8: Bird flu continues to spread its wings in the US, where agriculture authorities on Wednesday ordered the dairy industry to test milk-producing cows for the virus after herds in eight states tested positive for the disease. Authorities say they are confident that normal pasteurization processes will eradicate the pathogen from any milk, but tests are ongoing. So far this year, millions of American chickens have met a crueler fate – culled to stop the spread of the illness.
50: Wildfire season has sprung in Alberta, with at least 50 people forced to leave their homes ahead of fast-spreading blazes in the province this week. Provincial authorities warn that this season could be particularly bad, with 755 hectares already burnt this year – more than three times the five-year rolling average for this time of year. 2023 was the worst on record.
1: At least one company has already been granted an exemption from Canada’s recent sanctions on Russian titanium exports. European planemaker Airbus will be permitted to continue using Russian titanium at its Canada-based plants. Russia is one of the largest titanium exporters in the world, accounting for 15% of the global market in titanium metal precursors. Earlier this year, Canada became the first country to slap sanctions on VSMPO-Avisma, a state company that accounts for the lion’s share of Russia’s exports of the metal.
31: Speaking of underground things that roil above-ground politics, Canada says it is working with its Five Eyes partners (US, UK, Canada, and Australia) to stop global price manipulation of 31 critical metals by rival producers. Canada & Friends say that large producers of copper or rare earths, such as China or Indonesia, have been “dumping” huge quantities of their products at bargain prices in third markets to undercut Western producers. Canada’s government last month raised the alarm about this practice occurring with minerals that are essential for EV production.
At the 62nd Munich Security Conference in Munich, GZERO’s Tony Maciulis spoke with Benedikt Franke, Vice Chairman and CEO of the Munich Security Conference, to discuss whether the post-1945 global order is under strain or already unraveling.
Zelensky agrees: elections matter #PUPPETREGIME
As more small businesses move sales, payments, and customer relationships online, they unlock new opportunities, but they also become easier targets for cyber-criminals and other threat actors.
When Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called snap elections last month, it was a big gamble. Holding a winter election just four months into her tenure with no real policy record to run on?