Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Latest developments from the Middle East
No Canadians approved to leave Gaza today were able to exit. A total of 266 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their family members had hoped to cross into Egypt at the Rafah border crossing.
Also today, Israeli air strikes hit three hospitals and a school in Gaza, killing at least 27 people, with a ground battle underway at another hospital, Palestinian officials said.
Meanwhile, in his strongest comments to date, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “far too many” Palestinians have died and suffered. Gaza authorities put the death toll at more than 11,000.
Also, three Palestinian human rights groups said they’ve asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel, accusing it of committing war crimes including genocide by bombing and besieging the Gaza Strip. Israel isn’t a member of the court, doesn’t recognize its jurisdiction, and has previously said allegations of genocide are deplorable and that its actions target militants of the Hamas group that rules Gaza, not civilians.
- Jewish communities in Canada shaken by spike in hate incidents since onset of Israel-Hamas war
- Université de Montréal suspends lecturer filmed at Israel-Hamas protest
- France’s Macron urges Israel to stop bombing Gaza
- Damage to Gaza War Cemetery shows challenge of caring for monuments in conflict zones
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Blinken urges Indian counterparts to co-operate with Canada in murder probe of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is once again urging India to help Canada advance its investigation into the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, saying today that it’s very important for India to co-operate so that the investigation can continue to move forward. Nijjar was a prominent Sikh activist gunned down in June outside a gurdwara in Surrey, B.C.
Military veterans keen to share their history as numbers drop
Royal Canadian Air Force veteran Bill Cook, 98, left, holds a World War II photo of his Halifax bomber crew members, as fellow veteran Hank Jackson, 102, looks on in Calgary, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. Both were Halifax bomber tail gunners during World War II.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Veterans Affairs Canada says there are more than 9,000 veterans of the Second World War and Korean War still alive in Canada. More than one million Canadians served in the Second World War, with more than 45,000 dying and another 55,000 injured. Another 33,000 fought in the Korean War. But as veterans die, historians are concerned about keeping their stories alive.
Related reads:
- Canada’s Silver Cross Mother reminds us that freedom comes with a price
- Finding the names of the men who saved my father’s life in the war
- This Remembrance Day, we honour those who understood their global responsibility
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Income taxes: Statistics Canada says the country’s top 1 per cent of tax filers saw their incomes rise by almost 10 per cent in 2021, while those in the bottom half saw their average income decline.
Flooding in Somalia: Once-in-a-century flooding has uprooted hundreds of thousands of people in Somalia and neighbouring countries in East Africa following a historic drought.
Opioids in Nova Scotia: The scourge that is Canada’s opioid addiction crisis was laid bare in the Nova Scotia legislature this week as politicians shared personal stories about their struggles. Across Canada, more than 38,000 opioid-related deaths were recorded between January, 2016 ,and March, 2023, according to federal government data.
Banking: The Royal Bank of Canada has committed to racial equity audits after facing pressure from shareholders. RBC says it will conduct a third-party audit of employment practices next year and another on business practices in 2025.
Buying a car: Potential car buyers have likely noticed that vehicle prices are much higher today than just a few years ago.
Grammy nominations: SZA is the lead contender for the 66th Grammy Awards, with nine nominations announced today. The 2024 ceremony will mark the second time SZA has been nominated for record, album, and song of the year in the same year. If there is an overall trend in the 2024 nominations, it’s that female acts outperformed their male counterparts.
Toy Hall of Fame: Cabbage Patch Kids made it to the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, N.Y. But Barbie’s Ken missed out. Anyone can nominate a toy as long as the toy has inspired creative play and enjoyed long-lasting popularity.
MARKET WATCH
Wall Street’s main indexes ended sharply higher today, boosted by heavyweight tech and growth stocks as Treasury yields calmed, while investors looked ahead to a next week’s important reports on inflation and other economic data.
The S&P 500 gained 67.89 points, or 1.56 per cent, to end at 4,415.24 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 276.66 points, or 2.05 per cent, to 13,798.11. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 391.16 points, or 1.15 per cent, to 34,283.10. The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 67.06 points at 19,654.47.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.36 US cents.
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TALKING POINTS
Why do people hate Israel?
“How did this tiny country of less than 10 million people go from darling of the left and beacon of democracy in the Middle East to being so utterly reviled – especially by progressives?” - Marsha Lederman
‘Women don’t fight.’ On the forgotten contribution of female soldiers
“Women have long participated in combat, but it has been all too easy to dismiss women’s fighting as an ‘exception.’” - Sarah Percy
Pakistan and Iran are Afghanistan’s neighbours, but their treatment of Afghans is shameful
“So we must ask: despite the heritage shared by these communities and their host countries, why is there no legal path to naturalization available to Afghans?” - Shoaib Rahim
Fear of a Trump planet: The world is watching the American voter
“The prospect of another Trump era is, for the democratic world, absolutely blood-chilling – worse than the time-stopping disaster that was 2016 through 2021.” - Doug Saunders
LIVING BETTER
Four warm-weather escapes for winter
Englishman's Bay, Trinidad and Tobago.Tobago Tourism
From Trinidad and Tobago to Vietnam: battle the cold season blues by flying off to any one of these four vacation destinations. Globe staff have suggestions on where to stay in each place and what to do if you go.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Secret Canada: The dustbin of history
The Globe and Mail had a tour last fall of the Collection Storage Facility, a Library and Archives Canada building in the east end of Gatineau.Ashley Fraser/Globe and Mail
Historian Patricia McMahon studies nuclear policy, a famously difficult subject to research as so much of the material is classified. But when she got a chance to look into Canadian conscription practices during the First World War, she figured it would be a nice change of pace. “I thought, ‘This will be easy. Who is going to withhold records that are 100 years old?’” she said.
The answer: the Canadian federal government. Read the full story here.
- Read more about Secret Canada: For the past two years, The Globe and Mail has been investigating the country’s broken freedom of information (FOI) regime through a project called Secret Canada.
- Listen to Robyn Doolittle on The Decibel podcast
Evening Update is written by Maryam Shah. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.