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morning update

People stand in the street after feeling aftershocks in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017.Hadi Mizban/The Associated Press

Good morning,

These are the top stories:

Justin Trudeau spoke out on Quebec's veil law

The Prime Minister says the federal government is studying the face-covering law in order to decide whether it will take legal action. "I don't think it's the business of a government to legislate what a woman should or shouldn't wear," Trudeau said, adding that "we're of course looking at what the next steps might be for the federal government." A court challenge against Bill 62 was launched in Quebec last week. If Ottawa decides to wade into the contentious debate, officials say it has a few options: intervene in the challenge; monitor the challenge and intervene at the appeal stage; or ask the Supreme Court to rule on its constitutionality.

The bill, which requires people to show their face when giving or receiving public services, has been criticized as discriminatory against Muslim women. Trudeau's response had been somewhat muted but he appears to be toughening his position, experts say. His own Liberal MPs in Quebec have said the issue should be left in provincial hands. That's a sentiment also being echoed by the NDP and Conservatives, all likely wary of losing political ground in Quebec, where the bill has found strong support.

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Trudeau arrived in the Philippines for the East Asia Summit

This week, Trudeau will become the first sitting Canadian prime minister to participate in the annual East Asia Summit and is the only one who's ever been invited, his office said.Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said that the East Asia Summit will give Trudeau a chair at the top security table in the region.

He will sit alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump during discussions on the security situation involving North Korea, she said.

Canada and the U.K. are pushing for an international end to coal-power use

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna will launch the initiative this week at the United Nations climate summit in Bonn, Germany. The call to phase out coal-fired electricity comes at the same time that U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing to keep the coal industry afloat. U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry is pitching a separate alliance calling for investment in more efficient coal plants.

The Liberals are vowing to eventually ramp up their climate goals beyond Canada's existing Paris accord commitments. The NDP, however, say the government isn't acting fast enough, while the Tories are warning measures like carbon taxes could hurt the economy.

The man charged with killing a B.C. police officer had an expired gun licence

Oscar Arfmann, the man charged with first-degree murder of Abbotsford, B.C., Constable John Davidson, had been banned from owning a firearm since 2015. That was the same year Arfmann's mental-health problems resulted in a three-day hospital stay, his family says. Police officers are supposed to check on gun owners 90 days after their licence expires to see if they're still in possession of the weapon. But many police jurisdictions don't have the resources to go door-knocking. Last year, 2,223 people across the country had their gun licences revoked, 424 of those for reasons that included mental health problems.

At least 300 people are dead after an earthquake struck near the Iran-Iraq border

Most of those fatalities from the 7.3 magnitude quake appear to be in Iran, with the tally there sitting at 336 and counting. Rescuers are continuing their searches for those who are trapped under rubble. Iran sits on major fault lines and in 2003 a quake that hit the historic city of Bam killed around 31,000 people.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Lebanon's Prime Minister says he will return home soon to confirm his resignation

Saad al-Hariri announced his resignation earlier this month and has been in Saudi Arabia ever since. Officials in Lebanon's government believe the Saudis pressured Hariri to resign as part of a regional proxy war with Iran. For his part, Hariri refuted speculation that he is being held under house arrest in Saudi Arabia, saying "if I want to travel tomorrow, I will travel."

Alliances in the region are complex: Hezbollah, a militant group that's backed by Iran, is part of Hariri's coalition government. Iran and the Saudis are backing competing interests in the war in Yemen; the Saudis have also accused Hezbollah of firing a missile toward its capital. On the Saudi side are the United States, Israel, Egypt and Jordan. Iraq and Syria, meanwhile, are in Iran's corner. Yemen and Lebanon are caught in between.

World stocks rattled by U.S. tax uncertainty; May's woes hit sterling

Uncertainty over a U.S. tax reform deal pushed world stock markets further away from recent record highs on Monday, while Britain's pound fell on growing concern about the future of Prime Minister Theresa May. Stock markets in Frankfurt, Paris and London wavered in early European trade after suffering their worst week since August on Friday. Just after 5:30 a.m. (ET), Britain's FTSE was up 0.24 per cent while German's DAX fell 0.13 per cent and France's CAC 40 was off 0.27 per cent. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei fell 1.32 per cent. The Shanghai composite index rose 0.47 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.21 per cent. The Canadian dollar was trading at 78,69 cents (U.S.). West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude were both slightly lower.

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WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT

How we can (finally) put an end to 'manels'

"All-male panels have become known derisively as "manels" and have their own Tumblr blog. The range of topics on which men (and usually white men) are, apparently, exclusively experts is impressive and includes (but is not limited to) sustainable cities, infection biology, street photography, forestry research, youth economics, bioinformatics, block-chain technology and, remarkably, obstetrics, gynecology and infertility. … Whether we are in science, business, industry, government or academia, we can all act with intentionality in terms of who is asked to participate in a discussion in a public forum. Men can formally pledge not to be on an all-male panel and, when asked, can be ready with a list of five women or members of under-represented groups who could be asked instead. Organizers have many resources at their fingertips to find experts who are also women." – Imogen Coe, dean of Ryerson University's science faculty

A bad Liberal peacekeeping idea, topped by the Tories

"...why is [Tory Leader Andrew] Scheer proposing direct involvement of the Canadian Forces in the Ukraine-Russia conflict? Perhaps because the proposal comes at zero cost of ever becoming reality. Russia, which has a permanent UN Security Council seat, will veto any resolution to institute any kind of robust, UN military mission on its border with Ukraine … Justin Trudeau deserves credit for not putting Canadian lives at risk for the benefit of an ill-considered campaign promise. The problem is that his government keeps threatening to keep it, by searching a foreign hill that's fit for Canadians to die on. Sorry: Peacekeep on." – Globe editorial

HEALTH PRIMER

Plant-based beverages may be risky for children

Feeding babies and young children with almond, cashew and rice "milks" could leave them lacking protein and other key nutrients, the Dietitians of Canada and the Canadian Paediatric Society is warning. For example, two cups of milk or soy beverage offers 16 grams of protein – right in the sweet spot of the recommended 13 to 19 grams a day. But the same amount of almond milk, for example, supplies just 2 g.

MOMENT IN TIME

The search for Franklin survivors

Nov. 13, 1867: In 1867, it had been two decades since the disappearance of Sir John Franklin's Arctic expedition and his two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. Several searches for the men and ships had already taken place, and on Nov. 13, The Globe reprinted a story from the St. John's Chronicle detailing the efforts of Captain Charles Francis Hall, an American explorer who had been looking since 1860. Hall meticulously gathered information from local Inuit in order to guide his search. "From these natives he learned that about the time of the loss of Sir John Franklin's vessel, some white men carried a dead body on shore, and built a brick vault, which they carefully cemented, and in which they deposited the corpse," the report said. Hall found many bones and artifacts, but no survivors as he had hoped. It wasn't until 2014 and 2016 that the wrecks of Erebus and Terror, respectively, were finally found. – Richard Blackwell

Morning Update is written by Arik Ligeti.

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