills gaps’ among recruits whose education was disrupted by lockdowns.?FT

The Druck hates to lose money: “Invest, and then investigate.”?FT

‘The godfather of AI’ leaves Google and warns of danger ahead: For half a century, Geoffrey Hinton nurtured the technology at the heart of chatbots like ChatGPT. Now he worries it will cause serious harm.?NYT

Yoshua Bengio: 'Today, AI is the Wild West! We need to slow down': The Canadian scientist, a pioneer in artificial neural networks, signed the call for a moratorium on the development of artificial intelligence applications like ChatGPT. He tells Le Monde why he thinks AI development should be slowed down and regulated.?Le Monde

Alibaba founder Jack Ma takes up teaching post in Tokyo: FT reports the Chinese entrepreneur is re-emerging in public as Beijing’s crackdown on tech eases.

Honda follows Apple model on EVs, working directly with suppliers: Nikkei reports new supply chain puts emphasis on batteries, semiconductors.

Fears over Hollywood shutdown as writers strike looms: Le Monde reports if Hollywood's producers and companies do not grant writers better pay conditions by May 1, writers will put down their pens and close their laptops to go on strike. In 2007-2008, the industry was paralyzed for three months.

Hollywood writers in last-minute talks with studios to avert walkout: AFP reports negotiators for Hollywood writers and film and television studios engaged in 11th-hour contract talks on Monday to try and avert a strike that would disrupt TV production across an industry grappling with seismic changes.

Boston reconnects with the art of the choke: After posting the best regular season in NHL history, the Bruins coughed up a 3-1 series lead in the first round of the playoffs against the Florida Panthers.?WSJ

Thoughts and prayers for frontline Dunkin' Donuts workers dealing with the wrath of Masshole hockey fans.

CNN: ‘A legend is born’: Kirsten Neusch?fer becomes first woman to win historic Golden Globe Race

Kirsten Neusch?fer wins the Golden Globe sailing race, dubbed a voyage for mad men: Neusch?fer made history this week, becoming the first woman and third person to win the Golden Globe, an impossibly challenging sailing race.?Outside

Bloomberg: Man United bidders make third attempt to clinch record deal

+ Qatari group led by Sheikh Jassim offers about ￡5 billion.

+ Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe also submits a new offer by the deadline.

Steph vs. LeBron: The NBA’s dream duel bounces back: An outrageous 50-point Curry epic gives Golden State a playoff victory over Sacramento—and an unexpected date with James and the suddenly energetic Lakers.?Jason Gay

China’s Ding Liren wins dramatic world chess championship, replacing Magnus Carlsen: WSJ reports Ding Liren claimed the title, which Magnus Carlsen chose not to defend, with a dramatic victory in tiebreakers over Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc?

Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal

Caracal produces ITK Daily.

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