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

Episode Date: March 10, 2026

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says today will be the most intense day of strikes on Iran. Israel launches new wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah, more than 100,000 people in Lebanon register as displaced today alone. Persian Gulf countries continue to come under ballistic missile attacks from Iran. Toronto Police say someone discharged a firearm at the U-S Consulate. Parent from Tumbler Ridge BC files civil lawsuit against Open AI, parent company of Chat GPT, after daughter injured in school shooting. TikTok and Canadian government reach agreement to allow Chinese-owned company to maintain physical presence in Canada. CBC Exclusive: Canadian-led business fuelled Myanmar’s civil war with ‘blood pearls,’ despite international sanctions. 

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This is a CBC podcast. This is World Report. Good morning. I'm Ithel Musa. U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hagseth says America continues to win in Iran. The Mullahs are desperate and scrambling. Like the terrorist cowards, they are. They fire missiles from schools and hospitals. He made that comment this morning.

Part of an update on what the Trump administration calls Operation Epic Fury. The CBC's Kate McKenna joins me now from Washington. Kate, what else are we hearing from Hakeseth? Well, we're hearing more bombastic rhetoric from the Secretary of Defense saying that this is expected to be the most intense day of strikes so far and that the Iranians are losing badly.

He says they've achieved air dominance and are laser-focused on their objectives of destroying missile capacity, the Iranian Navy, and preventing Iran from ever getting nuclear weapons. The top U.S. General showed a map of where strikes have happened, and it seemed to indicate the U.S. Israeli offensive is edging its way up from the southern flank of the country. He says they're committed to destroying the Navy beyond the 50 ships. They say they've already sunk, in part to stop them from doing things like controlling the Strait of Hormuz. There are ongoing concerns about the progression of this war, specifically a possible end date. Is there any update on that front? Yeah. Speaking to reporters yesterday, Donald Trump's messaging on that was quite much.

murky. He said the war wouldn't end this week, but that it would end very soon after originally saying it would take four to five weeks. Pete Hegg-Seth has claimed since day one that this won't be a forever war, but he says when it will end is up to the president. Where we are is in a very strong place, giving the president of the United States maximum options. And from the beginning, from this podium, we haven't stated how long it will take. Our will is endless. This seems to be a departure from what he said just a couple of days ago, saying in an interview that the strikes in Iran were just the beginning. Meanwhile, reporting in the Wall Street Journal says advisors are encouraging Donald Trump to look at off-ramps, though the White House is denying those claims.

The CBC's Kate McKenna in Washington. Thank you. You're welcome. Israeli tanks and military vehicles are deploying troops near the Lebanese border. The IDF says it launched another wave of air strikes on Hezbollah targets overnight. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says, More than 100,000 people in Lebanon have registered as displaced just today. And more than 650,000 people have had to leave their homes since the war began 11 days ago. The Canadian government has secured a limited number of seats on a flight out of Beirut. It departs tomorrow and Canadians who want to leave can purchase tickets. Well, there has been a barrage of Iranian missiles overnight,

and countries in the Persian Gulf are reducing their oil. output. Iran is vowing it will not allow one liter of oil to leave the region. The CBC's Megan Williams has the latest from Dubai. Across the region, air defense systems were active overnight and into the morning.

In Iraq, eyewitness videos circulating on social media showed dark smoke and flames rising near the UAE consulate in Erbil late last night. Kurdish counterterrorism authorities say three drones were intercepted in the area with debris from one

falling close to the consulate compound. Saudi Arabia's defense ministry says it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile and two drones earlier this morning. Kuwait's armed forces are also on high alert, with officials there saying their air defense systems shot down two ballistic missiles and a drone. The Gulf has come under sustained attack since the United States and Israel struck Iran on February 28th. In the days since, more than 2,000 Iranian missiles and drones have been launched towards

Gulf countries. The United Arab Emirates has been the most heavily targeted state in the region, accounting for more than half the attacks. One of the most recent strikes hit Bathrains oil refinery yesterday, injuring 32 people and forcing the state oil company to declare force majeure. At the same time, tensions among the Gulf countries are rising. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar had all spent years trying to ease tensions with Iran. But after coming under attack themselves, confidence in those diplomatic efforts. has mostly evaporated. Megan Williams, CBC News, Dubai. Ontario Premier Doug Ford is promising he will bring every resource to bear

to find the people who opened fire on the U.S. consulate in Toronto. Police were called to investigate reports of gunfire early this morning. They found a damaged door, but no one was injured. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says local police and our CMP are on the case. There is a heavy police presence at both the U.S. and Australia consulates right now. So far, no suspects have been identified. The family of a 12-year-old girl who was critically injured in the Tumblr Ridge attack is suing OpenAI. The civil claim alleges the shooter used ChatGPT to plan the attack.

The lawsuit claims company staff recognized warning signs but failed to alert police. AI has 30 days to respond. TikTok will be allowed to maintain its physical presence in Canada. It has reached an agreement with the federal government, one that sets guardrails to protect Canadian's data and allow regulatory oversight. Janice McGregor is in our Parliamentary Bureau. Janice, the government cited serious national security concerns when it ordered TikTok to close its Canadian operations back in 2024.

What's changed? Back in January, the federal government. court set aside that shutdown order, the very next day, U.S. regulators announced a deal with TikTok's Chinese parent company, Bite Dance, to put its U.S. operations under the ownership and control of an American board. Now we know what the deal is going to be to continue its business in Canada. Last night's statement from industry minister, Melanie Jolie, says that TikTok has agreed to enhance the protection of personal data with new security barriers. Remember, an app like this has access to all sorts of personal data on smartphones.

The fear was that because TikTok was Chinese-owned, it could ultimately be compelled to hand over data from Canadian mobile devices under orders from the Chinese Communist Party. The new privacy-enhancing technologies that TikTok's committing to here will apparently reduce the risk of that kind of unauthorized access to Canadian data. The minister said that a third-party monitor will be a important, pointed to audit and verify the integrity of these new controls. And as the Carney government considers implementing a social media ban for young people,

it's notable that this deal also includes enhanced protections for minors, something that Canada's Privacy Commissioner had recommended. But there is still a ban on government devices, right? That's right. Treasury Board President Shafka Ali's office tells me this morning that there's been no change to the government's policy banning this app from government of Canada devices for secure. reasons. Well, TikTok was never banned for individual Canadians to use. When it comes to the security

of government data, the bars higher. Janice McGregor in Ottawa, thank you. You're welcome. Despite international sanctions, a Canadian-led firm funneled pearls to Myanmar's military junta after the 2021 coup. A CBC investigation has determined the RCMP was asked to look at the activities of Bell Pearl almost two years ago. But authorities won't say whether they have taken up the case. The CBC's Murray Brewster has been working with our visual investigations unit, and he brings us this exclusive story. Vendors taking an up-close look at how a pearl farm operates. The harvest of pearls in South Asia is huge business, worth tens of millions of dollars a year, especially Burmese or Myanmar golden pearls.

CBC News has learned a company with Canadian directors has operated a Pearl Farm in Myanmar together with a state-owned enterprise, an agency with direct ties to the country's murderous military regime. Documents show Bell Pearl operates through a network of related entities registered in Toronto, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Myanmar. The regime in Myanmar has waged a civil war since 2021 and has been accused of committing brutal atrocities, killing thousands. The state-run entity that Bell Pearl Myanmar has been dealing with is under sanction by Canada and its allies. Myanmar Pearls are really funding this military junta. William Pellaran, an Ottawa-based lawyer representing the Human Rights Group Justice for Myanmar, presented the RCMP with documents alleging the involvement of Marie Hajar and Pierre Hajar in Bell Pearl's Myanmar operation almost two years ago.

So I think the government of Canada has an obligation to uphold the law. The Hajjars did not respond to repeated CBC News requests for comment. The company, Bell Pearl, denies it has violated sanctions, but also says its Canadian directors have now stepped down. The RCMP says it does not confirm or deny investigations until charges are late. Marie Brewster, CBC News, Ottawa. And that is the latest news from World Report. I'm Edomusa. This is CBC News.

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