The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/28 at 17:00 EST

Episode Date: February 28, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/28 at 17:00 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 Julianne Hazelwood. The future of US support for Ukraine is now in doubt after a dramatic day in Washington. I don't think you'd be a tough guy without the United States. That's U.S. President Donald Trump berating the Ukrainian leader.

Volodymyr Zelensky was at the White House to sign a deal giving the U.S. access to Ukrainian rare earth mineral deposits. But the meeting devolved into a combative argument when Zelensky questioned Russia's commitment to diplomacy. From the very beginning of the war, I was... argument when Zelensky questioned Zelensky disrespected the U.S. and could return when he is ready for peace. Zelensky then abruptly left the White House without signing the minerals deal. Later in a social media post, he thanked America and Trump for their support. There is jubilation in Moscow after the dressing down the Ukrainian president received in Washington. But European leaders say their support for Ukraine is unwavering.

French President Emmanuel Macron says Western allies will continue to support Kiev in its fight against Russian aggression. The leaders of Spain, Germany, Poland, Estonia and others say they're standing by Ukraine and President Zelensky. European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaya Kallas, says it's become clear the free world needs a new leader and it's up to Europe to take up the challenge. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said he wanted a third mandate that would outlive and outlast the Trump administration.

And Jamie Strashen reports the province's voters agreed. Calling a snap election is always risky for the incumbent, but Ontario voters gave Doug Ford an extremely rare third straight majority. Ford made the ballot box issue Donald Trump's tariff threat. And voters agree, says his campaign manager Cory Tenyke. This was an unusual situation and something that was, you know, existential to our economy and kind of an unparalleled and unprecedented threat. And getting a new mandate for that is something that I think made a lot of sense to voters.

The NDP returns as the official opposition and NDP MPP Kristen Wong-Tam says bringing focus to other issues like health care and affordability will be a challenge. He wrote a story about how he was going to be the only person to lead Ontario. He has always been a slick salesperson. For the Liberals, soul-searching in the days ahead. Yes, the party increased its seat count, but new leader Bonnie Crombie lost in Mrs. Saga, where she was once mayor.

Jamie Strash in CBC News, Toronto. The Canadian economy finished last year in much better shape than expected. Statistics Canada says the GDP rose by an annualized rate of 2.6 percent in the final quarter of 2024. A jump in retail activity and residential construction were the two main factors. Skype calls will soon become a relic of the past. It was one of the first internet calling services, but its owner Microsoft says Skype will be shut down in May. Anis Hadari has the details. It's the ringtone familiar for many, but Skype's owner, Microsoft, is hanging up on the service. The tech giant wants to move Skype users over to its competing service, Teams.

It is one of the few apps that actually became a verb. I will Skype you. Carmy Levy is a tech analyst in London, Ontario. He says the pandemic was the beginning of the end for Skype. Group video conferencing became the things. Being able to manage calendars and invitations, Microsoft put all of its eggs in the Microsoft Teams basket, which is very much like Zoom. Now Zoom is the hot new verb and Skype is forgotten. Microsoft bought Skype for $8.5 billion US back in 2011. No word yet on how many users are affected today, but Microsoft says they can use Skype until May 5th and then have to log into to Teams.

And he's had RECBC News, Calgary. And that's your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Julianne Hazelwood.