Good morning,
China is commencing trials within days for two Canadians it locked up in apparent retaliation for Canada’s 2018 arrest of a Huawei executive at the request of U.S. authorities.
Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig have been incarcerated for 829 days. Mr. Spavor will go to trial on Friday in Dandong, the city on the North Korean border where he is being held. Mr. Kovrig will be in court on Monday in Beijing.
The first high-level in-person talks between Beijing and the Joe Biden administration are set to begin in Alaska today. The Canadian government is counting on this attempted reset of U.S.-China relations – after years of erosion under president Donald Trump – to open the door for the release of the two Canadians.
Read more:
Canada looks to Biden to free two Michaels jailed in China
Meng Wanzhou’s lawyers argue officials had ‘flagrant’ disregard for her rights
A person holds a sign with photographs of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been detained in China since December, 2018, as people gather for a rally in support of Hong Kong democracy, in Vancouver, B.C., Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl DyckDARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
This is the daily Morning Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Morning Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters on our newsletter signup page.
After leaving EU, Britain targets an increase in stockpile of nuclear warheads
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab is defending his government’s plan to raise a decade-old cap on the number of nuclear weapons the country can possess as part of its independent new foreign-policy vision that portrays Britain seeking a global role, in a world full of threats.
The new target marks the first major foreign policy shift by Boris Johnson’s government since it led the country out of the European Union three months ago.
In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Raab avoided naming any specific enemy that the larger nuclear arsenal was required to confront. But an “integrated review” of British foreign policy reaffirms the country’s commitment to the NATO alliance in the face of what’s described as “the most acute threat to our security” in the form of Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Travel restrictions to Atlantic Canada could be lifted by July, New Brunswick Premier says: New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says the three Maritime provinces plan to enter into a travel bubble by mid-April, with Newfoundland and Labrador joining later – and hopes barriers to visitors from the rest of Canada could be lifted by early July.
Britain and EU vaccine dispute escalates as WHO eases safety concerns: Britain and the European Union have escalated their dispute over supplies of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine just as the World Health Organization encouraged countries to keep using the jab in their immunization programs while concerns about blood clots are investigated.
Robyn Urback: Europeans’ illogical ban of AstraZeneca will prolong the pandemic and cost lives
Fed projects higher growth and above-target inflation this year, pledges to keep rates steady: U.S. Federal Reserve officials signalled yesterday that they are in no rush to dial back support for a U.S. economy still struggling amid the pandemic, releasing a fresh set of projections that showed the central bank’s policy interest rate on hold at near-zero for years to come even as growth is expected to pick up considerably in the near term.
Canada’s inflation rate edges higher, sets stage for jump in coming months
Editorial: For the Fed and the Bank of Canada, inflation just ain’t what it used to be
What’s happening in the housing market is not good for the country, reader feedback suggests: Asked in an informal poll whether recent developments in housing are good for the country, respondents overwhelmingly said no. A strong majority think the housing market is either in or approaching bubble conditions, and that they or someone in their family will never be able to afford a home.
Tara Slone’s show on Sportsnet puts women at the centre of sports: When TV host Tara Slone saw that women’s sports were not being discussed, she, along with Alison Redmond, the executive producer of Rogers Hometown Hockey, decided to create a program that put women at the centre. And so, a little over three months into The Great Pause of 2020, Sportsnet launched Top of Her Game, a weekly half-hour interview show that is now in its ninth month.
MORNING MARKETS
World stocks follow Wall Street higher: Global stock markets rose Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said its key interest rate would be kept near zero through 2023 even as it forecast inflation picking up. Just before 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.04 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.97 per cent and 0.25 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.01 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.28 per cent. Wall Street futures were mixed. The Canadian dollar was trading at 80.61 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Konrad Yakabuski: “The Kielburgers did themselves no favours by defying and berating MPs during their Monday testimony. They came off as petulant spoiled children. Accompanied by their lawyer, they objected to MPs questioning them about allegations that WE switched the names on plaques at a school it built in Kenya depending on which donor it was trying to ingratiate itself to at the time. But it was not up to them to decide what MPs get to ask them about. And it is in the public interest that light be shed on the activities of a charity that appears to have misled donors.”
John Ibbitson: “... the Conservatives can never hope to win power unless they develop a credible approach to reducing emissions. And that means putting a price on carbon. There is simply no alternative.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
By Brian GableBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Must-have tech and safety features (and some to avoid) in your next new car
Open the door of a new car and you’ll find perfume dispensers, heated and cooled cupholders, mood lighting, gesture control and even hot massaging seats. These things can be very useful – perhaps even save you from a fender-bender – but others aren’t worth your time and money. Here are the key safety and tech features you should be looking for – and some you should avoid – in your next new car.
MOMENT IN TIME: MARCH 18, 1945
Canadian professional hockey player Maurice 'Rocket' Richard of the Montreal Canadiens skates toward the camera with the puck, late 1940s.Pictorial Parade/Getty Images
Rocket Richard becomes first NHL player to score 50 goals
In 1945, Maurice (Rocket) Richard became the first National Hockey League player to score 50 goals in a season, doing it in the team’s first 50 games. It’s a monumental achievement that is sometimes second-guessed. Richard did it during the Second World War, when the draft had depleted the ranks of every team. He and his two linemates, Toe Blake and Elmer Lach, dominated the league, finishing 1-2-3 in scoring. And the league was still adjusting to a new rule that allowed defencemen to pass the puck forward across their own blue line, instead of having to carry it over. Breakaways and odd-man rushes were suddenly commonplace. But the idea that scoring 50 goals in the first 50 games could ever be easy is ludicrous. Only four other players have done it, all of them in the high-scoring 1980s and 90s. Fewer than 100 players have scored 50 goals in an entire season; Gordie Howe and Jean Béliveau are among the many NHL legends who never got there. There’s a good reason the annual trophy that goes to the league’s leading goal scorer is named after Richard. He set a standard that is almost impossible to meet. Peter Scowen
If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday morning, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.