The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/14 at 09:00 EST

Episode Date: February 14, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/14 at 09:00 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.

We start in Munich, where Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie is attending an international security summit. And Jolie, along with her European counterparts, are all watching on with mounting concern as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump lays out its position on the war in Ukraine. Abby Kugadasen reports. 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 Kiev is off the table. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has repeated the need for a lasting and reliable peace, one where security guarantees backed by the U.S. ensure his country is not attacked again. And EU foreign policy chief Kaya Kalas reiterated concerns emerging from various capitals across the continent. Any deal behind our backs will not work. It's clear that appeasement also always, always fails.

Europe wants to know exactly how much Trump is willing to do on the world stage to uphold the existing rules-based order as he pushes for a more isolationist America. Abby Kowaldas in CBC News Berlin. Meanwhile Ukrainian officials are saying 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 any 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, incidentally, is claiming it is not responsible for today's drone strike. The Trudeau government's two-month GST holiday comes to an end tomorrow. So the question now is, was it worth it? Phillip Lee Shanick has more. So I had to go in, manually just turn off all the taxes. Toronto gift shop owner Trin Ngo put in extra hours prepping for the tax break just before Christmas. Nagaud says it didn't help her sales due to the short time frame and limited number of products exempt from the tax.

So is she looking forward to reversing her work this weekend? No, but at least it's a quiet time so that's fine. Statistics Canada data on the impact of the tax holiday won't be out for a while, but Dan Kelly of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says it wasn't worth the bother. So it didn't move the dial very much with respect to sales but did add a lot in terms of administrative complexity. But Kelly Higginson of Restaurants Canada disagrees. So really the GST holiday is doing what it was supposed to do. She credits the tax holiday for pushing hiring to pre-pandemic highs.

And she says with the threat of U.S. tariffs, it should be permanent. Phil Tyshanok, CBC News, Toronto. Incidentally, with the final day of the GST holiday taken into account, the Bank of Montreal has come out with a survey on what the average Canadian couple can expect to spend if they go out tonight for Valentine's Day. With food, drinks, flowers and parking, it's $173. The Vatican says Pope Francis has been admitted to hospital and is being treated for bronchitis. Megan Williams has more from Rome.

At about 10.30 local time this morning, the Vatican issued a statement saying the pope is being admitted to Gemelli Hospital here in Rome for what it called some necessary diagnostic tests and treatment for bronchitis. Earlier this month, Francis told pilgrims at a weekly audience that he was suffering from a quote strong cold. He's continued to hold daily audiences in his Vatican Santa Marta residence. He even presided over an outdoor mass on Sunday, though his breathing was too labored for him to read aloud. The 88-year-old Catholic leader has suffered from respiratory problems

several times over the past couple of years. His health issues, though, haven't stopped him from following world politics. Earlier this week, he issued a sharp criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, telling American bishops that criminalizing migrants will end badly. Megan Williams, CBC News, Rome. And that is The World This Hour. I'm Joe Cummings.