Biden Urges NI Parties to Restore Power-Sharing
During a speech in Belfast on Wednesday, US Pres. Joe Biden urged for a political compromise in Northern Ireland (NI), calling on political leaders to restore their power-sharing government.
Biden — who arrived in Belfast on Tuesday evening to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement — also hinted that US companies were prepared to "triple" their investment in the country's economy to $6B.
The 1998 signing of the Good Friday Agreement marked the ending of three decades of sectarian violence known as The Troubles. The violence took place between largely Catholic Irish republicans, who sought a united Ireland, and predominantly Protestant pro-British unionists who wished to remain part of the UK.
Pro-establishment narrative
Biden has sent a clear message to the Democratic Unionist Party about the need to get back to work and restore the country's power-sharing dynamic. With his very strong track record of supporting the peace accord, his guidance is fitting. However, the future of NI is in the hands of the assembly, and they need to get it together and do what's best for the country.
Establishment-critical narrative
Despite Biden's optimistic speech, the political situation in NI hasn't changed, and power-sharing isn't the answer. Biden — touting his Irish heritage to legitimize his opinion — is dangling the promise of money to push his own agenda, but the words of a foreign politician who is so clearly pro-nationalist, anti-unionist, and anti-British won't change anything.
Nerd narrative
There is a 35% chance that Northern Ireland will hold a reunification referendum before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Macron Outlines Need for 'European Sovereignty'
On Tuesday, French Pres. Emmanuel Macron outlined his vision of greater "European sovereignty" in a keynote speech at the Nexus Institute in The Hague during a visit to the Netherlands.
Macron arrived in Amsterdam on Tuesday morning for a two-day visit at the invitation of King Willem-Alexander. The first official state visit by a French president to the Netherlands in 23 years reportedly will include various bilateral talks on sustainability and greater European independence.
During his speech, Macron said that the continent should maintain close ties with its allies but that Europe needed to choose its partners and "shape our own destiny" instead of being only bystanders to the "dramatic evolution of this world."
Establishment-critical narrative
While Macron's recent remarks are causing a stir, his call for more European "strategic autonomy" ultimately only reflects the position of a growing number of EU leaders with respect to Washington. The US remains the EU's most important ally, but a so-called partnership that is limited to complete submission to US positions is not in Europe's strategic interest and must therefore be rejected.
Pro-establishment narrative
Macron's renewed call for more "European sovereignty" also towards the US only shows his detachment from reality, as it certainly does not reflect sentiment across European leadership. However, even though his statements should certainly not be taken lightly in Washington, it's not the first time Macron tries to distinguish himself by calling for more European autonomy. The US-EU alliance will certainly get over it.
China Reports First Human Bird Flu Death
A 56-year-old woman from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong is the first person known to have died from a type of bird flu that is rare in humans, H3N8, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement Tuesday.
The woman was the third person to contract the H3N8 strain, which doesn’t appear to spread between people, but the first to die from it.
The WHO said the woman, who had pre-existing medical conditions, including cancer, was admitted to the hospital with severe pneumonia after falling ill in February and died last month. All three people who contracted H3N8 in China are thought to have been exposed to the virus at live poultry markets.
Anti-China narrative
China was late in reporting this case for a month, and hopefully, the consequences won’t be the same as when Beijing delayed its reporting of the first COVID cases. We already saw H5N1 cause the world’s biggest bird flu outbreak, and it’s difficult to predict what will become of H3N8 as vaccine makers wait at the ready in case of a sustained zoonotic spillover event.
Pro-China narrative
There’s no cause for alarm or blame. It’s very rare for H3N8 to infect humans, and the US is prepared for fighting bird flu because of its experience with H5N1. As long as people adhere to the guidelines from the PRC's Center for Disease Control and Prevention — including minimizing exposure to poultry farms and bird markets, and avoiding eating undercooked poultry markets — this outbreak can be contained to just birds.
Nerd narrative
There's a 49% chance that at least 10 countries will ratify a new international treaty on pandemic prevention and preparedness before 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Russia Won't 'Tolerate' US Pressure Over WSJ Reporter, Says Deputy Foreign Minister
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said on Wednesday that Russia was considering granting US diplomats consular access to Evan Gershkovich — the Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia on espionage charges — but warned that Moscow "will not tolerate" any attempts from the US to pressure it over the issue.
Ryabkov added that "it has no significance what status they assign to this person in Washington. We will act in accordance with our own internal needs, norms and laws that apply in this situation, and nothing more."
The comments come after the US State Dept. officially designated Gershkovich as "wrongfully detained" by Russia, and called on it to provide consular access to him earlier in the week. Vedant Patel, a State Dept. spokesman, said: "It is a violation of Russia’s obligations under our consular convention and a violation against international law. We have stressed the need for the Russian government to provide this access as soon as possible."
Pro-establishment narrative
Russia's charges of espionage against Evan Gershkovich are baseless and nothing more than an attack on journalism and dissent. He is being wrongfully detained and the US government is doing everything in its power to have him released.
Pro-Russia narrative
Russia is acting in full accordance with local and international law with respect to Evan Gershkovich. It will not tolerate attempts from the US government to exert unjustified pressure on Russia over the handling of the case.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that The Economist will rank Russia as a Democracy in its Democracy Index by August 2052, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Italy Declares State of Emergency to Tackle Migrant Surge
On Tuesday, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni's government declared a six-month state of emergency backed by €5M (roughly $5.5M) in funding to help the country face a surge in migrants arriving on its southern shores.
The emergency funding comes as Italy has received more than 31K migrants so far this year, compared to roughly 7.9K at this point last year. The money will help Meloni's government set up more migrant reception centers as well as repatriate those not allowed to stay.
Italy has received 3K migrants in just the last three days, with a number of boats arriving on the island of Lampedusa, and the nation's coastguard has rescued around 2K people since Friday.
Right narrative
Right-wing Meloni isn't the only one calling for a continent-wide effort to deter and deport migrants who are ineligible to stay. EU officials themselves have pointed out that only 21% of ineligible migrants are sent back to their home countries, and in only 60% of cases do authorities contact those countries regarding repatriation. Italy has faced the brunt of this crisis for years, and it's time the member block step up to help.
Left narrative
While Meloni's government uses tragedy to call for inhumane deportations, the real solution to this issue is investing in safe, legal routes to Italy. So long as these asylum seekers are deemed "illegal immigrants," they will continue to take unofficial, dangerous trips across the sea, leading to more and more preventable deaths.
Nerd narrative
There's a 2% chance that any of Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and/or Germany will leave the EU before 2027, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Report: One-in-Five Americans Has Family Member Killed by Guns
According to data published Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than half of US adults recently surveyed claimed they or a family member have experienced a gun-related incident. The data comes amid a wave of continued gun violence in America.
The survey took place from Mar. 14-23, with 19% saying they had a family member that had been killed by a gun (including suicide), 31% had family who had been threatened with a gun, and 17% had personally witnessed someone being injured from a gun.
It also found that 41% lived in a household with guns, and 75% said that their firearms were either unlocked, loaded, or alongside ammunition. Black and Hispanic adults were over three times as likely to be worried daily or almost daily about family being victims of gun violence.
Left narrative
As gun violence continues in the US, it seems that the country — especially the GOP — is locked in a cycle of sharing "thoughts and prayers," implementing little meaningful change, and forgetting about the issue until the next tragedy occurs. There is no end in sight, and communities are becoming weaker as they begin to normalize such events. While there must be more rational thinking and policy action regarding restricting gun violence, sadly neither seems to be on the horizon.
Right narrative
Modern rhetoric on gun violence does not match reality, and the left's gun control agenda is even more radical than they claim. Gun control is a scapegoat targeted against rural conservatives when in reality, such violence occurs most commonly in Democrat-run urban areas, which are inundated with the corrupt and disastrous culture the party promotes. The best way to combat these threats is to vote for real conservatives who are stewards of the 2nd Amendment and self-defense.
Nerd narrative
There is a 1% chance that the Second Amendment of the US Constitution will be amended or repealed before 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
India: 4 Soldiers Killed in Punjab Army Base Shooting
Four Indian army soldiers were killed in a shooting while sleeping in a barracks inside the Bathinda military station in Punjab early Wednesday morning.
Punjab police ruled out the incident as a terror attack, instead calling it a case of "fratricide" — [in a military context, an armed services member killing a member of the same side.] While the military base has been cordoned off and sealed, an investigation is underway to establish what happened.
On Monday, an assault rifle with 28 bullets reportedly went missing. Of the 28 missing bullets, 19 have been recovered from the barracks — suggesting an army soldier possibly opened fire at fellow soldiers.
Narrative A
The Bathinda killings have once again raised the question of why fratricide incidents occur in the Indian armed forces so often. Because guarding the border comes at a high human cost, there is an urgent need to professionally analyze the issue and adopt measures to positively address soldiers' high-stress levels. This is of concern to defense forces but has implications for India's national security in general.
Narrative B
While the number of fratricides within the Indian armed forces is concerning, it's disingenuous to claim that nothing is being done. The government has fully recognized the issue and has implemented a multi-pronged strategy to address it, which includes not only improving the conditions of personnel but also introducing mental health initiatives. While fratricide cannot be eradicated overnight, the rate at which it occurs has already declined in recent years.
Trump Lawyer Asks for Delay of Civil Trial
On Tuesday, former US Pres. Donald Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, requested a one-month delay in the civil trial regarding columnist E. Jean Carroll’s claims Trump raped her in 1996. The trial is scheduled to begin on April 25.
In a letter, Tacopina asked for a "cooling off" period because of "the recent deluge of prejudicial media coverage" surrounding Trump since he was indicted last month on 34 felony counts related to a payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Previously, Carroll sued Trump in November 2019, claiming he defamed her by denying the allegation. That case is still pending.
Democratic narrative
This is just Trump's latest bad-faith attempt to delay this trial, begging the question of whether the former president has something to hide. Regardless, he made a series of defamatory comments about Carroll — which is the basis of her suit — and eventually, he’s going to have to face the music.
Pro-Trump narrative
Trump has the right to an impartial trial, but the current politically charged media frenzy makes the jury ripe for prejudice — an environment Democrats are seemingly willing to exploit in order to further their persecution of Trump. Tacopina's request is completely legitimate and should be seriously considered.
Nerd narrative
There’s a 33% chance Trump will be jailed or incarcerated before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
NPR to Leave Twitter After Labeling Row
NPR announced Wednesday it will no longer use Twitter to distribute its content after the platform began labeling the news outlet as "state-affiliated media” — which is typically assigned to publications like Russia's RT and China's Xinhua. Twitter later changed the label to "government-funded media.”
NPR accused the Elon Musk-owned company of "falsely implying" that the outlet is not editorially independent. NPR added that it won't put its content on a platform that seeks to undermine its credibility.
NPR is a non-profit media organization that syndicates more than 1K local public radio stations across the US that receive about 13% of their funds from the federally-funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other state and federal government sources.
Narrative A
If anything, Twitter's "state-affiliated media" label has not been applied enough. In addition to NPR, the label should be pinned to accounts for CIA-created US propaganda outlets like Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Voice of America. This designation should also be tagged on other outlets which receive far more state funding than NPR.
Narrative B
All media outlets are funded by someone, so the only question is whether a news outlet is independent – and NPR certainly is. Throughout its history, NPR has remained objective in reporting nationally and internationally. Just because an outlet receives some government funding doesn’t mean it puts its journalistic ethics on hold.
Narrative C
This label serves no purpose other than to satisfy Musk’s axe to grind with NPR after the organization decided not to cover live remarks last week by former Pres. Trump. Musk is using Twitter to play politics and punish those whose values don’t align with his.
Report: Deutsche Bank To Close IT Operations in Russia
The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Deutsche Bank is winding down its remaining software technology operations in Moscow and St. Petersburg, a move that will end its two decades of reliance on Russian IT expertise in the next six months.
While Germany's biggest lender hasn't yet formalized the decision to completely shutter its IT operations in Russia, the move is reportedly a done deal internally.
A spokesman for the bank confirmed that it is looking for ways to minimize business disruption as well as to de-risk its operations in the country, as the European Central Bank has allegedly been pressuring lenders to cut risks related to Russia.
Anti-Russia narrative
Deutsche Bank has rightfully made multiple statements condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has been working to wind down its Russia-related activities. While completely shuttering all Russian business couldn't happen overnight, the bank has taken the necessary step to reduce its dealings and reliance on Russian technology.
Pro-Russia narrative
Deutsche Bank has been waffling as it looks to comply with the West’s anti-Russian stance while maintaining its financial benefits from Russian technology. That’s why the German lender quietly offered to relocate hundreds of its Russian employees. Deutsche Bank wants to leave Russia, but it needs Russians to grow its technology center.
Nerd narrative
There's a 13% chance that Deutsche Bank will collapse, or be rescued, before June 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.