World Report - May 16 : Friday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: May 16, 2025

Russia, Ukraine end first direct talks in 3 years with no agreement.Israel reportedly launches major offensive in northern Gaza. Leaked report suggest Canada's military is losing a lot of new recruits, quickly after they sign up. Manitoba firefighters are hoping for rain as they struggle with deadly wildfires. Los Angeles Sheriff's department investigating Motown legend Smokey Robinson in connection to allegations of sexual abuse. The Sunday Times rich list says the Weston family, which owns Loblaws Supermarkets and Shoppers Drug Mart, are now the 6th richest family in the United Kingdom.

Okay, so I'm Tom Power. I host the award-winning interview show Cue, and it's not just about art. It's also a podcast that delves into conversations with artists as to why we create at all. Like you'll hear boy genius member Lucy Dacus open up about why she's dead dissatisfied with the way we talk about love. You'll hear Cate Blanchett describe what it's like to forget the sound of your own voice. And you'll hear how Coleman Domingo actually honed his acting skills in the circus. Listen to Cue with me, Tom Power, wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. This is World Report.

Good morning, I'm John Northcott. Breaking news out of London, Ontario. The judge at the World Junior Hockey Sexual Assault case has dismissed the jury. The trial will resume before the judge alone. This is the case of five former Team Canada World Junior players. Cal Foote, Dylan Dubay, Alex Formonton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod are all accused of sexually assaulting a woman known as EM in 2018. All have pleaded not guilty. This is a developing story. Stay tuned for CBC News for updates.

Ukrainian officials are expressing frustration about the peace talks that have now wrapped up in Istanbul. Ukraine's former Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba tells CBC News that Russia has been acting in bad faith. Imagine there is a fight on the street and the guy who was attacked says, let's stop the fight and have the conversation. The attacker says, no, first I will knock you out and then we will have a conversation. The delegations did make progress on one matter.

Ukraine's defense minister says they agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war from each side. Dominic Valladis has more. The talks, the first between Russia and Ukraine for three years, lasted just shy of two hours. There were no signs of progress. The ceasefire Ukraine and its allies have been pushing for has so far failed to materialise. With reports, Russia made unrealistic demands during the meeting, including ultimatums for Ukraine to withdraw from territory in exchange

for a pause in the fighting. Like Russia's Vladimir Putin, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky didn't attend today's talks in Turkey. But he was following events from the sidelines of a European summit in Albania. If the Russian representatives in Istanbul today cannot even agree to that, to cease fire, to this clearly necessary first step, then it will be 100% clear that Putin continues to undermine diplomacy. Also watching from the sidelines of the summit in Albania were Ukraine's European allies. Among them, the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who today announced the bloc was now working on a new package of sanctions to increase

pressure on Putin over the war in Ukraine. Dominic Vlaidis for CBC News, Riga, Latvia. Hospitals in Gaza say more than 90 people are dead after a third night of Israeli strikes. Palestinian sources say the attacks are coming from land, sea and air. Crystal Gomancing has the latest. Explosions in the night, panic searches of rubble at daybreak. The threat of death looms over Gaza with intensifying strikes seemingly focused mostly on central and northern areas. We're not immune or in any way insensitive to the suffering of the people of Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday acknowledged the worsening humanitarian crisis.

While bombardments have been ongoing, Israel has been blocking humanitarian aid since early March. We're looking at Gaza. Today, U.S. President Donald Trump, still in the Middle East, said the U.S. is going to take care of that. A lot of people are starving. There's a lot of bad things going on. The shed is pretty empty of tools after a year and a half of these horrors. Retired senior diplomat and member of the UK's House of Lords, Peter Ricketts, says Britain should be sanctioning

far-right Israeli ministers, halting the little arms trade that it does with Israel, and recognizing a Palestinian state. Striking the Kirsten has been prepared to be very bold and decisive over the Ukraine crisis. The government has frankly been much more hesitant over some of these possible actions they could take. Israel's security cabinet approved plans to expand its military offensive against Hamas

earlier this month. The full force of the Israeli military would be used, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to destroy Hamas and rescue the remaining hostages. An increased offensive, reports Israeli media, could start after President Trump leaves the region. Crystal Gamansing, CBC News, London. The Canadian military insists it's getting a handle on its recruiting crisis. But CBC News has obtained a leaked internal report suggesting not many new recruits are sticking around for long and many say they aren't getting trained for the job they want. Murray Brewster has more. There's no point recruiting if you're not retaining people.

A statement of the obvious from Canada's top military commander, General Jenny Carey-Nan, as she was questioned recently about efforts to keep people in uniform while the forces deals with a shortage of as many as 14,000 troops. A new internal report obtained by CBC News shows the military and the Defense Department are doing themselves no favors in that category. The evaluation says the highest attrition rates within the military involve its lowest ranks and newest members. Essentially, people are coming through the door, but many quit in frustration over the inability to get trained.

Some are waiting as long as 206 days, but in the meantime, are underemployed. When you're sitting like a lame duck around waiting for your training, well, your morale can wane very quickly. Charlotte Duvall-Lantoine is a defense researcher who says not fixing training in tandem with fixing recruiting undermines everything the military is trying to accomplish. There's a lack of trust in the chain of command when you're seeing documents after documents after documents coming out saying that the people first mission always that personnel is the number one priority

but then that does not get funded. Three years ago DND unveiled a strategy to keep members in uniform. As part of it a research office was set up to help advise on how best to retain people. It was defunded recently with no explanation from the department. Murray Brewster, CBC News, Ottawa. It's two weeks since two children in Nova Scotia disappeared from their rural family home. Dozens of searchers and a team of police officers have been working the case, but it appears they are no closer to finding the missing kids.

The CBC's Brett Ruskin has the latest. Two weeks, two missing children and zero clues as to where they went. Six-year-old Lily Sullivan and her four-year-old brother Jack lived with their mother and stepfather in a small home here in the dense forests of Pictou County, Nova Scotia. Far from any major town, in these woods ticks are everywhere and cell service is sparse. Still searchers combed through this area for days. Dogs tried to find ascent, helicopters rumbled overhead, and drones flew through the night looking for any sign of the missing children.

RCMPs say even though the search was scaled back, they still haven't given up. They're speaking with friends, relatives, neighbors, and community members, and they're following up on more than 180 tips from the public. All while rumours and theories circulate online, filling the vacuum left by the lack of confirmed facts about this case. Everyone involved left wondering how these two children can simply vanish. Brett Ruskin, CBC News, Lansdowne Station, Nova Scotia. Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown is ordered held in custody by a British court this morning. This to face allegations he beat a music producer with a bottle in a London nightclub in 2023. Brown is charged with one count of causing grievous bodily harm.

He has not entered a plea. The prosecution says the incident happened while Brown was on tour in the UK at the time. It accuses him of also punching and kicking the victim in an attack that was caught on surveillance camera in front of a club full of people. In Los Angeles, the Sheriff's Department says it has opened an investigation into 85-year-old Motown legend Smokey Robinson in connection to allegations of sexual abuse. Steve Futterman reports. The announcement by the L.A. County Sheriff comes a week after a civil suit was filed

by four women, all former housekeepers, accusing Smokey Robinson of a series of sexual crimes dating back as far as 2014. The sheriff's department in a brief statement says its investigation is in the early stages. Robinson's attorney vigorously denies the allegations, calling them manufactured, suggesting the women are simply out to get money. The former housekeepers claim they were repeatedly assaulted. Their attorney, John Harris, describes some of the accusations made against Robinson last week.

Sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment. Robinson's wife is also named in the lawsuit. She is accused of doing nothing to stop the alleged attacks. The four women say they did not come forward earlier because of their immigration status. Steve Futterman for CBC News, Los Angeles. And finally, British newspaper The Sunday Times is out with its annual rich list. And there is a name familiar to Canadians in the top ten. Galen Weston and his family are listed as the sixth richest family in the United Kingdom,

the Weston's own Primark, the London department store Fortnum & Mason, and of course the La Blah and Shoppers Drug Mart chains. The Sunday Times says shares in their Canadian businesses are up 40% over the past year. The family's estimated wealth is listed at well over £17 billion. That's nearly $33 billion Canadian dollars. That is the latest national and international news from World Report. I'm John Northcott. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.