The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/12/14 at 18:00 EST

Episode Date: December 14, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/12/14 at 18:00 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 Gina Louise Phillips. We begin with the latest from Australia. A very sad duty this morning to report that 16 people have been confirmed as been killed, 15 innocent people and one perpetrator. There are 42 people in New South Wales hospitals overnight, and the victim's age ranges are from as young as 10 to 87. That's New South Wales Premier Chris Mins providing an update on the victims of a mass shooting on Bondi Beach on Sunday. A pair of gunmen opened fire on a gathering of Jewish families celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. One of the gunmen was killed, the other is in hospital in critical condition.

Australian officials are calling it a terrorist attack. While Mins accused the suspects of, quote, cancerous anti-Semitism, he also talked about bystanders who intervened. Thank you to innocent bystanders and civilians who stood up, risked their own lives to save other people's lives. In particular, there's a video of a man sneaking up behind one of the gunmen and wrestling the automatic weapon out of his hands. Some Australian media sources are identifying the bystander as a Muslim. Riley Stranahan is a Canadian living in a hostel right on Bondi Beach. He was with friends at the beach when shots rang out. He fled into the nearby neighborhood where he was given shelter by strangers.

Somebody above me asked me what was going on just off their balcony, told them there was some gunshots and they're like, do you want to come upstairs? And I'm like, yeah, please. So they let me in their apartment. And I stayed in their apartment for probably about two hours. He says he feels shaken by the incident. Prime Minister Mark Carney released a statement saying he's horrified by the anti-Semitic terror attack. And he goes on to say that Canada stands with Australians and Jewish people everywhere. Global Affairs Canada says it's not aware of any Canadians caught in the incident. German police have arrested five men suspected of planning an attack on a Christmas market in Bavaria.

The five are believed to be Islamist militants. Three are Moroccan nationals. One is Egyptian and one is Syrian. Investigators say they are intended to drive a vehicle into a crowded market. A similar attack was carried out last December in the city of Magdeburg, killing six people and wounding more than 300. Well, after five hours, peace talks on ending the war between Ukraine and Russia wrapped up in Berlin, with more scheduled for tomorrow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and some of his European allies are meeting with envoys from the Trump administration. Earlier in the day, Zelensky said Ukraine is willing to drop its ambition of joining NATO.

but if there is to be peace, Russia will also have to compromise. Julia Chapman reports from London. Volodymyr Zelensky says ending the war will take compromise. He says he's willing to give up the idea of Ukraine joining NATO in exchange for legally binding security guarantees from allies, including Canada. It's not clear what Russia is prepared to concede, but Zelensky says it will if the right pressure is applied. He'll be urging American negotiators in Berlin to exert that pressure.

In Ukraine, the attacks continue. An explosion in a parking lot in Zaporizia captured as first responders rushed to the site of a previous strike. The governor of the region says a supermarket was hit, injuring 11 people, a child among them. And Russia says it intercepted 235 Ukrainian drones overnight. This is the backdrop to the talks in Berlin as negotiators try to end the death and destruction. Julia Chapman, CBC News, London. More rain is in the forecast for an already soggy B.C. Fraser Valley. Environment Canada is calling for a potentially significant push of moisture tomorrow.

Officials in Chilliwack have warned there may be localized flooding, but it's not expected to be as bad as last week. And that is the world this hour. For CBC News, I'm Gina Louise Phillips. Thanks for listening.