Good morning,
These are the top stories:
Parting the Red Sea: Why the Chinese and U.S. armies are fortifying this tiny African country
Djibouti is home to less than a million people – and it’s the only place in the world where Beijing and Washington have large-scale military bases so close together. The reason? Located at the intersection of Africa and the Middle East, the country is in a global hot spot where the two sides are seeking to expand geopolitical influence.
Tensions are already rising, with Beijing complaining of low-flying U.S. aircraft near its base – which has room for up to 10,000 soldiers – and Washington alleging that the Chinese shined lasers into the eyes of U.S. pilots.
The Globe’s Africa correspondent Geoffrey York reports on what’s at stake and why there is concern that the close proximity could trigger an accidental conflict.
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Trudeau says he hopes to talk to China’s top ruler at the G20 summit
The Prime Minister says he hopes to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the coming G20 summit to discuss the steadily worsening relations between China and Canada.
Over half a year ago Canada detained Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition request. Two Canadians were detained just days after Meng on charges that Ottawa has said were “arbitrarily” doled out – and are still being held – and China has banned and restricted the import of several significant Canadian commodities. Meng’s extradition hearing has been set for 2020. (for subscribers)
Trudeau said he looks forward to meeting Xi at the Group of 20 meeting in Japan, which begins June 28. “The continued detention of two Canadians in an arbitrary manner by the Chinese government is of utmost concern to us,” he said yesterday.
But some don’t think the one-on-one will happen at all – former Canadian ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques predicts that the Chinese will not let a meeting occur, and says China did not respond to a previous request.
Ontario is moving to transfer recycling costs to waste-producing companies
Today Ontario will name a special adviser on plastic waste and recycling as part of an attempt to make large food retailers and product manufacturers pay the full cost of recycling their products. The move reflects increasing concerns about pollution and the effectiveness of municipal waste programs that experts say have been overwhelmed by a flood of single-use plastics and other hard-to-recycle packaging. (for subscribers)
Ontario’s recycling rates have been stalled for 15 years and up to one third of what is put into blue boxes ends up in landfills instead, according to a letter from Environment Minister Rod Phillips, obtained by The Globe and Mail.
“This is unacceptable – both industry and government must do better,” wrote Phillips in the letter. Usman Valiante, a senior policy analyst at consultancy Cardwell Grove who helped design B.C.’s recycling system, said the approach “will transform recycling in Ontario."
Related long-read: Reduce, reuse, recycle, rejected: Why Canada’s recycling industry is in crisis mode
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Tristan Warkentin, 28, is accused of directing a sexually inappropriate comment at Ayeesha Curry – the wife of Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry – and has been charged with mischief by interfering with the lawful operation of property. Police said that the Toronto man and his friends had been warned by the interviewing reporter to act politely during the live broadcast of CP24.
Transport Canada will now prohibit flight crews from consuming any cannabis for at least 28 days before going on duty. The airline industry is just the latest to issue guidelines around cannabis use since cannabis was federally legalized in October. The aviation regulator said the move aligns with scientific consensus on drug usage while on the job.
Police in Northern Ireland have arrested a man in connection with the killing of journalist Lyra McKee. While detectives say that the gunman who shot McKee in April is likely an Irish national militant in his late teens, the 46-year-old man arrested Thursday will be questioned under counterterrorism legislation. The new IRA has said that one of its members killed the reporter.
European stocks gained ground on Friday as hopes that central banks would loosen policy offset trade friction and the threat of global recession, putting indexes on track for their best week in two months. The broader Euro STOXX 600 was up 0.7 per cent as France’s main index outperformed, setting European stocks on course for their best weekly gain since early April. Oil stocks led the gains, after slumping earlier in the week. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished up 0.53 per cent. Markets in China and Hong Kong were closed Friday. Wall Street futures were higher. The Canadian dollar modestly higher at 74.86 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
With The Shove, Warriors’ owner breaks golden rule
Cathal Kelly: “The Golden State Warriors – an NBA franchise that had built up its ‘good guys doing good things in a good community’ vibe over years of trying – tossed that rule on Wednesday. Now, an NBA Finals that had been an interesting basketball series moves up the dial to ‘blood feud.’ Really, this whole thing could not be going much better.” Read news coverage on the shove here.
Will Canada continue to fail Indigenous girls?
Cindy Blackstock: “Will Canada continue to fail Indigenous women and girls such as Tina Fontaine at every step? Only if we, the people, allow governments to fall into the old pattern of accepting recommendations and then failing to implement them. Governments don’t create change – they respond to change.” Cindy Blackstock is the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada.
Pedophiles, anti-vaxxers, homophobes: YouTube’s algorithm caters to them all
Denise Balkissoon: “Every major social-media platform – Twitter, Facebook, Reddit – has played a part in creating this age of disinformation and extremism. But unlike the other platforms, YouTube shares the ad money it makes with content creators. ... That means the platform is directly delivering rewards to its creators, including those who propagate prejudice, creepiness and lies. In fact, it even helps them spread their message.”
Of course Drake is a part of the Raptors. Hip hop and basketball are intertwined
Mark Campbell: “The Toronto Raptors’ global ambassador does something special, especially for a city that lives in the shadow of U.S. media industries. Drake’s pride in Toronto demonstrates one of the most significant aspects of hip-hop culture: its hyperlocal concerns and its members’ desire to represent their city.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
By Brian GableBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Film Friday: Here’s what’s opening this weekend
Director Joanna Hogg brings a story much like her own to life with The Souvenir, which sees Honor Swinton Byrne soar as a film student in a tumultuous relationship, her first role. (3.5 stars)
Always Be My Maybe thrives in its balance of outrageousness and realism, and Ali Wong and Randall Park excel at injecting the perfect dose of humour. (3 stars)
Framing John DeLorean’s story of the car designer, already interesting enough, turns thoroughly entertaining through the directorial eyes of Don Argott and Sheena Joyce and inventiveness of Alec Baldwin. (3 stars)
Subscribers can go here to read more about our critics’ picks.
MOMENT IN TIME
(Photo by Robert Scott/Getty Images)Fotos International/Getty Images
Neil Young helps Dylan reboot his career
June 7, 1988: In 1988, at the Concord Pavilion in Concord, Calif., Bob Dylan began his so-called Never Ending Tour. Lending a helping hand, Canadian rock troubadour Neil Young was also on stage for the June show. The tour, by definition, is still happening to this day. Dylan has never had much use for the unofficial term. “Does anybody,” he once asked, “call Henry Ford a Never Ending Car Builder?” If the ending nature of the tour is in question, so too was the start. In his memoir, Chronicles: Volume 1, Dylan poetically described his depressed state of mind around that time: “The mirror had swung around and I could see the future – an old actor fumbling in garbage cans outside the theatre of past triumphs.” Nevertheless, a week after releasing the critically panned album Down in the Groove, Dylan hit the road with a new band. In October of that year, a British-American supergroup comprised of Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison released The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. Dylan’s career was revitalized. And this summer, on July 12, Young and Dylan co-headline a concert at London’s Hyde Park. It never ends. – Brad Wheeler
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