The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/19 at 03:00 EST

Episode Date: February 19, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/19 at 03:00 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 Neal Herland. We begin with a deadly avalanche in British Columbia. It happened near the Alberta border.

The CBC's Dan Burritt has details. The RCMP says one person has been killed after an avalanche southeast of Golden on Monday. Police say two people had been back country skiing. One of the men returned home and confirmed his companion, a 42-year-old man from Golden, died in an avalanche despite trying to save him. Police say the survivor

had to leave the victim to make sure he could get out himself. Search and rescue crews later used a helicopter to retrieve the body. The victim's name has not yet been released. The CBC's Dan Burritt in our Vancouver newsroom. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been charged with attempting a coup after his 2022 election loss. The prosecutor general alleges he was part of a plan to stay in power, despite losing to the current president, Lula da Silva. If Brazil's Supreme Court accepts the charges, Bolsonaro will stand trial.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk have developed quite the friendship. The president and his adviser showered one another with compliments during an interview on Fox News, vowing to push ahead with their plan to cut and restructure the U.S. government. Katie Simpson has more. President Trump is a good man. Elon Musk sat next to Donald Trump, flattering his boss with a steady shower of compliments during the hour-long interview on Fox News.

At this point, I spent a lot of time with the president and not once have I seen him do something that was mean or cruel or wrong. The president himself didn't miss a beat, returning the favour with compliments of his own. He's a very good person and he wants to see the country do well. Both Musk and Trump defended the work of Doge, the Department of Government Efficiency. Led by Musk, Doge is spearheading the federal government purge, dismantling agencies and firing tens of thousands of workers in the

name of cost cutting. I think he's gonna find a trillion dollars. If Trump and or Musk watched the live broadcast, there's a chance they saw the commercial paid for by the province of Ontario promoting it as a steady trading partner. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. An Australian billionaire is launching a Donald Trump inspired political party down under. Clive Palmer says his party will be called Trumpet of Patriots. Australia needs Trump policies. Australians want them. Trumpet of Patriots will put Australians first and make Australia great again. Australia has had a

left-leaning Labour government since 2022. The flu vaccine gets updated every year to protect against the latest and more dangerous strains of the virus. But this year a key player might not be part of the conversation. The United States hasn't said if it will come to a critical meeting deciding which strain should go in next year's flu shot. Jennifer Yoon reports. For flu shots to get to Canadians arms it takes a whole lot of scientists from around the world working on it every year. They're supposed to meet next week to come up with next year's flu vaccine. But there might be a key player missing.

We are communicating with them but we haven't heard anything back. Maria Van Kerkhove, who leads the World Health Organization's efforts to prevent epidemics, doesn't know if American scientists will be there next week. She says she's reached out to US agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration to radio silence. American epidemiologist Keiji Fukuda, who's been to several of these meetings, is alarmed. He says it's crucial US scientists are there. These kinds of interactions are how we come up with the best formulations for vaccines.

While experts really want Americans to show up, the WHO says the meeting will go on with or without the U.S. Jennifer Yoon, CBC News, Toronto. We've got an update now on the health of Pope Francis. The Vatican says the leader of the Catholic Church slept well and ate breakfast Wednesday after he developed pneumonia in both lungs. And that is your World This Hour.

For CBC News, I'm Neal Herland.