The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/22 at 16:00 EST

Episode Date: February 22, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/22 at 16:00 EST

1942, Europe. Soldiers find a boy surviving alone in the woods. They make him a member of Hitler's army. But what no one would know for decades, he was Jewish. Could a story so unbelievable be true? I'm Dan Goldberg. I'm from CBC's personally, Toy Soldier. Available now wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Karen Howelluck. And we begin this hour in Rome. The Vatican says Pope Francis is in critical condition after suffering a respiratory crisis this morning. The 88-year-old has been in hospital for more than a week.

Megan Williams has the latest. A Vatican statement says Pope Francis's condition remains critical, meaning he is not out of danger. The Pope experienced a prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis this morning, requiring high flow oxygen therapy, and blood tests showed a condition that makes it harder for blood to clot and increases the risk of bleeding. He also has anemia, a lower than normal red blood cell count, which can cause fatigue and weakness.

He was given a blood transfusion. Despite his condition, the Vatican says the Pope remains alert and spent the day sitting in a chair, though in more discomfort than yesterday. For now, it said, the prognosis remains uncertain. The Pope was hospitalized eight days ago for bronchitis that developed into double pneumonia. Megan Williams, CBC News, Rome. And now to an Israeli army base. Screaming and crying with joy,

Omar Wenkert reunites with his parents after spending about 500 days in Hamas captivity. Wenkert was one of six hostages released today. In return, Israel is set to free over 600 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Today is the final release of living hostages under phase one of the ceasefire deal. Any more exchanges hinge on whether the two sides can agree on phase two. There's been a deadly knife attack in eastern France. President Emmanuel Macron says the attack was an act of terrorism. A man shouted, Allahou Akbar, and attacked a group of police in the city of Moulous.

A passerby who tried to intervene was killed and three officers were wounded. A 37-year-old Algerian man is under arrest. His name is on a list of people flagged for radicalism. U.S. negotiators are telling Ukraine that Elon Musk could cut its access to the Starlink satellite internet system if Kyiv doesn't sign a document giving America access to Ukraine's critical minerals. Starlink provides crucial internet access to Ukraine's military. The issue was discussed at a recent meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Keith

Kellogg, the US special envoy on Ukraine. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had a phone call with US President Donald Trump today. Trudeau's office says the call primarily focused on the fighting in Ukraine. It comes days after Trump falsely blamed Kiev for starting the war. The CBC's Raffy Bujikanyan has details. The prime minister's office says in an official release that Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump spoke about border issues between Canada and the U.S., although a senior Canadian government source tells CBC News the conversation was dominated by the war between Russia and Ukraine. The source says Trudeau wanted to connect with Trump ahead of a virtual meeting of the

G7 on Monday. It's Canada's turn to chair the group. As for those border issues, the source says Trump acknowledged changes along the border and did not repeat his comments about Canada becoming the 51st state. No word yet on whether the US plans on any changes to the tariffs. It says it will implement on March 4th. The two leaders also briefly discussed the hockey rivalry between their countries. Rafi Boudjikani on CBC News, Ottawa.

Some Canadian travelers are protesting against American tariffs and sovereignty threats by canceling their U.S. trips. About a million Canadians go to the U.S. every winter. But now many are considering alternative destinations for next year, especially such as Mexico. Stephen Fine is the president of Snowbird Advisor Insurance. We're almost at the end of snowbird season so I think the question comes up what's gonna happen next season. There's definitely some negative sentiment and

people considering alternate destinations but I would say that it's too early to tell at this point. The US Travel Association warns that even a 10% drop in Canadian visitors could cost the U.S. economy nearly $3 billion. And that is your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Karen Howellak.