Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
South Africa’s legal team argued today at the International Court of Justice that Israel’s soldiers understood the genocidal intent of incitement by the country’s top politicians and military officials in the past three months.
South Africa is accusing Israel of genocide against the Palestinian people of Gaza and said that the United Nations court must immediately impose an interim order against the country to mitigate the risk of further harm to the civilians trapped in the coastal enclave.
The court will hear Israel’s response on Friday. It could issue an emergency order against Israel, which would require the country to halt or reduce its military campaign in Gaza. The court doesn’t have any enforcement power for its rulings, but analysts say that an emergency order could affect global public opinion to draw away support from Israel.
- Opinion: Canada has a moral obligation to support South Africa’s genocide case against Israel
- Liberal MPs at odds over genocide case against Israel as Ottawa prepares to declare official position
- Blinken says path to Palestinian state can isolate Iran
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Ed Broadbent dies at 87
Former federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent has died at 87.
He founded the Broadbent Institute, an Ottawa-based think tank, which shared the news today.
Oshawa, Ont.-born Broadbent was a member of Parliament for a riding in the area for 21 years, leading the federal NDP from 1975 to 1989, a period during which Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark, John Turner and Brian Mulroney served as prime minister.
Russian attack on Ukrainian hotel is ‘deliberate tactic’ to intimidate media, journalist union says
On Wednesday night, a Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missile, repurposed to hit land targets, hit the Park Hotel in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine. The unassuming hotel had become a reliable and safe option for foreign journalists covering the war in Ukraine.
Thirteen people were injured, including a Georgian journalist working for Turkish media. Russian propaganda channels on Telegram claimed that the Park “was used by foreign mercenaries and the Ukrainian Armed Forces.” But men in uniform were a rare sight during the more than half-dozen times Globe and Mail correspondents stayed there over almost two years of war.
Sergiy Tomilenko, president of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, said this and other recent Russian attacks were “a deliberate tactic, intimidating the media in order to limit coverage of the war in the international media.”
Queen’s University eyes drastic cutbacks to keep its doors open
Queen’s University in Kingston is facing financial troubles that the provost Matthew Evans described as “very, very serious” in a December meeting with professors. “Queen’s could cease to exist if we don’t deal with this issue,” he said.
The institution is planning for a deficit of $48-million this year, an improvement on earlier projections for a deficit of more than $60-million. The operating shortfall is expected to be covered by university reserves, as was last year’s deficit of more than $50-million, according to its financial statements.
Queen’s says it has lost $180-million as a result of a provincial decision to cut tuition by 10 per cent in 2019. Its costs have also increased because of inflation, and its international student numbers have not bounced back to prepandemic levels. The university is planning to make drastic cuts to deal with the deficit. It has had a hiring freeze for several months and is now contemplating dismissing the staff who make departments run. Classes taught by contract faculty are also being cut.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
New information on multiple sclerosis origins: DNA from the bones and teeth of Europeans who lived up to 34,000 years ago is providing insight into the origin of the neurological disease, finding that genetic variants that now increase its risk once helped protect people from animal-borne diseases.
Ex-RCMP intelligence official Cameron Ortis’s sentencing hearing begins: Ortis, who was found guilty of leaking secrets to the targets of international criminal probes, betrayed the country and Five Eyes intelligence partners, and jeopardized the safety of Canadians, the Crown said at the outset of his sentencing hearing in Ottawa today.
Ottawa warned years ago about immigration’s impact on housing costs: Internal documents show that federal public servants had warned the government that big increases in immigration would affect housing affordability and services.
18-metre tunnel discovered under New York: Building officials have issued emergency work orders to stabilize a historic synagogue and its neighbouring structures after discovering an illicit underground tunnel at the site this week.
15 reportedly dead in Papua New Guinea after unrest: The government worked to restore order after more than a dozen people were reportedly killed during rioting and looting. The country’s two biggest cities were in flame after hundreds of police officers, prison staff and public servants walked off their jobs in protest earlier this week over a pay dispute.
MARKET WATCH
U.S. stocks closed little changed on Thursday as news of hotter-than-expected inflation and signs of labor market strength dampened hopes for early interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, but a fall in Treasury yields kept declines in check.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 15.29 points at 37,711.02. The S&P 500 index was down 3.21 points at 4,780.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 0.54 points at 14,970.18.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 71.02 points at 20,918.40.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.58 US cents US compared with 74.73 US cents on Wednesday.
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TALKING POINTS
To list Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group, Canada needs a better way
“There are already sanctions that bar a large portion of the senior leaders of the IRGC from entering Canada, but if there are gaps, fill them. But certainly don’t emulate the U.S. model.” – Campbell Clark
Canadians want their governments to tackle poverty, but nobody can agree on what to do
“Poverty is a complex issue requiring multifaceted intervention strategies. What we need is for the well-being of the poor to be as much a determinant of policy choices as economic growth.” – Claude Lavoie
She shoots, she scores! Our new women’s hockey league is a big cultural moment
“With women finally taking their rightful place in the game, the dawning of this league is a big cultural moment. Unlike other Canadian institutions that are fraying, the hockey edifice is being strongly fortified.” – Lawrence Martin
EVs will be more reliable than gas cars, but they’re having some teething issues
“The negative headlines couldn’t come along at a worse time for EVs. High interest rates and the fact gas prices have come down from 2022′s scary $2-a-litre highs mean battery-powered cars don’t make as much financial sense as they did 12 months ago.” – Matt Bubbers
LIVING BETTER
Two hot spots for great wine values in 2024
South Africa's Ken Forrester Vineyards produced its first Old Vines Chenin Blanc in 1995 and has helped make the grape variety and wines from the country famous around the world.Supplied
Christopher Waters shares his thoughts on two places around the world that he’s going to keep his eye on for great bottles of wine that overdeliver. For him, the key is finding value-priced wines offering quality and excitement, likely made from unusual grape varieties or in off-the-beaten path regions. Explore his two picks here.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Virtual ERs are controversial, but in rural Newfoundland, one has saved a life
Mike Tiller, mayor of New-Wes-Valley, N.L., says a man's life was saved by a virtual emergency room doctor at the hospital in his rural community.HO/The Canadian Press
When Newfoundland turned to telehealth solutions for emergency care in rural areas and smaller towns suffering from health care staff shortages, it sparked a heated debate. People were skeptical it would work. But then the town’s mayor, a paramedic, had a recent experience that changed his mind. Read the full story here.
Evening Update is written by Prajakta Dhopade. 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.