The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/04/26 at 07:00 EDT

Episode Date: April 26, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/04/26 at 07:00 EDT

Scott Payne spent nearly two decades working undercover as a biker, a neo-Nazi, a drug dealer, and a killer. But his last big mission at the FBI was the wildest of all. I have never had to burn baubles. I have never had to burn an American flag. And I damn sure was never with a group of people that stole a goat, sacrificed it in a pagan ritual, and drank its blood. And I did all that in about three days with these guys. Listen to Agent Palehorse, the second season of White Hot Hate, available now.

From CBC News, the world this hour, I'm Claude Fague. CHOIR SINGS A choir sings during the mass held for Pope Francis. 200,000 people have gathered in and around the Vatican at St. Peter's Square for the Pontiff's funeral. Among the throng are dozens of world leaders including Governor General Mary Simon representing Canada. The CBC's Chris Brown is there. Here in St. Peter's Square, it's been a morning of excitement, grand spectacle and sadness as the world said goodbye to Pope Francis. Immense crowds, including school groups, Catholic nuns, church congregations and tourists

have all come to share in the experience of his funeral. Sophia Swainson from Calgary arrived before dawn to get next to the procession route. He was a very loved person, so I mean, it shows today. On a sunny day and in a colorful ceremony, steeped in ancient traditions, a procession of cardinals wearing red robes escorted the Pope's simple wooden coffin outside of the Basilica to an altar on the main steps of St. Peter's.

Speakers read scriptures and choirs sang hymns during the 90-minute service that was held in front of 150 world leaders. Francis was eulogized as a pope who wanted to be close to everyone, especially those in need. Chris Brown, CBC News at the Vatican. And amongst those world leaders, at least two are using the occasion to discuss other issues. Vladimir Zelensky and Donald Trump met in Rome to talk about Russia's war on Ukraine. The White House calls the encounter, quote, very productive.

The meeting comes as the U.S. president claims Moscow and Kiev are very close to a ceasefire deal. Trump's envoy, Steve Woodkoopf, and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in Moscow yesterday. Ukraine was not part of those negotiations. Quebec's electoral landscape appears to have swung dramatically since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office. And with its 78 out of the 343 seats in the House of Commons,

how the province votes could be pivotal to the overall result. As the campaign nears its close, Quabino Oduro went out to hear what some voters have to say. In Longueuil, on Montreal's south shore this week, several residents said cost of living was among their top election concerns. I'm a student, so everything is really expensive. It's about the cost of life. That's all that matters.

Blaque-Québécois supporter Robert Lausanne says his election issues have not changed. He says it's all about the economy and... The place of Quebec and Canada. On her way to the shopping mall with her newborn, Evelyne Gauvain said support for families and the environment were her two most important issues. She says party leaders have done a good job pitching their ideas in such a short period of time. They have covered a lot of subjects. Stébastien Dallaire with L'Asie Marketing says at the beginning of the campaign,

U.S. President Donald Trump was a central piece of the puzzle. Canadians were both angry and fearful about what had happened with the United States. Typically the campaign starts more rational with number, with policies, becomes more emotional and now it feels almost reversed. Cubino Duro, CBC News, Montreal. Quebec and also Ontario are often the key regions, but don't count out the West, says David Coletto, a pollster and CEO of Abacus Data. He told the CBC's Catherine Cullen that he

thinks BC is one of the most interesting stories this election. You've got dynamics at play that we didn't expect to see, where you've got liberals campaigning on Vancouver Island, you've got the NDP trying to hold off a province where it has its most number of seats, where its leader is at risk of losing his seat in Mr. Singh. If the Liberals don't win their majority in Quebec or enough in Quebec to lock in the majority, then BC could be the place that that either happens or not. And for the NDP, party status. And you can hear the full interview with pollster David Coletto on the house with Catherine Cullen this morning, right after the 9 o'clock edition of World Report 930 in Newfoundland. And that is your World This Hour.

For CBC News, I'm Claude Figg.