View of the Rawda mosque, roughly 40 kilometres west of the North Sinai capital of El-Arish, after a gun and bombing attack, on November 24, 2017.
Good evening and happy Friday,
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Egypt mosque attack: Death toll hits 235 after militants set off bomb, gun down worshippers
Worshippers at a mosque in North Sinai were finishing Friday prayers when a bomb exploded. Around 40 gunmen set up positions outside the mosque with jeeps and then opened fire from different directions as people tried to escape. More than 230 people were killed between the bomb and bullets. It is the deadliest such attack in Egypt's modern history, state media and witnesses said. No group has claimed responsibility, but since 2013, Egyptian security forces have battled a stubborn Islamic State affiliate in the mainly desert region with militants killing hundreds of police and soldiers.
Trudeau apologizes to excluded Newfoundland and Labrador residential-school students
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "humbly" apologized for abuse and cultural losses at residential schools in Newfoundland and Labrador, saying the gesture is part of recognizing "hard truths" Canada must confront as a society. The former students in Newfoundland and Labrador were left out of a compensation package and national apology in 2008 because Stephen Harper's Conservative government argued Ottawa didn't oversee those schools. Toby Obed, who accepted the apology on behalf of the school survivors said it is "an important part of the healing process." But Innu leaders boycotted the event, with the Grand Chief saying, "I'm not satisfied that Canada understands yet what it has done to Innu and what it is still doing."
Police stand down after panic erupts on London's Oxford Street after reports of shooting
London's Oxford Street, with its festive window displays, was crammed with shoppers Friday evening taking advantage of Black Friday sales when panic erupted. Armed officers raced to respond to shots being fired in the area. However, police later said they found no evidence of gunfire, casualties or any suspects. Police stood down a little over an hour after the incident began.
Sobeys slashes staff amid digital push
Canada's second-largest grocer is laying off more than 800 employees – almost 20 per cent of its office staff across the country – to cut costs and turn around its struggling operations. The layoffs are part of a major revamping aimed at slashing $500-million annually in two years. But the company will keep investing in operations and prepare for a broader e-commerce launch – with home deliveries – in a bid to take on a fast-changing retail market. (for subscribers)
Federal deficit at $5.9-billion for first half of fiscal year
The results of Finance Canada's monthly fiscal monitor report represent an improvement over the same time period last year and suggest the government is on pace to beat its 2017-2018 deficit target of $19.9-billion. Finance Minister Bill Morneau's October fiscal update didn't announce a timeline for erasing the deficit. Instead, it outlined a scenario in which the size of deficits would decrease gradually, reaching $12.5-billion by 2022-23.
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MARKET WATCH
Canada's main stock index rose on Friday, led by gains in the energy and financial sectors. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed up 0.21 per cent to 16,108.09. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit record closing highs from rising tech stocks. Amazon Inc. and other retail stocks also got a boost from a strong start to the holiday shopping season. The Dow rose 0.14 per cent to 23,557.99, while the S&P gained 0.21 per cent to 2,602.42, and the Nasdaq added 0.32 per cent to 6,889.16. The U.S. stock market had a shortened session because of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
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WHAT'S TRENDING
North Korea's latest defector is a quiet, pleasant man who has nightmares about being returned to North Korea, said his surgeon in South Korea. The defector, known as Oh, was seen on video being badly wounded by fellow North Korean soldiers as he scrambled to cross the Demilitarized Zone on Nov. 13. Two major surgeries were required to remove the bullets. The surgeon also said Oh is a "nice guy" and likes the TV series CSI.
The entire, iconic Campbell's Soup I series by Andy Warhol has been donated to the Art Gallery of Ontario. The works were donated by Toronto-based philanthropists Jim and Margaret Fleck, who purchased the works from Warhol himself on a trip to New York in the mid-1970s. All 10 flavours will go on view in the New Year.
TALKING POINTS
How the Weinstein era will change us
"The post-Weinstein era will be a better place for women. But there will be losses, too. The ordinary, garden-variety banter of the office will be lost. Colleagues will be walking on eggshells, afraid that ordinary gestures of teasing or affection – including all kissing, touching, hugging, flirting and almost all kinds of humour – might be misconstrued and give offence. Men will no longer meet with women behind closed doors, alone. Casual informality and warmth will be replaced by stiffness, anxiety and prudishness. The world will be a slightly colder place. And that's too bad." – Margaret Wente
Merkel holds power by cutting off choice and change
"If Thatcherism represented sudden and painful change at any expense, Merkelism means stability at any cost: an all-encompassing bid for stability in economic, diplomatic and political life, often at the expense of badly needed political diversity and economic reform. This week, the cost of that decade-long sprint for stability became too apparent." – Doug Saunders
University, heal thyself
"The pulling back of the curtain at Laurier, courtesy of Ms. Shepherd's decision to record and make public the ideological purity struggle session that her superiors subjected her to, is the latest troubling reminder that something is not quite right in the state of higher education. Not all things calling themselves education are created equal. And not all things calling themselves education, are." – Globe editorial
LIVING BETTER
In the health field, there's an increasing realization that the inappropriate choice of words in describing patients can be detrimental to their care – especially older individuals. So an influential journal is redefining aging by announcing "words like (the) aged, elder(s), (the) elderly, and seniors should not be used" in its publication because such words "connote negative stereotypes." The hope is that it will lead to a new understanding of aging, but not everyone is convinced all the words on the list are harmful.
LONG READS FOR THE WEEKEND
How will LGBTQ Canadians take Trudeau's apology? Eight views on Canada's injustices
How will LGBTQ Canadians take Trudeau's apology? Eight views on Canada's injustices. Some received a curt notice that their career in the public service was over. Some were interrogated for days. Some had police crashing through the door, calling them faggots and queers, and telling them they were under arrest.
On Nov. 28, the Prime Minister will officially say sorry for decades of discrimination against LGBTQ Canadians who were treated like criminals, lost their jobs or were forced into shame and silence. Some will say that this is a mistake, that the present should not be held accountable for the past. But the stories of people who lived through that past bear witness to the need for, and the power of, this apology. John Ibbitson meets some of the people who have lived with that legacy to see what an apology means to them.
More than a year ago, Ibbitson told the story of Everett Klippert, a man whose life was interrupted by official injustice, and why the Prime Minister is now vowing to issue him a posthumous pardon. (for subscribers)
Seven years of hell: TD's Tim Hockey on losing a child, and making work more human
Tim Hockey, CEO of TD Ameritrade, was a rising star at TD when his daughter, Rosie, was born with a rare – and fatal – genetic disorder. He and his wife lost Rosie a couple days after her second birthday, but he says he wouldn't have his current job if not for Rosie. He says what he learned from that tragedy shapes how he is as a boss. "If you think business is just about the cool new product, you don't get it," he says. Carol Toller and Tim Kiladze talked to five executives who've faced down cancer, lost a spouse or even and child about how they not only survived, but ended up becoming better leaders. (for subscribers)
The Globe 100: These are the best books of 2017
Globe and Mail editors and reviewers offer up their favourite fiction and poetry books of the year. A couple of the books on the list include Rachel Cusk's Transit, about a woman and her two sons who move to London after the end of her marriage, Ahmad Danny Ramadan's The Clothesline Swing, described as a love letter to storytelling and to gay Damascus and Bandi's The Accusation: Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea, billed as the first work of fiction by someone still living in North Korea.
Evening Update is written by Jordan Chittley and Omair Quadri. 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.