The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/28 at 10:00 EST

Episode Date: February 28, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/28 at 10:00 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 is Sour. I'm Joe Cummings.

The latest update from Statistics Canada is showing the Canadian economy finish last year in much better shape than expected. Statscan says the gross domestic product rose by 2.6 percent over the final quarter of 2024. This is a surge few analysts had predicted, including the Bank of Canada. A jump in household spending, retail activity, and residential construction were all main factors. However, some of

this upward trajectory is already believed to be easing in the face of the Trump administration's ongoing tariff threats. Now to the Ontario election and another victory for Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservative Party. Together we have made history. Together we have secured a strong historic third majority mandate. That's a PC leader celebrating his party's victory. It's not precisely history-making, but the third straight majority is something the province hasn't seen now in more than 60 years.

And polling analyst Eric Grenier says the Ford campaign was helped significantly by the Trump tariff threats. I do think it has played a big role in this campaign because while Doug Ford wanted to make the campaign about Donald Trump and the tariffs, you know, the campaign itself might not have always dominated the news, but Donald Trump often has. So even when we weren't actually talking about the Ontario election,

we were talking about the issue that Doug Ford wanted to run this campaign on. As for the New Democrats and leader Merit Stiles, they remain the official opposition. The liberals managed to earn back their official party status, but leader Bonnie Cromby will not be going to Queens Park. She failed to win her writing.

And the Green Party, it held onto the two seats it had going into the election. With Ontario at the forefront of the outbreak, the number of confirmed measles cases across the country is surging. And the increase comes as immunization rates are on the decline. Jennifer Yoon has more. In southwestern Ontario, public health officials are racing to contain the spread of measles.

There are 119 confirmed cases of the highly contagious disease in the province. It's the largest outbreak since measles was declared eradicated in 1998, after a high percentage of Canadians got vaccinated. But now, immunization rates have dropped, both abroad and in Canada, say public health authorities. Across Canada, there are 156 confirmed cases already this year. For comparison, last year there were 147 cases of measles in total. It's devastating when you have to manage a vaccine preventable disease that results in a fatality.

Dr. Sarah Kahn is a pediatric infectious disease specialist at McMaster University. She's encouraging those who are hesitant to get the jab to speak with their doctor. Otherwise, Kahn says, measles could be back for good in Canada. Jennifer Yoon, CBC News, Toronto. Meanwhile, officials in Pakistan are reporting two new cases of polio. The declaration is triggering alarm and is being seen as a setback to the country's efforts to eradicate the disease. Around the world, polio remains endemic only in Pakistan

and neighboring Afghanistan. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is in Washington today for talks at the White House with President Trump, and Zelensky is expected to sign an agreement that will give the U.S. access to Ukraine's rare mineral deposits. It's not clear what security guarantees or military support Ukraine can expect in return, but Trump has said he's looking to recover some of the costs the U.S. has been paying out in recent years in backing the Ukrainian war effort. Greek protesters are clashing with police today in Athens. Protesters are throwing rocks and makeshift fire bombs at officers in riot gear while

police fire tear gas. The demonstrators gathered this morning to mark two years since a train crash in northern Greece killed 57 people. The protesters are accusing the conservative government of failing to carry through with promised safety upgrades. And the subsequent protests are some of the biggest the country has seen since the debt crisis more than a decade ago.

And that is The World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Joe Cummings.