🇨🇦 Churches Are Burning Down in Canada

Image: Ontario Provincial Police 

At least nine Catholic and Anglican churches across Canada have burned to the ground in recent weeks, while a handful of others have been vandalized.

• No arrests or suspects have been announced by Canadian police officials.

📜 Background: The incidents are believed to be a reaction to the discovery of more than one thousand unmarked graves at several former Catholic-run residential schools – a network of mandatory boarding schools for Indigenous peoples in Canada.

• The stated purpose of the schools, some of which date to the 19th century and the last of which closed in the 1990s, was assimilation – i.e., ridding the students of ties to their communities and instilling European culture, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (which was funded by the Canadian government as part of a legal settlement to address the wrongs of the system).

📸 The Big Picture: Many residential school survivors, Indigenous leaders, and Canadian officials have called for an end to the arson attacks on churches, some of which are located on First Nations territories.

• “Many residential school survivors hate the church with a passion – but I have never heard any of them ever suggest people turn to this … I talk to a lot of residential school survivors and, sure, there is a lot of hatred and bitterness and anger – but that still doesn’t mean you go and do arson.” –Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Indian Band.

+Bonus: Inuk leader Mary Simon was appointed as Canada's first ever Indigenous governor general by PM Justin Trudeau on Tuesday.

🎁 DONUT Headline: The Pentagon decided to terminate its $10B JEDI cloud computing contract - which was caught up in a legal battle between Microsoft and Amazon - in favor of a new multivendor cloud project (which, sadly, is not referred to as 'Return of the JEDI').

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Image: AP

Chinese President Xi Jinping last week delivered an impassioned speech at an event celebrating the centenary (100-year anniversary) of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

• In it, he warned foreign powers would "have their heads bashed bloody" if they attempt to bully or influence the country (though there is some dispute over the exact translation and meaning behind the remark).

President Xi, who has eliminated limits on his time in office - prompting speculation he could rule for life, as Chairman Mao did - also threatened any nation who dares to stand in the CCP's way when it comes to territories like Hong Kong and Taiwan.

📸 The Big Picture...The CCP has been working to expand its influence, both abroad and at home.

• It has slowly completed its takeover of Hong Kong after the island passed a CCP-approved national security law last summer. Most recently, Hong Kong officials cracked down on the city's last remaining pro-Democracy newspaper, and nine people were arrested in an alleged bomb plot.
• In last week's speech, President Xi Jinping promised a "complete reunification" with Taiwan after months of Chinese military action in the South China Sea, prompting the self-ruled island to issue a response committing to defending its sovereignty and democracy.
• China has also become increasingly wary of its tech giants and is starting to curb their power. Over the weekend, Chinese regulators clamped down on ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing less than a week after it went public in one of the largest U.S. IPOs of the past decade. In April, the Chinese government blocked the IPO of the world’s largest fintech company, Ant Group, and forced it to restructure.

Yes, But... The international community has gradually grown more openly hostile towards China – apart from a select few nations like Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

• Last month, NATO and the Group of Seven (G7) - both of which include the U.S. - issued communiqués that, in part, warned of "systemic challenges to the rules-based international order" posed by "China's stated ambitions and assertive behaviour."

🏥 Emerging Responder…

Image: Loughborough University

• The device, known as REACT, consists of a medical-grade silicone sleeve called a “tamponade” and a handheld device known as an “actuator,” and works by inflating and applying internal pressure to open wounds.

Joseph Bentley, its inventor, claims using the device is “quicker and simpler” than traditional ‘wound packing’ – the process of pressing gauze into a stab wound to apply pressure.

• Bentley says his product targets areas of the body where stab wounds are often difficult to treat, such as the armpit, groin, and abdomen.

Keep reading.

Images: U.S. Chess Foundation

Becoming a grandmaster in chess is a goal many players spend a lifetime trying to achieve. The title requires thousands of games played, three norm scores (or high-level tournament performances), and a 2500 FIDE rating – in short, it’s no easy feat.

• Twelve-year-old Abhimanyu Mishra has already achieved all of the above.

He recently became the youngest chess grandmaster in history after defeating grandmaster Leon Mendonca in the ninth round of a tournament in Budapest, Hungary.

Keep reading.

Which car company owns Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, and Ducati?

A) Mercedes-Benz
B) Fiat Chrysler
C) Volkswagen
D) Peugeot

(keep scrolling for the answer)

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C) Volkswagen

The Volkswagen Group controls 11 brands across seven European countries: Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania and MAN.

• That number used to be 12 – until Volkswagen agreed on Monday to sell Bugatti to Croatian firm Rimac, with Porsche maintaining a 45% ownership stake.