World Report - August 6: Wednesday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: August 6, 2025

80 years after the bombing of Hiroshima, are nuclear weapons more politically acceptable? US President Donald Trump increases tariffs for India as penalty for buying Russian oil, following meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff. Montreal police charge 38-year-old man for allegedly making online threats against Trudeau International Airport and Hydro-Quebec control centres. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre says Prime Minister Mark Carney is not doing enough to stand up to US tariffs. New federal loans and grants announced for softwood lumber industry. More than 10,00 Air Canada flight attendants could go on strike later this month. Discovery of wampum beads excites archaeologists on Newfoundland's east coast. 

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This is World Report. Good morning. I'm Sam Samson. As the world marks 80 years since the nuclear attack on Hiroshima, there are concerns global superpowers are becoming more militarized. Countries have even more powerful weapons now, and more world leaders are talking about using them. Crystal Gamansing reports. At 8.15, local time, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park fell silent.

A tribute to all of those killed in the deadliest use of a single weapon in human history. Japanese Prime Minister, Shiguro Ishiba, telling the crowd, we must not repeat the tragedy that was brought upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is our country's responsibility as the only nation that has suffered atomic bonds. He called today's environment increasingly severe with wars raging across Africa, Asia, and Europe. Looking at the arsenal stockpile of nuclear weapon that's around the world, there are more than 13,000 of them now. Howard Kakita was seven years old when Allied forces dropped the atomic bomb. He and his brother, American citizens, were visiting their grandparents.

Many of these 13,000 nuclear weapon that's available to the various countries in the world are anywhere from 10 to 200 times more powerful than the one that was dropped in Hiroshima. Kekita champions non-proliferation, as do leaders in Japan. As songs of pacifism were performed, the experience of nuclear destruction clashed with a troubling reality of wars involving nuclear holders, such as Russia, and Israel. Crystal Gamanssing, CBC News, London. Russia says today's meeting between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Whitkoff was useful and constructive.

But there is no sign Russia is any closer to agreeing to a ceasefire in Ukraine. And shortly after talks wrapped up in Moscow, U.S. President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on India. He said it was a penalty for buying Russian oil. Dominic Volaitis is following this story. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's motorcade leaving the Kremlin earlier. His high-stakes meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin lasted three hours. The Kremlin described the talks as useful and constructive.

We'll see what happens over the next fairly short period of time. U.S. President Donald Trump has given Putin until Friday to make progress towards peace in Ukraine or face sweeping new sanctions. And today, he made good on his threat to impose tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, hitting India with an additional 25% tariff for doing so. But analysts say Putin is unlikely to bow to Trump's impending sanctions ultimatum, while Timothy Ash at Chatham House believes the Russians are merely buying time. They think by throwing a little bone to Trump, Whitkoff's there, letting Whitkoff come back with something, it'll buy them a bit more time to continue to wage war, because they think the longer they leave it, the longer they continue the fight. Ultimately, Ukraine will buckle. The Western Alliance will weaken. Appetite to continue support, Ukraine will kind of moderate. And in the end, Putin will get everything once, which is the whole of Ukraine. Recent media reports suggest the Kremlin might propose a moratorium on air strikes by Russia and Ukraine, although such a move would fall short of the full ceasefire. Keeve and Washington have been seeking, it would

offer some relief to both sides. Dominic Volaitis for CBC News, London. Montreal police say they have charged a man for allegedly making online threats against key infrastructure. Hydro-Quebec tipped off police to social media posts made by the man. The 38-year-old allegedly threatened to attack Hydro-Quebec control centers, along with Montreal's airport, the port of Montreal, and transportation networks. He is also charged with making threats to cause death or bodily harm. Trump puts the tariffs up, and Carney puts his elbows down. Elbows down. Conservative leader Pierre Pauliev making his pitch to federal by-election voters in Drumheller, Alberta, and turning a critical eye to the prime minister. He

says Mark Carney is not doing enough to stand up to U.S. tariffs. Our Carney has broken his promise to retaliate dollar for dollar. He's been making concession after concession, backing down to Donald Trump. As a result, Canadians are losing jobs and paying higher prices. There are a lot of questions about Canada's next steps in this trade war. Carney has not mentioned countermeasures since August 1st. When Trump introduced a new round of tariffs, he suggested he may remove existing tariffs if it will help Canadian industries.

there will be more questions today when Carney holds separate meetings with his cabinet and the country's premieres. Now, Carney is also taking steps to bring some relief to Canada's beleaguered forestry industry. After months of pressure from British Columbia, the Prime Minister is introducing new loan and grant programs worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Brady Strachan has those details. The BC Interior remains home to a world-leading softwood lumber industry. Speaking in front of dozens of mill workers in West Colonna, Prime Minister Mark Carney laid out his plan to revitalize the softwood lumber industry. It comes at a time of high tension with Canada's largest trading partner. The sector has been a long-standing target of the U.S., which recently raised dumping duties on Canadian softwood.

Let's be clear. Canada does not dump lumber into the United States, and we will continue to make the case that these current and proposed duties are unjustified. Carney is pledging $700 million in loan guarantees to the industry and $500 million in grants and other funding to help companies diversify beyond the U.S. He says Canada will become its own best customer using homegrown lumber to double the pace of new home builds. BC Forests Minister Ravi Parmar says it's about time. This is really good news. We have been calling on the federal government for the last number of months to ensure that it is standing strong with British Columbians and forestry workers. However, union leader Gavin McGaragall of Unifor says the measures don't go far enough.

We need support right now for people who have been laid off. We need to make sure how are we going to keep these mills operating right now. Meanwhile, Canada and the U.S. are still without a trade deal. Carney says he hasn't spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump in recent days and will pursue that conversation when it makes sense. Brady Strachan, CBC News, Colona, British Columbia. More than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants could go on strike later this month.

Their union says after months of contract negotiations, there's still no agreement on wage issues, work rules, or unpaid hours. Its members have voted in favor of strike action. If an agreement is still not reached by August 16th, the union could issue a 72-hour strike notice. Air Canada says it believes there is still enough time to reach a deal. A rare find is causing excitement among archaeologists. on Newfoundland's east coast.

They uncovered some tiny artifacts in Fairyland, about one hour south of St. John's. As Henrika Wilhelm reports, turned out to be a pretty big discovery. It was a pretty neat thing to find. Callum Bryden, a Memorial University graduate student, was the lucky finder of seven so-called Wampum beads at the colony of Avalon.

The early English colonial site is where Bryden helps with excavations, and during a dig a few weeks ago, he came across the handmade shell beads, which are each about the size of a sunflower seed, cylindrical and colorful shades of purple. The beads are believed to be the first of their kind discovered in Newfoundland and Labrador, but at first, Bryden says the importance of his find wasn't quite clear to him. I wasn't really thinking that I would be the one to find them. So it took me a second, but once we sort of realized what they were,

it sort of seemed to be pretty significant. Indigenous peoples made the beads from Cahog, clam, and Welk shells, and according to Brian Galton, a Memorial University archaeology, professor, they served a number of purposes. Indigenous peoples used them for ornamentation, for ceremonial purposes, for diplomacy and things like that. And when Europeans first came to these shores, the Dutch and the English later, they adopted this indigenous use of Wampum in their trade practices and also was a form of currency.

Galton says considering Farrelland's size and isolation, finding the beads is quite significant. The people of Fairland were interacting with, trading with, communicating with various peoples in various parts of North America and continental Europe. So these pieces really is a tangible reminder of those connections. Galton says this summer has already brought a number of unexpected finds at the site, including small gaming pieces made of slate, dating back to the 1620s. Henrique Wilhelm, CBC News, Fairyland. latest national and international news from World Report.

For news anytime, go to cBCnews.ca. And hey, if you're enjoying the World Report podcast, follow us, tell a friend. It helps spread the word. I'm Sam Samson. This is CBC News. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.a slash podcasts.