Caracal Daily | November 6

Caracal Daily | November 6

Caracal Daily is geopolitical business news + intelligence for comms pros.

Geopolitics is disrupting every business and industry. Caracal is here to help.

Always Be Communicating.

Happy Wednesday.

Here’s today’s Caracal Daily:

*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***

AP: Ukrainian troops have engaged with North Korean units for the 1st time in Russia, an official says

NHK: Zelenskyy: 11,000 North Korean soldiers are in Kursk region bordering Ukraine

Zelenskyy calls clashes with North Korean troops next step to 'instability': Nikkei reports the Ukraine defense minister confirms 1st armed engagements.

North Korea says it will stand by Russia until 'victory' in Ukraine: Le Monde reports the North Korean foreign minister was in Moscow as the West believes up to 10,000 North Korean troops are training in Russia and on the brink of entering the war in Ukraine.

Inexperienced, poorly trained and underfed: The North Korean troops heading to Ukraine: Kim Jong-un says his army is the ‘strongest in the world’ but they are vulnerable to illness and none have seen combat before. Justin McCurry

AP: North Korea fires a barrage of ballistic missiles toward the sea ahead of US election

Israel’s Netanyahu fires defense minister, saying mutual trust has ‘cracked’: Politico reports Yoav Gallant will be replaced in Cabinet by Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

Israel’s Netanyahu fires defense minister, citing ‘gaps’ in approach to war: NYT reports the minister, Yoav Gallant, differed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the conduct of the war in Gaza and domestic political issues.

US announces new Middle East military deployments in warning to Iran: Le Monde reports the additional resources build on previous US defense deployments to the Middle East in support of Israel, including a THAAD missile defense system deployed to the country late last month, operated by American troops on the ground.

WSJ: FBI says bomb threats at voting sites came from Russian domains

Russia suspected in plot to target cargo planes in Europe and the US: WP reports officials say proxies working for Russia were likely behind bombs destined for DHL flights in Europe, and US-bound planes may have been a future target.

Russia plotted to put incendiary devices on cargo planes, officials say: NYT reports Western officials are investigating whether devices planted at shipping hubs in Europe may have been a test run by Russian operatives for placing them on planes bound for the US.

Poland detains four over Russian parcel bomb plot targeting US-bound flights: FT reports European officials say DHL parcel fires were result of test runs for using similar methods to attack transatlantic flights.

China hack enabled vast spying on US officials, likely ensnaring thousands of contacts: Hackers for months scooped up call logs, unencrypted texts and some audio in breach, piercing America’s communications infrastructure without detection. WSJ

China plans to crash a spacecraft into a distant asteroid: Economist reports it will be only the second country to conduct such a planetary defence experiment.

The US is beating China in the race to win space allies: Bloomberg reports Chile’s science minister signed the Artemis Accords at NASA headquarters on Oct. 25, becoming the 47th member in a growing list that also added Dominican Republic, Estonia and Cyprus this month.

Japan's Ishiba prepares for first meeting with Biden, Xi: The prime minister to kick off diplomatic blitz after expected reelection next week. Nikkei

World faces crucial choice over AI, says top economist: AI was the big topic at Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative. As CNN's Eleni Giokos explains, not everyone is certain it will do good things for humanity. CNN

India’s ambitious lithium dreams have stalled: Last year, India touted the discovery of a huge reserve of valuable lithium in Kashmir. Experts say optimism around the discovery was overblown. ROW

Trump is no Ronald Reagan — we all need him to lose: Republican Party that Conservatives knew and admired is captured by a dark cult which threatens freedom everywhere. William Hague

More unpopular than ever, Macron is preparing for a long and painful end to his reign: The French president is struggling to avoid the political decomposition he himself accelerated. Solenn de Royer

Central Paris is now closed to through traffic: Le Monde reports the city's limited traffic zone system, which is already in use in several major European cities, aims to reduce car use while encouraging the use of public transport and improving air quality.

Is Germany’s business model broken? All three of the country’s major industries are in crisis, and the economy is flatlining. Are politicians finally waking up? FT

Litigation ‘tsunami’ breaks over Argentina’s President Javier Milei: FT reports billions of dollars of judgments and claims in international courts pressure cash-strapped libertarian government.

Arms industry orders reflect anticipation of a possible return to confrontations at sea: Whether for the transportation of products or for communications, securing trade routes and critical infrastructure is now a crucial mission for naval forces. Jean-Michel Bezat

Chinese warships could use Peru’s big new port, US general warns: FT reports the head of US Southern Command sounds alert over Beijing ‘playbook’ for large overseas infrastructure projects.

Meta AI is ready for war: The Verge reports Meta is letting the US military and defense contractors use its Llama AI model for national security purposes.

Meta permits its AI models to be used for US military purposes: The shift in policy, covering government agencies and contractors working on national security, is intended to promote “responsible and ethical” innovations, the company said. NYT

***  US Politics + Elections ***

The Times: US election’s $15.9bn price tag makes it costliest in history

A race defined by inflation, abortion and immigration: WSJ reports an anxious nation awaited the results of a narrowly divided presidential election, as voting came to a close in a turbulent race that featured a late candidate swap and two assassination attempts.

Trump is doing better than 2020 all across the board so far: Politico reports one trend is coming in clear across the more than 1,300 counties that have reported close to complete results already: Donald Trump is improving on his 2020 margins.

Election wargames: Tech and politics try their hands at detecting voting threats: ‘Risk games’ hosted by Lux Capital expose the difficulty of identifying technology-related election threats. WSJ

A deepfake showed MLK Jr. backing Trump. His daughter calls it ‘vile.’: WP reports a false video made with artificial intelligence showed MLK Jr., who was assassinated in 1968, praising Donald Trump.

+ “We’re in kind of the ‘throw spaghetti at the wall’ moment of politics and AI, where this intersection allows people to try new things for propaganda,” said Rachel Tobac, chief executive of SocialProof Security, an ethical hacking company. “I think we’re going to see people try anything they can to influence the election.”

Microsoft linked arms with venture capitalist firm and “little tech” advocate Andreessen Horowitz on Friday to promote regulations that favor open-source AI development, according to Politico's Morning Tech newsletter. Read the "AI for Startups" blog post here.

Crypto’s political donation machine is just getting started Bloomberg

CNBC: Crypto’s $245 million campaign finance operation filled airwaves with ads not about crypto

+ The crypto industry raised more than $245 million from a mix of corporations and individual contributors this cycle.

+ The sector accounted for nearly half of all corporate money raised.

+ In pouring money into ads, the groups weren’t focused on informing voters about crypto.

NYT: Bitcoin surges to a record as crypto investors root for Trump win

+ Bitcoin’s price went above $75,000, breaking the record that the digital currency set in March.

*** Disruption + Innovation ***

Nuclear energy’s AI boom blew a fuse—here’s what could happen next: Regulator’s decision puts one type of contract at risk, but won’t close the door on nuclear power plants looking to sign agreements with data centers. WSJ

Napster’s lessons for the AI age: Lack of consultation has turned potential allies into adversaries, but technology and the creative industries can work together. Verity Harding

Palantir’s shares jump as ‘unwavering demand’ for AI lifts earnings: FT reports Peter Thiel’s data analytics company raises its revenue forecast as growth accelerates.

Nvidia surpasses Apple to become world’s most valuable company: WP reports the AI darling now has a $3.43 trillion market capitalization.

Apple asks Foxconn to produce servers in Taiwan in AI push: But Nvidia demand could limit Taiwanese supplier's capacity, sources say. Nikkei

CNET: Apple offers up to $1 million to anyone who can hack its AI servers

Physical Intelligence, a startup that is developing foundational software for robots, said on Monday it has raised $400 million in early-stage funding from Amazon's Jeff Bezos, OpenAI, venture capital firms Thrive Capital and Lux Capital.

AI startup Perplexity to triple valuation to $9 billion in new funding round: WSJ reports artificial intelligence search company is raising $500 million in its fourth funding round this year.

Apple is exploring a push into smart glasses with an internal study of products currently on the market, setting the stage for the company to follow Meta into an increasingly popular category.

Apple warns investors future products may never be as profitable as iPhone: FT reports analysts say artificial intelligence and virtual reality headsets might have lower margins than smartphones and App Store.

Is your air fryer spying on you? Concerns over ‘excessive’ surveillance in smart devices: UK consumer group Which? finds some everyday items including watches and speakers are ‘stuffed with trackers.’ Guardian

Meet Musk’s fixer, the powerful executive reshaping Tesla: Omead Afshar, known for his ability to mind-meld with the CEO, steps into prominent role as the auto business confronts challenges. WSJ

Uber’s real threat isn’t from robots: Ride-hailing pioneer contends with weaker bookings growth, rising insurance costs and an alliance between DoorDash and Lyft. WSJ

Bernie Marcus, Home Depot co-founder, is dead at 95: NYT reports in 1978, he came up with the idea of a warehouse-style store that would appeal to the do-it-yourself homeowner. With a partner’s help it became the world’s largest home-improvement retailer.

Murray McCory, 80, dies; JanSport founder created the school backpack: NYT reports he brought lightweight packs to millions of students and transformed the way they carried their textbooks to school.

Netflix offices raided in Paris and Amsterdam over tax probe: FT reports French and Dutch authorities swoop in long-running investigation.

*** Culture ***

To join this club, a member must die. And you must adore Verdi. Based in Parma, Club dei 27 is so exclusive that it’s given rise to all sorts of myths. But it’s really about venerating the famous opera composer born near the Italian city. NYT

Quincy Jones, giant of American music, dies at 91: As a producer, he made the best-selling album of all time, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” He was also a prolific arranger and composer of film music. NYT

*** Sport ***

The former NFL punchline that could laugh all the way to Super Bowl: ‘Dome team’ Detroit gives Green Bay a lesson in the cold Lambeau rain—and charges to the top of the NFC. WSJ


Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc 

Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal