The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/12/21 at 18:00 EST

Episode Date: December 21, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/12/21 at 18:00 EST

Okay, so there's this new play about the Rogers family and their battle for control over the gigantic telecom empire, and I cannot stop thinking about it. I'm Alameen Abdul-Mahmoud. I host a pop culture show called Commotion. This week, we're talking about Rogers v. Rogers, and on the show, we'll get into what this corporate story actually tells us about our national mythology and why Canadian theater audiences are craving more and more homegrown stories. Find and follow Commotion on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Kate McGilfrey. Israel has approved 19 new settlements in the Occupied West Bank. Ministers who propose the move say it's about blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Dominic Volitus reports. Israel's Security Cabinet has now approved proposals of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. The move brings the total number of settlements approved in the past three years to 69. Despite the fact the settlements are considered illegal under international law, the Israeli government is pushing ahead with expansion. Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who co-sponsored the move, said it's designed to block the establishment of a Palestinian state. The United Nations claims approvals are now at their highest level since 2017, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning the policy fuels tensions and restricts Palestinians access to land. Arab nations say it undermines hopes for a two-state solution. And in an earlier interview with Time magazine,

US President Donald Trump warned Israel would lose all support if it approved more settlements. Dominic Volaitis for CBC News, Riga, Latvia. The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. The U.S. has already seized two other tankers in less than two weeks. It's part of the Trump administration's effort to stop Venezuela from using what it says are false-flagged ships meant to avoid sanctions on its oil sales.

As Ottawa and Alberta push forward on plans for a new westward oil pipeline, Prime Minister Mark Carney is getting heat for what some critics see as his pivot on climate change. In a year-end interview with the CBC's Rosemary Barton, Carney defended the deal with Alberta

as a way to reach environmental goals. I'm not really sure what you're getting out of it. What the country, it's not about me, What the country is getting out of it is action. The country is getting investment, investment in clean energy, investment in nuclear, investment in carbon capture. Investment in carbon capture. Most people will hear that and, of course, they think, well, what does that actually mean?

It means the equivalent of taking 90% of the cars and trucks off the road in Alberta. These are major investments. You can see the full year-end interview with Prime Minister Carney on the CBC News YouTube channel. It will also be rebroadcast on CBC television and CBC News Network on Christmas Day. U.S. tariff threats earlier this year sent many Canadian shoppers hunting for local products, and some Canadian retailers say that trend is still going strong this holiday season. But as Cameron Mahler explains, there might be signs of a slowdown. Canadians became very protective of our economy, of our neighbors, of our country.

Gareth Davies says that sentiment hasn't changed. He runs the Maker House, a store in Hintonburg that sells 100% Canadian goods. He's still seeing many customers looking to avoid. avoid U.S. products. I think December, we might be up like 30 or 40% on the previous December, which is still significant. Over at the Ottawa Christmas market, Rachel Speakman says she saw a similar boost. She's with SFR Distillery, which uses Canadian corn to make American-style bourbon,

a product you can't find on the LCBO's shelves. She says many months after those tariff threats, her customers are staying loyal. Everybody was trying to get as far away from American product as possible. Still, some analysts are seeing that patriotic bandwagon slow down. Doug Stevens is the CEO of retail profit. With debt quite high already among consumers, I think a lot are just being very cautious going into the new year. Cameron Waller, CBC News, Ottawa. Two more cases of avian flu have been diagnosed on commercial poultry farms in Abbotsford, BC.

There are currently 35 infected premises in the province, including multiple in Abbotsford. The numbers show that more than 10 million birds have been. been infected in B.C. in the last four years. And Canada's Reese Howden earned his second gold medal of the weekend and his third this month in World Cup men's ski cross. It's a cross between alpine and freestyle skiing where four racers go head to head on a course featuring big jumps and high banked turns. That's the world this hour. For CBC News, I'm Kate McGilfrey. Thank you.