The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/05/16 at 14:00 EDT

Episode Date: May 16, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/05/16 at 14:00 EDT

Have you ever wished you could grab a coffee with your favorite author? I may not be able to provide you with a latte, but you can join in on some coffee vibes conversations on my new show, Bookends. On Bookends, I sit down for honest conversations with some of today's literary stars, like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, whose latest book changed our perspective on motherhood and the nature of love. You can check out those conversations and more on Bookends with Matea Roach wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, the world this hour, I'm Julianne Hazelwood.

A judge alone will decide the guilt or innocence of five former World Junior Hockey players at their sexual assault trial in London, Ontario. Justice Maria Carascia has discharged the jury in the case, which focuses on one incident at London, Ontario in 2018. Ali Chyasson explains why. The concern here is about jury prejudice. It stems from a note that was submitted Thursday to the judge written by a juror on behalf of other jurors. It specifically called out two defense attorneys saying they appeared to quote whisper to each other and laugh as if they were discussing our the jurors appearance quote this is unprofessional

and unacceptable the note said. All of the defense teams felt this is now jury prejudice that needed to be resolved. Justice Maria Carusia decided the only way forward is judge alone. In a statement, defense lawyer Dan Brown said this was an unfortunate misrepresentation of just two attorneys talking amongst themselves. Quote, The very idea of counsel making light of a juror is illogical and runs directly counter to our purpose and function.

On Thursday, Carusia herself said she didn't observe any of this behavior from Brown and that she would have stepped in if she had. After one mistrial already, here we have another jury being dismissed. Ali Chiesan, CBC News, London, Ontario. Vancouver officials are calling it the darkest day in Vancouver's history. The city has announced preliminary findings into last month's Lapu Lapu tragedy. The report says the event was well organized and safety protocols were followed. Still, 11 people were killed in the incident at a crowded community festival. Here's Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim.

We will not let fear define us. We will not let it divide us. We will stand together, but we do owe it to everyone. We owe it to those who we've lost. We will not let it divide us. We will stand together. But we do owe it to everyone. We owe it to those who we've lost. We owe it to every single person who calls Vancouver home to take every step possible to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again. Vancouver police have since bought 16 mobile vehicle barriers to be used for future events and will assess their use before deciding whether to buy more. They are also reviewing security arrangements ahead of this summer's Pride celebrations. A report from the Industrial Inquiry Commission recommends phasing out daily door-to-door letter

mail delivery for individual addresses. The report was commissioned after a labor dispute at Canada Post. It examines the state of the Crown Corporation and its finances with a view of reaching a new labor deal. The report calls for the lifting of moratoriums on rural post office closures and community mailbox conversions. It also says Canada Post must be able to hire part-time employees for weekend deliveries. Ukraine and Russia will each exchange 1,000 prisoners of war. That's the result of the first face-to-face talks the countries have held in years. But the exchange of gunfire will continue as negotiations fell short of reaching a ceasefire.

If you want to have serious negotiations, you need to have guns silent. Hyori Tihi, with Ukraine's foreign ministry, says Russia had several unacceptable demands. They included the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from their positions as a condition for a ceasefire. He says the next step is to arrange talks between Ukraine and Russia's president. In Russia, only one person takes decisions. We all understand this. This is Putin. And of course you need him.

Russia says it has noted the request. A possible new round of talks could be announced soon. The man convicted of attacking author Salman Rushdie three years ago has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. 27-year-old Hadi Matar was found guilty of attempted murder and assault back in February. Rushdie was attacked while in state at a literary event in New York State.

The 77-year-old was stabbed more than a dozen times, leaving him blind in one eye. The attack came 33 years after Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei called for Rushdie's death following his publication of the novel, The Satanic Verses. And that is your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Julianne Hazelwood.