The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/03/18 at 14:00 EDT

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/03/18 at 14:00 EDT

Hey, it's me, Michael Buble. You hear that? That's the sound of the Junos, the biggest party in Canadian music. I'll be there hosting. Sum 41 will be rocking out on stage for the last time, plus a whole lineup of amazing performances. And guess what?

You're all invited. All bring the tux, you bring the snacks. Let's make it a night to remember. Don't miss the Junos, live from Vancouver, March 30th at 8 Eastern on CBC and CBC Jam. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Tom Harrington. The United Nations is raising the alarm following the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire. Health

Ministry officials in Gaza say the Israeli airstrikes overnight killed more than 400 people. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says efforts must be made to restore peace after two months of relative calm. First for the ceasefire to be fully respected. Second for humanitarian aid to have access for humanitarian aid to have access to Gaza in an unimpeded way, and third, for the unconditional release of hostages. And we will not give up on these objectives. The U.S. is putting all the blame for the breakdown on Hamas. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oran Marmurstein warns there could be more strikes

to come. From this point forward, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing military intensity. Israel has been pressuring Hamas to continue the phase one of the ceasefire and release more hostages. Hamas wants to move into phase two and the withdrawal of Israeli troops as the two sides had previously agreed. The U.S. and Russia have agreed to pursue a limited ceasefire in Ukraine. The agreement was the result of a call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.

Under the proposed deal, Russia and Ukraine will stop hitting each other's energy infrastructure for 30 days. The White House also says Putin and Trump agree the war between Russia and Ukraine needs to end with a lasting peace, and talks to achieve that goal will begin immediately. The two leaders discussed several other issues including Iran, the proliferation of weapons, the Middle East and according to the Kremlin hockey games between Russian and American NHL players. Mark Carney says his government is ready to ensure the security of Canada's north. The Prime Minister announced nearly $7 billion in funding on his first trip to Iqaluit.

Most of that is earmarked for new measures to secure the North. Canada is strong when we build constructive nation-to-nation partnerships. And it's strong when we work with Inuit, Métis and First Nations communities across the North and across the country. And that's why Canada's new government is taking action to protect the North, affirm our sovereignty, but to also develop our potential. Carney also announced more than $500 million in infrastructure funding. It includes affordable housing investments and upgrades to multiple power facilities

across the North. Inflation is on the rise in Canada, and one reason for it, the end of the GST holiday. Anish Hidari has more details. Inflation jumped up to 2.6% in February, and that's an increase from earlier in the year, the biggest culprit pushing prices up in Canada, the end of the temporary cut to the GST and HST. And because Statistics Canada calculates inflation based on many after-tax prices, the cost of things the agency measures went up by

default. While today's inflation numbers are still within the Bank of Canada's target range, it doesn't mean things are still in the clear. But it is something that's going to persist into the future, that's something to watch out for. James Orlando is the director of economics at TD Bank and he points out there's other things looming that could affect inflation. With retaliatory tariffs, where the Canadian government puts tariffs on goods from the United States into Canada, that means higher inflation for Canada. As for interest rates often used to influence inflation, the next announcement on those

is April 16th. And he's had RECBC News' Calgary. Two NASA astronauts are now on their way back to Earth. They'd been stranded on the International Space Station for months. To Crew 9, safe journey home. It's been the honor of a lifetime to cross your path up here on the space station. We'll miss you, but have a great journey home. Sunny Williams and Butch Wilmore got a fond farewell as their SpaceX Dragon capsule undocked

early this morning. They were originally scheduled to spend a week aboard the space station, but after a mechanical failure, their visit ended up lasting nine months. The trip back to Earth will take about 17 hours. Splashdown is expected off the coast of Florida at around 6 p.m. Eastern Time this evening. And that is your World and Beyond this hour. For CBC News, I'm Tom Harrington. Thanks for listening.