Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution to boost humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip that stopped short of a call for a ceasefire after a week of vote delays and intense negotiations to avoid a U.S. veto.
The resolution, which drew support from all members apart from Russian and American abstentions, “calls for urgent steps to immediately allow safe, unhindered, and expanded humanitarian access and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.”
Israel, which is not a member of the Security Council, said the body focused too much on humanitarian aid for Gaza and not enough on the dozens of Israeli hostages Hamas has held since its surprise attack on Oct. 7 that left about 1,200 people dead.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military ordered residents of Al-Bureij, in central Gaza, to move south immediately, indicating a new focus of the ground assault aimed at wiping out Hamas. Residents, however, said the order would just put them in harm’s way elsewhere.
Shelling and air strikes were reported in multiple areas of Gaza, where the Palestinian Ministry of Health now says more than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel attacked in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 bloodshed.
Prisoner who said race was a factor in his long-term imprisonment granted day parole in landmark decision
Renford Farrier, left, and his brother Richard Barrett, are pictured on Dec. 21, 2023, the day he was released on parole, outside the Springhill Institution in Springhill, N.S.Courtesy of Emma Halpern
Renford Farrier, a Black man from Toronto who was handed a life sentence for second-degree murder with a parole ineligibility period of 10 years in 1992, ended up serving around 31 instead. He says his race was a critical factor in the length of his incarceration, but now he has been granted day parole after years of efforts by advocacy groups and lawyers to secure his release.
Farrier was profiled in 2022 in a Globe and Mail investigation into the biases in Canada’s federal parole system, which found that Indigenous, Black and other racialized men were, respectively, 26 per cent, 24 per cent and 20 per cent less likely than their white peers to be paroled in the first year they were eligible.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Reporter distracted Prague gunman: During the frightening afternoon hours while a gunman was targeting people at Charles University in Prague, a local reporter was yelling at him to shoot in his direction, potentially sparing others.
Quebec union makes progress: While strikes in Quebec show no sign of ending soon, a union representing 95,000 teachers says it has reached a partial agreement with the government on certain issues. The issue of wages, however, remains unresolved.
Medical cannabis in Ukraine: Wounded Ukrainian soldiers have finally found hope to ease their pain after the country’s parliament passed a law to legalize medical cannabis.
Law firm Minden Gross plans to wind down: Minden Gross LLP, a mid-sized business law firm based in downtown Toronto, is on the verge of collapse after a series of high-profile departures and failed merger talks with KPMG Law.
Sedition charge against Lai won’t be dismissed: A trio of Hong Kong judges disagreed today with lawyers for democracy activist Jimmy Lai, saying a sedition charge was filed by prosecutors on time. The case has been adjourned after a week of procedural arguments, meaning opening statements won’t happen until next year.
MARKET WATCH
TSX jumps to 18-month high ahead of Christmas break
Stock markets on both sides of the border ended higher today amid continued hopes for a soft landing for the economy and lower interest rates in 2024.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended up 115.46 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 20,881.19, its highest closing level since June 2022. The index will be closed Monday and Tuesday for Christmas and Boxing Day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18.38 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 37,385.97, the S&P 500 gained 7.88 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 4,754.63 and the Nasdaq Composite added 29.11 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 14,992.97.
One Canadian dollar could be bought for 75.36 cents US.
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TALKING POINTS
Trudeau’s Liberals broke Canada’s immigration system. Here’s how they can fix it
“With unlimited numbers of student visas on offer, Ottawa created perverse incentives for universities, colleges and businesses. People outside Canada know they can buy the previously unattainable right to enter this country, to work, and maybe even get citizenship, simply by paying tuition to a Canadian school.” – Tony Keller
Emmanuel Macron’s government teeters on the edge after caving to the far right on immigration
“While Mr. Macron has survived major crises before – including the populist Yellow Vest movement of 2018 and countrywide protests earlier this year over his plan to raise the retirement age – this one threatens to indelibly taint his legacy.” – Konrad Yakabuski
LIVING BETTER
Lost in the history of Europe on a Danube river cruise
There is very little in Europe’s past the Danube hasn’t somehow soaked up and washed away, Ian Brown writes after taking a cruise along the length of the storied river. You can stop literally anywhere along its banks and sink down into history as deep as you can bear to go. That is, if you can find the time on your packed itinerary. That’s one challenge of cruising a river, especially the Danube: You get a tantalizing taste of a place, and then you’re whisked away to the next attraction. Ideally, you would take the cruise, and then double back on your own, to find out why your curiosity snagged where it did. It snags everywhere.
TODAY’S LONG READ
A nog’s journey: Ontario dairy farmers’ recipe creates eggnog converts – themselves included
Milk from Jersey cows is naturally about 20 per cent higher in calcium and protein than milk from the more common Holstein dairy cows, making it a better base for a creamy drink like eggnog, says John Miller of Miller's Dairy.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
The owners of Miller’s Dairy in Creemore, Ont., John and Marie Miller, have spent years perfecting the holiday drink that they didn’t much care for at first. Why?
“We were always getting bombarded with requests,” Marie Miller said. “We just had to make it.”
From an initial output of 14,000 litres in 2017, Miller’s Dairy is on track to sell 33,000 litres this year, and the couple couldn’t be prouder of the product. “I have a little bit of eggnog every night, because I absolutely love it,” Mr. Miller said.
Read the visual feature by Irene Galea and Fred Lum for more on how the Millers make their eggnog.
Evening Update is compiled and written weekdays by an editor in The Globe’s live news department. 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.