Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Israeli troops round up Palestinian men in northern Gaza as UN warns aid operation ‘in tatters’
As the war enters its third month, Israel’s efforts to secure a hold on northern Gaza continued today as the military rounded up Palestinian men for interrogation, searching for Hamas militants. Meanwhile, Palestinians in the south crowded into a small and shrinking area, while the United Nations warned that its aid operation is “in tatters.”
Fighting continues in the north, underscoring Hamas’s heavy resistance, and tens of thousands of residents are likely still in the area six weeks after Israeli tanks rolled in.
Meanwhile, the United States has vetoed a United Nations Security Council demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, diplomatically isolating Washington as it shields its ally.
- Also: ‘Silence isn’t neutral’: E-mails show debate within Quebec universities on Israel, Hamas
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.
Trudeau says Liberals ‘not axing the tax’ amid round-the-clock voting spurred by Conservatives over carbon pricing
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier today that the Liberals won’t abandon their carbon-pricing plans despite tactics from the Conservatives that forced MPs to vote throughout the night and into today.
Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre and his team have said they will not relent in their procedural tactics until the Liberals change their position.
The bridge to Windsor’s revitalized future
Windsor Ont. has long been a bellwether for trouble in Canada’s economy. Yet now, as the spectre of recession haunts Canada, there are signs Windsor can flip the script. It’s undergoing major reconstructive surgery, courtesy of an unprecedented wave of investment.
More than $16-billion will flow into the region over the next few years. No other part of the country is experiencing such concentrated megaspending in such a tight time frame.
The Globe and Mail met with people from across the economic spectrum. As their stories show, the opportunities and challenges Windsor faces make this one of the most critical moments in the city’s history.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Putin to seek another presidential term in Russia, extending his rule of over two decades
Vladimir Putin moved today to extend his grip on Russia for at least another six years, announcing his candidacy in next March’s presidential election.
The Russian leader still commands wide support after nearly a quarter-century in power. A short-lived rebellion in June by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin raised speculation that Putin could be vulnerable, but he emerged with no permanent scars, and Prigozhin’s mysterious death two months later reinforced the view that Putin remains in absolute control.
One in nine Canadian adults have had long-term symptoms from COVID infection, Statscan says
About one in nine Canadian adults, or 3.5 million people, have had long-term symptoms from COVID-19 infection, according to a Statistics Canada report issued today. Almost 80 per cent of those people with long-term symptoms have them for six months or more, the report said. And more than half of those who ever had long-term symptoms still had them as of June 2023.
Two-thirds of Canadian adults who have tried to get health-care services for such long-term symptoms as brain fog, fatigue and shortness of breath say they haven’t received enough treatment or support.
Two Ontario men face neo-Nazi linked terror and hate propaganda charges
Two Ontario men have been arrested for allegedly helping to make videos and manifestos in support of the neo-Nazi terror movement and far-right extremism. Police allege the men helped to make recruiting videos for Atomwaffen Division, an international neo-Nazi terror group, and “manifestos” on a group of messaging channels known to circulate neo-fascist ideology and manuals on how to carry out racially motivated violence.
RCMP say they executed search warrants in Niagara and Toronto as part of the 18-month investigation. The two men are next set to appear in a Toronto court on Monday to confirm dates for a bail hearing.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen to stand trial over alleged misuse of EU funds
Marine Le Pen will stand trial alongside 27 others over alleged misuse of European Union funds, the Paris prosecutor’s office said today.
An initial pretrial hearing is scheduled for March 27. The investigation, opened in 2016, aimed to ascertain whether the then National Front had used money destined for EU parliamentary assistants to pay staff who were working for the party.
MARKET WATCH
North American stock indexes closed higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notching their highest closing levels since early 2022 after a robust U.S. jobs report fueled investor optimism about a soft landing for the economy. Higher oil prices bolstered energy shares on the TSX.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 53.03 points or 0.26% to settle at 20,331.54. The S&P 500 climbed 18.78 points or 0.41% to end the session at 4,604.37 points. The Nasdaq gained 63.98 points or 0.45% to 14,403.97 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 130.49 points or 0.36% to settle at 36,247.87 points.
The loonie was trading at 73.57 cents (U.S.), up 0.05 cents.
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
As security threats mount, the holes in Canada’s defences can no longer be ignored
Andrew Coyne: “From the RCMP, to the military, to the intelligence services, to the diplomatic corps, all are in various stages of disarray, whether as a result of cultural failings, structural weaknesses, lack of funding, or some combination of the three.”
Canada’s election interference inquiry starts off on the wrong foot
Editorial: “Giving the opposition parties full standing would ensure that the government gets asked the right questions. If they resort to cartoonish grandstanding, let the public judge them on it.”
LIVING BETTER
The Globe 100: The best books of 2023
Globe and Mail editors and reviewers offer up our annual guide to the best fiction, non-fiction, thrillers, graphic novels, picture books and cookbooks of the year.
- Also: Authors, booksellers share their top-selling books and the titles they’re gifting for the holidays
The final battle in The Globe’s holiday treat bracket is sugar cookies vs. shortbread cookies.
With more than 34,000 votes cast in the first four rounds, it’s come down to cookie vs. cookie. Play your part in crowning one treat champion by voting for your favourite here.
Who is TIME’s person of the year?
Take our arts and culture quiz to find out.
TODAY’S LONG READ
The wallet, the hockey player and the mystery
Throughout the 1970s, Hank Nowak divided his pro hockey career between Pittsburgh, Detroit and Boston, but in the spring of 1973, he was a 22-year-old winger with the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears.
One night, after an away game against New Haven, he’d failed to notice his wallet was gone.
Early this fall, 50 years after it went missing, Nowak’s wallet suddenly reappeared, with what appears to be the dying request of a man he’s never met. Grant Robertson reports.
Evening Update is written and compiled by Andrew Saikali. 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.