The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/12/29 at 18:00 EST

Episode Date: December 29, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/12/29 at 18:00 EST

The PWHL is back for the third season of heart-stopping women's hockey. And this season, there are two new teams looking to make their mark on the ice. The Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Golden Eyes. When the world's best women's hockey players face off, anything can happen. Will the Minnesota Frost achieve a three-beat? Will a new team take home the trophy? There's only one way to find out. Watch the PWHL for free on CBCJ.

From CBC News, The World This Hour. I'm Karen Hauerlock. Donald Trump says a meeting today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was productive, despite some disagreements over the West Bank. The two met today at the President's Mar-Lago Resort in Florida, focusing on the U.S. brokered peace deal in Gaza. J.P. Tasker has details. We came to a lot of conclusion. A lot of conclusion.

and conclusions. U.S. President Donald Trump says he has worked out some lingering bilateral issues with his Israeli counterpart, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But what hasn't been decided is when Israel will pull back from Gaza. Under the peace deal, Trump brokered in October, a neutral board of peace was supposed to take over after the Israeli hostages were released. Well, that's a separate subject. We'll talk about that. While batting away a question about when exactly Israel will withdraw its forces. Trump came down hard on Hamas, saying they need to disarm quickly or else. It's going to be really, really bad for them. And I don't want that to happen. But they made an agreement that they were going to disarm. He says peace in the Middle East depends on it. J.P. Tasker,

CBC News, Washington. Moscow says it's revising its position in Russia-Ukraine peace talks after it accused Ukraine of targeting one of President Vladimir Putin's residences today. As Ross Cullen reports it's thrown a wrench into the talks. Well, the Ukrainian president has denied that Ukrainian armed forces targeted the House in the Novgorod region of Russia of President Vladimir Putin. The Russian foreign minister says that is exactly what happened. All 91 incoming Ukrainian drones were shot down and as a result, the Kremlin's negotiating position will now change and targets have been selected inside Ukraine for retaliatory strikes.

The Ukrainian presidency saying that could include government buildings. President Vladimir Zelensky says the claims by Russia are fabricated in an example of lies that Moscow is telling to try to influence the peace process. All of this comes just one day after Zelensky and Donald Trump held face-to-face talks in Florida about the peace process and trying to advance the 20-point peace plan. Ross Cullen for CBC News, Paris. Global Affairs Canada is confirming the deaths of two Canadians in the Dominican Republic. The bodies of the man and the woman, both in their mid-50s, were discussed. covered in a villa at a tourist complex last Friday.

Authorities aren't releasing any more details, and autopsy is underway. People in the airline industry are pushing for change, warning about a shortage of pilots in Canada. They say training needs to be more affordable and accessible. Shelley Joyce has more. Pilot training is really, really expensive, and it's hard to keep it going with all the bills I have to pay.

Michael Jong is a student pilot and mechanic with Canadian Flight Center in Kamloops. The 28-year-old has been flying for a couple of years, but his training has been sporadic due to the high cost of lessons and lack of support. I have to fish out everything from my own pocket. The cost of flight training for pilots is between $80,000 and $140,000.

And while students can receive student aid for tuition, that doesn't extend to flight hours, leading many to drop out or stretch their training over multiple years. Flight instructor Anna Surbinenko says she's seen a big drop in the number of new students training to fly. And for our size of school, that is definitely not enough to keep 26 aircraft flying. And groups like the BC Aviation Council are warning of a critical shortage of new pilots in the years ahead.

Shelley Joyce, CBC News, Canloops. A settlement is being proposed in a class action lawsuit launched by angry soccer fans who were expecting Lionel Messi at a match in May 2024 between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Inter-Miamy FC. The proposal includes a $475,000 charitable donation and changes to the White Caps' ticketing policies. But no money for fans. The suit alleges advertising suggested Messi

and other Inter-Miamy stars would be at the match, but they were not. The proposal needs to be approved at a court hearing in a couple of months. And that is your world this hour. For CBC News, I'm Karen Howerlock. Thank you.