The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/22 at 19:00 EST

Episode Date: February 23, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/22 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 is our, I'm Karen Hauerloch. Doctors in Rome say these next few hours could determine the Pope's survival. 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 more. 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 Washington and what's being called the Pentagon purge. U.S. President Donald Trump has fired several senior military officers, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As Steve Fetterman reports, it is believed to be about diversity, equity and inclusion. It is one of the most significant reorganizations ever at the top levels of the U.S. military. In one fell swoop, Donald Trump got rid of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the head of the Navy, and the vice chair of the Air Force. The moves could be connected with Trump's goal of ending diversity, equality, and inclusion

programs. C.Q. Brown was just the second African American to chair the Joint Chiefs, and Admiral Lisa Franketti was the firstAmerican to chair the Joint Chiefs and Admiral Lisa Franketti was the first woman to lead the Navy. During a speech Saturday, Trump ran a bit of a victory lap, talking about what he's done in his first month and making clear it will continue. In the immortal words of that great American hero, John Paul Jones, I have not yet begun to fight.

In 2020, Trump actually nominated Brown to lead the Air Force and celebrated the fact that he was appointing the first black person to the job. Steve Futterman for CBC News, Los Angeles. U.S. negotiators are telling Ukraine Elon Musk could cut its access to the Starlink satellite Internet system if it doesn't sign a deal giving the US access to Ukraine's critical minerals. Starlink is crucial to Ukraine's military. Donald Trump claims the two countries are close to a deal. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was at a final rally today for his social democratic party ahead of Sunday's national election. The weather is good, everything is fine.

Pols show Scholz's party in third place behind the far-right Alternative for Germany, the centre-right Christian Democratic Union, is in the lead. Authorities in B.C. are calling for an investigation after an emergency warning system failed during Friday's earthquake on the South Coast. There were no injuries but not everyone received the automatic alert on their phones. So Habsandu has the story. I've also had reports of uneven application of the emergency alert system for this earthquake. That's BC's Minister for Emergency Management, Kelly Green. She says the emergency alert system is meant to give people time to drop, cover and hold

on. Natural Resources Canada, which is responsible for the earthquake early warning system, acknowledges some people did not receive the alerts on Friday. It says the issue will need to be investigated. Tony Yang is a civil engineering professor at UBC. He says the alert system is critical to reduce secondary damage. We can shut off traffic to the bridge. So we can turn the traffic lights off, divert people off.

Natural Resources Canada says warnings are automatically sent to cell towers, TVs and radios within the area. So wrap's on CBC News, Vancouver. And that is your World This Hour for CBC News. I'm Karen Howelluck.