Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was acquitted in the 1985 Air India terrorist bombings, has been killed in a shooting in Surrey, B.C., according to the Sikh school organization he founded.
In a social media post, Khalsa School said Mr. Malik was a “driving force” behind the school and has “left this world.” RCMP said in a news release that a man was killed after a targeted attack in Surrey, but they did not identify the victim. The shooting occurred on the same block as a business that Mr. Malik owned.
“Mr. Malik’s legacy will carry forward always in Khalsa Schools of BC towards which they dedicated their heart and soul to standing up as the institution it is today,” read the statement from Khalsa School, which operates four Sikh schools in the Vancouver area.
The RCMP statement said the victim was shot just before 9:30 a.m. on Thursday and died at the scene, despite aid from attending officers and emergency health services.
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Hockey Canada reopening investigation into 2018 sexual assault allegations
Hockey Canada made a series of announcements in an open letter to Canadians published today, including the reopening of a third-party investigation into an alleged sexual assault involving members of the country’s 2018 world junior team.
The national sports federation said participation in the investigation by the players in question is mandatory, adding anyone who declines will be banned from all of the federation’s activities and programs effective immediately.
The organization previously said it “strongly encouraged” players take part in the investigation into the alleged incident that occurred at a Hockey Canada function in 2018, but didn’t make it mandatory.
Hockey Canada CEO Scott Smith, who took on the role July 1 and has held various jobs at the federation since 1995, testified on Parliament Hill last month that “12 or 13″ of the 19 players from the team were interviewed before the original and incomplete investigation concluded in September, 2020.
Health Canada approves first COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 5
Canada’s drug regulator approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for young children between the ages of six months and five years old in doses one-quarter the size of that approved for adults, making it the first vaccine approved for that age group in the country.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said that the vaccine has been determined to be safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 in children, with an immune response comparable to Moderna’s vaccine for 18 to 25-year-olds. It will continue to keep a close on the safety of the vaccine, and has required Moderna to provide updated data on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.
The approval expands COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to nearly two million children in Canada, though where and when the vaccine will be given to kids will be determined by provinces.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Russian missiles strike Ukrainian city far behind front lines one day after grain talks breakthrough: At least 21 people have been killed, including three children, in an attack Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack an “open act of terrorism.”
Britain’s Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt solidify positions as top candidates as race to replace Boris Johnson narrows: Only five candidates remain in the race for the next British Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party. Tory MPs will continue voting next week until just two are left, and then the party’s roughly 200,000 members will select the winner through a national ballot next month, with the result announced on Sept. 5.
Caisse-backed crypto company Celsius Network files for bankruptcy protection: The cryptocurrency company claims a restructuring will help it stabilize and reorganize, after abruptly halting all transactions and withdrawals last month for its nearly two million customers, citing “extreme market conditions.”
Sri Lankan government attempts to clamp down on protests after president flees country: As protest groups push for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down this week, and threaten to escalate their actions if he does not, the government is attempting to re-stabilize the country.
Swedish court hands life sentence to former Iranian prison official in historic war crimes trial: An Iranian man was handed a lifetime prison sentence in Stockholm today for war crimes and murder in a unique court case over mass executions in Iran’s prisons in 1988.
U.S. is ‘not going to wait forever’ for Iran to rejoin 2015 nuclear deal, Biden says: Biden says the U.S. has laid out a path for the Iranian leadership to return to the nuclear deal and was still waiting for a response. However, he is unsure when the U.S. might get a response to this proposal.
Women's Ranch Bronc competitors from left to right; Sierra Schmunk, 24, Josey Millward, 24, Rae Snider, 24, Ali Wilkie, 30, and Caitlin Langhofer, 26, before they compete in Women's Ranch Bronc championship at Pete Knight Days in Crossfield, Alberta on June 11, 2022.Leah Hennel/The Globe and Mail
Beyond the Stampede, these women in rodeo hold the reins: The Globe witnessed veterans and newcomers compete and hone their skills in a rodeo style that you won’t see at the Calgary Stampede.
MARKET WATCH
The S&P 500 pared early losses to close modestly lower on Thursday after investors digested disappointing quarterly results from two large U.S. banks and hotter-than-expected inflation data. Initially, all three major U.S. stock indexes sold off sharply in the wake of second-quarter earnings from JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley. Both reported slumping profits and warned of impending economic slowdown.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 142.62 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 30,630.17, the S&P 500 lost 11.4 points, or 0.30 per cent, at 3,790.38 and the Nasdaq Composite added 3.60 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 11,251.19. Eight of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 ended the day in negative territory, with financials suffering the largest percentage loss, dropping 1.9 per cent. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 286.13 points or 1.5 per cent to 18,329.06. The Canadian dollar traded for 76.12 cents US compared with 77.07 cents US on Wednesday.
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TALKING POINTS
Canadians are delusional captives to a broken health care system
“These are not problems that a bump in federal funding to the provinces will fix (the premiers are asking Ottawa for a $28-billion, no-strings-attached annual increase to the Canada Health Transfer)... We are pouring money into a cumbersome, siloed, critically inefficient system, and pretending that the best solution is to continue to do so.” - Robyn Urback
Boris Johnson may soon be gone, but Britain’s woes have just begun
“Johnson’s entire approach was to deliver the goodies on a layaway plan. He will now pass that bill to his successor. It’s a steep one.” - John Rapley
LIVING BETTER
Can playing chess help prevent dementia?
Ivan Vega estimated in 2019 for the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that 45 million people globally suffer from dementia, a degenerative neurological condition. There is no known cure for dementia, but Vega says there is research showing that playing chess can delay normal cognitive aging. “Interventions that postpone dementia onset by even two years would cut projected dementia prevalence in 2047 by 22 percent,” he says. Try it out for yourself in a mock game at the end of this story.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Noor Bibi, mother of seven, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan on May 28, 2022. She lives in hiding, terrified of being imprisoned and losing her children, but risks arrest to beg for food and money to buy heroin and opium.The Globe and Mail
Afghan women, children grappling with opioid addiction live in fear of being imprisoned by the Taliban
Farzana, a mother of eight children, has spent months avoiding arrest since the Taliban crackdown on illicit drugs. She is addicted to heroin and opium and some of her children – all under age 14 – are too. But prison would offer neither safety nor therapy, and shunned by the rest of their family and neighbours, they long to stay together.
Farzana’s life is part of an escalating tragedy. As Afghanistan grapples with poverty and starvation, opioid addiction is raging. More than 10 per cent of Afghanistan’s 40 million people are addicts according to the United Nations, and drug-treatment programs are scarce.
UN reports say that the number of female addicts grew more than 600 per cent over the past decade, as the extended military conflict left them vulnerable to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, common risk factors for developing drug-use disorders. Since the Taliban’s ban came into effect, thousands of men who use drugs have been rounded up and imprisoned, according to two Taliban police officers.
But part of the story is largely kept secret. Women and children are being imprisoned for illicit drug use too. And under the Taliban crackdown, they live in grave danger.
Evening Update is written by Emily Fagan. 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.