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German riot police stand in front of protestors during the demonstrations during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYFABRIZIO BENSCH/Reuters

TOP STORIES

G20 summit opens with violent clashes between protesters and police

The Group of 20 summit is opening under a dark cloud with violent protests in the streets and some leaders sniping at each other, Paul Waldie reports. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the other leaders arrived on Thursday, tens of thousands of demonstrators held a giant rally dubbed "Welcome to Hell." By the evening, the protesters had clashed with hundreds of riot police, leaving many injured and reports that several cars had been set on fire. As the clashes spread across other parts of the city, U.S. President Donald Trump was lambasting Russian President Vladimir Putin over his country's aggression in Ukraine, causing the Russians to bite back. Meanwhile, some delegates to the summit wondered if the final communiqué should simply turn into a G19 document, with Mr. Trump excluded because of his position on trade and climate change.

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Ottawa pays Omar Khadr $10.5-million, circumventing the efforts of two Americans trying to stop the transaction

It happened quietly, but the Trudeau government has now officially paid Omar Khadr the $10.5-million he was promised for abuses he suffered as a teenager at Guantanamo Bay. The move circumvents legal efforts by two Americans, who were trying to prevent him from receiving the compensation. One of the Americans is a widow of the soldier who was killed in the firefight that Khadr was involved in as a child soldier.

The payout to Mr. Khadr and his legal team was cashed immediately, according to a source involved in the transaction. Legal settlements do not fall under taxable income so Mr. Khadr will not have to pay taxes on the $10.5-million.

GTA home sales drop after foreign buyer tax

Canada's largest housing market appears to be cooling down, and it might be because of the 15-per-cent tax on foreign home buyers that was implemented in an Ontario region this spring. The price of residential properties in the GTA dropped last month, down 13.8 per cent from a record high in April, which is the same month that the tax was first implemented. New statistics released Thursday by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) also show that in June, sales volume in the GTA tumbled 37.3 per cent from a year earlier.

The tax applies to the Greater Golden Horseshoe region, a sprawling land base that surrounds the GTA. It came eight months after the B.C. government imposed a 15-per-cent tax on foreign purchasers in the Vancouver region in August.

Ottawa fails in bid to delay Ontario solitary-confinement lawsuit

An Ontario judge said no to Ottawa when the federal government tried to adjourn a lawsuit that challenges the use of solitary confinement in federal prisons. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), along with the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, is challenging the constitutionality of solitary confinement. After the federal government introduced Bill C-56 in late June that would restrict how long inmates can be placed in solitary confinement, it then filed an application to delay the proceedings so that Parliament has time to consider the bill in the fall. Prisoners' rights groups argue that the proposed legislation does not go far enough and that Canada remains committed to a broken and dangerous system.

MORNING MARKETS

Global stocks are poised to end the week at six-week lows in the face of oil weakness, a spike in bond yields and anticipation of tighter monetary policy, particularly in the United States. Investors have their eyes on U.S. monthly payrolls data due later this morning. Canadian job numbers are also released today. Tokyo's Nikkei lost 0.3 per cent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.5 per cent, while the Shanghai composite gained 0.2 per cent. In Europe, London's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were down by between 0.2 and 0.4 per cent by about 5:35 a.m. (ET). New York futures were mixed, and the Canadian dollar is holding at about the 77-cent (U.S.) mark. Oil prices were down as much as 2 per cent.

WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT

No vaccines, no public school: Is it time for Canada to emulate France?

"Whooping cough! Mumps! The names seem archaic, the afflictions of suffering youngsters in some old-time children's book. Yet here we are, experiencing regular outbreaks of easily preventable diseases, so it should come as no surprise that Canada's vaccination rates are unacceptable. Measles, for example, has a herd immunity threshold of about 95 per cent. The exact number depends on a variety of factors, but doctors begin to lose confidence in their ability to control the measles virus when 6 per cent of people dismiss or reject the needle." – Denise Balkissoon

We can't afford not to provide a new social safety net

"One of the big questions people want to see answered is: Does a guaranteed income act as a disincentive to seeking meaningful work? One of the biggest criticisms of universal basic income is that it would create a world of slouches. Some skepticism is certainly warranted. However, what people need to begin wrapping their heads around is what happens when the labour market is turned on its head by robotics, throwing tens of millions of people out of work in the process." – Gary Mason

Would you apologize to Omar Khadr?

"So that's done. The case of Omar Khadr versus the government of Canada has been settled. The former child enemy combatant will split $10.5-million with his lawyers, and the government will apologize. The mainstream media and the ruling class are unanimous in their approval. The rule of law has been upheld. Justice has been served. In the rest of the country, the verdict is quite different. The rest of the country thinks this deal stinks." – Margaret Wente

HEALTH PRIMER

If a wine goes through malolactic fermentation and contains lactic acid, is it unsafe for people who are lactose intolerant? No. You are perfectly safe to drink that wine, gastrointestinally speaking. There's a big difference between lactose, which gives trouble to people in your situation, and lactic acid. Lactose is a complex sugar found in dairy and must be broken down in the small intestine into its constituent parts, glucose and galactose, before it can be absorbed. The chemical knife needed to slice that sweetly seductive lactose, incidentally, is an enzyme called lactase. (I admit, the scientific nomenclature here could have been less confusing than most of my university chemistry lectures, but that's science for you.) – Beppi Crosariol

MOMENT IN TIME

UNESCO recognizes Joggins Fossil Cliffs July 7, 2008: It is rarely wise to underestimate the Bay of Fundy. The pocket of the Atlantic that nearly cleaves Nova Scotia from the continental mainland has tides that thrive on superlatives. They're the highest on the planet, sometimes rising three storeys from low tide to high, and have carved wonders into the shoreline such as New Brunswick's Hopewell Rocks. On the Nova Scotia side, they've exposed an enormous piece of history. The Joggins Fossil Cliffs contain the world's most complete document of the predinosaur Coal Age: Three different ecosystems more than 300 million years old, immaculately preserved in layered sandstone and exposed by the bay's ebb and flow. The cliffs were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July, 2008, for offering "the richest assemblage known" of fossil life from those ecosystems – 148 species – giving the Fundy's tides a well-earned nod in history books. –Josh O'Kane

Morning Update is written by Megan Marrelli. 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.

European Correspondent Paul Waldie reports from the demonstration in Hamburg, Germany as world leaders arrive for the G20

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