World Report - June 3: Tuesday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: June 3, 2025

Fast-moving fire forces evacuation of La Ronge in northern Saskatchewan.Some wildfire evacuees from Manitoba are still trying to find shelter. Dominic Leblanc, Canada's minister responsible for t...rade with the United States, goes Washington, D.C. before expected steel and aluminum tariffs put in place. The Hamas-run health ministry says at least 27 people have been killed near an aid distribution centre in Gaza.Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk calls for a convidence vote, after right-wing President narrowly elected. Exit polls point to an opposition win in South Korea's presidential election.Netherlands' government facing a political crisis after far-right politician Geert Wilders pulls party out of the ruling coalition.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Why is Gen Z so bad at adulting? What is using AI to write doing to our critical thinking skills? And how much protein do you really need? We look at these kinds of big and small questions on The Current, our award winning podcast that brings you stories and conversations to expand your worldview. My name is Matt Galloway and like you, I'm trying to wrap my head around these times that we are in. We look for solutions to wicked problems. We listen to each other and we try to find delight in the everyday that exists in our world. You can find the current wherever you get your podcasts, including on YouTube. We'll talk to you soon. This is a CBC podcast.
Starting point is 00:00:42 This is World Report. This is World Report. Good morning, I'm Marcia Young. Western Canada's wildfire crisis is forcing another evacuation. Residents of La Ronge and nearby communities in northern Saskatchewan have been told to leave. The order came as fast-moving fires breached the local airport. People have been told to head south to Prince Albert, but as Alexander Silberman reports the evacuation itself is risky. Under a dark orange sky more than 7,000 people in Laurent, Saskatchewan have
Starting point is 00:01:15 been told to flee. High winds pushing flames dangerously close to town. There's fire on both sides on the highway. Tom Roberts was one of hundreds of residents driving through hazardous conditions. I've not seen forest fires. They don't show no mercy. Where they want to go, they will just burn. Heavy wildfire smoke and limited to zero visibility is making the evacuation slow, adding to the chaos, limited gas and widespread phone and internet outages.
Starting point is 00:01:45 And with the airport closed due to heavy smoke and fire, planes expected to airlift hospital patients to safety have not been able to land. With upwards of 8,000 people in Saskatchewan already displaced, volunteers are stepping up to offer shelter. The plan is to keep our operation going as long as we can here. Lionel Byrd is helping to support evacuees in Montreal Lake First Nation. He says they're setting up cots in a school gym, preparing for more people from Larrange. At least they'll have access to food every day and clean accommodation.
Starting point is 00:02:22 The Saskatchewan government says it's now looking to Alberta to see if some evacuees could go there. Alexander Silberman, CBC News, Regina. US President Donald Trump's 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum are expected to start tomorrow. It could have a major impact on Canada's economy and some analysts are saying Ottawa needs to do more to make Canada economically resilient. As Lisa Sheng tells us, that includes doing more trade with
Starting point is 00:02:50 countries whose values may not align with ours. This is a super wake-up call. Yusup Petranich, head of a Canadian transit think tank, wants Canada to strengthen trade relationships with more countries. She's been pushing the federal government to scrap its 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. We have to figure out a way to trade with countries that do not have our values because to not trade is to revert and have to go back 30 years. As Prime Minister Mark Carney promises to remove inter-provincial trade barriers and fast-track new infrastructure projects to get goods moving in the face of U.S. economic aggression, there's a renewed
Starting point is 00:03:30 emphasis on making Canada more resilient and independent. The most important thing is for Canada to really find their competitive edge. But some say we still have to look beyond our borders. Jia Tongzhong teaches international trade at the University of Alberta. Find a way to help Canadian firms to reach international markets because it's a fact that Canada is a relatively small market. Since Canada is a relatively small market, analysts like Nicholas Lamp, an associate law professor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, cautions
Starting point is 00:04:05 against disengaging from the U.S. We have to maintain as much integration with the United States as we can because there's simply no way we can replace the United States as an export market. Simply because it's right next door and still a massive economy. Lisa Sheng, CBC News, Toronto. The Hamas-run health ministry says at least 27 people have been killed near an aid distribution centre in Gaza. It is the second deadly incident at a humanitarian aid site in three days.
Starting point is 00:04:35 Gaza officials say the Israeli military opened fire on people who were waiting to get access to the hub. The IDF says its troops fired on what it calls individual suspects, moving toward their position. The CBC's Tom Perry has the latest from Jerusalem. Ambulances arrive yet again at a hospital in Gaza, ferrying the injured and the dead. Bodies sheathed in white plastic bags, the wounded on stretchers, bandaged and bleeding. We received calls from several people near Rafa, says ambulance driver Sangar Al-Riati. We found about 20 people dead and many with injuries to the head and chest, including children.
Starting point is 00:05:17 Gaza's civil defense ministry says Israeli soldiers opened fire on civilians as they waited to receive humanitarian aid. The Israeli military says its troops fired warning shots at what it calls suspects, who had deviated from designated routes to receive aid. When those suspects did not retreat, it says soldiers fired at individuals that were advancing toward them. This is the second deadly shooting near a site run by the newly formed Gaza humanitarian foundation, the group backed by the US and Israel that's been distributing assistance in Gaza.
Starting point is 00:05:52 31 people were killed Sunday near the group's aid distribution site near Rafa. Israel denies any involvement in those deaths. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for an independent investigation saying the perpetrators must be held accountable. Israel's foreign ministry responded on social media calling the Secretary General's comments a disgrace and chastising him for not mentioning Hamas. Tom Perry, CBC News, Jerusalem. The Netherlands has been plunged into political chaos.
Starting point is 00:06:24 The government has collapsed after far-right politician Gert Wilders pulled his party out of the ruling coalition. His anti-immigration PVV was the largest party in the coalition. Wilders claims the government was not doing enough to clamp down on migration. Critics accuse him of betraying the Netherlands. Wilder says he intends to become the next prime minister. A new election is not likely before the fall. Exit polls from South Korea's presidential election point to a win for the opposition. Supporters of Lee Jae-myung cheer as TV stations project he has won close to 52 percent of
Starting point is 00:07:06 the vote. The ruling party is taking just under 40 percent. The government's defeat follows South Korea's recent political turmoil. In December then president Yoon Suk-yul attempted to impose martial law and ended up being impeached. The crisis created political chaos and deep divisions in that country. At 80%, voter turnout was one of the highest on record for South Korea. One day after voters elected, a nationalist right-wing president, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, has called a confidence vote. Nationalist candidate Karol Nowrowski won the presidency by a narrow margin in the weekend election. He ran on a platform
Starting point is 00:07:47 that was skeptical of the European Union and opposes Ukraine joining NATO. In Poland, the presidency is mostly ceremonial, but it would allow Nevrotsky to vote or veto new legislation, including Prime Minister Tusk's EU-friendly policies. A recently released RCMP audit says its 911 dispatch centers across the country are in trouble. It warns of dire staffing shortages. And as Catherine Tunney reports, if those shortages are not addressed, frontline Mounties and the public could be at risk. In this RCMP
Starting point is 00:08:27 promotional video, its 911 dispatchers are showcased as critical players during an emergency. From taking urgent, sometimes distressing calls from the public, to making sure Mounties are safe out in the field. But behind the scenes, those dispatch centers are in a state of emergency themselves. According to a recently released audit, the RCMP's communication centers are grappling with severe staffing shortages across the country and employee burnout. The report says hard vacancies have doubled since 2017, while the number of soft vacancies, meaning employees on leave, has
Starting point is 00:09:05 increased by 31% since 2019. The RCMP's own audit warns if things continue, both Mounties and the public are at risk. Without us, there isn't much public safety within Canada. Kathleen Hickford has been raising the alarm for years as president of the union representing RCMP dispatchers. She says it's a matter of time before tragedy strikes. And it could be a terrorism thing. It could be a natural disaster. It could be something like the mass casualties in Nova Scotia. And we're not going to have enough people at all.
Starting point is 00:09:34 Hipperton says dispatchers need more mental health supports and should be classified as a public safety occupation, which would allow workers to retire earlier. The RCMP and the federal minister of public safety were not available for comment, although the RCMP did say it accepts the audit's findings. Catherine Tunney, CBC News, Ottawa. This hit from 1987 keeps coming back. I've been saying, I'm never gonna give you up, I'm never gonna let you down.
Starting point is 00:10:02 Never gonna run around, desert you Yep, that is British star Rick Astley singing his hit, Never Gonna Give You Up, with the Toronto group Choir Choir Choir. His song has now hit 1 billion streams on Spotify. It's a major feat given the song was released more than 20 years before Spotify was even launched. And you've been Rickrolled. That is the latest national and international news from World Report. I'm Marcia Young.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.