Good morning,
Vladimir Putin survived an astonishing challenge to his power over the weekend, with Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin calling off his munity in a deal that will see him go into exile in Belarus and his forces return to base or be absorbed into the Russian military, all without punishment.
As The Globe’s Mark MacKinnon writes, Putin may have weathered the storm, but the uprising was the biggest threat to his power he has faced in 24 years as either president or prime minister of the Russian Federation and he has never looked weaker than he does now. After 16 months of humiliating military failures in Ukraine, a war of Putin’s choosing, it’s now clear that his regime is vulnerable on the home front as well.
Fighters of Wagner private mercenary group stand on a tank outside a local circus near the headquarters of the Southern Military District in the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, June 24, 2023.STRINGER/Reuters
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Secret Canada: Nova Scotia’s freedom of information system ‘barely’ functioning, commissioner says
Nova Scotia was the first place in Canada to pass a freedom of information law, but today the system is “barely” functioning, says the province’s Information and Privacy Commissioner Tricia Ralph.
There is a three- to four-year backlog at the commissioner’s office, which handles freedom of information request appeals and complaints. Ms. Ralph said her office currently has only nine investigators and there is no way to catch up on the backlog without more staff, which the province has so far refused to provide.
Air quality, smog warnings in place across three provinces as wildfires spread
Nearly all of Quebec and parts of Ontario and Manitoba were under air-quality advisories yesterday, as wildfires continued to rage across the country and thousands remained evacuated from Quebec’s northern communities.
Environment Canada issued smog warnings for wide swaths of Quebec, including Montreal and Quebec City. The agency also warned of dangerously poor air quality in Winnipeg and most of Manitoba and northwestern Ontario, along with Ottawa and other parts of eastern Ontario. The poor air quality is likely to continue into this morning.
According to IQAir, a Swiss pollution technology company that monitors air quality, Montreal had the worst air quality in the world yesterday morning.
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Also on our radar
RCMP presses Ottawa to end moratorium on used police vehicle sales: The moratorium has been in place since January, 2021, nine months after a gunman in Nova Scotia created a look-alike patrol car as part of a killing spree that claimed 22 victims. The RCMP says the moratorium is causing operational problems and costing $13-million a year in lost revenue.
U.S., Canadian probes under way over Titan submersible: U.S. investigators will work closely with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, as well as French and British partners, in their international probe. Meanwhile, Canadian investigators conducted interviews over the weekend with the crew and family members on the ship that towed the Titan submersible to the site of its doomed voyage.
Toronto heads to polls for mayoral election: Toronto residents are electing a mayor for the second time in eight months today, after John Tory’s resignation cleared the way for fresh leadership. The race has largely focused on affordability and public safety.
Ex-Unifor president says he’s trying to ‘move on’ after bribery allegations: Jerry Dias, once the country’s most powerful union leader, was levelled by substance abuse and allegations of bribery but says in an interview with The Globe that he is now trying to “move on with my life.” He is bitter over how Unifor treated him.
CRA targets Shopify customers, wants six years of tax records: The Canada Revenue Agency is seeking from the e-commerce company six years’ worth of tax records from its customers. Shopify’s chief executive says he is fighting the CRA over the request.
Greece’s conservative New Democracy party wins majority: Greece’s second election in five weeks gave the New Democracy party a comfortable parliamentary majority to form government for a second four-year term. Leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis vowed to use his majority to speed up reforms.
Morning markets
Global shares fell, while gold rose after the aborted uprising by Russian mercenaries raised questions about the authority of President Vladimir Putin, leaving investors little option but to focus on the broader macroeconomic picture. Gold advanced 0.6 per cent to US$1,932 an ounce.
The MSCI All-World index was last down 0.1 per cent, led by declines in Europe, where defence stocks weighed on the STOXX 600, which fell 0.3 per cent. In early trading in Europe, Britain’s FTSE slid 0.51 per cent, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.51 per cent and France’s CAC 40 was down 0.47 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost nearly 0.3 per cent to finish at 32,698.81 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.2 per cent to 18,853.18.
The Canadian dollar is trading at 75.94 U.S. cents.
What everyone’s talking about
David Parkinson: “Britain’s withdrawal from the European trade bloc is a major contributor to the country’s sad inflation story. It has exacerbated strains on supply chains and labour markets throughout the recovery from the COVID-19 recession. It has created new cross-border complications and paperwork headaches for importers. The effect has been to pile additional costs onto an already steeply inflationary global environment.”
Michael Parfit: “The world has been at crossroads of innovation and safety before, with similarly dangerous but exciting technologies. And the way that one such technology was developed, with overt worldwide enforcement of rules like the ones OceanGate avoided, enabled the most striking technical accomplishment of the past 100 years. The technology I’m talking about is human flight.”
Today’s editorial cartoon
Illustration by David Parkins
Living better
Five healthy foods to add to your summer diet
You can’t beat locally grown produce, and summer brings a host of delicious, nutrient-full fruits and vegetables. From gooseberries to snowpeas, here’s how to add these seasonal foods to your summer menu.
Moment in time: Playgrounds for adults
Pictures are taken in the 'adult playground' in Berlin's Preussen Park in Germany. May 2007Christoph Mayerl/The Globe and Mail
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo editors working for The Globe and Mail have preserved an extraordinary collection of news photography. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. This month, we’re looking at playgrounds.
As populations have aged, and adults have become more sedentary, it has become increasingly important to have free space for people of all fitness levels to use for exercise. Thus, the outdoor adult playground, which encourages recreation and fun, but also has equipment designed to promote movement and strength. It’s an idea that began in China, and has since spread around the world. In the photo above, two adults work out on a walking machine in Berlin’s Preussen Park. Gentle exercise, perhaps, but free. Elliptical machines are just one of the types of fitness equipment found in these adult parks, which also include stationary machines to strengthen the chest, arms, shoulders and back; leg-press and leg-curl machines; recumbent and stationary bikes – even treadmills designed for outdoor use. The goal? A heart-healthy activity that gets older people moving and muscles strengthening. Sorry, kids, it’s granny’s turn. Philip King
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