The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2026/01/07 at 14:00 EST

Episode Date: January 7, 2026

The World This Hour for 2026/01/07 at 14:00 EST

If you're listening to this, I already know you have great taste in podcasts. But maybe, if you like me, you still wonder if you're missing out on the best stuff. That's where the Sounds Good newsletter can help you out. Every other Thursday, the audio files at CBC Podcasts highlight one must-hear show and lots of other new and noteworthy titles. They do conversation starters, they do hidden gems, and they also tell you about the stuff they love that they didn't make. Go to CBC.ca slash sounds good to subscribe. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Mike Miles. The U.S. has seized two oil tankers linked to Venezuela. The Trump administration says it will take all the oil, between 30 and 50 million barrels, to be sold at market rates.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the money will then be used to benefit the Venezuelan people, but didn't specify how. He says oil seizures give the U.S. control over what the interim government in Venezuela is able to do. They are not generating any revenue from their oil right now. They can't move it unless we allow it to move because we have sanctions because we're enforcing those sanctions. This is tremendous leverage. We are exercising it in a positive way. Rubio claims the U.S. is shepherding Venezuela to an orderly transition of power. The nation's acting President Delci Rodriguez has insisted no foreign agent controls the Venezuelan government.

And the White House says it's holding active discussions about purchasing Greenland and it isn't ruling out taking the island by force. Trump says he needs it for national security, but Western nations warned such a move would only undermine it. Karen Paul's reports. To deter Russian and Chinese aggression in the Arctic region. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt defending U.S. President Donald Trump's escalating campaign to acquire Greenland.

And so that's why his team is currently talking about what a potential purchase would look like. Avarok Olson is the mayor of Greenland's capital, She says this discussion is disrespectful and offensive. We feel like we are not treated as our own people living in our own country. We are treated like an item to buy. The U.S. has tried to buy Greenland before, offering 100 million U.S. in gold in 1946. Some estimates suggest Greenland's mineral resources are now worth nearly 200 billion U.S. dollars and taking into account its strategic location, a value of nearly $2.8 trillion.

Karen Paul's, CBC News, Washington. An ICE agents shot and killed a woman during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. The Department of Online Security says officers opened fire on the woman when she tried to run over them with a vehicle. The incident has drawn dozens of angry protesters to the site where they blew whistles and shouted at federal agents and local police. Secretary of Homeland Security, Christy Noem, called the incident an act of terrorism. But the Democratic mayor of Minneapolis,

Jacob Fry, says that's not what happened. They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video of myself, I want to tell everybody directly. That is bullshit. This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying. Governor Tim Walls is urging citizens to stay calm.

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have been an edge since ice began its crackdown yesterday. The head of an independent panel looking at Calgary's water infrastructure needs an complete overhaul. Secreed Kiefer says recent water emergencies could have been avoided. Calgarians have faced severe water restrictions in the past few years after breaks in what's known as the Bear's Paw feeder main. Kiefer says the water system needs better oversight and more. more proactive repairs. I believe you would have averted having this situation of water curtailment. There were several opportunities over the last couple of decades to build in resiliency and

redundancy associated with that bear's paw feeder main. And had they been, you would have been able to divert the flows around this rupture and not interrupt service to Calgarians. Kiefer says the city needs a board dedicated to burning the water system. The Prime Minister's office says Mark Carney will be going to China next week, then on to Switzerland. The PMO says Carney will discuss trade, energy, agriculture, and international security in Beijing. He'll meet with the President and Premier. It's the first visit to China by a Canadian Prime Minister since 2017.

The trip to Switzerland is to attend the World Economic Forum in Devos. And that is the world this hour. For CBC News, I'm Mike Miles. Thank you.