Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada respects the independence of the International Criminal Court, after the ICC’s chief prosecutor requested warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Defence Minister and senior members of Hamas.
But speaking to journalists in Ottawa today, Joly also said there was “no equivalency” between Hamas and Israel, “because one organization is a terrorist organization and the other one is a state.”
In a statement, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said his office had “reasonable grounds” to believe that the Hamas leaders bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, hostage taking, rape and other acts of sexual violence and torture.
Khan also said his office had reasons to believe that Netanyahu and his Defence Minister bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, including the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health and intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population.
Also read
- UN halts all food distribution in Rafah after running out of supplies in the southern Gaza city
- U.S. urges Israel to reverse its decision to seize AP equipment and block live Gaza footage
- Yale graduates stage pro-Palestinian walkout of commencement
Displaced Palestinians queue for water at a camp west of Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip on May 21, 2024,.-/Getty Images
Inflation cools to 2.7% in April, increasing odds of a summer interest rate cut
Canada’s inflation rate is cooling and bespoke measures of consumer price growth are also on the wane, which means a higher chance that the Bank of Canada will start cutting interest rates this summer. The Consumer Price Index rose 2.7 per cent on an annual basis in April, Statistics Canada reported today, down from 2.9 per cent in March and matching analyst expectations.
Grocery prices rose at an annual rate of 1.4 per cent in April, down from 1.9 per cent in March. (They had peaked at roughly 11 per cent during this inflation crisis.) Meat prices rose 1.8 per cent over the past year, while many products – fresh fruit, fish and milk – are seeing declines. Still, there are areas of concern. Rents have jumped by 8.2 per cent over the past year.
Serial killer Robert Pickton seriously wounded in prison assault
Serial killer Robert Pickton was severely injured in an assault at the prison where he has been serving a life sentence on multiple murder convictions. The attack, first reported by the Vancouver Sun, took place Sunday at the Port-Cartier Institution in northeastern Quebec, where Pickton was detained, Correctional Service spokesperson Kevin Antonucci said in a statement.
Provincial police spokesperson Hugues Beaulieu said in an interview that the Sûreté du Québec, a provincial police force, is investigating an assault involving a 51-year-old man and a 74-year-old man, with the latter seriously injured and still fighting for his life.
Pickton was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years after he was convicted in 2007 of second-degree murder for killing six women. The Crown stayed murder charges against him for the deaths of 20 other women.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Iran: Mourners began gathering Tuesday for days of funerals and processions for Iran’s late president, foreign minister and others killed in a helicopter crash. The government-led ceremonies are aimed at honouring the dead and projecting strength in an unsettled Middle East.
Hush money trial: Donald Trump’s lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money criminal trial, moving the case closer to the moment when the jury will begin deciding his fate.
Crime: A British Columbia judge has ordered four Indian nationals accused of murdering Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar to have no contact with several people in the community in the men’s latest court appearance.
Politics: The Liberal Party of Canada apologized Tuesday afternoon to one of its MPs, Greg Fergus, who also serves as the Speaker of the House of Commons, over an advertisement that appeared on its website that included language it says was partisan in nature.
Defence: The federal government has narrowed the list of candidates to succeed General Wayne Eyre as chief of the defence staff to two names, with Lieutenant-General Jennie Carignan among the front-runners, three sources say.
Air travel: One passenger died of a suspected heart attack and 30 others were injured after a Singapore Airlines flight hit severe turbulence, forcing the plane to land in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Concert review: In Toronto, Neil Young and Crazy Horse rejected nostalgia by showing a sold-out crowd that rock ‘n’ roll will never die.
MARKET WATCH
S&P 500 and TSX squeak out record highs after Fed comments
Stocks closed with slight gains on Tuesday, sending the S&P 500, Nasdaq and S&P/TSX Composite Index to record levels, as investors assessed the latest comments from Federal Reserve officials for clues on the timing of a rate cut while quarterly earnings from Nvidia drew closer.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 66.22 points to 39,872.99, the S&P 500 gained 13.28 points to 5,321.41 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 37.75 points to 16,832.62. The TSX ended up 2.79 points at 22,468.16, eclipsing Friday’s record closing high. The index was closed on Monday for the Victoria Day holiday.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.27 cents US compared with 73.45 cents US on Friday.
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TALKING POINTS
Doug Ford wants a moratorium on new safe supply sites. OK. Then what?
“Mr. Ford can be part of the solution if he wants to be, but that takes more effort than a two-page letter.” - Robyn Urback
Getting hip to the dangers of fractures in the elderly
“We invest a lot in cancer prevention and care, and rightly so. But the new data are a reminder that we should be equally concerned and proactive in preventing both falls and brittle bones.” - André Picard
There is pleasure and pain in caring about a game
“Like the good bandwagon-jumper I am, I felt bereft as the Canuck train ground to a halt. But not quite ready to disembark, I’m going to take a transfer instead. Next stop, Edmonton.” - Marsha Lederman
LIVING BETTER
The most over- and underrated fitness choices, according to a personal trainer
You learn a lot when you’ve been doing a job for 10 years. As Paul Landini’s training skills have evolved over the past decade, his opinions on popular trends and strength training dogma have changed, too.
For example, the most overrated exercise of all time? Hands-down, the bench press. In Paul’s version of a perfect world, dips – a body-weight exercise performed on parallel bars or gymnastics rings – are the star of International Chest Day. Read more to see Paul’s over- and underrated ideas when it comes to mindset, nutrition and values.
TODAY’S LONG READ
COURTESY OF TERNA, THE ITALIAN NATIONAL TRANSMISSION SYSTEM OPERATOR;COURTESY OF TERNA, THE ITALIAN NATIONAL TRANSMISSION SYSTEM OPERATOR;/Supplied
If a green-electricity revolution really is at hand, Canada’s aging power grid has already fallen woefully behind
To meet our net zero goals, Canada needs to significantly amp up investment in both clean electricity as well as that far-flung transmission and distribution network.
In the convulsive policy debate over how to electrify as much of Canada’s energy system as possible, political and media attention tends to focus intensively on renewable generation. What gets far less play is the admittedly boring network of wires and substations that allow all those electrons to flow where they’re needed, when they’re needed. John Lorinc explores further in ROB magazine.
Evening Update is written by Sierra Bein. 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.