The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/09/01 at 12:00 EDT

Episode Date: September 1, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/09/01 at 12:00 EDT

We're in the midst of the dog days of summer. And it's called that because during this period, Sirius, the dog star, rises with the sun in the morning. Not because it feels like several dogs are breathing their humid breath on you all the time. Can you tell he's a cat person? Hello, I'm Neil Kerkstel. And I'm Chris Houghton. We're the co-hosts of As It Happens.

But throughout the summer, some of our wonderful colleagues will be hosting in our place. We will still be bringing you conversations with people at the center of the day's major news stories here in Canada and throughout the world. You can listen to As It Happens wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, The World This Hour. I'm Clawfagg. A deadly earthquake has rocked eastern Afghanistan. A spokesperson for the Taliban government says at least 800 people are feared dead,

thousands more injured in a magnitude 6.0 earthquake. It struck a remote area making rescue efforts. it's complicated. Survivors are pleading for help. The entire village was destroyed, says this man, and he says the dead are still buried beneath the debris. Taliban officials are warning the number of victims could go much higher. To the Northwest territories, hundreds of people in the hamlet of Fort Providence are being told to get out while it's still safe to do so. A fire nearby exploded in size this weekend and has grown to over eight. 89,000 hectares. It's now burning near the community. Veronica Gargan lives there.

I came by a bus. It was quite smoky. I mean, that smoke was getting thick, so it's kind of scary, too. So right now, we're in a safe place. Firefighters are trying to save homes and critical infrastructure. China has hosted the largest ever gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The group also includes Russia, India, and a number of other countries. The meeting in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin called for a new global order in the face of what China calls U.S. bullying. Patrick Falk reports. It's seen as a platform to rally nations frustrated by trade disruptions brought on by the U.S.

At the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Chinese leader Xi Jinping took repeated swipes at Washington. She says the SCO practices genuine multilateral. and must forge ahead amid global upheaval. The SEO has grown to become the largest regional bloc in the world by population and is presenting itself as an alternative to the Western-led global order with China at the helm. Wrapping up the two-day event, Xi called for a more balanced global governance system. His message resonated with many participants as Washington's increasingly taken a unilateral approach

to trade and foreign policy. Russian President Vladimir Putin also called for a new system of security. to replace what he described as an outdated Euro-Atlantic model. Patrick Fock for Zibzi News, Hong Kong. The International Association of Genocide Scholars says Israel's actions in Gaza meet the legal criteria for genocide. Hamas has welcomed the group's resolution. Israel has yet to comment.

Lauren Komito reports from Amsterdam. 86% of the International Association of Genocide Scholars agreed that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. called on Israel to immediately stop all internationally criminal acts, including intentionally targeting civilians, starvation, the denial of humanitarian aid, water and fuel, and the forced displacement of Gazins. Such acts, says the association, meet the legal criteria of the 1948 Genocide Convention. I mean, if this is not a genocide, then I don't know what genocide is. Netherlands-based genocide scholar Eva Vukasic is a former member of the association. She

says with so many basic rights now out of reach, from education and food to arable lands and housing, Gazans are being intentionally wiped out. So even beyond the killings, at the end of the day, it's making life unlivable. Vukisic says even if governments like the U.S. won't listen, others like the Dutch, may take action. Lauren Kamato for CBC News, Amsterdam. Yemen's Houthi rebels have resumed their attacks on ships in the Red Sea. A spokesperson says they launched a ballistic missile at an Israeli oil tanker off the coast of Saudi Arabia. He claims it was a direct hit sinking the ship. This has not been independently verified.

The Houthis have said the attacks on shipping routes or a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. It may also be retaliation for last week's Israeli airstrikes that killed senior Houthi leaders in Yemen. And that is your world this hour. For CBC News, I'm Claude Faye. Thank you.