The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/08/31 at 17:00 EDT

Episode Date: August 31, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/08/31 at 17:00 EDT

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from cbc news the world this hour i'm mike miles residents in fort providence in the northwest's territories were told this morning to pack up and leave as a fast-moving wildfire threatens their hamlet winds are expected to push the flames their way and could reach the outskirts this evening mike westwick is a fire information officer a team there is working hard to continue to get structure protection running and set up throughout the day at the northern edge of the community that includes water cannons and sprinklers. We deployed structure protection specialists to that community yesterday. We're going to be working to do everything we can to protect that community.

Another fire force of the evacuation of Wati yesterday. Firefighters say they've had favorable winds for the last 24 hours. The fire has grown, but it's moving away from Wattie. The number of new wildfires in BC has shot up over the past few days caused by hot and dry conditions and lightning strikes. The coastal fire center in southwest BC saw, over a thousand lightning strikes Friday alone. Sam Bellion is a fire information officer.

Fire danger rating across the coastal fire center right now is a mix of moderate to high. So in these conditions, any spark can cause a wildfire. We did see some precipitation along with this lightning event, but it won't be enough to soak those finer fuels on our forest floors that are primed for ignition or to extinguish any fires. Bellion says many of the fires were located in high alpine areas. In Nova Scotia, officials say the long.

Long Lake fire in the Annapolis Valley is still burning out of control, but no more damage has been reported and favorable, rather, weather is helping crews make progress on containing the fire. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Poland's border with Belarus today, a show of support as Poland faces multi-pronged attacks from the Russian ally. Dominic Volaitis says more. The European Commission's Ursula von der Leyen used her visit to the border to express solidarity with Poland as a frontline state under attack.

For years now, you and the Polish people have been facing deliberate and cynical hybrid attacks, and I want to emphasize that Europe stands with you in all possible ways. Poland's border with Belarus was a fitting location for such comments. Among the hybrid attacks Poland's facing is a migration crisis allegedly engineered by Belarus. Von der Leyen's pledge Sunday to triple EU money for migration and border management will have gone down well with the country's Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Joining von der Leyen at the border, he called for firm resistance against Russia, comparing the current situation to Poland's solidarity movement 45 years ago.

Dominic Volaitis for CBC News, London. In Ukraine, firefighters battlefire, at multiple power stations and Ukraine's Odessa region, they were attacked by Russian drones overnight. Almost 30,000 people were left without power. Israeli officials say they have killed Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida. Crime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that a joint operation by the Israeli

defense forces and Shinbet, its intelligence agency, targeted Abu Obida over the weekend. There's been no comment. from Hamas. At the Vatican, Pope Leo offered a prayer in English for those involved in the mass shooting in Minneapolis last week. Our prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school mass in the American state of Minnesota. We include in our prayers the countless children killed and injured every day around the world. Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world.

Two children were killed and 15 others wounded, along with three senior citizens. The Pontiff's Sunday message is usually in Italian. Pope Leo also repeated his desire for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and went on to grieve the dead and missing from a missing migrant boat that capsized off the coast of Mauritania. That is your world this hour. For news anytime, visit our website, CBCNews.ca.

For CBC News.com. I'm Mike Miles.