Good evening, it’s Friday, Oct. 19, and here’s your evening update.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
We have a very complete Jamal Khashoggi file with more coming in this weekend's paper from Mark MacKinnon on the feud between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
In the news, the investigation into the disappearance of the Saudi dissident and journalist continues, and new details leaked to the Turkish media reveal that investigators are looking into the possibility that Khashoggi’s remains may have been taken to a forest outside Istanbul or to another city. The Associated Press reported today that a Turkish official revealed police have established that two vehicles belonging to the consulate left the building on Oct. 2 — the day Khashoggi had walked into the consulate and vanished. One of the vehicles travelled to the nearby Belgrade Forest while the other travelled to the city of Yalova, across the Sea of Marmara from Istanbul.
Also, Colin Freeze spoke with Omar Abdulaziz, a prominent Saudi dissident who lives in Canada and who says he was in constant contact with Khashoggi over the summer. They spoke about ways they could team up to challenge a communications crackdown in their homeland.
Meanwhile, in Friday’s newspaper, we published Khashoggi’s final Washington Post column: What the Arab world needs most is free expression.
He writes: “As a result, Arab governments have been given free rein to continue silencing the media at an increasing rate. There was a time when journalists believed the Internet would liberate information from the censorship and control associated with print media. But these governments, whose very existence relies on the control of information, have aggressively blocked the Internet. They have also arrested local reporters and pressured advertisers to harm the revenue of specific publications.”
We also have a few of our own columnists weighing in on the disappearance and subsequent world reaction. Doug Saunders comments on why countries are getting away with murder across borders and Eric Reguly tackles Saudi Arabia’s economic overhaul and how it was in trouble before the Khashoggi affair.
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'Cold winter’ begins for China amid trade war and worst growth numbers since financial crisis
The Globe’s Correspondent Nathan VanderKlippe filed a piece early Friday morning that looks at China’s economic plans in the wake of the trade war with the United States.
China, releasing unexpectedly bad economic numbers, blaming the relatively low 6.5 per cent growth on the “daunting task” of domestic reform as well as the “extremely complex environment” abroad. China’s economy had already been showing signs of weakness, but its exporters have experienced a boost as they move goods ahead of an expected rise in U.S. tariffs to 25 per cent next January. As VanderKlippe writes, in painting a gloomy picture now, Chinese policy makers are acknowledging the toll likely to be exacted by trade turmoil with the U.S. and giving themselves justification to act more quickly – even if current economic fragility has little to do with Washington’s policies.
Meanwhile, also on the trade file, The Globe’s Adrian Morrow in Washington and Eric Atkins in Toronto report Canada and the United States are trying to negotiate an end to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum. The two sides are attempting to reach a deal before the formal signing of the proposed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement at the end of November. As Adrian and Eric report, the talks have focused on Canada agreeing to a quota on exports of those metals to the United States in exchange for the Trump administration lifting the tariffs. The Globe and Mail granted anonymity to five sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Mexico moves to tackle migrant caravan after threat from Trump to close U.S. border
The Globe’s wire services today have filed several updates on the United States' efforts to have Mexico stop a caravan of Central and South American migrants and refugees from crossing into Mexico and subsequently travelling to the Mexico-U.S. border. On Friday afternoon, hundreds of the migrants poured through Guatemala’s frontier posts towards the closed Mexican border. Mexico’s government vowed to “meet the challenge” of the caravan after Donald Trump threatened to shut down the U.S-Mexico border. Mexico’s government has sought assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help process migrants claiming refugee status at the border, which could allow it to disperse the train of people and placate the U.S. president.
Some White Helmets refugees resettled in Canada, with more on the way
Meanwhile, The Globe has learned some of the volunteer humanitarian workers the Canadian government helped rescue from war-torn Syria have settled in Canada. As parliamentary affairs reporter Michelle Zilio and senior international correspondent Mark MacKinnon report, a senior Canadian government official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said some of the refugees, knowns as White Helmets, have resettled in Canada and more are on their way.
The government would not say how many White Helmets have arrived or the total number Canada plans to welcome, citing security concerns.
The White Helmets are a group of unarmed volunteers who have been credited with saving more than 100,000 civilians during Syria’s seven-year-old civil war. Canada sparked a daring overnight mission in July to evacuate 422 people – members of the White Helmets and their families – from Syria, where they faced increasing danger as the Syrian government encircled them. The Israel Defence Forces led the rescue effort, which was done at the request of Canada, Britain and Germany, who all committed to resettling evacuees. The United States also supported the operation.
MARKET WATCH
The close: TSX rises as soft inflation data not seen delaying rate hike
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose on Friday after data showed annual inflation rate dipped. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 65.97 points, or 0.43 per cent, at 15,470.10. Statistics Canada said the annual inflation rate in September fell to 2.2 per cent from 2.8 per cent as price pressures from gas and air travel eased. Investors, however, expect the central bank to raise interest rates again next week. Globally, stocks were up, but concerns over Italy’s budget weighed on its stocks and bonds. Stocks in China rose a day after posting sharp losses. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 64.89 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 25,444.34, the S&P 500 fell 1 point, or 0.04 per cent, to 2,767.78 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 36.11 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 7,449.03.
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WHAT’S TRENDING ON SOCIAL
Exercising while pregnant boosts health, cuts risk of complications: guidelines
The guidelines encourage pregnant women without medical restrictions to accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity over a minimum of three days per week
TALKING POINTS
With legal pot, Trudeau gets his mojo back
“For a while there, the Prime Minister seemed to have lost his mojo. One spectacular PR blunder (see: India trip) had made him look like a flaky Bollywood wannabe instead of Canada’s Kennedy. Policy-wise, his government had been losing steam, after buying a pipeline to nowhere and failing to sell the provinces on his carbon-pricing grand bargain. The Liberals went missing in action on the border as asylum seekers stomped all over our immigration laws. And after blowing hot and cold at Donald Trump, the PM ended up giving the U.S. President pretty much everything he wanted in the new USMCA trade deal. We were out-negotiated, almost humiliatingly so.” — Konrad Yakabuski
As others go backward, Canada moves forward
“... the legalization of cannabis use on Wednesday is simply the latest evidence that Canada has set itself apart from the world. We are the only Group of 20 country to have legalized cannabis use at the national level, and to offer pardons to those convicted in the past. We are also the only large developed nation that continues to embrace high levels of immigration. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada expects to take in 330,000 immigrants and refugees next year, and 340,000 in 2020.” — John Ibbitson
A self-destructive madness grips the U.K. as a no-deal Brexit looms
"National daydreams, such as the collective fantasy of Brexit that has gripped roughly half of the British nation for several years, can cause serious damage to millions of people. That was pretty much the message delivered by John Major, the former Tory British prime minister in a speech and newspaper article this week. He called Brexit 'a colossal misjudgment’ which would ‘damage personal and national wealth’ and he attacked members of his own party and Brexiteers in Theresa May’s cabinet: ‘They persuaded a deceived population to vote to be weaker and poorer. That will never be forgotten – nor forgiven.’ " — Carl Mortished
LIVING BETTER
Study of U.S. hospital figures links cannabis use with increased risk of stroke
Researchers found the incidence of stroke rose steadily among marijuana users, even though the overall rate of stroke remained constant over the same period. Presented at at the World Stroke Congress in Montreal today, the study looked at five years of hospital statistics from the United States and found the incidence of stroke rose steadily among marijuana users. The study examined 2.3 million hospitalizations between 2010 and 2014 among people who used cannabis recreationally.
fallbrook
For travellers, Puerto Rico remains a tropical charmer
One year after Hurricane Maria, America’s oldest colony welcomes visitors once again. As Matt Minich writes, the storm crippled the U.S. commonwealth’s already struggling infrastructure and some of that damage has yet to be repaired. But tourists are coming back; and for most of them, particularly those visiting Old San Juan, last year’s destruction is out of both sight and mind.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
On the Irish border, Brexit brews fears united communities will see new troubles
In the 1990s, Britain and Ireland dismantled the last traces of border control as decades of sectarian violence came to an end. Now, as The Globe’s European correspondent Paul Waldie reports from Florencecourt, Northern Ireland, bringing those controls back could be a make-or-break issue in the U.K.'s separation from the European Union – and new generations on both sides will live with the consequences.
Quitting for cannabis: Seven entrepreneurs leap into the pot business
As Canada embraces the legalization of recreational cannabis, a new industry is born. Despite the stigmas that surround it, and an uncertain future, some bold pioneers see an opportunity to win big at a fresh start. The Globe and Mail talked to seven entrepreneurs – including economists, lawyers, marketers and business owners – about the risks and rewards of leaving the security of their jobs to make the leap into the cannabis industry.
Today’s Evening Update is written by Michael Snider. 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.
Michael Snider