The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/12/13 at 10:00 EST

Episode Date: December 13, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/12/13 at 10:00 EST

Hey Canada. It's me, Gavin Crawford, host of Because News. Each week, I put comedians on the spot with a pop quiz about the headlines. This week, we're talking about the monster of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's own making, Wayne Gretzky's incredible pronunciation skills, and the one kind of Christmas toy experts are all calling dangerous. Miguel Revis, Emma Hunter, and Gene Yune are here, so laugh along as we try to make sense of the headlines. Follow Because News on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for free. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Claw Fagg. Floodwaters in BC are receding after this week's devastating atmospheric weather. But hundreds of people remain out of their homes in the Fraser Valley region with more rain forecast in the coming days. The CBC's Mark Carcassault is following developments. A lot of the warnings and highway closures and whatnot that we've seen over the last couple of days have subsided. But nothing is quite normal just yet.

For instance, there are still local states of emergency in B.C.'s Fraser Valley. There are still flood warnings along the Sumass River looking at spillover from the Nooksack River in Washington State, which is flowing northward. There are still evacuation orders in place, 460 properties in total. And there are still some major highway closures in effect. One thing we do know is that the mayor of Abbotsford, Ross Siemens, is not happy with the federal government. He throws back to flooding in Abbotsford in 2021, which was. very serious. He says there was a flood mitigation plan put together not long after that, but the federal governments need to sign off on it. I need that long-term flood mitigation plan

to be adopted sooner as opposed to later. Mayor Siemens does say he met with the federal emergency management minister yesterday after calling them out on that, but still no real concrete plans there. Mark Karkasol, CBC News, Toronto. U.S. officials are traveling to Berlin this weekend to meet with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and other European leaders. Special envoy, Steve Whitkoff, will be leading the discussions which are centered on a revised 20-point U.S. peace plan. Julia Chapman reports. Overseas Envoy Steve Whitkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are making their way to Germany to meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Wall Street Journal reports that the leaders of the

UK, France, and Germany will also attend. They are expected to discuss proposals from Trump to turn the Donbass into a special economic zone. In southern Russia, officials say two people were killed when a Ukrainian drone hit a residential building. Reports suggest Ukraine may have been targeting a major oil refinery there. In southern Ukraine, thousands of people are without power after overnight Russian attacks. The European Union has agreed to indefinitely freeze Russian assets held in the block.

But some members are resisting a proposal to loan the funds to Ukraine. Russia's central bank says it will sue the Belgian financial institution that holds the money. The idea will be discussed at a European Leaders Summit next week. Julia Chapman, CBC News, London. Belarus has released 123 prisoners, and that includes Nobel Peace Prize winner, Alish Bialyotsky, and also opposition leader Maria Kalisnikova. The move comes after the U.S. announced it would lift sanctions on key Belarusian exports,

like potash. And that release followed two days of talks with U.S. envoy as President Lukashenko appears to be trying to improve relations with the White House. Belarus has been a close ally of Russia and has faced years of Western sanctions over its human rights record and also for allowing Russia to use its territory in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. To North Korea. State television broadcasting in a moment. emotional welcome home ceremony in Pyongyang, with leader Kim Jong-un personally embracing soldiers,

some of them visibly injured and in wheelchairs. In his speech, Kim confirmed that the unit was sent to clear landmines and suffered a, quote, heart-rending loss of nine soldiers during the mission. And this confirms earlier intelligence that North Korean troops are serving in a combat role along Russia. A legendary actor is hitting a major milestone today. Jim, Chimmy, Chimmy, Chim Cheree. Dick Van Dyke officially turns 100 years old today and will reportedly celebrate a centennial quietly with his wife at home watching Jeopardy Reruns. Van Dyke won a daytime Emmy Award at the age of 98 for his guest role on the soap opera Days of Our Lives.

And that is Your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Claude Fagg. Thank you.