World Report - June 7: Saturday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: June 7, 2025

Fires burning across Canada continue to force people out of their homes.  Russia pummels Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, in overnight attack that kills three.  Ottawa's move to eliminate internal trade barriers leaves the heavy lifting to provinces. Researchers say Australia's iconic sulphur-crested cockatoos are more intelligent that previously thought.

Ten years ago, I asked my partner Kelsey if she would marry me. I did that, despite the fact that every living member of my family who had ever been married had also gotten divorced. Forever is a Long Time is a five-part series in which I talk to those relatives about why they got divorced and why they got married. You can listen to it now on CBC's Personally. This is a CBC Podcast. This is World Report. Good morning, I'm John Northcott. We begin with the wildfires burning across the country. Firefighters in Western Canada bracing for a challenging weekend.

Strong winds and warm temperatures could make their jobs even more difficult. Officials say a fire in northeastern BC has now spread to Alberta. The CBC's Linda Ward joins us in studio with more. Linda the County of Grand Prairie in Alberta expanded its wildfire evacuation order overnight. What can you tell us? So, John, already there were about 53 properties on evacuation order, but around 9 p.m. local time, they widened that order south along the B.C. border. The Quise-Cattenaugh River fire in British Columbia now reaching over the Alberta-B.C.

border. We've reached out to find out how many more properties are affected here. The county's fire chief says they're using heavy equipment, sprinklers, night vision helicopters to minimize the impact, but they are urging residents in the evacuation zone to get out now. And others on evacuation alert are being told they may have just 30 minutes to leave if they're told to do so. The wind is the culprit here. Gusts of up to 75 kilometres per hour whipping up the flames. Fire was expected to spread significantly into the southeast overnight.

And Linda, we're keeping an eye on another wildfire of note in the north. This is the Summit Lake Fire that's bearing down on the Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Fort Nelson areas. The Fort Nelson First Nation issuing an evacuation order last night for the Kanta area, upgrading an alert in the Fontus area to an evacuation order as well. The province has even closed a stretch of the Alaska Highway through the wildfire zone here. There's rugged terrain here, very limited breaks, lots of wildfire fuel and through the weekend we're expecting strong winds, higher temperatures, lower humidity expected to further fuel these flames. LLW- Linda Ward joining us in studio. Thanks Linda. LLW- You're welcome.

LLW- And in Manitoba, more than 18,000 people are forced from their homes. Among them, the town of Snow Lake. It was added to the evacuation list yesterday. The CBC's Carolyn Bargout reports. Firefighters spray water on trees and wooded areas surrounding the town of Snow Lake. Officials here declared a local state of emergency on Friday, forcing 1,100 people from their homes. The fear is the winds will shift over the weekend and push wildfires, which are about 30 kilometers away, into this town. It's been horrible. This is the fourth time Linda Smith and Tom Allen have had to evacuate. Ten days ago, the fires forced them to leave their home in Flynnflawn.

They went to Baker's Narrows, then were told to evacuate. They slept in a tent for a few nights at Wacusco Falls and had to leave again. A park ranger they met said he would clean out his camper and they could stay in his backyard in Snow Lake. Now they have to move once again. A park ranger they met said he would clean out his camper and they could stay in his backyard in Snow Lake. Now they have to move once again. It's been horrible. I don't even know what to do. No income, nothing, don't even know anything. Just chasing a head of the fire, that's it. I don't know how to feel about it. Nelson and Cheryl Linklater packed a bag for each of their three kids and boarded a bus to Winnipeg. They don't have a vehicle so they couldn't take their cat Spock.

They placed a sign on the front door to let emergency responders who are staying behind know that Spock is in there, along with everything else they own. This is our home. These are our things. Would we come home to nothing? I'm going to have to start all over for my kids. There is rain in the forecast, but officials don't know if it'll be enough to slow the fires down. Caroline Bargoud, CBC News, Snow Lake, Manitoba. Overseas hopes for an imminent ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine are muted this morning. This is three people are dead, another 21 injured in an overnight attack on Kharkiv. The city's mayor says it's the biggest Russian drone attack to hit Ukraine's second largest city since the war began. Anna Cunningham has more

from London. Emergency workers in Kharkiv early this morning rescuing the injured. The work is difficult. The injured are in pain. This attack happened quickly over about an hour and a half. Kharkiv's mayor, Ehor Terehoff, says it was horrible. 48 drones, four guided bombs and two missiles hit, he says. This is the second consecutive night of heavy Russian attacks. If I think Russia will not be making a deal or stopping the bludgeon... US President Donald Trump aborted Air Force One Friday, says he's still considering sanctions.

Yeah, use it if it's necessary. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is urging his Western allies to maximize pressure on Russia, believing it is now the only way peace can be achieved. Anna Cunningham, CBC News, London. Mark Carney is putting joint international responses to wildfires on the agenda for this month's G7 summit. The Prime Minister has just released his priorities in the Leaders Summit. Among the other issues, peace and security including energy security, countering foreign interference and transnational crime

and strengthening economies. Carney will be hosting the world leaders in Canonescas, Alberta, June 15th to the 17th. One day after the Carney government introduced legislation aimed at dismantling interprovincial trade barriers, we're hearing from the minister responsible. Christopher Elin tells CBC Radio's The House that Ottawa's role will be minimal if the bill is passed. Catherine Cullen, host of the House, has more. It certainly behooves us to do our part. Internal Trade Minister Christia Freeland says tearing down trade barriers between provinces

can be nation building, potentially adding tens of billions, perhaps more, to Canada's economy. On Friday, the government tabled a bill that would end the federal aspect of internal trade barriers. With just two weeks left before the House of Commons rises, she insists there's hope the bill could become law. Freeland says that's what the Prime Minister wants. I agree with him.

Let's do it. Still, she acknowledges it's only a piece of the puzzle. The reality though is the federal part is the smallest part. Most inter-provincial trade barriers don't involve the federal government. They need to be sorted out between provinces. She says she's encouraged to see so many deals being worked out. Conservative leader Pierre Polyev says he's glad to see progress on tearing down those internal trade barriers.

This bill is better than nothing. It's a small step, but it is breadcrumbs when we needed a bold move. Poliev argues the federal government should give provinces more incentive by paying bonuses for barriers they remove. Catherine Cullen, CBC News, Ottawa. And you can hear the full episode with Christy Freeland on today's version of The House. Ontario is now reporting more than 1,700 cases of measles, making the province the epicenter of the outbreak in North America. Alberta too is struggling.

Now at 778 confirmed cases, this is the highest number the province has seen in almost 40 years. Dr. Mark Jaffee is an infectious disease physician who recently served as Alberta's chief medical officer of health. He says the province did take measures to prepare for a measles outbreak, but it could have done more. I think the part where we did not do as well as we could have was in mass communication to the population, advising them that immunization rates were

inadequate to prevent an outbreak, that children and some adults might be at risk of developing measles and that they should access vaccine, that vaccine is safe. Jaffee says there's an urgent need to reach all parts of the population with that message. He says it will take a number of months before cases start to settle down. Hear more of that conversation on today's episode of White Coat Black Art on CBC Radio or wherever you get your podcasts. And finally, researchers in Australia have discovered a native bird is much smarter than they thought.

The Sulphur-crested cockatoo is parroting many human actions, including how to get a drink, Phil Mercer explains. Using their claws, beaks and brain, sulfur-crested cockatoos have been filmed repeatedly by researchers, drinking from a water fountain in Sydney. Dr Lucy Aplin, an ecologist from the Australian National University, led the study. It's a bit of an awkward body position they have to hold, but it's pretty impressive. Experts believe the birds probably learnt what to do by watching people.

They have equal ability in solving problems as chimpanzees. Professor Gisela Kaplan is an animal behaviour expert. She says Australia's gregarious cockatoos are much smarter than we think. We've always completely underestimated a bird's intelligence and their ability to figure out problems. Lucy Upland says they even help themselves to school lunches. Some examples include unzipping school backpacks and stealing lunch boxes. That's been reported in a few cases.

Previous research has shown that male cockatoos have also learnt how to lift up the lids of household garbage containers in search of food. Phil Masur for CBC News, Sydney. And that is the latest national and international news from World Report. If you're somewhere in this country and you are dealing with the effects of wildfires and you're low on power or data for your device, check out cbc.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca.ca. cbc.ca slash l-i-t-e. I'm John Northcott. This is CBC News.