Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Seven killed in evacuation chaos at Kabul airport as Taliban declare war over in Afghanistan
Thousands of Afghans rushed onto the tarmac of Kabul’s international airport today, some so desperate to escape the Taliban capture of their country that they held onto a U.S. military jet as it took off and plunged to death in chaos that killed at least seven people, U.S. officials said.
The Taliban swept into Kabul on yesterday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing an end to a two-decade campaign in which the United States and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan.
Striking a defiant tone, U.S. President Joe Biden said this afternoon that he stands “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan and that the Afghan government’s collapse was quicker than anticipated.
Meanwhile, Canada is engaged with the U.S. and other allies to evacuate as many Canadians and Afghans as possible from Kabul, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau concedes the situation is “extremely fluid and exceedingly dangerous.” A Canadian Armed Forces Globemaster is at the U.S. airbase in Kuwait awaiting to get into Kabul, once they get the approval of U.S. commanders.
Opinion: Canada owes the Afghans who helped us a debt of gratitude – and their lives - Hamida Ghafour, author and The Globe and Mail’s correspondent in Kabul from 2003 to 2005
Watch: Chaos at Kabul airport as people attempt to flee Afghanistan
In photos: Taliban take control as Afghans attempt to flee to the chaotic Kabul airport
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Party leaders take to the campaign trail for the Sept. 20 federal election
The Liberals and Conservatives are making their pitches for Canada’s economic recovery from the pandemic as the election campaign enters its second day, following the widely expected call for a snap election on Sept. 20. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is proposing to extend business supports to March and Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has released his party’s platform, which scraps the Liberals’ child-care plan in exchange for tax credits.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, meanwhile, said he would claw back millions of dollars in bonuses from “ultra-rich” CEOs that were accrued through government wage supports throughout the pandemic.
Read more: What are the challenges facing the major political parties before Canada votes?
Explainer: The latest updates and essential reading ahead of Sept. 20 vote
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Haiti braces for Grace: Tropical Depression Grace drenched Haiti today, threatening to dump up to 38 centimeters of rain as people searched for survivors of Saturday’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which has been blamed for an estimated 1,300 deaths.
B.C. wildfires spread: The White Rock Lake wildfire wildfire, which has already claimed dozens of properties in British Columbia’s southern Interior, has roared through another community, destroying homes in the Killiney area along the northwest shore of Okanagan Lake.
Meng’s extradition trial resumes: The legal team of Meng Wanzhou told a B.C. courtroom today says the United States has presented no evidence linking the Huawei executive’s actions with any violation of U.S. sanctions by an international bank.
On today’s The Decibel podcast: It’s been almost 1,000 days since Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained in China in apparent retaliation for the arrest in Canada of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at the request of U.S. officials. The Globe’s new Asia correspondent, James Griffiths, breaks down the politics at play between China, the U.S., Canada and Iran to untangle the threads that link these cases.
MARKET WATCH
On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow hit record highs today as investors moved into defensive sectors and stocks recovered from losses earlier in the session, shaking off glum economic data out of China.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 110.02 points or 0.31 per cent to 35,625.40, the S&P 500 gained 11.71 points or 0.26 per cent to 4,479.71 and the Nasdaq Composite slid 29.14 points or 0.20 per cent to 14,793.76.
The S&P/TSX composite index was fell 34.65 points or 0.17 per cent to 20,483.42.
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TALKING POINTS
Canada’s universities and colleges have broken their students’ trust
“As I watched vaccination numbers surge over the summer, I believed all my students would come back to campus vaccinated; if they didn’t, I thought that my university’s leaders would mandate it. Now, that giddiness is gone.”- Manish Raizada, professor and molecular geneticist, the University of Guelph
To protect our kids from COVID-19, we have to be grown-ups
“We need to increase the number of fully vaccinated Canadians with all the levers available and the lessons we’ve learned. Let’s reinstate or keep in place mandatory masks indoors, and get the ventilation inside schools done properly. Nothing should be off the table.” - Katharine Smart, president-elect, Canadian Medical Association
Dear dog owners: Please, leash your pet
“When a big dog growled at me and bared his teeth while I was on a recent walk, his owner said the dog must have been startled by the binoculars I wore around my neck. In other words, it was my fault.” - Marcus Gee
LIVING BETTER
It’s sometimes said you eat with your eyes first. So keep colours in mind when choosing what to eat: Fruits and vegetables such as blueberries, carrots and spinach owe their bright hues to phytochemicals, powerful plant compounds thought to help preserve memory as we age. New findings suggest that eating a flavonoid-rich diet guards against early brain changes that could eventually lead to dementia.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Non-profit Shelter Movers helps women flee violent home situations
“She was 62 years old.," says Genevieve Caumartin of her mother, Francine Bissonnette, who was in an abusive relationship. "And she was very afraid of losing everything. Not only furniture, but the pictures of her grandmother, her mother. Everything that she held dear.”Chloë Ellingson/The Globe and Mail
Money was tight for Francine Bissonnette in 2016, when she was thinking of leaving her common-law partner. He was abusive. Controlling. But they lived together, and the idea of starting over seemed unfathomable. She was reluctant to ask her family for help, for fear of putting them at risk. So she stayed. And he killed her.
“Why don’t you just leave?” is a question those who have experienced domestic violence continue to be asked. It’s a complicated dilemma faced by countless people – the majority of them women – across Canada each year. In addition to many intangible barriers, there are everyday physical things that can keep women tethered to violent relationships. Starting over is not just difficult, it’s expensive.
Bissonnette’s killer was sentenced to 12 years in prison for manslaughter. Shortly after his trial, her daughter, Genevieve Caumartin, learned about Shelter Movers, a Toronto-based non-profit organization that offers packing, storage and moving services, free of both charge and judgment, for people who need to flee violent home situations. She reached out to them. Now, three years later, she’s the organization’s Montreal chapter lead. Read Molly Hayes’s full story here.
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