135 million: The US on Wednesday announced it’s giving Moldova a sizable wad of cash — $135 million to be exact — to help fight Russian disinformation and provide energy security. Moldova used to rely entirely on Russia for natural gas, and this is not the first time the US has dropped a cash bomb on Chisinau in the fight against Moscow’s efforts to weaponize energy supplies. As Russia gains ground in Ukraine, the US wants to ensure Moscow doesn’t tighten its grip on another former Soviet republic.
2: Washington is a city obsessed with two things: politics and pandas. So the US capital fell into a bit of a funk after historic tensions between Washington and Beijing saw China take back its three giant pandas from the National Zoo last year. But by the end of this year, two giant pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, are being sent to the National Zoo as part of a new agreement.
67: In what sounds like the beginning of a “Fargo” episode, US Border Patrol agents recently discovered backpacks filled with 67 abandoned firearms near the US-Canada border in North Dakota. Agents responded to reports of suspicious activity in the area and, upon arrival, witnessed two people fleeing into Canada. When they searched the area, they found gun-filled knapsacks. Why the guns were there remains a mystery, but officials said there are currently no threats to the nearby community.
4,700: Roughly 4,700 residents of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, have been given the green light to return home after wildfires forced them out over two weeks ago. Last year, Canada faced its worst wildfire season on record, with 45.7m acres going up in smoke that blanketed parts of the US and impacted air quality. This year’s wildfire season is already proving challenging, with experts partly blaming “zombie fires,” or fires that continue smoldering under thick layers of snow through the winter only to come back to life in spring.
52: A slim majority (52%) of Canadians say Ottawa should support a recent UN resolution calling on the Security Council to favorably reconsider Palestine’s membership bid and upgrade its rights as an observer state, according to a new Maru/GZERO poll. The resolution – Canada abstained – passed with overwhelming support in early May. The poll goes on to say that a majority of Canadians (61%) feel that by calling for a cease-fire and a peaceful resolution to the conflict, their government has remained fairly neutral during the Gaza war. Read the rest of it here.
The French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) at the Elysee Presidential Palace.
European Union leaders agreed to move ahead with “Buy European” policies as part of a broader push to de-risk from the US and boost competitiveness amid China’s industrial prowess.
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20: The number of fallen Ukrainian athletes and coaches depicted on a Ukrainian skeleton racer’s helmet at the Winter Olympics, which prompted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to disqualify him on Thursday.
The Russian government has begun blocking the popular messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram in a sweeping crackdown aimed at forcing Russians to use a state-backed alternative called MAX, which critics say would enable censorship and surveillance.