The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/03/16 at 00:00 EDT

Episode Date: March 16, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/03/16 at 00:00 EDT

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 sour. I'm Khalil Hassan Ali. Canada, along with several European countries, took part in a virtual summit on Ukraine on Saturday as Anna Cunningham reports.

The so-called Coalition of the Willing is planning to put military pressure on Moscow. Prime Minister Mark Carney joining French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as leaders from Australia, New Zealand, European nations and EU and NATO chiefs. We agreed we will keep increasing the pressure on Russia, keep the military aid flowing to Ukraine and keep tightening restrictions on Russia's economy.

Led by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he says the group rejects Russian President Vladimir Putin's yes-but approach to a ceasefire. Starmer says his group is now moving to an operational phase. Our militaries will meet on Thursday this week here in the United Kingdom to put strong and robust plans in place to swing in behind a peace deal. Discussions then will be about the possibility of a peacekeeping force, something Moscow rejects. The US did not take part in the meeting. President Donald Trump still sounding positive

on Russia agreeing a peace deal. Anna Cunningham, CBC News, London. In Serbia, thousands turned out for massive anti-government rallies on Saturday. As Dominic Velaitis reports, they're showing their displeasure with their president, Alexander Vucic. Tens of thousands of people from across Serbia joined today's rally in the capital Belgrade. Aleks Svendanovic was among the crowds. I would like to see a change, a regime change, he says. But it's, as the English say, a long shot and it's difficult to achieve.

Today's rally was probably the largest Serbia has seen for decades. It follows months of protests against the country's populist president, Aleksandar Vucic. They started after 14 people were killed when a station roof collapsed in Serbia's second city, Novi Sad. Although more than a dozen people were charged in relation to the incident, protesters are demanding greater accountability for the disaster and more government transparency. Dominic Vlaidis for CBC News, Riga, Latvia. US President Donald Trump has invoked an 18th century law to speed up mass deportations. The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is designed to quickly remove foreigners during wartime or invasion.

Trump says he's using it to go after Venezuelan gang. He accuses of carrying out an invasion acting on behalf of that country's government. In Cuba, tens of millions of people have been waiting for the power to come back since Friday. Gas power generators are picking up some of the slack after the electrical grid collapsed. Grocers are using some of that power to keep food fresh. Power bars have been set up in the streets so people can recharge phones. It's the latest in a series of blackouts to hit the island, which is plagued with aging infrastructure. Cuba is under several US trade embargoes and restrictions,

making it difficult to bring in supplies for repairs. Public health officials are warning Canadians about the dangers of measles as cases surge across the country. Dr. Isaac Bogosh is an infectious diseases specialist at Toronto General Hospital. We had a death related to measles last year in Canada. The United States has had two deaths related to measles as part of this current outbreak and even in Ontario, as part of this current outbreak, 8% of the cases have been hospitalized. So it's not just a benign routine illness that people used to get decades ago. It shouldn't be routine and it's not benign.

This measles outbreak is spanning several provinces. It's the third highest number of cases since the virus was eliminated in Canada and officials expect the number to rise. The Hudson's Bay Company will begin liquidating stores next week. The 354 year old retailer went into creditor protection earlier this month, owing nearly a billion dollars dollars both to landlords as well as suppliers. That's the World is Sour.

For CBC News, I'm Khalil Hassan Ali.