Evening Update: Gold on the pitch for Canada’s women after tension-filled Olympic soccer final

Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:

It’s been a day of Olympic firsts for the Canadians in Tokyo. The Canadian women’s soccer team won gold this morning, defeating Sweden in a dramatic penalty shootout. This marks the first Olympic soccer gold medal for Canada.

The team played a gruelling evening match in Yokohama Stadium, pushed back from earlier in the day after concerns about sweltering 40-degree heat. Canadian goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé made two saves in the shootout, setting the stage for 20-year-old Julia Grosso to score and clinch a 3-2 victory.

On the track, Canada’s men’s 4x100-metre relay team clinched bronze in Friday morning’s race. Star sprinter Andre De Grasse made up ground as the anchor and propelled the team across the finish line. The athlete has now won a medal in every Olympic event he has competed in.

Meanwhile, Moh Ahmed took silver in the men’s 5,000 metres, Canada’s first Olympic medal in the event.

Canada’s celebration comes amid further political unrest. Two Belarusian coaches have had their accreditation revoked and were removed from the athletes village after ordering sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya to pack her bags.

Read more:

• What you need to know now – The Globe’s daily Olympic guide
• 20 years of Christine Sinclair made Tokyo Olympic women’s soccer gold possible
• Andre De Grasse earns sixth Olympic medal, anchoring Canada’s 4x100-metre relay team in bronze performance at Tokyo Olympics
• Two Belarus officials stripped of Games accreditation for trying to force sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya to return home

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Four-day work week gains momentum in Canada, but barriers remain

Canadians are expressing enthusiasm about working shorter weeks, but as The Globe’s Jason Kirby reports, experts say that the economy could suffer. While the four-day work week has been touted as “an incredible success” by other countries, others say a four-day work week could be more complicated than it seems.

“Besides, anyone dreaming of perpetual long weekends should take note,” Kirby writes: one company experimenting with a shorter work week has found that taking off Wednesday is most efficient for business. Others compress more hours into fewer days. Still more have backtracked on their promise for an extra day off.

Now, experts say companies and employees are currently engaged in a one-in-a-generation experiment that stands to rewrite how Canadians work.

Afghanistan’s senior media official killed by Taliban

The Taliban shot and killed Afghanistan’s senior media official on Friday in Kabul. This latest assassination comes amid a deteriorating situation, just days after an assassination attempt against the country’s acting defence minister.

Dawa Khan Menapal ran the government’s operations for the local and foreign media, and had previously been a deputy spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

The Taliban have laid siege to the country’s southern and western provinces as U.S. and NATO troops started to pull out earlier this summer, capturing districts including the southern capital of Zaranj, a city of 50,000 residents, and seizing several key border crossings.

Meanwhile, a federal program bringing Afghan interpreters and embassy staff to Canada saw its first planeload land on Wednesday. Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said on Thursday it would be one of many flights carrying Afghan nationals who have been employed either by the Canadian military or Canadian diplomats in Afghanistan.

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Newfoundland and Labrador lifting mask mandate: Newfoundland and Labrador has become the most recent province to lift its mask mandate, announcing on Friday that masks will no longer be mandatory in most places beginning 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. This comes as the Delta variant in New Brunswick has spurred a fourth wave, which has grown just one week after that province ended public-health orders. Limits on indoor gatherings will rise to 500 people as long as social distancing is maintained. Meanwhile, U.K. researchers say emerging signs show that vaccinations may not stop the Delta variant.

U.K. researchers say vaccinations may not be enough to stop Delta: While data suggests that vaccinations provide good protection against the Delta variant, early research in England suggests that being vaccinated may not decrease transmission, scientists at Public Health England said on Friday. This follows concerns from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control as the Delta variant continues to spread. Researchers say further targeted studies are needed to confirm whether this is the case.

Wildfires continue to ravage B.C southern interior, Europe: Monte Lake, a community of about 2,600 people, is the most recent community to be devastated by fire, which is said to have jumped highways. The BC Wildfire Service estimates the fire grew 125 square kilometres in the past 24 hours. Three hundred wildfires are currently burning in B.C. and more than 20 new fires have been recorded in the last two days, according to the authority. Meanwhile, uncontrollable wildfires raged for another day in Turkey and Greece, killing a volunteer firefighter outside Athens and forcing thousands from their homes. In some places, locals say “nothing is left.”

Many migrants feared dead after a boat capsizes near Western Sahara: Forty-two migrants, including 30 women and eight children, are believed to have died after setting sail from the coastal town of Dakhla, in Western Sahara, according to a Spanish migrants rights activist. The UN’s Migration Agency has reported at least 250 migrants died on the route to the Canary Islands in the first six months of 2021. Arrivals increased by 156 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the International Organization of Migration.

MARKET WATCH

Twin positives in Canada and the U.S. sent most stock indexes higher today: In the U.S. it was a rosy employment picture, and in Canada several companies reported higher-than-expected second-quarter earnings throughout the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 144.26 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 35,208.51, the S&P 500 gained 7.42 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 4,436.52 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 59.36 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 14,835.76. The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 99.94 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 20,475.42.

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TALKING POINTS

We need to support the veterans who survived their war against COVID-19

“COVID-19′s long-haulers are the latest to face long-term limits after surviving viral encounters. What is different now is that we know that, like soldiers with missing limbs, these veterans can thrive with sufficient familial and social support.” – Tom Koch

Justin Trudeau is about to call an unneeded pandemic election. The least he can do is help make it a safe one

“Under the Elections Act, campaigns must run a minimum of 36 days and no more than 50 days. It is entirely up to Mr. Trudeau to decide whether or not to give Elections Canada two extra weeks to work with. He should. Once the vote is called, Elections Canada will face numerous unusual challenges.” – Editorial Board

LIVING BETTER

Take a scroll through your Instagram feed and you’re likely to come across a growing number of photos of stylized home interiors. As the pandemic shifted our aspirations from fashion to furniture, enterprising sellers have followed suit by offering vintage home decor via Instagram, with some pieces becoming social media icons in their own right.

TODAY’S LONG READ

Open this photo in gallery:

When Michael Khan first heard about boating clubs, he thought they were too good to be true: a company that would charge a membership fee to give him access to a boat a few times a week, with zero responsibility for upkeep, repairs, storage or insurance? “I thought it was a scam,” says Khan, an associate professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business.

Then he came across Freedom Boat Club, which had opened a franchise in Toronto in 2018 and offers access to a variety of boat types. It’s his first year as a member of the club and he says he’s been able to get out on the water about three times a week.

Though the model has been around for decades, Khan is just one of the many Canadians who have recently discovered boating clubs. And while he may not fit the traditional idea of a boating enthusiast, he’s exactly the type of customer boating clubs are looking to reach. Read the full story.

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.