World Report - February 19: Thursday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: February 19, 2026

Former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested on suspicion of leaking government documents to Jeffrey Epstein.UN fact-finding mission says what happened in the Sudanese city of el-Fasher bears the hallmarks of genocide. US President Donald Trump convenes inaugural Board of Peace in Washington to oversee Gaza's reconstruction and security. A snowmobiler is dead after being fully buried in an avalanche near Fernie, B.C.Employers who break rules for Canada's temporary foreign work program are facing much bigger financial penalties. Rising global temperatures are threatening the coffee bean crop and its farmers. 

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N-E-T-H-R-I-S dot com. Nethris, much more than just a payroll software. This is a CBC podcast. This is World Report. Good morning. I'm Arcia Young. The King's brother, Andrew Mountbatten, Windsor, is in police custody. He was arrested this morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office. On the streets of London, people say they're surprised and pleased.

A sign of the world we live in where Parowa has no responsibility, no ethics. I thought to go into hiding and get away with it. Over he gets what he deserves. If it's life in jail, then there's life in jail. Information in the Epstein files led to Andrew's arrest, and it appears police acted without giving the royal family any kind of heads up. My World Report co-host, John Northcott, joins me in studio. And John, what is happening today?

Marcia, this comes as police search Andrew's home on the grounds of the King's Sandringham Estate and his former residence at Windsor Castle. The former prince is in custody on suspicion of misconduct in public office, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. There have been allegations. Andrew sent trade reports to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2010. Andrew served for a decade as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, and in that capacity, he would have had access to potentially sensitive British government material that might have proven valuable to others.

John, this story has been unfolding for a while. Give us some of the backstory. Marcia, Andrew has been under suspicion for years for his alleged treatment of young women and for his relationship with the late sex offender and international wheeler dealer Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has long denied any wrongdoing. Nonetheless, he was stripped of his titles and royal duties by his brother the king. With the ongoing release of the Epstein files, there have been increasing pressure on UK authorities to investigate the former prince's links and activities, but this does appear at this stage to be an investigation into the potential release of privileged state information rather than any sexual misconduct. So there's now reaction to the news of the arrest coming. What are we hearing?

We're hearing from the King, Andrew's older brother, saying that the authorities, quote, have our full and wholehearted support and cooperation that the law must take its course. We're also hearing from the family of Andrew's alleged victim, the late Virginia Joufrey, saying that the investigation has, quote, lifted our hearts saying that no one is above the law. Thank you, John. Thanks, Marcia. My World Report co-host, John Northcott, in studio. The United Nations says the attacks in Sudan's Darfur region bear the hallmarks of genocide.

It launched a fact-finding mission to investigate the 18-month siege of the city of El Fasher, and it found protected ethnic groups were cut off from food and water. Mona Rishmawi worked on the UN report. She says the rebel rapist. and support forces targeted non-Arab communities. We are talking about mass killings. We are talking about 18 months of siege. We are talking about rampant sexual violence of incredible cruelty.

All this basically was targeting two specific ethnic groups, particularly the Zaghawas and the four. She's calling for the international community to protect Sudanese civilians and their rights. Sudan has been gripped by. civil war since April 2023. At least 40,000 people have been killed in that time. And aid groups insist the numbers are being underreported. U.S. President Donald Trump is convening his Board of Peace for the first time today in Washington. He says it has already raised significant money to help rebuild Gaza. Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan,

and Kuwait have all contributed more than $7 billion toward the relief package. That's great. Thank you, fellas. Thank you. But allies who are not involved, like Canada, are skeptical, and so are Palestinians living in Gaza. The CBC's Cameron McIntosh has more from Jerusalem. Living under a precarious ceasefire, ask Palestinians in this market near Gaza City about the prospects for U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace. opinions are split.

The destruction of Gaza is because of Trump, says Um Hazina Bu Mara, blaming Trump for not stopping Israel. While others like Mohamed El-Sari say Trump is the only hope. We're committed to ensuring Gaza is demilitarized, properly governed, and beautifully rebuilt. Trump introduced the board last month to set a plan for Gaza, about 20 countries, including regional players, have signed on. The rest of the G7, including Canada, have not. Trump says member states are pledging $5 billion towards reconstruction so far.

Indonesia is promising troops for a stabilization force. Palestinian technocrats will manage Gaza day to day. Expect it on today's agenda, rebuilding and policing. Challenges are daunting, including Hamas's refusal. to disarm. Back in the market, there's uneasiness. The ceasefire can continue, but the suffering is the same

says Anwisa. Who, like many, fears one occupying force will be replaced by another. Cameron McIntosh, CBC News, Jerusalem. A search and rescue operation near Fernie, BC, has ended in tragedy. Our CMP

confirm a snowmobiler died after being buried in an avalanche on Tuesday. The victim was climbing a slope in the Matheson Creek area when the slide was triggered. Rescuers recovered the body yesterday. Avalanche Canada says the slide was powerful enough to cause several others in the area. New numbers from the federal government show employers who break the rules for Canada's temporary foreign work program are facing much bigger financial penalties. Shana Luck has that story. Employers with foreign workers could be fined for many reasons, including not paying the worker

what was in the job offer or even physical abuse. A few years ago, most fines could be as low as a few hundred dollars, says Catherine Connolly, a professor at McMaster University. And then in the last year or so, we've seen a more dramatic shift. And so now the approach seems to be more of a deterrence approach, and we see fines easily into the tens of thousands, if not the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Data obtained by the CBC confirms that trend. Last year, a New Brunswick seafood company even received,

a $1 million fine, but has gone to court to get it overturned. A Nova Scotia seafood plant was fined a quarter million, and a PEI Apple Company more than 200,000. Inspectors said each company committed a variety of offenses, including having pay or working conditions different than what was in their job offers. Syed Hussein is with migrant workers' alliance for change. He acknowledges some large fines are being handed out, but he called them outliers. And he's concerned none of the money goes back to the workers.

The only way to ensure increased worker rights is if workers get reparations, workers get justice, workers get some sort of repayment or reimbursement. Without it, the fine system does not work. Hussain notes some employers with big fines are challenging them in court. His organization is watching closely to see how that plays out. Shane Aluck, CBC News, Halifax. A new climate science report has a warning for coffee drinkers. Over the past five years, most of the world's coffee-producing, regions have experienced almost two months of additional extreme heat.

Anandrum has more on what that means for the plant and the people who rely on it. Chalo Fernandez knows every careful step, from bean to cup. His family has been farming coffee in Colombia for more than 150 years. My grandfather used to look at the mountains and say, oh, it's going to rain. But it's all become more unpredictable. From intense rain to extreme heat, he's seen that. the climate stress up close. It was a huge drown that we see our trees basically dying from the heat. A new report from the US-based non-profit climate central crunched temperature data for the world's

major coffee-producing countries the last five years have seen, on average, 57 extra days of extreme heat because of climate change. And that's a problem for plants when it comes to fighting infection. Lily Peck is an evolutionary biologist at UCLA. You could have more susceptible plant, this higher kind of virulence pathogen. So that can kind of act as a multiplier effect. Very excited to bake this beans, but

that's not going to happen. Fernandez showed us whole trees of unripened berries from his southwestern Colombian farm last year. Climate shocks like this, some farmers can adjust to, but not forever. You can get the heat, as you say, one year, two years. The third year,

you start thinking to disappear. You start pushing your kids to get out of this industry. Showing the cost of climate change driven by humans burning fossil fuels isn't a future threat. It's happening now. On the Ram, CBC News, Pickering, Ontario.

February is Black History Month. You might be looking for new Canadian songs about the Black experience or maybe stories about resilience, brilliance and community. We've got that and more. Check out cbc.ca.ca. Being Black in Canada.

That is World Report. I'm Marcia Young. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca.ca.com.