Israeli troops take positions in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. The army is battling Palestinian militants across Gaza in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel. South Africa has launched a case at the United Nations' top court alleging that Israel's military campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide. The filing and Israel's decision to defend itself at the International Court of Justice sets up a high-stakes showdown in the before a bench of the court's black-robed judges in the wood-panelled Great Hall of Justice. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…
Top UN court opens hearings on South Africa’s allegation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza
The United Nations’ top court is opening hearings into South Africa’s allegation that Israel’s war with Hamas amounts to genocide against Palestinians, a claim that Israel strongly denies.
In two days of preliminary hearings that begin Thursday, South Africa is initially asking the International Court of Justice to order an immediate suspension of Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The full case is likely to take years to resolve.
Liberal members of Parliament are divided about the position Canada should take, with the Trudeau government staying quiet for now.
Bitter cold coming for Metro Vancouver, Victoria
Metro Vancouver, Greater Victoria, and the Fraser Valley are expecting frigid wind chills to arrive tonight, joining much of the rest of Western and Northern Canada under various cold weather warnings.
Environment Canada says Arctic air combined with strong winds gusting to 60 km/h in the region will generate wind chill values that feel like -20 until at least Saturday.
Extreme cold warnings remain in place for parts of Yukon, the Northwest Territories, B.C., northern Saskatchewan, and all of Alberta.
Communities have been grappling with bitterly cold temperatures and wind chills that feel as low as -55 in some parts.
Here’s what else we’re watching …
Sentencing hearing to begin for ex-RCMP official
A judge is expected to hear sharply differing arguments about the punishment he should hand to former RCMP intelligence official Cameron Jay Ortis.
A hearing scheduled for today and Friday will help Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger decide on a sentence for Ortis, convicted of breaching Canada’s secrets law.
In November, jurors declared Ortis guilty of three counts of violating the Security of Information Act and one count of attempting to do so.
They also found him guilty of breach of trust and fraudulent use of a computer.
Ottawa was warned immigration could affect housing
Internal documents show federal public servants warned the government two years ago that large increases to immigration could affect housing affordability and services.
Documents obtained by The Canadian Press through an access-to-information request show Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada analyzed the potential effects immigration would have on the economy, housing and services as it prepared its immigration targets for 2023 to 2025.
The deputy minister, among others, was warned in 2022 that housing construction had not kept up with the pace of population growth.
Public servants warned rapid increases in population growth put pressure on health care and affordable housing.
Sense of loss haunts N.B. men cleared of murder
It has been one week since a judge in New Brunswick cleared Walter Gillespie of a murder charge that hung over him for half his 80 years.
Last Thursday, New Brunswick Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Tracey DeWare acquitted Gillespie and friend Robert Mailman of the 1983 murder of George Gilman Leeman in Saint John.
The pair served lengthy prison sentences after their 1984 convictions, but the federal justice minister last month overturned those convictions after new evidence came to light.
While the two men are now free, they say they still feel marked by the 40 years spent under a cloud as convicted murderers.
Virtual ERs are controversial but can save lives
The 12-bed hospital in New-Wes-Valley, Newfoundland has found itself at the centre of a heated debate about staff shortages in rural health care.
The controversy began after the province signed a contract for the hospital’s emergency department to be staffed virtually.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government has introduced virtual services where patients in smaller, unstaffed hospitals can speak to physicians in larger facilities.
The province signed a two-year, 22-million dollar contract with Teladoc Health in November to build a more robust “virtual care solution” for rural emergency rooms.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 11, 2024.
