Good morning,
These are the top stories:
The Raptors are headed to the NBA Eastern Conference finals
“It was the bat flip for Canadian basketball,” Cathal Kelly writes.
Star forward Kawhi Leonard hit a shot at the buzzer, giving the Raptors a 92-90 win over the Philadelphia 76ers and sending Toronto to the NBA’s final four. “Do you believe in exorcisms?” Kelly asks, recalling a scenario 18 years ago, also against the 76ers, also in the second round, when Vince Carter was unable to make the basket with the clock winding down.
Leonard’s hero-worthy play – he finished the game with 41 points – was complemented by crucial offensive and defensive work from Serge Ibaka, who came in off the bench.
The Raptors’ success so far in these playoffs, Kelly writes, wouldn’t have been possible if they hadn’t traded for Leonard last summer: “This is a good moment to step back and applaud not only the team’s performance, but the enormous gamble that made it possible,” Kelly writes.
Next up, the Raptors head to Milwaukee for their series against the Bucks. Game 1 is on Wednesday.
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Huawei is mounting a lobbying push for 5G approval and Meng Wanzhou’s release
A former top aide in Stephen Harper’s Prime Minister’s Office as well as the director of communications in Paul Martin’s office are among those who have been retained by the Chinese tech company as it tries to avoid a 5G ban and free its chief financial officer. (for subscribers)
Huawei, via its subsidiary Huawei Canada, has also started spending tens of millions of dollars on advertising to promote its phones and it remains a major sponsor of Hockey Night in Canada.
Meng, meanwhile, penned a letter to Huawei employees, saying she has been left “in tears” by their support. She is currently out on bail in Vancouver while awaiting extradition proceedings.
The federal government is currently conducting a national-security review of Huawei, which the U.S. has said should be banned from supplying 5G equipment over concerns that China could use it as a vehicle for spying. Ottawa’s decision on whether to bar Huawei is expected before the federal election.
Two Canadian women freed from Somaliland have arrived in Toronto
Karima Watts and Maymona Abdi share a moment of celebration after landing at Toronto's Pearson Airport. (Tijana Martin/ The Globe and Mail)Tijana Martin/The Globe and Mail
“It will take a long time to put back together the pieces of ourselves, but that process begins with getting home,” said Maymona Abdi, who had been arrested along with her childhood friend Karima Watts in the self-declared state on the Horn of Africa in January.
The pair had been sentenced to 2½ months in prison – in effect time served – as well as 40 lashes each after being convicted of consuming alcohol. They deny the allegation and believe their arrest was related to Abdi’s women’s-rights work.
The women were released on April 23 and spared the 40 lashes after consular officials took on the case amid reports in The Globe and Mail and other media outlets. Still, Watts and Abdi expressed disappointment at Canada’s support as well as concern for the safety of their lawyer who has fled Somaliland.
For Israel’s settlers, hope. For Palestinians, despair. The view from the West Bank ahead of Trump’s peace plan
Residential buildings in the Jewish settlement of Beit El, backdropped by the neighbouring Palestinian refugee camp of Jalazone. (Gili Yaari/The Globe and Mail)Gili Yaari/The Globe and Mail
The U.S. President is readying his so-called “deal of the century,” a plan that’s expected to upend decades of U.S.-led peacemaking. With the moment approaching, correspondent Mark MacKinnon went to the West Bank – where peace means something very different depending on your location.
Residents of Beit El see an opportune moment to ensure they’re able to stay in the Jewish settlement, built in defiance of international law. But Palestinians in the valley below have already given up on the plan before they’ve even seen it, saying Trump is unfit to broker a peace deal after pro-Israeli moves.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
64 per cent of Canadians oppose provincial governments spending taxpayer dollars to fight the carbon tax. The poll, done by Nanos Research for The Globe, was conducted just as Ontario launched a television ad criticizing the federal levy. Separately, 48 per cent of Canadians say they think asylum seekers who haven’t made a claim in the U.S. should be given a full hearing upon crossing the border.
Communities in Eastern Ontario are still reeling from flooding as water hits historic levels on the Ottawa River. Amid multiple states of emergency, soldiers are currently laying down thousands of sandbags to try and save homes.
It’s only May, but a wildfire is already wreaking havoc in central B.C. A fire near Fraser Lake has prompted a state of emergency, with half a dozen homes evacuated and dozens of others on notice.
U.S.-China trade setback prolongs the equities slide
Global equities fell on Monday after their worst week of 2019, as hopes of an imminent U.S.-China trade deal were crushed and neither side showed a willingness to budge, raising fears of a fresh round of tit-for-tat tariffs. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was closed, but Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.7 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite 1.2 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was up marginally by about 5:25 a.m. ET, with Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 down by between 0.5 and 0.7 per cent. New York futures were down.The Canadian dollar was at about 74.5 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Why does Ontario Premier Doug Ford hate the future? He’s sure trying to burn it down
Elizabeth Renzetti: “Concern over the affordability of beer has left little room in the provincial hierarchy of needs for certain other things – namely trees, endangered species and children. What do those three things have in common? That’s right, they’re things that grow if given the right nourishment, or at the very least not actively hacked down. A successful future requires investment now, which is proving to be a surprisingly contentious viewpoint.” (for subscribers)
In defence of crappy beer
Dave McGinn: “Unfortunately, with the explosion in craft beer since the late 2000s, quaffing a watery lager from a macro brewery has become a cultural affront on par with blithely sauntering through your local farmers’ market clutching a takeout bag from McDonald’s. Beer has become a marker of taste and identity, and beer snobs will often weigh in with well-intentioned lectures when they see you grab a lowbrow brew.” (for subscribers)
Six rules for managing our era’s oversupply of non-stop news, high-decibel outrage
Globe editorial: “Rule No. 1: You don’t need to have an opinion about everything. Shocking but true. People will want you to, of course. Our polarized world puts tremendous pressure on us to take a side, and then to dig in. There’s an implicit threat of consequences for failing to do so, such as being accused of sympathizing with those people on the other side – the evil and wrong side – simply for failing to back the good and right one with sufficient enthusiasm.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(David Parkins/The Globe and Mail)David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
When cancer and motherhood collide
Globe and Mail writer Sarah Hampson is photographed with her sons. (Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail)Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Strangely, it turns out that cancer and motherhood have quite a lot in common, as Sarah Hampson discovered in the fall of 2017. Each changes our lives and sets us on a course that will never be exactly the same.
In this long read, Hampson writes: “Ask any mother with cancer, and she will likely tell you that the experience of this illness is the mother-of-all-mothering experiences, intensifying the relationship with our children as it unleashes a torrent of often contradictory impulses – we want to protect them, not burden them, to prepare them, to tell them the truth (depending on their age), to teach, to model good behaviour, to make everything feel okay, even when it might not be. But hard as it is, the new emotional territory can often invite raw, meaningful conversations that might not have happened otherwise.”
MOMENT IN TIME
Musket fire to honour Queen Victoria, 1977
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo librarians working for The Globe and Mail have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. In May, we’re celebrating the bicentennial of Queen Victoria’s birth.
(Tibor Kolley/The Globe and Mail)TIBOR KOLLEY/The Globe and Mail
Historical re-enactments have long been a popular way to mark Queen Victoria’s birthday, as was the case at Toronto’s Montgomery’s Inn in 1977. Globe and Mail photographer Tibor Kolley captured this shot of Private Jay Johnston and Private Claus Reuter firing their smooth-bore flintlock tower muskets, with Sergeant William Henry of the Jessup’s King’s Loyal Americans giving the commands. Edward Jessup was a New York landowner who commanded a regiment of Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War and was later a political figure in Upper Canada. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Victoria’s birth, and Montgomery’s Inn is celebrating with a birthday tea featuring Victorian recipes and a talk by a “professional royals-watcher” about “our fascination with Queen Victoria and her descendants then and now.” Historical Victorian traditions will be observed, but muskets should be left at the door. – Dianne Nice
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Arik Ligeti