Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
A new international study has confirmed an earlier British medical trial that found a widely available steroid, dexamethasone, is effective in reducing deaths from COVID-19 in patients using mechanical ventilators.
A woman who tested positive for the new coronavirus but is asymptomatic receives from a doctor a treatment for COVID-19 containing chloroquine, azithromycin, and dexamethasone in Caracas.Ariana Cubillos/The Associated Press
The findings have prompted the World Health Organization to update its treatment protocol for coronavirus. Canada included dexamethasone as a standard treatment for severely ill patients after the publication of the initial study.
According to The Globe and Mail’s health reporter Carly Weeks, the steroid is “far from a silver bullet for COVID-19. The British trial, called RECOVERY, found it made no difference for less-sick patients who weren’t receiving respiratory support.”
Canada mulls contribution to vaccine equity initiative
Canada is considering making a not-yet determined financial contribution to the 150-member alliance of countries aiming to equitably distribute a COVID-19 vaccine to poorer countries once it becomes available.
The announcement, made by a spokesperson for International Development Minister Karina Gould, stands in contrast to the United States, which has opted out of the initiative because of its association with the World Health Organization.
Tesla and SpaceX chief executive officer Elon Musk presents a vaccine production device to German politicians.Pool/Getty Images
Also on Wednesday, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Elon Musk met with German officials, including the ministers of health and economy, to discuss his company Tesla’s collaboration with German biopharmaceutical company CureVac.
Musk hopes Tesla can develop mobile molecule printers to assist in the manufacturing of a potential COVID-19 vaccine under development by CureVac.
In opinion:
- Saliva tests could be the key to crushing this pandemic – Eric Brown
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Promoted: Erin O’Toole, the recently elected Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, has promoted Manitoba MP Candice Bergen to deputy leader of the party. He made the appointment as he positions himself as a champion for Western Canada.
‘Racial Animus’: Lawyers for a law enforcement officer accused of shoving Masai Ujiri, the Toronto Raptors’ president, claim Ujiri’s statements about the matter amount to a “willful attempt to mislead the media and the public and taint the jury pool.” The dispute relates to a shoving incident that occurred when the Raptors executive tried to get on the court after his team won the National Basketball Association title over the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, Calif., last June.
Exporting populism: Steve Bannon, the former White House adviser, who has been recently charged with fraud for his involvement in raising money for President Donald Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall, is facing hurdles in his efforts to promote right-wing and anti-European Union politics in Europe, which include the establishment of an “academy for the Judeo-Christian West.”
Rideau Hall: In a statement today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to the defence of Governor-General Julie Payette, who is facing allegations of workplace harassment, saying Payette is an “excellent” representative for Canada and that he is not looking to replace her anytime soon.
Infected: The controversial former prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, has tested positive for coronavirus, his personal physician said. The 83-year-old recently returned from vacationing in Sardinia and, despite showing no symptoms of the virus, tested positive.
Got mail: U.S. postmaster-general Louis DeJoy has been subpoenaed by a congressional committee to release documents related to allegations that he directed changes to the United States Postal Service to interfere with mail-in voting in the coming presidential election.
Support for students: B.C.’s provincial government has allotted an additional $2-million for mental health programming in schools. Citing an increase in mental health illness and substance use, and the increased stress on children caused by the pandemic, the province has directed school boards to distribute the funds however they deem most effective.
MARKET WATCH
The S&P 500 closed higher on Wednesday for the ninth time in the past 10 sessions, with defensive and value stocks taking their turns to lead the gains after data showed U.S. private payrolls expanded last month, but at a much slower pace than expected. TSX gains were much less robust, despite a major takeover offer in the telecom sector that sent shares in the two Cogeco stocks on fire.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 52.98 points, or 0.32%, at 16,697.97. The energy sector was a drag on the index, losing 2.26% as oil prices dropped.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 454.84 points, or 1.59%, to close at 29,100.5, the S&P 500 gained 54.19 points, or 1.54%, to 3,580.84 and the Nasdaq Composite added 116.78 points, or 0.98%, to 12,056.44.
Looking for investing ideas? Check out The Globe’s weekly digest of the latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and what investors need to know for the week ahead.This week’s edition includes dividend share shopping, GICs in demand and rethinking bank stocks.
TALKING POINTS
How Canada’s oil and gas industries assist in the project of reconciliation
Ken Coates and JP Gladu: “Indigenous opposition to energy projects is real and substantial and should be respected. But clearly the same must also be said about broad and extensive Indigenous support for oil and gas and infrastructure development. Across large parts of Western Canada, in fact, the sector is central to Indigenous plans for poverty reduction, improved autonomy from Ottawa, employment and business development.”
Riding the wave of educational change
Susanne P. Lajoie: “The question is, with so little preparation time will instructors be pulled down by the steep learning curve, or will they find new innovative methods of teaching? The availability of technology does not readily translate into better learning, nor does it replace teachers, but it can be designed to support, transform and extend learning for specific situations.”
LIVING BETTER
While the world awaits news of an effective vaccine, we’ve got plenty of time to dream up our next big international getaway. If you’ve dabbled with the idea of doing a solo vacation, but the planning aspect seems overly complicated, tourism companies are beginning to offer tours that blend the support of group travel with the independence of going it on your own. The Globe and Mail reports about how this new model might blend the best of both worlds.
TODAY’S LONG READ
For decades, the Russian government’s use of nerve agents has posed an ominous threat on dissent both within and outside of the country.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, shown here in August, 2019, during a court session in Moscow, was the victim of an 'attempted murder by poisoning' and the aim was to silence him, German Chancellor Angela Merkel says.Alexander Zemlianichenko/The Associated Press
Today, German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed that Alexey Navalny, a Russian opposition leader, was poisoned with Novichok, the same type of Soviet-era chemical nerve agent that British authorities identified in a 2018 attack on a former Russian spy in Salisbury, in southwest England.
Navalny was on a plane travelling to Moscow from Siberia when he became ill. The flight made an emergency landing, and Navalny was later transferred to a hospital in Berlin. “He was meant to be silenced,” said Merkel.
The Russian doctors who treated Navalny in Siberia have repeatedly contested the German hospital’s poisoning conclusion, saying they had ruled out poisoning.
Novichok is a class of military-grade nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War. Western weapons experts say it was only ever manufactured in Russia.
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