Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Canadians who were once seduced by the lifestyle and beauty found in Lebanon are having second thoughts in 2020, and it’s not hard to see why. Attempts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic are failing as political disgruntlement and the national tragedy of the Beirut port explosion combine to rattle a weary population.
Requests for Canadian consular assistance are on the rise in Lebanon, where at least 11,000 Canadians live. Tomorrow, political strife may deepen after The Hague issues a verdict in the 2005 assassination of Sunni leader Rafik Hariri. The ruling government of President Michel Aoun is unmoved despite public outcry, and potentially volatile protests are planned. Mark MacKinnon reports.
Another place people are taking to the streets is Belarus, where authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko was jeered at today by protesters calling for his 26-year regime to come to an end. But the Putin-backed leader rejects the notion that the true winner of a recent contested election was Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. He has committed, though, to hold new elections.
- Background: In Belarus, a newcomer fights a presidential election stacked against her as ‘Europe’s last dictator’ faces a reckoning
Canadian home sales, prices hit record high
Home buyers are flooding residential real estate markets in Canada – despite the pandemic – as inventory struggles to keep up and mortgage rates crater. It all added up to a record number of home sales and a record home price index in July.
CFL cancels 2020 season due to COVID-19
For the first time in a hundred years, the Grey Cup will not be awarded to a Canadian football champion. The CFL cancelled its 2020 season today, citing the coronavirus and the league’s inability to secure a $30-million loan from the federal government that would have rescued three-down football for the year.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Leading TMX: The most important financial-markets group in the country, TMX Group Ltd., has hired John McKenzie as its chief executive, ending a seven-month search by promoting its experienced interim leader.
Police pay: Hundreds of protesters who were caught up in mass arrests at the 2010 G20 summit have settled with Toronto police, and each will receive between $5,000 and $24,700 and have their police records expunged, according to their lawyers. The total settlement is worth $16.5-million.
Playoff performers I: The Vancouver Canucks are the lone Canadian team in NHL action today, looking to rebound after an overtime loss last night to the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. Vancouver has a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series. The puck drops just after 7:30 p.m. Pacific time.
CRA rebooting: After a fraud scheme targeted 5,600 Canada Revenue Agency client accounts in the past week, the agency says it expects its online services to be fully restored by Wednesday.
Attention N.B. voters: New Brunswick voters will be the first group of Canadians to cast ballots since the pandemic began. After failing to reach an agreement with opposition parties that would keep him in power until 2022, Premier Blaine Higgs has called a snap election for Sept. 14.
Playoff performers II: At Disney World in Florida, the Toronto Raptors are eyeing a championship repeat starting with Game 1 of their first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets. It’s part of a four-game slate to start the NBA’s unusual playoffs. Before the game, singer Jessie Reyez was shown singing “O Canada” atop the CN Tower.
In COVID-19 news:
- Authorities in B.C. appeal for help in efforts to crack down on house parties
- South Korea warns of crisis as it battles its worst coronavirus outbreak in months
MARKET WATCH
Tech stocks south of the border led both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to new heights today, while the TSX rose 0.86% on the strength of materials and gold stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 141.51 points, at 16,656.12. The S&P 500 gained 0.27% to 3,381.99, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1% to 11,129.73, its fifth closing high this month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.31% to end at 27,844.91 points.
Looking for investing ideas? Check out The Globe’s weekly digest of the latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and what investors need to know for the week ahead. This week’s edition includes pandemic-resistant ETFs, rallying dividend stocks and what’s ahead for gold.
TALKING POINTS
The next Conservative leader has to prepare quickly for a political agenda they don’t control
“The Conservative leader will have to make a pretty quick decision about what kind of tone to take. Will they start warning about spending and deficits when voters are still feeling vulnerable? Or will they tout ambitious recovery plans of their own?” – Campbell Clark, chief political writer
How equalization helped Canadians learn the art of sharing
“Today, equalization grants are the often-overlooked ties that really bind Canadians to each other. During the pandemic, Ottawa and the provinces have created massive spending programs that target individual needs. But the existing equalization funding has already strengthened the social fabric.” – Mary Janigan, historian and author
LIVING BETTER
Musicians and audiences have been apart for months in Toronto, but one venue is forging ahead – while respecting public health guidelines. On Friday, Jazz Bistro reopened its doors with a different look and feel. Yes, there was a quartet led by crooner and co-owner Colin Hunter, but there was also plexiglass separating his group from the crowd, a limit of 50 seats in the club and the cost of dinner built in to the ticket price.
Newly published research may add to the case for eating more blueberries and apples, and sipping more tea. All these foods are high sources of flavonoids (so, to a lesser extent, are strawberries, red wine and pears), which can be associated with a lower risk of dementia. The 20-year study conducted by Tufts University followed 2,801 people and checked flavonoid levels in participants every four years. One comforting aspect of the science: achieving the benefits of flavonoids could mean only a slight change to one’s diet.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris speak after a Democratic candidates' debate in September, 2019.ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Tonight the Democratic Party in the U.S. begins its virtual national convention, and the only person facing as much scrutiny as presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden is his recently chosen running mate, a mixed-race woman, Kamala Harris.
In particular, Harris’s identity politics will shift the way voters see the presidential ballot, a historically white male domain. Unless they don’t. Often, a president’s re-election bid is seen as a referendum on the incumbent, and that alone should motivate a large percentage of voters. As the California senator herself said Sunday about her ticket’s campaign to defeat Donald Trump, “There’s so much on the line in this election.”
Still, for several reasons the Biden campaign should strive to present Harris as more than a symbolic choice for vice-president.
Read the full article by U.S. correspondent Tamsin McMahon here.
Evening Update is compiled and written by an editor in The Globe’s live news department. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.