World Report - May 13: Wednesday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: May 13, 2026

Trade, Taiwan, and Tehran high on agenda for Trump-Xi summit in Beijing. BC Supreme Court to deliver verdict in trial of former RCMP officer accused of colluding with China. Sea-Watch says the Libyan Coast Guard shot at its members trying to save migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.Australia scales back tax breaks for property investors in effort to help young people enter housing market. Dunkin Donuts takes another shot at entering the Canadian coffee market. Crew of Artemis II space mission in Canada meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney and schoolchildren. 

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Good morning. I'm Martina Fitzgerald. Donald Trump is in Beijing for his summit with China's Xi Jinping. The U.S. President is greeted on the tarmac by a military band and hundreds of young people waving flags. The two leaders have a full agenda. In addition to the Iran War, they're expected to grapple with trade and tech. If Trump gets the deal he wants there, some observers say President Xi will demand concessions on Taiwan. That has people in the self-governing island worried about their future. Philippe LeBlanc has more from Taipei.

In the Taipei basement, a dozen civilians fire air guns at targets. As anxiety grows ahead of the summit between presidents, Trump and Xi, they say they need to prepare. Taiwan's interests are all. also America's interests, says this man, so we need to deter China from invading us. For many here, the concern is that support for Taiwan could be part of a broader deal between Washington and Beijing. William Yang, a senior analyst with Crisis Group, says Trump has already broken with decades of U.S. practice by publicly saying he would discuss Taiwan arms sales with Xi Jinping.

Just the declaration of deciding to, planning to discuss this topic with Xi Jinping. is already undermining the long-standing trust. Yang adds that Taiwan fears even subtle changes in American rhetoric or support could weaken deterrence against China, which claims the Democratic island as its own territory. In Copenhagen Tuesday, Taiwan President Lai Ching-Dah remotely thanked the U.S. for strengthening the island's defense capabilities. The people of Taiwan, they will neighbor bow to pressure. Trump and Xi are to meet Thursday and Friday in Beijing.

Philippe LeBlanc, CBC News, Taipei. He sees Supreme Court will deliver its verdict today in the trial of a former RCMP officer accused of colluding with China. William Micr is accused of taking part in a global Chinese plan to bully wanted expats into returning home. As Georgie Smyth reports, Micr maintains he's innocent. Really don't want to comment too much while things are still underway. but I'm anxious to get home to my family.

William Micah pleaded not guilty to one count of engaging in preparatory acts to commit an offence under Canada's Security of Information Act. The former RCMP officer who once specialised in financial crimes denies allegations he was working for the Chinese government to prepare a campaign of intimidation against a multi-millionaire Chinese expat who lives in BC. A man China says fled the country with hundreds of millions of dollars. To prove their case, Crown prosecutors used an email Micah sent to a colleague in 2017, where he talked about a quote, fraudster wanted by Chinese police.

Crown lawyers argued it was clear Micah was referring to a Chinese national in BC and were expected to call a key witness to prove that argument. But instead, they shocked the courtroom in closing their case without him. The prosecution says it's presented a range of facts that Micah was laying the ground for a campaign of extortion, one that was an affront to Canadian sovereignty. I think I'm pretty straight honest guy. On the final day of the judge-only trial, Micah's counsel told the court the Crown's case is purely circumstantial, based mostly on a narrow reading of two paragraphs from that email,

and that criminal intent had not been proven. A verdict is expected today. Georgie Smyth, CBC News, Vancouver. Sea Watch says the Libyan Coast Guard has opened fire on members of its aid organization. It says shots were fired when humanitarian workers were rescuing people from an overcrowded boat in the Mediterranean Sea. As Megan Williams tells us, the NGO says this is part of a growing pattern of violence by Libyan maritime forces, and it's funded by Europe. The Sea Watch 5 had just rescued about 90 people from a sinking boat in international waters north of Libya on Monday.

Sea watch says Libyan patrol boats then began pursuing the ship with the rescued people and about 30 crew members on board. They wanted to abduct a vessel and demand that we follow them to Libya. Sea watch spokesperson Julia Messner says the crew sent two Mayday calls that were ignored by the Central Maritime Coordination Office in Rome. Messner says Libyan boats are tied to militias that intercept migrants at sea and return them to abuse on land. They are actively bringing people into a cycle of violence where people have to pay ransoms. Family are called while their loved ones are tortured and are threatened to pay ransoms. Then when these ransoms are paid, put people on a boat and then again at sea, they intercept them to bring them back. Human rights groups have been documenting abuse, extortion and torture in Libya for years.

But European governments continue to fund, train and equip Libyan maritime forces. as part of their effort to stop migrant boats from reaching Europe. The EU says its training has helped reduce violent incidents at sea. Sea watch and other rescue groups dispute that. They say Europe is outsourcing border control to armed groups that put both migrants and rescuers in danger. Megan Williams, CBC News, Rome. Australia's government is trying to make it easier for young people to buy a home.

It's scaling back tax breaks for property investors. Australia's treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says that could help 75,000 primarily younger people enter the housing market. The status quo is busted in the housing market and in the tax system, and where those two things intersect, creates a level of intergenerational inequity that we're not prepared to tolerate. This move is controversial. Just before last year's election, the Labor government had promised not to make changes to its tax policy for investors. One of the largest coffee chains in the United States is coming back to Canada. In the years to come, there are plans for hundreds of Dunkin' Donuts locations to open here.

But as business reporter, Anise Hadari reports, the brand previously struggled in Canada. I absolutely cannot wait. Flight attendant, Jay Antflick loves Duncan Donuts iced coffee. He buys it whenever he flies to the U.S. Usually two to three a day. Two to three a day. Oh, yeah. That's how I run on coffee.

You won't have to run far. by the end of the year. FoodTastic, the Montreal company behind Second Cup, says it's bringing Duncan Donuts to Canada. And all our franchisees are going to be local Canadian franchisees. Peter Mammis is the president of FoodTastic. He says he sees opportunity even in a softer economy. The quick service restaurants are having a little bit of a lull.

But I think that's actually a benefit to us bringing Duncan in now because there's going to be a lot more real estate available to us. In the 2010s, the last few Duncan franchises in Canada folded under other ownership, in part blaming a lack of investment to fight Tim Hortons. University of Toronto Marketing, Professor David Soberman says Tim's is still a big competitor. They have somewhere around 4,000 outlets, so even if Duncan opens a couple of hundred outlets, it's still very small compared to Tim Hortons. Is there room for more brands to enter into the Canadian market? I think so.

Robert Carter is with the Coffee Association of Canada. Its members include both Tim Hortons and the new operators of Duncan. Canadians are amongst the highest in terms of coffee consumption. It's not surprising that brand, such as, you know, Dunkins are looking at Canada as that natural extension. The first outlets are planned for Toronto and Montreal, so while the slogan says America runs on Duncan, most of Canada will have to wait.

Any Cedare, CBC News, Calgary. The crew of the Artemis II Space Mission is in Canada. They're sharing their experience from their journey beyond the far side of the moon, just a little over a month ago. As Rafi Bujikanan tells us, they're answering questions from school children and Prime Minister Mark Carney. It is such an honor on behalf of all Canadians

to welcome the team we followed every move. It's not unusual for Canada's Prime Minister to receive foreign dignitaries at his office a little more so to shake hands with people who have left this planet. This is the first time we've actually had a conversation on Earth, actually.

Canadian astronaut, Jeremy Hanson and the rest of the Artemis 2 crew, along with fellow Canadian astronaut Jenny Gibbons, are spending the day in the national capital. They'd had a space to Earth conversation with Carney while they were traveling around the far side of the moon last month. This is just shining a light back on Canada about what we are capable of on the world stage and that Artemis 2 is just a step in a much longer journey for us. And like you, we can't wait to be part of what's next. There is legislation currently before the House of Commons. The government says will enable Canada to join remaining G7 countries

and being able to launch orbital satellites or rockets. Even if it passes, the government says not to expect such a homegrown launch from Canada for another two to three years. Rafi Bjiqan. Yom CBC News, Arwa. That is the latest national and international news from World Report. I'm Martino Fitzgerald. This is CBC News. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca.com.