The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/19 at 07:00 EST

Episode Date: February 19, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/19 at 07:00 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, it's the World This Hour. I'm Joe Cummings. As the Trump administration pushes ahead with its campaign to end the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian

President Vladimir Zelensky says President Trump is being misinformed by the Kremlin. Here's Zelensky speaking today through an interpreter. We are seeing a lot of disinformation, and it's coming from Russia. Unfortunately, President Trump, with all due respect, is living in this disinformation space. Zalensky has said he's concerned that Ukraine is not being included in talks about ending the war, but Trump is insisting, and said so last night, that Ukraine doesn't deserve to be at the table.

I think I have the power to end this war. But today I heard, oh, well, we weren't invited. Well, you've been there for three years. You should have ended it three years. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal. Zalansky says his talks this week have been focused on what Europe is prepared to do to help Ukraine if the United States reduces its military assistance.

February 24, incidentally, will mark three years since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. With the Trump administration pulling the United States out of the World Health Organization, scientists around the world are voicing their concern as they start work on a flu vaccine for next year's flu season. Jennifer Yoon has more. 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. Sentencing is scheduled today for Pat King, one of the organizers of the 2022 convoy protest in Ottawa. King was found guilty in November on five charges, including mischief and

disobeying a court order. The Crown is seeking a 10-year sentence, which would be the maximum penalty. His defense is asking for time served and probation. Canadian municipalities in the process of going electric with their transit vehicles are nervously watching on as a North American trade war approaches. Elise Skurra explains. The immediate effect of the Donald Trump tariffs is buses become more expensive. Yoseba Petrunic heads the Canadian Urban Transit Research

and Innovation Consortium. Petrunic says the cost will land on cities, with transit providers getting 10 to 15 percent fewer vehicles than they paid for a disaster for cities like Ottawa with a fleet full of diesel buses already too old to be on the road. If those challenges arrive we'll find solutions. That's manager Daniel Villeneuve in Ottawa's nearly empty e-bus garage. OC Transpo was supposed to have 182 electric buses by now. It has eight. Pandemic supply chain issues led to delays. Now Villeneuve's plans could be turned upside down again. Canada's two main manufacturers, New Flyer and

Nova Bus, wouldn't speculate. Elise Gura, CBC News, Ottawa. The latest in a repeated pattern of winter storms is taking direct aim today on the American East Coast with heavy snow and ice in the forecast for several states. The storm that dropped snow in the Midwest is forecast to bring more misery to places cleaning up from weekend flooding that killed 17 people, mostly in Kentucky. Forecasters today say 25 centimeters of snow is possible along the Atlantic coast in Virginia with ice accumulations in the forecast for North Carolina And that is the world this hour for CBC news. I'm Joe Cummings