Canada Canceled

🌐 Opinion

Happy weekend, Global Recap readers! It was fun reading your take on yesterday's opinion question: "Do you think that's actually Putin or his body double?"

As many of you suggested, Putin is likely afraid of potential assassination attempts. Yes, he continues to social distance in 2023. Yes, he peaced out of Moscow on his jet during the coup attempt like there is no tomorrow. Yet here he is, smooching girls like it never happened.

That being said, everyone in the video would have been thoroughly vetted down to what they ate for breakfast the previous day. But still, can’t escape the feeling that something seems off.

Canada
Google Rejects Canadian Law

🚫 Google is blocking Canadian news on its platforms. Google has joined Meta in restricting Canadian users from accessing local news content on its platforms. This comes after the passing of Canada’s new Online News Act last week, which requires digital firms to compensate media outlets for shared content.

Google calls the law “unworkable” and warns that it will make it harder for Canadians to find news online, as well as make it difficult for Canadian journalists to reach their audience - hence reducing revenue. Backfired?

Who is in the right here?

Ukraine
Russians Evacuate Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

🚨 Russian invaders are leaving the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. According to the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), 3 employees of the Russian state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, were among the first to leave the facility. Ukrainian employees who have signed a contract with Rosatom have also been advised to evacuate by July 5.

📃 Meanwhile, intelligence reports that the Russians have instructed the personnel who remain at the station to "blame Ukraine in the event of any emergency." Now, is this to evacuate employees before they strike the power plant, which intelligence has previously suggested? Or is Russia simply slowly backing out of Ukraine?

European Union
EU Breaking Up with China?

🇪🇺 The European Union is breaking up with China — at least economically. The bloc’s leaders agreed to diversify and reduce their excessive dependence on Beijing at a two-day summit in Brussels that ended on Friday. This, according to German chancellor Scholz is “de-risking.”

👎 No more eggs in one basket. The leaders said they would pursue a mutually beneficial relationship with Beijing that would “continue to reduce critical dependencies and vulnerabilities,” according to a joint statement. This seems like EU is waking up to the security issues they may face in the near future if China were to weaponize the bloc’s dependence on them when they invade Taiwan.

🇨🇳 The EU also called on China to use its influence on Russia to end the war in Ukraine. The bloc’s leaders expressed their “grave concern” over the ongoing conflict. So imposing more sanctions on Moscow is not out of the question.

🚫 The summit was not all smooth sailing, though. Both Poland and Hungary vetoed a summit statement that aimed to assess a recent migration deal requiring EU members to either share the responsibility for refugees arriving in the bloc or provide financial compensation. They simply do not want to take in more refugees, as they have already taken in millions of Ukrainian refugees since the Russian invasion of the country.

World
Top of the News World

🔥 France is burning (again)! The country has been rocked by three nights of violent riots after a 17-year-old boy of Algerian descent was shot dead by police during a traffic stop. President Macron is not backing down though. He has condemned the unrest and called for calm, urging parents to keep their kids at home and away from inflammatory content on social media platforms.

🇨🇳 Xi Jinping is feeling the heat as Taiwan gets more ammo from the US. The US State Department just approved two deals worth $440 million to supply Taiwan with various types of military equipment. In protest, China has been sending fighter jets, bombers, and battleships near Taiwan’s airspace and waters.

💰 Pakistan secures $3 billion from IMF. This preliminary deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is worth about $3 billion and it will hopefully help stabilize the country’s struggling economy - which is on the verge of bankruptcy.