World Report - May 17: Saturday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: May 17, 2025

Prime Minister Mark Carney in Rome for Pope's Sunday inauguration mass.Donald Trump says he will speak with Vladmir Putin Monday morning.British police charge 3 Iranians with espionage.Israel launches major military offensive to seize parts of Gaza.Police in Kingston, Ontario criticized for using drones to catch distracted drivers.The Eurovision Song Contest reaches its grand final.

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This is World Report. Good morning. I'm John Northcott. Mark Carney is in Rome this morning to attend his first major international gathering as Canada's Prime Minister, tomorrow's inauguration mass for Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. As Tom Perry reports it's an opportunity for Carney to meet other world leaders. Touching down in Rome, Prime Minister Mark Carney, accompanied by his wife and daughter, leading a Canadian delegation that includes Indigenous and religious leaders, along with

senators and Liberal MPs. Carney, who is a practicing Catholic, will attend tomorrow's inaugural mass for Pope Leo XIV. Today, he meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, as well as the country's president. Carney also scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. Roland Paris is director of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. He says, this trip is an opportunity for Carney to lay some of the groundwork for

the G7 summit he'll host next month in Cananaskis, Alberta. I think first and foremost, this is a chance for the prime minister to build relationships with some of these other leaders. I'm not aware that he's even spoken to Prime Minister Maloney of Italy yet, the host of the G7 last year. So I think first and foremost, this is a this is a chance for him to build those relationships to get to know them a little bit better. Other guests at the inaugural mass include Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, who met with Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, on

Easter Sunday, just a day before he died. Tom Perry, CBC News, Rome. U.S. President Donald Trump says he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. The pressure is on to reach an agreement for a ceasefire in Ukraine after over three years of war. The two sides remain far apart. The latest, a Russian drone strike on a civilian bus killed at least nine people in Ukraine. Reporter Dominic Follitus joins us now. Dom, what are we hearing from Donald Trump? Well, Donald Trump announcing all this as usual on social media. This will be a telephone call with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

It's not, John, a face-to-face meeting, which I think was Washington's preferred option, but it is a meeting, another meeting between the two nonetheless. It will take place, John, on Monday at 10am. The subject of the call, according to Donald Trump, will be stopping the war in Ukraine, a conflict that he described on social media as a bloodbath, and one he claims is killing more than 5,000 people a week, 5,000 soldiers from both sides a week. So Donald Trump and some of his senior officials like US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have

in fact been floating this idea of another meeting for a few days now. And it now looks like it is going to happen, as I say, on Monday at 10 o'clock. It will be a busy day for Donald Trump, John. After speaking to Putin, he says he will also speak to Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and then various NATO members as well. Dom, in the backdrop of all of this, the deadly attack in Sumi, what is Ukraine's president saying? Yeah, that's right. I mean, Volodymyr Zelensky now been speaking out about that dreadful attack in Sumi region.

He said it was a deliberate act, the killing of civilians. And he went on to say that Russian forces could not help but understand what kind of vehicle they were hitting when this bus was targeted. And the bus carrying were told, according to local media, people being evacuated from a town not far from the frontline there. Earlier Ukrainian media was reporting that the majority of those killed and injured in this strike as I say were elderly women.

John. Dominic Volitis reporting from Riga, Latvia. Thanks Dom. Thank you. To the United Kingdom. The Iranian international news agency is being targeted by three Iranians now accused of spying for that country. Billed as a major counter-terrorism investigation by British police. The three are charged with quote engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service. They were alleged to have carried out surveillance to locate the Iran

international journalists. The media organization is critical of the regime in Tehran. Israel's military is launching a major offensive in Gaza, dubbing it Operation Gideon's Chariots. Officials say the goal is to seize control of parts of the territory. It comes as Israel is facing growing international pressure to lift its humanitarian aid blockade. Anna Cunningham has more. Israel says its latest wave of airstrikes is a fresh effort to force Hamas to release hostages after a fragile ceasefire collapsed in March. The Israeli army has released a video showing what it says are targeted strikes on Hamas' military infrastructure.

Any glimmer of hope that US President Donald Trump's visit to the region might result in renewed peace talks faded. Speaking to Fox News, he expressed some sympathy with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I think I can say that Bibi, he's an angry man and he should be because of October 7th. The US President says he wants to turn Gaza into a freedom zone. They're starving. So I've already started working on that. The UN's Human Rights Chief Volker Turk in a statement Friday described the Israeli aid blockade

now into its third month as tantamount to ethnic cleansing. Anna Cunningham, CBC News, London. A police force in eastern Ontario is facing criticism for its new approach to catching distracted drivers. Police in Kingston are using drones to detect those who are using their phones while behind the wheel. As Dan Tacoma reports,

the tactic is driving some strong debate. Drivers who recently passed through three intersections in Kingston, Ontario, had no idea they were being watched. But high above them, a police drone hovered, zooming in and catching 20 people using their phones. There are a lot of Kingston residents who find it creepy and are asking whether it's legal. And in our view, it isn't. Josh Dehaas is with the Canadian Constitution Foundation. He sent a letter to Kingston's police chief saying it amounts to an unreasonable

search. If the Kingston police don't stop doing this illegal unconstitutional practice, the CCF would consider litigation. Dehaaz isn't aware of any other police force using drones this way. Neither is former Ontario Privacy Commissioner Anne Kavukian. She says there are less intrusive ways to stop texting and driving. If you're being filmed at a close range by a drone, your privacy's out the door. Kingston Police Chief Scott Fraser says police aren't snooping on people's screens.

Police forces across Canada use drones regularly for everything from searching for missing people to monitoring rowdy parties, and they're looking for new ways to use them too. Fraser says in the past, police have boarded public transit or even school buses to try and catch distracted drivers. What's the difference of me sitting in a truck looking down in your window than a drone at 120 feet looking down in your window? The chief says police did not seek any authorization before the approach took off, but if a court decides they can't catch distracted drivers this way, the drone will stay grounded.

Dan Tacoma, CBC News, Kingston, Ontario. And finally, national pride is on the line in Switzerland tonight as contestants from around Europe and beyond gear up for the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Finale. More than 160 million people are expected to tune in. Reporter Daniel Rosnick is in the host city of Basel with a look. Yer a day when hearts are gone 24 year old Yuval Raphael is a survivor of the October 7th Hamas Nova Music Festival attack. Her song, A New Day Will Rise, is about resilience and survival and is expected to do well with the viewers vote.

My heart just went silent and I'm like, you have one of the most incredible experiences in life. Enjoy the moment. During rehearsals, audience members have held up Palestinian flags and there are some protests in the city, but on a much smaller scale than last year. Organisers wanted this contest to be a reset in famously neutral Switzerland, after the event had previously been caught up in geopolitics. But we could be heading back to Sweden, which is tipped to break the winning record by scoring an eighth victory tonight with its song Barabada Bastu about the Scandinavian love of saunas.

However, the song from France, Mammon, is expected to be the top choice for the music expert judges. Mammon, Mammon. Outside of the competition, rumors are circling Celine Dion could make a surprise appearance in the grand final after sending a video message during Tuesday's knockout stage, reminiscing about her victory for Switzerland

in 1988. The Eurovision slogan is United by Music, and it is meant to reflect the power of music to bring people together from around the world. Daniel Rosny for CBC News. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.