Good morning,
These are the top stories:
Kim Jong-un crossed the border for a historic meeting with South Korea’s president
Kim became the first North Korean leader to step on South Korean soil on Friday for his summit with Moon Jae-in.
The two leaders agreed to formally end their countries’ 65-year war, saying they intend to conclude a peace treaty this year. They also said they “confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.”
“We will totally end war on the Korean peninsula,” pledged Moon Jae-in, who promised that “a new era of peace” has arrived.
But the summit failed to yield specific agreements on dismantling or otherwise limiting Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal. In that, it did little to resolve the issues that have made North Korea a target of global concern and economic sanctions.
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Toronto’s police chief has returned to New York following the van attack
Mark Saunders released a statement yesterday, after he was back in New York for a conference, praising the city of Toronto and the police service for their response to the attack. The chief had been in New York when the attack happened, but returned to Toronto that night where he was seen at a news conference. At a second media update on Tuesday, Saunders said that because he'd just landed, he hadn’t fully appreciated the scope of what citizens had to witness. But he wasn’t seen on Wednesday, and on Thursday his staff confirmed he was back in New York.
So far, friends and family have identified the names of seven of the 10 people killed in the attack. The latest victim was named as Sohe Chung, a 23-year-old who studied at the University of Toronto and worked at Holt Renfrew. Eleven people injured in the attack were still in hospital yesterday, including five in critical condition.
The National Gallery won’t be selling its Marc Chagall painting after all
The federal institution was expecting a US$6-million to US$9-million windfall from the sale, with those funds going toward acquiring a Jacques-Louis David painting from a Quebec parish. But the planned sale sparked outcry within Canada’s art community and in Quebec, where a pair of museums said they wanted to keep the David in the province. Scrapping the Chagall auction will likely come with a cost: A work of its value would likely result in a $1-million cancellation fee, unless the auction house chooses to waive it.
B.C. is vowing to shut down illegal marijuana dispensaries
Once cannabis is legalized, a new team of inspectors will be able to impose fines of as much as $100,000 in addition to recommending jail time (for subscribers). The province will be issuing more retail licences once legalization kicks in, which is expected sometime this summer. “Those that do not get a licence, but still think that they can continue to operate with impunity will find out that they can’t,” Solicitor-General Mike Farnsworth said. Vancouver currently has 76 dispensaries operating without a city licence.
Playoffs: There are still two Canadian teams to cheer for
The Toronto Maple Leafs may be out, but the Winnipeg Jets are gearing up for their second-round series against the Nashville Predators. They’ll start things off on the road with Game 1 tonight (8 p.m. ET) and Game 2 on Sunday (7 p.m. ET).
The Toronto Raptors, meanwhile, have a chance to close out their opening-round series against the Washington Wizards. Game 6 goes ahead tonight (7 p.m. ET) in Washington, where the Raptors surrendered a pair of losses last weekend. Read Cathal Kelly’s take on Jonas Valanciunas, the Raptors’ middleman.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Bill Cosby was found guilty in his sexual-assault retrial
The 80-year-old comedian was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault, each of which carry a maximum of 10 years in prison. Cosby was convicted of drugging and molesting Toronto native Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia home 14 years ago. While he was only on trial for the Constand case, more than 60 women have said Cosby assaulted them over a period of five decades. Cosby’s lawyer said he will be appealing the verdict.
Marsha Lederman writes that the verdict is a big moment in the #MeToo movement: “[It’s] impossible to imagine allegations such as these being considered the same way they were in the environment of the before-time. This new climate has allowed for the unimaginable: for powerful, beloved men to have to pay for their terrible actions – whether in loss of reputation (which Cosby had already suffered), livelihood or, as we now have, with a criminal conviction.”
MORNING MARKETS
Stocks rise
Global stocks rose on Friday, lifted by strong share price gains for tech giants such as Amazon and Facebook and growing hopes of a lasting peace on the Korean peninsula after a ground-breaking meeting of North and South Korean leaders. Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.7 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.9 per cent, and the Shanghai composite 0.2 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were up by between 0.1 and 0.5 per cent by about 5:50 a.m. ET. New York futures were down. The Canadian dollar was just above 77.5 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Is Apu offensive? Hank Azaria says yes, his Simpsons’ bosses say no
“Hank Azaria has six Emmys, many for his work voicing characters on The Simpsons. In 1998, he won for playing Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, the Indian immigrant who works at Springfield’s Kwik-E-Mart convenience store. Two decades after that win and 29 years after the show debuted, Azaria told Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night that it might be time for him to step out of his role as Apu. The idea that Apu – with his hairy chest, eight children, and gross food-handling habits – has been used as fodder for bullies ‘makes me sad‘ and is ‘genuinely upsetting,‘ Azaria said to the late night talk show host. I’m glad that he feels that way, even though the realization has taken him at least five years.” – Denise Balkissoon
The Toronto van attack left a scar near my high school, but I know we will heal with time
“My brother, who I don’t speak to very often and who should have been busy studying for his final university exams hundreds of kilometres away, called me on Monday to ask if I was okay. While walking home, a friend who I had drifted apart from saw me and offered to drive me the rest of the way. Later, a girl I share one class with asked if I was alright even though we had never spoken before. I sent messages to various group chats asking if everybody was okay, in an effort to pull myself closer to the people I love. I have always found it interesting how two words can have opposite meanings. For me, the verb ‘to cleave’ comes to mind. It can mean to split something apart, but it can also mean to mend things together. The scar along Yonge Street may cut deep, but it will heal with time. Decide which definition of the word ‘cleave’ you should use today.” – Michael Samoilov, Grade 11 student at Earl Haig Secondary School
Ontario has budget problems, but Ford only offers theatre
“Ontario Auditor-General Bonnie Lysyk says the Wynne government’s budget, tabled in March and packed with new spending on social programs, badly underestimates the amount of debt it will create for the province and its taxpayers. ...This is a dire time for Ontario taxpayers. The PC Party leader, Doug Ford, is trying to elevate the Auditor-General’s report into ‘one of the largest financial scandals in Canadian history.‘ He is promising, if elected, to call a commission of inquiry into the Liberal budget. That’s a lot of grandstanding from an untested party leader who hasn’t presented a costed platform and won’t say when he will. Ontario taxpayers don’t need expensive political theatre and empty words. They need a premier prepared to take the job seriously.” – Globe editorial
LIVING BETTER
Live in Winnipeg, Toronto or Vancouver? Here’s a trio of restaurant reviews
You might not want to rush over to Winnipeg’s the Oxbow: Reviewer Dan Clapson said it was the “kind of dinner that you walk away from feeling technically full but regrettably unsatisfied.”
Toronto’s Paris Paris, Jason Chow writes, is “a welcome refuge for wine lovers with an inviting vibe and original menu.” And don’t be fooled by the name: The bar veers closer to hipster Brooklyn than a traditional Parisian affair.
And at Vancouver’s Autostrada Osteria, Alexandra Gill delighted in sharing food with the couple at the next table – within 10 minutes of sitting down. The Italian joint, she writes, “has nailed a winning neighbourhood-restaurant formula that’s as tight as its tomato sauce.”
MOMENT IN TIME
U.S. patent granted for plastic bags with handles
April 27, 1965: The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but you’ll still need something to carry all your stuff. That’s where the plastic bag comes in. Swedish engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin’s invention - a strong, leakproof shopping bag - is officially described as “a seamless flexible tube closed at its lower end by a transverse welding seam … characterized in that a handle (or handles) is made of one piece with the remaining bag portion and provided at its upper end with a transverse welding seam.” But the petroleum-based product’s durability is also the reason it has become an environmental nightmare. Between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are produced each year, but only one in 200 is recycled, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In landfills they may take hundreds of years to break down; when they do, their tiny, toxic fragments contaminate the soil and water. In the ocean, they have the uncanny ability to mimic the languid movement of jellyfish, poisoning or suffocating sea creatures such as turtles that mistake them for that prey. Cities and entire countries have sought to ban them or at least discourage their use, but their appeal remains. – Massimo Commanducci
Morning Update is written by Arik Ligeti.
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Arik Ligeti