The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/12/28 at 14:00 EST

Episode Date: December 28, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/12/28 at 14:00 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, it's the world this hour. I'm new to Dean Corine. U.S. President Donald Trump is hosting Ukraine's President Volodemir Zelensky today. We have two willing parties. We have two willing countries. They want to see it. The people of Ukraine wanted to end and the people of Russia wanted to end.

And the two leaders wanted to end. Trump expressing optimism as the two went into talks at Mar-a-Lago, the pair are trying to hammer out a peace deal to end four years of war. Trump says he had a good conversation earlier today with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but there are still questions about whether Putin will sign on to a deal. Christian Luprecht is a professor at the Royal Military College of Canada. He says there are signs that the war is taking a huge toll on the Russian economy. So Putin has recruited this year 417,000 conscripts.

So this is widely believed to be an accurate number. so in terms of conscripts, he can keep things going. But in terms of the economy, the Russian economy is struggling. It's in recession. Interest rates are very high. We further, as a result of U.S. sanctions, reduce the amount of Russia can charge for its oil. So there's a bit of a who's going to blink first. Can Putin actually sustain economically the war for another 18 months?

Trump says you will call Putin again after the meeting. In Syria. Alois hold protests in cities along the Syrian coast today, but clashes with counter-protesters have led to the deaths of three people with more than 40 wounded. The protests follow the bombing among Al-Awi Mosque that killed eight people earlier this week. The deaths are the latest in an eruption of sectarian violence in Syria, which began after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime just a year ago.

Malaria kills hundreds of thousands of children globally every year, But there's renewed hope thanks to a new vaccine. A recent study shows it is effective in preventing severe illness. But as Jennifer Yoon reports, there are some catches. A recent study followed 45,000 children younger than five in three African countries. It found those who received three doses of the vaccine, RTSS, were less likely to suffer from severe malaria or be hospitalized with the disease. It's great news in the fight against the disease estimated to kill a child

every two minutes, says Dr. Scott Gordon, who leads the malaria vaccine program at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. This is further data that really verifies the effectiveness of the vaccine, the safety of the vaccine, as it's being implemented in real-life settings. RTSS is one of two malaria vaccines that are being ruled out across Africa. But as promising as the vaccines are, it's not cheap and requires four doses. While the manufacturer and Gavi are bringing prices down, Gordon says, countries must continue funding the fight against malaria.

Jennifer Yun, CBC News, Toronto. Winter rain is lashing the Gaza Strip, flooding camps with displaced Palestinians. The wind was very strong last night, says this man trying to fix his tent in Khan Yunus. A strong winter storm has soaked blankets and mattresses with clay ovens for cooking swamped with water. According to Gaza's Hamas, run health ministry, at least 12 people have died since December 13th from hypothermia or weather-related

collapses of war-damaged homes. Atlantic Canada is bracing for freezing rain and blowing snow tomorrow. Environment Canada says a short period of intense weather is expected in much of Nova Scotia and parts of southern New Brunswick. Freezing rain may fall on northern New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The weather agency also issued several snowfall warnings for the southern parts of the Yukon and Northern British Columbia. And finally. One of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century have died. British Bardot's cinema career spanned some 28 movies.

She became an international celebrity as a sexualized teen bride in the 1956 film and God-created woman. Bardot later became an animal rights activist. Bridget Bardot was 91. And that is your world this hour.