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These are the top stories:
Ottawa probes Huawei equipment for security threats
Ottawa has publicly acknowledged it has been conducting security tests on Huawei products sold in Canada since 2013. Until now, the federal government hadn't explained how it was protecting Canadians using Huawei phones. The U.S. and Australia say Huawei’s products could be used as a potential tool for state-sponsored cyber spying by Beijing. The two countries have banned Huawei and another telecom equipment maker, ZTE, from supplying parts for the development of their 5G cellular networks. The Canadian testing program, called the Security Review Program, checks for risks in equipment that could affect everything from cellular phones to large communications networks.
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Rachel Notley is urging Ottawa to use legislation to push through Trans Mountain
“My concern at this point is that simply following the path laid out by the Federal Court of Appeal without some type of intervention is probably not going to be enough,” the Alberta Premier said. “It will lead to too much delay. It will keep us imprisoned on this regulatory merry-go-round.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this week that Ottawa is studying a potential appeal to the Supreme Court as well as a legislative response. Last week, the Federal Court of Appeal quashed Ottawa's approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Notley said she’s like to see legislative changes to address environmental concerns that would avoid a brand new hearing process. She didn’t outline what those changes could be.
The alleged torture of a Ugandan MP is sparking a debate on Western military aid
Uganda’s most famous parliamentarian – a popular music star and opposition MP – is alleging that he survived torture and an attempted assassination by Ugandan soldiers. Robert Kyagulanyi raised his allegations while in the U.S. this week for medical treatment. He said soldiers kicked him, punched him, pulled his ears with pliers, hit his ankles with pistol butts, among other “unspeakable things.”
Kyagulanyi is pushing to escalate pressure on the autocratic government in Uganda amid growing crackdowns against the opposition. The U.S. provides US$170-million in annual military aid to Uganda, including money for weapons used by the same unit that allegedly tortured Kyagulanyi. Canada also provided support to a Ugandan police unit in Somalia and has plans to deploy a military transport plane in Uganda for peace missions.
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Far-right Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro is in serious condition after being stabbed
Bolsonaro, the leading candidate in Brazil's presidential election, was stabbed during a campaign rally and is in serious but stable condition. He's expected to spend at least a week in the hospital and may need two months to fully recover. Bolsonaro is running as the law-and-order candidate and says he would encourage police to kill suspected drug gang members and other armed criminals. The suspect in the knife attack has been taken into custody.
How Rio residents rely on crowdsourcing to avoid gun battles on the streets
Amid a collapse in Brazil’s security program, violent crime is increasingly wreaking havoc on residents’ ability to get around Rio safely. Two apps were launched recently to help people navigate their commute in a city that sees an average of 15 shootings a day. “Living in Rio you have a feeling of being afraid all the time,” says Daniel Carneiro. “You do not have a feeling of a secure place to live. You don't know if you will be alive at the end of the day, it's scary.” Go here for an interactive look at how Carneiro makes daily decisions on which route to take – and why even with all the apps, he still got caught in a shootout.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
India’s top court has legalized gay sex
The landmark, unanimous ruling ended a colonial-era ban on gay sex – but it could face a legal challenge from conservative groups. The ban on gay sex was first repealed in 2009, but was subsequently reinstated in 2013 after a legal challenge. And while activists hailed the ruling, they cautioned it will take a long time to end discrimination against LGBTQ people in the country. Activists in neighbouring Bangladesh and Pakistan said India’s court decision will help in their push to end similar colonial-era laws.
MORNING MARKETS
Stocks troubled
Global shares limped toward their worst week in almost six months on Friday, with Asia carving out a 14-month trough as investors braced for a new salvo of Sino-U.S. tariffs. Tokyo’s Nikkei shed 0.8 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched down and the Shanghai composite gained 0.4 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were down by between 0.1 and 0.3 per cent by about 5:50 a.m. ET. New York futures were also down. The Canadian dollar was at 76.15 US cents, having gained on comments late yesterday from Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Wilkins.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
The time has come to ban cellphones in the classroom
“Many teachers are frankly tired of fighting this fight and have given up. Others have decided it takes too much of their energy to police. But teachers and school administrators should develop some spine. When did we decide to let kids and their parents run the classroom? … Research has revealed that switching your attention from one target to another isn’t as simple as it sounds. When this occurs there is ‘attention residue’ – meaning you’re still thinking of the previous task even as you start another. So, if you check your phone for texts or the latest baseball score, even if it’s only for a few seconds, your brain will operate more slowly for up to a half hour afterwards. Now, think about the scene being played out in our country’s classrooms and it’s not difficult to surmise that many students are working at a fraction of their full ability. If we want our students to do better, let’s help them by banning cellphones in the classroom.” – Gary Mason
Those who ‘resist’ Donald Trump from the inside continue to enable him
“The checks and balances aimed at preventing tyranny are entrenched in the U.S. Constitution. Arbitrary efforts by unelected officials to thwart the President’s will are as much a recipe for a breakdown of democracy as Trump's own contempt for American democratic institutions and norms. By their actions, Trump's disablers allow what is by all accounts a dysfunctional and chaotic administration to continue to operate. Wouldn't they be doing a greater service by joining the resistance on the outside? After all, an anonymous New York Times op-ed is just about the last thing anyone remotely sympathetic to Trump’s claims of a ‘deep state’ conspiracy against him is going to ever believe.” – Konrad Yakabuski (for subscribers)
Do the men of #MeToo deserve to be forgiven?
“After admitting to several allegations of sexual misconduct last November, Louis C.K. took a nine-month hiatus from the limelight, marking his comeback with an unannounced stand-up performance on Aug. 26 at New York City’s Comedy Cellar. His surprise appearance sparked outrage, along with a widespread conversation about the rights of sexual harassers versus the abused, and a vital question – do men guilty of a #MeToo moment deserve forgiveness and a second chance? It seems everyone, from newspaper columnists to fellow comics, chimed in with their response, in unison: No. But the fact that we're even talking about second chances – at least in the case of celebrities – raises important questions about whether we are encouraging preferential treatment for some over others.” – Debra Soh, writer on the science and politics of sex
LIVING BETTER
TIFF 2018: Your guide to the festival
The Toronto International Film Festival officially kicked off last night with the gala screening of Netflix’s Outlaw King, a historical drama starring Chris Pine. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s going on as we head into the busy opening weekend: Narrow down your choices with The Globe’s guide to this year’s films; read about the backlash to rising ticket prices; see what this year’s event means for the festival’s future; and dig into our Q&A with Piers Handling as the long-time TIFF director prepares for his final festival (for subscribers). Check back here for the latest stories throughout the festivities.
MOMENT IN TIME
The Beatles play their first concert at Maple Leaf Gardens
Beatles in concert at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Sept. 7, 1964.James Lewcun
Sept. 7, 1964: The Beatles made their first appearance in Canada in 1964, giving two concerts at Maple Leaf Gardens with a dinner-hour news conference sandwiched in-between. Before the afternoon show, high-riding mounted police controlled waves of frenzied youth on the streets around the venue. About the shows themselves, The Globe and Mail headline the next day screamed as loud as the fans who had paid $4 to see the mop-topped four: Adulation, hysteria and awe – Fans outvocalize Beatles. Of the performances, The Globe’s Ralph Hicklin produced the most vivid prose imaginable. “It looked like hell,” he wrote. “Picture if you can the fitful light of a million flashbulbs striking on an endless sea of adolescents, and each female particle of that sea ... shrieking in every pitch the human voice is capable of, including those audible only to bats." And the cause of all this trumpery, according to Hicklin: "Four insouciant young men peering out from under superbangs, singing possibly, gyrating certainly, and in general having a whale of a time on a platform at the north end of the sea of darkness.” They don’t write like that any more and we no longer have bedlam-causers like the Beatles either. Yeah-yeah-yeahs, from a different time. – Brad Wheeler
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Arik Ligeti