Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
A shipment of bombs earmarked for Israel from the United States was paused by the Biden administration last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S., Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin says.
An official who wasn’t named in an Associated Press story said the shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs. The focus of U.S. concern was the larger explosives and how they could be used in a dense urban setting like Rafah, where more than one million civilians are sheltering after evacuating other parts of Gaza amid Israel’s war with Hamas, which came after the militant group’s deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
Meanwhile, in Egypt, an Israeli-Canadian businessman was murdered in the city of Alexandria. Early evidence suggested the attack may have been an antisemitic hate crime that was also motivated by anger over the war in Gaza.
Israeli media identified the victim was Ziv Kipper, the owner of an Egyptian fruit and vegetable company, who regularly entered Egypt on his Canadian passport. The Times of Israel reported that he had been shot dead Tuesday by unknown gunmen. His wife, Oksana Kipper, confirmed his death in an interview with the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.
Read more:
- With Gaza’s maternity care in a shambles, danger and misery abound for babies, parents and midwives
- Israel says it reopened a key Gaza crossing after a rocket attack but UN says no aid has entered
Israeli forces operating in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 8, 2024.-/Getty Images
Unions vow to fight Ottawa over rule requiring federal workers in office three days a week
Chris Aylward, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, says unions representing tens of thousands of federal workers are promising a “summer of discontent” that involves legal actions, a tide of grievances from workers and other measures to counter a new rule that says workers must be in the office for a minimum of three days a week.
Union leaders have cast the policy change as an ill-conceived, and unfair effort to push workers back into ill-equipped offices to satisfy mayors and premiers, notably Ontario’s Doug Ford, who has supported the new policy that he says will help, in particular, Ottawa’s economy.
The Canada flag catches the morning light on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 16, 2024.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Graphic details emerge during first day of trial for man who admitted killing four First Nations women
Graphic details about the crimes of a man who admitted to killing four First Nations women were revealed for the first time in a Winnipeg court, including his video confession during a nearly 20-hour police interrogation and the audio recording of the 911 call that first alerted authorities to the deaths in 2022.
Jeremy Skibicki, 37, told the court this week that he unlawfully caused the deaths of 24-year-old Rebecca Contois, 26-year-old Marcedes Myran, 39-year-old Morgan Harris and an unidentified woman whom Indigenous elders have named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, meaning Buffalo Woman. But Mr. Skibicki’s defence attorneys are arguing he was not criminally responsible for the homicide because of mental illness.
On Wednesday, in opening statements for the trial before Court of King’s Bench Justice Glenn Joyal, the Crown contended that Mr. Skibicki killed the women in a calculated way. The prosecution believes he should be found criminally responsible.
A family supporter of murdered women stands outside the Manitoba Law Courts during the trial of serial killer Jeremy Skibicki in Winnipeg on May 8, 2024.JOHN WOODS/The Canadian Press
This is the daily Evening Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was sent to you as a forward, you can sign up for Evening Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters here. If you like what you see, please share it with your friends.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Russia’s ‘double-tap’ air strikes put Ukraine’s firefighters in even deadlier danger on the job: The conventions of war forbid the “double-tap,” which is targeting the same buildings when first responders are on the scene. But in Kharkiv, that’s become all too common.
Shopify shares plunge nearly 20 per cent on lower-than-expected forecast for next quarter: Shopify Inc. posted double-digit revenue growth but shares sank nearly 20 per cent on the company’s lower-than-expected estimates for next quarter’s revenue and margins, amid mixed forecasts on consumer spending.
Ottawa pushes Crown corporations to make riskier financial deals: Ottawa is directing Crown corporations that finance small and medium-sized businesses to increase their risk appetite to get more dollars flowing to Canadian companies.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm’s video: One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
MARKET WATCH
Shares of tech heavyweight Shopify fell almost 19 per cent Wednesday, weighing on Canada’s main stock index, while U.S. markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 31.46 points at 22,259.16.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 172.13 points at 39,056.39. The S&P 500 index was down 0.03 points at 5,187.67, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.80 points at 16,302.76.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.81 cents UScompared with 72.97 cents US on Tuesday.
The June crude oil contract was up 61 cents at US$78.99 per barrel and the June natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.19 per 1,000 cubic feet.
The June gold contract was down US$1.90 at US$2,322.30 an ounceand the July copper contract was down seven cents at US$4.54 a pound.
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
TALKING POINTS
A score-settling book by Brian Mulroney is being kept under wraps
“It’s not yet published. It might never be published. It’s described to me as a lengthy score-settling blockbuster that attempts to clear his name on Airbus while eviscerating the Chrétien government for its treatment of him.” – Lawrence Martin
We are in a new space race – this time, with China
“A space race is fine. An arms race is not, and the U.S. and other Western countries must work to avoid one. They should also seek to improve communications with China and other spacefaring countries, and share scientific data, operational knowledge and situational awareness about the moon.” – Michael Byers and Aaron Boley
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives, common sense and the courts
“Mr. Poilievre’s common-sense tough-guy persona is old hat in conservative politics. What’s new and worrisome is his threat to gut the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the name of right-wing virtue-signalling.” – The Editorial Board
LIVING BETTER
Why peaceful getaways are becoming Canada’s most sought-after travel trend
Quiet luxury started as a trendy phrase used by the fashion industry to describe expensive designer clothing that wasn’t obnoxiously obvious. But the term now also speaks to expensive getaways that take travellers away from people and the noise associated with them. Heather Greenwood Davis writes about why surveys suggest it’s a trend Canadians can’t get enough of.
TODAY’S LONG READ
On safari in Kenya I was finally able to grieve for my mother
The writer pets a baby rhino at Rhino Sanctuary in Ol Jogi Conservancy, the last stop on the safari.Anna Haines/Supplied
Anna Haines discovers that staying in her comfort zone would only get her so far, and takes us on a journey as she sheds her ego to connect with nature, her grief, and by extension, herself.
Evening Update is written by Emerald Bensadoun. 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.