World Report - August 09: Saturday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: August 9, 2025

Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejects Donald Trump suggestion of land swap with Russia.London police arrest more than a hundred 'Palestine Action' supporters.Wildfires burn in Newfoundland as the Canada Games begins in St. John's.Is Nova Scotia's wildfire response going too far?Air quality poor in the Prairies.Checking Carney's climate change goals.

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Certain conditions apply. This is a CBC podcast. This is World Report. Good morning. I'm Sam Samson. Just hours after the announcement of a critical meeting between the leaders of the United States and Russia, Ukraine's president is rejecting some of the ideas that will be up for discussion. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine will not surrender territory to Russia. It's one of the suggestions made by Donald Trump as he gets set to meet with Vladimir Putin in Alaska next Friday.

The CBC's Julia Chapman has the latest. When Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meet next week, they'll do so without Ukraine's leader. Officials in Kiev worry their country's interests will be ignored. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia mustn't be rewarded for its war. It has to end it. And he insists no territory will be handed to occupiers. Donald Trump appears to have other ideas. President Zelensky has to get all of his everything he needs

because he's going to have to get ready to sign something. The U.S. President says under his proposals, some territory would be swapped. But Ukraine doesn't hold much Russian land, so in practice that's likely to mean concessions. Alexander Hara is a former advisor to Ukraine's Minister of Defense. Certainly we would love to have ceasefire, but not with a political concession and irreversible political concession. Whatever the outcome, the summit between Russia and America's leaders will be significant.

It's the first since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The meeting is headline news in Russia. State TV quotes Putin advisor Yuri Ushakov, who says discussions will be challenging, but the Kremlin is ready to engage. The announcement of a summit came with no mention of Trump's deadline. He gave Moscow until yesterday to end the war or face further sanctions. Julia Chapman, CBC News, London. Police in the UK have begun to arrest protesters who are rallying behind a controversial activist group.

Crowds were expected in London today coming to the defense of Palestine action. It was recently designated a terror group under UK law, making the act of expressing support for the organization a criminal offense. Dominic Volaitis has more from London. Protesters at today's rally react to one of their number being arrested by police. More than a hundred protesters have been taken into custody after a coordinated move saw scores of people unveiling placards, expressing support for the band group Palestine action. Police warned there would be arresting.

if the law was broken. Those handcuffed and led away made their feelings known to officers. Shame on the police. Every single one of them are a disgrace. You need to take your uniform off and find another job. Palestine action was banned

under UK anti-terrorism laws this summer after activists broke into an RAF base and damaged two planes. The group accuses the UK of being an active participant in the Gaza genocide. The government said the group's actions had put the country's security at risk and met the legal definition of terrorism. But the United Nations' own human rights chief and Amnesty International have criticised the move. Being a member or supporting the group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Palestine action is seeking to overturn the ban in the British courts. supporters claim, if successful the hundreds of people already detained supporting the group could sue for wrongful arrest. Dominic Velaises for CBC News, London. Three wildfires are burning out of control in Newfoundland and Labrador, which has seen an unprecedented fire season. It's prompting the provincial government to clamp down on people who are disobeying a province-wide fire ban.

All happening as thousands of athletes descend on St. John's for the Canada Games. Jessica Singer has more. Thousands of people have had to flee their homes and cabins as a series of wildfires rip through Newfoundland and Labrador. Meanwhile, the provincial government says it's being inundated with reports of people setting fires intentionally, despite a province-wide fire ban. Premier John Hogan is angry and says it needs to stop.

I don't know the word that I can use to say how I feel about this, beyond troubled and frustrated that this is reckless and irresponsible behavior. His government is drastically increasing the punishment for violating a fire ban. Fines now range from $50,000 to $150,000 as well as up to a year in prison. Smoke from nearby wildfires is affecting the air quality in St. John's, but it isn't putting a damper on the excitement for the Canada Games. Thousands of athletes and spectators from across the country are landing in St. John's with the opening ceremony kicking off tonight. Although the smell of smoke is in the city's air, officials say it's too early to tell how or if it could impact sports events.

For now, organizers say everything is going ahead as scheduled and they are ready to let the games begin. Jessica Singer, CBC News, St. John's. of Nova Scotia is responding to criticism that his government's wildfire response is going too far. Last week, the province banned hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities in Nova Scotia forests. It's meant to reduce the risk of sparking new wildfires. But many residents say the ban is unreasonable and an example of government overreach. An online petition to rescind the ban is circulating and civil liberties groups have expressed concern. Tim Houston is the Premier of Nova Scotia.

The experts came to me and said their recommendation is that we should kind of restrict travel and put some serious fines on there just to keep people safe, to keep property safe, and to really support our firefighters and first responders. So the experts gave the advice. I agreed with it. So I'm happy to make sure that we're doing everything we can to protect people, to protect property, and try and just get through this fire season and just really pray for some rain.

There's a $25,000 fine for breaking the ban. Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources says that, unlike other provinces, nearly all wildfires in Nova Scotia are caused by human activity. Much of Manitoba and Saskatchewan remain under air quality warnings. Environment Canada says wildfire smoke

continues to contribute to the very poor air quality in the region and it could lead to reduced visibility in the coming day. The agency says Saskatoon and the northwestern Manitoba City of Flinflon are expected to see an air quality index of over 10 throughout the day. It's advising residents in those regions to limit the time they spend outside. Well, amid this active wildfire season and scorching hot summer across Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney is facing mounting pressure to act on climate change. But nearly six months into his tenure, it's unclear whether Carney will pursue the deep emissions. cuts sought by his predecessor.

David Thurton reports. Sorry, I was just warning you, the wheat paste is very gross. It gets absolutely everywhere. It's liquidy. These climate activists are using a gooey substance to poster around the University of Ottawa. It smells bad, but, you know, it gets the job done. It's water and flour that we boil. That homemade glue is not the only thing that drips from these posters.

These activists ooze with distrust for today's politicians. Benjamin Welchner, is with the Climate Action Group Last Generation. I think in the last 5, 10 years, it's been made abundantly clear that if we get real climate solutions, they are coming from ordinary people instead of coming from the government. Those doubts are not without reason. Canada has five years to meet an international commitment. Can we meet our 2030 climate target, or will we miss another goal? It's highly unlikely that we can. Simon Donner is the federal government's top climate advisor,

and he co-chairs the independent net zero advisory body. It's going to be hard to get there given that so far all we know that is happening that we've been removing existing climate policies like the consumer-facing carbon price. It remains unclear how this liberal government will make up for the already widening gap. Canada has made considerable progress reducing planet warming carbon pollution. Emissions so far have fallen more than 8% below 2005 levels. Still a long way, though, from at least 40% that the Liberals promised at the end of this decade. David Thornton, CBC News, Ottawa.

David covers climate change and the environment for the CBC's Parliamentary Bureau. And this week, he's guest hosting a special edition of The House, looking at Canada's climate change commitments. That's coming up after this edition of World Report or wherever you get your podcasts. That is the latest national and international news from World Report. I'm Sam Samson. This is CBC News.