11: Who would you guess is the world’s second-largest importer of Canadian military equipment after the US? For 11 years in a row, it’s been … Saudi Arabia, which imported more than $1 billion in Canadian arms in 2022 alone. The highly public (and recently resolved) spat between Canada and the Kingdom appears not to have affected that brisk arms trade at all.
400: This upcoming sentence doesn’t end how you think it will: An American man who put the incorrect address into his GPS ended up taking a wrong turn, which took him to the Rainbow Bridge at the Canadian border, where he was caught with 400 pounds of weed and $600,000 in his car.
936: In other, more intentional, cross-border smuggling news: A US Department of Justice sting operation nabbed an Ontario-based company for exporting at least 936 bottles of harp seal oil capsules to the US, in violation of strict environmental protection laws. The company, FeelGood, pleaded guilty on Monday and probably isn’t feeling great about facing a maximum penalty of a $500,000 fine and five years of probation. Canada has been stepping up its own efforts to track and trap illicit wildlife traffickers.
5: And for those looking to cross the Canadian border for more upstanding reasons, Canada has announced a new plan to attract immigrants with qualifications in five key areas: healthcare, STEM professions, manual trades like carpentry and plumbing, transportation, and agriculture. The move comes amid a broader debate about the extent to which Canada is suffering labor shortages.GZERO Media is back on the podium at the 47th Annual Telly Awards, adding six more trophies to our shelf — including three in Gold! We’re so grateful to be recognized for our groundbreaking work in global analysis and… *checks notes*... geopolitical puppetry.
Two weeks of protests have paralyzed Bolivia's capital, La Paz, costing businesses $50 million a day amid the country's worst economic crisis in 40 years. Unions are calling for the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz, just six months into his tenure.
Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung meet this week for a two-day summit focused on security, energy, and critical minerals. The two leaders appear to differ on China’s engagement in the future of the region.