The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/12/27 at 10:00 EST

Episode Date: December 27, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/12/27 at 10:00 EST

This ascent isn't for everyone. You need grit to climb this high this often. You've got to be an underdog that always over-delivers. You've got to be 6,500 hospital staff, 1,000 doctors, all doing so much with so little. You've got to be Scarborough. Defined by our uphill battle and always striving towards new heights. And you can help us keep climbing.

Donate at lovescarbro.cairbo. from cbc news the world is sour i'm neil kumar ukrainian president of volatimer zelensky is coming to canada to brief prime minister mark carney on what he's negotiating with the u.s as the wartime leader tries to bring the conflict in his country to a close john northcott reports this is a busy 24 hours for ukrainian president zelanski he's on a plane he's going to meet with prime minister mark Carney. And at some point today, he's also expected to speak to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, other European leaders and potentially U.S. President Donald Trump. All of this in advance of his face-to-face meeting with Trump at Mara Lago

tomorrow. So what's going to be on the agenda? A lot of it's going to be around that 20-point peace plan, but also potentially around guarantees from the West for security in Ukraine should there be some kind of peace worked out. He is pushing, Zelensky is, for Western countries. He says they have the power, and he wants them to help exercise that power as and if this process moves forward to the next stage. John Northcott, CBC News, London. Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro wants Washington's attention.

The United States, listen to me. Maduro's accused in the U.S. of trying to impose colonial domination on his country to steal natural resources, and he's not having it. He insists U.S. intervention in Venezuela will fail. Meanwhile, American military strength in the Caribbean is bulking up with U.S. President Donald Trump blockading oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. Charitable giving in Canada is starting to look more like high finance

than neighbors helping neighbors. National data shows donations are increasingly concentrated among fewer wealthier donors, even as demand at food banks and local charities rises. As Colin Butler tells us in London, Ontario, that shift is already being felt. We are currently, we're tracking about a half a million dollars behind. United Way Elgin Middlesex CEO Kelly Zigner says the half million dollar hole is where middle class line workers from the GM cammy plant Shutterin and Ingersoll used to pitch in.

Charitable giving hit an all-time high of 12.8 billion in 2023, according to stats can. Yet the number of people giving hit a 20-year low. Experts call it charity squeeze. where billions flow from a shrinking pool of wealthier donors to certain charities, while others often smaller, lesser known, face rising demand and fewer contributors. It's been a tough year, I'm not going to lie. Shine Foundation CEO Tiffany Houston. It has to do with the times.

Fewer donors, more need, and a system increasingly shaped by the few rather than the many. For local charities, every dollar counts, now more than ever. Colin Butler, CBC News, London, Ontario. The use of AI to fill social and emotional gaps in human lives is becoming more widespread, with a growing number of people turning to chatbots for connection. But experts warn virtual connections should not come at the expense of real ones. Laura Westbrook reports from Hong Kong. Wearing a flowing white wedding dress, Urina Noguchi walks down the aisle to stand next to the groom.

He's a smartphone placed on a table displaying an AI-generated persona with dark hair that flops over his eyes. The 32-year-old says at first Klaus was someone to talk to after she sought advice from chat GBT and broke off an engagement. But her feelings grew. For me, being with a human didn't make me feel positive, but I did feel good when I dated an AI. According to a survey of a thousand respondents this year in Japan,

more people feel they can share their feelings with a chatbot than their best friends or mothers. Relationship coach Valentina to Doze says the emotions are real. Having someone who sends you texts every day and says hello, this, of course, also poses a danger that people might really disconnect from real-life interactions. Laura Westbrook for CBC News, Hong Kong. And that is the world this hour. For CBC News, I'm Neil Kumar.

Thank you.