The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/01/25 at 11:00 EST

Episode Date: January 25, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/01/25 at 11:00 EST

Hey there, I'm Alameen Abdelmahmoud. I am the host of Komotion. You know when there's that thing that's like all over your social feeds or maybe a new movie or a show on Netflix that everyone is talking about or maybe your favorite artist just dropped a new song or a new album. These are the moments when I love to gather the smartest, funniest people together. We get them in the group chat and then we dig into the culture that is all around us. And commotion does this every single day. Find us wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, the world this hour, I'm Gina Louise Phillips. The applications are in and the confirmation process is underway in the race to become

the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. Candidate Mark Carney continues to rack up endorsements from federal cabinet ministers. The former central banker currently has 13 ministers backing his campaign. His top rival, Christa Freeland, has five. In an interview with CBC radio's The House, Freeland said her former colleague's support for Carney doesn't bother her. Central to my campaign to see this is not about liberal elites deciding this is about the grassroots. It is certainly looking like Mark is the choice of the liberal establishment. It is certainly looking like he is the PMO's candidate.

The Prime Minister's office told CBC News that Trudeau and his office are remaining neutral throughout the Liberal leadership race. It was touted by their premiers as a win-win for both Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador, a memorandum of understanding between the provinces to renew the Churchill Falls hydroelectric agreement until 2075. But now, a former head of the Atlantic province's power utility says not so fast. Bill Wells says he believes Newfoundland's being duped by Hydro-Québec and losing out on tens of billions of dollars in the deal.

Patrick Butler has more from St. John's. That's Quebec Premier François Legault telling a reporter back in December that the Churchill Falls MOU would help his province save $200 billion over the next 50 years. That statement left former Newfoundland and Labrador hydro CEO Bill Wells with questions. Hydro-Québec will save the money because the new deal and the new development it promises on the Churchill River will cost less than the other options available to Quebec to increase supply. Wells says Legault's statement proves negotiators could have squeezed far more money from Hydro-Quebec while still landing a win-win deal.

The current hydro CEO says Wells is wrong. Jennifer Williams says the deal ensures a fair price for Churchill Falls power and allows the province's revenues to spike 17 years before the end of the current contract. There are some folks who think we should get 100% of the value. This deal has to make sense for both of us. A final deal must be reached by April 2026. Patrick Butler, CBC News, St. John's. Israeli authorities say they have released 200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as

part of the Gaza ceasefire deal. This comes after Hamas freed four female Israeli soldiers from captivity. The soldiers were transferred into the care of the Red Cross to be reunited with their families. Satra Petrasek paints the picture. The ceremony organized by Hamas militants in Gaza today was clearly meant for the cameras. There were rows of Hamas militants. There was a stage with a banner that said Zionism has no future. And then a signing ceremony with the Red Cross handing over the four female soldiers who were being released today.

In exchange, Israel is setting free 200 Palestinian prisoners who were convicted by Israeli courts and held in Israeli jails. 121 of these were convicted of serious offenses and were serving life terms. And it has a lot of Israelis upset, but the release of the hostages is paramount in people's minds and there is a lot of joy that that is happening and that the ceasefire process is continuing. Sasha Petrusik, CBC News, Jerusalem. The State Department is freezing new funding for almost all US foreign aid programs. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has issued a stop work order on nearly all existing

foreign assistance with the exception of food and military aid for Israel and Egypt. This could potentially affect billions of dollars in U.S. funded projects supporting health, education, and development around the world. It's not clear yet how or if this pause could affect U.S. aid to Ukraine. And that is your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Gina Louise Phillips.