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Todayโs newsletter supported by: |
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Hi there Intriguer.ย Itโsโฆ International Moon Day. The UN General Assembly made it official back in 2021, to mark the anniversary of the first moon landing. Fun fact: Canada didnโt vote in favour. Is that because Canada hates the moon? Possibly. Orโฆ itโs because there wasnโt even a ballot (like most UN resolutions, this one was adopted by consensus).
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Todayโs briefing is a 5 min read:
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๐จ๐ณย Morgan Stanley pulls 200 staff out of mainland China.
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๐ฎ๐ณย Indiaโs opposition parties are banding together.
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โ Plus: Wildfires rage across Greece, how the papers are covering more protests in Kenya, and US-China climate negotiations fall short.
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ยฟHablas espaรฑol? ยกCheck out our weekly edition in Spanish!
โฑ๏ธ Around the world in sixty seconds
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๐จ๐ณย China: Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger made a surprise visit to Beijing yesterday (Wednesday) and met the defence minister. Kissinger (now 100) made a secret trip to China in July 1971 that paved the way for normalised US-China relations.
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๐ซ๐ทย France: An American economist has withdrawn from her appointment as EU Chief Competition Economist after facing criticism from French President Macron. The French leader objected to the EU seeking to hire a non-EU citizen.
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๐น๐ญย Thailand: Pita Limjaroenrat, the reformist leader whose party won Thailandโs election in May, has been disqualified from parliament for owning shares in a long-defunct media company. Hours later, Thailandโs establishment-dominated parliament voted 394-312 against his bid to serve as prime minister.
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๐ต๐ฆย Panama: Former President Ricardo Martinelli has been sentenced to ten years in prison on corruption charges. Martinelli won his partyโs presidential primary last month but, if the verdict is upheld, heโll be barred from running in next yearโs election.
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๐ฟ๐ฆย South Africa: The Kremlin has announced that Russian President Putin will join the upcoming BRICS Summit in Johannesburg via video link. South Africa is bound by an International Criminal Court warrant to detain Putin if he enters the country.
๐จ๐ณ China | Geo-economics
Multinationals are moving some of their operations outside China
Morgan Stanley is pulling talent out of China
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As the olโ saying goes: never put all your tech experts in one country.
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Morgan Stanley has reportedly pulled more than 200 tech developers out of mainland China. The decision has impacted around a third of the bankโs China tech experts, whoโve mostly relocated to Hong Kong and Singapore.
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Whyโs this happening?
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Revisions to Beijingโs anti-espionage law came into effect on 1 July:
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โ they regulate the transfer of sensitive info out of China, soโฆ
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๐ต๏ธ anything authorities deem relevant to Chinaโs โnational security and interestsโ can now effectively be treated like a state secret.
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The techies left behind are now building stand-alone China infrastructure for Morgan Stanley (reportedly at vast cost), to comply with the new rules.
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Morgan Stanley isnโt the first multinational reassessing its China operations in response to tighter national security laws:
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Intrigue’s take: Whatever Beijing gains in national security here, it risks losing in international investment and business confidence. And given its latest GDP numbers, thatโs no longer such an easy trade-off.
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Also worth noting:
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Beijing released its expanded counter-espionage law for public comment in December, before China’s top legislative body rubber-stamped it in April.
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Responding to criticism, Chinaโs foreign ministry said โevery country has the right to safeguard national security through domestic legislationโ and โas long as one abides by laws and regulations, there is no need to worryโ.
๐ฐ How newspapers coveredโฆ
Opposition protests in Kenya
London, UK |
โKenyan opposition rallies supporters for fresh anti-government protestsโ |
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โRevealed: President Ruto camp seeks deal with Azimio to end protestsโ |
Lyon, France |
โSchools in Kenya closed over demonstrations called by the oppositionโ |
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Todayโs newsletter is supported by: Masterworks
Billionaires wanted it, but 54,578 everyday investors got it firstโฆ and profited.
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When incredibly rare and valuable assets come up for sale, it’s typically the wealthiest people that end up taking home an amazing investment. But not alwaysโฆ
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One platform is taking on the billionaires at their own game, buying up and securitizing some of historyโs most prized blue-chip artworks for its investors. In just the last few years, its investors have realized annualized net returns of 17.8%, 21.5%, 35% and more from these opportunities.
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It’s called Masterworks. Their nearly $1 billion collection includes works by greats like Banksy, Picasso, and Basquiat, all of which are collectively owned by everyday investors. When Masterworks sells a painting โ like the 13 it’s already sold โ investors reap their portion of the net proceeds.
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It’s easy to get started, but offerings can sell out in minutes. However, as a trusted partner, International Intrigue readers can skip the waitlist to join with this exclusive link.
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See important disclosures at masterworks.com/cdย
๐ฎ๐ณ India | Politics
Smaller parties are circling Prime Minister Modi
Indian opposition mega-alliance to take on Modi
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Leaders from 26 opposition parties have agreed to form the โINDIAโ alliance to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Indiaโs 2024 elections.
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The name โINDIAโ stands for โIndian National Developmental Inclusive Allianceโ (full marks for acronym excellence โ๏ธ).
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Just 15 parties agreed to unite at a previous meeting last month, so the idea of a unified opposition seems to be picking up steam.
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But that doesnโt mean the job will be easy. Modiโs Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds 301 out of 542 seats in Indiaโs lower house (more than double the seats held by the โINDIAโ parties). Plus, leading opposition figure Rahul Gandhi might be barred from running.
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Intrigueโs take: A united opposition clearly makes for a tougher opponent, but these kinds of mega-alliances donโt always get the job done:
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๐ฎ๐ฑ Israelโs anti-Bibi alliance dissolved a year after winning power, and
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๐น๐ท Turkeyโs anti-Erdogan alliance stumbled at the election.
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So โINDIAโ might do well to learn from those experiences: if the only thing uniting your unity coalition is opposition, you might be in opposition a while longer.
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Also worth noting:
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The 26 โINDIAโ parties signed a joint declaration, pledging to โsafeguard the idea of India as enshrined in the Constitutionโ, which they say is being โmethodically and menacingly underminedโ by the BJP.
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Narendra Modi is considered the worldโs most popular leader, with 77% of Indians approving of his leadership.
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Responding to โINDIAโ, Modi dismissed the coalition parties as dynasties: โfor them, their family is first, and the nation is nothing.โ
โ Extra Intrigue
What weโre reading about wild weather and climate negotiations.
๐ณ๏ธ Poll time!
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Is the current trend of shifting assets and operations away from China likely to persist? |
๐ธ Photo of the day
A firefighter tries to tame a wildfire 70km from Athens. Valรฉrie Gache/AFP/Getty
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Wildfires are spreading across eastern Greece, forcing thousands to flee their homes and summer residences. The dry weather conditions are being exacerbated by a series of consecutive heatwaves hitting southern Europe.
Yesterdayโs poll: On the eve of the FIFA Womenโs World Cup, who do you think is the greatest female athlete of all time?
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๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉย ๐พ Serena Williams (52%)
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โฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธ โฝ Marta Vieira da Silva (3%)
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โฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธ ๐โโ๏ธ Jackie Joyner-Kersee (6%)
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๐จโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธ ๐คธโโ๏ธ Nadia Comฤneci (10%)
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โฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธ ๐ Lisa Leslie (0.3%)
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โฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธ โท๏ธ Sara Takanashi (1%)
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๐จโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธ ๐คธ Simone Biles (16%)
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โฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธ ๐ Ding Ning (1%)
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๐จโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธโฌ๏ธ โ๏ธ Someone else (write in!) (10%)
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Your two cents:
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โ๏ธ P.M: โBillie Jean King โฆ. The first great female athlete in the modern era.โ
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โ๏ธ R.B: โLots of absolutely amazing women out there. It’s very tough to choose a GOAT.โ
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๐พย D.S: โSerena, no question, stamina, strength, grace, longevity, and a record that will stand the test of time – a very long time.โ
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Honourable mentions: Babe Zaharias, Mia Hamm, Tia Claire Toomey, and Katie Ledecky.