In the News

John Ratcliffe, a Texas Republican nominated by President Donald Trump as Director National Security, has been confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. He had been put forward last year but withdrew when some members of his own party questioned his suitability. Most Democrats oppose Ratcliffe, making him the first DNI not to have broad bipartisan support.

In its annual report to Parliament 20 May, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service says that some foreign investment carries with it security risks, but the agency is not specific about which foreign interests are a concern. “Economic espionage activities in Canada continue to increase in breadth, depth and potential economic impact,” it says. “As difficult as it is to measure, this damage to our collective prosperity is very real.”

In stark contrast to U.S. President Donald Trump, who refuses to wear a mask against COVID-19, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has decided to wear one when he can’t maintain social-distancing in public. Calling it a “personal choice” in line with experts’ advice, he says keeping socially distant, staying home when sick, and washing hands remain “the best thing” for Canadians to keep doing to curb the virus’ spread.

A 17-year-old Toronto male is the first Canadian to be charged with a terrorism offence after a 2018 murder evidently resulting from his involvement in the online “incel” community of individuals who deem themselves “involuntarily celibate” because they are unable to have romantic or sexual partners. “Terrorism comes in many forms and it's important to note that it is not restricted to any particular group, religion or ideology," the RCMP explained.

The fact that the U.S. has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the world, 92,000 at last count, has been portrayed by President Donald Trump as some kind of “badge of honour.” “You know when you say that we lead in cases, tthat's because we have more testing than anybody else,” he told reporters. “When when we have a lot of cases, I don't look at that as a bad thing; I look at that as, in a certain respect, as being a good thing because it means our testing is much better. So I view it as a badge of honor” and a tribute to “all of the work that a lot of professionals have done."

The X-37B space plane developed by Boeing for the U.S. Air Force was launched on its sixth mission 17 May. Its mostly military missions are generally classified, but the USAF has disclosed that its experiments this time includes microwave delivery of solar power to the Earth’s surface and a test of how seeds used for food products are affected by radiation and the zero-gravity environment.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization since 2017, has promised an independent evaluation of the global COVID-19 response “at the earliest appropriate moment” with a view to future pandemics. “We all have lessons to learn,” he said. “Every country and every organization must examine its response and learn from its experience.”

Albert Premier Jason Kenney’s warning last week that China faced a “great reckoning” for its handling of the COVID-19 crisis has drawn a sharp rebuttal from the Chinese consulate in Calgary. Accusing Kenney of “slander and stigma”, the consulate says that “a large body of facts and data suggest that China did not play down, obfuscate or cover up the dangers posed by the novel coronavirus when it emerged.”

The 10 most commonly exploited security vulnerabilities have been listed by the U.S. intelligence community, including some which date to 2016. The newest vulnerabilities target remote workers using virtual private networks and cloud collaboration. “Foreign cyber actors continue to exploit publicly known—and often dated—software vulnerabilities,” the agencies say.

Less than a month on the job, Brazil’s new health minister has resigned over differences in how the government is handling COVID-19. Nelson Teich had replaced Nelson Mandetta, who was fired by President Jair Bolsonaro; like his predecessor, he fell afoul of their leader’s insistence on downplaying the threat.

The Department of Commerce has moved to ban prohibit semiconductor manufacturers which use U.S. chip design and technology from exporting to Huawei without specific permission on a “case by case” basis. The new rule comes a year after the Chinese tech giant, which the U.S. considers a security threat, from having access to U.S. semiconductors.

The global COVID-19 campaign is often compared with military warfare and two partners in the Washington-based McKinsey Global Institute say the analogy can be useful in trying to come to grips with the pandemic’s consequences. “The economic cycle in which we suddenly find ourselves . . . resembles the fully immersed experience of a mass mobilization, wartime economy,” they write. “While some European countries and parts of the United States are now starting to loosen lockdown measures, the duration of this ‘war’ . . . and its depth will be dictated by how much and how effectively we mobilize.”

Some 71 per cent of Canadians evidently believe that it is premature to relax curbs on their personal activities even if there are indications the COVID-19 pandemic may be easing. This is according to the results of a new Angus Reid poll which also indicates that 67 per cent of respondents feel that a full return to normal life is at least six months away.

Roberto Azevedo, the Brazilian diplomat who has been Director General of the World Trade Organization since September 2013, announced 14 May that he is quitting a year early. His departure comes as the WTO deals with COVID-19 fallout and repeated attacks by U.S. President Donald Trump. “The WTO may not be perfect, but it is indispensable,” Azevedo said. “It is what keeps us from a world where the law of the jungle prevails, at least as far as trade is concerned.”

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says China faces a “great reckoning” for its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. He said this should involve repatriating manufacturing to Canada -- in much the same way President Donald Trump has lamented the decline in North American manufacturing capacity.

More than 85,000 people from across Canada have joined Democracy Watch in calling on all federal parties to work together to provide oversight on Big Banks with the intent to roll back “excessive profit” levels – both now and after the coronavirus crisis.

A suggestion by the CEO of the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi that the U.S. has a right to the largest pre-order of COVID-19 vaccine “because it's invested in taking the risk” isn’t sitting well with the French government. Deputy Finance Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher says “it would be unacceptable for there to be privileged access to such and such a country for financial reasons.”

A warning by Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, that it is too soon to ease some pandemic lockdowns, notably schools, has been called unacceptable by President Donald Trump.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during an official visit to Israel that the U.S. ally should not permit further Chinese involvement in its economy, even if that means cancelling projects already planned. 

Health Canada has authorized the first serological test to detect COVID-19 antibodies for use in Canada. 

President Donald Trump’s persistent suggestions, echoed by other western politicians, that the COVID-19 pandemic was deliberately or accidentally cause by China has prompted Beijing to mount an unprecedented diplomatic offensive. Its embassies and missions around the world have employed social media to fire barrages of rebuttals and counter-claims.

With the current ban on non-essential travel set to expire on 21 May, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada and the U.S. are in discussions over what an easing of restrictions might entail. Acknowledging widespread concern over a reopened border, she asserts that Canada will adhere to "the same prudent and sensible approach" that has guided the country throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.

The U.S. Senate has been warned by senior government health officials that if the country is reopened too quickly, there would he “needless suffering and death.” That’s according to Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, one of the officials who testified by video-link to the Senate health education, labor and pensions committee. He shared his views in a pre-appearance email to a New York Times reporter.

A Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility announced 11 May by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is designed to give companies in all sectors access to additional liquidity to maintain operations and avoid having to considered bankruptcy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “These are bridge loans, not bailouts,” the PM explained. 

Eight companies have been selected by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to develop technology and standards for tracking unmanned aerial vehicles and their operators as part of a new regulatory regime. Drones would be tagged with unique radio wave identifiers accessible by air traffic control towers, law enforcement and the public to improve safety and accountability in controlled airspace.

Even as many U.S. healthcare facilities were struggling to keep essential personnel protected against COVID-19 with N95 masks, the Transportation Security stockpiled more than 1.3 million even though its need had been diminished by the massive global drop in air traffic. Suggestions that they should be redirected to where they were needed were dismissed.

Less than 24 hours after he said his COVID-19 task force headed by Vice-President Mike Pence would be disbanded within weeks, President Donald Trump said 06 May that it would “continue on indefinitely.” He said its membership would change “as appropriate” as it focuses on “vaccines and therapeutics” while his administration presses on with “opening up our country again.”

Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre and its U.S. counterpart, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, are investigating persistent attempts to gain access to COVID-19 intellectual property and research. “Pharmaceutical companies, medical research organizations, and universities . . . are attractive targets,” they say in a joint alert. While the notice does not name specific threats, British authorities suspect that Russia, Iran and China were responsible for recent but unsuccessful attacks.

Health Canada is warning of a 58% spike in accidental household poisonings due to cleaning product exposure, including bleaches (most common), disinfectants, hand sanitizers, and chlorine and chloramine gases.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Quebecois are aligned with his minority governments’ legislative plan to prohibit “assault style” guns. While the ban went into effect immediately last week, a proposed compensation plan and other elements of the initiative require a legal framework.

An internal Chinese report warns that growing international hostility due to COVID-19 could tip relations with the U.S. into outright confrontation. Prepared by the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, a think-tank affiliated with the Ministry of State Security, it evidently was presented to the Chinese leadership last month.

With COVID-19 rampant in Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro, who had already dismissed the pandemic as a “little flu”, continues to show little evident concern. “So what?” was the former army captain’s reply to growing fears, saying that his country should “face the virus like a man, damn it, not like a little boy.”

U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette has been given 150 days by President Donald Trump to come up with multi-agency rules which would prohibit the procurement of foreign technology that the administration fears would leave the electricity grid vulnerable to cyberattacks. “The bulk-power system is a target of those seeking to commit malicious acts,” Trump said in signing an executive order.

Canada's airline industry, hit hard by the virtual disappearance of passenger traffic due to COVID-19 travel restrictions is pressing the federal government for financial support. The National Airlines Council of Canada says carriers are “burning through cash” and facing insurmountable debt.