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5 things you absolutely must know today

Every morning, we scour the Internet and vet what we believe are the five things you absolutely need to know for the day. Join this mailing list to receive 5 things you absolutely must know today every morning, Monday to Friday.

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Brian Bowman sworn in as mayor of Winnipeg, is blessed by Aboriginal elder

Brian Bowman was sworn in as Winnipeg’s new mayor Tuesday evening. Bowmen, then, as the Mayor of Winnipeg, announced the councillors that will make up his executive policy committee: Jeff Browaty, chair of protection and community services; Janice Lukes, chair of infrastructure renewal and public works; Brian Mayes, chair of downtown development, heritage and riverbank management; Marty Morantz, chair of finance; John Orlikow, chair of property and development; and Mike Pagtakhan, deputy mayor. Bowman also announced a support crew that will be joining him in the mayor’s office, according to the Free Press. An aboriginal elder blessed Bowman and the city’s councillors during the ceremony. “I’m excited for the city, and the excitement and the vibe that I’ve been getting since election night from Winnipeggers is really inspiring and it’s motivating, and I know I’ve got a big job ahead of me,” he told CBC News on Tuesday. [Source: Winnipeg Free Press]

Troops ordered to occupy parts of Ukraine following rebel-held elections

Troops have been ordered to occupy the areas of Mariupol, Berdyanks, Kharkiv, and parts of Luhansk, as a precautionary measure following the controversial rebel-elections held in Donetsk and Luhansk. Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko ordered the reinforcements Tuesday, the same day the swearing-in ceremonies for the newly appointed pro-Russian leaders were held. Poroshenko told news sources he’s still committed to the peace plan, but has shown interest in reneging on the clause that gives special status to the rebel-held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. A nominal ceasefire between the warring groups in the area was reached on September 5. The war between pro-Russia and pro-west groups has claims more than 4,000 lives since it began in April. [Source: BBC]

Miriam Toews wins top prize at Writers’ Trust ceremony

Miriam Toews won the top prize Tuesday during the Writer’s Trust of Canada awards ceremony, where her novel, All My Puny Sorrows, took the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the accompanying cheque for $25,000. “Toews manages to marry humour and grief so expertly that the most unbearable sadness is tempered by laughter,” read a statement made by the jury. “Reading All My Puny Sorrows is an unforgettable experience.” The book chronicles two sisters, one a struggling writer and the other a classical pianist wanting nothing more than to die. She won the same award in 2008 for her novel The Flying Troutmans, and is a finalist for this year’s Scotiabank Giller Prize, the winner of which will be announced Monday. Many more authors won awards at the event. Follow source link to see the list. [Source: Globe and Mail]

Canada’s CF-18s targeted heavy equipment used by Islamic State

Lieutenant-General Jonathan Vance told news sources that the laser-guided bombs Canada’s CF-18 fighter jets dropped on Sunday, in what was the nation’s first air raid since joining the fight against IS, targeted engineering equipment stationed near Iraq’s Euphrates River near Fallujah, the Globe and Mail reports. The targeted equipment was being used by Islamic State militants to flood traffic areas, displacing people and vehicle activity to roads with IEDs buried in them. No civilians were believed to have been killed, Vance told reporters. “Members of ISIL [Islamic State of Iraq and Levant] who are hit as the result of a strike would not be considered collateral damage. They’re fair targets as combatants,” he said, adding that IS continues to apply pressure to seize Baghdad, but Kurdis and Iraqi ground troops are making gains in the capital and other areas. [Source: Globe and Mail]

Republicans seize control of the Senate in U.S. midterm elections

In the wake of waning support for U.S. President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party he represents, Republics seized control of the Senate in the midterm elections yesterday, wresting it back after an eight-year break. They needed six seats to depose the Democrats, and they got them. Arkansas flipped from red to blue, and so did North Carolina, and so did Iowa, and so did others. At the time of this writing, the votes had yet to be fully tallied, but what is certain is that Obama’s remaining two years will look quite different than his last six. They will be difficult. [Source: Wall Street Journal]

Honourable mention goes to Jimmy Kimmel’s annual Halloween trick, asking parents to videotape their children as they tell them they at all their candy. It’s a few days old now, but priceless.

[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyknBTm_YyM” width=”540″ height=”420″][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzLbjD6rN14″ width=”500″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXexeL3IQbI[/su_youtube][/su_youtube]

 

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Follow Toban Dyck at @tobandyck 

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