The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/14 at 08:00 EST

Episode Date: February 14, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/14 at 08:00 EST

What does a mummified Egyptian child, the Parthenon marbles of Greece and an Irish giant all have in common? They are all stuff the British stole. Maybe. Join me, Mark Fennell, as I travel around the globe uncovering the shocking stories of how some, let's call them ill-gotten, artifacts made it to faraway institutions. Spoiler, it was probably the British. Don't miss a brand new season of Stuff the British Style. Watch it free on CBC Gem. From CBC News, it's the World This Hour. I'm Joe Cummings.

With all eyes on the Trump administration, a global security summit has opened in Munich. And for many of the European leaders on hand, there is great concern for what the Trump White House will mean for Europe and for the Ukrainian war effort. Abhi Kugadasan reports. Three days in Munich will allow European officials to meet and mingle with the US delegation for the first time since Donald Trump returned to the White House. Europeans will use this opportunity to try to get a sense of the U.S. administration.

Raphael Loss is with the European Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. He says world leaders and high-ranking officials take to the main stage of the security conference in southern Germany. But much more will happen in the back rooms, on the hallways. Much of the talk will focus on a pressing issue for Europeans. What happens next in Ukraine? In recent days, Trump has confirmed speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin, announcing the two had agreed to start negotiations immediately. Trump has also suggested Ukraine won't get all of its territory back from the Kremlin.

And his Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth set off even more alarm bells by saying NATO membership for Kyiv is off the table. Abby Kuladas in CBC News, Berlin. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials say the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been targeted by a Russian drone strike. President Vladimir Zelensky says the facility's containment shell was damaged, but there are no reports at this point of radiation leakage. The containment shell was built after a reactor at the plant exploded in 1986, leading to

the world's worst nuclear accident. Moscow claims it wasn't responsible for today's drone strike. With parliament parod, conservative MPs are taking part in a strategy session today on Parliament Hill. And the conservative meeting comes ahead of a rally the party plans is planning for tomorrow to mark Flag Day. Janice McGregor has more. As the Conservative caucus gathers this Valentine's Day, it's true patriot love they're preparing to wear on their sleeves. National Flag Day will be marked by the Governor-General with a ceremony on Parliament Hill this morning. But earlier this week on his social media,

Poliev stood with the flag at his official residence and called on all Canadians to unite like never before. The text messages his party's been blasting out to try to build a big crowd for his rally, though, suggests it will be a partisan affair and one that leans into a very different message than the Canada is broken theme that conservatives had been hammering when their target was Justin Trudeau. Instead, we are now seeing Poliev use a Wilfrid Laurier quote actually, Canada first, Canada last, Canada always as his tagline, words that simultaneously push

back against Trump while also embracing the populist rhetorical style of the America first movement that continues to resonate with some conservatives here in Canada. Janice McGregor, CBC News, Ottawa. Meanwhile, former Conservative Prime Minister Joe Clark is among those openly concerned about Canada's sovereignty, and he's urging all Canadians with similar concerns to let their voices be heard south of the border.

Including simple little things like, excuse me for this simplicity, simply writing letters to our friends in the U.S., being in touch with them, not to condemn their presence, but to make the case of the value which most of them know quite precisely that Canada holds. That's Clark in conversation with Matt Galloway, the host of The Current on CBC Radio 1. You can hear the full interview later this morning. Clark and the other four surviving former prime ministers are calling on Canadians to show their patriotism tomorrow by flying the maple leaf for Flag Day. Environment Canada has issued a new round of extreme cold warnings for the prairies.

It says windchill values this morning mean it feels like minus 50 across most of northern Saskatchewan and northern Manitoba. The southern parts of those provinces, along with northern Alberta, are in the minus 40s. And Environment Canada is warning that while windchill values will moderate slightly during the day, the extreme cold is expected to return tonight. And that is The World This Hour. Remember, you can listen to us wherever you get your podcasts. The World This Hour is updated every hour, seven days a week.

For CBC News, I'm Joe Cummings.