Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:

       Afghanistan: Canada steps up refugee efforts; Taliban now control two-thirds of the country

       Developing story: Ottawa has announced plans to allow 20,000 vulnerable Afghan refugees into Canada, including women leaders, human rights workers and reporters to protect them from Taliban reprisals.

       The move comes after the Taliban completed their sweep of Afghanistan’s south today, taking four more provincial capitals in a offensive that brought them closer to Kabul just weeks before the U.S. is set to officially end its two-decade war.

       The country’s second- and third-largest cities – Herat and Kandahar – are among those that have fallen to the insurgents. The blitz means they now hold half of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals. While Kabul is not directly under threat yet, the Taliban were battling forces of the Western-backed government about 80 kilometres away.

       Explainer: The Taliban are reconquering Afghanistan. How did we get here?

       Opinion: Exiting Afghanistan will go down in history as Joe Biden’s big blunder - Brahma Chellaney, geostrategist and author

       In photos: As Taliban advance in Afghanistan the U.N. warns of a humanitarian catastrophe

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       The latest COVID-19 developments: Vaccines mandatory for federal employees, Alberta delays lifting restrictions and more

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       Ottawa is requiring COVID-19 vaccination for federal employees, including those working for Crown corporations, the RCMP and military. The mandate includes employees in federally regulated industries, including banks and airlines.

       Travellers on commercial airlines, interprovincial trains and cruise ships will also be required to be vaccinated no later than the end of October, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said. There will be exceptions for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, or due to other protected grounds.

       Meanwhile, the Alberta government is walking back its decision to eliminate isolation requirements for people who test positive for COVID-19 after weeks of pressure from local leaders, physicians and families, as well as the federal government.

       The province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Deena Hinshaw, said the government will also extend a masking mandate for public transit and continue testing and tracing as cases spike. All public-health restrictions were scheduled to lift on Monday, but will now stay in place for another six weeks.

       Opinion: COVID-19 vaccine mandates could offer something unexpected to the hesitant: relief - Robyn Urback

       ALSO ON OUR RADAR

       Saskatchewan signs on to daycare deal: Saskatchewan has become the eighth province and the third conservative-led one to sign on to the federal government’s plan to implement $10-a-day child care for families.

       Joe Thornton signs with Panthers: In pursuit of the Stanley Cup, the former Toronto Maple Leafs forward has signed a one-year deal with the Florida NHL team, his fourth franchise in a now 24-year NHL career.

       MARKET WATCH

       Global stock markets hit new record highs today, boosted by forecast-beating corporate earnings, but the dollar and Treasury yields fell after data showed U.S. consumer confidence plummeted in early August. Canada’s main index closed slightly lower as energy stocks drop with oil prices.

       The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.53 points or 0.04 per cent to 35,515.38, the S&P 500 gained 7.17 points or 0.16 per cent to end at 4,468.00 and the Nasdaq Composite added 6.64 points or 0.04 per cent to close at 14,822.90.

       The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index slipped 2.53 points or 0.01 per cent to 20,518.07.

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       TALKING POINTS

       Here are the issues that should be debated this federal election, but probably won’t

       Jobs and health care may be old standbys, but there are plenty of other issues that are current, vital, contentious and sometimes even solvable. It would be good to hear the parties debate them in a serious way, even if they almost certainly won’t. - Andrew Coyne

       When true believers become a danger to themselves and others

       “The obsession with conspiracies isn’t confined to Christian conservatives, and is typical of any subgroup that sees its place under threat by a world it can’t accept or understand. The consequences, as we know only too well, can be fatal.” - Michael Coren, author and ordained Anglican cleric

       LIVING BETTER

       Where in the world do you find the names Julia Child and Colin Kaepernick together? At the Toronto International Film Festival, which has announced additions to this year’s lineup. Ava DuVernay’s scripted drama Colin in Black & White is slated for the small-screen series, a TV-focused program. Julia, chronicling the life of the culinary legend, has been added to the documentary lineup. The festival runs Sept. 9 to 18 and will feature a mix of in-person and digital events.

       TODAY’S LONG READ

       Mexico marks 500 years since Aztec capital’s fall with public spectacles, political rancor and hard words for Spain

       Open this photo in gallery

       Dancers perform at Zocalo square to mark the anniversary of the founding of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, in Mexico City, July 26, 2021.

       LUIS CORTES/Reuters

       Legend has it Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes wept under a Moctezuma cypress tree after the Mexica drove him from their island capital in 1520. He cried for his lost men – reputedly weighed down by gold and slain as they fled over a causeway – and for the Indigenous people who had fought alongside him. The debacle became known as the “Night of Sorrows.” It preceded his return the next year, when Cortes and his allies overthrew the Aztec empire and conquered Tenochtitlan, which would become Mexico City.

       To mark this year’s 500th anniversary of Tenochtitlan’s fall, the Mexico City government renamed the plaza containing the cypress stump “Plaza of the Victorious Night” – an attempt to “give voice to the original peoples of our territory,” according to Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.

       Critics panned the renaming as political – same as they did for the national government celebrating the 700-year anniversary of the founding of Tenochtitlan, a date historians consider dubious. The episode has underscored the enduring controversy of the conquest, an event that produced many of the country’s foundational myths. Hispanophiles cling to notions of Cortes and the Spanish bringing civilization, religion and language to Mexico. Indigenous peoples see the conquest – referred to as the “so-called conquest” – as an unmitigated disaster. Read David Agren’s full story here.

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