Canada opened a consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, on February 6th, 2026, while in New York, lawmakers proposed a three-year pause on new data centers, and an AI startup founder announced plans for a "March for Billionaires" in San Francisco. These are among the top stories from February 7th, 2026, according to Euronews.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand raised the Canadian flag during an official ceremony in Nuuk, the largest city on the icy Arctic island. The move, which saw the Canadian maple-leaf flag go up as dozens sang "O Canada," was attended by around 50 people. Canada and France are opposing claims by US President Donald Trump over the Danish autonomous territory, according to Euronews.
Meanwhile, New York state lawmakers introduced a bill that would impose a moratorium of at least three years on permits tied to the construction and operation of new data centers. Wired reports that New York is at least the sixth state to consider pausing construction of new data centers. Both Democrats and Republicans have expressed concerns about the impact those data centers might have on surrounding communities as tech companies plan to spend ever-increasing amounts of money to build AI infrastructure. Studies have also linked data centers to increased home electricity bills. Critics include progressive Senator Bernie Sanders, who has called for a national moratorium, according to TechCrunch.
In other news, an AI startup founder announced plans for a "March for Billionaires" in San Francisco in protest of California's proposed wealth tax. The event, scheduled for the coming Saturday, has sparked incredulity, with many initially assuming it was a hoax. The website advertising the event provided little context, with a tagline stating, "Vilifying billionaires is popular. Losing them is expensive," according to TechCrunch.
In the tech sector, AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems announced that it raised $1 billion in fresh capital at a valuation of $23 billion, a nearly threefold increase from the $8.1 billion valuation reached just six months earlier. Benchmark Capital, one of the company's earliest backers, invested at least $225 million in the latest round, according to a person familiar with the deal. Benchmark first invested in Cerebras when it led the startup's $27 million Series A in 2016, according to TechCrunch.
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