The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/03/18 at 15:00 EDT

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/03/18 at 15:00 EDT

The first time Michael Jackson was publicly accused of molesting a child was in 1993. It happened again 10 years later, but he was never held responsible. And it seemed like Jackson's legacy would remain mostly untarnished until a documentary called Leaving Neverland exposed horrifying behind-the-scenes details. I'm Kathleen Goltar and this week on Crime Story, I speak with the documentary's director, Dan Reed. Find Crime Story wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, the world is ours. I'm Tom Harrington. The White House says it has taken what it calls the first step towards peace in Ukraine. The statement comes after a highly

anticipated phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Briar Stewart has the details. The call between the two leaders lasted for two and a half hours. At the end of it, Russia's president announced that he had agreed to a limited ceasefire, which would halt attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days. The White House also says that negotiations around a maritime ceasefire aimed at stopping attacks on the Black Sea will begin immediately.

While Washington says these moves should be considered a step towards peace, it falls far short of what the US had been pushing for and what Ukraine had already agreed to – a month-long truce across the entire front line. During the call, Putin pushed for a condition he's already articulated. He wants military aid to Ukraine to be stopped and the country prevented from mobilizing soldiers as part of a ceasefire deal. Demands that Kiev and its European allies will see as unacceptable. Briar Stewart, CBC News, London.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says from now on negotiations with Hamas will happen only under fire. He says the overnight strikes in Gaza were just the beginning. Gaza officials say the Israeli airstrikes killed hundreds of Palestinians and the UN is warning about the consequences of the broken ceasefire. Chris Reyes reports. Our worst fears materialized. The UN's Under Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher briefed the Security

Council on the aftermath. Fletcher reported many of those killed are women and children. Modest games made during the ceasefire destroyed? Israel is defending its actions and justifying its strikes against Hamas. Israel Deputy UN Ambassador Jonathan Miller. Instead of asking why Hamas continues to prolong this war, instead of asking these questions, certain members choose instead to malign Israel. Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour called on the council to hold Israel accountable. Stop this criminal action. Stop them from denying our people food in the month of Ramadan. Act. The U.S. sided with Israel and called on the council to condemn Hamas. The IDF confirmed that the strikes killed a Hamas leader in Gaza.

Chris Reyes, CBC News, New York. Canada's inflation rate saw a sharp spike last month. Statistics Canada says it jumped to 2.6% from 1.9 in January. Analysts say the sudden surge in consumer prices was due to the end of the federal government's two-month GST holiday. The tax was lifted on a range of products just prior to the Christmas shopping season. It was brought back into effect in the middle of February. Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Iqaluit after leaving London early this morning. Sovereignty reinforce and affirm our

sovereignty in Nunavut but more broadly in the in the Arctic, protect our people. He announced a major investment for the region. Six billion dollars toward an but more broadly in the Arctic, protect our people. He announced a major investment for the region, $6 billion toward an early warning radar system from the Canada United States border into the Arctic, a partnership announced with Australia in 2022. More than $500 million towards various infrastructure projects, including affordable housing

and hydroelectric development near Iqaluit. Carney says Canada is and forever will be an Arctic nation. New Brunswick's projected deficit is expected to balloon to nearly six hundred million dollars in the coming fiscal year. This is a budget that recognizes the economic reality we are facing as a province and as a country. Finance Minister Rene Legasse says the document includes a $50 million contingency fund to deal with U.S. tariff threats.

This is the first budget tabled by the Liberal government since it won election in October. Despite the financial strain, the government says it will fulfill its promise on health care. The province is boosting that department's funding by nearly $293 million. And that is your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Tom Harrington. Thanks for listening.