The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/20 at 08:00 EST

Episode Date: February 20, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/20 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.

First to the Middle East, where Hamas has handed over the bodies of four hostages kidnapped during the October 7 attacks, included are the bodies of Shiree Bebus and her two young children, who Hamas says were all killed in an Israeli airstrike. Sasha Petrusik has more now from Jerusalem. Right until this week, many in Israel hoped the Bebus children had survived, says family friend Yifta Cohen. Shireh and the kids became a symbol.

I still hope that they will be alive. A symbol of hope for many in Israel, not knowing how many of the remaining 69 hostages survived 16 months in captivity. A shocking day, a day of grief, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Many here blame him for dragging out ceasefire negotiations and the hostage releases. But today, as some gathered in hostage square and others lined the route home for the coffins, the focus was on the youngest ones lost. Sasha Petrusik, CBC News, Jerusalem.

An extradition hearing is scheduled today in Montreal for an alleged ISIS supporter accused of plotting to murder Jews in New York City. Thomas Daigle has the details. RCMP arrested Mohammed Shahzib Khan near the US border in Quebec in September. Today, he's appearing before a judge in Montreal who will consider whether the 20 year old should be extradited to the US to face a terrorism charge. Born in Pakistan, Khan came to Ontario on a student visa in 2023 and was soon on the FBI's radar. US prosecutors say he planned an ISIS-inspired mass shooting at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn and wanted to carry out

the plot this past October 7th. Khan's lawyer, Gaetan Bourassa, previously suggested investigators lured his client into all of it. My impression, it was a victim of entrapment by police officers in the States. A CBC News investigation found Khan was in the process of claiming asylum in Canada, while the FBI alleges he was seeking others to join a murderous plot. Thomas Daigle, CBC News, Toronto. It looks like the Pentagon could be the next target as the Trump administration continues with its campaign of government spending cuts.

Cameron McIntosh has more from Washington. The Washington Post is reporting it obtained a memo from Secretary of Defense Pete Hagstaff calling for 8% cuts to the Pentagon budget for each of the next five years. Now the Pentagon's budget is about $850 billion, so this is almost $70 billion a year. Now, Haig Seth says these cuts aren't supposed to affect service personnel, people in uniform, nor Trump priorities like securing the southern border, but Haig Seth says spending should reflect America's shifting priorities towards China, away from Ukraine and Europe. Dark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused

on the security of Europe. Haig-Seth is telling the Pentagon to have a list of cuts ready for Monday. Cameron McIntosh, CBC News, Washington. U.S. President Trump says Elon Musk will be checking to see if the government's gold is still in Fort Knox. Musk has been raising the issue for days on social media and Trump says, quote, if the gold isn't there, we'll be very upset. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant has told the A Wisconsin talk show this week that the gold is audited every year and is all present and accounted for. America's gold reserves are stored in a depository on the grounds of the Fort Knox Military Base in Kentucky.

In Boston, it's Canada against the United States tonight in the championship game of the Four Nations Face-Off Tournament. Canada's only loss in this event was to the Americans in the in their round robin matchup last weekend in Montreal that game featured three fights in the first nine seconds with the United States going on to win the game three to one. And that is the world this hour. I'm Joe Cummings.