The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/14 at 19:00 EST

Episode Date: February 15, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/14 at 19:00 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 this hour, I'm Juliane Hazelwood. The future of Ukraine topped the agenda at an international security conference in Munich. And while Russia wasn't invited, it is dominating discussions.

Eby Kuvassin has the latest. A failed Ukraine would weaken Europe, but it would also weaken the United States. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen repeated her message at the Munich Security Conference. Allies on the continent are worried that the new US administration may already be looking to appease Vladimir Putin in order to lock up a peace agreement, even one that rewards the Russian president. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his country must not be left out of any negotiations.

This is a principle position we will never accept it. All our people, all our nation. I don't want to be those person in the history who helped Putin to occupy my country. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said a reasonable settlement is possible but provided no specifics. Europe says it's ready to do even more to support Ukraine, but acknowledges they need Washington's ongoing support to ward off any future threats from the Kremlin. Abby Kuo-Doss in CBC News, Berlin. After back and forth threats, the Gaza ceasefire appears to be holding. Amass Today told Israel the names of three hostages it will release on Saturday.

It will be the six hostages for detainees exchanged since the ceasefire took effect. Sasha Petrasek has more. Israel's military gathered along the Gaza border, its leaders vowing to restart intense fighting if hostages aren't released tomorrow. Then word came from Hamas that three hostages will be freed, three men including an American Israeli and a Russian Israeli. That seems to put the ceasefire deal back on track after a week of threats from US President Donald Trump that hell would break out if all the hostages weren't

released and threats from Hamas that no more hostages would be freed if Israel didn't raise the amount of aid allowed into Gaza. More aid has been flowing, but there are still shortages. Israel still insists it won't allow building materials in, leaving the ceasefire deal shaky but standing. Sasha Petrusik, CBC News, Jerusalem. The Vatican says Pope Francis is suffering from a respiratory infection but is in stable condition.

The 88-year-old was hospitalized today after he reportedly struggled to speak during a meeting. He has been diagnosed with bronchitis and is undergoing more tests and treatment. The red and white maple leaf flag turns 60 tomorrow. Flag Day has been celebrated every year since February 15, 1965, the first time the flag was raised on Parliament Hill. Five former prime ministers are urging Canadians to fly the flag as a show of strength in the face of American threats. And in fact, Canadian flag sales have increased this month. Matt Skip is co-owner of Flags Unlimited in Barrie. They've seen a 50% increase in sales.

This is the first time I've ever really concerned about actually running out of product. As a management team, we're talking about extra shifts, extra supplies to try to keep on top of demand. A pair of Montreal app developers has come up with a way to help shoppers buy Canadian. Buy Beaver was launched by Alexandra Hamela and Christopher Dip earlier this month. The free app scans product barcodes and lets users know if it's Canadian or not. Hamela says he got the idea after seeing misinformation online. I came across a lot of different posts on social media sharing lists of

products and some were plain out wrong and I thought what would be a better way to unite a list of all the products with correct scores to know which is Canadian which is not. A recent Leger poll found 81% of Canadians surveyed said they're buying significantly more Canadian products. And that is your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Julie-Ann Hazelwood.