Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Tokyo Olympics officially kick off amid shrugs and shouts
The Tokyo Olympics opened on Friday, with Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka lighting the cauldron to mark the beginning. As fewer than 1,000 people attended the opening ceremony, the atmosphere was relatively muted. With the event delayed and afflicted by COVID-19, people in Japan have been responding with either indifference or anger.
A major concern at these games is the risk of athletes, many of whom are unvaccinated, contracting the coronavirus. Several athletes have already tested positive, most recently German cyclist Simon Geschke, who has had to pull out of Saturday’s road race.
Meanwhile, athletes and other advocates have signed an open letter demanding changes to the International Olympics Committee’s restrictions on protesting on the field. While restrictions have been relaxed, athletes can still be sanctioned if they protest on the podium.
Today’s Daily Guide: Muted opening ceremony kicks off pandemic-stricken Olympic Games
Behind the scenes: Highlights from our reporters on the ground at the Summer Games
Explainer: Everything you need to know about the Summer Games
Opinion: As Tokyo Olympics open, the first thought that leaps to mind is: ‘That’s it?’
Yesterday’s Decibel podcast: Your eyes are lying to you. What data tells us about Olympic swimming
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Special immigration measures will help bring ‘several thousand’ Afghans to Canada, says government
The federal government is enacting a program to expedite the process of allowing thousands of Afghan nationals, who supported Canadian troops and diplomatic staff in Afghanistan, to resettle in Canada.
The program, announced Friday by Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino, will include not only those who worked for Canada, but also their families. Mendicino anticipates the numbers of resettled people will be “in the several thousands,” but he and the other ministers declined to provide details of the initiative, citing security concerns.
The move follows weeks of pressure, including from veterans’ groups, whose members say they are concerned for the safety of Afghans who have worked for Canada. As the U.S. military withdraws its troops, Taliban insurgents have been expanding the territory they control. Afghans who worked for foreign countries during the past two decades of conflict have said they fear Taliban reprisals.
Read more: Former Canadian embassy employee says he fled Afghanistan after Taliban attack, urges Ottawa to extricate his family
Listen to The Decibel: Who Canada left behind in Afghanistan
B.C. pledges to use Alert Ready system for more natural disasters following wildfire response
British Columbia is committed to using Canada’s direct-to-cellphone alerting system for natural disasters beyond tsunamis, but the provincial emergency planning agency did not say if it is possible before the end of this summer’s historic wildfire season.
Currently, the agency can use Alert Ready for tsunamis, Amber Alerts and “civil disturbance hazards.” However, executive director Pader Brach said the system in B.C. wasn’t ready to be deployed during last month’s deadly heatwave or when thousands of people were told to evacuate their homes as wildfires spread this month. According to Brach, the agency is looking at including forest fire evacuations and potentially dangerous heatwaves.
The Globe and Mail recently reported that B.C. is the only province that hasn’t issued a direct-to-cellphone alert since this national system became available three years ago. Emergency officials in Alberta have used Alert Ready more than 70 times since 2019 – including 25 times for wildfires.
Read more: Wildfires in Canada: Here’s how bad the air quality is now, and when the smoke is expected to clear
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Malls confront long-term challenges as pandemic restrictions are lifted: with COVID-19 receding, mall owners are rethinking how to use their space, and landlords and retailers are working to evolve the shopping experience to keep people coming back.
Liberal government negotiates child-care agreements with provinces as history repeats itself: In 2021, just as in 2005, the Liberal government is busy signing daycare agreements with provinces, looking to create facts on the ground ahead of an expected election in which it hopes to turn its minority status into a majority.
Firefighters end search and rescue at Miami condo building collapse: Firefighters officially ended their search for bodies in the debris of the collapsed Surfside condo building on Friday, even as police and forensic specialists continue working to identify human remains. The June 24 collapse killed at least 97 people and at least one more person believed missing in the disaster has yet to be identified.
U.S. carries out air strikes on Taliban in support of Afghan forces: The United States has carried out air strikes to support Afghan government forces who have been under pressure from the Taliban as U.S.-led foreign forces carry out the final stages of their withdrawal from the country.
Islamophobia summit should be followed by government action, say Muslim community leaders: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned hatred toward the Muslim community at Thursday’s National Summit on Islamophobia, but community leaders say they need to see the government follow up with concrete actions if the event is to effect real change.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan personally directed military to provide him with aide in Vancouver, new documents show: Sajjan told the military to create a position eventually filled by a reserve officer from his old unit who had been ordered suspended from the Vancouver police for an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. Sajjan’s office previously said that the military was responsible for the process that led to McCullough’s hiring, and that neither the minister nor his staff were aware of the actions taken against him at the Vancouver police.
MARKET WATCH
Wall Street gained ground for the fourth straight session on Friday, extending a rally that pushed all three major U.S. stock indexes to record closing highs as upbeat earnings and signs of economic revival fueled investor risk appetite.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 90.91 points, or 0.45 per cent to 20,188.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 238.2 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 35,061.55, the S&P 500 gained 44.31 points, or 1.01 per cent, to 4,411.79 and the Nasdaq Composite added 152.39 points, or 1.04 per cent, to 14,836.99.
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TALKING POINTS
Liberal ideologues’ continued support of Justin Trudeau is the party’s great, unshakable shame
“A prime minister can generally count on party solidarity to see him through all but the worst political storms. Usually this is a bargain rooted in crass self-interest: as the party’s standard-bearer at election time, and the dispenser of patronage, the prime minister’s fortunes are very much intertwined with those of his supporters. In this case, however, I think the pact is sealed in shame. It is too humiliating for the ideologues to admit to themselves what he has become, for to do so would be to admit what they have become.” -Andrew Coyne
The Green Party has discovered an inexhaustible source of self-destructive energy
“Yes, left-leaning movements have of late developed a habit of becoming irrationally obsessed with Israel. The Greens are hardly alone in this, but the party would do well to remember itself, and its core issue, especially at this dangerous moment for the planet. The Green heartland of B.C. is experiencing unprecedented summer heat and numerous forest fires, a deadly reminder of life under global warming. But when the village of Lytton was in flames, Ms. Paul and her in-house antagonists were squabbling over the Temple Mount.” -Editorial board
LIVING BETTER
Why it matters that kids are playing sports again
“So, what needs to be done to ensure children stay active and enjoy sport again? It takes a village, explains Sport for Life’s Mr. Way. He would like to see Canadian schools step up next year to offer more quality physical education to get kids back into the habit of moving. If recreation departments and sports clubs have to raise their rates, he suggests they offer scholarships or benefactor funds, so all kids get a chance to play.” -Kira Vermond
TODAY’S LONG READ
Lebanon is dying: Food and fuel shortages show how far and fast the country has fallen
Open this photo in gallery
Bassam Samadi with his wife, Fayza and his 2-year-old daughter Mira in their living room, on July 9, 2021, in Tripoli, Lebanon.
Rafael Yaghobzadeh/The Globe and Mail
Bassam Samadi had reached his limit. His two-year-old daughter Mira was ill, and none of the pharmacies in Lebanon’s second-biggest city had the medicine needed to treat the intestinal infection that was keeping her up crying all night.
After being told there was no Metrolag, an antibiotic, even at the largest pharmacy in Tripoli, Mr. Samadi pulled his white Suzuki across two lanes so that it blocked traffic in the city centre. He got out of the car and began screaming his frustration at anyone who would listen. “My daughter has had a temperature of 40 C for six days!” he yelled as a crowd gathered around him. “I need medicine! You need medicine! We all need medicine!”
It was a shout at the sky that captured the furious mood of a country that’s in the midst of a stunning and accelerating collapse. Within days, a video of Mr. Samadi made by one of those stuck in the traffic jam he created had been watched almost two million times. Read Mark MacKinnon’s full story here.
Evening Update is written by Ibnul Chowdhury. 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.