The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/03/19 at 20:00 EDT

Episode Date: March 20, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/03/19 at 20:00 EDT

Struggling with debt? Help is available. Discover reliable solutions to help you get back on track. Visit Canada.ca slash debt dash solutions for support you can trust. A message from the Government of Canada. From CBC News, the world is sour. I'm Tom Harrington. Canada is condemning China for executing four Canadian citizens earlier this year. Melanie Jolie says they were dual Chinese-Canadian nationals convicted for drug crimes.

Ottawa always asks for leniency, she says, because Canada doesn't have the death penalty. Tom Perry has more. This is an issue that I've been following very, very closely. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie says the families of the four dual-national Chinese Canadians convicted and executed under Chinese law have asked for privacy. Jolie didn't name the four, but offered some insight into the accusations against them. They were all facing charges linked to criminal activities according to China linked to drugs. Jolie says both she and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ask Beijing to show leniency.

The conviction rate in China's criminal justice system is close to 100 percent, and human rights groups say Beijing executes more prisoners than any other country, though the true numbers are a state secret. The Chinese embassy in Canada issued a statement saying China is a rule of law country and whoever violates the law must be held accountable. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. The president said that having a liberal prime minister would be easier for him to deal with. And you know what? It's true.

The conservative leader using the words of Donald Trump to attack the liberals. Last night on Fox News, the US president said Pierre-Paul Yev was no friend of his, but added, while it would be easier if the liberals won the election, it made no difference to him. Paul Yev says he'd be the tougher negotiator. It's clear that President Trump wants the liberals in power because they will keep this country weak. What Canadians need is a leader who's tough, a leader who will make Canada strong, self-reliant, and stand on its own two feet.

The latest opinion polls suggest the Liberals are now in a neck-and-neck race with the Conservatives. There may be a breakthrough in the effort to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky says lasting peace is achievable this year. The Ukrainian president is sounding hopeful following an hour-long phone call today with Donald Trump. Richard Madden has the details. Today President Trump and Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky had a fantastic phone conversation. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt says Ukraine's president Vladimir Zelensky has agreed to halt attacks on Russia's energy

infrastructure. It echoes the same commitment from Russia's president Vladimir Putin on a call the day before who agreed not to hit Ukraine's infrastructure. Zelensky also requested more US military equipment but US President Donald Trump deferred. President Zelensky asked for additional air defense systems to protect his civilians, particularly Patriot missile systems. And President Trump agreed to work with him to find what was available, particularly in Europe. The Kremlin has demanded Ukraine stop receiving foreign military support, but the White House

says it will continue to share intelligence with Ukraine. High-level talks will begin in the Middle East within days without Ukraine or Europe. Richard Madden, CBC News, Washington. The U.S. Federal Reserve has left its key interest rate unchanged at four and a half percent. The Fed says the U.S. economy continues to expand at a solid pace and unemployment has stabilized at a low level. But the central bank warns inflation remains elevated and it has to navigate new uncertainty

created by the economic policies of the Trump administration. Israeli tanks roll into Gaza in a video released by the country's military. The IDF says it has launched a new ground operation in the central and southern Gaza Strip. It comes after two days of airstrikes that local health officials say killed more than 400 people. Israel says its troops secured a crucial corridor that splits Gaza in two. They are now focused on creating a partial buffer zone between the north and the south ends of the enclave. A Hamas spokesman says the advance of ground forces is a clear sign Israel has backed out

of the truce agreement. And that is Your World This Hour for CBC News, I'm Tom Harrington. Thanks for listening.