The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/23 at 12:00 EST

Episode Date: February 23, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/23 at 12:00 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. Exit polls from Germany's election are expected at any moment. Surveys ahead of today's vote have shown the center-right Christian Democrats likely to win the most votes, but as Abbie Kugadasen reports, no party is likely to form a majority. Nationwide

some 59 million people are eligible to cast their ballots, but one in five potential voters remain undecided this week, hoping to sway some of them. The conservatives who lead in the polls with about 30 percent held their final rally last night. Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz has been being tough on immigration, a central part of his platform, but looked to differentiate himself from the far-right AFD, which seeks mass deportations. Merz said if all immigrants left the country for 24 hours, nothing would work in Germany anymore. Even though the far-right has about 20% support and may finish second, Merz has made it clear

he would not form a coalition with them if he wins. A similar pledge has been made by all the other major parties too. Abbi Kualdas in CBC News, Berlin. We feel Pope Francis, although in a hospital bed. Participants at mass in the Vatican told to pray for Pope Francis, the Pope suffering from what is being described as a respiratory crisis on Saturday. The Vatican says he's conscious but receiving supplemental oxygen today. The 88-year-old Francis has had double pneumonia and a complex lung infection. He's been in hospital for more than a week

since a case of bronchitis grew worse. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia launched more than 200 drones overnight. It comes as French and British leaders prepare for face-to-face meetings with President Donald Trump in Washington. The CBC's Anna Cunningham has more from London. Monday, the president will host France's president, Emmanuel Macron.

And on Thursday, the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will visit the White House as well. The White House is preparing. So too is Europe. At the Elysee Palace in Paris and Downing Street in London, there's a sense that these meetings will be a moment of tension in the relationship between Europe and the US. The UK's Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirming today that Britain will unveil a significant package of sanctions against Russia Monday.

Europe and Ukraine were excluded by the US from negotiations with Russia to end its war in Ukraine, the biggest war on the European continent since 1945. Macron and Stammer hope to change that. Anna Cunningham, CBC News, London. An estimated one million Canadian snowbirds travel to the US. As President Donald Trump threatens tariffs and talks about annexing Canada, many of those who spend the winter down south are angered by those threats. and some are even cancelling their plants. Campbell McDermott has the details. I thought there's no way I can go down and spend any money in the US. Aside from during the pandemic, Bob Blumer has traveled to Florida every

March for 20 years but this year the retiree from Coburg, Ontario has different plans. Basically just frustration and listening to Trump and all his rhetoric talking about Canada becoming the 51st state. Bluma's not the only one. Fort Lauderdale realtor Alexandra DePont says she's never had so many property listings from Canadians.

And I have zero Canadian buyers right now. She says Trump's threats come as Canadians already feeling the pressure of a weak loonie and rising costs. The US Travel Association has warned that even a 10% reduction in Canadian travel could mean nearly three billion dollars in lost spending. Stephen Fine is the president of Snowbird Advisor Insurance. He says it is unclear how many Canadians will boycott US travel. There's definitely some negative sentiment and people considering

alternate destinations. Campbell McDermott, CBC News, Ottawa. Health Canada has issued a recall for a kids sunscreen. It includes the Kids by Baby Gannix SPF 50 Mineral Sunscreen. It says an impurity was found in the products at levels above the allowed limit, which may pose health risks. Officials are asking the public to stop using the products. And that is The World This Hour. risks. Officials are asking the public to stop using the products. And that is The World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Gavin Day.