Good morning.
These are the top stories:
B.C. officials are requesting military aid to deal with rising floodwaters
Evacuation orders continue to pile up in the province, with flood warnings now reaching Langley – just 50 kilometres east of Vancouver. About 2,000 homes, mostly in the southern Interior, have been placed under evacuation order, and another 2,600 are on evacuation alert. The community of Grand Forks is putting in a request for military help as water levels are projected to rise during a period of unseasonably high temperatures and a forecast of rain. The situation in B.C. comes just after floods hit New Brunswick earlier this month.
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North Korea is threatening to cancel the upcoming Kim-Trump summit
North Korea on Wednesday accused the U.S. of an “awfully sinister” ambition to bring about its collapse, citing Libya and Iraq. The rogue state called off upcoming talks with South Korea after military drills were conducted by the South and the United States. North Korea’s state news agency said Washington will have to “undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities.” U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12.
A Canadian doctor was shot by an Israeli sniper near the Gaza border
Canadian-Palestinian doctor Tarek Loubani was shot in the legs Monday while standing with orange-vested paramedics 25 metres from the protests at the border. “Snipers don’t reach me because of mistakes. I did everything right. We were all huddled. We were high-visibility. It was quiet at the exact moment I got shot,” said Dr. Loubani, who also works as an associate professor at the University of Western Ontario’s medical school. One of the paramedics who assisted him was later shot by a sniper while providing medical help to protesters. A spokesperson for Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said it’s “appalling and inexcusable” that first responders, civilians and children have been among those shot by Israeli forces along the border.
Here’s a trio of columns looking at the violence in Gaza, which came just as the U.S. moved its embassy to Jerusalem:
Doug Saunders: “For [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, this mixture of human tragedy and empty ceremony was the culmination of a Faustian political bargain, in which he has purchased political support for his right-wing coalition at the price of the world’s respect and his country’s peace and security.”
H.A. Hellyer: “Israel’s defenders will point out the cynicism of Hamas, an appalling group that operates in Gaza and undoubtedly had a hand in supporting the protests – but it isn’t Hamas who is shooting unarmed Palestinians.”
Daoud Kuttab: “Hope is important. A lack of hope and an absence of a future are often the main factors that weaken people’s attachment to life. While this can apply in so many social cases, the situation of Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip, is very relevant.”
China is detaining at least 200,000 Uyghurs in prison-like centres, according to a report
And the number could be as high as one million. The Chinese government has detained scores of Muslim Uyghurs in political re-education facilities in Xinjiang that are sometimes called “vocational training centres” but “frequently function as well-secured internment camps,” researcher Adrian Zenz found. In his report, Zenz says the facilities have security fences, barbed wire, surveillance systems and watchtowers. China has pushed back against foreign criticism of its treatment of the Uyghur population, including a demand from Canada and other Western countries to discuss issues in the Xinjiang region.
Playoffs: The Jets and Golden Knights face off in Game 3 tonight
Winnipeg will be looking to get back in the win column in Las Vegas tonight (9 p.m. ET). With the series tied 1-1, the Jets don’t want a repeat of Monday’s 3-1 loss: “We were chasing the game, down two goals, and it made it tough,” Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler said. “We just couldn’t get any momentum.”
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for the Alberta parents whose toddler died of meningitis
David and Collet Stephan were convicted in 2016 of failing to provide the necessities of life when they opted to treat their son Ezekiel with naturopathic supplements instead of seeking immediate medical help. But now the country’s top court ruled that the trial judge failed to explain the law “in a way that the jury could understand.” David Stephan was sentenced to four months in jail but was freed on bail after 20 days, while his wife was ordered to serve three months under house arrest. They’ll now stand trial again, which could result in either acquittal or conviction (the maximum penalty is five years in prison).
MORNING MARKETS
Stocks fall
Italian stocks fell on Wednesday after reports that two parties seeking to form Italy’s next government could seek debt forgiveness, although broader markets were unfazed and focused instead on a pause in surging U.S. bond yields. Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.4 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.1 per cent, and the Shanghai composite 0.7 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.1 per cent by about 5:35 a.m. ET, with Germany’s DAX down marginally and the Paris CAC 40 down 0.1 per cent. New York futures were flat. The Canadian dollar is below 78 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
If voters aren’t willing to buy what Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals are selling, none of their advantages matter
Operationally, [the Liberals] are still strongest among Ontario’s parties in some ways – the most seasoned opposition researchers, the best advertising, probably the top voter-identification system. None of those advantages matter, heading into the June 7 election, if voters simply aren’t willing to buy what they’re selling. And all indications are that the Liberals have finally reached that point. … Although it’s early for obituaries – voters could conceivably be more put off by the other options and come back to them – the grumbling from Liberals outside the upper echelons of Wynne’s campaign team is already audible. They can feel support bleeding away, and nobody seems to know how to stanch it. But that presumes there is some remedy they just haven’t landed on yet. And maybe – after almost 15 years in power, and all the baggage that comes with it – it’s too late for that.” – Adam Radwanski
Cackle all you want, Roseanne is part of a revival in network TV
“It’s alive! It’s alive! After the eye-watering ratings that accrued for the revival of Roseanne on ABC, all of network TV is refusing to die. It just won’t go away. It has, you might say, a reason to live. … About 18 million in the United States and 2.2 million in Canada watched weekly as the nine-episode Roseanne reboot rolled out. Yep, while you were glued to some true-crime epic on Netflix or availing yourself of Scandinavian crime data in the original language, the proletariat was watching old-fashioned TV. Shows with cardboard characters and laugh tracks. Now, the beans can be spilled – it turns out these shows are both a vehicle for mindless escapism and a weirdly appropriate forum for characters to talk about the issues that simmer under the surface of the Donald Trump era.” – John Doyle
Missing in action: mutual accommodation
“The world has never had more people, more diversity or less-robust borders – it has never been more connected, yet disconnected. These trends will continue – the result of six centuries of freedom and technology that have weakened previous sources of Western cohesion. The need for mutual accommodation is now urgent if we are to live in a bearable world. Mutual accommodation is not a path to eliminate power and force, but rather a way for humans to better manage them both.” – William A. Macdonald, corporate lawyer turned consultant
LIVING BETTER
How to maximize space in a small kitchen
It all comes down to organization, Lucy Waverman writes. If you’re not using the stovetop, cover it with a large cutting board for more prep space. If there’s room above your sink, put the drying rack there instead of the counter. And wherever there is unused space on the wall, add shelving.
MOMENT IN TIME
The laser is born
May 16, 1960: In 1917, Albert Einstein was the first to describe the process by which atoms can be coaxed to amplify incoming light. Putting the idea into practice proved far more challenging. By the 1950s, major research centres were pouring millions into the problem. Theodore (Ted) Maiman, an engineer and physicist with a knack for tinkering, thought he saw an easier way. After persuading his managers at Hughes Research Laboratories in Culver City, Calif., to allow him to try his idea, he fashioned a single crystal of synthetic ruby, shaped into a rod 1.5 centimetres long, coated with silver at either end. A powerful flash bulb coiled around the ruby to energize the atoms within the crystal. It cost only $50,000 to build the pocket-size device. On the day it was first tested, the ruby behaved exactly as Maiman predicted, producing a coherent red light. The laser was born, and would soon become a staple technology of the electronic age. From the checkout counter to the operating room, it is no longer possible to imagine a world without lasers. Maiman, who later moved to Vancouver, died in 2007. His legacy is set to be recognized during celebrations in Paris today marking the first International Day of Light. – Ivan Semeniuk
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Arik Ligeti