The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/23 at 11:00 EST

Episode Date: February 23, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/23 at 11:00 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 Gavin Day. The Vatican says Pope Francis had a peaceful night after a respiratory crisis and blood transfusions. Francis has been in hospital for over a week suffering from pneumonia.

He was in critical condition on Saturday. Megan Williams has more. This morning the Vatican said the Pope had slept through the night. Still, he remains in critical condition after his worst health crisis so far. When on Saturday he suffered from what the Vatican called a prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis that required high flow oxygen. The Vatican health update last night also said that blood tests showed thrombocytopenia. That's a condition that makes it harder for blood to clot and increases the risk of bleeding.

Pope Francis also has anemia, a low red blood cell count that adds to his weakness. The real danger, said his doctors on Friday night, is the Pope getting sepsis, germs from the pneumonia leaking into his bloodstream and reaching the heart or liver. Still, the prognosis remains uncertain, with many Cardinals and Vatican officials here saying only that they're praying for the Pope. Francis was hospitalized nine days ago for bronchitis that developed into double pneumonia. Megan Williams, CBC News, Rome.

If you need peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to leave my post, I'm ready. The second thing is that I can change the President's position. I can change the position of the Ukrainian President. I will leave the position of the Ukrainian President in NATO. meant peace in his country. Zolonski adding he would exchange his position for Ukrainian membership in NATO. He spoke at a news conference today in Kiev. Plans are underway for talks between the US and Russia. Russia's new agency says a new round of discussions take place at the end of next week. Jeremy's Chancellor posing for photos as he casts his ballot in Potsdam. Olaf Scholz is not expected to remain in power after today's election.

The centre-right Christian Democrats are expected to win the most seats, but will still likely fall short of a majority. That would require them to try to find other parties to work with to form a coalition government. The far-right Alternative for Germany has been polling in second place. Israel says it's scaling up its weeks-long offensive in the occupied West Bank. Tanks have been ordered to roll into what Israel says is a militant stronghold. Troops are being told they'll likely be there for at least a year. Israel's defense minister says he's also informed troops they are not permitted to

allow Palestinians who fled to return. British Columbia has taken new measures to keep prescription opioids off the streets. People in that province who rely on those drugs can no longer bring them home. But as Jessica Chung reports, there are concerns about how this new model will work. Opioids like hydromorphone tablets used to be taken home around a dozen at a time by those with prescriptions under British Columbia's Safer Supply Program. Now the province has scrapped the take-home model and says new patients who get prescribed opioids under the program will need to take them under the supervision of a pharmacist. They give me 14 a day.

I can't take 14 or take two, then run back in an hour. Lorna Byrd says the change is completely unrealistic and would mean going to the pharmacy six to seven times a day. The Safer Supply Program provides regulated opioids to drug users with a prescription as a way of giving people an alternative from toxic and deadly street drugs. The sweeping change was announced on Wednesday, effective immediately. The province says it's meant to prevent the diversion of prescription opioids into the illicit market.

I think it's going to be a nightmare. Sydney Salos, a pharmacy assistant, says this will set many recovering addicts back. If they have to come in multiple times a day, what is that going to mean for them? It's going to screw them over a lot. Jessica Chung, CBC News, Vancouver. US President Donald Trump says Canada's work at the border is heading in the right direction. Trump spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Saturday.

This is ahead of a virtual G7 meeting Monday. Trump has said large amounts of fentanyl have come into the U.S. from Canada. That's despite numbers showing just a small fraction of fentanyl seized in the U.S. being traced back to Canada. And that is The World This Hour. in the U.S. being traced back to Canada. And that is The World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Gavin Day.