Evening Update: Putin and Biden give dueling speeches as Ukraine war anniversary approaches

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

Vladimir Putin has accused the West of trying to destroy his country and said that Russia would suspend its participation in a key nuclear arms treaty that has been in place since the end of the Cold War.

The Russian President was speaking almost a year to the day after he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, saying that it was “absurd” for the United States to be allowed to inspect Russian nuclear facilities at a time when the U.S. and its allies were sending military support to Ukraine.

A few hours later, U.S. President Joe Biden told a cheering crowd in Warsaw that the Russians should reject Putin’s assertions. The dueling speeches came as the war in Ukraine approaches its first anniversary and the style of the leaders couldn’t have been more stark.

• Witnessing a year of war: The Globe’s eyes in Ukraine, photojournalists on the images that stay with them

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Canada’s inflation rate eases to 5.9% in January

Canada’s annual inflation rate dipped below 6 per cent for the first time since early in 2022, helped by favourable base-year effects and lower prices for smartphone bills and vehicles. On a month-over-month basis, consumer prices rose 0.5 per cent. However, prices jumped 0.9 per cent in January, 2022. This base-year effect – comparing today’s prices to elevated levels a year ago – is helping to dampen CPI growth.

But there were other encouraging signs in Tuesday’s report. Supply-chain troubles are fizzling out, leading to discounts on furniture. Services inflation decelerated slightly. And the short-term trend for consumer price growth is slowing quickly.

Also read:

• The case for raising RESP limits to keep pace with soaring inflation
• The cost of these grocery items went down in January

Commons committee seeks to expand hearings to probe Chinese interference in 2021 election

A House of Commons committee probing Chinese interference in the 2019 federal election is being recalled today during Parliament’s scheduled two-week break to extend its mandate to include the 2021 campaign, in response to what opposition MPs have called “shocking revelations” reported by The Globe and Mail.

The MPs wrote that The Globe’s report of Chinese interference during the 2021 election is “deeply troubling,” and that it requires the committee to expand the scope of its study. The committee met this afternoon to adopt a motion on extending its scope, and to decide who to call as witnesses.

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Third-party candidate Peter Obi grabs surprise lead in Nigerian polls

Few of the world’s pundits thought Peter Obi had any chance in Nigeria’s presidential election. Today, His unexpected rise has thrown Saturday’s vote into disarray, making it perhaps the most unpredictable in Nigeria’s history.

After faring poorly in a bid for the presidential nomination of the main opposition party last year, he joined the obscure Labour Party and thne Obi began to tear into the political establishment, calling for a “democratic revolution” and pitching his campaign to the vast ranks of Nigeria’s disgruntled young voters. Big crowds began to flock to his rallies. Opinion polls suddenly found him leading the election race.

His appeal to the youth is his biggest weapon in this race. Of the 93.5 million registered voters in Africa’s most populous country, fully 40 per cent are between the ages of 18 and 34, a generation traditionally neglected by Nigeria’s political elite.

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Health care: Ontario tables health bill that would shift surgeries to private clinics

Roxham Road: Quebec Premier François Legault is asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to press U.S. President Joe Biden on the massive influx of migrants entering Canada at an irregular border crossing, arguing that the province’s “capacity to receive refugees has been exceeded.”

Sports: Brittney Griner will be back in the WNBA this season, once again playing with the Phoenix Mercury.

Arts: COVID-19 rules on Canadian TV and film sets cause tension

Retail: Joe Mimran looks to revive Tilley, and it’s not just about the hat

Travel: Transport committee report recommends airport user-fee system revamp to upgrade airport infrastructure

MARKET WATCH

North American stocks post worst day of 2023 on higher-for-longer U.S. rate fears

U.S. and Canadian stocks posted their worst performance of the year on Tuesday, with the main benchmarks ending down as investors interpreted a rebound in U.S. business activity in February to mean interest rates will need to stay higher for longer to control inflation.

For the S&P/TSX Composite Index, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, it was their third session in a row closing lower, while the decline in the Dow Jones Industrial wiped out its gains for 2023.

Investors will look to the minutes detailing discussion at the Fed’s last policy meeting, due out on Wednesday, for further clues on attitudes within the central bank on rates.

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TALKING POINTS

With poultry stocks devastated, is there a whiff of the next pandemic in the air?

“But the way avian influenza is spreading wildly, and appears to be adapting to mammals, should remind us of the need to be vigilant. To avoid future pandemics, of H5N1 or other pathogens, we need strong surveillance. The world also needs to be ready to act swiftly if there are hints of any human-to-human transmission.” - André Picard

Let’s normalize renting – Canada’s obsession with homeownership hurts the economy

“A renewed focus on the economic benefits, from the household level on up, may be the best way to redirect the conversation and normalize renting instead of treating it as a second choice.” - Rob Csernyik

Ottawa’s new bill offers hope to the wrongfully convicted

“But this help will only be effective if the commission has the proper powers and budgets it needs to reach out and convince those who have been defeated by the criminal justice system to give it another chance.” - Kent Roach, Amanda Carling, Jessie Stirling and Joel Voss

LIVING BETTER

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Mortgages 101: What is Canada’s stress test?

Buying a home is the largest purchase most Canadians will make – and as of mid-2022 it became even more expensive, with rising interest rates driving up the cost of borrowing. Canada’s mortgage stress test has played a large role in that as well, by requiring buyers to prove they can manage rates well above what lenders are offering.

Here’s a primer on how the stress test works, with insights from personal finance and mortgage experts.

TODAY’S LONG READ

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Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad fights human rights abuses in Iran from FBI safe house

For the past eight years, the Iranian-American author and journalist has been at the forefront of a campaign that encourages women and girls to defy Iran’s mandatory hijab law. Her actions have made her a target of the Islamic Republic, and threats to her life have forced her to live in hiding indefinitely. But she refuses to back down.

The activist, who has more than eight million followers on Instagram, has been in exile in the United States since 2015. She currently lives in an FBI safe house, after an alleged assassination attempt.

The Iranian regime has taken everything from its people except for hope, she said.

Evening Update is written by Sierra Bein. 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.