Front Burner - Weekend Listen: World Report

Episode Date: September 21, 2024

Wake up to what's going on in Canada and the world. Each morning, World Report will give you a 10-minute dose of the biggest news stories happening now. Our CBC News colleagues will tell you about the political actors trying to make change, the movements catching fire, and the cultural moments going viral. Start your day with the very latest.More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/nN5xp_ZK 

This is a CBC Podcast. Hey everybody, it's Jamie. So today I want to let you know about World Report, a daily podcast that wakes you up to what's happening in Canada and around the world. World Report brings you the day's top stories in just 10 minutes, bright and early, every morning. They'll be here for you every day, seven days a week. So if you already come to FrontBurner for one in-depth story every day, consider following World Report 2. All right, have a listen.

This is World Report. Good morning, I'm John Northcott. Lebanon's health minister says the number of people killed by Israel's strike on a Beirut suburb has climbed to 31, including three children. Yesterday's attack is the deadliest Israeli airstrike on Beirut since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. Israel says it was targeting senior Hezbollah leaders. Julia Chapman has more. Rescue efforts have continued into the morning in Lebanon's capital. Israel says Hezbollah leaders were meeting in the basement of the building targeted.

In Beirut, this resident says a red line has been crossed by Israel. He describes the situation in Lebanon as miserable. Israel says 10 Hezbollah commanders were killed in the strike. The militant group has confirmed two of them. One, Ibrahim Akil, was a longtime target of Israel and was wanted by the U.S. Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari says those killed on Friday were responsible for violence against Israelis and had been plotting further attacks. This week also saw a major operation against Hezbollah using exploding pagers and walkie-talkies. Dozens of people died, many of them civilians.

Israel has not commented on that attack but is widely believed to have carried it out. UN officials are worried about escalating violence. The risk to security and stability, not only in Lebanon, but also in the region, could not be clearer or graver. Rosemary DiCarlo is the UN political affairs chief. We risk seeing a conflagration that could dwarf even the devastation and suffering witnessed so far. It's not too late to avoid such folly. Israel has vowed to protect its northern

border, subject to frequent Hezbollah attacks since October 7th. The events of this week have raised the fear of a wider war as Israel continues to bombard Gaza in its war against Hamas. Julia Chapman, CBC News, London. We've got him free and I have to say it's an enormous relief. New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters reacting to the release of a pilot who was being held captive in Indonesia's Papua. Philip Mertens was taken by armed separatists after he landed his small plane at a remote airport.

He'd been held for more than 19 months. Peters says officials had to tread carefully as they tried to secure the pilot's release. Quite nerve-wracking, holding our nerve and not getting too carried away and not thinking that it might imperil the chances because there's always a concern of ours that we might not succeed. Indonesian police say the 38-year-old was picked up by a joint team

and is said to be in good health. In August, another pilot from New Zealand was killed after he landed his helicopter in a remote area of central Papua province. Northern Italy is the latest area to be hit hard by Boris, the storm that has caused some of Europe's worst flooding in decades. Hundreds of people have been forced to evacuate. Italy's government promised better preparations the last time the region flooded, over a year ago, but so far many say that hasn't happened. Megan Williams

has more. Two solid days of rain breaking riverbanks, the water rushing into homes, schools and businesses, shutting down rail services and forcing more than 1,000 people to flee. More than 500, like this woman, helicoptered to safety. In this northern agricultural region of Emilia-Romagna, it's a déjà vu from a year and a half ago, when rain and mudslides killed 17 people

and caused more than $10 billion worth of damage. Italian meteorologists say after a climate change-induced scorching summer in the Mediterranean, when huge amounts of water evaporated from the sea, means that with a disturbance like Boris, that water turns into torrential rain. Eight months ago Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced the allocation of almost two

billion dollars per reconstruction in Emilia Romagna after the 2023 flood. But little has changed. The national government blames local politicians for not spending the money. The national government blames local politicians for not spending the money. Acting regional president Irene Prioli says beyond emergency funds, money for landslide and riverbank stabilization hasn't arrived.

In the meantime, say environmentalists, development along the fragile riverbeds in the region continues unabated. Megan Williams, CBC News, Rome. West Africa also facing a major deluge. A month-long heavy rain across the region has created widespread flooding, the worst in 30 years. The crisis is being blamed for close to 1,000 deaths across Chad, Nigeria, Mali and Niger. About 4 million people have been affected. In Niger, officials are delaying the start of the school year by a month.

Several schools were damaged, while others are being used as shelters for those displaced. The votes are now being counted in Sri Lanka's elections. It's a tight race on the island nation, trying to bring back its economy from the brink. This is the first presidential vote since the 2022 economic crisis that spawned massive protests and toppled the former president. Our South Asia correspondent Salima Shivji is covering the race in Colombo. Voting day in an election more pivotal than ever, says 34-year-old Satsarini Kuragamage. We need a big change. We're expecting something new. It's the first time Sri Lankans can choose their president

since the country defaulted on its loans two years ago and public anger against fuel shortages and rising inflation poured onto the streets. Protesters forced the then president, blamed for mismanaging Sri Lanka's finances, to flee. Today, the economy is top of mind for voters. Ahmed works at a fabric store in the capital, Colombo. The pressure of high prices and economic pain. Inflation has cooled after current president Ranil Wickramasinghe signed a tough international monetary fund bailout package.

He's one of the frontrunners in this election, touting his economic record. But the crisis lingers. So many are turning to left-leaning candidate Anura Kumara Desanayaka. His popularity has surged as he positions himself as the anti-establishment

choice. I thought this guy is genuine. Mahmoud Farzan, at 63 years old, has never voted before. But he did today, for Desanayaka. Corruption this guy is genuine. Mahmoud Farzan at 63 years old has never voted before but he did today for Desanayaka. Corruption is at its peak so we need someone who has to bring that to zero. Desanayaka is up against Wickram Asinga and another main candidate Sajid Premadasa, leader of the opposition. A tight three-way race for the first time in decades. There's a chance there will be no clear winner with a strong majority, leaving the future for Sri Lanka's recovery uncertain.

Salima Shivji, CBC News, Colombo. Here in Canada, CBC News has learned that Liberal MPs are trying to put forward a motion that would forge a path towards recognizing Palestinian statehood. As Rafi Boudjikanian reports, the Conservatives are opposed to the idea, but other opposition parties appear to be on board. Work with international partners. First, there was this moment last March when MPs passed a symbolic motion that was an NDP initiative. Including towards the establishment of the state of Palestine. Then in May at the UN General Assembly, the Canadian government abstained on a vote that called for recognition of a Palestinian state

different from its usual no at the world body. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this at the time. Unfortunately, over the past while, we've seen us move further away from that two-state solution. The Israeli government under Prime Minister Netanyahu has unacceptably closed the door. Now, CBC News has learned Liberal MPs tried to present a motion this week at a closed doors meeting of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. It would call for the committee to study a path toward recognition of a Palestinian state over four sessions. Sources tell CBC News the Liberals got the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to agree to it,

but the Conservatives blocked it from getting to a vote. CBC is not identifying the sources, as they're not allowed to discuss in-camera proceedings. They say the motion could be back in front of committee next Tuesday. Rafi Boudjikanian, CBC News, Ottawa. And finally, Tears for Fears, one of the great British pop bands of the 1980s, is coming to a big screen near you. Well, that has heads nodding and feet tapping in the control room. They are the latest group getting the movie theater treatment. Tickets for their new concert film went on sale Thursday for its release next month.

It was recorded during their Songs for a Nervous Planet tour during their 2023 performance in Tennessee. The film hits theaters on October 24th. The live album will be released the next day. And yes, it will include this hit, Everybody Wants to Rule the World. And that is the latest national and international news from World Report. I'm John Northcott. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with us here at CBC News. All right, that was World Report, the daily podcast that helps you start your day with the world's biggest stories all in just 10 minutes. Find and follow them wherever you get your podcasts. For more CBC Podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.