World Report - March 11: Wednesday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: March 11, 2026

Iran continues to step up its attacks across the Middle East, the US and Israel launch counter attacks. Mulitple commericial ships hit by projectiles in Strait of Hormuz. Countries to start releasing emergency oil reserves. NDP MP Lori Idlout crosses the floor to join Liberal caucus, bringing Carney government within 2 seats of a majority. Major ice storm forecast to hit southern parts of Ontario and Quebec. Canadian Cancer Society says colorectal cancer screening should start earlier than recommended age of 50. 

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This is a CBC podcast. This is World Report. Good morning. I'm Ivel Musa. Iran is stepping up attacks across the Middle East, and the U.S. and Israel are launching counter-attacks. Video posted online shows smoke billowing out of a building. Several reports say it was an Israeli strike on a police station in the Iranian city of Tiberies. Iran is striking.

striking targets in Israel and several Gulf states. And it appears to be ready to take action at home, too. The CBC's David Common joins me now from Amman Jordan. David, what is the latest out of Iran? Let's start with the message to Iranians themselves. The police chief in the country saying protesters will be dealt with the same way as the enemy. In other words, they will use lethal force should anybody try to rise up against this regime. militarily, Iran saying it has launched what it calls its 35th wave of operations. They have targeted Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, primarily with missiles. Often Iran says targeting American military installations, but we have seen multiple incidents over the past nearly two weeks at this point of them targeting civil infrastructure as well in those Gulf states. Israel has its focus is split on two fronts, given the ongoing conflict.

with Hezbollah in Lebanon. What can you tell us about that? And it is very important to note that this is a conflict that does not directly involve the Americans. It has long been a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. This is in some ways just the latest chapter. But when we have seen previous chapters, they have tended to target Hezbollah strongholds in South Beirut, a densely populated city, but it became somewhat predictable. In the last 24 hours, Israel has been targeting central Beirut. And that has thrown a number of Lebanese people into, you know, waves of fear because they don't know where is safe anymore. Families who have been displaced by air strikes have been taking shelter in schools, stadiums and other public buildings. Some 700,000 people in that country

have been told to flee. The CBC's David Kahn, in Amman, Jordan. Thank you. Thank you. At least three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz are damaged after coming under attack. British maritime officials say the vessels were hit by some sort of projectile. At least one of them is on fire and three crew members are missing from a Thai-registered ship. The rest are believed to have been brought to safety. In state media, Iran's military says it struck multiple vessels this morning and it repeated. It will not allow a single liter of oil to pass through the strait. Meanwhile, the U.S. military says it's destroyed.

16 Iranian mine-lane ships there. Well, countries are preparing to release the largest amount of oil ever from their emergency reserves, an attempt to ease rising prices and increase supply. But as business reporter Anise Hedari explains, it's unclear what the actual impact will be. Germany's energy minister, Katerina Risch, confirming her country will release oil reserves, as the International Energy Agency says its member countries, including Canada and the U.S., have unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels into the market. For oil in the short term.

The European Commission is also on board with the international request, says spokesperson Anna Kiza Itkonen. We stand ready to take all necessary measures in coordination with the International Energy Agency members. But at this point, international markets don't seem to indicate 400 million additional barrels will make a big difference. While both British and US prices for oil are lower than blockbuster levels earlier in the week, they don't seem to have softened much either, hovering in the high 80s and even $90 a barrel at some points. Any major shifts in price could depend on how fast the new supply is actually put into the market. Navine Das is a senior oil analyst at Kepler in London. The pace at which this 400 billion barrels can be released will in no way compared to the volumes that we've lost from the straight to four moves.

So in the end, how quickly, and if oil, energy and gasoline prices drop, still depends on how quickly and if the Strait of Hormuz can be safely traveled again. Any S had Ari, CBC News, Calgary. A fourth MP has crossed the floor of the House of Commons to join the Liberal government ranks. A rousing welcome for Lori Idlout.

As she arrives for her first caucus meeting, the member of Parliament from Nunavut says the Liberals' northern priorities are among the reasons she was drawn to the party. This move by the NDP member now brings the Carney government within two seats of a majority after three conservatives already crossed over. Janice McGregor is in our Parliamentary Bureau. Janice, there were signs this floor crossing was in the works. Yep, sure were.

Lori had abstained on last fall's budget vote, saying there were things in it for her writing that she could support and she didn't want to trigger an election. In a statement last night, she cited the new threats against Canada's sovereignty, pressures on the well-being of people throughout the North, as a reason that Canada needs, in her words, a strong and ambitious government that makes decisions,

she said, with Nunavut, not about Nunavut. And that's why, she said, after much personal reflection, and she said the encouragement from her community, she decided to join the government caucus, calling Mark Carney, Canada's first prime minister from the north. Now, when our colleagues at CBC North asked her about floor crossing rumors in January, she said she'd been asked to consider it by both liberals and some of her own constituents. But she decided at that point she couldn't.

Apparently the time was now. Janice, it was actually the NDP that broke this news last night. Yes, interim leader Don Davies got out ahead of whatever big reveal the liberals might have planned for this morning, saying New Democrats were disappointed, and she should put this to voters, resign, run again if she wants to be a liberal. Just last week, it spoke at a leadership event for the Avi Lewis campaign. Now, a seat that's flip-flop three ways in recent elections is back in the liberal column poised to help tip the government into a majority.

And the bad news for New Democrats may not stop here, because its only Quebec MP, Alexandre Boulerus, is openly considering stepping down to run in a provincial election, later this year, putting his Montreal seat back on the table for the Liberals too. Janice McGregor in Ottawa, thank you. You're welcome. A major ice storm is forecast to hit southern parts of Ontario and Quebec. As much as 30 millimeters of freezing rain could fall over the next 24 hours,

and it could affect Ottawa through to Montreal and up to Quebec City. Cendrix Bouchard with Hydro-Cubek says crews are on standby. Also making sure that we have all the equipment required. We're thinking about electric lines, transformers, poles as well. Many school boards in eastern Ontario and parts of Quebec have already cancelled classes. The city of Montreal says it's ready to activate emergency measures if necessary. The Canadian Cancer Society says colorectal cancer screening should start earlier than the recommended age of 50. Today, the organization is updating its official position, and it's calling on provinces and territories to get on board.

Tashana Reid has the details. I was diagnosed with rectal cancer at the age of 34. Now 36. Melissa Groff, a married mom of three, is battling stage four cancer. She shared her story with other cancer survivors and advocates on Parliament Hill. All of them, urging provinces and territories to lower the screening age for colorectal cancer. It's time that Canada makes that move. The Canadian Cancer Society agrees. The organization has officially changed its position,

echoing the calls to lower the screening age to 45 for people with average risk. They say the move is based on evidence that younger adults are increasingly being diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and more often at later stages of disease. Brandon Purcell is an advocacy manager for the charity. Someone in that 45 to 50 age cohort is now 2 to 2.2.2. half times more likely to be diagnosed than in previous generations. Currently, screening programs across Canada start at 50, up to 74 years old, unless a patient is high risk.

Dr. Shadi Ashmala is a surgical oncologist at Sunnybrook's Cancer Center in Toronto. It is not a disease of the elderly anymore. Screening is done using a fecal immunochemical test known as a fit test. A stool sample is sent to a lab where it is checked for blood. If positive or for patients with symptoms, a colonoscopy is recommended. We know this is a curable, treatable disease, always if caught early enough. In recent years, Australia, the United States, and Japan all have lowered their screening age,

something advocates say they hope will happen here. Tashana Reid's CBC News, Toronto. And that is the latest national and international news from World Report. I'm Udlmusa. This is CBC News. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca.ca slash podcasts.