Turkey Claims IS Leader Killed in Syria
Turkish Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed on Sunday that the alleged Islamic State (IS) group leader Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi was killed in an operation by Turkey's intelligence agency in Syria.
In an interview with Turkish TV, Erdoğan announced that al-Qurayshi had been neutralized as a result of the intelligence agency's continued efforts to track down the IS leader and vowed that Ankara would continue its fight against any terrorist threat.
According to local and Syrian security sources, the operation was carried out near Jinderes, a northern Syrian town controlled by Turkish-backed rebel groups. Citing local residents, AFP reported that an abandoned farm used as an Islamic school had been targeted.
Narrative A
For Erdoğan to brag on his return to the campaign trail that Turkey killed al-Qurayshi and invoke the fight against terrorism is hypocritical at best, given that it was Erdoğan's Turkey that fueled the rise of jihadists in Syria in the first place. Ankara has used Islamists and rebel groups for its campaign against US-backed Kurdish forces fighting IS and for its strategic goal of toppling the Assad regime. As a result, however, Erdoğan's hubris has undermined not only regional stability but also Turkey's national security.
Narrative B
While Turkey's killing of the IS leader is further evidence of how serious Ankara is about fighting terrorism, Washington continues to support Kurdish terrorists under the guise of fighting IS, thereby jeopardizing Turkey's national security. However, this will not prevent Ankara from continuing to fight terrorism without distinction, which benefits not only regional security, but ultimately European security as well. This is one of Erdoğan's great achievements, and Turks can be proud of their country and their leader.
Nerd narrative
There is a 77% chance that Erdoğan will abdicate the presidency if he loses the 2023 presidential election, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Pope: Vatican Involved in Russia-Ukraine Peace Mission
On Sunday, Pope Francis said the Vatican was engaged in a secret peace mission in an attempt to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
"I am willing to do everything that has to be done," the pope said aboard the Papal Plane following a three-day visit to Hungary. "I think that peace is always made by opening channels. You can never achieve peace through closure."
The pope added he would do "all that is humanly possible" to reunite families amid allegations Russia has illegally deported Ukrainian children from Ukraine. "All human gestures help. Gestures of cruelty don't help," Francis said.
Narrative A
Pope Francis has explicitly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and made countless appeals to end the war. Since the pope has previously engaged in a number of prisoner swaps and negotiations, his latest attempt to reconcile Russia and Ukraine is significant. It could bring positive results in ending an absurd and cruel war.
Narrative B
The pope has repeatedly offered to mediate a peace process throughout the conflict to no avail. So what's different to make us believe his efforts would succeed this time? Moreover, when he describes the war as Russian expansionism and imperialism and he holds the Ukrainian flag, it's clear which side of the conflict he sides with.
Nerd narrative
There is a 50% chance the Catholic Church will elect a new pope by April 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Paraguay: Santiago Peña Wins Election
Economist and former finance minister under Pres. Horacio Cartes, Santiago Peña, has won Paraguay's general election, continuing the conservative Colorado Party's seven-decade-long reign. He defeated Efrain Alegrem of the left-wing Concertacion coalition by 15 percentage points.
The Concertacion coalition received roughly 27.5% of the vote after having led in opinion polls, with the left-wing loss going against the recent trend of anti-incumbency, left-wing wins in Latin America.
Peña has said he will create 500K jobs, offer free kindergarten, decrease fuel and energy prices, and put more police officers on the street. To achieve this, he said Paraguay, which has a poverty rate of 25%, must eliminate red tape and keep taxes among the lowest in the world.
Left narrative
A win for the Colorado Party continues the failed status quo of Paraguay. After its year dictatorship, the Colorado Party — which played a role in the nation's authoritarian past — took power and has been bankrolling its government through the personal wealth of Horacio Cartes. Though the two campaigns differed on little other than the Taiwan issue, it's likely that Peña will continue to be beholden to the corrupt system held in place since 1989.
Right narrative
Though the world had some difficulty with the Cartes presidency, Peña is a fresh face with an eagerness to build Paraguay's standing in the world. This is why the US, as well as neighbors like Brazil, congratulated the winner and told him they look forward to working with him. Peña offered similar economic promises to Alegrem, and the Taiwan issue shouldn't be that controversial given its year relationship with Paraguay and shared democratic principles.
UK Chip Giant Arm Files for US Share Listing
British microchip firm Arm has officially filed to sell its shares in the US, having stated in March this year that it did not plan to list its shares in London.
The press release, published on Saturday, stated that Softbank-owned Arm had recently confidentially submitted a draft F-1 form to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to hold an initial public offering later this year.
Arm has been called the "crown jewel" of the UK's technology sector, and the desire for the company's share listing to stay in the UK fueled reports in January this year that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak himself had been in talks with Softbank.
Narrative A
The decision to bail on London's market in favor of the US is a major blow to the UK when considering that Arm's initial public offering will be one of the largest of 2023. The decision is part of a wider move by British-based companies to ditch the UK for overseas markets — this is not a good sign for future trends.
Narrative B
The decision by Arm is a sign that the global initial public offering market is beginning to recover. While the US remains concerned over a recession, decisions by major companies to attract major public funding worldwide — especially in Asia — is a good sign for the global economy overall.
Jordan Hosts Arab Normalization Talks With Syria
Jordan hosted a landmark meeting between Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia in Amman on Monday as the Arab countries consider normalizing ties with Damascus, which has been diplomatically isolated by the Arab world since 2011 following anti-government protests and the onset of civil war.
Joint talks between top diplomats from the five nations began after an initial meeting between Jordan's Foreign Minister and his Syrian counterpart. Besides discussing Syria's potential return to the Arab fold, including the possibility of Syria being invited to the Arab League summit later this month, a "political solution" to Syria's conflict was also reportedly discussed.
Jordan has called on Damascus to engage with Arab states jointly on a step-by-step basis to end the country's long-running civil war, addressing the return of refugees, drug smuggling, detainees in Syrian prisons, and Iran-backed militias that operate within the country.
Pro-establishment narrative
It's no surprise that Arab dictatorships, which are some of the most brutal authoritarian regimes in the world, are rushing to rehabilitate Bashar al-Assad's dictatorship in Syria. Though Assad butchered his own people with barrel bombs and chemical weapons, now that supporting the opposition to his rule is not politically expedient, the Gulf monarchies are more than happy to bring him back to the Arab fold.
Establishment-critical narrative
Imperialist forces in the region, namely the US, are trying to sabotage Syria's return to the Arab fold, but the path to normalization seems quite certain at this point. Though the West, alongside its regional cronies in the Gulf, has waged war against Syria and Assad's government, it's time to move past this and look to the future in a multipolar world order that's not dictated by the whims of the West.
Cynical narrative
It's obvious that Assad is a criminal and a butcher, but the West's strategies have borne no fruit in terms of ending the conflict. Ultimately, after 12 years of war, Assad, alongside Russian and Iranian support, has essentially defeated the opposition, and it's time to allow for his regime to re-enter the Arab fold, regardless of how the US feels about it. Syria, though a brotherly nation, will likely be held at arm's length for the foreseeable future nonetheless.
European Orgs Call for Research into Racism's Health Impact
A network of health organizations and three members of the European Parliament signed a statement last month calling for the European Commission to recognize racism as a key factor that can negatively affect health. They urged for prioritization of the issue for research funding.
The network, known as DisQo, is run under the umbrella of the European Health Alliance. It prioritized five areas to focus on, including equality data, fostering diversity in society, clarifying terms related to racism, and strengthening EU anti-discrimination laws.
DisQo also mentions the use of intersectionality, arguing that data should be disaggregated by identities such as race, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender, sexual orientation, and disability to study the impact of interconnected discrimination.
Left narrative
European countries know they have a racism problem in their healthcare systems, but structural discrimination has yet to end due to little public debate on the issue. Racial disparities in healthcare are downstream of economic and social inequality more broadly, but nothing will change until the continent's leaders acknowledge the rampant disregard for racial minorities and its dangerous impact on physical health.
Right narrative
This is a class problem, not a race problem. Western left-wing politicians and activists constantly drum up conflicts based on identity politics. Nothing will change if this trend continues. The deeper roots of healthcare system issues should be addressed instead of pandering to "woke" ideologies.
NY Gun Buyback Program Nets Over 3K Firearms
Over 3K firearms in New York state were exchanged for gift cards over the weekend as part of a gun buyback program organized by the state attorney general's office. New Yorkers could turn in guns with no questions asked at nine locations across the state.
Participants received $500 for assault-style rifles and untraceable "ghost guns," $75 for other rifles, and $25 for non-working replicas, antiques, or 3D-printed guns. Handgun owners received $500 for the first handgun and $150 for each additional one.
Attorney General Letitia James stated that "every single one of these guns represents a potential tragedy averted." Over 751 guns were returned in Syracuse — a state record — and over 90 were returned at a single location in Brooklyn.
Left narrative
New York should be applauded for being a national leader in preventing gun violence. Fewer guns on the street mean fewer tragic and senseless deaths as the state works towards making a real difference in the fight against gun crime. The gun buyback initiative will pay dividends down the road, as fewer guns are at risk of falling into the wrong hands.
Right narrative
Anti-gun politicians love their gun buy-back events because it gives them a chance to mesmerize the public through photos of scary-looking weapons laid out on a table. In reality, however, the US' own National Bureau of Economic Research has found that these programs don't broadly reduce gun crime or violent crime. Moreover, these ineffective programs, if implemented nationwide, would cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars or more — all that expense for no benefit to public safety.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that there will be at least 1.40 small firearms per capita in the USA by 2029, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
JPMorgan Buys Failed First Republic Bank
JPMorgan Chase on Monday purchased all of troubled First Republic Bank’s deposits, and most of its assets, after regulators seized it in an effort to head off further US banking turmoil.
JPMorgan will take on $173B of loans, $30B of securities, and $92B in deposits but not First Republic’s corporate debt or preferred stock. JPMorgan said it would recognize a one-off $2.6B gain and expected a $500M-a-year increase in net income.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) agreed to share losses on mortgages and commercial loans that JPMorgan assumed in the transaction, and also provide it with a $50B credit line. The bank will make a $10.6B payment to the FDIC
Narrative A
This situation is another example of the consolidation of wealth in the US, and only the largest banks can play the game. Instead of regulators and executives looking for band-aid solutions to serious problems, they should be enhancing and executing regulations to avoid these crises. This deal is a disservice to the country.
Narrative B
JPMorgan has saved the day again. With panic causing a major dip in the stock market, the bank was able to buy First Republic and help avert another SVB-like crisis. Anyone with an interest in the economy should be thankful JPMorgan cleaned up this mess.
Report: Epstein's Contacts Included CIA Chief
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Jeffrey Epstein's private calendar shows he met with a number of high-profile individuals after he was convicted as a sex offender — including political activist Noam Chomsky and CIA chief William Burns.
The meetings were scheduled between 2013 and 2019 after Epstein served time in jail in 2008 for a sex crime involving a teenage girl. The purpose of most of the meetings remains unclear, but many prominent people claim they visited Epstein for donations and to make powerful connections.
The new documents show Chomsky was scheduled to fly with Epstein — who reportedly donated at least $850K between 2002 and 2017 to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Chomsky taught for decades — for a planned dinner with film director Woody Allen in 2015.
Establishment-critical narrative
A repeat offender, Epstein had been accused of sexually abusing girls in Florida for years, some as young as 14 years old. Despite his conviction and death, questions remain about who in his famous circle of friends and associates may have done illegal things under his shadow. This list of high-profile individuals raises new questions surrounding Epstein's alleged suicide and the possibility he was murdered because of who he had dirt on.
Pro-establishment narrative
The meetings reportedly occurred when Epstein had been sentenced for a crime, served his sentence, and wiped the slate clean according to US law and norms. Since the political elite and business leaders thought Epstein had been rehabilitated and maintained their connections with him were purely professional, there is nothing suspicious about the revelation, or reason to rehash old conspiracy theories.
Texas Shooting Suspect Captured
A days-long manhunt for a gunman who fatally shot five neighbors, including a nine-year-old boy, in Texas ended Tuesday evening, with authorities announcing they had arrested the suspect, Francisco Oropesa.
Oropesa was captured near the town of Cut and Shoot, several miles from where the shootings took place, after a member of the public contacted the FBI's tip line. His wife, Divimara Lamar Nava, was also detained for allegedly helping him evade capture.
The arrest ends what had become a widening search that had grown to more than 250 people from multiple jurisdictions, with a collective award of $80K.
Democratic narrative
Abbott's disgusting xenophobic rhetoric is just an attempt to deflect from the role Republican lawmakers played in shaping Texas’s woeful gun laws. The GOP has created an unsafe environment for residents of the state.
Republican narrative
The immigration status of the suspect and victims is a valid point for Abbott to bring up. Somehow an illegal immigrant was able to get access to a gun and brutally massacre five people, including a child. Every possible angle of this tragic case should be scrutinized.
Nerd narrative
There's a 1% chance that the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution will be amended or repealed before 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.