The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/09 at 01:00 EST

Episode Date: February 9, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/09 at 01:00 EST

In Scarborough, there's this fire behind our eyes. A passion in our bellies. It's in the hearts of our neighbors. The eyes of our nurses. And the hands of our doctors. It's what makes Scarborough, Scarborough. In our hospitals, we do more than anyone thought possible. We've less than anyone could imagine.

But it's time to imagine what we can do with more. Join Scarborough Health Network and together, we can turn grit into greatness. Donate at lovescarborough.ca. From CBC News, The World is Sour. I'm Neil Kumar. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Paris meeting with world leaders and tech bosses

at a major AI summit. As Philipp Lee Shanak reports, it's all about trying to reap the benefits of AI while managing the risks. Set to begin Monday at the Grand Palais in central Paris, organizers of the AI Action Summit say this is a pivotal moment before society has become too reliant on artificial intelligence. Jamal Atif is the scientific director of France's

nationwide AI priority program. So there are important questions that we should tackle. The future of the workforce, of course. The leaders of France, India and Canada will brush shoulders with top executives from Alphabet, Microsoft and OpenAI. They're looking at impacts on employment and sovereignty, but also potential AI positives such as climate change solutions and new treatments for

diseases. The AI Summit is hoping participants will sign a non-binding communique of principles on the stewardship of AI but there will be other opportunities. AI will be on Canada's agenda at the G7 meeting it's hosting in Alberta this summer. Philip LeShannock, CBC News, Toronto. Canada is planning to deepen its economic ties with the European Union in the face of Donald Trump's tariff threat. International Trade Minister Mary Inghe emphasized that message.

She's in Brussels meeting with European Union leaders and officials who are also facing tariff threats from the US President. Inghe says the focus of the meetings is bolstering economic connections beyond the Canada-EU trade agreement. Trade agreements are one thing and we have seen really great numbers, but what more can we be doing to help Canadian businesses enter into any of the 27 member states that's here in the European Union? What more can we do to do the same in Canada for European businesses?

Ng says if Washington ends up imposing tariffs, Canada would challenge the Trump administration at the World Trade Organization. On an Israeli army base, Or Levy rushes into his brother's arms, hugging him tightly. He was one of three Israeli men released after almost 500 days in Hamas captivity. Unlike hostage's release earlier, the three looked gaunt, pale and weak. Their release was the latest under the Gaza ceasefire agreement and was accompanied by the release of 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

In Gaza... In Gaza, the released Palestinians were welcomed by hugs from friends and family. Negotiations on a second phase of the deal began this week. There are hopes the agreement would see more hostage for prisoner exchanges and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, Russia has intercepted and destroyed 35 Ukrainian drones. Since it took place overnight, about half of the drones were destroyed over the Kursk region that borders Ukraine, while the rest were intercepted in other regions in Russia's

west and south. Meantime, the three Baltic states have pulled the plug on the Russian power grid. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia say it's part of their plan to integrate more closely with the European Union and boost their own security. Dominic Volaitis has more. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia disconnected from Russia's power grid this morning, severing their link to the network of their former Soviet imperial overlord. Shortly after, Latvian workers climbed towers 100 metres from the Russian

border and cut the power cables. A highly symbolic act. Tomorrow, the three Baltic nations will connect to the European Union's power network. It's a historical moment. Kasper Smelnis is Latvia's energy minister. It's one step more forward if you talk about our security, our independence. At this moment we are fully independent and we're fully responsible for what's happening in our systems. The Baltic nations have been planning to decouple from the Russian grid for years. Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014 saw those plans gain momentum.

Dominic Vleitis for CBC News, Riga Latvia. And that is your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Neil Kumar.