Global National: Nov. 23

The uncertainty is unbearable for the families of hostages in Gaza, taken by Hamas seven weeks ago on Oct. 7, as they hope the promised humanitarian pause and release of hostages takes place this Friday. Until the pause begins, however, Israel’s retaliatory siege of Gaza continues for its seventh consecutive week. Over in the Netherlands, far-right politician Geert Wilders has surprised much of Europe as his Freedom party won the most seats in the most recent Dutch election — twice as many as predicted. Niagara Falls’ Rainbow Bridge border crossing connecting the U.S. and Canada has reopened after the unprecedented explosion of a car killed two and injured a border patrol officer on Wednesday, stirring a security panic across the two nations. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has asked China for information about a mysterious respiratory illness that is impacting children in the country’s northern region. And, Trans Mountain, the company building the long-delayed pipeline extension from Alberta to British Columbia, says it is now 95-per cent complete. The cost of the project, however, has ballooned to a whopping $35 million, resulting in the federal government offering stakes in it to dozens of Indigenous groups. The benefits of buying in are now being questioned by First Nations peoples. Plus, Daryll Hall and John Oates, of Hall and Oates fame, have entered a legal battle.