World Report - March 17: Tuesday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: March 17, 2026

Israel strikes targets in Iran and Lebanon, while Iran hits gulf neighbors. Director of US National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, resigns over ongoing war in Iran. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Strait of Hormuz should not be weaponized. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says support for Ukraine must not wane in response to conflict in Iran. Taliban government accuses Pakistan of targetting a civilian hospital in Kabul with airstrike, killing more than 400 people. An atmospheric river is bringing heavy rain to British Columbia, increasing the risk of flooding, avalanches and landslides. Canadian Food Inspection Agency fines another Loblaw store, investigates Sobeys, for promoting imported food as Canadian. Mayor of Waterloo, Ontario demands answers from police after a sniper was deployed to a St. Patrick's Day street party. 

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This is a CBC podcast. This is World Report. Good morning. I'm Martina Fitzgerald. The IDF says it has launched a wave of extensive strikes against Iran. It claims to have killed Iran's security chief Ali Larijani. Israel is still conducting military operations in Iran and Lebanon. And Iran is not easing up on counterattacks in the region on Israeli and U.S. targets. Crystal Gomancing has the latest from Jerusalem.

Explosions echoed through the darkness in the suburbs of Beirut, followed by a new set of evacuation orders from Israeli forces. People have been told to leave in the village of Al Jal, identified as the next location in the south for Israeli military operations. More than 880 people in Lebanon have been killed since the offensive began, with over one million having been driven from their homes, according to Lebanese authorities. We're at a historical juncture.

In an interview with the Newswire Service AFP, President Isaac Herzog defended his state's attacks on Iran's proxy. Europe should support any effort to eradicate Hezbollah. Now, they should understand that if you want to get anywhere, sometimes you need to win war. The war launched by Israel and the U.S. on the Iranian regime at the end of February has expanded, affecting lives right across the Middle East. A total but temporary airspace shutdown was ordered by officials in the UAE.

A necessary measure as the Ministry of Defense worked to eliminate threats from drones and missiles launched from Iran. In the Iraqi capital, drones were shot down as they approached the U.S. embassy. One is said to have evaded interception attempts hitting the inside of the heavily protected compound in Baghdad. The Speaker of Iran's Parliament says U.S. military presence does not make the region safer and it needs to leave. In an address carried on state TV, Mohamed Bakr Khalibov said the Middle East will change, but not according to U.S. plans. Crystal Gamansing, CBC News, Jerusalem. The director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center is resigning. Joe Kent just posted a letter addressed to U.S. President Donald Trump

online. He says he cannot, in good conscience, support the war in Iran. And he says it's clear that Washington started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby. Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, Anita Anand, is warning that the Strait of Hormuz should not be weaponized. The usually busy shipping route has been virtually close since the conflict began. As Rafi Bujukhanyan reports, Anand is making it clear where Canada stands. There should be no weaponization of international shipping lanes. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand with sharper language about the Strait of Hormuz than Canada has adopted so far. Blocking the Strait of Hormuz violates the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, unclosed, as well as customary international law.

And ships from all countries have the right to pass through. The U.S. has asked allies to help in opening up the Strait of Hormuz. A request, Anand says, has not been made to Canada. She says that should come through the proper channel of NATO. It's important to remember that those conversations among NATO allies have not occurred. Canada is also joining Germany, the United Kingdom and France, and calling for de-escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. While that country warns more than a million people could have been displaced so far and nearly 900 killed.

That call earning a rebuke from Israel this morning, which accuses Canada and its allies of distorting reality and ignoring Hezbollah attacks on its territory. Rafi Bucci Canyon, CBC News, Ottawa. British Prime Minister Kirstarmer says support for Ukraine cannot fall to the wayside as energy and attention turns to the conflict with Iran. It's vital that we continue to focus on supporting Ukraine. We cannot allow the war in the Gulf to turn into a windfall for Putin. Today, Stramer is hosting Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelensky in London.

This is also deadline day for Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to pay $4.5 billion to victims of the Ukraine war. The money is supposed to come from his sale of the Chelsea FC soccer team. If he does not pay up, the British government will take him to court. Afghanistan is accusing Pakistan of targeting civilians. It says an airstrike on a drug rehab center in Kabul, has killed more than 400 people. But as Pakistan ramps up its attacks, it says it's only targeting military facilities.

Our South Asia correspondent Salima Shivji has more. Rescue workers rushed to gather the wounded in the ash and mangled debris of what was once a drug rehab hospital in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, now in ruins. A bomb dropped just after prayers at nine last night, Igbal says. From his hospital bed,

his head wrapped in a bandage. The wall and the ceiling fell on top of us, he says. Somehow I pulled myself out of there. The injured were being brought to us from all directions, says Kabul paramedic Syed Marab Shah. Afghan officials are accusing Pakistan of targeting the hospital. Islamabad denies that. It's a dramatic escalation in the conflict

that's been raging for more than two weeks after Pakistan declared open war on its neighbor. Civilian deaths and clashes on the shared border had already been climbing steadily before this strike, says Friza Sheikh with Chatham House's Asia-Pacific program. There has been a very sharp spike in militant violence in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban came to power. And Pakistan has blamed this violence on the Afghan Taliban. International calls for a ceasefire have so far been ignored by both. sides, but Chinese officials are again trying today, calling for restraint. Salima Shivji, CBC News, Mumbai.

Parts of British Columbia are being hammered by an atmospheric river that doesn't typically happen at this time of year. As Georgie Smyth reports, the downpour comes with increased risk of flooding, avalanches, and landslides. It's wet. Heavy rainfall and snow delivered by a strong Pacific low pressure system is hitting Vancouver Island, the central coast, and the central coast, and and Vancouver's Coast Mountains. It's been a very wet pattern. Brian Proctor is with Environment Canada.

He says temperatures are also on the rise. And they've risen steadily through the day as the warm air associated with this atmospheric river really has sort of flooded across the south coast. That means rain at higher elevations too. We're warming up those layers up there at the higher elevations and it's really problematic moving forward. It's why Avalanche Canada is also forecasting

increasing avalanche activity in the next few days. Colin Garity is one of their forecasters. He says the storm is hitting an already dangerously unstable snowpack. As that gets saturated with rainwater, what we expect is a wet, loose avalanche problem. All that rain and snow melt is flowing down saturated slopes into rivers and streams. A mudslide near Prince Rupert derailed several cars of a train on Monday.

No one was hurt. People are being reminded to stay away from unstable or flooded areas until levels subside. Georgie Smyth, CBC News, Vancouver. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has fined another Loblaw store, $10,000 for promoting imported food as Canadian. Fortinos in Toronto was selling a French cheese spread, but the tag on the shelf displayed a maple leaf. The CFIA says that's misleading to shoppers still taking part in the Buy Canadian movement. CBC News has learned the agency is also investigating.

labeling and advertising practices at Sobe's head office. The mayor of Waterloo, Ontario is demanding answers from police after a sniper was deployed to a St. Patrick's Day street party. As Ashta Shetty reports, police say the tactical officer was part of safety operations. Someone randomly was looking up at the sky and they were like, yo, that's a sniper. Students taking part in an unsanctioned street party for St. Patrick's Day over the weekend, and we're surprised to see an officer on the top floor balcony of a building with his face covered,

dressed in all black, standing next to a large weapon. An Elise Meerton, an Australian international exchange student at the University of Waterloo, says the experience was startling. There's no word for it in that moment of how shocked I was. And then all my friends started going, oh, I don't feel safe. I don't feel safe. And then it was more so let's go. It was terrifying. Melissa Quarry, a spokesperson for the Waterloo Regional Police Service,

says the sniper is one of their tactical officers and was there as part of their safety plan for large gatherings. Protocol for all major events. Unfortunately, with the magnitude of unfortunate mass casualty events that have occurred throughout North America and around the world, that really shapes our emergency response strategies for all types of large gatherings. Wadalu Mayor Dorothy McCabe says she was, quote, shocked to hear there was a sniper deployed to manage the street party. She says she's looking for more information from Chief Mark Crowell to understand more about their protocols. Ashti, CBC News, Waterloo. That is the latest national and international news from World Report. I'm Martina Fitzgerald.

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