World Report - March 16: Monday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: March 16, 2026

Japan, Australia say they will not send ships to the Strait of Hormuz, at request of US President Donald Trump. Beijing is a major exporter to Middle East and China is feeling the squeeze from US-Israel war in Iran.Canada's annual inflation rate fell to 1.8% in February. Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street on the final leg of his overseas tour.Scientists map genome of MSX, a deadly oyster disease that affects the Atlantic oyster industry. Canadian filmmaking talent bring home Oscars from 98th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. 

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This is a CBC podcast. This is World Report. Good morning. I'm Martina Fitzgerald. Countries are responding to Donald Trump's appeal for help in the Strait of Hormuz. But their reply may not be what the U.S. president wants. Trump is warning it will be very bad for the future of NATO if allies do not help secure the critical shipping route. The CBC's chief correspondent Adrian Arsenault joins me from Riyadh. Saudi Arabia. Adrian, this call from Donald Trump, he seems very determined. What else did he say?

U.S. President Donald Trump has put out a few signals here. He said he's looking for a few countries to help along Iran's coast, saying he wanted people who are going to knock out some bad actors along the shore. So that sounds like he knows there will be Iranian forces on the coastline to deal with. And he's adamant other countries must help clear the Strait of Hormuz. He's been angry they aren't, says the U.S. is always there for NATO. It will be bad for NATO if it's not there now. But now we're hearing from UK's Prime Minister Kirstarmer that clearing the strait will not be a NATO mission. Italy and Germany say there's no reason to do it, a no from Australia. Japan is not going to do it at this point either. So who joins and what they do, if they do join, is still very

unclear. The U.S. President incident incidentally first called this war a small excursion. He's now called clearing the Strait of Hormuz a small endeavor. The problem is at this point, there doesn't seem to be anything small about it. Adrian, this war is playing out on so many fronts. What is the latest? I think unfortunately there are patterns to this war. They're repeating daily, this seemingly steady attempt to wear down the other, if you will. So we're keeping an eye on Lebanon this morning. Israel says it's begun a limited and targeted ground operation in the south of that country. The language Israel is using is of a forward defensive maneuver is what they're calling it. But how targeted, how limited will be the questions today.

And from our vantage point here in Saudi Arabia, it's been a few hours of very heavy drones and interceptions in the east. The kingdom is very tight-lived on whether there's been damage. And we see really very little indication of it. But certainly the volume appears to be increasing. That is the CBC's chief correspondent, Adrian Arsino, in Riyadh. Donald Trump is also threatening to delay a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping if Beijing does not help secure the strait of Hormuz.

China's foreign ministry is pushing back. It says head of state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in China-U.S. relations. Beijing is feeling the squeeze from the war in Iran. Not only is it a major buyer of Iranian oil, countries in the Middle East are also huge consumers of Chinese countries. goods. Many of the Chinese exporters serving the region are located in Iwu. The CBC's Lisa Xing is there. The city of Iwu is home to the world's largest wholesale market for small commodities. Tens of thousands of vendors sell everything from electronics to toys to jewelry.

Their biggest clients, countries in the Middle East, including Iran. Middle East customer is our old friend. Flanked by a wall full of different styles of safety shoes at her showroom. Suad Ding is worried. 70% of the exporters' business comes from that region, but now shipping costs are four to five times more than before the war. The war on the other side of the world felt intimately here, not just in the rising cost of shipping and goods, but materials like plastics. Despite the worries, there's also optimism for the long term. Li Ye is the vice president of the Chamber of Commerce for the Northeast region of China. As long as we are not participating in the war, our products are liked by everyone and the price

is relatively cheap, he says. Li is confident the sellers here will bounce back. Many, like Ding, are finding customers from other countries like Argentina, and he says they've weathered conflicts before and doubts this time will be different. Lisa Xing, CBC News, Yilu, China. Prime Minister Mark Carney is wrapping up his latest international trip in London. Well, Mark, let me extend you a very well welcome back here at Downing Street. It's really good. British Prime Minister Kier-Starmer welcoming Carney to 10 Downing Street, where they discussed the situation in the Middle East

and condemned Iran's missile and drone attacks, including on civilian and energy infrastructure. Both Prime Minister said they would continue to pressure Russia to end its war in Ukraine. After today, Carney will be taking a... a vacation, but the Prime Minister says he will stay in close contact with his staff monitoring the situation in the Middle East. The latest inflation data from Statistics Canada is out. The Consumer Price Index has fallen from 2.3% in January to 1.8% in February.

Our senior business correspondent, Peter Armstrong, breaks it down. The biggest factor at play here is the fact that we're comparing this year's numbers to last year when that GST-HST tax holiday was still in place. So without that, without those tax breaks, prices were obviously higher. In fact, if you strip that out, CPI was up 1.9% and has been decelerating since December. Housing prices were down. Gasoline prices were down compared to last year as well. But those gas prices, that's where a report like this can get a little murky.

We have, of course, seen a surge in gas prices due to the war in. Iran. That's not in these numbers, but it will show up in the months to come. And gas, of course, is just the start. There are a ton of critical metals and minerals that have been held up in the Gulf, which will lead to shortages, and that will lead to increased costs. So enjoy this lower than expected inflation for now, because by all indications, it's not going to last. Peter Armstrong, CBC News, Toronto. A breakthrough by scientists in New Brunswick is helping fight a deadly oyster disease. Since it was detected two years ago, MSX has cost the Atlantic shellfish industry millions.

But now, researchers have mapped its genome. As the CBC's Caitlin Belvo reports, Harvester's hope it helps the industry bounce back. I have a specific memory of us high-fiving and taking a picture and being extremely ecstatic. It took seven months and 17,000 oyster samples, but scientists in Southern New Brunswick have done what no one else could. This is kind of breakthrough, I would say. Nobody has ever sequenced MSX genome.

Rebecca Liston and Atik-Riemann isolated a single cell from MSX, a parasite that's killing oysters from New Brunswick to Newfoundland. The oyster industry in New Brunswick is worth $24 million a year, according to statistics Canada. And pulling up dead oysters has put harvesters' livelihoods at risk. The problem was little was known about the rapidly spreading disease, until now. This tool will help us locate the ones that are resistant.

The information will help harvesters alter their genetic code for generations to come. And that's music to Selge Leblanc's ears. We're all hoping that it's going to come back to the way it was, because we had a very promising industry. Leblanc is a biologist and oyster harvester on New Brunswick's East Coast. He says it will take years to rebuild the oyster population, but the science is promising. The goal is that other scientists and policymakers will build off of their work.

Caitlin Belavow, CBC News, Moncton. One battle after another is being celebrated as the big winner at the Academy Awards. It was also a big night for Canadian filmmaking talent. For more, let's go to the CBC's Eli Glassner, who was on the red carpet. And the Oscar goes to Michael B. George. Cheers. and tears as Michael B. Jordan won the best actor Oscar for his performance in Sinners, beating out Timothy Shalame, who months ago seemed like a lot. Just one of a number of emotional

moments from Sinners for Oscar wins. Another was Autumn Durald-Arcapa, becoming the first woman and first racialized person to win the Cinematography Award. I really want all the women in the room to stand up, because I feel like I don't get here without, You guys? In terms of total hardware, one battle after another led the pack with six Oscars, including director Paul Thomas Anderson's first, as well as taking home the coveted Best Picture Prize.

But it was also a great night for Canadian connections from the Korean-Canadian K-pop Demon Hunter, co-director, Maggie Kang. And for those of you who look like me, I'm so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this. The animators of the short The Girl Who Cried Pearls. Thank you, the fantastic city of Montreal. And the production designers, such as Shane Vio,

who brought the twisted Victorian visions of Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein to life. There's no better artisans than in Toronto. I mean, we are definitely on the world market. A Mexican director collaborating with Canadian creators to bring home the Oscar gold. Eli Glastner, CBC News, Los Angeles. That is the latest national and international news from World Report. I'm Martino Fitzgerald.

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