🌍 Biden considers dropping Assange charges

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Hi Intriguer. In 1912, the Mayor of Tokyo gave Washington D.C. thousands of cherry trees that have since become an iconic fixture of the city’s spring landscape.

During his visit to the US capital this week, the Japanese prime minister in turn pledged to give the city 250 more cherry trees as a sign of the two allies’ “timeless, inspiring and thriving friendship” (President Biden’s words, not mine). The visit is well-timed, too, because D.C.’s ‘Sakura Matsuri’ festival – the largest Japanese cultural festival in the US – kicks off this weekend.

In other news, President Biden found time between his hosting duties this week to send #natsec Twitter/X into a tizzy by hinting the US may drop its pursuit of Julian Assange. That’s the topic of our lead story today. 

PS – Do you live around DC? Join us for a drink on April 24!

THE HEADLINES

Kishida gives the US a pep talk.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has told Congress, “I detect an undercurrent of self-doubt among some Americans about what your role in the world should be“. But he said the world still needs the US to play its “pivotal role”, especially when “freedom and democracy are currently under threat around the globe”. His remarks come as Congressional gridlock halts the delivery of military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

Countries rush to warn Iran against Israel attack.
Germany, Russia, and the UK have all urged Iran to show restraint in response to the Israeli strike on its Damascus embassy compound earlier this month. But sources cited by top media outlets are still making different claims on where this is all headed, ranging from “a direct attack from Iran” on Israel as soon as today (Friday), through to a more “limited” response, and even “no decision yet”.

Russia destroys Kyiv power plant.
A series of Russian airstrikes destroyed a major power station near Kyiv yesterday. The attack prompted renewed calls for help from President Zelensky: “We need air defence systems and other defence assistance, not just turning a blind eye and having lengthy discussions”.

China’s exports tank.
Exports for the month of March fell by 7.5% in dollar terms from a year earlier, according to China’s customs authority – well below expectations. Beijing’s hopes for a stronger recovery hinge largely on more world demand for its exports.

Mexico wants Ecuador suspended from the UN.
Mexico’s president says his country’s complaint to the International Court of Justice asks it to suspend Ecuador from the UN until Ecuador issues a public apology for raiding Mexico’s embassy last week. The widely condemned raid was to arrest a former Ecuadorian vice-president on more corruption charges.

ECB keeps rates steady.
The European Central Bank has kept its 4% interest rate steady for the fifth time in a row, but it’s hinting a cut may arrive in June. Meanwhile, the latest US inflation data shows prices increasing by 3.5% for the year to March, throwing cold water on the market’s hopes for an imminent Fed cut.

TOP STORY

INTRIGUE’S TAKE

Take your pick: Assange is either a truth-seeking, wrong-exposing missile of journalistic righteousness, now martyred by an embarrassed deep state. Or he’s a hacker and predator who broke the law, harmed democracies, put individuals at risk, and aided (wittingly or otherwise) autocracies like Russia.

From our own time on the inside, we’ll say this:

• helping someone breach a classified system (as Assange allegedly did) sounds like a crime, and

• any of us lucky enough to live in the free world will have benefited from many official secrets kept, and some exposed.

So to us, there’s probably a way out that honours the above principles – perhaps a deal that holds Assange to account for facilitating (if not publishing) the leaks, while recognising that Assange has already done time, and his Wikileaks has faded from relevance.

Also worth noting:

• Assange pleaded guilty to 24 Australian charges of hacking in 1995 (aged 23) but avoided jail on the condition he didn’t re-offend.

• Under Assange, Wikileaks won a 2011 Walkley Award (broadly Australia’s equivalent to a Pulitzer Prize).

• If Assange loses his appeal in the UK, his final forum would be the European Court of Human Rights.

Intrigue, in D.C.

You won’t want to miss this! Our co-founder Helen Zhang is hosting our first DC-based event in 2024 on Wednesday, April 24th, at 6:00 PM ET. Join us for an evening reception to meet the Intrigue team and hear from bestselling author and former spy Jack Beaumont. Register here.

MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE…

1. 🇵🇭 Philippines: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has expressed outrage at an alleged “secret agreement” between China and his predecessor (Duterte) to “compromise” Philippine rights in the South China Sea. Duterte’s daughter is now VP, but President Marcos Jr. declined to appoint her as the country’s sole caretaker during his US visit this week.

2. 🇪🇺 EU: Two Russian oligarchs have won a surprise victory against EU sanctions, with a court ruling there wasn’t enough evidence to show the pair had been involved in Russian efforts to undermine Ukraine. The EU had described the billionaires as being close to Putin and his circle.

3. 🇻🇳 Vietnam: A court has handed down a death sentence to Truong My Lan, the 67-year-old property developer responsible for one of the biggest bank frauds in world history. The court has also ordered her to repay $27B of the $44B she loaned from Saigon Commercial Bank. 

4. 🇨🇴 Colombia: Prosecutors will take former president Alvaro Uribe to trial over claims he sought to bribe witnesses to discredit allegations that he had ties to right-wing paramilitaries. Uribe, who says the charges are political, had a ‘tough on leftist guerrillas’ image while in office.

5. 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: The kingdom is reportedly scaling down plans for The Line, its futuristic, $1.5T megapolis that was slated to stretch 170km across the desert as part of its ‘Neon’ project. The Line is now projected to span only ~2.4km by 2030, and house 300,000 people (not 1.5 million).

EXTRA INTRIGUE

Some recommendations from Team Intrigue if you’re spending the weekend in 🇲🇦 Marrakesh

• Visit: Tour the ‘Ben Youssef Madrasa’ (a UNESCO World Heritage site) for a pretty stunning taste of Moroccan architecture.

• Eat: Drop by the ‘Cafe Des Epices’ for a classic cup of mint tea.

• Do: If you’re determined to conquer Morocco’s legendary cuisine, why not book a private cooking lesson with a private chef? 

PHOTO OF THE DAY

We always thought Gandalf was the only one with this level of smoke-blowing flex, but Italy’s Mount Etna just threw down with some pretty perfect smoke rings. The puffs are a rare phenomenon generated by the rapid release of water vapour within a circular vent. Italian social media users have nicknamed the volcano ‘Lady of the Rings’.

FRIDAY QUIZ