Morning Update: Israel vows to continue attacks as ceasefire negotiations falter

Good morning,

After the weekend, Israel staged a fresh round of heavy air strikes on Gaza City. Early Monday morning became the deadliest single attack in the latest round of violence between Israel and the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza. Explosions rocked the city, more than they had 24 hours earlier in separate attacks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s attacks were continuing at “full-force” and would “take time.”

International calls mount for a ceasefire, and greater U.S. efforts. But, as David Shribman writes, Joe Biden appears powerless when it comes to dealing with the Mideast crisis.

Tensions also flared in Canada, at Israel-Palestinian demonstrations in both Toronto and Montreal.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press’s top editor has called for an independent investigation into the Israeli airstrike that targeted and destroyed a Gaza City building housing the AP, broadcaster Al-Jazeera and other media, saying the public deserves to know.

Catch up with our podcast: Senior international correspondent Mark MacKinnon discusses the forces at play behind the recent violence, and where this conflict is headed.

An explosion is seen near a tower housing AP, Al Jazeera offices during Israeli missile strikes in Gaza city, May 15.Stringer ./Reuters

This is the daily Morning Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Morning Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters on our newsletter signup page.

Sunshine lists have helped narrow the gender pay gap, but Ottawa won’t commit to one

The federal government is the only large government jurisdiction in Canada that has not produced public-sector salary disclosure. A “sunshine list” is a document outlining the name, compensation and often job title of its high-earning employees, but the Trudeau government has no plans to introduce this practice at the federal level.

Beyond the issue of taxpayer accountability, sunshine laws around the country have revealed inequities in hiring practices, promotion and compensation – and studies have shown that provinces that release this data close the gender wage gap faster.

The Globe has been publishing a series called the Power Gap, which looks at gender imbalances in the modern work force.

Elder care: Ron Siwicki failed his mother. Who failed him?

Seven years ago, Betty Siwicki died on the floor covered in infected bedsores. Her son, accused of neglect, went to prison, but his community rallied to help him. While the outcome was extreme and disastrous, it points to what multiple surveys and reports reveal is a broader issue: Our health care system depends on unpaid, informal caregivers, yet they often lack the resources and skills to cope.

Tune into The Decibel to listen to Wency Leung and Decibel host Tamara Khandaker discuss how this family’s tragic story reveals the difficulties of at-home elder care.

Opinion:

The AstraZeneca fiasco is the latest example of the Gen X curse
COVID-19′s fourth wave will be rehabilitation

In vaccine news

The federal government faced growing calls for answers from experts and political opponents alike on Sunday amid lingering questions about the abrupt reassignment of the military general who was overseeing Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign, as well as who may be stepping into his critical role. Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin stepped aside and is facing a military investigation for alleged sexual misconduct, according to a source.

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

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

How one First Nation became a COVID-19 success story: Despite suffering from nearly six times the national average of COVID-19 cases per capita last spring, there were just two active cases as of Friday at Blackfoot Siksika Nation.

Public gives poor grade to federal efforts to get to net zero: Public opinion research for Natural Resources Canada shows more Canadians rate the country’s performance as poor, as opposed to good, on implementing a plan to get to net-zero emissions and striking a balance between environmental and economic considerations.

Guardian Capital CEO criticizes wealth managers who took wage subsidies: The chief executive officer of a major player in Canada’s wealth-management industry says he was “disappointed” to find out that some hedge funds and wealth-management firms collected the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, despite their companies performing exceptionally well in the pandemic.

MORNING MARKETS

World stocks steady: Global shares paused on Monday after a strong end to the prior week, while gold hit a three-month high as surging COVID-19 cases in some Asian countries and inflation pressures tempered demand for riskier assets. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.30 per cent. Germany’s DAX was flat. France’s CAC 40 slid 0.15 per cent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed down 0.92 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.59 per cent. Wall Street futures were lower. The Canadian dollar was trading at 82.53 US cents.

WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

Menopause is not the end of a journey – it’s crossing a bridge to something new

Jen Gunter: “Every woman should know as much about menopause as a well-informed gynecologist. And in addition to the medicine, they should know the history behind menopause.”

The deeper roots of C-10, in the thickets of cultural nationalism

Andrew Coyne: The comedian Martin Short – among the many Canadians employed in making the American television from which we are to be protected – offers a pithy answer: “We’re the people who watch a lot of American television.”

TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON

LIVING BETTER

An online community for Black plant enthusiasts

The first time DJ Freedem went viral for his plant content, it was for his Trap Gardening Instagram videos, where the New York-based DJ dished out plant and relationship advice in his signature sassy style.

He had, quite by accident, founded the Underground Plant Trade. Exchanges happened through an Instagram account, then moved to a website which now has forum boards across the world. But it’s not just about connection. It builds on an idea that has been present in social-justice movements for decades, if not centuries: financial compensation for Black people as amends for centuries of racial injustice.

Also read: Transforming an apartment into a jungle oasis in the heart of Calgary

MOMENT IN TIME: Photo archives

Banquet held in the Great Hall of Hart House, University of Toronto, November 26, 1923, honouring Dr. Frederick Banting and Professor James McLeod, who shared the 1923 Nobel Prize for Medical Sciences for their discovery of insulin.John Boyd/The Globe and Mail

Banting and Macleod win Nobel Prize for insulin

For more than 100 years, photographers and photo librarians have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography for The Globe and Mail. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. This month, we’re marking the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin.

Less than 2½ years after Frederick Banting and Charles Best began the experiments that would lead to the discovery of insulin, Banting was awarded the Nobel prize. It was an astonishing achievement, but Banting was furious. His co-winner was not Best but John J. R. Macleod, the University of Toronto physiologist who had provided Banting with a laboratory and contributed to the work at key steps. Relations between Banting and Macleod had deteriorated in the early days of the research. They were at rock bottom by Nov. 26, 1923, when a dinner was held at the U of T’s Hart House to honour Canada’s first Nobel laureates. Globe photographer John Boyd captured the moment with an image that ran on the newspaper’s front page. It includes Macleod (far right), Banting (fourth from right), Best (sixth from right) and Albert Gooderham (second from left), a university benefactor and board member who talked Banting out of refusing the prize. Ivan Semeniuk

Subscribers and registered users of globeandmail.com can dig deeper into our News Photo Archive at tgam.ca/newsphotoarchive.

Read today's horoscopes. Enjoy today's puzzles.

If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday morning, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.