Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Foreign nations ramp up pledges of aid amid mounting criticism
As the chaos on the ground in Afghanistan grows, world leaders are expanding their plans for evacuations. More than 18,000 people have been rescued so far, according to NATO, but the airports are still packed with those attempting to flee the Taliban takeover.
In an afternoon press conference today, U.S. President Joe Biden expanded his pledge to bring homes Americans trapped in Afghanistan to include Afghans who assisted in the war effort. This comes amid mounting criticism over the mismanaged troop withdrawal.
Meanwhile, Canadian soldiers are back on the ground in Kabul as the military resumes flights for Canadian nationals and Afghan refugees after a week of delay, and almost 190 evacuees were airlifted today.
Read more:
- Reports of targeted killings by Taliban fuel Afghans’ fears
- Opinion: The U.S.’s disastrous Afghanistan exit should send a dire signal to the rest of the West
- Opinion: Afghans now join the litany of people failed by the West
- Opinion: Canada has betrayed the Afghans we declared we were helping, and the Canadians who were deployed there
Canadian businesses land on return-to-work vaccine decisions
After months of uncertainty, Canada’s five largest banks are now telling employees they will need to be fully vaccinated to return to the office, the Globe’s James Bradshaw reports. Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Montreal will also offer rapid testing to vaccine-hesitant employees. Meanwhile, Scotiabank employees will soon receive a confidential survey asking them to disclose their vaccination status.
These announcements came hours before Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s top doctor, recommended employers require unvaccinated employees to get medical exemptions after making vaccination mandatory for city staff and Toronto Transit Commission employees.
The U.S. government also also said it would extend non-essential border restrictions to Canada and Mexico by more than a month, to Sept. 21
Read more:
- Opinion: Unions are out of step with the public on vaccine mandates
- RBC to require COVID-19 vaccination for all in-person Canada and U.S. staff
- What are the back-to-office etiquette rules?
- Who is most desperate to return to the office? Age plays major factor
Election update: medical referrals and more
Erin O’Toole shared his stance on medical services including abortion and medically assisted dying, saying now that doctors must refer patients to other providers if they themselves object to the procedures. O’Toole ran for the party leadership on the promise to protect the conscience rights of health professionals who disagree with referring patients.
Meanwhile, on the campaign trail today, Justin Trudeau promised 10 days of sick leave for federally regulated workers, in addition to $100 million to improve air quality in schools.
Opinion:
- In a campaign about nothing, Liberals struggle to find a wedge issue
- Erin O’Toole campaigns on not being Andrew Scheer, but a Tory platform plank gave the Liberals an easy target
Read more: Climate action, residential school justice top Indigenous 2021 federal election priorities
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Recently appointed Jeopardy host steps back amid backlash
The search for a new Jeopardy host is on ... again. American television producer Mike Richards has left his new role just one week after being chosen to replace long-running host Alex Trebek after a report of misogynistic comments. Claire McNear, a reporter at podcast website The Ringer, published a report saying Richards had made demeaning comments about women, people experiencing homelessness and others in a 2013-2014 podcast. Clips have since been deleted.
After 15 seasons, Henrik Lundqvist has had enough
Lundqvist, considered one of hockey’s greatest goalkeepers and nicknamed “King Henrik” by fans, announced on Twitter this morning that he would be retiring from the sport. Known for his tenure with the New York Rangers, the 39-year-old ranked sixth in NHL history in wins, seventh in saves (23,509), and eighth in games played (887).
Humanoid robots on the horizon, says Musk
Tesla Inc. chief executive Elon Musk said the company is likely to release a prototype for a 5-foot-8, 125-pound humanoid robot as early as next year. Designed to eliminate boring, dangerous or repetitive tasks, the robot will be able to tighten bolts or pick up groceries. This comes amid concerns about Tesla’s self-driving technologies following reports of self-driving cars crashing into emergency vehicles.
MARKET WATCH
Global stocks recovered ground today amid concerns about global economic growth amid rising coronavirus cases, which continued to weigh down oil and boost safe-havens like gold. Canada’s main stock index halted its slide, but still snapped a four-week winning streak.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 225.96 points or 0.65 per cent to 35,120.08, the S&P 500 gained 35.85 points or 0.81 per cent to 4,441.65, and the Nasdaq Composite added 172.87 points or 1.19 per cent to end at 14,714.66.
The S&P/TSX composite index advanced 123..66 points or 0.61 per cent to 20,339.02.
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TALKING POINTS
The COVID-19 pandemic. Climate change. Culture wars. For the West, the party is over
“The rot in the foundations of the West is deep, and we are still in the early stages of figuring out just how bad things are going to get.” - Andrew Potter, author
What the Nova Scotia election means for the federal campaign – and what it doesn’t
“[Premier-designate Tim Houston’s] efforts to detach from the federal Conservative brand may have been instrumental in making his campaign successful – which, if anything, is an indictment of the federal Tories ahead of the fall vote. - Lori Turnbull, director, school of public administration at Dalhousie University
Indigenous leaders have shown remarkable grace in the wake of horrifying discoveries
“Despite profound reasons for anger and deep frustration, these leaders have turned their attention to the path forward for the children and their extended families, the processes of identification, and seeking the best means of remembering and honouring far too many all-too-short lives.” - Ken Coates, a Munk senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute
TODAY’S LONG READ
Laser fusion experiment nears crucial break even point in energy generation
A viewing window on the NIF Target Chamber allows members of the NIF team and visitors to see inside the chamber while it is vacuum-sealed for experiments.Courtesy of manufacturer
Scientists working with the world’s most powerful laser say that they are closing in on the holy grail of nuclear research: raising the temperature and pressure of matter so high that it starts producing more energy than it takes to put it in that state. The long sought threshold is what allows stars to shine. If successfully harnessed it would pave the way for a carbon-free solution to the world’s energy woes, albeit many years in the future.
The optimism stems from a recent leap in performance at the U.S. National Ignition Facility based at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif. On Aug. 8, scientists fired the giant laser – which is divided into 192 separate beams that all converge at one point – onto a BB-sized target consisting of hydrogen isotopes wrapped inside a diamond shell. The target instantly imploded, but in the process some of its hydrogen atoms were transformed into helium – an energy-liberating process known as nuclear fusion.
All told, the event, which lasted only one 10-billionth of a second, yielded about 100 quadrillion watts’ worth of power. The data show that the amount of energy the shot produced was close to 70 per cent of what went in – tantalizingly close to the elusive break even point – and about eight times higher than achieved in previous runs of the experiment. Read Ivan Semeniuk’s full story here.
Evening Update is written by Irene Galea. 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.
Irene Galea