Inside India's wild disinformation campaigns

Plus, Toronto's racoon wars and possible relief at the gas pumps [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning. Here’s the latest on Toronto’s 100-year war against raccoons, Indian disinformation campaigns and relief finally coming for the gas pumps. DON’T MISS Toronto Star Illustration trash pandas [The wild tale of how Toronto lost its century-long war with raccoons]( While Toronto proudly calls itself the “raccoon capital of the world” today, you might be surprised to learn the fuzzy trash pandas were rarely seen in the city before 1930. At that time, sightings drew crowds, swift municipal action and even front-page media coverage, Amy Dempsey reports. As the years passed, however, what began as rare sightings turned to daily nuisances as raccoons grew accustomed to city living — digging through trash, living in attics and killing chickens by the dozen. As interspecies tensions rose, what followed was a wild series of events from political intrigue to an unsolved murder and at least two declarations of war. [Read the full, beautifully illustrated story here](. - Listen: Dempsey joins the This Matters podcast to talk all things raccoon, from our love-hate relationship with the critters to how trash pandas invited themselves to her wedding. [Listen to her full interview](. - Go deeper: In 2016, Toronto spent $31 million developing and maintaining specialized “raccoon-proof” green bins, sold as the greatest innovation in humanity’s war against raccoons. The critters cracked the code in months. [Are all our efforts only building a smarter breed of raccoon]( Altaf Qadri/AP Photo india [Cocaine, romance and murder — disinformation campaigns are hounding Justin Trudeau and his government after India allegation]( A slew of online attacks and disinformation campaigns are targeting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Canadian government, risking further dividing Indo-Canadians, MPs tell the Star’s Tonda MacCharles. After Trudeau alleged that New Delhi was linked to a Canadian’s assassination, India expelled one Canadian diplomat, ordered the expulsion of most of Canada’s diplomatic corps, suspended visas and more. India media outlets have since published a variety of disinformation, including that cocaine was found on Trudeau’s plane at the G20, that the leader is gay and “liked” the victim of the June assassination, and that Ottawa collaborated with a Pakistani spy agency which India claimed was behind the attack. [Here’s what else they’re saying](. - Context: [India has insisted its demands to expel two-thirds of Canada’s diplomatic corps in the country was about “parity,”]( to match the number of Indian diplomats in Canada — but also a rebuke over what it called foreign interference into its “internal affairs.” - The Star’s take: Trudeau made the right call in informing the nation of the “credible allegations” against India. Now, Ottawa must stand firm in the pursuit of justice — [while acknowledging their foreign policy appears to garner little respect](. Lance McMillan/The Star cost of living [Relief may soon come to the gas pump as oil prices slide. Could it finally drop inflation?]( Drivers may finally be getting a break at the gas pump as the price of oil plunges, economists tell the Star’s Josh Rubin. As West Texas Intermediate, one of the world’s main oil benchmarks, dropped 12 per cent in about a week, experts say pump prices should follow “within a week” or less. The crash in prices was partly spawned from fears of a slowing global economy, cooling demand. Meanwhile, others predict the price drop may soon result in a lowering of inflation, on which energy prices have a “huge impact.” [Here’s what this could mean for you](. - Meanwhile: After briefly dipping for a few months, [Canada’s inflation rate spiked back up to four per cent in August](. - More: In its efforts to quash inflation, the Bank of Canada has been raising its key overnight interest rate over the past months, most recently to five per cent. If inflation keeps up, more rate hikes could be on the way — [which risks plunging the economy into recession](. WHAT ELSE A watchdog has found former mayor [John Tory broke ethics rules with his improper relationship](. New ads popping up across Toronto warning of blackouts and “quadrupled” hydro bills are [actually funded by Alberta](. A retired cop told the Nygard trial she [would have “liked to have gone further” with a late 1980s sex-assault complaint against the ex-fashion mogul](. The Crown has concluded its case against accused terrorist Nathaniel Veltman [after four weeks and hours of witness testimony](. Here’s when Doug Ford’s collapsed $8 billion Greenbelt land swap [will officially be reversed](. Are Albertans sold on leaving the Canada Pension Plan? [Danielle Smith may have a battle in her own province](. What makes a Toronto basement apartment illegal? [Here’s what renters and landlords need to know](. A former FTX co-founder has admitted to [carrying out fraud with fallen crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried](. Fraser Minten is forcing the Leafs’ hands with a strong pre-season play — [forcing them into some hard roster decisions](. MLSE has pulled out of bidding for the first WNBA team outside the U.S., [scuttling hopes of a Toronto franchise](. [Pick up one of these spectacular pumpkin pie alternatives]( to spice up this year’s Thanksgiving feast. Yearlong repairs for the St. Clair West streetcar line are [adding to commuters’ LRT woes](. ICYMI Steve Russell/The Star [They deliver your food. And they’re at the centre of Toronto’s carjacking crime wave.]( CLOSE-UP Richard Lautens/The Star QUEEN’S QUAY: Toronto mayor Olivia Chow and Canadian legend Terry Fox’s younger brother, Darrell, unveiled a new sculpture commemorating the runner at Toronto Music Garden yesterday. The statue consists of three pieces that, when seen from the right angle, forms an image from Fox’s Marathon of Hope. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_201033). Andrew will see you back here tomorrow. 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