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Saudi Arabia is weighing blaming an intelligence officer for Khashoggi’s killing

The rulers of Saudi Arabia may pin the blame on General Ahmed al-Assiri, a top intelligence official close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. They’re expected to say Assiri received authorization from Prince Mohammed to capture journalist Jamal Khashoggi for an interrogation in Saudi Arabia, but did not follow those instructions and instead took Khashoggi’s life.

The Saudi plan comes as U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged for the first time that he presumes Khashoggi is dead. Trump said he is still awaiting the results of Riyadh’s investigation, but that the consequences would be “very severe” if Riyadh’s leaders played a role in Khashoggi’s killing.

A prominent Saudi dissident in Canada says he was in constant contact with Khashoggi over the summer as they discussed ways to challenge a communications crackdown in Saudi Arabia. But the two men learned that the Saudis may have been listening to them for a span of a few months, said Omar Abdulaziz. They decided to meet face-to-face in Montreal. “He told me he was coming to Canada. … He was on his way to visit me, but he said: ‘You know what? I am going to finish my marriage papers [in Turkey], then I’ll come,'” Abdulaziz said.

In Opinion, Doug Saunders takes an in-depth look at why countries are getting away with murder across borders, a phenomenon not seen since the Cold War: “This looks like a return to a grisly past, but there is an important difference. Today’s assassins are comparatively incompetent, sometimes comically so, at concealing their identities and nationalities. And their governments don’t appear to care much about secrecy – perhaps deliberately. … The international political environment may be enabling such killings. Rather than fearing retribution from the other side, these regimes currently enjoy support and backing from the United States, or at least from President Donald Trump, who studiously avoids voicing any criticism of the world’s major strongman regimes.”

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Canada and the U.S. are in talks to end steel and aluminum tariffs

The two sides are aiming to put an end to Washington’s tariffs before the formal signing of the proposed trilateral trade deal at the end of November. The talks have focused on Canada agreeing to a quota on exports of those metals to the U.S. in exchange for lifting the tariffs, sources said (for subscribers).

Meanwhile, Canada continues to forge ahead on trade interests with China. International Trade Minister Jim Carr and Finance Minister Bill Morneau are set to travel to Beijing next month. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Canada intends to pursue closer ties with China despite the “non-market” country clause in the tentative United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that was inserted amid a trade war between the U.S. and Beijing.

Municipal elections primer: Nanaimo, Vancouver, Toronto

Voters in Nanaimo, B.C., are hoping tomorrow’s election will put an end to the dysfunction at city hall. Among the drama that’s played out over the past few years: A city councillor telling the mayor to “bite me”; an RCMP investigation of the mayor; a member of council arrested; and the chief administrative officer arrested on allegations of uttering threats. In this election, Mayor Bill McKay isn’t running and only half of the eight city councillors are seeking re-election. A key issue is the city’s growing homelessness problem.

In Vancouver, which is also headed to the polls tomorrow, independents are pooling resources to purchase joint advertising – and it has sparked criticism of the new campaign-finance law that imposed limits on donations and spending. Cities in the Lower Mainland have no ward system, which makes it difficult for candidates to campaign (not to mention a long list of hopefuls). In turn, some like-minded candidates to work together as a way to inform voters about where they stand; critics say this has given independents an unfair financial advantage over those running with a party. For a full primer on Vancouver’s election, go here.

The balance of power in Toronto’s election on Monday is set to be decided by a few tight ward races. The size of council is now only 25 seats after Premier Doug Ford cut it nearly in half, and there are a number of races that pit conservative-leaning councillors against centrists or left-leaning councillors. The outcome of those races will play a key role in whether the winning mayoral candidate (John Tory is polling ahead of Jennifer Keesmaat) can control council.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Kandahar officials were killed by their own guards in an attack on the top U.S. general in Afghanistan

A Taliban spokesman said American Scott Miller was the target of the attack, though he escaped without injury. The three officials killed include Kandahar’s powerful police chief Abdul Raziq along with the province’s governor Zalmay Wesa. Three Americans – a service member and two civilians workers – were wounded in the shooting at a security conference. Security has been steadily deteriorating in Afghanistan, with the Taliban threatening to target tomorrow’s elections.

MORNING MARKETS

Markets mixed

Investors sold Italian bonds and the euro on Friday, with Italy’s bond yield hitting four-year highs as the European Union called its draft budget an “unprecedented” breach of EU fiscal rules. Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.6 per cent, though Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.4 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite shot up 2.6 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.1 per cent by about 6 a.m. ET, while Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were down by between 0.5 and 0.9 per cent. New York futures were up. The Canadian dollar was sitting just above 76.5 US cents.

WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

As others go backward, Canada moves forward

“Australia’s coalition government blamed an ‘administrative error’ after many of its senators supported a motion that declared: ‘It’s OK to be white.’ The motion, which also decried the “deplorable rise of anti-white racism and attacks on Western civilization,” was narrowly defeated, by a vote of 31-28 on Monday, thanks to opposition by Labour, the Greens and independents. After the government forced a revote, the motion was decisively defeated. But the fact that the Australian Senate could even be debating these noxious words is remarkable. Any Canadian politician who tried to introduce such a declaration into a legislature would surely be expelled from whatever caucus they belonged to. In that sense, the legalization of cannabis use on Wednesday is simply the latest evidence that Canada has set itself apart from the world.” – John Ibbitson

Elizabeth Warren’s DNA and what it tells us about race

“This week, the U.S. senator released a slick video with the results of her own DNA test. As the camera scrolls over faded photos, Warren recounts that her paternal grandparents disapproved of her mother’s rumoured Native American ancestry. Then, a Stanford University genetics professor and adviser for Ancestry.com and 23andMe analyzes her test. There’s no doubt, he says, that she is between one-64th and one-1024th Native American. The number seems laughable, but Indigenous people don’t think it’s funny.” – Denise Balkissoon

Vancouver’s housing crisis will forever haunt Gregor Robertson’s time as mayor

“It was on Robertson’s watch that the city’s housing affordability emergency unfolded. When people began sounding the alarm about the influence of foreign investors, mostly from mainland China, Mr. Robertson didn’t like what he felt was a racist undertone to the discussion. People accused him of sticking his head in the sand. Many of these same investors took advantage of massive loopholes in a poorly regulated real estate industry to buy up property at a stunning rate, sending prices through the stratosphere. The development industry, which the mayor’s critics said he was far too cozy with, started building high-priced, luxury condominiums for the super-rich. Meantime, there was not enough rental accommodation to house people of average income. It was a nightmare and, in some ways, still is.” – Gary Mason

LIVING BETTER

Four new films to consider seeing this weekend

Sharkwater Extinction is one last great act of environmental heroism from the late Canadian conservationist Rob Stewart, Brad Wheeler writes. (3 stars)

The Happy Prince, a new Oscar Wilde biopic written by, directed and starring Rupert Everett, is a lovely work of empathy, Wheeler says. (3.5 stars)

The Oath (Ike Barinholtz, Tiffany Haddish and Billy Magnussen) fails to make American political comedy great again, Barry Hertz argues. (2.5 stars)

Beautiful Boy (Timothée Chalamet and Steve Carell) will not make you weep, and that’s a crying shame, Hertz writes. (2 stars)

MOMENT IN TIME

Saddam Hussein put on trial for crimes against humanity

Open this photo in gallery:

(Bob Strong/Reuters)BOB STRONG/Reuters

Oct. 19, 2005: The trial started at the midway point between his being pulled from his “spider hole” hiding spot and his neck being fitted with a noose. Deprived of his palaces and destined for the gallows, Saddam Hussein still managed a show of defiance. Asked to attest his name, he said: “If you’re an Iraqi, then you know.” No one in the room could judge him, he added. “I don’t recognize this aggression.” The deposed dictator was finally having his first day in court. The war-crimes charges – killing, expulsion, torture – related to his presidential role in directing an army massacre of 150 people in 1982. For a fleeting moment, there was hope that regime change could pave the way for the rule of law. Prosecutors had no problem making their case. But respected international-rights groups decried the proceedings as a show trial. Later, the death sentence was hurriedly carried out by masked executioners, ones who shouted Shia slogans against their Sunni tormentor. Iraq lurched out of tyranny, but descended into a bloody sectarian anarchy that divides it to this day. – Colin Freeze

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