Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
The Prime Minister and his wife announced today that they are separating. Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau have been married for 18 years and have three children together: Xavier, 15, Ella Grace, 14, and nine-year-old Hadrien. Trudeau, 51, met Grégoire Trudeau, 48, a former entertainment journalist, in 2003 and they were wed in Montreal in May, 2005.
Both Trudeau and Grégoire Trudeau posted announcements about their separation on Instagram, which said they “made the decision to separate” and that they “remain a close family with deep love and respect.” They have signed a legal separation agreement, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The couple are expected to have joint custody of their children. Trudeau will continue to live at Rideau Cottage, as will his children. Grégoire Trudeau has moved elsewhere in Ottawa and will live at Rideau Cottage with her children when the Prime Minister is travelling.
From the archives:
- Justin Trudeau and bride Sophie Grégoire tie the knot in Montreal in 2005
- She’s married to a Trudeau, but Sophie Grégoire is not your typical political wife
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Russian drone strikes hit another Ukrainian port key to grain exports
Izmail, a Ukrainian port city on the Danube River along the Romanian border, was attacked by Russian drones today, causing a large fire and significant damage to facilities crucial for Ukrainian grain imports.
Since the end of a deal with Russia that allowed the export of Ukraine’s grain to global markets from the Odesa port through the Black Sea, Moscow has pummelled Ukraine’s ports with attacks to further impair the industry.
Ukraine’s infrastructure minister says that about 40,000 metric tons of grain that would have headed to countries in Africa, as well as China and Israel, were damaged in the attack on Izmail.
Pittsburgh synagogue gunman sentenced to death
The gunman who killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018 will be sentenced to death for the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history, a jury concluded today. They were deciding between the death sentence and life in prison.
Robert Bowers, a truck driver from the suburb of Baldwin, had espoused antisemitic and white-supremacist views online before storming the synagogue. The same jury had convicted the 50-year-old Bowers on 63 criminal counts in June, 2023.
Writes David Shribman: “The facile analysis may be that the trial, and now the death sentence, might bring closure to the Squirrel Hill community where Tree of Life and a dozen other synagogues are clustered in one of the most concentrated areas of Jewish life in North America. But it is more likely that the only closure is at the doors of synagogues themselves, where enhanced security measures have brought the openness of Jewish houses of worship to a screeching halt.”
This Dec. 2, 2018, file photo shows a menorah at a memorial outside the Tree of Life Synagogue, where a gunman killed worshippers in an Oct. 27 shooting, in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.The Associated Press
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
RCMP find body of Nova Scotia youth who went missing in flood: Police in Nova Scotia say they believe they have found the body of a youth nearly 100 kilometres away from where she went missing in floodwaters.
Beijing records heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years: The remnants of Typhoon Doksuri have deluged the region, turning streets into canals. The number of confirmed deaths from the torrential rains around Beijing rose to 21 today.
European militaries evacuate foreign nationals from Niger: Foreign nationals lined up outside an airport in Niger’s capital to wait for French military evacuation flights today. France, Italy and Spain all have announced evacuations of their citizens and other Europeans in the capital, Niamey, following concerns they could become trapped after soldiers detained President Mohamed Bazoum and seized power.
- Konrad Yakabuski: France’s ‘Africa problem’ is Canada’s, too
Drinking allowed in 27 Toronto parks under pilot project: Residents aged 19 and older can legally enjoy alcoholic drinks in 27 parks across the city until Oct. 9, including at Queen’s Park, Corktown Common and Earlscourt Park.
MARKET WATCH
TSX falls the most since March as U.S. downgrade spooks investors
Stocks finished lower today, with the Canadian benchmark index suffering its biggest decline since March 15, as investors took profits on several months of gains a day after rating agency Fitch cut the U.S. government’s credit rating.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 314.72 points or 1.53 per cent at 20,218.21.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 348.16 points, or almost one per cent, at 35,282.52. The S&P 500 index was down 63.34 points, or almost 1.4 per cent, at 4,513.39, while the Nasdaq composite was down 310.47 points, or more than two per cent, at 13,973.45.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.99 cents US compared with 75.24 cents US on Tuesday.
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TALKING POINTS
The Taliban’s ban on hair and beauty salons won’t just hurt Afghanistan’s women
“The ban on salons – which affects an estimated 12,000 small businesses across Afghanistan – will thus prove to be a major setback to an already dire economic situation for Afghan women.” – Ruchi Kumar
How to adapt to metastasized climate heating
“The idea of adaptation is pragmatic. Climate heating will be a central fact of life for decades to come. The No. 1 response must be to cut greenhouse-gas emissions as fast as possible.” – The Editorial Board
LIVING BETTER
Which frying pans are best?
While they may seem convenient, buying a frying pan set is a bad idea. It’s likely you won’t use half of them, and it’s always best to have a mix of non-stick and regular ones, which is rare to find in a set. Non-stick pans are great for eggs, pancakes and crepes but are not as good for high temperature cooking as the non-stick coating can burn. Don’t use them for making sauces or for caramelizing onions as the coating can prevent a good result. Stainless steel pans are great and even better when have aluminum. Get the best use out of your cast iron, enamel and copper pans with this guidance.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Faux or real? The debate over lab-engineered caviar
Caviarum, a small batch producer of man-made caviar in Toronto, has thus far manufactured three types of sturgeon caviar, a wild snail caviar, and a wild scampi prawn caviar and is working on a vegan caviar.Galit Rodan/The Globe and Mail
Caviarum is a Toronto-based company that produces “man-made caviar,” which is meant to look, feel and taste like the real thing. Its founder Igor Kuntzevitsky, raised in Uzbekistan, would eat caviar regularly but when he came to Canada as an adult, he was surprised to learn that it was an expensive delicacy here.
Most caviar sold around the world today comes from farmed sturgeon – most of it from China. It’s an expensive and time-consuming process. To create their “caviar,” Kuntzevitsky and his business partner Josef Bener hired a chemical engineer to experiment with different mixes of fish broth, fish oil and stabilizing ingredients.
Ann Hui reports on the challenges they faced to get the look of caviar, and of course, its taste – and the mixed response to the niche product so far.
Evening Update is written by Prajakta Dhopade. 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.