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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
‘Substantial chance’ June North Korea summit won’t happen: Trump
The long-awaited summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean President Kim Jong-un may not happen as originally planned, Mr. Trump said in the White House earlier today. “If it doesn’t happen, maybe it will happen later,” Mr. Trump said. “It may not work out for June 12.” The remarks came during a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who was in Washington ahead of the proposed June 12 summit in Singapore. Mr. Moon was at the Oval Office to urge Mr. Trump to not let the opportunity to hold face-to-face discussions with North Korea slip by. It has been less than a month since the historic summit between Mr. Kim and Mr. Moon. The detente that followed was short-lived and tensions began to increase after North Korea responded with aggressive rhetoric following a joint U.S.-South Korea air combat drill.
Facebook’s Zuckerberg apologizes to EU lawmakers over data leak
“Whether it’s fake news, foreign interference in elections or developers misusing people’s information, we didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibilities. That was a mistake, and I’m sorry,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in his opening remarks at a European Parliament hearing. The apology and the hearing were similar to one held by the U.S. Congress last month. European lawmakers grilled him earlier today, asking how the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed the personal data of 87 million Facebook users. It is believed that up to 2.7 million of those users are in the EU. Cambridge Analytica played a role in both the Brexit referendum and the 2016 U.S. election campaign, working for an organization that wanted Britain to leave the EU and the Trump campaign. As a result of the backlash that followed the data abuse revelations, both Cambridge Analytica and its and its parent company SCL Elections filed for bankruptcy.
Need to get caught up on the Facebook scandal and what role Cambridge Analytica and companies related to it played in it? You can explore our guide to the topic.
Liberals introduce legislation to update divorce and child-support rules
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould announced earlier today that the federal government will introduce new legislation that will provide the first major update to Canada’s family laws in 20 years. Bill C-78 is expected to improve the enforcement of child support, focus on the well-being of children and help families settle disputes outside the court system such as family dispute resolution and mediation services. The proposed bill is also expected to replace terms like “custody” and “access” with more “child-focused” language.
Trump floats large fine, management changes for ZTE
Mr. Trump has denied reports that his administration has reached a deal to cut back penalties against ZTE Corp that have severely damaged the Chinese telecommunications company, but did suggest the company may face a fine of up to US$1.3-billion and a shake up of its management. Mr. Trump said U.S. technology companies have also been negatively affected by a Commerce Department ruling that prohibits them from doing any business with the Chinese telecom after it admitted to violating sanctions on Iran. “They can pay a big price without necessarily damaging all of these American companies,” Mr. Trump said. The president’s proposal, however, ran into opposition in Congress with both Democrats and Republicans accusing Mr. Trump of bowing to pressure from China and vowing to stop any deal with ZTE. Resistance from Congress could complicate U.S. trade talks with China.
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MARKET WATCH
On Wall Street, U.S. stocks ended the session lower on Tuesday as confusion and uncertainty surround trade talks between the United States and China and a possible deal to ease penalties on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.72 per cent to 24,834.41, the S&P 500 lost 0.31 per cent to 2,724.44 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.21 per cent to 7,378.46. Canada’s main stock index lost earlier gains, ending an 11-day winning streak, as energy and materials shares fell. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 0.11 per cent to 16,144.79. Seven of the index’s 10 main industry groups ended lower.
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WHAT’S TRENDING ON SOCIAL
Solo: A Star Wars Story is heading to a theatre near you. The movie is the fourth Star Wars saga since Disney took over control of the franchise in 2012. Here’s what The Globe’s lead Film Critic had to say: “Solo is the simplest and most satisfying offering yet. A prequel that explains Han’s back story, Solo is freed from all the genealogical complications and thematic grandeur of the sequel trilogy that Disney is now two-thirds through, and suffers none of the gloomy revisionism of Rogue One.”
TALKING POINTS
What happened to the ‘reformist’ ways of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince?
“Saudi Arabia’s brash Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) may be trying to tout his image as a reformer, but his government’s arrests of at least seven activists a few weeks before the country permits women to drive is meant to remind his citizens that the new Saudi Arabia is the same as the old: autocratic.” — Bessma Momani
The Jets are out, but Winnipeg is definitely ‘in’
“For the first time in ages, Winnipeg has a modest building boom, with new office towers rising downtown, cool lofts popping up along its expansive waterfront and the breathtaking Canadian Museum for Human Rights towering proudly above it all. The generation which left in the bad old days of Winnipeg is not returning, not to live at least. But they have formed a genuine diaspora. Like so many other diasporas, their passion for their ancestral homeland, so to speak, often feels far more intense to them than to those who live in Winnipeg today. This explains why nostalgia is such a dominant force in Winnipeg’s already well-developed mythology. Everyone seems to yearn for a past where you popped by Kelekis Restaurant for a hot dog before catching some new band called the Guess Who. But nostalgia, of course, is just a wistful desire to return to a past that no longer exists. The good news is that the present is plenty enticing in Winnipeg.” — Benjamin Shinewald
Canada should take the diplomatic lead on the global refugee crisis
“Ideas are not lacking; urgency is, in the mistaken belief or cynical calculation in many capitals that the cost of ignoring the refugee challenge is tolerable. There is too much rhetoric and not enough collaborative action. The fractious political games of big powers need to be offset by the steady advancement of a form of mini-multilateralism where ideas, agreements and partnerships by a cohesive group of more co-operative and progressive-minded governments, civil society groups, private-sector leaders and international finance agencies are the key to reforming the refugee system and enabling global, regional and local initiatives.” — Lloyd Axworthy and Paul Heinbecker
LIVING BETTER
Donald Faulkner is 88 years old, goes to the gym twice a week and is on a curling team in the winter. Nina Graham spends her time volunteering at Canadian Blood Services and on Wednesdays she teaches aerobics to women 20 years younger than her. She’s 89. What’s their secret? Researchers are trying to find out if the DNA of these “super seniors” holds the secret to healthy aging.
LONG READ FOR A LONG COMMUTE
A world without cigarettes? How vaping is disrupting Big Tobacco’s plans
This summer e-cigarettes will officially become legal in Canada, and tobacco companies are preparing for their largest threat yet. Will they ride the vaping wave to higher sales – or will they get smoked? Report on Business Magazine delves deeper into how Big Tobacco is dealing its big problem. (for subscribers)
Evening Update was written by Mayaz Alam and Omair Quadri. 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.
Mayaz Alam